My AWESOME clients!

It was hot hot hot this weekend! And I was BUSY....and I have to tell you...all of my clients kept their appointments and never once complained about how hot it was. They were such troopers.
First up from Friday evening is Christy and her crew. Christy was so awesome...we met at Forest Park and not only was it HOT but the original place we planned on meeting (World's Fair Pavilion) was hosting a wedding. She arrived with a huge smile on her face ready to go wherever I decided to lead them.

Here are Christy's two adorable kids...Xavier and Jaristy. I LOVE so many pics from this session...but I think this one is my favorite. I love the sweet relationship between these two, I could tell right away what a great big sister Jaristy is...and how much her little brother loves her.


Gorgeous!! This was another awesome relationship to watch.

The whole crew...Xavier and his two older brothers Kenny and Reggie...and of course Miss Jaristy.

The boys were a little slow to warm up to me...but after I asked them to show me how fast they could run..and they even did some hand stands for me...we were quickly becoming good friends :)

Ok...my second favorite! Gosh, these two are so adorable!!

Christy had a great suggestion....tickle time. This one cracks me up! Xavier quickly decided it was time to tickle mom instead.

Xavier was such a great story and joke teller. He had me laughing a lot.

I was so happy to find this huge patch of day lilies. The flowers weren't blooming quite like I was hoping...so when I saw these I was very excited.

My favorite of Christy and her kids.

Christy, it was such a pleasure meeting you guys. Thanks for coming out even in the horrible heat and sitting in the grass in your adorable white outfit. I had so much fun and I hope you love your pictures!

Summer Fun

What do you do when it is steamy hot outside and no pool in sight....you play in the hose and with buckets of water. My younger two daughters are the best of friends and love to come up with new things to do. They couldn't wait to get outside today and play in the hose. Hey, it made for some cute pictures...even though I felt like I was going to pass out from heat exhaustion.

Gaaa! I love her curls!!

I didn't even color coordinate this...funny how we have all green chairs and buckets...oh and my house is green :)

A picture full of green things.........

Have a fantastic summer! And stay COOL :)

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Payne.....

I was so excited to be there Wednesday for Sean and Kelly's wedding...simple and sweet...and full of love. Kelly and Sean's family were both there and you could tell they were so excited to be gaining a new daughter and son. I think we had the biggest crowd there. It was extremely hot and mid day (not the best time for pictures) but we worked it out...found some great shady spots.

Here is Shawn and Kelly with Kelly's parents and boys. I love all the colors.

I love this one of Kelly and her mom.

This is one of my favorites....and Sean did such a great job at following my directions :)

I had to put this up...it cracks me up. My sister in law snapped it with my camera as I was showing Sean how to stand...you can see him there in the background....I was saying to him.."you gotta get all up in her business".... :)

And let me tell ya, he nailed it. See Sean, your a natural!

And here is my favorite of the day!

You will be seeing a lot more of these two in the next few weeks...this is just the beginning of the "love fest".....we have a reception in the St. Louis area next weekend.....and then another reception in Illinois in July....stay tuned!

Darla & Susie

I got a message from Angela asking if I ever photograph animals. I have had the occasional family bring their dog along but I have never had a session focused around just a pet. At first I was nervous, trying to come up with all the different ways I could photograph a cat...but then I got excited because it was something new and something that would get me to "think outside the box" which in my opinion only helps me to become a better artist. So I was on my way to meet Darla and Susie...two of the cutest darn kitties I have ever seen. And I am in LOVE with the pictures...see...thinking outside the box is a good thing. There are some of these that are my all time favorite pictures I have ever taken. Thank you Angela for contacting me, it was such a pleasure to spend my Sunday afternoon with you and your girls.

Here is Angela with Darla. I was excited when she mentioned she wanted to be in some of the pictures. Angela is so beautiful and photographs so well. I loved this one, because it isn't the typical "posed" photo...which you know me...I love my candids. :)

And this is Susie....or Suz as she is so lovingly called. Beautiful blue eyes. And this is probably my favorite of Suz.

I love this one too.

Here is Darla again....and her awesome green eyes. I always pick a favorite of my sessions and this one is it. I love this picture so much....thinking about framing it for my daughters room...who is my animal lover.

And this one is a close second.

This whole session has encouraged me to branch out and offer photo sessions of people's pets. Pets are a major part of our lives and our families. I have a new Gallery on my website titled "Our Furry Friends" and it has a lot more of Darla and Susie and I hope to expand it with new pets. Go hug your animals :)

Time goes by too quickly.....

It seems like only yesterday Hanna was born...and now here she is a High School Graduate. How fast time goes. I have known Hanna....well all her life. Her Aunt Mary is one of my best friends and has been...well pretty much all my life. The Bremerkamp family is like my second family...I knew I would be there to celebrate Hanna's big day with her. But when her mom Tonya asked me to be the "official" photographer, I was very excited. Couldn't think of a better group of people to take pictures of. Hanna....wow, what can I say about Hanna. Well as you can clearly see she is GORGEOUS!! I think she is the spitting image of Natalie Portman. But what makes her so special is she is as sweet as she is pretty. She is smart as can be and funny...and again, just so kind. Hanna your future is bright girlfriend!! I can't wait to see where life takes you next.


Here is Hanna (far left) with her cousin and brother Torre's girlfriend Kayla. (Hope I got that spelling right). See told ya Hanna was gorgeous! Makes my job a lot easier :)

And of course had to get one with the boyfriend Pete. They were so sweet together. And such a cute couple....ahh, young love.

I took quite a few pictures like this of Hanna. I think it just shows her sweet side perfectly.

Love love love this one with Hanna and mom Tonya. Even though I think Hanna felt like she was being strangled...ha ha. It made for an adorable picture.

Here is just a small part of the Bremerkamp Clan who were in attendance. There are many many more that weren't at the party...so this group looks big...but it is really even bigger. Ok, I have to give myself a BIG OLE PAT on the back for this one. This is the largest group by far that I have ever photographed and they are all looking at the camera and they all have their eyes open. Can I get a woot woot!!

Here are the Hobgoods....and they were a squirmy group. Even though it was a smaller group, I am glad I took multiple pics of them....they were harder to catch standing still. But looks like I got one...whoosh.

The family. Tonya and Lance have beautiful property and it made for some great pictures...the lighting was awesome that night too.

This one is my favorite...absolute favorite of the whole day. They are such a fun loving group...and this picture speaks that in volumes. Love it! And thanks Torre...I think it was Torre that suggested they all hold Hanna...since you know, it was "her" day. :)

And had to get one of my "second" family. I had a great time...it was perfect weather, great food, great drinks...and awesome people. Couldn't ask for more. Thanks again Tonya and Lance...I hope you love the pics...and Lance, yes, you will one day thank me for these :)

50th Anniversary

When my friend Mary called me to photograph her parents 50th Wedding Anniversary, I was so excited. It is such an honor to be a part of a 50th Wedding Anniversary party...if I am there as a guest or the photographer. The amount of love and commitment that goes into a marriage of 50 years is truly inspirational. Mary's family was just awesome...she has 3 sisters and 2 brothers and they were all as nice as can be. And the "man and lady" of the hour...Clem and Mary were just adorable. I had such a great time...and I am so happy with how the pictures turned out.
Here is the Church where the party was located...Sacred Heart Church in Eureka....what a beautiful campus. (Ok I don't know why this is underlined...ugh, and I can't figure out how to change it...sorry for the distraction).

This picture of Clem coming in with his friends and family behind him is my favorite picture of the whole party. I love the light streaming in behind them...and the happy faces...everyone ready for a good time.

Clem and Mary's family had the hall decorated so beautifully. They made these little masks with a picture of Clem and Mary as kids.....so cute!

There are 17 grand kids....yep, I said 17. Ok...my mom and dad have 4. I don't want to hear them ever complain about buying Christmas presents again. :)

Here are just the boys....

Here are all 17....I love this one because of the 2 youngest grandsons in the middle...they are in their own little world....love it!

Cutting the cake...this cake was beautiful!

Here they are....told you they are adorable. It was such a pleasure to just be there and witness their celebration.

The whole clan. Good looking group....right.

The party was very upbeat....with lots and lots of laughs....like you see below.

And let the dancing begin.....these two just stole the show. How adorable are they.

More dancers.....

Everyone had a great time. Thank you Mary and family for asking me to capture all the awesome moments of the night. Clem and Mary congrats on 50th years!