Be sure to continue through our circle and look at the other photographers “Me & mine” posts this week. Start by visiting Christine Blaylock

Here are a few pictures of the day trip we made to the Ft Worth Stockyards. It was hot that day, but the boys had a great time, so it was well worth it to see my little ones get to be cowboys for the day!

Now go see Suzanne Carey | Hattiesburg MS photographer , I can’t wait to see her cute baby bump!

One of my cousin is getting married in September and she recently had an engagement party and all of the cousins were there! We had to get a group picture since it is rare that we are all in the same place at once!

Be sure to continue through our group and see what Tamsen Donker | Niagara Newborn Photographer | Creative Clicks Photography has to share this week!

Hope Toliver – Tulsa, OK Photographer | Jobrina Hofleit – Goodyear, AZ Photographer | Wendy Vonsosen – Danville, CA Photographer

Second, I am very excited about the theme this week – “song lyrics”. Especially since I have such a special set of pictures to share. My brother and I have always shared a love for music, especially country music- and we both have always love Blake Shelton. We both met him at a charity golf tournament before he was a super star and my brother got to hang out with him for a while, so I thought it very appropriate when I realized he was the artist who sang the very song that I wanted to use for this weeks theme along with the pictures I was able to capture of my brother’s proposal.

I am SO happy that Ben wanted to capture this proposal on camera so they would forever have the memories and that he allowed me to be a part of it. And I can’t wait to do their engagement and wedding pictures as well! His fiance and I love many of the same photography ideas, and they are both very photogenic, so I can’t wait to collaborate more with her and have lots of fun with them!!

Now, be sure to check out the other ladies in the group of talented photographers that I have joined up with for this year long journey. Next up is Suzanne Carey | Hattiesburg MS photographer

Hope Toliver – Tulsa, OK Photographer | Jobrina Hofleit – Goodyear, AZ Photographer | Wendy Vonsosen – Danville, CA Photographer

Please continue through the group of amazing photographers to see what they have to share this week. My friend Krista Keller | Danville CA family photographer, always has some fun images to share, so don’t miss out!

Be sure to check out the other ladies who shared a window in to their world this month, starting with Katiusca

Lucky for me, one of the only things that will make Charlie sit still is a book! He is always up for reading a book. So I did capture a few of him “reading” a Curious George book. I tried to get some pictures of Cole with a book, but he wasn’t as keen on sitting still to read! But I did get a few of them heading in to the library and I love the one of them both looking at the books! Who knows what those two were chattering about, but the look on Charlie’s face tells me it must have been entertaining!

Be sure to see what kind of stories Hope Toliver | Tulsa Senior & Family Natural Light Photographer has to share.

This month, I decided to get outside of my box of using my family for all of my projects and show you some of my new “extended family” that I have acquired in the last month. I made one of the best decisions ever when I joined the group from Crossfit Clinton last month! The workouts are challenging and there have been several times I have wondered if I would make it until the end of the WOD (workout of the day) – but everyone there is so great to encourage and support each other and it really makes me want to go back day after day and continue to grow and improve!! If you want to learn more about Crossfit in general, and you aren’t close to Clinton, you can go to the Crossfit website here and check to see if there is one close to you!

I attended my first Crossfit “Team WOD” which concluded with a Chili cook off! I was glad I went, it was a lot of craziness and a lot of fun! My hubs has been a great support and has been great about keeping the kids when I am working out, and the rest of my saturday was spent with my family, so there are a few shots of them as well as preparation for Disney pictures thrown in the mix!! And of course the Saturday night bathes to be ready for church on Sunday morning! At least if they are dirty the rest of the week, they are clean for church! Hope you enjoy!

Now, to take a peek into the lives of the other fabulous photographers in this group, start by visiting Allison Crane Photography

Welcome to: Girls Night Out edition of Me & Mine! My mom’s birthday was last week and so we got some people together and went to Easely Amused to paint! It is a such a fun place where an instructor walks you through painting a pre-selected picture. You can take snacks and beverages of your choice and enjoy time with friends! And that is just what we did.

I honestly can’t remember the last time that my mom, my sister and I had a picture together just the three of us! So I was super excited that my friend and fellow photographer Brianna Wallace was along with us and captured this picture of the three of us! I also wanted to share some of the other pictures of our fun girls night!

Please continue through the group of amazing photographers to see what they have to share this week. My friend Hope Toliver | Tulsa  Senior & Family Natural Light Photographer, always has some fun images to share, so don’t miss out!

I know many photographers feel the same way I do and when we are posing and taking pictures of other people and trying to develop the connection there, it almost begins to feel like work to do the same with our own families. And I am not sure about other children, but my kids have been asked to model for me so much…. they are OVER posing for me and having their picture made. So often, I just don’t fight with them. But I do miss having everyday images of them! I took them so often during the early part of my photography journey , but seem to take them less now. So this project really appealed to me!

With my oldest in Kindergarten this year, I realize more than ever that these precious days with my babies are flying by way too fast, and I want to be able to look back and remember the little moments! Every month on the 10th of the month, I’ll share a day from the previous month and then to link to another photographer who will share her day and she’ll link to another photographer.  The idea is to take a picture approximately every hour for 10 hours to show what that day was like.  I am not sure I will always be successful with the every hour thing, but I am going to at least commit to spending one day with my camera just taking pictures of our day as it progresses! Not going to somewhere that has a great background and trying to get the kids to cooperate, but just capturing them being kids!

SO, this month, being January, I wasn’t expecting to get to take my pictures outside! But it has been unseasonably warm! And so I took the opportunity to spend as much time as possible outside with my boys! Last Thursday, my youngest and I were lucky enough to get to meet up with Brianna from Bri Marie photography. She just moved to Mississippi, about a half hour from me. From California no less- what are the chances?? So after Charlie’s mandatory potty-time in the morning (we are working on potty training- and for some reason, the only way I can get him to do his “business” is to get him to sit on the potty for a while in the morning- sometimes it is 30+ minutes!) we met up at a park, and I found out it was her little girls second birthday on the day we planned to meet! So not being one to let a birthday go un-celebrated- Charlie and I got some cupcakes for everyone to enjoy. And the kids had SO much fun together! Neither of them wanted to leave!! After a nap and picking up big brother from school, we played in the back yard for a while and then got a call from some friends wanting to meet up at the park, so we headed back to the park until supper time! Hope you enjoy our day filled with outside and park fun!!

** I had a hard time narrowing down the pictures, not because they were all great pictures in their composition or quality (some are even out of focus), but because they really capture the fun that we all had that day! So I cheated a bit, and did 10 “sets” of pictures. Some are single pictures and some are a collection of a few pictures!**

Potty Time!

I bet you would never guess that these two met for the FIRST time only minutes before these pictures were taken!

Charlie was SO excited to help Hayden celebrate her second birthday! He was trying to show her how to dig in to the cupcake, she was trying to be too neat for his liking!!

Hayden wasn’t so sure about the tunnel, but Charlie showed her how to do it and she was soon adventurous enough to try it on her own!

Excited that big brother is home from school! Weather was so good, we had to take advantage of it!

We went to meet some other friends at the park since Luke didn’t get to enjoy the park in the morning! One of their favorite things to play on at the park is the “worm” – sometimes they get up so high that I can’t reach them. I just love all the old school playground equipment.

I have two monkeys! They love to climb…..

Charlie and Cole rolling down the hill! Boys! ……

Luke, Charlie, Payton and Cole on the swings. Love having great friends and great parks where we live!!

Now, to take a peek into the lives of the other fabulous photographers in this group, start by visiting Allison Crane Photography

I must say that my self portrait this week is not the best photo I have ever taken by a long shot, but it really speaks to who I am and where I am as a mom and a photographer right now! We find ourselves in the car a lot! We are often taking or picking up Luke from school (and sitting in carpool line for 30 minutes before picking him up) – or dashing to baseball or football practice or to swimming lessons. Going to the park to play with friends or going to visit family on the other side of town. We always are on the go! And as much as I often wish I had a car with more room, I find myself thinking how much I love to look in the mirror and see those two boys sitting close together! And when we are at a stoplight, I can reach back and tickle them, or break up a fight (whichever is needed at the time)! But this is where we spend time getting to and from doing all the things we love to do together. And while it might seem boring and mundane, it is part of the daily routine and I try to embrace it and enjoy it!

Be sure to continue the circle, and start with Kelly Whatley. She always has some fun images to share!

If you have made it this far, thank you for enduring my rambling! This month, our pictures are of us on Christmas eve! They are grainy, because the light wasn’t good, and my nephew is in several of the pictures as well, but I will claim him too! And Christmas even with my siblings and parents has always been a tradition and is one I want to document and remember! Plus, my husband actually sat still for a few pictures, so I decided to use these rather than taking the kids out and trying to get something else for this first month!

Thank you for taking a peak into our world and I hope you will check back the first Thursday of each month for this post! I love that I have 12 other photographers who will be pushing me and holding me to my comittment to document my time with my family! And I love that you will be checking to see what we have been up to! So let me know that you will be checking in by leaving a comment, and then check out the rest of the amazing photographers in my group, starting with my friend, and one of a couple of people in my group who I have actually met, Hope Toliver | Tulsa  Senior & Family Natural Light Photographer – She has three precious girls, and I am sure you will love what she has to share!

Be sure to continue the circle, and start with Krista Keller. I know she was stuck in traffic for over 2 hours with her family yesterday, so she should be more than ready for this weeks theme!