This list is an easy one, just to get me started. It is songs that I have been listening to more than anything else lately. If I like a song, I can listen to it a million times. These are songs that are well on their way to reaching that million.

• 1. The Loneliness and the Scream – Frightened Rabbit
  Love this song. Love.

  

• 2. Yes, I Would – Frightened Rabbit
  Another Frightened Rabbit song. Because this whole album (The Winter of Mixed Drinks) is awesome.
  Lyrics from this song…
  What if I am never thrown that rope?
  What if this tear in my side just pours and pours and pours?
  I wonder if they’ve noticed I’m not around
  The loss of a lonely man never makes much of a sound.
  
  
  
• 3. Faded – The Greencards
  This song drew me in with its unusual (to me anyway) time signature. Beautiful vocals. Love the lyrics too.
  Lyrics…
  Somewhere to run to
  Someone to cling to, baby
  Someone to hold on
  When all around is faded.

• 4. Barton Hollow – The Civil Wars
  Love the guy/girl harmony.

  

• 5. June Hymn – The Decemberists
  The Decemeberists plus bonus harmonica. Sweet. And he used the word “panolpy”….impressive.

  

• 6. Last Leaf – OK Go
  Awwwwwww. Sigh. And have you ever seen a video made completely from toast?

  

• 7. Grounds for Divorce – Elbow
  The guitar. The lyrics. The “seldom seen kid” in the lyrics refers to a friend of the band that died. I am a sucker for lyrics with a real, personal story.

  

Homecomings are, by far, one of my favorite things to photograph. Here is a little video clip of some of the homecomings that I have the honor to be a part of. You can see more by selecting Operation:Love Reunited or military homecomings under my blog categories if you have the time…and the tissues.

I have met such wonderful people this last year….many that I have had the good fortune to see more than once. I am so grateful for trust and support that I get from all of you. I wish I could say thank you to you all, individually……with cupcakes!…but that is not really practical, so this will have to do.

Thank you for an amazing year.

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Don’t forget about the anniversary mini sessions.

So August 1 is the one year anniversary of my name change to double scoop. To celebrate that special day……I am having a wisdom tooth extracted. Do I know how to party or what? So…because I won’t be doing anything fun….or anything involving solid food……I decided to salvage the day with something cool for my clients. At first I thought…free session!…And then I remembered that I am still digging myself out from under the last session giveaway that I had. I kind of tend to…um…over give…just a little. I guess there are worse things. So, with a giveaway off the table, I went to the next most requested thing….MINI SESSIONS. Well, I aim to please….mini sessions, it is.

The details:
- 30-45 minute session
- Artistic editing and processing of your images (10-15 finished images)
- High resolution files of all finished images on DVD, allowing you to print your images as you choose or use them digitally.

$150

Dates available:
Saturday, August 20
Sunday, August 21

Because there are limited spaces available, a $50 deposit will be due at the time of booking to reserve your spot.

One of the cool parts of my job is getting to watch the families that I work with change and grow. I met this family before the newest little guy, Ryan, was born….and now he is six months old! Time is flying. Not sure how I feel about that. Actually, I am. I don’t like it. I need to get to work on that time machine. Or maybe start up an expedition to find the fountain of youth. That could work.

Lately, I have been having problems getting babies to stay asleep for sessions…..this time? Not so much. At one point, we looked away for just a second, and Ryan had fallen asleep sitting up. But he eventually woke up…with a little help from Rogie, the sweet yellow lab, that I just now realized did not make it into this photo session. Oh no. Next time, Rogie….you’ll get the VIP treatment. I’ll bring treats.

I got to spend a day with two pretty amazing ladies this weekend, Annie and Mikyla. One of them I went to high school with…..and one of them is too young to know what pegging your jeans is, or that Vanilla Ice tried to rap, and not just flip houses on some crappy show on HGTV…..wish I could say the same.  These two must be pretty cool, because I did several things that are out of normal range of behavior. I went in the sun. The SUN! I have managed to avoid that to the point of becoming damn near albino. I walked…like….far-ish. Up a hill, even! I went onto the beach. Yes, I was THAT girl that had to remove her Converse to go on the sand….but I did it. Feet in the water and everything. I also did some things that were a little more my thing…..I whined. It was the sweating. I hate sweating. But Annie politely put up with my whining and we sang some James Brown, and blew some bubbles, and had some tiramisu. Aside from a sea creature trying to eat Mikyla’s feet without our knowledge and Mikyla taking a giant bubble right to the eye, it was a good day.

It was so nice to finally be able to meet Mikyla, after talking with Annie about her, and seeing her pictures on facebook. She is just as sweet as Annie said, and her laugh is one of the cutest things I have ever heard. I have a theory that Mikyla is such an amazing little girl because she has two pretty amazing parents. You see, Mikyla has Rett Syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects only girls. You can read more about what Rett Syndrome is here…. but, some of the more noticeable symptoms are loss of purposeful movement of the hands and the ability to speak. Mikyla’s parents, Robert and Annie, have worked tirelessly advocating for their daughter and other girls with Rett Syndrome, and created a non-profit that raises money to fund research to find a cure…..

www.mikyla-cure.org. You can go there to learn more about Mikyla, about Rett, and to donate to help make the cure happen for these girls and their families.

This was yet another newborn session where the star of the show refused to sleep. No amount of feeding, rocking, bouncing, pacifier-ing, or patting could keep this little guy asleep. I am beginning to think that babies find me suspicious. Like, if they slip off into slumber, I am going to start shoving their family’s valuables into my camera bag. Nothing could be farther from the truth, babies, I swear! Or maybe, they just sense that if they fall asleep that I will take pictures of them naked. I mean, now that I think about it, that is a valid concern. Would you go to sleep if you knew someone was going to be photographing you naked? Probably not. Good point, babies, good point. But babies are just as cute when they are awake, so we made it work.

This is Declan, and his proud parents Jennifer and Ara. His sisters Kellie and Paisley were not a part of the fun this time, but you can see them here. And Jennifer wrote a note for Notes Girls Write that you can read here.

My daughter’s friend, Madalynn, will be leaving for the summer. The whole summer. That is a long time for an adult, but it is like a million years to a kid….maybe even a zillion. Madalynn also happens to be our neighbor, which means going from seeing each other every day, to not seeing each other at all. It is going to be a very long summer. Knowing that she was going to be gone, I had planned on doing a photo session for the girls, so they would have some pictures and a slideshow in case they missed each other. Time kept getting away from me, and before I knew it, it was just a few weeks until summer break. I knew I needed to get that session done. Sadly, Madalynn broke her finger while playing tether ball. She had to have surgery and have pins put in. We went ahead with the session, sling and all. She was a trooper.

Since I started putting this post together, little girl drama took over the neighborhood. There is a girl on the street that does not like my daughter, and she has forced Madalynn into the position of having to choose who to play with. It is so heartbreaking to watch my daughter hurting as she is left out. It is even more heartbreaking because she doesn’t understand why. I struggle to find answers for her, and realize that there really are none, aside from…girls can be mean. Girls can be best friends one day, and the next, do a total 180, for no apparent reason. Girls put their friends into a hierarchy….best friends…second best friends…..others…..and that hierarchy shifts on a whim. I wanted to be able to tell her that it would get better. That everyone grows more mature, and she would not deal with this kind of thing forever, but I couldn’t, because I know damn well that it never goes away. All I could do was to offer that tried and true parental attempt at comfort, and say that she would find real friends….true friends….friends that value her for who she is, and would never behave in ways that are so hurtful. And that she may have many acquaintances, but maybe only a handful of those true friends. I know those words are not much comfort as she hears the other girls laughing and playing outside. And I see that she doubts its credibility in light of watching me recently go through the ending of a friendship with someone that I considered to be one of those true friends….something she has asked me a zillion questions about, her brow furrowed with concern.

The little girl that is the root of the problems has been gone on vacation for the last few days, and Sophie and Madalynn have fallen back into their routine. But I see the hesitance in Sophie….the holding back. The protecting herself. And although I don’t blame her…she has been burned…..I am sad for her. I hate to see that part of her that puts all of herself into caring about people, tempered and cautious. And I want to go yell at the mean girl……or yell at her mom….but I know that is not an option. This is Sophie’s path to navigate. All I can do is to encourage her to be a good friend herself….and be ready with hugs and ice cream when the next bump in the road comes.

A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend, one human soul whom we can trust utterly, who knows the best and worst of us, and who loves us in spite of all our faults.

~ Charles Kingsley ~

Sophia Rose, you are an amazing young lady. You are funny….your sense of comedic timing is impeccable (look it up). You are fast with a comeback and understand how to use sarcasm. You make me laugh every single day. You are smarter than you give yourself credit for. Trust me. You are creative. Your comic books, stories, and drawings are the perfect examples of this. You have the kindest heart, and are always so sensitive to the feelings of others. You are genuine and honest. I enjoy being around you, not because you are my daughter, but because you are a wonderful person. Happy Birthday, Pretty. I can’t wait to see what good things the next year brings you.

OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

~ Dr. Suess

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The Midnight Birthday Pictures…..

Sophie brought a hat for each of the cats, too. Keith was thinking midnight was a little late for all of the partying….

AJ, Jon’s wife, had arranged to go to a Harley dealership with Jon’s dad, under the guise of looking at Harley’s for Jon, because he and his father had always wanted to take a road trip and ride together. Jon’s dad, step-mom, ad AJ looked at all of the bikes, and Jon’s dad was going to take one for a demo ride, thinking that the person accompanying him on the demo ride was going to be the employee that had been helping them. He had no idea that a switcheroo had been made, and that the person in the black leathers and black, full face visor helmet was really Jon.

When they pull up from the demo ride, AJ asks him how the bike was. He said that he thought it would be perfect for Jon. Then, she told him to turn around and see who his escort had been. Surprise. (You can read AJ’s blog about the surprise here.)

I am so honored to have been asked to photograph so many families reuniting after a deployment. I know that not every family is so lucky. This Memorial Day, I am so grateful for the sacrifices made by all of these families, and am humbled by those that have given their lives for my freedom.