coming soon: wayne & kristen.

I love this shot and there are so so so many more to show you! Have a great week in Disney World this week and I'll have more up soon!

can't wait to get back on the road again: spring break 09.

It's been a few days since my last posting but I have been as busy as a bee building albums and setting dates for engagement sessions and weddings! I will have lots to show in the next few days so you'll want to make sure you stop back in to see what we are doing and where we are going.

Over last weekend I made my yearly treck to Old Navy to pick up my new summer shoes. A whopping 10 bucks later, I have 4 lovely pairs of the most fashion forward, feet breathable, show off your toe polish shoes! And once you see the lovely flip flops on the great wall of Old Navy in their rainbow of colors, it means one thing and only one thing...SPRING BREAK! Yeah, so I may not be in school and it may not mean as much to me because I'm long gone out of my school days, but come on! Doesn't everyone need a little SPRING BREAK vacation!? This is something I believe in so whole heartedly that I spring for an entire wardrobe full of new shoes each year! Those of you who are as equally obsessed with the famous Old Navy flip flops as I am, understand! Spring break is like opening season on the flip flop, and I won't be seen without them for at least the next 3 or 4 months...again...this is why I have to buy at least 3 or 4 pairs!

And with this years SPRING BREAK festivities, we are again, making the 6 or 7 hour treck down south to Tennessee with my sister, my mom, my nieces and my nephew. (Feel free to read up on last years events: http://bodellphotography.blogspot.com/2008/04/on-road-again-spring-break-08.html )Last year we spent a few days in Nashville, this year, a whole new set of adventures await us at Gatlinburg! I've never been here, so I'm sure we'll have a story or two to share! A couple of changes since the last year road trip: My sister has a new set of wheels! Yes, old "Tighty Whitey" was laid to rest at the local dealer, and we welcomed in the arrival of the newer, shinier, "Green Machine"...this is at least what we shall call it over the next few days! Also, this year, we have a whole other most exciting reason to be heading south! One of my best friends sister is getting married in Knoxville Saturday, and we will be photographing the day! I'm beyond excited to see what my mind and my camera will create for these two, and I know Kristen will be stunning! Those images will be up soon soon soon!

Well, wish us luck! The journey begins bright and early Friday morning! Just remember, 3 kids under 15, 3 adults, all packed snug as bugs in a mini-van! Oh can't you just wait to see what happens next!

(yes, this photo has absolutely nothing to do with this posting, other than the fact that it is taken with my new little toy!)

i can't feel my toes.

Those were the words muttered by my niece as I stood her among the the peeling paint, the broken glass and the snow covered trees for our seasonal photo shoot, the first of the year! Charis just wanted me to hurry, Cyli just kept telling her to snuggle in and Ashton just wanted to kick up the snow and play! My nieces and nephew have come to the realization that once the weather turns from cold to warm, from warm to hot, back to warm, and eventually freezing again, that we brave the elements outside for some photo time. We started this little tradition several years ago with my first major film camera when I was in college, and there were only 2 kids at the time. Charis wasn't born yet, and the photos were quite different back then. Several included props like any number of cats that they or I had, watermelon, the famous "blankie" that a little toddler can't let go of, the easter baskets, or the christmas presents, or even the first birthday cake. They once were clad in matching Old Navy July 4th t-shirts, and now I plan carefully the outfits that they get to wear. I fix hair, I throw them into un-natural for brother and sister posing, like hugging, and getting close! I make ridiculous jokes to get the expressions and then they all just laugh at me and we get the shots! These kids have all learned to bring it when it's photo time, and I swear to them all that one day, these efforts will pay off! It's histerical and so much fun, and I really really really think that they have come to love the seasonal photo shoot. Even when it's absolutely freezing cold on one of the last snow falls of the winter, with the sun peeking through the branches of the trees, and no one, including me, can feel their toes, or their fingers. Who said you can't do a spectacular photo shoot in 10 minutes or less?!

With that said, Ashton, who is having a birthday tomorrow (Wednesday), asked my sister yesterday with such honesty in his voice, "Mommy, I love my birthday week, but does this mean that Darci is going to make me do a birthday photo shoot?!" It was literally all I could do to keep a straight face! He REALLY REALLY REALLY DOES love my photo shoots!!! He really does!