an engaging couple...

...{M} & {E} are getting married...see if you can figure out when :-) Such a great couple! I'm SO excited to shoot their wedding...we are going to have F*U*N*!!!!! Thanks for a fun afternoon guys...I hope you enjoy your preview...

awww....

Incredible!!!! {M} you are SO beautiful!!

love this!

sometimes...

...you have to do things for yourself and for me, today, it was taking pictures of my kid. I spend so much time working on pics for other people that I have to remind myself to do some for myself. So after hours of editing I decided to take a little break and watch the boy play. It is so wonderful to see someone just have fun...smiling, laughing, playing...FUN! It definitely brightened my day to see the smile on his face...

superhero

:: note :: No bones were broken in the making of this photograph :-)

my handsome boy (in desperate need of a haircut)

I don't know what these are...some cool weed that we've let go in our yard...see, sometimes it pays to be a bit lazy

okay, okay...

...so maybe that last one was TOO much of a teaser :-) Here are a few more of each family from this past weekend. Enjoy!!

who says...

...you can never go home again? Apparently I'm able to do it quite often!! So this past weekend was a new adventure for me. I decided to do a bunch of mini sessions...8 families in one day. It was definitely tiring, but really turned out to be a lot of fun! It certainly was a lot of work and I was absolutely exhausted the next day...but I'd LOVE to be able to do it again! It's a great way for me to be able to photograph some of my favorite people and make a trip home. I was freaking out at the beginning of the week because the forecast was rain and 41 degrees...NOT ideal. But thanks to a wonderful friend with a very wealthy uncle, we were able to use a lovely estate and the weather actually held out for us. Don't get me wrong...it was CHILLY!! But it wasn't nearly as bad as what I had anticipated. So thank you to all of my NY families. I truly hope that we can do this again!! So here's your preview {J}, {R}, {B}, {C}, {R}, {L}, {W}, and {M} families ...love love love...

You know I can't leave home without a few extra pics!! Unfortunately I didn't get to spend much (if any) time with most of my family because of the stupid flu! Thankfully they're all on the mend.

it's amazing what you can find when you drive around

my sister's friend is a fantastic tattoo artist (nope...I was too scared, if you were wondering) and his lovely client let me photograph her session. If you're in the Scotia area, go see Anthony at All Star Body Art

my sister has become a fabulous cook...yay for me!!

can't forget Pekah

or Fuzz

the "what if" syndrome...

...it sneaks up on you every now and then. It can drive you crazy and can apply to every aspect of your life. What if my parents hadn't met::What if we hadn't moved::What if I'd gone to a different college::What if that scary but lucky childbirth hadn't turned out so lucky::What if, what if, what if... Where you are now could be entirely different with just one change in the what if category. I had a moment today on my 5.5 hour drive home that gave me pause and made me thankful that the what if for me today didn't happen. What if I had left 15 minutes early. It's entirely possible that I would have been involved in the horrendous accident that I passed on the Garden State Parkway that left one SUV completely crushed in the front and simply a burned out shell. I saw the billowing black smoke and knew something was terribly wrong. It was in the right lane a mile before my exit...I would have been there had I left earlier/not made the rest stop/made some of the lights I hit/etc., etc., etc. I don't know what happened to those in the car...I can only imagine. I feel so lucky to have avoided my what if today and so sad that it happened to someone else. While we can't dwell on the what ifs of our lives, they certainly can make us thankful...as with today when I pulled into my driveway safe and sound and able to hug those that I love.

Here's a photo to lighten it up a bit :)  This goose had quite a bone to pick with the horse statue...he squawked at that thing for several minutes. Wish I knew what he was saying and what the horse did to tick him off!! 

K2...

...no, no...not the mountain. Well, okay, maybe the mountain of work I have piling up on me. Man the Fall is busy -- good stuff!! No, K2 is the 2nd time I've photographed the {K} family. I know...so clever. And now so tired that I'm a bit punchy so watch out!!! So this is a wonderful family near and dear to our hearts. We've known them for several years through sports and just adore them. And while I KNOW the boys were not thrilled with being dragged out to smile pretty, they were fantastic and so agreeable! They also brought along their dogs which in some cases can spell disaster, but even the dogs were on their best behavior. A good session all around!

SO...I'm off again this weekend to NY to take a bunch of family pictures. I'm SO excited and pretty sure that my car can drive me there without assistance at this point!! Please send some good juju for no rain on Saturday...rainy and 45 doesn't sound ideal, although the estate that we're going to will make up for any weather difficulties. So stay tuned...I'm sure there will be a LONG blog to come next week.

Okay {K} family...thanks for hanging out with me! Hope your enjoy your sneak peek...

how's that for good...everyone looking at me and even the dogs are smiling!!

handsome boy #1

handsome boy #2

weekend warrior...

...that's going to be my new job title since that's when almost all of my sessions are held. This weekend was no exception. I was so excited to get to spend time with another favorite family of mine. This is the 3rd year I've taken pictures for them and the 2nd that their extended family has been involved. It's such an amazing thing when your clients become your friends. How lucky am I?? The weekend started with a surprise birthday party for beautiful mom. And let me tell you, hubby got it DONE! Watch out men, this one's raised the bar. The details were perfect and she was SO surprised. I love being a part of these wonderful events. And then Sunday it was time for family pictures. I think we wore the grandparents out with all of the walking and playing (and a few tears...it happens...kids don't always want their picture taken...that's why we allow play time!). Everyone was fantastic and I had a very hard time narrowing down the few to preview! It's hard when everyone is just so stinkin' beautiful/handsome! So here you go {B} & {F} families...thanks for letting me be a part of your special weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

how great is this??? this was made by the family's great neighbors who are starting a cake/dessert making business...once they get their website up and running I'll be sure to post it

the birthday girl

you know I love me some details

family picture time!

ridiculous...seriously!

mom and dad might be a little shocked that we caught this :)