Catch Your World

Stuck inside

Ally was visiting from Chicago, and we hoped to do beach portraits.  But with the incessant rain last week, we got rained out twice!  We finally opted for a studio session because we ran out of time to wait for a dry day. 

Jack & Ellie

I am so glad Jack & Ellie came in for a session!  They were silly and fun - and very close in age to my own kids, so we had lots to talk about.  They are, to date, the only ones who can say 'Irish wristwatch' when I throw that one out there - and they've both taken drama classes and could turn on the serious looks like flippin' a switch :). 

Fun fun fun! 

I love love *love* this one ......

We had so much fun out on the tire swing I had to work up a little collage.

Community Connections: a very special link :)

Everyone probably knows by now how I feel about being in business for myself - while it's one of the hardest things I've ever done, it's also one of the BEST.  I love that I get to make a living being creative, playing with kids, and doing things I love. 

Like most people who run their own small businesses, I'm a big proponent of supporting other small and local businesses. It's what our Community Connections idea is all about.  To find the truly unique, the excellent service, the dedication to quality, and the mom and pop connection with people who care, look to small businesses!

So I'm happy to announce that my mom-in-law has given in to my endless pushing and taken the plunge, opening her own small business.  Her talent: quilting.  Her passion: baby quilts! She's shown me a few things about quilting lately (I am NOT a seamstress!) and I have an understanding now of how the intricacy of the quilting she does leads to a top-quality product.  There's a lot of time and love put into making a quality quilt that your baby will pass down to the next generation!

A website is in the plans for coming months, but for now she is set up with an Etsy shop to begin showing her work.  The link is :   StarryNightQuilts  Please take a moment to check it out, and pass it on! 

What I Did On My Summer Vacation :D

Dontcha love how people *groan* when someone says "Hey, let me show you pictures from our vacation!"

I'm not one of those people.  I looove looking at people's vacation pictures.   I'm a travel freak, so I like to see where people have been!

And of course I love to take my own vacation pictures - it's a huge part of the trip for me.  It lets me capture that place, and my family in that time and place, forever.  So many details of so many trips I would have forgotten if I didn't have pictures of it. 

I probably would have forgotten that when we took the kids to Colorado in  May 2005, we didn't even *think* to bring gloves. Don't even know if we owned any. Then we found ourselves heading out for a trip up to tundra levels in Rocky Mountain National Park where we had the real possibility of playing in snow - something my kids had never done before!  But since it was May, even the stores out there didn't have winter clothes - so we went to a hardware store and bought gardening gloves!  That detail might have been lost if I hadn't had pictures of them making snowballs, wearing bright pink and blue gloves with flowers and ivy on them :).  See, that's fun stuff to remember!  (And, um, we repeated the gardening glove trick when a trip to Yosemite last May also yielded snow opportunities.)

So you can show me your vacation pictures.  I'll enjoy it.  Just to play fair, here's a few of mine.  We went to Utah last month and visited Zion National Park.  Gloves were NOT necessary.  Heat index was over 100.

Cactus flowers along a trail.

Me, headed down a trail.

My husband, watching our kids work their way down a steep cliff.  They're great little hikers :)

One of many cool lizards we spotted.

Gorgeous sandstone cliffs.

I love seeing the different creatures when we travel.  We saw hundreds of frogs like this.

This is called 'The Subway', and was carved out by wind and water.  The whole area was very slick, and there were many pools like the one in this picture - and they were 4-6 feet deep, and about 50*.  We were very careful with our footing.

Product Plug!

     From Mistie:)

     For my birthday (yeah me!) a very special person gave me a gift in a small container.  The name alone should have indicated I would LOVE this stuff... Need A Margarita? Citrus Body Scrub. It is from the True Blue Spa collection by Bath and Body Works, and is sanity in a bottle.  Not only does it work well the scent is to die for.  When you open the lid you are immediately taken away to a margarita sanctuary.  The lime, tequila and salt seem to all be in there as well as the smell of the sand and sun.  Close your eyes and you feel like you are on the beach in Cancun.  I can almost see Juan (my beach resort waiter) bringing me my margarita now with the extra lime wedge and fancy umbrella :) 

    It isn't your typical body scrub.  It also has these wonderful oils in it that soak in while you use the scrub and exfoliate.  So when you get out of the shower the oils are still there as well as the scent of the margarita.  No need to put lotion on at all.  Your skin feels amazing, looks amazing and smells amazing. 

     So I thank my special person for getting me addicted to this glorious concoction.  It has made my shower time (all 5 mins- you guys know how that is) a whole new experience.  So I encourage you to take the time and get your own container of "Juan - the beach resort waiter with a rita" today.  And start your own mini vacation - even if it is only mentally :)

a warm morning

Ahh yes those Florida summers.  It is heating UP!  We started this session at 10am, and I'm glad these kids were so fantastic because by 10:45 it was beyond hot and they were *done*. 

 

 

6 kids on the beach

With a bunch of beautiful kids and an active session on the beach, it's hard to narrow down the images!  I'll just share one favorite of each child here :).

meet Hunter

Isn't she *darling*?  Photographed at 2 weeks old.  Check out that smile!

Hunter is a new StarBaby, so we get to watch her grow :)

Golf Channel interview with Payton's parents and Dick Vitale

Hi everyone -

Please take a few minutes to watch the video at this link:

Golf Channel - Dick Vitale and the Wrights

As you know, I was blessed to have met Payton and photographed her with her family twice, and also attended and photographed her beautiful memorial service.  Links to all of these can be found under the category Payton Wright on this blog, and also on Payton's page, www.paytonwright.org. 

I've also known Mr.Vitale for several years, as I have photographed his gorgeous grandkids numerous times.  Mr. Vitale is a tenacious man! - and he is committed to the cause of fighting cancer and I know he will continue to be instrumental in raising funds and awareness.  

Payton's parents, Holly and Patrick...what can I say?  I can't even imagine their pain, can't begin to guess how hard it is for them to relive it all over and over as they tell Payton's story to spread awareness.  That NEVER gets any easier, but they keep pushing on in hopes that someday other families won't have to suffer as theirs has.  Their strength is amazing and inspiring.  

Thanks for watching, and for supporting pediatric cancer research in any way you can.  Cancer at any age is terrible - cancer in a child is horrifying.  I will never forget Holly telling me how underfunded pediatric cancer research is, compared to other types.  I hope that changes, and thank the Vitales and Wrights for all they do to make it happen.

one

Kaden came to the studio with his family for one year portraits.  This was one of those sessions that was *so* hard to narrow down! 

This was hysterical - this is Kaden's favorite game to play with his dad.  He just sat there, balanced, smiling like crazy, as long as dad would hold him

His beeeyoooootiful big sister.....

....and a family shot I *lovelovelove*!

Had to do a cupcake since Kaden just had his birthday - we could practically see the sugar hit, he started laughing and clapping.