A Family Portrait Shoot

Over the weekend I had a portrait session with my brother-in-law's family.
Aren't they good looking?!




I took their engagement photos last year and they are so natural in front of the camera that it makes getting beautiful shots a breeze!




"My momma always said you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes, where they're goin, where they've been."
-Forrest Gump






But I bet you didn't guess from their shoes that they're also expecting!!!






I love that they are so willing to do "fun" shots!




And show genuine moments in front of the camera.

As well as let their inner cheerleader out once in a while. ;)

 

Flowers & Shells

I have no clue what this plant is.
Thanks to some smart ladies out there this has been identified as a portulaca, or moss rose.
It has not grown since we've lived here {until now that is} and I certainly did not plant it.
But it is popping up here and there throughout our little flower bed.
{I use the term 'flower bed' loosely...it's mostly dirt and mulch}
And I couldn't be happier! I love when nature plants pretty flowers for me...and ones that multiply at that!

 




We did plant this. It's a bloom on our bell pepper plant.
I imagine we'll get to eat this baby in...oh, October.






I've been wanting to do a minimalist-style sea shell shot {say that three times fast} but nothing I do is working how I want.
So these shells and sand have been sitting on our kitchen counter for about 2 weeks.
...within easy reach of Rowan.
She's been playing with the sand and shells on and off and yesterday I noticed this pretty little beach scene she threw together!

  

My Little Girl

Last night after Rowan's bath she came downstairs carrying her pajamas.
{good thing our blinds were shut}

But she didn't want any help getting dressed.

This look {below} captures her mischievous nature perfectly.
{don't let that hint of innocence fool you...she's recently learned to blame everything on her big brother}



Of course, she's also rather silly.
{but don't tell her that. she'll get mad and scream at you that she's not.}



I know being her mother makes me ridiculously biased, but seriously, this sweet little face will melt your heart.



{ok, enough mush}

I bet 10 minutes had passed by the time she actually attempted getting dressed.
{probably because she stopped after every move for a picture}



...but then...
she got stuck.



and decided she'd wear her shirt like this...

{she's so silly...er, um...not at all silly.}

Pool Games

In the last week Breck has really taken to swimming!
He's been 'practicing' laps in our tiny kiddie pool and just yesterday tried opening his eyes underwater.





Both kids decided to make their own 'diving' game.
One will throw a car to the other end and the other will retrieve it.
In the shot below they had both gone for it and Rowan came up the victor!





Then I got the idea in my head that I should get really close to the action for some splash shots.
I was soaked after this one...

 

Down on the Farm

Views in the country are nothing short of beautiful!
This storm slowly rolled in around sunset over the weekend.




Ever since last week's Shutter Love prompt 'For the Kids', where my son took the photo, he has been chomping at the bit to take more...with my camera. Here's another one of his shots:
I'm thinking a camera of his own may be in his near future.




And here he is with little sister.

Love You, Seth

Today is my husband's birthday...and this one is for him!

Of Chandeliers and Farmhouse Windows

Over the last several weeks I've slowly been sharing bits and pieces of my grandparents' home.
We moved a fair amount when I was young...always within the same school district, but moves nonetheless. And the one and only home that has remained completely consistent throughout my entire life is that of my grandparents. It feels like home to me. (does anyone else have that song stuck in their head now, too?!) I can say that about no other place from my childhood and for these reasons my memories and love of this place are rooted deep.



This chandelier is a dear friend of mine...I polished and cleaned this sucker more times than I can remember! My grandma loathed the task and paid me fifty cents to clean it for her...I'm quite certain she would have paid more.





This is the window at the top of their awkwardly steep staircase. To me, it's just a window. And one I'd never paid any notice to until our last visit. But I do think it has a lot of farmhouse charm and for that reason alone it deserves a spot on the blog!





*****


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Daylilies

We have some pretty large yellow daylilies in our front landscaping.
I've been working to divide them and then transplant in our backyard...something I should have done back in April when it was still cool and the plants were still small!



But before I dove in with my spade, I thought I should snap a few shots first...you know, just in case.



I was accidentally shooting in vivid color mode and my flowers all turned out with an eye-popping and very un-natural yellow.



Thus the edit to black and white...with a slight yellow tint.

Star Power

It's been a week since I started my "come back" to blogging. And it feels great!!!
It probably helps that I also got a new laptop about a week ago and once I transferred all my essentials - specifically Paint the Moon's Jubilee action - I was whizzin' through edits like they were pieces of chocolate cheesecake!

These shots were two of many unedited images that were lying in wait.
While these two shots are incredibly similar they do have subtle differences.

The first one focuses more on the light and starburst...


while this second shot shows off the shadows of the leaves.


And since I can't pick just one to share, you got them both.