H A P P Y H A L L O W E E N !!!

Every year my youngest enjoys carving a couple of pumpkins for our front porch. Let me tell you she does a fabulous job! Just look at these! AND she does them all by herself - start to finish. Impressive! My favorite is the witchy one - such intricate carving - too bad it's all shriveled up already :( They sure don't last long after you carve them.

The artist with her creations. Awesome job K.K.! Love ya, Mom

I LUV TEENAGERS!

They stay where you put them. They smile and look like they mean it (cept my own - lol). They're willing to try anything. They brave the wind and cold without whining. They're just fun to be around. These 4 were no exception.

Adore this image! I've known Miss E since she was in 2nd grade. Now look at her, practically all grown up. And as sweet as they come. It's no wonder she has such a sweet young man to dote on her.





Love this picture too! ...even though the sun was shining so brightly and we couldn't get over to the other side to block the sun's rays due to ravines, and boulders and raging water (well maybe that's just a teensy bit of an exaggeration), but really we couldn't get over to block the light. But I LOVE it anyway ... the football player and the cheerleader. It's just so classic and sweet. Therefore, despite the glare, it's a keeper. :)

4 Teenagers = Fun! Fun! Fun!

Yesterday afternoon my girlfriend and I headed out with 4 teenagers - her two kids and each of their sweeties. The main goal was to capture an image of her two for their annual Christmas card photo. But the kids also wanted pics of themselves with their sweeties. Let me just say, there's not a bad photo in the bunch!!! These guys were AWESOME!!! Despite the fact that it was a tad chilly and the wind was howling, we had a great time!

Here's one of all four of them together. The cool thing about this photo is that each of these kids represents their school on different teams. We have a football player, a cheerleader, a volleyball player and a band member. So they each brought their respective shirts and props and .... well just look at this image! Cool, huh??!!! I love it! (I admit, this was my girlfriend's idea. She has some good ones from time to time. hah!)

I have many, many more awesome images from this bunch, but will not be able to show you too many until after Christmas! Don't want to let the cat out of the bag, ya know! But I will have a few more peeks soon, so be sure and check back!

One Wild & Crazy Group

I've only got one to share right now, but I promise I'll have more later. Met this group at beautiful Murray's Mill yesterday afternoon. What a bunch of nuts! They had me laughing the entire time! I could do an entire blooper reel from the photos I took yesterday!!! Here's one of their milder moments...



Thanks guys! Can't wait to show you the rest! There's so many good ones, I don't think I can pick a favorite!

Classic 1946 Studebaker

Do ya'll remember this beauty from last year? Well, I went back out this week to take her portrait again. I'm working on a large photo project for a new doctor's office opening in Lincolnton next month. I'll have more on that later. Anyway, this beautiful old truck may be gracing one of their walls. I love it!!! Too bad today's cars don't posess this kinda style!

Beautiful Murray's Mill

This morning a friend and I went to Murray's Mill in Catawba, NC. It's my first time going and I just fell in love with the place. So beautiful! The mill was built in 1913 by John Murray and is now a National Register Historic Site.




It couldn't have been a more perfect day for picture taking. Look at the beautiful fall colors and the fluffy clouds in the sky ... it was just perfect.
















An interesting note I read about the mill ... it is said that William's original dam stands beneath the surface of the present pond. How cool! I wish I could have seen it!

This would be a positively gorgeous place to take portraits. There are so many scenic spots to shoot and little places to sit all over the place. So when you're booking your appointments be sure and keep this place in mind for a photo shoot!

The "H" Girls

~ sweet ~

Ok.... One More Post

As I continue to edit the photos from last weekend, I keep coming across ones that I love and want to share. So here's just a few more from the "H" family!

This one makes me laugh. I think she was flirting with me!

I love all the jersey shots. I felt so bad for Mommy H though. In her rush to get everyone else ready for the photo session she left the house without her own jersey. Luckily she had on a plain white tee under her sweater. She fit in just perfectly!





These are just precious...

Mommy, Daddy & Me

Little Miss "S" brought along her Mommy & Daddy on Sunday. They are all so photogenic! Makes my work easy!

Miss "S" just wanted to get down and go-go-go! I was happy to get any kind of eye contact with her. And a smile - they were fleeting! I think we managed to get one or two. But who needs a smile with beautiful eyes like hers!

Daddy & Me

Had to play with the "jeans" image just a bit - cause it's just too stinkin' cute!
Here's the Daddy that goes along with the legs! I think Little Miss "S" is quite the Daddy's girl.

A Tide-Me-Over

To the "H" family .... just a quickie for you today. I absolutely LOVE this photo! How cute are the little itty-bitty shoes next to Daddy's great big shoes and the tiny little Levis ... too cute!

How cute this would be as a large size print or canvas for a den or casual space!
(How many times can I say "cute"??)





I haven't had much time for editing the last couple of days. My college girl's been home on a little break and we've been running like crazy. But it's back to just me and my computer tomorrow. So I hope to crank out some more sneak peeks for you!!

A Little Girl and Her Frog ...

I met a wonderful couple and their adorable little girl yesterday afternoon. I've only got one photo to share right now, but promise I'll have more soon!

Are they not adorable?!?!

It's now tomorrow - Tuesday... Are you confused??? I had to sneak this one in under "The Girl and Her Frog" post. You can tell that she just loves this little green guy.





Ok....I know I said just one....but I had to sneak this one in before I hit the hay. It just makes me laugh! I think she's ready for some football, don't you? :) I absolutely love her tights and boots. Too dang cute!

My Guys

I don't often get to photograph my hubby. Like me, he's a little camera shy. But I got this shot last weekend and I love it! These are my two favorite guys. And if my eyes aren't deceiving me, my son appears to be taller than his dad!!! :)

Signs of Fall

Fall is definitely my favorite time of the year. It's so refreshing when the cool crisp air takes the place of the hot and sticky air. And the colors are just gorgeous. Here are some images I took last weekend as we hiked around the lake in beautiful Asheville, NC.














I was fascinated by these amazing remote control sail boats! See the men to the left? There was a whole gaggle of them and they were racing their boats. It was so cool!
















We almost missed these two cuties. They were taking a little nap in the warm sun - bills tucked and one foot up. My hubby tossed a little stick nearby to get their attention. They immediately started swimming to us. Too bad we didn't have some bread for them.

My College Girl

We went up to Asheville this weekend to visit our college girl and to take some family photos for our Christmas card. The weather was just beautiful and, as you can see, the leaves are just starting to change. We picked up our college girl and then hiked through the Botanical Gardens for lots of pretty shots. Then we went on to this pretty lake. After hiking half way around the lake (thought I was going to die!) we came upon a really pretty place for some photos. Course, by this time we were all pooped! But we got one or two keepers I think.

My college girl .... she looks tired to me. You know us moms always worry about our children when they are away from home. This one is a hard worker. She actually goes to college to study and learn. Wow! Now there's a novel concept. She's had a tough couple of weeks - lots of homework, tests and papers to write. But she's a trooper and she works hard. We're so proud of her. {Hugs & Kisses #1}

Of course, I took a ton more pictures than just this one. I'll be posting more soon. Just wanted to share this one for today.

Tough Times

This is our beloved dog Elliott. He is 15 1/2 and has been part of our world since we adopted him from the Atlanta Humane Society when he was 4 mos old. He had been cast out on the side of the interstate with his brother and sister. He was alone, covered with ticks and fleas and just scared to death of his own shadow.



My kids can't remember life without him. My oldest was only 4 1/2 when we got him. My middle only 2 and my youngest is, well, 3 years younger than the dog!




He has lived a long and pampered life. Just another member of our family. He has been healthy as a horse, cept that he's lost the sight in one eye and can't hear much of anything (unless he wants to, of course!) But he's been blessed with good health, not even old-age aches and pains, his whole life.



He loves to play with Gidget, the 3 year old craaaazy Jack Russell terrior mix, we brought home for him a couple of years ago. They are the very best of friends and I credit Gidget for keeping Elliott young at heart in his golden years.



But I fear his time may be drawing near. He had 3 seizures over the past week. One, on Saturday morning, was particularly bad. My husband and I have been trying to decide what to do. It's so difficult. Except for the seizures, he seems to be doing quite well. But we don't want him to suffer..... I've felt very anxious for the past week. I feel like I have to check on him every few minutes or so. But when I do, he's usually just having a nice nap somewhere - comfy and cozy. I guess time will tell.

It will be a sad, sad day here when the time comes. But we can rest assured knowing that we gave a lost, lonely, scared little puppy a wonderful happy life. And we have a lifetime of precious photos of him through all the years of his life to spark those happy memories forever. And we will treasure each and every day we have left with him.

Go take a picture of your beloved pets today. We never really know how long we have here on this Earth and how important it is to capture the everyday moments so that we can relive those happy times over and over for many years to come.