Baton Rouge

I love visitng Lousiana. The trees, the land, the history. It has always interested me and I always have a great time when I go. However...there is always one thing that makes my pulse race, my palms sweat, and leaves me with a strong desire to turn around and head back to Dallas.

And it is right around this curve...

Oh yes...there it is. A bridge. And not just any bridge. A bridge over water. And not just any water. A bridge over the Mississippi River.

And here we are on it. And instead of holding my breath and closing my eyes like I normally do, I found that if I concentrate on taking pictures while crossing the bridge I won't think about plunging over the side and not being able to unlock the doors as we sink to the bottom of the staf infected Mississippi River. And then trying to decide which would be worse...being trapped in the car or actually having to swim in the Mississippi. It's a toss up.

But we made it....and thank goodness we did because on the other side of the bridge was a photography class that I had been dying to take.

Karen Russell's One Day Photographers' Workshop

My partner in crime on this crazy adventure was the fabulous Jennifer Relle.

Armed with her bag o' meds we were ready for our 9 hour class. And let me tell you it was 9 of the most intense hours I have ever experienced.

Here is Jenn at about hour 5. We had a few set backs in the beginning of the class. Apparently we missed the email that they were NOT providing tables and we needed to bring clipboards to write on. Also, it seemed we didn't take the first email seriously about bringing a pillow for the ghetto plastic chairs that we had to sit in for 9 hours. So on our lunch break Jenn and I hit the WalMarts and bought some tailgate chairs and clipboards. And I have to say that it was the best $20 I have spent in a long time.

Here is a picture of the amazing Karen Russell. She made the class fun and meaningful despite the chair situation. :)

Thank you Jenn for going with me! (See, we don't have to be in our 20s to have a crazy road trip.) And thanks to the Anties! Always wonderful hosts and I can't wait to come back.

Well...almost.

The Red Tutu

I love working with this little diva. You may remember her from the Pink Tutu post. However, this photo shoot was planned and after a serious case of "momma's girl", I think we may have gotten some pretty good shots.

Willow and her momma, Robin.

The red tutu.

Pretty girl playing peek - a - boo.

Now these last two may require some help...

Do you like her with the lollipop??

Or without???

I just couldn't choose a favorite!

Happy Birthday Cheeky Monkeys!

Yesterday, two of my favorite little boys in the whole wide world celebrated their 1st birthday!

Here's a couple of family shots!

Mmmm....Cake.

Open mouth...insert icing.

Then their Aunt Pat gave them their first haircut. Deacon was not too happy about the idea.

Finished product! Still just a handsome and we still have those beautiful curls.

Drake took it like a pro.

Cute little man!

Happy Birthday Deacon and Drake. We love you so much and are so lucky that we all live close enough that we can enjoy watching you grow up!

Heartbreakers

I was excited to get to photograph these cute guys. They are 3 of the sweetest little boys I know.

I had such a hard time picking my favorite. There were so many good ones. Thanks Sarah for meeting me this afternoon and letting me "practice" on your kiddos. Hopefully we will do more soon!

Saturday Afternoon Outakes

In my haste to post some pictures for Ashley, I didn't get to show you all some of the fun things we found yesterday afternoon.

The mounted police unit was out on Saturday. Nathan enjoyed petting the horses.

These next two shots are my favorites. You can see in the bottom right hand corner that the horse is either trying get the fruit snacks out of Ashley's bag or...well you get the picture.

Watch out Ashley!!!

"Holy Cow Angela! Did you see that horse? He almost got Mommy!"

We also met a bear along the way. Nathan wasn't nearly as exited about the bear as he was about the horses.

And this a shot of Nathan waiting patiently with his crayons for dinner. We had a great meal at a new resturant on the squre call Sauce. You should try it out!!!

Christmas in October or My Green Wall Addiction

My friend Ashley asked me awhile ago to do some pictures for their Christmas card this year. I was happy to oblige them and we met this weekend in...McKinney. (Surprise surprise!) Armed with fruit snacks, we started walking around downtown to find fun and interesting places for pictures. Where do you think we started??? Why the green wall of course!

Then we moved on to the old Collin County Prison.

And went on a hunt for the red wall...ahhh. So sweet.

We took a break for Nathan to show us how high he could jump.

Thanks for being such great subjects. We'll have to do it again sometime soon!!!!

Downtown Days

After such a great time in Downtown McKinney yesterday, I had to take Logan and Lauren there today since I only had them for 1 day.

I love pictures that show their true personalities.

We spent a lot of time shooting at the green loading dock.

And Lauren spent some time primping. I love these guys so much! I feel so lucky everytime I get to take them out for pictures. Hope I can talk their mom into another trip up north soon!