How cute is this pup?! His name is Watson, and oh how I adore this guy.I had a rare (and amazing) shoot this week with Watson's family. What made it rare? It was a family shoot in their home to capture them in their normal, happy state. They wanted photos of Watson mainly (as you would), and some of them (his parents) as well. And this is only unusual in that, essentially, this was a kid shoot. But with a dog.See, most people want me to photograph their dogs, but not them. They love the simple, studio photos (and I do as well!), but this shoot was more about the interaction and the love that these three have for each other. It was so fun and lovely and I had such a blast. We played all of Watson's favorite games and we gave him his favorite treats and it was just fantastic.I have a few more shots below to share with you guys. I hope you love them as much as I do. For your internet shares of the day:+ We'll be able to tour Paisley Park soon! While I am still upset that Prince is no longer with us, I am pretty damn excited for this.+ You better believe I'm gonna pour me a big glass of wine and watch this biopic on Britney. And I'll probably invite this lady over.+ Someone in the GOP is in some hot water over this I bet.

I don't know if it's all the rain or the humidity or the warmth (or all of it), but our neighborhood is just full of mushrooms these days. Every yard has some sort of fungus growing in it, and I'm fascinated by them.I shot these last weekend at the park, but I've noticed so much more. If I had more time this week, I'd head out with my macro lens and get more detail. Maybe I can do that this weekend... we'll see. But for now, I wanted to share these beauties!  For your internet shares of the day:+ Talk about a dreamy place to retire.+ And people are so creative. This "knitting" is phenomenal.

Were you that cool in high school? Let me tell you: I was not. Her hair is so dang rad.Monday night I was hired by The Walker to photograph their Music and Movies in the park, and Bruise Violet was playing. I've been itching to see these ladies live for a long time, and man was it fun. They even covered Beyoncé! While I was pretty tired from the long day, it was a crisp and breezy evening, and a wonderful night to sit outside and enjoy some local talent.For your internet share of the day, here are the last of the Olympics photos. While I wasn't really as into the games this year, I always love the photos, and the first one in this set bent my mind (you'll know when you see it).

Somebody pinch me! I got to spend part of my Monday working with this little cutie, who is 8 weeks old and so dang soft and snuggly. He reminded me so much of our dear, sweet Memphis when she was a pup.But, I should clarify that he was much better behaved than Memphis was at that age. He didn't bite me or hide under any furniture or eat any of my clothing. That said, I bet this kid can't bring in the mail as sweet as Memphis would. Ah, what a love she was.Otherwise, things at home are slowing down as Bubie Carole returned to Kansas last night, but things at work are kinda insane as I catch up from the time off I took. Good thing I got to dive in with such an amazing subject, eh?For your internet shares of the day:+ I want this for dinner soon.+ I found this band at a club on accident when I was studying in London in 2008. They have a new album out, and I've been giving it a whirl.+ Famous moms tell it like it is.+ Also, if you pick up this month's Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine, I have a few photos in there from my shoot with Arnie. You can read about it here. 

Oh hi there! Tonight I had a photo shoot at the absolutely most wonderful mini golf course I have ever been to (completely magical!), and there were goats! So when I was done photographing the family (in the rain... boo!) I snapped a few images of the goats. Because who can resist!? Certainly not I.I'll quickly get to the internet shares because it's Friday night and the kid is asleep and I'd love to go snuggle with my husband.+ These flooded rice fields are stunning.+ This letter to the president is wonderful.+ Five chefs tell you how to doctor up that frozen pizza. 

Since Bubie is in town this week, I took the day off of work and she and I took Ezra to the zoo. Or rather, we spent 1.5 hours in the "Minnesota Wildlife" part of the zoo. The part that would take any normal human 20 minutes to breeze through, but for a toddler who wants to push every button and examine every rock for 10 minutes (at least), it takes longer. There are a lot of deep breaths on these trips for me.Anyway! While I waited for the kid to become less fascinated by buttons, I snapped some photos of the creatures. At the top, I love how the turtle appears to be smiling at us. And the red belly! Love that.They also have a bald eagle on exhibit who broke her wing and cannot fly. While I do feel bad that she's all cooped up at the zoo, it's also rad to get to see such a marvelous creature up close. I mean, look at those feet!For your internet shares of the day:+ Five reasons to stretch your brain.+ Amazon is now delivering restaurant food to Minneapolis residents! Very dangerous.+ I love these arial photos of swimming pools. 

Last night, we had a crazy/wonderful storm in the Twin Cities. It was *pouring* rain... while the sun was out. It. Was. Awesome.Because I am familiar with how the weather/photography Gods work, I knew I didn't have time to grab my gear and go anywhere scenic, so instead I grabbed my camera and dashed out onto the front porch.Luckily, I captured the rain (above), which stopped about one minute after I had my camera in hand. See? I AM ON TO YOU WEATHER/PHOTOGRAPHY GODS.So then I shot some of the dripping and leftovers around the yard. I love weather photos. Next time I see clouds gathering and hear thunder? I'm driving to the woods as fast as I can. With a rain coat. And boots.Enjoy! And finishing up with a self portrait :) But I do have killer shoes, no?After the storm, I was out running an errand, and I had to pull over and take a photo of the sunset. I didn't have my "real" camera, so I shot it with my iPhone and posted it to instagram. You can see it here.For your internet shares today:+ How to lift a curse. Listen to this while you work. I promise you'll laugh.+ If you like Harry Potter and politics... + Have any of you tried one of these? I am tempted. 

If you are not filling your bellies right now with peaches, tomatoes and corn, you are living life wrong. These foods are so dang delicious right now, my mouth is watering just thinking about them. Trust me when I tell you we are getting our fair share around here.For your internet shares of the day:+ I might make my corn like this next time. Yum.+ Cocktail popsicles. Oh yeah.+ These photos from Rio are A+++++.+ I love it when Nike puts flowers on their shoes.