Christmas Week!

This week is filled with lots of exciting events.


Tuesday the three of us went to the Georgia Aquarium. It was Owen's first time and he was amazed! The last time Dustin and I went to the aquarium was the day he proposed to me. So it is a special place for me. Dustin did great taking lots of photos and this was my favorite.


Also this week Owen graduated to a toddler bed! He is growing up so fast. He really likes his new bed and has taken to it well. I was worried about him constantly getting out of it but last night was pretty good. Today he is taking his first nap in it and is still fast asleep! Yay!

Tonight Santa comes! I will add to this post later.

Later.....

Santa has come! He was really good to us this year!

Thanks Grammy for the tricycle too!

Owen loved his giant tent...which we somehow stuffed into his room with all of his furniture. When I told Santa that Owen wanted a tent I didn't really mean one soooooooo big!

His favorites were Buzz and Woody!

The aftermath!

I took this with my new Nikon cool pix that Dustin gave me. Thanks babe!

Santa!!!!

Owen and I got to see Santa today! It was great, a little hectic, but great! We went at 11am this morning thinking that the line would be short but I must have been an idiot to think Santa wouldn't have a line a mile long no matter when or where he was! :)

Owen did really well, ok pretty good. No crying atleast. I was half expecting to walk out of there with the classic kid screaming on Santa's lap photo. But as you can see we survived!

It was his first experience with Santa Claus in person and I am glad it went well. He even gave Owen a candy cane.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Growing up...or atleast pretending....

This morning Owen sat at the table all by himself and ate his breakfast. I have been pushing his highchair up to the table recently but today he sat in a big person chair all by himself. You can tell he loved it!


Also his latest obsession is wearing Daddy's shoes and walking all over the house. Pretending to be Daddy I suppose, but it is so cute!

Christmas Time is Here!

It is Christmas time and I love it! I am super excited about it this year. Owen is nearly 2 years old now and I am looking forward to seeing his reactions to all that is "Christmas". I can't wait for Santa to come and watch Owen come into the living room for all that awaits him!

We started our family traditions after we returned from Thanksgiving in Statesboro with my sisters this past week. We always decorate our tree on the Saturday after the turkey holiday. We bake cookies all day and listen to nothing but Christmas music. Owen was very involved this year, it was wonderful.

Dustin making his famous ham for Sunday dinner with the Park family.

The sugar cookies were Owen's favorites!

CB and Nick were here to help.


CB even brought Joy a present....hehe! It was a picture of Obama....funny but not Joy's favorite I am sure.

Our tree is a collection of memories. This one from 1982 that I made as a child.

These candles are atleast 20 years old. They were in my parents home when I was growing up and this year we placed them on Owen's book shelf.

My favorite from my childhood. (The last unicorn)

The finished product of our living room. You can see that I am way ahead on my Christmas shopping! I am not usually one to put things off and I am nearly done with all of my shopping! Yay!

I hope all of my blog readers have a wonderful holiday!

New Kids and New Experiences!

On Wednesday night me and several of my girlfriends went to see the New Kids On The Block! We had so much fun. We screamed so much that I don't know how I spoke for the next two days! Many of us that went have been friends since middle school and remember the days of teen beat covered walls, puff paint, jelly shoes, and new kids tunes! It was unreal to be there, this had been the soundtrack to our preteen lives, memories almost forgotten. I was so happy to be there with my girls and can't believe it actually happened.


We were so close it was amazing. When they came down of the center stage you see here I actually touched Donnie and Joey! OMG!


Our new experience for the week was trick or treating! Owen wasn't even a year old last year so we spent the night passing out candy in 2007. This year, however, we went downtown to the fall festival and received candy from the local shops in our community. Owen ate 4 suckers while we were there and would not reliquish the pumpkin filled with candy for anything! It was cute.


My Little Superman!


We also had our family portraits made this morning by Heather! Thanks girl!

So needless to say it has been a crazy busy week with all of that and just our normal lives. Will we slow down? Not yet! We are off to my friend Jessica's tonight for another Halloween bash with the kiddies! Wish us luck!

Wedding Weekend!

This past weekend me and my girls went down to Jekyll for a wedding for a woman that is very special to me. My little Lori who's not so little anymore. We had a great time and enjoyed the sights, seafood and the freezing water!! I acutally worked too! I photographed the wedding :)


This picture is how I think of Lori (2004). Me, on the other hand was dressed up for an 80s party so please excuse the makeup and hair! :)

I taught public school as an art teacher for 6 years and one of the greatest connections I made during those years was with Lori, my student. Never did I think seeing her sitting in my classroom paisting and painting that we would become such great friends, peers, and confidants. I love her so much! I do believe that meeting Lori was worth all those days of stress, tears, and begging for art supplies.



This was Lori last Saturday!


I am so happy for the both of you, as I told you "twice" this past weekend! haha! I love the both of you and I am looking forward to the future and being in our 70s while still having our monthly cookouts!


Four girls, one hotel room, one bathroom, causes for extreme closeness! haha! Love you girls!


The view from our room (sunrise).

Freaky Friday!

Friday night me and three of my friends gave Lori a bachelorette/lingerie party! We had so much fun!


We had the best cake ever made by April , Lori's Sister. It was AWESOME!


Here is Lori modeling the cake for us!


The four best hostesses ever and the guest of honor! Kristin, Joy, Lori (the bride), Catherine (me), and April.


Lots of great presents. Some I wouldn't want to post for all the world to see.


Lots of pretty drinks to quench our thirsts!


We had another guest of honor! ;)
I have censored to photo to protect his identity!


Apparently Kristin can't drink Jessica under the table....only herself! :)


The last ones of us that made it to the end, a.k.a. the wee hours of the night, somehow ended up on the floor. Always a sign that it was a great party!

The Perry Fair!

Owen and Daddy


We took little Owen to the Perry Fair on Sunday! It was a blast! I was truly suprised at how much he loved riding all the fast stuff! I thought we were going to just ride simple, easy kid rides...oh no! He loved the crazy kid rides! I am so glad that he is getting to the age that he is so interactive and loving the world.


Owen and his Papa on our way into the fair.


Me and Owen riding atleast one easy ride!


Getting ready to go for a drive!


Yes. That is me and Owen on a roller coaster!


Who knew 1 1/2 year olds liked this kind of stuff?

Heather's little girl....

I took some photos of Heather's little Mallory today. Here is my favorite! You can see a few more on my photography blog.

So cute!

Random Photo Of The Day!

Biggest Mushroom Ever!!


Weird! We found this in our yard today!

Encouragement...

Check out my photography blog. I spent last night photographing an adoption finalization party for a sibling group of 3 children. It was truly encouraging for me to see them all there with all their friends and family. It gave me a boost. :)

Shooting like mad and a new website!

This is what I have looked like for a while now. I know that I am working like crazy but I must say that I love it. I am a work fanatic, I always have been. The weddings are going well, I still have a ways to go before a decent break. I just have 3 weeks left with my art history students so we are on the downhill slope of the quarter.

The best thing I have done lately is finish my NEW WEBSITE!! I am super excited about it! I just got it going live late last night and you may not be able to see it yet. It takes 72 hours to propogate. But you might! You may also need to clear out your cache on your internet or simply refresh the page if you have been there before.

You should go to a black screen.
I really love it!


Here is one of my favorite photos from last weekend. We got some really lovely ones yesterday as well. I will post a blog on my photoblog in a day or two.

:)

A day in the life of a wedding photographer

As I was going through the images from my weddings this weekend, yes I shot two weddings, I began to really think about what an unusual job I have. I really do love the act of shooting a wedding. It is a day that is always filled with joy and celebration. I never have a bad day, some may be more stressful than others but really I have a good time at all of them.


Here is a glimpse into my thoughts as a wedding photographer:


I imagine that I go to more weddings in a year than most people do in their entire lives (somewhere around 30 for 2008).


I am very organized and it is all business until the reception where I can let things unfold in front of me.



During the Mother and Son dance I always wonder what it will be like on the day I have to dance with Owen. The last act of him being mine alone.




I often feel invisible. I am in the thick of the conversations, laughter and celebration but do not take part in any of it. I am often not acknowledged and am given freedom to move in and out of the crowd. It is an unusual feeling, almost like watching a movie, seeing intimate moments of strangers without consequence.



I place increasing pressure on myself to be a better photographer.



Numbers of exposure times, ISOs, focal lengths and light outputs run through my mind constantly while shooting which makes it increasingly difficult to just let my self be creative.




I have a weird thing about photographing people taking photographs or looking at them. There is something about their desire to stop the moment forever that I want to capture.



I often dance as I am weaving in and out of the dance floor for those upclose party shots!


I will on many occasions sing along with the music.


I usually long for a martini but resist.


My neck aches after carrying 10lbs of equipment around my neck and on my hips for 9 hours.


I truly enjoy going through the completed photos, editing, and have a feeling of accomplishment when I see that one photo that captures the atmosphere of the whole wedding in a single shot!


I am lucky to have a job like this one. I am thankful for it.