{Vacation}

I just spent the past week with some of the cutest little people in the whole world!  I was pretty sad when I left Kirksville yesterday :-(   I definitely needed to get back to St. Louis and work, but after a week of hanging out by the pool, holding babies, home cooked meals, hanging out with my siblings, etc….I just wasn’t super psyched about coming back to St. Louis.   I think I was more so just dreading jumping back into my car drama….I kinda took a vacation from that as well :-)  

Actually I think it was a lot of things all piled together that just had me a bit bummed.  I’m getting just a little annoyed with my luck.  I would like just one thing to work out in my favor sometime soon :-)   My dad told me yesterday that I’ve got to have some good luck coming my way sometime soon…..fingers crossed!  

Now I sound like a total baby.   Which I’m not trying to do, I’m more so just venting.  Everyone vents, right?   Don’t hold it against me :-)  I’ve actually gotten to the point where I’m just laughing at anything that goes wrong.  Like when my hopper flight from Kirksville to St. Louis landed, I remembered I left my apartment keys on my dad’s key chain.  I didn’t even get mad.  I just laughed and thought, “yep- that sounds about right.”   

I do have some good news though!!!!  I picked up my car this afternoon.  This also means I paid for it.   I know I shouldn’t have to pay for it, but I just don’t want anyone wasting anymore time on it and I honestly don’t have the time or desire to fight it anymore.   My sister keeps telling me to “be okay with people doing things for me”,  but it’s not that I don’t like letting people do things for me, I just don’t like wasting their time.  I really don’t think we are going to get anywhere- so I just think we should be done.  Not having my car for a month during my busy season was enough for me to throw in the towel :-)

WOW- talk about being a Debbie Downer!!!  I’m sorry- I’ll move on. 

I didn’t really bring my camera out very much while I was back….shocker!  I think it was because the place was a zoo and the babies (who are now walkers and climbers) were always having to be taken off the stairs, taken off of tables, laid down for naps, picked up from naps, bathed, fed, snuggled, etc.  Then you have the endless requests from the toddler crowd.  They want movies, snacks, water, a trip to Wal-Mart, my phone so they can play Angry Birds, etc.   The Early Household was all sorts of crazy last week :-)  

We did a lot of this :-)

We spent a good chunk of time laughing at all the funny things the kids did. Like, for example, when Carolina felt the need to walk around the house with her hands in not one, but two snack grabbers :-)

We were crazy and decided it was a good idea to take 9 kids up to the Bridal & Formal while Caroline tried on her dress for all of us.

See- wouldn’t you be sad if you had to leave all those little faces???  Just say yes :-) 

I made it back to ST. Louis just in time to head out for an evening shoot with THIS lovely couple.  Lindsey, my partner in crime/side kick these days came along with me.  She picked me up early so we could do dinner and have a mini girls night before the shoot.  I’m so happy I met her- we seriously work so well together and I just love shooting with her, teaching her and talking with her.  Yayyyy for new friends :-)

Anyway- back at Christina & Jeremy’s wedding, I asked if they would be willing to get dressed up again later in the summer and be guinea pigs for me.  I wanted to do some pictures around the Forest Park Grand Basin area, but I wanted to do them right after (slightly during) sunset.   They were game before I even finished explaining my vision :-)   I’ve driven through that area of Forest Park several times right at the tail end of sunset it is GORGEOUS.  Like super romantic gorgeous….so could their be a more appropriate subject than a bride & groom???  I think not! 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh these are all sorts of romantic.   I   L O V E   T H E M!!!!!!   I think I’m going to start encouraging my St.Louis bride & grooms to book a session a month or so after their wedding so they can do shots like these. 

Both my shoots. I love a good fallen tree trunk :-)

 

Lindsey's shot. Love :-)

 

My Shot

 

My shot on the left, Lindsey's shot on the right.

 

Lindsey's shot. I LOVE this one :-)

Both my shots

Both my shots. This is where I start falling in love with these pictures. This is the beginning of the light and "feel" that I love and adore. I can NOT get over it :-)

Both my shots. We also got some fun glowing light from the activities taking place just across the Basin :-)

My Shot and one of my favorites. I think this should be a card

My shots. I can't decide which one I like more, color or black & white. Either way- if this were me in the picture.....i would so have this printed nice and big for my house :-)

Lindsey’s shot! Seriously- I can’t get over these pictures.

 Then we headed over to the Worlds Fair Pavillion to get a few pictures because that’s where they got engaged!  Awwwwwwwwwwww :-)

Lindsey's shot

 

Lindsey's shot on the left, my shot on the right. Has it become obvious that I'm obsessed with silhouettes?

 

See- weren’t those so fun???  I bet all you married people are thinking about digging out your dresses and doing a shoot, aren’t you??   If any of you are like my sisters and get skinner with the more kids you have, then you’ll have no problem fitting into your wedding dress.  I’m not joking- they’re all skinner now than they were when they got married and before they had kids.  I’m hoping I carry a similar gene :-) 

Anyway- you need to dig up your dress and call me & Lindsey.  We had SO MUCH FUN and we want to do it again :-) 

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Ok- I’m back in St. Louis for a few days and then I head out to KC on Thursday afternoon for shoots all weekend, then it’s back to St. Louis on Sunday evening and then back to Kirksville Wednesday for shoots and a Saturday wedding.   Having my car back makes all this so much easier, ha!   

Sorry for all my whining.  I feel bad now.  If bad luck is the only not so great thing I have in my life- then I’m pretty darn lucky :-)