Mom and Bob

Here are just a quick few shots of my Mom and Bob. They celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary this year and we decided to do some updated pictures of them. Aren't they a cute couple :)

The circle of life is bitter sweet......

This past winter and spring about 3 weeks after Evie was born we lost Grandma Sommer. This was Andy's grandmother and she was 93. I remember her as such a strong woman. She was a mother of 7 amazing kids....one set of twins in the mix...(Andy's dad is one of them:)

One of my most favorite memories of her was when Andy and I had been dating for over a year and she asked him "so....when's the next wedding?" (I of course was wondering when he'd be proposing too) She loved getting to see so many of her 19 grandchildren get married over the years. Here is one of my favorite pictures of her. (I didn't take it :( It's from my sis-in-law's wedding a few years ago.



Here is the amazing family she leaves behind. (The Sommer family are some of the most genuine people I know and I'm so happy to be part of this family)



About one week before we lost Grandma Sommer, my Grandma Shirley went to the emergency room and was diagnosed with acute lukemia. In true Grandma Shirley form...she put up a really good fight for about six weeks.and beat the lukemia....the only problem was that her white blood cells never came back. I think selfishly I thought she'd always be with us partly because her mother lived to be 100. My uncle called me (after her condition worsened) to remind me that Evie completed the circle of life with grandma...and trying to keep that mindset has helped with the pain of loosing her. I have so many amazing and warm memories of her. She was 87 and very dear to my heart.

Here is a portrait I took of her just a couple years ago.

Gone fishing!!!

That's right ya'll....I will be out of the office from Sunday August 16th till Sunday August 22nd. I will be without phone service and will return all your calls on Monday the 17th. I'm not sure about e-mail...so if I have access I will respond to you the best I can. We are headed to my favorite place in the US.....Norris Lake, TN!!! I can't wait to do a little swimming, relaxing, and maybe even some fishing!!! I will not be participating this year in one of my favorite events, HARD CORE TUBING! So to my brides to be who see the photo of me below (I'm the one on the left) no worries, I won't be flying through the air while on vacation!!! LOL That was shot years ago! Be sure to check back next week as I will have Kellie & Dave's wedding, baby Morgan, Jill and Bob's engagement and some vacation photos for you to see!

Thanks so much folks!!

Chicago

As you all know...my personal blogs get put on the back burner when it's busy season. In June Andy and I FINALLY made the trip up to Chicago for a weekend to visit my dear friend Wade. (when I say finally....i'm referring to the fact that he's been living there for 10 years now, and this is the first trip we've managed to plan) Wade manages one of the taller buildings in downtown, so we took advantage of his per and went up on the rooftop at sunset. AMAZING! Luckily I planned and brought my camera. Thanks again Wade for being such an amazing host and tour guide. We had a blast and hope to make it up to visit again someday!!!









Sadie, the dog

We did some window shopping


I'm in search of a new pair of glasses and I always like something a little funky, these might just be to retro for me though.



our reflection in the egg

Our trip to DC

Well as you all know by now...my personal blogs get put on the back burner!!! We went to DC a couple months ago to visit some of our Aunt and Uncle Sommers! We hit the cherry blossoms at peak and they were beautiful. This was my first time at our nations capitol and I was amazed. I just can't get over how big it all is. DC is gorgeous during the day and at night. For those of you who follow me on facebook, you might remember me posting about trying to run from the capitol building to the Washington monument...while catching the light just after sunset. Well that's about 2 miles and I didn't have running shoes on...plus I was caring my camera. So needless to say...I didn't make it! But it sure makes for a funny memory or picture if your visioning me trying to make it in time. Hope you enjoy these!








We also met up with my good friend Dani...

had to do a quick casual portrait of her :)

Meet Gloria & Family weekend

This post is way overdue as I make my way to being caught up on this blog!!! Way back when we did Corrin and Dan's wedding up in Norton Shores Michigan we were able to visit some of my family who live 20 minutes away. My nephew Devin recently got a new pet and named her Gloria! Isn't she pretty?? I got to hold her and she liked my diamond...LOL! We also got to meet my brother Kevin's new dog Lilly! For those of you wondering...I do plan to put the slide show up from our trip to Oregon soon.

Congrats Kelly & Congrats Kelly!!!!

Ummmm.... Does my headline confuse you???? It's not a typo!! I'm a few days behind on this blog (surprise surprise) but I just wanted to say a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to two of the special Kelly's in my life. (did you all know that I actually have 4 special Kelly's in my life, that's right 2 cousins and 2 close friends)

Well Kelly U celebrated her tenth wedding anniversary this past weekend. I can't believe I was in her wedding ten years ago! Kelly and Jason I'm so happy for you and wish you 10 x 10 more years of happiness together!!!

You know how brides tend to say "yeah I picked that bridesmaids dress for you so you could wear it again" and then the bridesmaids just look at her and smile (since that's what they are supposed to do??? even though in the back of their mind they are thinking....is she for real???) Well my dear friend Kelly said that and we actually smiled at her and we meant it. I wore my bridesmaids dress to so many events for the next two years after her wedding! Thanks again Kelly! :)


RHYME TIME:
Kelly and Jason is it ten years already?
I remember in high school when you first started going steady
Your family has grown to five with your three little ones
I can't wait to photograph you this fall and I miss you tons

*SIDE NOTE: Kelly purchased her negative along with copy permissio from her photographer so I do have permission to scan in these images. Since I'm on that subject... THE IMAGES I POST ON MY BLOG are for my CLIENTS TO VIEW right away. THEY ARE NOT HERE FOR ANYONE TO PRINT or for other photographers to use!!!! (they are not print quality anyway and remember folks it's agains the law) I do not mind if I have photographed you and you use the images on here for your myspace or facebook sites as long as you KEEP THE LOGO ON THEM. Please respect photographer's and other artist's work. Do the right by purchasing your images from them so they can stay in business and continue to document your lives! Thanks for reading!!! :)




Onto my other Kelly! This Kelly and I have only been friends for about a year, but it feels like a lifetime. I swear her and I are twins separated at birth and raised by two separate families! No we don't look like twins (although we both have very long hair and are the same size) but our likes, dislikes and manorisms are the same. Sometimes it's scary!!!!!!

Okay onto what this whole blog is about.... KELLY WON AN EMMY!!!! No you couldn't see her on tv accepting her award. She is a producer for the Dayton CW and she was nominated for a regional award and this past weekend SHE WON!!!!! I haven't had a chance to talk to her directly yet...so I don't have any other information. (she sent me a text right after she won)
SO CONGRATS KELLY! I'M SO EXCITED AND PROUD OF YOU!!!! Call me okay!!!! (LOL)



RHYME TIME:
Kelly and I will admidt that we are photo and video nerds
Can you imagine how she felt when she heard these words
"May I have the envelope please"
Kelly just won an emmy
(extra line) How cool is she?!!!