Jenn & Wes are my husband’s cousins, so instead of calling them my cousin’s-in-law, I just refer to them as my cousins – it’s just easier that way.  AND….they are probably about as close as cousins anyway.  Jenn contacted me & told me she and her brother Wes wanted to surprise their parents with a Mother’s Day/Father’s Day gift of some new photos of the two of them.  They hadn’t had family pictures since their last vacation & decided it was time.  And it was especially important since both of these kids now live states away from their parents – the memories are so much more precious.

I’d have to say it was a challenging day.  The heat, the busy downtown area, and the fact that I didn’t want it to look like Wes & Jenn were a couple.  Um, no, they are brother & sister, not a couple…ewww, gross!  They were so patient with me moving them and changing my mind over and over again.  I think we got some pretty good shots & from what I’ve heard, their parents are thrilled!  Here’s Wes & Jenn….

Just had to share this last one of Jenn & her boyfriend!  Thanks for tagging along, Grant!

Ugh…we are sick at my house!  Apparently Brooke, my littlest one, has Hand Foot Mouth Disease (not really a “disease) and has given it to my husband as well.  They are both tired, with sore throats, fevers, have sores in their mouths, and are generally just sick.  Emma & I are hoping to avoid this rampant disease, but we’re not sure if we’ll be so lucky!  Apparently swimming in the pool last week at Victory Jam with about 300 other campers could be the culprit.  Who knows?

On a lighter, and much happier note, I had the great joy of photographing the Stapler-Brewster family this weekend at Downs Park in Pasadena, Maryland.  They were nominated last December for the Giving is Awesome intitiative and won!  You can read more about Giving is Awesome here.  Jennifer & Dave’s family experienced a house fire and lost most everything they owned.  Luckily, all the family members in the home made it out alive, which they are very grateful for.  Jennifer told me the foundation to their new house is just now being laid and they are excited to get back to normal.  I was so glad to be able to have this chance to help them rebuild some memories through family photos.  Thanks Dave, Jennifer, and kidlets.  You all were great, and well worth the sand in my shoes!

Mother’s Day is almost here, and what better way to show your mother your love than through photos that she’ll cherish for years to come! I know, it sounds kinda cheesy, huh?

What I’m really trying to say is that I would love if you’d book my photo services this May & join me and my cousin Jennifer in raising money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

Here is Jennifer (in photos I stole from her Facebook page…sorry Jen!)

Jennifer will be participating in the LA Walk for Breast Cancer in September, and to help her with her efforts in raising money for this wonderful cause, I’m donating 50% of my session fees for the month of May directly to her walk.  So, when you book a $100 session, $50 of your session fee goes to Jennifer for Avon’s Walk for Breast Cancer.  What do you get?  A 2-hour session with me in a location of your choice, a complimentary 8×10 or two 5×7′s, an online gallery of all your images, and the knowledge that you’ve helped with Avon’s Walk for Breast Cancer.  Avon donates the money they raise to pay for medical expenses of cancer patients & to fund tests to find a cure for this illness that will unfortunately affect many of our lives.

So, give a Mother’s Day gift, book a newborn session, get some senior or graduation portraits done, or just get some girlfriends together for a fun outing and capture some great memories with me.  All sessions booked during the month of May will benefit this wonderful cause.  Thanks for the chance to help out, Jennifer!

Yesterday my oldest daughter turned four!  It’s hard to believe that four short years ago she was born!  And, it’s even harder to believe how much she’s changed!  She’s gone from a helpless infant, to a semi-independant four-year-old.  I hardly ever take a group of photos just dedicated to my children, so Emma & I decided to do just that yesterday for her birthday.  She donned her prettiest dress (that still fits…barely!), put in her favorite hair clip, and we went out front and snapped away.  I feel very luck to even have gotten as many photos of her as I did.  Since I’ve been taking her photo for four years now, she has a low tolerance for my camera.  Here is Emma Rose on her fourth birthday!

Thanks to Cousin Jennifer to playing with Emma during her “photo session” and helping her smile.  And thanks to our neighbors, Jack & Colleen, for unknowingly letting us use your stone garden…it makes the loveliest backdrop!  (You should visit Jack’s nursery if you want some awesome landscaping too!)

Happy Birthday, my love Emma!