I met this sweet family for the first time this past Saturday and they were a joy to work with!  I had spoken with Nancy through email and on the phone a few times before our session and was really excited to work with them because this was their first time doing a professional photo shoot!  Not only was I excited FOR them to get to experience the fun of a shoot(despite the extremely hot weather–they were troopers!) but also that I had the privilege of documenting this special time for them!  Their sweet little boy, Thomas, is 20 months old, and they have a 2nd little one(due end of August)–a girl!!  Nancy looks fantastic!  She is so tiny, I honestly couldnt tell that she was pregnant when I saw her for the first time!

To me, that is WHY I do what I do…I am so honored to be a part of documenting these milestones and capturing the love in relationships.  We met at their family farm, also known as the “Duck Shack” on the Rappahannock, where they love spending time with family.  It was a perfect location because of their love for the water and the property has been privately owned by the family for generations!  I really enjoyed working with this sweet family….their smiles are contagious and Thomas was an angel!  My favorite memories will be when he blew me kisses and made the cutest “muah” sound(melt my heart!) and the fact that he thought it was funny when his mom and dad said, “Give me five!” and his immediate response was, “No!” followed by laughter haha!

Below are some favorites from our session and I look forward to working with this great family again!
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I always wonder why I decide to pick back up with my blogging series at the most busy times of the year!  The months of May and June are SO busy, its like Christmas over here!  Aside from wedding season being in full swing, I also have Kaleigh and Carter’s birthdays in this month and all of the end of the school year things to attend to.  This year was especially busy for school because it was Kaleigh’s last year in elementary school and I sort of took over the planning and delegating department for the 5th grade banquet and awards.  That was last Tuesday and it turned out so well!  I think everyone had a relaxing, fun time and it was a great way to celebrate not only the students moving on to middle school, but also the teachers and staff who were involved with them for so many years.  We also said goodbye to their beloved art teacher, Mr. Holliday, who has been teaching at RPES for nearly 30 years.  He was a wonderful teacher who will be missed for sure!  I am hoping to blog about all of the fun happenings that have taken place in the last couple of weeks…I guess we will see how that goes now that the kids are at home all day haha!  But, long story short, that is why Manic Monday has been MIA for two weeks!  Truthfully, I had both blog posts drafted with my goals but just never got a chance to write anything so I am playing catch up big time! 🙂  My goals and agenda for this week(and what I had accomplished over the last two) are below the photos!

We went strawberry picking with our friends a few weeks ago…I take Kaleigh and Carter to Mt. Olympus every year and they always have a great time!  It was fun sharing the experience with our friends this year and hopefully we can make it a tradition!  Below are a few photos from our adventure! 2015-06-07_0001PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0002PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0003PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0004PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0005PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0006PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0007PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0008PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0009PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0010PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0011PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0012PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0013PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0014PIN IMAGE 2015-06-07_0015PIN IMAGELast week’s goals:

PERSONAL:

-clean my house and decorate to get ready for the birthday party with the family!

-celebrate Kaleigh and Carter’s birthdays with family gathering on Sunday

-have lunch with Kaleigh at school

-make treats for Kaleigh and Carter’s class for school for their birthdays

-finish slideshow for 5th grade banquet

-DC trip with Kaleigh

-Celebrate Kaleigh and the 5th grade class with a picnic and awards ceremony at school

-Awards ceremonies for Kaleigh and Carter

-Kaleigh’s Spa Party with friends

 

BUSINESS:

-meeting with Kristen about her November wedding!

-blog sessions and send galleries to clients

-send packages to clients

-shoot engagement session with Seth and Kara—rescheduled for today!

-wedding with James on Saturday

-birthday party photo shoot for RVA Children(volunteer work) 🙂

-record expenses

-follow up emails

-edit Seth and Kara’s engagement session

-3 sessions

-engagement session with Liz and Ian in DC(our reschedule date due to the car break in) 🙁

-attend  RPUG meeting

 

This week’s agenda:

Personal:

-start exercising–I have been slacking!

-make calendar for the summer so we have a consistent schedule!

-get my house back in order from all of the birthday craziness!

-catch up on laundry!

-celebrate Kaleigh’s 11th birthday on Tuesday!

-girls night out with some friends on Wednesday

-celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday!

 

Business:

-edit 4 sessions

-blog sessions and send galleries

-send client packages

-record expenses

-follow up emails

-celebrate Ryan and Kelly’s wedding day on the 20th!

 

Happy Monday everyone!  Hope its great!

  

Well!  I am FINALLY getting around to posting Carter’s 7th birthday!  My sweet boy turned SEVEN on May 31st and boy was he excited!  I think he started counting down the days at the beginning of May and he could not contain his excitement the day before and the day of….lots of screaming and shouting and all around happiness.  I am not sure if it had more to do with the fact that he was turning 7 or the presents and cake haha!  Either way, he was extremely happy.  We celebrated his birthday that morning with chocolate chip muffins(his request) and opening gifts.  Later that afternoon, we met all of his friends at G-Force and had pizza, cake, ice cream and lots of laser tag!  We ended the day with some swimming at my aunt and uncle’s house.  I’d say it was a successful birthday!  And I just want to say a quick THANK YOU to my friend Meredith who let me borrow her camera….without it, I would not have been able to capture these special moments!  Speaking of camera….I have an update!  With the AMAZING SUPPORT from friends, family, and compassionate human beings in this world, I have been able to purchase a new camera body and lens!  I am SO GRATEFUL for everyone’s love and support and could not have done it without you all!  THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!  Below are some photos from Carter’s birthday this year!  2015-06-01_0001PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0002PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0003PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0004PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0005PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0006PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0007PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0008PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0009PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0010PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0011PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0012PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0013PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0014PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0015PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0016PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0017PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0018PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0019PIN IMAGE 2015-06-01_0020PIN IMAGE

  

Good morning!  It is hard to believe that the school year is coming to an end and soon I will have Kaleigh and Carter at home all day!  In a way, I am thankful for the lack of structure that will take place over the summer(no more running around every day to school, girl/boy scouts, horseback, tennis, etc all while trying to run a business and keep a clean house!)  BUT, that lack of structure and the fact that they are going to need things to do so I am able to work is another challenge.  Each summer I come up with a plan of action….a schedule of sorts to keep our daily routine consistent.  It usually works for about the first week or two and then I give up.  This year, I decided to enroll them in a two week summer camp(mostly for my sanity) but also, to get them out of the house and doing something with other kids.  Because we dont belong to a recreation club, my kids really dont see anyone over the summer.  And its pretty easy to get sick of your sibling!  This is the first year they have been enrolled in an all-day summer camp and I feel a little guilty over it, but in all honesty, I have to reflect back on our last couple of summers.  They havent been the best because there was constant arguing which would cause me to yell and scream and I have the tendency to hold onto things so it would put me in a bad mood for most of the day.  Even going places became a challenge because the fighting never seemed to end!  Im pretty sure Carter will be excited and ok with going….Kaleigh on the other hand…well, she is hitting that pre-teen age so I am not sure how she is going to handle it!  Regardless, I will hopefully get a lot of work done–stress free! 😉  I want to take a moment and give a shout out to my sweet Carter and wish him a Happy Birthday!  He is now 7 years old and SO excited!  I will be posting an official birthday post for him in the next week, but for now, here’s a little preview of his birthday session this year!

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So, I never got around to posting last week’s Manic Monday because 1. it was a holiday and 2. I had so much going on(mostly mentally) with everything that happened over the weekend of the 23rd in DC.  I had a draft that was half written and then it just didnt happen, so Ive combined my work and personal goals from the last two weeks.  I dont know about you all, but it feels like December right now.  I am being pulled in about a thousand different directions and it is hard to keep up with everything!  This time of year is every bit as busy as the Christmas season and if I can just get through the next two weeks, I *think* I will be able to relax a little…..maybe!  Two weeks also means that the kids are out of school for the summer which means I will have to keep them busy around the clock in order to keep them from fighting or hear the dreaded words, “Im bored!”  Moms out there, feel free to chime in on things you like to do with your kiddos over the summer….preferably, things that are free and cool(as in not hot haha!).  Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday and cheers to a new week! 🙂

 

Last week’s agenda:

PERSONAL:

start buying decor for birthdays

-birthday pictures for Kaleigh and Carter

-continue making slideshow

-drink plenty of water

-going away party for Maureen

-check ins for fifth grade banquet/picnic/awards

-Porsha’s engagement party!

-finish buying decor for birthdays

-finish editing photos and order prints for birthdays

-wrap Carter’s gifts–his birthday is on the 31st!

-Celebrate Carter turning 7 with his friends at G-Force

 

BUSINESS:

-call insurance companies to get the ball rolling from the car break in

-reschedule engagement session with Liz and Ian

-cull and edit this past weekend’s sessions/weddings

-engagement session in DC last weekend–went there, no session photographed 🙁

-track expenses

-continue working on Sara’s album

-rent lenses and camera bodies for shoots coming up/ask around to borrow gear

-photo shoot on Tuesday

-shoot with Angela this weekend for her son’s 1st birthday

 

This week:

PERSONAL:

-clean my house and decorate to get ready for the birthday party with the family!

-celebrate Kaleigh and Carter’s birthdays with family gathering on Sunday

-have lunch with Kaleigh at school

-make treats for Kaleigh and Carter’s class for school for their birthdays

-finish slideshow for 5th grade banquet

 

BUSINESS:

-meeting with Kristen about her November wedding!

-blog sessions and send galleries to clients

-send packages to clients

-shoot engagement session with Seth and Kara—rescheduled for today!

-wedding with James on Saturday

-photo session Saturday AM

-birthday party photo shoot for RVA Children(volunteer work) 🙂

-record expenses

-follow up emails