Camping!

Being the Mom of 2 boys, I knew this day would come. I knew eventually I was going to be taken out of my comfort zone and that I would get to experience things I had never done before. This happened this past week when we went camping for the first time as a family. And for me...the first time in my life!

We went down to Mohican which is about an hour or so south of us. We slept in our tent which was surprisingly comfortable given that the nights were nice and cool. The downside was that we had an open-field campsite. Being new to camping, I didn't realize how miserable this would be. But with temperatures in the mid 90's and full sun all day, open-field camping was horrible! We couldn't stay at our campsite at all during the day because it was too hot and too sunny. We spent a lot of time at the indoor pool and hiking in the woods to stay cool.

But the boys had a blast. Shan and Ian went fishing and Christian really enjoyed the playground. Shan tried to take the boys out in our inflatable boat, but Christian just isn't a boat fan. He screamed the whole way across the lake. LOL Shan and Ian did take a paddleboat out for a little bit though.

We cooked out and roasted marshmallows on the fire and made smores. I guess it was a very typical camping experience. And one that I do look forward to repeating. (Only never in open-field again! LOL)

Here are some images from our 3 day adventure.

WPPI 8x10 Competition

The WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) 8x10 competition was held in June. I submitted 12 images for this competition and I am pleased to announce that I received an Accolade of Excellence for 1 image. It is an amazing honor to receive this award. There were over 900 entries in this 8x10 competition!

Anyway, here is the press release for this award if you want to read it.

The winning image was taken at Luther and CarLisa Johnson's wedding on June 1, 2008. Here is the winning image "Baby...Don't Cry."


Thank you to everyone who has supported me through these competitions. They are very stressful but can also be very rewarding when others see worth in your images.

Steph

Congratulations Erin and Derek!

Erin and Derek were married on July 12th. They are a very sweet couple and I enjoyed spending the day with their friends and family. The bridal party was a lot of fun and the guys really got into having fun with the posing. The ceremony was at St. Matthew's Parish in Akron, OH and the reception was at St. Nicholas Banquet Center in Mogadore, OH.






























Thank you both for having me be part of your special day. You were wonderful to work with!

Steph

Kris and Hilary's Engagement Session

Just over a week ago, I enjoyed a few hours in Bay Village with Kris and Hilary. They grew up in Bay Village and we went to Huntington Beach, Bay High School and the gazebo for some engagement images. Kris and Hilary met in high school at Bay. We were hoping to get into the gym where they first met, but it was closed for refurbishing. They are a really nice couple and I could tell that they care a lot for each other. I am looking forward to capturing their wedding in September!










Thanks for the fun guys!

Steph

Congratulations Andy and Aubrie!

Andy and Aubrie were married on July 5th. The weather was beautiful and they were so much fun. Aubrie laughed all day long and was a blast to be around. We stopped by Andy and Aubrie's apartment so that we could get some images of Lola, their totally adorable bassett hound. The ceremony was at St. Angela Merici Parish in Fairview Park. The reception was at Guy's Party Center in Akron, OH. We also took some time and got some images at the Marriott Key Center Fountain, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland waterfront at Voinovich Park. Some of the bridesmaids even cooled off a bit in the fountain!

















Thanks for being so much fun you guys! I really enjoyed spending your wedding day with you!

Steph

My baby is 5 years old!

I know this post is super late, but my 1st baby turned 5 on July 3rd! I can't believe that it has been 5 years! Where does the time go? It just seemed like last week he was an infant in my arms and now he is a big boy getting ready to start Kindergarten.

Ian was born 5 weeks early after I developed Pre-Eclampsia and had to be induced to avoid having seizures. After starting my induction on Tuesday evening, I finally went into full blown labor in the early mornings of Thursday, July 3rd. My labor progressed so quickly that I didn't end up getting an epidural and had Ian naturally at 10:17am. He was a peanut at 4 lbs. 10 oz. He was a slow breather and a preemie so they took him off to the NICU right away. Here are a few images from July 2003.

BTW: The monster hand in this picture is my husband's!
Ian was just so tiny the hand looks enormous!

Now 5 years have passed and my little baby has become my little man. He is growing up so fast. I am just trying to take in every moment with him. Here are a few pictures from Ian's 5th birthday party.


Happy Birthday Buddy! I love you!

Love,
Mommy

Busy, Busy, Busy!

So life has gotten in the way of my blogging. (I hate when that happens! LOL) I have 3 great weddings to post, Ian's birthday to post about and another accomplishment to post about....but alas, I am packing to take my boys camping. LOL

Now anyone that knows me well is probably laughing pretty hard at that last statement as I have NEVER camped in my life. (Unless you count church camp and sleeping in cabins with running water.) But Shan and I were lucky enough to get this weekend off from wedding work, so we are packing up the tent and a thousand other camping things and are heading off to camp for a few days.

So my apologies for my lack of blogging and I promise that when I get home, I will get caught up. I will even post pictures of my first camping adventure.

Until then, pray that I enjoy this because I have a feeling with a family full of boys that we will be doing this often! LOL

See you all next week!
Steph

Congratulations Angela and Rick!

Angela and Rick were married on June 28th at the Louisville Church of Christ in Louisville, OH. The day started out very beautiful with blue skies and big puffy white clouds. Angela was beautiful and her family was so welcoming, they helped me feel like part of the family. The weather turned just after they had their grand exit from the church and it started to pour! So unfortunately, we weren't able to do any outdoor pictures. But we had a great time. The reception was held at the Foltz Community Center in East Canton, OH. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time and the dance floor was full all night.













Thank you to you both and your families. I appreciated feeling so welcome and enjoyed capturing your day!

Steph