This is the second time I’ve photographed these kids – all of the grandchildren of the parents of my good friend Lisa. I can identify with that; there’s just something about seeing those little faces every day in a photo that makes life brighter. And it is very bright indeed for the Williams family…just look at these faces! I could just squeeze those cheeks & kiss every one!

The only girl, Emily…!

And with the grandparents…

Amanda’s mom has been telling me for two years that she was going to come to me for Amanda’s senior pictures no matter where I was at the time! Fortunately for me, we are still here and I got to photograph this beautiful girl on a perfect day. Love her look, love the blue dress in the field, and I really LOVE those red heels on the tracks!

It is just so hard to take pictures of the kids when I am babysitting…it seems as if they know that that’s what I really really want, and they are determined NOT to give it to me! I had been telling Genevieve all weekend that I was going to take some pictures of her and she seemed cooperative; until it was time. Then she wanted nothing to do with the camera. Even Gavin, who is normally easy, cried when I tried to sit him next to her. I had to get Jim to help. We tried bribes:

…but as soon as the ice cream started melting and fell off the stick, there was a temper tantrum the likes of which you’ve never seen.

So while Genevieve was removed to the house where she could bang her head on the couch instead of the sidewalk, I tried to get a few of Gavin:

…but he was entirely too busy moving dirt with his truck to be anything but annoyed with me trying to get a smile from him.

Then we went to the park, where we thought we could get some smiles:

I have no idea what Jim was doing behind me to get them to look at the camera, and I probably don’t want to know. All right, so there’s no depth of field and they aren’t close enough together and the background is too busy, but hey, they’re at least in the same frame. It works for me, for now!

I have been so lucky to be photographing the seniors that I have this year. Most of these kids just amaze me with their confidence and how comfortable they are in front of the camera. Angela was simply BORN to be photographed; I had so many images of her that I spent a crazy amount of time trying to whittle it down to a manageable level, and I can’t help but feel sorry for her poor mother who had to try to decide which she liked best!
Here’s one with Roxy, who tried her best to steal the show by cocking her little head to the side & looking cute every time I snapped the shutter-

OK, they did NOT look like this when I was in high school. Sigh. I love my job.

Poor Melissa! All she wanted for Mother’s Day was a session for her girls and a family shot. We scheduled, and she carefully planned, and on the day of the session her kids BOTH took long naps and were in great moods, and everything was great…until an hour before our session and the thunderstorms rolled in. We rescheduled for a week later, and yep…same thing. Not one other session in that 2 week period rained out, but both of hers were! Finally got a decent day to get this done, and her usually happy-go-lucky, sunny perky smiley toddler decides that she’s gonna be….well, a toddler. By this time, Melissa was wondering why she ever thought the whole picture thing was a good idea.

I think it was a GREAT idea! Just look at these cuties:

When I was packing up stuff from my closets the other day…here is my favorite jewelry box:

I’ve known Gina since she was a twinkle in her daddy’s eye, and here it is, her senior year of high school already. Gina is a big Jeff Gordon fan and thoroughly enjoys her "rivalry" with my husband, who is a big Tony Stewart fan. They spend time every Sunday during race season texting each other with comments, insights  and mostly insults about each other’s driver. They also spend huge amounts of time looking out for cheap nascar trinkets that they can "gift" each other with. Jim bought her a pair of #20 earrings at Bristol last year, and he almost never buys even ME jewelry!!!

Here are a bunch. I love, love, LOVE the fur hood…her dad’s idea! And check out the jewelry that Aunt Colleen lent a hand with!

Lovely, lovely Lydia….enchanting name, beautiful smile, and gorgeous eyes! I’m having so much fun with these senior girls bringing their old formal dresses with them for some cool shots in the field next to my home.

My neighbor Liz is on a mission, cleaning out closets & getting rid of stuff, and has the Vets coming today to pick it all up. So I decided to take advantage of that & get started on my cleaning, sorting, and even a little packing. Jim & I spent 4 hours yesterday going through our closet. I finally got him to get rid of his tee shirts from 1979!!! And a ton of clothes that are soooo out of style that it’s ridiculous. But the sickening thing is that THEY ALL STILL FIT HIM – unlike me, who got rid of a bunch of things that I know I will never get into in my lifetime. I did get all of his winter clothes packed up and ready for the move. The sad part is that this is just the beginning, and I know I will probably have twice this much next time…but, baby steps.