Ethan :: 6 months

Traveling is fun, don't you think?

My only wish is that we all had teleport powers so we could get to our destination a LOT faster! Ha... well until someone invents that, we'll have to stick with driving, flying, biking, swimming, running, walking, and however else we chose to travel.

I do have to say that whenever I have a session, I usually have to travel anywhere from a few miles to quite a few miles... but just recently was probably my closest photo shoot ever, outside of my house that is. I walked 8 houses down to take some photos of our neighbor/good friend's little boy, Ethan. He's probably one of the best and best looking babies out there.... except for the day I came over to take some photos (of course, right?!) His mom thought he was probably teething because he was fussy, hot, and you could tell he just was not feeling like himself. But I did get a few of him being somewhat happy! Poor guy... hopefully, he feels better soon!

Here are just a few of my favorites...

Poor guy not feeling well... I'm sure we can all feel his pain...



He's trying to be happy...



Mom got him laughing by singing "Sskidamarink a dinky dink"... sooo cute!



Not quite sitting up, but sooo close!

John & Jennifer :: Engagements

U of M vs. State...

I guess you could consider me neutral.

There is so much rivalry for these two teams, it's a bit scary! I mean being as I'm from Indiana, I never really understood the difference, until I married a U of M fan. Michigan is so prideful of their sports and sports teams. I think it's great that you don't meet a lot of people up here that would consider themselves a fan of anything other than a team in Michigan, even football or maybe that's just Todd. He will never lose hope in them. Poor soul! Ha!

But John & Jennifer are Michigan fans, but as for the schools they root for... they are rival schools. I'm sure that makes life interesting. But believe it or not, they are engaged and soooo stinkin' happy! I met up with them a few weeks back and I have to say that it was one of the funnest sessions ever. They are so comfortable with each other and they definitely did not shy in front of the camera. John knows exactly what to do to make Jennifer laugh, and he even had me chuckling with all his facial expressions. Hilarious! I am so excited for their wedding... I'm sure it's going to be a blast!

Congratulations you two...

Here are some of my absolute favorites... even though I wanted to post them all!!!

John & Jennifer are the cutest couple... seriously, they have so much fun!





Adorable!



John is the Michigan fan and wanted his shirt to show more than Jennifer's... too funny!





John is so funny...



Sooo sweet...





I love all of them, but the next two are my favorites...





Haha... (John's Idea)

Absent for a Reason...

You know when you are just having a rough week, nothing seems to be going well at all...

Plain and simple, that was me last week.

I actually think it was contagious too because Todd was having a rough week as well, partially related to my stress, but he had some other stress of his own he was dealing with.

But it's a NEW week and we started off the new week great. We thought it was fair that we both just got out of town for a night, just to get away from our house, our work, and our kitchen project that seems to be the main focus right now. But getting away from it was just what we needed. We just hung out over there and enjoyed being away. I have to say I LOVE Grand Rapids due to their vegan friendly restaurants, super fun shops, college town atmosphere, and semi-mountainous hills to drive on. It was beautiful there. We basically just drove around and when we wanted to stop somewhere we did.... including our spontaneous, yet delicious stop picking the BEST blueberries ever! We now have 14 lbs. to last us all winter long. Let's hope they make it that long, I kind of doubt it will but oh well!



I am recharged and ready to go now....

Happy Tuesday!!!

Josh & Carrie :: Wedding

I'm excited to say that I finally feel like we are getting somewhere. I still feel just a tad bit overwhelmed, but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel... just a glimmer at least.

Check out our progress...



Along with that, I'm excited for this post.

If you remember Todd's cousin Carrie getting engaged, well the big day finally arrived and I'm excited to share their day with you all. Their wedding was beautiful! I met Carrie and her girls over at one of her bridesmaid's house, and oh wow... such a beautiful place! It was raining a bit in the morning, but seriously, I think the heater was on the rest of the day because the humidity came on along with all that heat. I think we can all agree that "At least it didn't rain!" right? I sure am, although if you saw me that day, you might think I ran through a sprinkler about 10 times... I was a HOT mess. Haha! B

Their wedding was held over at Bloomfield Hills Baptist Church... what a gorgeous church. Carrie was another one of those brides who is super creative and talented and made so much of their stuff from the flowers, to the bows, to adding lace to her dress to make it look soooo unique and stunning. I couldn't believe it, but it's true! A-Mazing is all I have to say!

After the ceremony we stopped over in the Franklin, the cutest town ever with all their little historical shops, buildings, and cozy atmosphere. I loved it! We ended the night at their home church of Oak Pointe Church. It was the first time they had a reception in it... how cool to be the very first couple to have it there. We had a great time and it was fun to know so many people at their wedding... even though I was probably unrecognizable with the serious humidity look I was styling. Haha!

Congratulations you two... we love you both and couldn't be happier for you!!! Mwaaahhh.... xoxoxox!


Here are some of my favorites along with a slideshow from more of their day...

Dress: Maria's Bridal
Cakes: Fun Cakes
Flowers: Bride


Can you believe Carrie made all their flowers... Umm... can we say talented!!!



Carrie, you are gorgeous!!!



LOVED the girls... super bridesmaids!



Josh was handsome as ever...



Awesome guys as well... what a great bridal party!



So cute watching the guests arrive...





So excited...



And soooo happy...



Ha...



Beautiful...





My 2 FAV's from the day... something about these are just breathtaking...



Dancing as husband and wife... always such a special moment...




Here is a slideshow with more of their day...

Happy Birthday, Maddox!!!!

What a great day it is...

Today (or sometime this month, we don't have an exact date) was the day that the love of our lives, Maddox, was born. He seriously is one of the BEST dogs on the planet. Yeah, he gets really excited when he sees other dogs and new people, but he's amazing! He's calm, sweet, playful, cuddly, loving, obedient, gentle, and just play AWESOME!

I have noticed just within the last couple weeks that he's mellowed down even more. He wants to go to bed early and stay in bed later. Then after his morning walk, he wants to just lay down most of the day with little bursts of energy every so often in hopes to catch a few squirrels (Let's hope that never happens!)

We LOVE him so much and I'm sure if you've ever met him, you would feel the same!!!

Happy Birthday Buddy!!!!


Birthday cupcakes are the BEST!!!



Basically eating it in one bite...

Andrew & Meaghan :: Engaged

You know what's really cool?

Is when you see someone you have not seen in a REALLY long time!

You might not have known them well at all, you might have known them really well, but maybe lost touch, you might have been friends and still talk, but have not seen each other in person for a long time... no matter what the case is, it is ALWAYS nice to see someone you have not seen in a REALLY long time!

That's how it was with Meaghan. I went to high school with her back in the day. What a sweet girl! We were not close at all, but we did know each other. It's funny how people come back into your life, and I'm sooo glad that she did. Her and Andrew are amazing people. They are super sweet, funny, down to earth, so laid back... my kind of people! They were such a breath of fresh air and taking their photos was so simple. They were incredible in front of the camera, so real and genuine. I loved it! They totally trusted me with us stopping at a place that said "NO TRESPASSING" just to get some great shots... and it was worth it! Hehe... Sorry Todd! (He gets so mad at me for that, but whatever I have to do to get the shot is my line!) But not only that, they stuck through the hot humid weather... what a joy it was to get to know both of them so much better. I'm so excited for their wedding down in Indy come November... that'll be REALLY fun!

Congratulations you two... Best to you both the next months... it will fly by!!!!

Here are some of my favorites from our session...

Such a fun couple... I LOVE THEM!!!



And Sweet couple...



Lovin' the barn... Good ol' Indiana...



Their smiles are totally contagious!



Love it!



Such a cute little alley... that wasn't there when I lived there! Ha!





This building was though... Ha...



Sooo cute!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy 4th to Everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend! My family is here in town and we've been enjoying all the nice weather. I think I'm three shades darker from being out in the sun all weekend... but to me, that's not a bad thing!

We've had some pool time, lake time, firework time, we even hit the zoo up the other day, but almost all of the animals were sleeping. I really think they should figure out something where they are awake during the time they are open... maybe sleep at night and awake during the day. Booo... I got a few photos... and I mean FEW of the animals awake and at a very limited angle, but oh well! We are definitely enjoying the time together and Izzy B has now learned my name... but she can't quite get it right so it's just "Abba"... still cute! I'll update our weekend this week!

Enjoy the time with your loved ones!!!