here is a very quick very tiny peek at the sessions from the beach.. one of mine at the end.. i am just itching to edit!!

little miss laura and her daddy, dallas..

and the gorgeous and very smart young reagan – oh. my gosh.. i am not sure how to spell her name!  horrified i am.. please correct, marty and julie!!

and then one of my emily and tom..

i promise more later..  i must go to sleep!!

yes.. gosh golly..  that is my attempt not to swear at the top of my lungs.. our vacation was lovely.. relaxing in fact.. but the drive home.. lemme explain..

i am a believer in paying for cash for things.. and well, i’d rather not pay a ton for cars.. it just annoys me.. my husband can fix anything – the thing we lack is time!  so it all started last year, i wanted to see if i liked suburbans – with the 3 kids, we run out of room in anything else very quickly.. so.. tom’s cousin had one and we bought it from them for not much.. on the way back from the beach this weekend – it DIED.. like “that doesn’t sound good” and then “oh, that’s bad.. ” and then suddenly a dead car.. so by that point we were in Raliegh, NC..  got a rental car.. got a Uhaul and a car dolly to bring the hunk of .. um.. car.. home.. we left the beach at 9 am.. well fed and ready for a long day home from Corolla, NC – Outer Banks..  at 1 the car died.. tom does not stress about anything.. and the poor man had a stressed look all over him.. finally at 8 PM.. we were hooked up and ready to come home.. thankfully we decided to spend the night at a wonderful Sleep Inn on Page Road in Raleigh, NC.. (that’s where the ‘burb died – and they were so kind to us, we just had to stay there.. CLEAN and NEW.. ).. well, this morning we headed out.. TWO seconds on I-40 and the car dolly was swaying and the two right tires lifted off the road.. I about died – i mean.. tom, my whole life is in there.. a panic attack hit me – haven’t had that since 1999.. and i just KNEW he was going to flip.. he didn’t.. the kids got to see me have a mini breakdown..  we quickly decided tom would take the back roads home (as he couldn’t go over 40 mph) and the kids and i would take the rental car and interstate home.. friend tiffany met us at the airport and calmed me and brought us home.. AND hooked us up with dinner.. LOVE her..

so home we are.. all of us finally.. hopefully will have some images from the trip soon and from the mini beach sessions.. i am just so thankful to be home..

we are on vacation!!!  well, technically, i am packing, loading the car – packing up my new camera and lenses so i can play with them at the beach!  the kids are back from a week with grandma and cousins and had a fabulous time.. it was so nice to have them all tucked in their beds last night.. grandma had them so exhausted they all slept until 9 – that is unheard of here..

we will be back next Sunday.. then it’s back to work – i have loads to finish proofing, lots of sessions coming up – and looking forward to it all..

but first, a vacation with mine!

weddings are not something i do – usually – but for April, well, let’s just say, i really like her.. you may remember back in Sept – or was it October, we did an engagement session.. i remember thinking the wedding was forever away – but June 13th came quickly!!!  i had a wonderful time with her bridesmaids – i think they all think i am crazy.. april and robbie were surrounded by so many wonderful people – the wedding was filled with adorable kids too!  it’s possible that i did actually get one of the groom with a genuine smile – but you will have to wait and see..  I loved spending the afternoon with you all..

I only have time to post a few – but I hope you love them!!!

finally ready…

and just after the i-do’s..

and little bailey… she has the most beautiful light blue eyes.. of course, you can’t see them here..

and her shoes.. bailey’s, not the brides…

your full gallery will be ready – oh.. in a couple weeks!!!

this family is just that.. fabulous.. i had a fantastic time with them..  and i felt so welcome – i could have stayed for days..  seeing the connection between them all was so amazing.. now, getting this group out on the beach ready for pictures proved a bit tough – the wind was whirrling, storm bearing down on us.. but we got some fantastic images, JUST before the sky opened up.. I felt so bad that we didn’t get all the images before the storm – I wanted to get out of their vacation and head home so they could get on with their days – but Katy quickly shut me up and we tried for images again the next morning… EARLY..  if you’ve had a session with me – you know i can be a bit – well, loud and excited.. and here we all were on the beach at 8 am.. and I’d had no coffee.. scary situation.. this crew was sooo awesome – the sun was really bright and four of them could barely keep their eyes open – poor Ali.. and Katy, I got some gorgeous images of your eye makeup – flawless as usual!  Luckily the sun hid a few times and we got some great images.. then back inside for a crazy scrumptious breakfast – omg - the bacon and crabcakes..

Thank you so much for having me.. I hope you all love the peek!

they have grown sooo much in the past year.. these images really show that to me.. they are little boys now..

handsome collin..

and Ali – i love this.. can not wait to do your senior session!

i can not believe i got this shot.. katy could not keep her eyes open!

back to editing i go..   i enjoyed seeing everyone again and meeting faith, clint, ali and andrew finally!  such an awesome family you all are..

as i tweeted earlier (okay, that just does not sound right).. well, if you saw the tweet, i mentioned that tiffany was coming over with some new arrangements..

i love how she delivers the smaller arrangements – how simple – and not “flower shoppy” does this feel?..

and the happy arrangement i found inside.. in a vintage container.. i mean – only tiffany would think of using something vintage..

these have a place in my house… LUCKY ME!!!  the container is fab.

these are her boxwood wreaths.. o.. m.. g.. they are awesome..

and last but not least

i really enjoy photographing these for her..  hope to see many more..

oh.. and her site.. in case you want to look – www.tiffanyfineflorals.com

sooooo dang excited..

it’s official!  i will be in northern VA the weekend of August 1st.. can not wait to meet all these little guys!  how fast has this come up?!?!

And, um.. i can’t believe how awesome all my clients are.. i swear i can hardly keep up with the referrals – BUT i am l.o.v.i.n.g it..  i sooo love meeting new people and getting to know their families..

i have a wedding this weekend – April and Robbie – you may remember them from their engagement pics last year.. well, it’s this weekend!  talk about fast.. and then to Myrtle Beach for a couple days for a few sessions.. then back home.. crazy editing and meetings and then VACATION!!!  (well, and probably a couple sessions while at Outer Banks, NC.. let me know if you will be there and I will see about fitting you in – we will be there 21-27th..)

looking forward – November – is already filling up FAST.. I am thinking a trip to Augusta over Thanksgiving – because I know my friend, Cathleen, will cook a fabulous meal.. ha ha ha.. ha ha.. oooh.. that was funny.. the girl can cook, but she’s more the let’s go grab a fabulous meal and come home and enjoy a glass of wine in a clean kitchen!  i digress.. have some great families i love photographing and am trying to make sure I can see them one more time this year..

So, yes, I realize it is only June, but if you are wanting pretty fall colors OR Christmas sessions.. please schedule as early as you can.. My last session if you want to have your images for Christmas Cards will be December 1st… And I will be closed for the Holidays as of Dec. 11th – Jan 9th..  Of course, new babes are always squeezed in!

on a personal note.. think happy thoughts for us tonight – Emily – the babe is moving to a big girl bed (two escapes from the crib in 12 hours – she is a climber).. i’m sad.. she’s our baby.. no longer a baby.. see there the tears roll again..

little sophie – she was absolutely precious..  18 months is a tough age to photograph because they are sooooo fast.. while they are so fast, they have yet to learn effective stopping technique – or turning for that matter!  sophie has the most darling gorgeous eyes and a fantastic smile that shows off her adorable cheeks..  (can you tell i was in love with her?)  this stage is so bitter sweet because they are still babies, but beginning to lose those little baby features… sophie was so sweet, so cautiously trusting, and her curiosity worked to my advantage – and i think there is a great sense of humor brewing behind those sparkly eyes!  i can’t wait to see how she changes in just a few months!

a peek for you, Tonya..

is her dress not to die for?

i love her little wrists.. and tiny hands

and this one.. well, this one has me speechless..

last night was my second session with this adorable little lady..  she is just – well, a princess.. but a sweet, crazy imaginative, happy little princess… last year her mom, beth, asked if we could do a session where emma just got to be emma… dresses, play clothes, baby dolls and just playing in the yard running around.. SURE!  the hardest part for me – emma kept tricking me in to playing with her – and i kept wanting to put the camera down and help her find Peter Pan..   a very cooperative model she was.. i am having a very difficult time just choosing a few to share..

this one.. emma does not normally run around outside with out shoes, but beth and i thought the images would be best with bare feet.. emma routinely checked her little feet – i had to assure her that mine were getting just as dirty!.. i love the green bow on her dress

love this

i mean.. the CURLS.. i was just taken by them.. so pretty.. perfect little curls.. but she looks so much more grown up in black and white!

she looooooves her bitty.. BUT she decided that baby was sick.. and needed to stay in bed.. i nearly met my match!

one of my fav from the session – Emma as Tinkerbell..  she gets sooo in character..

i promise i have lots of family pics too!  but these just made me smile.. and smile.. and smile.. emma is so expressive and thoughtful and a SUPER great hostess!

Can’t wait to see you again!

hey there.. o.. m.. g.. i am loving the new custom framing i’m offering.. go to the client lounge to see details – it’s soooo cool..

don’t have your password yet for the lounge – email me.. nicholle@nichollegoodnightphotography.com  and i shall send the link and password..