MOVING!

Please excuse my absence! There seemed to be a baby boom in June and July and I was super busy with newborns shoots in NJ! (I promise to blog them soon, soooo many good images!)

I do have some BIG NEWS - we found out in July that we were going to be relocating down to North Carolina for my husband's job! We are more than thrilled about this news! I know NC is a beautiful place because my sister is down there and I have visited many times! Oh and my sister just had a baby girl (another session I need to blog) and I am so excited to spend time with her and my new niece Emmie!

So anyway - we will be living in the Winston-Salem/Clemmons area and I will starting up the business very soon…hopefully by October! A perfect time to do some fall sessions and holiday sessions. Please pass my information on to any friends you have down there! Thanks!!!

Ok and here are 3 sneak peaks from my nieces photo session - isn't she a beauty?!

My sister

Dana. She is 24. My little sister. Going to grad school. She runs. She bikes. She works out. She has a job. She cooks. She bakes. She cleans. She walks the dog. She pretty much does everything.

Sooo any guys out there? Kidding! She will kill me for that one.

Anyway here she is in all her beauty.

She never lets me take pictures of her…after 3 snaps, I get this.

Maybe the beer warmed her up for a bit?

Nope, got the hand and the whiney "Stop that!" Oh Dana I still love you!

So close to Jeter...

While I am on the topic of sporting events - I thought I'd share a quick post of where I sat at a Yankee game a few weeks ago....

7 ROWS FROM HOME PLATE!!!

Can we say boo-ya! These seats were a-mazing and the view of players wasn't half bad either ;) I took my dad as he is originally from Michigan and the Yankees were playing the Tigers that night. I also had to make up fathers day in a big way and this was the perfect opportunity! I thought it would be quite fitting to treat my dad to a game because always took ME to ball games when I was a young lad, umm girl. (I think my dad would secretly pretend I was the son he never had, lol.) I didn't care though and really loved this time with my dad. He bought me special baseball earrings, the big foam hand, cracker jacks, ice cream in the plastic hat, etc! He taught me "Take me out the ball game" and had me participate in the wave (which I still love to this day). It was always so much fun to go to games with my dad and this was a GREAT opportunity to treat him and also reminisce!

This was my 2nd time at the new Yankee stadium and I was VERY impressed. Here are a few pics from our fun father/daughter date!









and for old times sake....we got the icecream in the hat!!!

J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS

Well the Jets are off to a good start this year and let's hope it stays that way! My husband, is a die hard Jets fan, was indeed at the game on Sunday and he came back in quite the chipper mood (not that he isn't always chipper).

Anyway a few weeks ago I went to a preseason game and got to check out the new stadium. It is pretty nice and I really enjoyed myself. My only disappointment was the concession stand - there was NO line at all but my I still had to wait for my food! It seemed like utter chaos back there and I have no clue what was going on but it took forever. Other than that we had a good time and I cannot wait to go to another game this season!

Michigan sky

We were out in Michigan Labor Day weekend had the chance to go to my uncle's lake house. What an amazing spot and I am always awestruck every time I go there. Their house is gorgeous, the views are beautiful and it is just complete serenity there.

Until you hear the laughter and chuckle of our huge family. I repeat HUGE family. There are 18 first cousins, and I have lost count of the second cousins but it is somewhere in the 20's. We all got together for a big reunion and it was an absolute blast. I decided to leave my good camera behind on this trip because I felt I needed a break. I really just wanted to have fun and hang with everyone and didn't want to be click-click-clicking away. I did however bring my point-and-shoot and happened to capture these two AMAZING photos:






We had an absolute blast in MI and I really wish we could get out there more often. My grandparents are both doing well and my g-pa (who is 88) even golfed 18 holes with Matt. Amazing. Thank you g-ma and g-pa for having us out and to my aunt and uncle for opening up your house for 50+ people! We love you and miss you already! (PS - isn't my hair huge in this pic, haha.)

Eat, drink and be crabby!

Ever since we have been together, Matt and I take yearly a trip down to Ocean City, MD. It is actually ironic that we both have a connection to this tourist destination but I will get to that in a minute. Ocean City is such a great spot to visit and we have friends who live near the Delaware beaches so even more of a reason to go down there! We love to hang at the beach, go shopping, walk the boardwalk, eat the infamous Thrasher's french fries, as well Fisher's popcorn, go out for fresh crabs and seafood and the list goes on.

Ok now for the quick side story…when Matt and I first met out in Vegas, he asked me where I went to college and my quick response was, "A small school, I am sure you've never heard of it." Now Matt is from the west coast and not many people out there have heard of the small east coast school I went to but he said, "Try me." I told him Salisbury University and he confirmed that yup, he had heard of it and he knew the area very well! Score! Not only did he know the area but he spent many a summer down there with his grandparents - so yeah he probably knows it better than I do! (For those of you who STILL haven't heard of Salisbury University, it is on the eastern side of Maryland, about 30 minutes from Ocean City.) So every time we go down we always reminisce and visit our favorite attractions. We HAVE to go to the boardwalk and usually wander aimlessly with french fries in our hands and huge smiles plastered on our faces. Matt and I are always amused at how NOTHING has changed there and that is why we love it so much. Some of the neon signs on the look like they are from the 70's and some of the rides look even older!

OC is the ultimate playland for adults and kids! There are tons of fun bars that I have been going to since my college days and plenty of yummy places for crabs like Waterman's and Old Mill. I am not much of a crab person but Matt is so we always hit up one of our favorite spots. Don't get me wrong, I do like crabs but just hate all the work that goes into getting them open!

We had a great time and I wanted to share some photos from our trip. We made a mess at Old Mill Crab House in Ocean City and I thought it made for interesting pictures. We went with two sets of friends and their kids and boy did we get our hands dirty! The girls got peel and eat shrimp and the guys got all you can eat crabs! Sorry in advance for so many photos but I couldn't help myself and love shooting freely like this.















Beers and bottles...lol













What a mess! The guys' hands were actually pruney from hours of cracking crabs open!







The aftermath...









Later on, Matt and I went to walk the boardwalk. I love taking pictures down here - I cannot wait to look at them in 20 years from now and see how/if anything changes.









The best french fries in the world...Thrasher's









This is one of the signs that has not changed in 30 years. By the way...what is up with the bananas that look like pickles!?!?



Happy times



















The rides...