Andrea Heyfron Photography

| 4 years... |

4 years ago today.....I married my very best friend.  Happy  Anniversary, Brett!!  I can't believe it's been 4 years.  I'm looking forward to our many years ahead :)  <3 U.

 

 

*Pictures by Jenny Benge Photography*
 
  

| the story of the chair... |

For as long as I can remember, this yellow chair has resided at my parents house.  It's been in their office, their spare room, used when we needed an extra chair at the table when we had family over, and used as my desk chair when I was a little kid.  I'll admit, I've never liked the chair.  I mean come on.....the color just wasn't very nice, it had chipped paint.....it just has never been a cute chair.  I always wondered why they still had the chair after all it never matched a single thing in the house. This chair was my dad's....his desk chair as a little boy and it has survived all these years with so many different uses.  It wasn't until this past November that my feelings for the chair changed.....it was when I looked at the chair in my old room at my parents house, at their computer desk that I thought...."that is a cool chair!!  I envision using it in a photoshoot, with a baby, in tall grass, under a tree"  I asked my parents If I could have the chair and they looked at me like I was crazy.  They reminded me how I've always thought the chair was ugly, that I wondered why they hadn't gotten rid of it....well now I know.  I'm so glad they never got rid of it because this chair now resides in my house, in my spare room and is being used for baby photoshoots, in the tall grass, under a tree.....and what I love most about it is that it's my dad's....one that was his as a little boy.

 

| a weekend in the snow... |

Last weekend we rented a cabin in the mountains with some friends.  I have been so eager to get up to the snow all winter especially with the all the storms we have had.  I knew Sydney would have a blast after all she loves the water and snow is a form of water, right??  Well, Sydney did indeed have a blast and so did the rest of us.  We had so much fun sledding and I can't wait to go again next year!

 

  

 

 

 

    

  

  

  

 

Sydney looking for her ball in a snow hole....

 

 

Brett is hitching a ride back to the Tahoe...

 

Pretty dog in the snow.... :)

 

| spring training |

Spring Training in Phoenix, AZ is a trip we look forward to every year.  We have been going with a group of friends since 2002.  I think we've only missed 2 years in that timeframe.  Since that first trip our group has grown from 4 adults to about 14 adults and about 18 kids.....Good times are definitely had by all!  Typical teams on the docket are the A's, Angels, Giants, Cubs and this year the Dodgers.  Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from our trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
  
  

   

| birthday flowers... |

I recently celebrated my Birthday and received these beautiful flowers from my Mom and Dad.  For as long as I have lived in Northern California, which was 10 years last November, they have sent me a gorgeous arrangement from an amazing florist!  Tulips, Daffodils and Gerbera Daisies just make me happy and this arrangement didn't disappoint.  Thanks Mom and Dad.....I love them and I love you!

 

| i've been MIA..... |

I've been MIA lately because of this.....

I won't get into the details of how my Mac got this large crack on the screen....but let's just say that I'm very, very happy to have my laptop back with a shiny new screen!  I have so many things to share....A trip to Spring Training in Arizona, a recent trip to the snow and lots of upcoming sessions!  Yay for the Apple store for fixing my Mac..... 

| rain, rain go away...... |

Oh, how I'm ready for this rain to go away....I want my clean floors back!!!

This is what my floors look like during the rainy season......muddy paw prints from my sweet pup who just can't help herself in the rain.  She is a water dog after all......And enjoys the wet grass and small puddles that have formed in our backyard after weeks of rain.

I guess it's time to pull out the steam mop....again! 

 

 

| my day with drew b |

My day with DrewB!  Drew is a fabulous photographer in Orange County whose blog I started following a couple of years ago. When I heard that she was offering mentoring sessions, I knew at some point I needed a "Day with Drew."  This was the year.....and I was fortunate enough to spend the day with Drew, learning and getting inspired.  We spent the day talking about my photography business and she was gracious enough to share all that she knows from the business side to the technical side of shooting and editing.  I can't even begin to tell you how invaluable this experience was.  My head is spinning with photography fabulousness.....Drew totally rocks!  She's such a sweet person and I'm so excited to have spent the day with her.

For all you moms that have an interest in photography, you have to check out Drew's Mom*tog site.  It's full of great tips and wonderful inspiration for photographing your kids.  Or better yet, become a Mom*tog fan on Facebook!

If you are in Southern California and looking to have your family pictures taken, contact Drew!!

Now on to our family session.  Part of my day with Drew was to photograph this beautiful family.  We spent the afternoon with Aaron, Julez, Naomi and Zoey.  What a fun loving family.  We had a blast! Naomi is 4.5 and Zoey is 2.....and baby number 3 is on the way.  

Thank you Brown family and thank you Drew for a fabulous day!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a few that Drew caught of me in action....

 

 

 
 
 
      
 
 

| happy birthday...puppy |

Ah....Sydney is 2 today.  And to celebrate, I thought I would show a picture from the day we got her at 8 weeks old and today.....She's finally grown into her ears and her paws!  And....it's totally true when they say Labs are puppies until at least 2.  I think she'll have some puppy in her for at least a couple of more years.

 

 

| happy birthday....mom|

Happy Birthday Mom!!  Wish I could be there to celebrate with you.  Here are some yellow roses picked fresh from my backyard in honor of your birthday :)  Hope you have a wonderful day!!  Love you.

| saturday evening bbq |

Saturday evening after the Livermore Rodeo, we had an impromptu BBQ with our good friends, Jen and Matt and their adorable twins, Jack and Katelynn.  These cute kiddos are just about to turn two and boy are they fun.  It's been a while since I've snapped some pictures of them so this was the perfect opportunity.  They have grown up so much since the last time I saw them.  We enjoyed the beautiful weather outside in the backyard and played with Sydney a bit.  They weren't too sure about her at first, but then got the hang of throwing her the ball....Here are a few of my favorites from the evening.

Jack.....the handsome little boy

 

Kate in her big diva sunglasses....

 

Jen and Jack

 

Matt and Kate

 

 

 

 

I don't know if I've mentioned this...but Sydney is a drive by licker.  She'll kiss anybody within reach.  These two pictures display just that.....I don't think her kisses were quite welcome here :)

   

 

| livermore rodeo.....in pictures |

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

| a trip to the farmer's market |

Livermore Farmer's Market kicked off today.....Love this time of year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

| i've been m-i-a |

I can't believe it is April 19th already.  Where has the month gone.  The last month or so has been quite busy!  I've had lots going on and am just realizing that I haven't posted anything since MARCH!  I have lots of pictures to post....baseball games, both Pro and Little League, a camping trip we just got back from and a mini pet session I did in March.  In no particular order, I'll start with the A's game Brett and I went to on April 13th.

The A's, our most favorite team, played the Red Sox in Oakland.  We decided at the last minute to get tickets to the game.....and it turns out our friends Christina and Andy had seats very close to ours.  The best part about it is that they are Boston fans so the rivalry was on!  It was quite a game....A's down 1-0 in the first inning....not a good start.....but then the bats came alive and they pulled out an 8-2 win.  Sorry Christina and Andy.....The Green and Gold prevailed :)

 

We were sitting on the visitors side....so unfortunately, my up close and personal shots are of the Red Sox ;-).  Jon Lester, starting pitcher, warming up before the game.

 

 

David Ortiz, Big Papi

 

A's starting Pitcher, Dallas Braden

 

Jack Cust hitting home plate after his homerun to take the lead

 

Nomar Garciaparra, former Red Sox, playing for the A's, his first time ever playing against the Sox.  He hit a homerun too!

 

A beautiful night for a baseball game

 

The only picture I managed to get of Brett and I....on BART, going to the game, courtesy of Christina :)

| super bowl aftermath |

I was going to save this picture for the picture of the day but decided it was worthy of it's own post.  Sydney can be mischevious.  We can't leave anything on the counter becuase she is sure to get it and we certainly don't leave anything on the table because as you can see here the table is right at eye level for her.  This is what our food table looked like at the end of our Super Bowl party.  Food everywhere and I can just imagine what is going through her mind....chips, chicken nuggets left over from the kids, chocolate fountain and the list goes on.  I happened to walk into the dining room with camera in hand just in time to capture this shot.  She could have been so lucky.....but after I snapped this shot, she was nicely escorted out of the kitchen so we could begin our clean up.

| photo a day ~ 2009 |

For the last year or so, I have been following the Blog of Jennifer Woodbury.  I was originally turned on to her blog by Tara Whitney's Photography Blog and the Scrapbooking world.  In 2008, Jennifer posted an album titled "Photo A Day 2008".  Her goal was simple....take a picture a day of her life....her family, her friends, the things around her.  What a great idea!  While I don't know Jennifer personally, it's been fun checking in on her blog to see what new photos she posted.  She's a fantastic photographer and I just love the way she's documented her life through the camera lens.

So.....i've been inspired to attempt the same Photo A Day Challange for 2009.  I'm putting this on my blog to keep me honest :), to make sure that I keep up with this fun, photographic way of documenting my life and thoughts for 2009.  The album can be found to the right of this page.  I probably won't update it everyday.....cause let's be real, I just don't have the time to do that and I'd probably get burnt out......but I will at a minimum update it weekly.  I'll be capturing my daily life....people, events, places and things. 

Thanks Jennifer for the great idea!  I hope I can keep up with it.

|happy halloween|

 

|1 year...|

One year ago today, Sydney joined our lives.  She was dropped off by the breeder on a Sunday afternoon.  If I look back on that day now, Brett and I had no idea what we were getting into.  :)  It's been a fun year....a year full of trips to the park, visits to the vet (more than we planned.....and not because she wasn't healthy.....all because EVERYTHING goes in her mouth), nights with little sleep and 365 days of coming home to a beautiful brown pup wagging her tail the minute you open the door.

Here she is on 10.7.07 weighing 13lbs, 8 weeks old....

 

And here she is on 10.7.08 weighing approximately 75lbs, 1 year 2 months old...

 

When Brett and I talked about getting a puppy, we had lots of ideas of what we were going to and not going to allow.  "Sydney was going to be crate trained"

And here she is on her king size crate...

 

"Sydney was not going to be allowed on the furniture"

And here she is on "her" chair in the living room...

 

She is such a fun addition to our lives and a fun loving dog.  She has more energy than we ever imagined.  She goes to the park to play everyday and if we forget, she brings us her leash.  She loves her squeaky ball (a little too much).  She loves to swim and fetch sticks at the lake.  She loves playing with other dogs at the park, especially Lexi, the 120lb Rottweiler.

 

Phrases you'll hear one of us saying at any given time are....

Sydney get off the couch

Sydney get off the counter

Sydney drop it

Sydney leave it

As much as we say the phrases above, we love her to pieces and couldn't imagine our lives without her! :)  Here are a few of our favorite pictures of her over the last year.

 

 

 

Sydney loves sticks....no matter the size.  This was the edging to our grass in the backyard.

 

 

 

|nyc ~ day 3|

Our final day in NYC.  Still 95* with 90% humidity and we braved upper Manhattan.  Central park, Fifth Ave, Rockafeller Center is what the day had in store for us.  We started out in Central park and walked all the way back to our hotel via 5th Ave.  We had to make one pit stop in Tiffany & Co. to "cool off."  I figured if we needed an AC break we might as well stop in one of my favorite stores :).  Anyway.....we had a good day, got lots of exercise and ended the night at Otto's Pizzeria for dinner.  All in all, it was a great trip and we've checked off one stadium on our list of baseball stadiums to visit!

Stairway at Central Park...

The Pond at Central Park...

Flowers at Central Park...

Entrance to Central Park and Plaza Hotel...

The Plaza Hotel...

NYC Cab on 5th Ave (this one is for my friend Melissa who "slightly" likes Louis Vuitton)...

Hot dog cart on 5th Ave...

New York Pretzels...

Empire State Building in the distance...

42nd Street...

Grand Central Station...

To see our whole NYC album, click here

|nyc ~ day 2|

Day 2 consisted of BASEBALL!  This was the whole reason why we went to NYC.....so we could see the A's play at Yankee Stadium during the final season of the stadium.  Although the A's were swept :( we still had a great time. The stadium was sold out!  We arrived at 10:45am and the line to get through doors was 50 people deep and 50 people wide at each entrance.  The doors opened at 11 and the game started at 1:05.  We managed to wander around the stadium to check out each of the levels then ultimately found our seats to watch the game.  We were a little apprehensive being at the home field of true Yankee's fans, while we wore our green and gold but everyone that we encountered was really nice!  We even managed to have our picture taken in front of the field by an NYPD officer.  While the game didn't end the way we wanted it to, it was pretty cool to see a game at such a historic stadium and maybe some day we'll take in a game at the new Yankee Stadium that opens next season.  Now on to the pictures....

Subway station, destination Yankee Stadium....

Stadium view from the subway platform...

The street outside of the stadium...

All-star Banners...

The Stadium...

Jason Giambi up to bat...

Monument Park in left center field...

Field view...

Brett and I in our Green and Gold...

Kurt Suzuki up to bat...

Every team has one.....their biggest fan.  The Yanks have Freddy and he goes to every home game with a sign...

Day 3 to be posted soon...