Joe's Bar Mitzvah

Last night Scott and I spent the evening with an amazing young man and his family. Joe celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Temple Emanu El in Dallas with a fabulous party at the Westin Galleria afterward. Here's a peek.

First we shot a few fun family photos with mom and dad and his twin brothers.

 Then we set up some photos with the Torah.

 Joe is a super awesome kid and he was game for all the photos we asked him to take.

 Speaking of game...Joe's reception theme centered around the three sports he plays: Baseball, Basketball and Tennis. These centerpieces are fantastic.

 They had water bottles with photos of Joe I shot a few months ago as place cards. Love that idea. The tennis photos were for tables with tennis centerpieces and they had the name and table number on a picture of a tennis ball on the other side. Very clever.

 Joe was carried in by the dancers for his entrance.

 He was having a great time all night...partying with his friends and showing off his dance moves in the Dougie Dance competition.

Joe was showered with confetti during the Hora...that's where the confetti in my camera bag came from ;) It was really cool with all the sparkling multicolored confetti falling all around.

 It looks like Joe had a blast. So did we! Thanks for having us out to photograph your Bar Mitzvah day.

Kenzie is One!

This morning Kenzie and I hung out for a little while...with cake. That's a girl after my heart :) But first a few photos with mom and dad.

 Love this family :)

 Then...the cake. I love how she starts out like she's going to hug the cake...then it's sprinkles everywhere! I'm betting mom finds sprinkles in places she never imagined they could be for the next few days. What a cutie!

 Yes, this is my cake and I'm taking it with me. The whole thing.

 And here's one of the aftermath. Kenzie is already walking so we ended up with sprinkles all over her feet, fun!

Happy Birthday Kenzie!

Family :)

Sunday I had the pleasure of photographing my good friend Sharon and her daughter at Sharon's home. She has a pretty amazing backyard with lots of great backgrounds for photos, but the challenge was to impress a fellow photographer. I always find it a challenge and even a little intimidating to photograph someone else who does the same job as me, but Sharon and her daughter were so fun to work with, they were open to all my ideas, and I think we got some photos they will treasure. Here's a peek.

We started out with a little back-lit sun flare and then Sharon has this little weathered wooden building in her yard. It's fabulous.

 I just love that weathered grey background with the purple and raspberry, and that tiny bit of green. Perfect color pop. And Sharon and Kim were great models :)

 Thanks for having me come out to take your photos. I hope you love them :)

Are you ready for some football?

5-day-old Ryan is :)

Isn't this little hat the cutest?

 So I'm thinking he's destined to follow in his dad's footsteps an play a little ball for my Alma Mater, Texas Tech. I mean...at 5-days-old we're got him with the Letterman's ring, the bowl rings, the jersey, helmet and football...Wreck 'em! I can't resist this tiny little red Raider :) he's adorable.

and maybe he'll play a little baseball too!

 He's got some beautiful eyes.

 But he spent most of our session sleeping.

 I'm in love with his baby eyelashes.

 ...and his teeny, tiny fingers.

Here's a sweet one with mom and dad's wedding rings.

 Aww...I'm loving this little man.

Catherine & Patrick are Married!

A few hours ago Catherine and Patrick got married in a beautiful ceremony at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in San Antonio. Their reception was at Club Giraud and they left by boat down the San Antonio River...so romantic! Here's a little preview.

Catherine and Patrick

 Some alone time in the church.

 First dance.

 His ring is engraved with the wedding date, her engagement ring is a family heirloom, she's the fourth woman to wear it. Love that!

Congratulations Catherine and Patrick! I'll have more photos ready for you soon.

Catherine & Patrick are getting married!

I'm in San Antonio tonight anticipating the wedding of Catherine and Patrick tomorrow, super excited to photograph this fun Horned Frog couple :)

 The church is gorgeous...

 and the couple...well they are beautiful and fun.  They were smiling all through the rehearsal.

The lighting and the stained glass in the sanctuary are fabulous. Tomorrow is going to be ahhh....mazing!

Red Raider Ryan.

Welcome to the newest Red Raider in the metrolex...5-day-old Ryan. I'm in love.

 What can I say...there's nothing better than a baby boy and sports gear. Especially if it's the real deal. Daddy was the punter at Texas Tech about 10 years or so ago and he had all kinds of cool things for us to pose Ryan with. :) Mom's an alum too!

He's already got his guns up...and his Red Raider sock monkey, and what future punter would be complete without bowl rings and a letterman's ring. I wonder what number he will be? It doesn't matter what number he is in the program...this sweet boy is number one in my heart. Wreck 'em Tech!

My busy weekend

Oh how I love to be busy. This weekend was no exception :)

Friday: UTA volleyball

 Saturday: First, Cross Country

 Second, UTA Volleyball

 Third, TCU football.

TCU opened their new stadium but the day was all about Coach Gary Patterson, more on that later. If you want to see all the photos check out the gallery on the TCU magazine facebook page.

 Casey Pachall warms up. I borrowed a 400 2.8 for the game and I love it. I might be bruised and sore from carrying it around but it sure does get me nice and tight on the action :)

 The Frogs take the field through a cloud of smoke.

 The first time the Frogs got the ball, they ran the punt back for a touchdown, nor that what I call "opening" your new stadium!

 #20 had a great game.

 and so did everyone else. It was a 56-0 shutout.

 Casey Pachall chest bumps his receiver after connecting for a touchdown pass then he keeps on celebrating on his way back to the bench.

 So back to GP. He became the winningest coach at TCU Saturday night. How cool is that to witness?

 He ran over to the sidelines and told the fans it was for them.

 He was presented with a crystal trophy but what I love is the look between him and his wife. Right there in that moment, you can tell it's just them. They've done this together.

Then he took the trophy back to the stands. Boy he had me running all over the place :)

 Sunday: In the morning I hung out with one of my favorite families. Jace is 6 months old and we are doing a little football theme for his first year photos so we took some photos out at Cowboys Stadium. He's not so sure about the feeling of that turf on his legs, but he's so adorable.

 He's also not quite sure what to do with the football...yet, but big sister Lauren sure does.

 Love this family :)

 Sunday evening I hung out with Lauren for a few 10 year old birthday photos. Yes, today is her birthday and she was working her model poses. We had so much fun! I'm not usually a flare kind of girl but it was perfect for out photos today.

 Look how beautiful she is...ad she had no sleep last night because she has a "wake-over" with 5 of her friends. Can I be 10 again? Please.

And that was my bust weekend...now I go to bed so I can edit all these photos tomorrow after school :)