Let me start by saying that I love what I do.  I feel so very blessed to be able to stay home with my kiddies and also be a photographer.  I love being able to catch those sweet and sometimes awkward moments of life on camera for people to cherish.  My favorite shots are the ones where a kid is having a total fit of screaming and freaking out.  Also, the ones where couples are chatting and I catch a special gleam in their eye on camera.  I love it!  Those are the shots and moments that I am uber happy about getting on camera.

With that said, I’m even more happy when I get the chance to take pics for my friends!  Therefore, meet the Henin family!  Rachel is due soon with their second bebe and I cannot wait to see her in person, instead of just putting my hands on Rachel’s tummy and talking like a baby and acting like a fool (I can’t help myself!).

Mike, Rachel, and Liliana, I’m so happy for you three to become a family of four!  Congratulations!!

Our friends, Aaron and Bonnie recently came for a visit.  They moved from Jax right about when Bonnie found out she was pregnant.  And now, their little bambina, Campbell Piper, is 9 months!  Time FLIES!  It was such a wonderful visit with them.  We even had a chance to get in a family session at the beach!  I LOVE the sweet, vintage outfit that Bonnie chose for Campbell.  Bonnie, I need you to shop for my kids!  Without further ado, I give you the sweet Raines family.

Bonnie, Aaron, and little Pip, we love you to pieces!!!

As you may already know, I am deeply in love with the gorgeous trees here in Jacksonville, Florida.  One of my favorite spots of these eye candy trees is Losco Park.  I recently had the privilege of meeting up with the very sweet Landry family to take their family photos.  It was a hot and humid day (like every other day here in Fl), yet the feeling of “Fall” was in the air…kinda.

This is my very favorite time of the year and it was a huge joy to share this day with the Landry’s taking the family pics!

The week before school ended for my kids I asked them what they would like to do this summer.  One of the things they  both agreed on was going to Adventure Landing’s Shipwreck Island Waterpark.

Sweet!  I’ll agree to do almost anything (reasonable) IF they can both agree upon it.  So, guess what we did?  Not only did we go to Shipwreck Island, we attended the summer kick-off event called The Luau!  It was awesome!  Prince Pele and the Polynesian Revue performed and taught us all how to hang loose.

The festivities were hosted by Jacksonville Jaguar, Tyson Alualu,  as well.  The only disappointment was the storm cutting the show short, but not before we hung out and had tons of fun.  Justice even pulled his tooth in the middle of the show. Haha!  So, I can officially check one thing off of the list of summertime desires for my kids.  We’ll be heading back there this summer.  We may even do Piper’s birthday party there in August.  If you’re looking for something fun to do on a date night or with the family, take them to Adventure Landing. If you do go, be sure to do the Hydro Half-pipe!

I recently had the opportunity to take newborn pics for one of the sweetest little bambinos.  His name is Landon and he was a perfect little gentleman for the whole shoot.

Chad and Gracie you have been truly blessed with this sweet little nugget of love!  I’m so very happy for you both and wish you all the best and plenty of rest.

Let me start by saying that I’ve always loved the beauty of the Indian culture.  All the traditions, and especially the beautifully bright and vibrant clothes.  I was so thrilled when I had the opportunity to capture Ram and Sowmiya’s special day.

Sowmiya and Ram, I am so very happy for you two.  I am honored that you allowed me to capture the memories of you very special day for you, as well.  I pray for many blessings on your life and your marriage.

After going to the show last week, I took the kids with me down to the arena again.  That next morning the Jacksonville Ice and Sportsplex brought the students and their parents down to the arena for a Q&A time with the skaters of the show.  It was a fun, cold morning.  I totally lost my “Mother of the Year” award (as if I had it in the first place) that morning because I forgot to bring jackets for my kids.  See?  They weren’t very happy with me.

At any rate, they survived.  We learned that morning that the company that puts on the show is called Feld Entertainment.  These skaters are on tour 7 months out of the year and they come from all over the world.  Feld Entertainment is the same company that puts on other shows like the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Greatest Show on Earth, Monster Jam, ArenaCross, and Disney Live, among others.

It was interesting to hear how they make things work for the show.  They said the size of the rink is not always the same.  In Paris, the rink is about 1/3 the size of Jacksonville’s.  That’s just crazy.  I can’t imagine performing the show on a smaller scale.  But they do it and they do an amazing job!

After the question time, the kids got out on the ice with the crew.  It was so fun to watch them do their thing.  It was especially cute to see the little kids out there.  Overall, it was a fantastic morning!

Last Thursday, we went to the opening night of Disney On Ice Toy Story 3 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.  We had so much fun!  My friend and I took some of our daughters and surprised them.  They were ecstatic!  I hadn’t been to an ice show since I was a young girl.  I loved this one just as much as I remember loving it as a kid.

To start the night off, I was escorted backstage along with News 4 Jax anchor, Melanie Lawson and some children.  The kids were clearly excited to get to where we were going.  It was so very peaceful and quiet back there.

After Melanie opened the show, the crowd cheered, then went completely berserk once they saw Mickey Mouse ears appear larger than life on the backdrop of the ice.  It was awesome!

I was really impressed with the show.  They did a great job of making you feel like you were a part of the show.  One minute you felt like you were right there with the green army men and the next it was like you were in Ken’s dressing room with Barbie.  I wondered how they were going to fit the whole storyline into the 2 hour and 15 minute show.  They took out certain parts of the story, as I suspected they might do, due to timing.  The one thing that I found disappointing was that Big Baby was not included in the show at all.  I really liked how creepy and cute Big Baby was in the movie.  However, I wasn’t too disappointed.

Be sure to check out all the fun Toy Story 3 gear during the intermission, including getting your face painted.  Our girls loved it all!  Can’t you tell?

The show is back on the road again.  Be sure to go over to Disney On Ice online to find out where the show will be and when they will come to your town.  You’ll thank me that you did and you got to experience the show for yourself.

Back on the blog, that is.  If these faces look familiar, its because we’ve seen them here before.  It’s always a fun time shooting the Woffs.  Not only are they some of my favorite clients, they’re our friends, too.  We love us some Justin and Hannah!  I’m very excited for what’s in store for them this year, too.  They are joining The World Race this coming September.  The World Race is a group of people and they are taking “…a journey to 11 countries in 11 months to serve “the least of these” while amongst real and raw community.” (quoted from www.theworldrace.org)  Justin and Hannah are fundraising now in order to go love others as Jesus loves us in 11 countries.   To see Hannah’s journey throughout The World Race, you can go here.  To see Justin’s journey, you can go here.

I love so much how their personalities show in their photos!  Justin and Hannah, I’m going to miss you terribly when you go on the trip, but I’m also so very excited to see where God is taking you on your journey!!!

I had the amazing privilege of taking the wedding pics for one of my very best friends in the world, Heather.  I’ve known Heather for about 21 years (crap, I feel old) and practically lived at her house through high school.  There are so many wonderful memories that come to mind, but I won’t babble on about that.  This post is about her AMAZING union to Alejandro.  These two are perfect for each other!  Their personalities truly compliment each other well.  A perfect match!

Their wedding was A.MAZ.ING!!  Best wedding I’ve been to…period!  I’m so very happy for them.  I wish we could go back and re-live it.  H has always had impeccable taste and it showed in every detail of the wedding.  From the fresh market flowers, to the locally bought salsa dishes that the food was served in, to the custom face hole board for guests to pose behind.  She also did handmade pillow covers, a handmade quilt for the the teepee(yes, I said teepee), and gave handmade kitchen towels as wedding favors.

The details were thought out and precise, the ceremony was warm and loving.  It was also in Spanish and I didn’t understand a darn thing, but it was lovely!  But what topped the evening off is what came as a surprise to H and A.  Heather had wanted the local churro guy to come and to have a Mariachi band play.  Neither one of those things were going to be there…so she thought.  At about 5 minutes to 11pm, Heidi (Heather’s sister) came over to me and told me that the mariachi band would be showing up at 11.  Next thing I knew, Heather came over and asked, “Wouldn’t that be awesome if a mariachi band just showed up?” Yes, yes it would be awesome!  That moment when the band walked into the backyard was priceless!

It was an amazing celebration of love and I’m so thrilled beyond words to not only be there for one of my bestie’s weddings, but to also be the one to capture it for her memories for years to come.  Love you, Heather and Alejandro.  I’m so happy for you two!!!