One Big Happy Family...

well we had to use candy and treats to keep the kiddos happy : )  These little boys had it figured out, 1 picture = 1 sweet tart.  As the photo shoot continued, that ratio jumped to about 1 picture = 5 sweet tarts. And I took A LOT of pictures, and I had a candy surprise for them as well at the end!  It was a sugar high session!  This was the family session that took place at Asheville Botanical Gardens, a very beautiful location!

Meet the family...Grandparents with their 2 daughters, son-in-laws, and 2 grandchildren

Andy and Leslie, newlyweds!  

3 Year Old Twins, Parker on the left, Whit on the right.  Their dad is in the Navy Reserves, and they think that means he works at Old Navy, the clothing store...how cute!  That story needs to be told when they graduate high school and then when they get married.

Now, I'm not trying to confuse you - well maybe I am : )  Now Whit is on the left and Parker is on the right.

The parents, Lindsay and Chip.  They have a cute love story.  Lindsay was a teacher and Chip was the school police officer, and they met at school!  My brother's girlfriend Carla taught with Lindsay, and that's how Lindsay found me.  Now my dancing on a wet slippery rock didn't interest Parker at all, but I was trying.  I think they were a little upset they couldn't get in the water.  

We pulled out the big surprise (whirly pops), and Whit was worried his Dad was really going to eat his treat!  Look at Parker's sweet smile!

  

The mom, Marcia, with her 2 daughters, Leslie and Lindsay.

And I'll end with this silly face!

Nanny's 80th Birthday!

Hello blog readers!  I actually have 2 client sessions to share with you, but allow me one more personal post before I do those.  My Nanny will turn 80 next Sunday, August 28th.  My family got together this past Saturday for her birthday.  Many of you know that since Papa passed away Nanny is now in a memory care unit at a nursing home.  My parents had the party at their home, and we picked up Nanny and brought her to the house for the afternoon/evening.  She is in a great home, and the care givers there love her!  She is still very active and high functioning even though she has Alzheimer's.  She's constantly helping out there whether it's passing out drinks and snacks or soothing another resident.  If any readers have a family member with Alzheimer's and need someone to talk to, let me know.  My mom is involved with some great support groups for Alzheimer's.

So I have shared the picture below several times on my blog - it's Papa on his 80th Birthday (2008).  Whenever a photographer is asked what's your all-time favorite image, it's tough to come up with a final answer.  Seeing how this picture is just engrained to my memory, and I've shared it with all of you multiple times, I'm guessing this image would make the top 5.

Now I have some great pictures similar to above of Nanny on her 80th!  Isn't this a great series!  I don't have a favorite yet, but if I had to vote right now, the 2nd image in the series is my favorite right now. That's Olivia closest to Nanny and Sydney on the end, her great-grandchildren.

On a less sentimental note, that is Cold Stone Creamery's Midnight Delight ice cream cake - the absolute best chocolate ice cream cake!  Sam get's me one of those cakes every year for my birthday, and we had one for Nanny's birthday, so I have had a slice of that cake for a week straight now : )(eek...I'm sure that's not healthy, but chocolate is a staple in my diet, so it's no shock to my body).

Thank you to my friends!

I have the most amazing friends!  Nichole, Ryn, Rhea, Ruth, Sarah, and Rachel - you guys are awesome!  Last week I went to dinner with my Wofford girls, Nichole, Rhea and Ryn.  We had planned the dinner around when Ryn is in town on her summer break from Physical Therapy Grad School at Columbia University in New York City.  We all have some crazy calendar activities, so the only available time slot was a Thursday evening.  They surprised me with my birthday present, it was sooooo sweet of them.  Nichole contacted all of my friends mentioned above and they all contributed to my Kelly Moore Bag!!!!  I have been looking at these bags for a long time, but I could never bring myself to buy one.  When I'm constantly saving for a new lens and new camera, I couldn't convince myself to buy a pretty (but extremely functional) camera bag.   Here's a quick snapshot of my B-Hobo Kelly Moore Bag taken with my iPhone Instagram App (I used the Nashville filter).  My camera body with a 24-70mm lens is in the bag with room to spare for a flash, more lenses, wallet, phone, lipgloss, and SD cardholder...amazing!

The center flap closes magnetically, and you can also zip the top close (where my camera is).  You can see the 2 outside zipper pockets for miscellaneous items.

A view inside shows room on the side for flash, lenses, etc.

There's a larger zippered pocket on the backside, and 2 side pockets as well.  I am one HAPPY girl!  Thank you a million times to my awesome friends!!!  I love you!

Part 2: Jacquelyn & Scotty's Wedding

 I'm so excited to share with y'all the reception pictures of Jacquelyn and Scotty's wedding!  The Big Chill along with the DJ had some awesome uplighting and disco lights which makes for fun and colorful photographs.

First Dance...so sweet!

The father-daughter dance started off as a tear-jerker.

 A touching toast from the Maid of Honor, Felice, the bride's sister.

Jacquelyn's grandparents won the anniversary dance.  Aren't they cute!  Her grandmother had a smile on her face all night long!  I loved photographing her.  On a side note, you'll have to ask my husband Sam, how we won the anniversary dance at Rhea & Jonathan's wedding with only 1 year and 11 months of marriage (it's a funny story!).

These wedding guests definitely brought their dancing shoes!

Waiting in line for the photo booth, people like to point at photographers (pointing picture #1).

Pointing Picture #2 - I believe they were saying (or possibly yelling) "Camera girl it's your turn to show us your dance moves!"  I politely declined, I would have embarrassed myself, they had some good dance moves!

Okay, this was a Catholic wedding ceremony, not Jewish.  I'm not really sure what happened here, I went outside to snap the above picture and came back inside to the bride being lifted in the air in her chair.  So if you were at this wedding please fill me in : )

Jacquelyn and Scotty, I wish you the very best!  Thank you for allowing me to capture your day!  It was a beautiful ceremony and reception!

Asheville Botanical Gardens

I did a family photo shoot this past weekend at the Asheville Botanical Gardens and fell in love with the location!  It was beautiful (and hot!).  I was quite jealous of the little kids that got to jump into the stream.  I will of course share pictures from the family shoot, but first here are some sights from the gardens.  Hopefully this post will hold you over until I finish the 2nd post for Jacquelyn and Scotty's wedding.

Lots of green and of course I had to show you a touch of yellow.