Summer was filled with simple days and grand adventures. We spent many days at local parks, pools, splash pads, museums and hit up all the local events. But we also spent many days vacationing — taking trips to  Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Bear Lake. Luke and I had work trips taking us all over the […]

Spring. When the grass starts to green up and the snow finally melts. JOY. So much happiness. The kids were sooo patient with me this spring as I needed extra naps and lots of rest. We still went on our kids adventures and took a big trip to Washington where we spent most of the […]

February was a long, hard month at the Maughan home, but the joy project continued anyways. Luke was gone for 8 full days and nights in NYC. Brody, Piper and I got the stomach flu (WORST FEAR) while he was gone. We started going stir crazy with winter blues and cabin fever bad. Then, all […]

My friend, Heather, recently suggest to take my camera with me everyday. She has completed a daily project for several years now with her kids. This year she challenged her self to a joy project instead of the normal 365. When she sees something that makes her feel joy, she snaps a shot. I decided to give […]

Passion Project | Easton Frederiksen Toddler with Heart Condition I couldn’t bring myself to write this blog post because I didn’t think I could do Easton and his sweet family justice. I asked Rachelle if she could explain why these pictures were so important. But I can tell you what I saw in Easton at the […]

5 Things I Learned from The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin “The days are long but the years are short” 1. Declutter I’ve always been a fairly organized person, but I still had the junk in the closets and drawers that I hold on to forever. I literally had participation trophies from the three years […]

27 years ago the world became a brighter, better place when my Uncle B was born into this world. It wasn’t until I was about eight years old when I realized he wasn’t like me, he wasn’t like my sisters or brothers. He wasn’t like my parents, grandparents, cousins or uncles. He was better. Bryden […]

When I signed up for art classes in college, working on my Photography degree at Utah State, I would often fill up my schedule as much as I could. I looked at my other friends taking 3-5 major classes each semester so I always worked to mimic that with my art classes. Unfortunately, what I didn’t […]

It’s hard to work under the pressure of someone else’s expectation. My favorite photo from a session is never the same as my client’s. In fact, it seems like they always choose to blow up the one I almost deleted. Every photographer has been in the situation where the client hates your favorite, and you hate […]

Running low on cheap ideas for summer entertainment? Here are 12 CHEAP summer activities for kids and families of all ages! Backyard Camping Pop up the tent, or grab your blankets and stretch them out on the trampoline. Our backyard camping this summer was a dream… The kids LOVED setting up camp, organizing the tent, […]

First of all, what is grain? “In digital photographs, “noise” is the commonly-used term to describe visual distortion. It looks similar to grain found in film photographs, but can also look like splotches of discoloration when it’s really bad, and can ruin a photograph.” (Adorama) Grain is not always bad when added properly and artistically, but […]

Sometimes being is more important than doing. Successful people can do do do but can they just be?  I recently read a book about being a better mom and these thoughts stuck out to me. Success is not defined by how much we can cram into our schedule, or being the best at whatever it […]