A little winter fun...

Arch enjoying the snow...

And some star Christmas light bokeh...

I hope everyone is having an easy transition back to the real world after the holidays!

Weekend!

What a week it has been.

School is ALMOST over for the semester and I am finally able to get things done that I have wanted to get done for forever. I spent all morning tossing old things from my room, reorganizing all of the things I didn't toss, and putting together bags of clothes, stuffed animals, books, etc. to give away to charity. It's important to remember this time of year that there are families who don't have extra money for presents...so it feels great to send those things off to kids who really need it.

Last weekend I forgot to mention that Friday Five will be every other Friday. So if you were expecting a FF post yesterday...oopsies.

This afternoon I'll be off to Solomons to shoot the beautiful Miss Lyla Rae. She will probably be on the blog before the weekend is over. However, she's incredibly adorable and you probably won't be able to get enough of her :) Just giving you fair warning.

In the meantime, here's a little throw-back to this summer. I was just testing his patience a little... ;)

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"Come on now! It looks sooo delish!" (Yes, he says delish.)

And when I finally gave him permission...Nom nom nom :)

Keep an eye on the blog in the coming weeks. I'll be posting Lyla's pictures, a handsome older Lab, more product and even some packaging photos, a new Friday Five, 2010 in review (with a slideshow), and tons of Landon cuteness! :) I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Vegas the Great Dane

Just after Thanksgiving we had Vegas and his buddy Junior down to the farm for some quick photos. The focus was definitely on the big guy, but there's a photo of Junior the hound thrown in as well. Vegas belongs to Mandy, a friend and past employee of my mom. She plans on showing this studly guy in the future, although I think that Vegas would rather hunting down scents in the grass and frolicking with our horses (that was interesting...the horses were absolutely terrified of this "mini" horse barking and corralling them up). Mandy, thank you for having your boys down...I had a great time following them around and laughing at Vegas. I hope you like these photos!

And just for the fun of it...some brotherly love.

Thanksgiving Week & SC!

I tried really, really hard to think up some neat Thanksgiving-ish blog post to do but unfortunately I came up with nothing. On one of those rainy downer days back in September I blogged about what I'm thankful for, so I can't really do that again. But Thanksgiving is one of my all-time favorite holidays, so I guess I could just jot down a little list of some of the little things that have made me feel grateful lately :)

• Our super cute Blue pony being a total rockstar lately
• No class all week...so I can live in a make believe world where the semester is over for about 5 days
• Getting to spend 4 wonderful days with my love and his awesome family in SC
• As always, my Riley boy and Dustin's Lexi princess (Okay, and all of our other furballs too!)
• The excitement of cooking Thanksgiving dinner with my Mom
• Dustin having his first northern Thanksgiving with my family
• All of the great pets and people I have been fortunate enough to photograph in the past few months
• The fact that I'm a little over a semester away from graduating college (Although this one is equally as scary as it is exciting/something to be thankful for!)
• The unusually warm weather
• And last but definitely not least...my family...as always :)

Okay enough with the boring stuff...here's some photos from South Carolina! The cows belong to Dustin and his best friend Jayson, the dog that looks like he has no ears (but who actually does haha) is Mick and he belongs to Jayson and his wife Ashley, and of course Lexi and Riley are easily recognizable (or should be at least!). I hope everyone has a fantastic Turkey day! Look for an exciting blog post with photos of a super handsome Great Dane named Vegas next weekend!

That's a happy dog...

Adventures from the Lexi perspective...

Playtime with Mick makes Riley's tongue do this...

Mick has the most gorgeous eyes and a killer doggie smile :)

Family | The Smiths

Josh and Gemma were married just about two months ago at the beautiful Running Hare Vineyard in Prince Frederick. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and this new chapter in their lives is very exciting...I really think they are a fantastic couple and compliment each other so well. So of course when Gemma asked me if I would take pictures of them for their first Christmas card, I was definitely in! Plus, they've recently added a new addition to the family...a precious little Yorkie they call Maggie. We met at Jefferson Patterson Park along the Patuxent River on Sunday evening and I can't wait to go back...I hadn't been since I was little and it's just a gorgeous place for portraits. Anyway, onto the photos. Gemma and Josh, it was great to see you and Maggie! Have a great first holiday season together as a married couple! :)

Bella at the Bay

With three sessions this weekend, I was pretty busy! Luckily I got off on the right foot when I met up with my friend Jenn and her beautiful Westie Bella on Saturday evening. Jenn and I have been friends for several years as we rode with the same trainer and did quite a bit of showing together. She lives with her parents in a great neighborhood that is just a short walk away from a really cute beach on the Chesapeake Bay. The light on Saturday evening, as you can see, was beautiful! We had such a good time letting Bella explore the beach and enjoy the weather, and these photos are some of my absolute favorites to date. Thank you Jenn and Janelle for having me down, I had a great time with your girls and loved being able to catch up a bit!

For Janelle: Your sweet Annie girl :)