Don’t think I am saying these kids are bad, cuz I am not.  I just thought it was so funny that the kids pointed out that their initials spelled B-A-D.  It cracked me up!  And honestly it is just getting hard to come up with clever titles for these blogs sometimes!  Now here they are…the red, white and blue jean family downtown…

See, they are good kids and oh-so-cute!  Nice job family. 

Trying to keep everybody updated on what is going on at the office these days.  This is our last week in the office until September.  If you have been waiting to order something, don’t wait past noon on Thursday or you will be waiting until September to get those pictures.  I got a bunch of orders in on Thursday late and won’t be able to invoice/contact you about those until Monday.  We have Eric and Lee Ann’s wedding tonight at First Christian Church and the Kemp Center for the Arts.  Praying for some puffy white clouds, blue skies and a little breeze to make those outdoor pictures a little bit more enjoyable.  Yes, we are still taking wedding pictures outside.  Not all of them, but as many as we can.  I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t do them outside, since everything you see I do, almost everything, is outside and that is why you hired me, because you love them….(and that last complete run-on sentence is why I am a photographer and not a teacher or writer!)….I have a family and a belly shoot that I hope to at least get you a sneak peak of before I head out today.  What else…well just in review…

I am taking a vacation for the entire month of August!  I do have some appts. and some weddings, but I am not placing orders and I am not booking any more appts. until after school starts.  I will be in town some of the month and I will try to answer emails, but the phone is taking a well deserved break too.  I also plan on doing some serious cleaning…to include picture files.  So, if you want your images before they are permanently deleted, it is time to say something about it.  We have actually already started deleting some files and there are lots more that have to go to make room for new shoots.  Prices?  That depends on if you ever placed an order and how long it has been since they were taken. 

Okay, enough about all that.  Time to show you some more pictures.  Oh, this week’s schedule looks like this.  Someone will be in the office on Monday and Wednesday morning.  If that changes I will let you know.

So, you think doing a first sight at your wedding is going to change how you feel when you walk down the aisle?  Well, believe me it doesn’t and I have the pictures to prove it.

Below you can see how excited Haley was last weekend walking down the aisle to meet her groom and get married!  I think her brother was even crying!

and here is how Kyle was looking at her as she walked all the way down.

Oh, and their first sight pictures are precious too.  I will get to those in a minute.  Seriously people there are no cons to this.  It makes your day run smoother, it makes you feel better, it gets all the pictures out of the way, so once you are married you can get on with the fun and not have to stand around waiting to take pictures.  I have been doing this for 10 years.  I have photographed a whole lot of weddings, and I have seen what happens after your ceremony and believe me, the last thing you, the bride and groom, want to be doing after you get married is pose for pictures.  TRUST me.  

Now here is the part where I need those of you who have done this to leave some advice for future couples.  Help me make them see and understand why this is the only way to go, so they can completely enjoy their wedding day.

And here are some first sight and portraits from last weekend.

Now every wedding is different, but just for example, Haley and Kyle have around 160 photos in their “couple pictures” folder to choose from for their album. 

Some pointers here.  Bustle your dress for the first sight, so you don’t have to worry about carrying it.  Leaves your hands free for a big hug and holding hands, etc.  We can unbustle for more formal portraits after we get the good candid stuff. 

See…excited all day long.  Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Kyle Clifton.

Love your mailbox idea today Mommy!  Hope Daddy likes them.  And thank you Daddy for your sacrifices.  God Bless You!

because they are so sweet…waving at complete strangers

because they can be so serious sometimes… 

because sometimes they ignore me completely…

because sometimes they don’t like to get dirty…and sometimes they do…

because their hands are so little and so soft… 

because when they point and laugh it isn’t because they are mean…

because one little squeeze from them can make the worst day your best day…

Yah, she took her bow off and chunked it!

because she already knows these boots are cool and she needs some…

because peek-a-boo never gets old…

I told you, it never gets old! 

because you can put their candy in their mom’s boot and make a great picture out of it…

jumping never gets old either…

again their hugs are straight from Heaven and can make you feel like you are floating on a cloud…

because they love water as much as me…

and they like to swing…

and they are so curious…

and they are so CUTE!  Kraylee tried to play hard to get, but she was not successful.  Sorry Mom.  There are way too many to choose from. 

The tires are back and the kids are still stinkin’ cutie pies in them! 

To view the Children Come First photos, go to www.pictage.com and search for Children Come First.  You can register to be notified when they are released.  I will be loading them tonight and taking the rest of the kids’ pictures next Tuesday morning. 

The tires will also be visiting Storkland in the fall.  Thanks to my buddy Anne!

So, me and Molly finally got together after about…hmmmm….like 4 reschedules I think!  The first time I think it was me for some reason and then it rained, and then it rained again, and then I think it rained again.  The next time my yard needs water I think I will try to make an appt. with her.  She’s 3.  She adorable.  Her expressions are hilarious!  But you better watch out cuz she has twin older brothers so I am pretty sure she can get pretty feisty when she has to.  And you know after spending a lot of time with rowdy boys of my own, sometimes it is just nice to spend a little time at the park with a little girl for a while.  I know; it’s late and I ramble…

wow, she was getting pretty bored with me at this point… 

too funny little Molly…pretty soon after this I figured out we better move on to something else… 

One day I will write a book.  Two of my favorite things that will go in the book are these quotes…”I would buy a picture of my child picking her nose!”  and just from something I saw today “she so rarely cries and these (pictures) are so cute…am I sick?” 

So, Mama don’t worry when your child isn’t doing what YOU THINK he or she should be doing in front of the camera.  They are kids and they are going to do what they want.  Not what we want them to do!  That hardly ever happens.  But I promise if I can’t get a good picture of them, I am not going to charge you for it!

Now look what I got today out of a little bit fussy baby.  She just wanted to take a nap and wasn’t really into the whole picture thing.  Sometimes I feel the very same way.  Thank you for bringing her in.  She is beautiful and I feel blessed to be able to photograph her.

Just in case you wanted to know.  I come from a huge family.  A small town really.  My dad had 5 brothers and my mom had 9 brothers and sisters!  And they all got married and made lots of babies!  I couldn’t count my first cousins even if I tried.  Just some useless information for you about me.  Loved spending time with this family on Saturday morning.