Amanda and Brad

Yay! A pretty wedding! Amanda and Brad were married a little over a week ago in Goodale Park. They used one of my favorite color combinations: green and brown. Here's a nice little detail from their day. I was very impressed with Amanda's crafty skills. She made their invitations, placecards, notes for a giving tree & more. Martha Stewart would be proud.

I know I'm an animal lover but look how cute Carmen the flower girl is!!! Check out her pretty dress.A moment during the vows. I know I can connect with a couple who quotes "Friends" during their ceremony. He's her lobster!I have several images I fell in love with, this being one of them. It's a moment right after they reached the end of the aisle. There's a lot of sweet emotion in this image.This is also a fave... partly because I risked my life to get it. I'm on a ladder. I'm on a ladder where one leg was "gnawed" off making it wobbly. I'm on a ladder where one leg was "gnawed" off making it wobbly AND it's sitting on a ramp. Thanks to the groomsman who kept it from falling over while I took this photo. The lanterns ROCKED! Parasols AND lanterns. HEAVEN!!!!
With a reception at Raymond Memorial golf course, I had to steal a little time on the greens. Too yummy! And finally, a little fun in the dark before we left.Amanda and Brad, thank you so much for including me as part of your big day! You really made your day reflect your personalities: relaxed, stylish and fun. C u soon!

I have another photo to share from their day but I really wanted to give a nod to my assistant, Lizzie. She did a fantastic job at this wedding. I was really glad to have her. And... because she did such a great job and because her mom is a very faithful reader...

Here is my pal, Lizzie.And here is a beautiful image she captured. I had Brad give Amanda a little spin in the garden and I really love Amanda's facial expression and the way her dress is "poufy" in this image. Good job and thanks so much for your help!

Here at the dk ranch...

This afternoon I was lucky enough to witness this... A mama deer and her two tiny babies. She definitely kept her eye on me. It's pretty cool to live someplace where you can see this sort of thing.

Proud mama!!!

Last weekend was Scioto High School's production of Aida. Aida is a rock opera with music from Elton John and Tim Rice. My son Austin played Zoser, the evil father. All the students did an amazing job. I'll be honest, I was very pleasantly surprised at how good the singing was!!! So... here's a few photos from the play.All the students did an amazing job. I'll be honest, I was very pleasantly surprised at how good the singing was!!! These two played the lead parts and I was very impressed and excited for them!

Now... Here's a test. Do you actually read these things? Or... do you just look at pretty pictures? Well. Many of you know that my oldest son is going to graduate from high school in just a couple of weeks. I'm very excited and a little nervous. I am a weeper and am not excited about the idea of weeping with pride in the middle of the Schottenstein arena.

At any rate, he's made his college choice. He wants to continue working with the theatre so he's chosen a school with an excellent theatre program and he was accepted. Not only that... when he went for his portfolio review, they accepted him directly into the program despite the fact that they were working with a waiting list at the time AND they offered him a talent scholarship!!!!!! I am SICK with excitement and pride!!!

Go Austin Go!!! Just remember, when you get your first Oscar---thank your mom!!! ; )

Stacy

Despite the semi-serious photos I'm showing, I had a freaking BLAST!!!! Stacy and I used to work together at another studio (which shall remain nameless.) She managed the studio portion while I managed the preschool division. We commiserated a lot while we were there.

Thankfully, we've both moved on. She's heading off to school again. I am incredibly proud of her and am excited for her new adventure.
Go Stacy Go!!! I'll miss you, though. Doesn't she have pretty eyes? That crazy blue wall made them even more blue! Whoa!

Dumping tonnage.
OK. I haven't blogged about weight loss in a while. In the past, that would have meant that I had fallen off the proverbial diet wagon. Not this time. I am down 16 pounds---roughly 2 one gallon paint cans.

It's pretty exciting to see my clothes getting bigger and to even need some new clothes but I'm frustrated at the moment. I've hit the dreaded plateau. I'm being a good girl. I'm hitting the treadmill at least 3 or 4 times a week and I'm being a healthy little eater. Despite all that, I have lost a pound in about 3 1/2 weeks. Snarl!

It's seriously getting to me. I'm basically obsessed about it. So much so that Andy named my scale. He thought since I was spending so much time with him, he should have a name. Richard and I have a rocky relationship. For a while he was saying all the right things. Our relationship was new and fun. Right now, the romance is gone. He needs to start whispering sweet nothings to me again or I may end up tossing him out the window. ; )

At any rate, two paint cans down, I'm hoping to lose at least a couple more cans. I'm stepping up the workout routine. I'll keep you posted. Check back later for some photos of my friend Stacy.

The future dk...

Ok. When you own your business, you hope that the day will come that your kids will take it over. My oldest son is artistic but has shown very little interest in photography. My middle child has tunnel vision for sports but Devin... Maybe little dk has a future... I found all these photos on my phone. I think one of them is Aidan's but the rest belong to Devin for sure. It looks as though she's working on self-portraits, landscapes and still lifes.

This cracked me up. The funniest part is that this is a very small portion of the images. She must've been clicking away. ; )


Keep an eye out... I'll have several entries this week. I'll be sharing images from Austin's last high school play, Brad and Amanda's wedding, Morgan's session and Stacy's session as well. And... since I'm working on some wedding photos from pre-blog days, I may share a taste of those as well. Have a great day!

10 years

On April 17th, Andy and I celebrated 10 years of wedded bliss. We wanted to do a big weekend but it's hard to get away so... we took a quick jaunt down to Gatlinburg, TN. We did some hiking (that seriously challenged my leg muscles) to Chimney Tops.

At the beginning of the trail, there are some beautiful creek beds. I liked the color but... something about putting these images into sepia made them timeless. Which image do you like better?

The view at the top was worth the hike. Along the way, we met several people from Ohio. It was pretty funny. Good thing Andy wore his Ohio State shirt. The Buckeye Nation is everywhere!

Here's to many more happy anniversaries!

Senior Year

Remember senior year? College visits, last homecomings, getting accepted to college and finally---the prom. It's a big night. Remember yours? Mine was so awful I would never share photos with you. I'll just say the dress was a pale pink homage to Little Bo Peep and my date was painfully shy. It was a long night.

But... I think my son is quite handsome and his date was darling. They seemed to have a great time. Graduation is coming soon! Then...college!

I'm very fortunate to have a job that is nearly always happy. That is a real blessing. But as all of you know, life isn't always happy. We have our low moments too. Right now, someone I love is having the lowest moment of her life. She has been one of my mom's best friends for practically as long as I can remember. Mary's son died suddenly Friday morning while jogging. Jason was only 37 years old and leaves behind a wife and 3 children.

This death has struck me for so many reasons. No mother should outlive her children and she certainly shouldn't bury them a few days before Mother's Day. I've known Jason since we were kids and it is unreal to me that he is gone. I guess I just hope that all of you will say a little prayer for Jason's mom, wife and three children. It is an unbelievably difficult time for them. And after your prayer, hug someone you love because none of us are promised tomorrow.