Friday Photo Journal, August 23, 2019

Happy weekend friends! Here I am for Friday Photo Journal, on Saturday, ha ha. Oh me, I just can't seem to get it together. But, if you are still coming around I suppose you are used to it by now. This week was packed full with birthday celebrations, sessions, kids' activities, and our back to co-op meet and greet. We don't start back to school for another couple of weeks, but yikes it is creeping up quickly!

Here are my shots from the week, including our August birthday festivities, and a trip to a new-to-us macaroon shop in downtown Norfolk - yum! How was your week?

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Friday Photo Journal, May 3, 2019

Hey friends! Happy weekend to you! I thought this week might slow down a little without having our regular co-op schedule, but that was not the case. I don't know where the days went?? Last weekend was packed full with a wedding, my grandmother's birthday celebration, a family session, the kids' variety show and out of town visitors. Today I'm sharing a few shots from the variety show. I wish I had taken more, but I didn't want to be "that" mom with her big camera all over the place.

What have you been up to? Link up your posts and share!

Have an awesome weekend!

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Friday Photo Journal, January 4, 2019

Happy Friday friends! I hope you had a lovely New Year's celebration. We kept it low key and watched the ball drop on TV with this kids. New Year's Day, we went to my mom and stepdad's for some family fun and yummy BBQ. It was a warm day, in the upper 60's, so we enjoyed some fresh air and played corn hole for a while. What did you do to celebrate? 

Last weekend, we also went to Adventure Park in Virginia Beach. Last year my mom and stepdad bought the kids ticket to the park, which features outdoor climbing and ziplining courses. Unfortunately, it took us a whole year to find a weekend when I wasn't working, the weather wasn't awful, and no one was sick. But, it was worth the wait because it was tons of fun! It was a mild day, though a wee bit chilly later in the afternoon. The kids got a great workout though so the cool air didn't bother them a bit. Hubs and I didn't climb this time, but it would be fun to go back another day and give it a go. I'm not fond of heights, but zipling through the trees might make it worthwhile. 

How was your week? 

All pics are iPhone. Hubs gets a little irritated when I drag my big camera everywhere. But, I've been irritated with the lack of decent family photos over the past year. I spend SO much time and energy making beautiful images for other families and couples, and I could kick myself for not making the same effort for my own family. This year, I am recommitting to at least a Project 52. My kids are growing by leaps and bounds, and I will have great photos to look back on. It's important. So, feel free to give me a tongue-lashing if you find I've slid back into only phone photos this year! I thank you in advance. :)

Link up your posts and have a great weekend!

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Heading Back to School with Gymboree

I am a summer girl, it's true. I love warm weather, sandy beach days, backyard barbecues and long summer nights. I'm never anxious for back to school season, but I will admit there is a nostalgic appeal to the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, dewy fall mornings and empty notebook pages full of possibility.

School supply lists are out, tax free shopping days are coming and like it or not, another school year is on the way. Might as well be prepared, right? I've been trying to plan ahead for the new year and get my ducks in a tidy row so we can hit the ground running. That means planning out schedules, stocking up on supplies, and shopping to outfit my kiddos for the year ahead.

I love shopping at Gymboree for kids' clothes because they make it so easy to coordinate great looks for any activity on our schedule. I also love that their clothes are soft, durable and oh so kid-friendly! They wash and wear well so that I don't ever have to worry about worn out knees, faded colors or ironing boards.

We were fortunate to have Gymboree sponsor this post so that we could preview some of their awesome new outfits for back to school 2017! We had fun browsing the new lines and my kiddos love picking out their favorites to model.

Little Miss has big #kidgoals for 2nd grade this year. She wants to start reading a book series and dig deep into story characters like her big brothers and sister do. She also wants to cheerlead during basketball season and try out some art classes too.  The leggings, colorful tee and sparkly sweater she picked out at Gymboree will take her from the library, to the playground, to art class and beyond in style. They are perfect for the first day of school! Her favorite part of the Back to School collection was the accessories - she chose sparkly star barrettes and sparkly slip on shoes to match.

Mr. Man has some #kidgoals of his own for 5th grade. He plans to rock the basketball court again this year, explore robotics and coding too. He loved the t-shirts in Gymboree's collection and picked out this outfit for his new adventures.

 What are your #kidgoals for this year? Check out Gymboree for fun and fabulous looks for that will make their first day of school a smash hit!

This post was sponsored by Gymboree. 

Life Goes By

Life goes by in the blink of an eye...

 appreciate the moments.

Winter Wonderland

One of our favorite family holiday treats each year is visiting Winter Wonderland. When I was a child, a local family owned a nursery and put on an amazing Christmas display at the holidays. There were barns full of snow, glistening lights, and hundreds of moving figurines. There was also a concession stand, old fashioned candy shop and a holiday ornament store. It was truly magical. We went every year and then went out for cocoa and donuts. It is one of my favorite childhood memories.

When my oldest was born, we took him to see the display on the last year it was open. The family then retired, sold off the items and closed up shop. Fortunately, the city purchased some of them and now they are displayed in a local museum each year. The display is much, much smaller than it used to be (when I was 4 it seemed to stretch on for miles) but I still love that I can take my kids to enjoy a little of the magic I experienced as a child. Today I am sharing a few shots from our recent visit to Winter Wonderland.

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

  May Santa Claus grant you all that you wish for this Christmas. Here's wishing you and all your loved ones a very Happy & Joyous Christmas.

Time

Methinks I see the wanton hours flee,
And as they pass, look back and laugh at me. 

~George Villiers

D750, Sigma 35 1.4 Art  at f/1.4, ISO 8000, 1/200 indoor window light.

Friday Photo Journal, December 12, 2014 - Christmas Card Fail

Hey there friendly people - happy Friday to you! Anyone out there holiday ready? 

I feel SO far behind.  

This week I'm sharing my failed attempts at a Christmas card for our family. After weeks upon weeks of shooting, editing and delivering family portraits for many clients, I realized that I'm really down to the wire on putting together something for our own Christmas card this year. So, I took 20 minutes away from my work and begged the kids to put on some decent, plain (no crazy patterns or big logos) clothes, comb their hair and head to the back yard for a quick portrait. 

Of course my pleas were met with obstinacy and whining.  Just as I expected. 

I don't even like posing them for photos. In fact, I'm not crazy about posed photos in general, so why on earth I would put them through this ridiculous exercise, is really the question.  I suppose it was the time crunch and the (self) imposed pressure to spit out a perfect holiday greeting for friends, family, neighbors, clients...I am a photographer after all. Had I planned ahead or squeezed out more time in my already sardine-canned schedule I would have created something more meaningful, and definitely more natural. 

But, as it was, I got what I deserved. (They are all in dire need of haircuts and no one has any semblance of coordinated clothing. Plus, my laziness in going to the back yard and trying to shoot between the swing set, shed and neighbor's boats....well, busy to the point of dizzy pretty much sums up the result.)

At least they were being themselves.

 I mean the personalities pretty much shine through even despite my worst efforts.

All I can say is - we may go with a graphic card.
And, I love these nuts.

What have you been up to?

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Friday Photo Journal, July 18, 2014

Happy Friday my friends! Here we are in the middle of summer already, and I'm a year older too! My how time flies. I seriously wish I could turn the clock back a few years. No. Scratch that. I just wish I could turn my body back into it's former self. I'd love to be a 41 year old in a 28 year old's body. 

Ha ha. Wouldn't that be grand?! 

But here I sit - with my sore back, gray hair and wrinkles. I'm sure in 5 years I'll look back and think I looked fantastic. Ha! Funny how that is. Do you ever look back at photos from 10 or 15 years ago and wonder why you nit-picked your appearance then? That smooth skin and bouncy hair looks pretty darn good doesn't it?  Ahhh, sorry to babble on. I guess that happens with old age. 

Anyway, I hope you've had a grand week. Here's a peek at ours:

What have you been up to?

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Thank you SO very much for stopping in! I hope you have a terrific weekend full of sunshine and happy memories! :)

Birthday Splash!

Hi there friends! I'm sorry I have neglected this little blog lately. I'm knee deep in wedding season and when I'm not shooting I've been tied to my desk editing. I have enjoyed a few glimpses of summer, however, including at my big girl's birthday party last week. I thought it was about time that I shared a few photos from the festivities. It was a great day for a pool party! She even proclaimed it the "best birthday ever!"

Thanks for stopping by!

Little Things and Funny Faces

Little Miss is quite the personality lately. In fact, she practically rules the roost. 

Here's about 10 seconds of her shenanigans captured on my iPhone yesterday.

She is sweet, silly and sometimes waaaay too sassy!

Linking up with Kim for:

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday Photo Journal - February 21, 2014

TGIF! - It's been a week. A real week, I tell ya. That's all I'll say about that. Anyway, we had a lovely warm up in weather mid-week and my favorite images this week were taken outside with my DSLR, rather than my iPhone. I love how carefree my girl is - chocolate-stained face, shoes on the wrong feet, wild-haired - a beautiful mess. These fill my heart with joy!

What have you been up to?

Thanks for stopping in! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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