It's February...

...and LOVE is in the air! Here are two of my "need to get caught up" sessions that were never posted on my blog.

Allow me to introduce Lacey, Jared, and little Conner. Despite just waking up from a nap and the cold yucky weather, Conner was full of smiles and energy! Jared wasn't feeling to great, but I managed to squeeze a few smiles out of him. Especially when Connor grabbed a handful of Lacey's hair. We hung out in Jones for the session, which made a great backdrop for this family. Here are a few pics from our session.

And another client that I need to get caught up on is Tiffany, Jordan, and Zach. We went to the Rose Gardens at Will Rogers Park for our session in January. Zach was busting with energy, so he had noooo interest in the camera. But that can make for some really cute pics, so we worked with it. And if you can't tell by the photos, he definitely loves his daddy!

That's all for tonight. More to come soon. 

Getting Caught Up

In the process of my attempting to get caught up, I will post 2-3 sessions pics at a time on here. The first pics below are from Crystal, James, Macy & Callie. The girls were dressed up soooo absolutely adorable in their matching red & white dresses with blue belts. They were a blast to get pics of during the session. Macy would showing off, so Callie would play shy. Then they would switch and Callie was being the camera hog while Macy was being shy. They were definitely fun! Crystal and James were also awesome! They were up for anything, so we got some great pics. Such a loving and adorable family!!! Here are a few of my favs...

And the next session is with some of my fav repeat clients: Shannon, Denny, & Dawson. They were all part of the Today Show filming & interviews (be sure to watch them on Vet's Day, Nov 11th on NBC). Even though Dawson isn't even 3-yrs old yet, he was an absolute angel during all the happenings. And Shannon was just glowingly-pregnant gorgeous with a beautiful baby bump! Denny, well what's to say...he is definitely a proud daddy & hubby, and soon to be daddy two-times over. Even though there was a camera guy following us around during the session, we still managed to get some awesome pics! Here's a few of my favs:

The Today Show filming

Yesterday, I spent about 6 hours with the Today Show people, Tonee (the OpLove founder), and one of my client families. The TS people and Tonee came to OKC to film a segment on Operation: Love Reunited. We did all of the filming and my client session at the Rose Gardens in Will Rogers Park. It was an absolutely awesome day that was full of emotions! We laughed, cried, and played in the park. I got some fabulous pics of my clients, which I will post a few once they are all processed. We had another OpLove photographer, Amanda Lloyd, that came up from Ft Hood, TX to get some PR pics for our org to use. She'll be sending me her pics, so I will post a few of those when I get them. Meanwhile, here are a couple of cell phone pics we took of the interviews:

 Tonee Lawrence, the OpLove founder, being interviewed (above).

Me being interviewed (above).

My clients, Shannon & Denny, being interviewed (above).

Be sure to watch NBC's The Today Show on Veteran's Day, Nov 11th. I'll make another post a couple days before it airs to remind everyone to set their DVRs. I am soooo excited and can't wait to see it!   :)

Family Time with Daddy

Courtney, Jonathan, Kain (2 yrs), and Kason (2 months) met me at the Rose Gardens for a pre-deploy OpLove session last weekend. It was supposed to be a beautiful day with 0% chance of rain (ha haa). It was cloudy & overcast when we got there. So we start taking pics around the site, even though a wedding was starting in the main garden area. Both boys had just awoke from a nap, and they were not too excited about being in pics. Kain was absolutely adorable! He was more interested in watching the other park visitors, especially the Red Hat Ladies that were at the park getting their pics taken by another photographer. Although he tried to avoid smiling or looking at me, I managed to get some good ones! :) Kason was also too cute for words! Some of his expressions reminded me of my niece, Makayla, when she was a baby. I couldn't help but just "ooh and ahhh" over him. And it was very apparent that Kain was a very proud older brother! Courtney & Jonathan were awesome! They were happy and smiley despite having to take Kason's stroller 4-wheeling on the gravel. Just as we decided that the kiddos were done with pics and it was time to wrap up the session...the sprinkles started. By the time we made it back to the cars and started loading up, it was pouring! (LOL. In all honesty, it was kinda funny to watch the wedding party and guests run to the party bus in the rain!) Thank goodness, we had just finished the session pics! Here's some of my favs...

Back to Bricktown

It's been a couple years since I've really been back to Bricktown. After my snow tubing contract which took me there every day for 2 months, I just kinda lost my taste for it. I've been to the Myriad Gardens and to the Arts Festival and a couple other places, but those were more just get-in and get-out. Well, last week I had the pleasure of meeting Ashlee and Mike...in Bricktown...for his pre-deployment session. It was great! We started at the fountain in front of the Harkins Theatre. Then we walked part of the canal towards Main St. We stopped at a few places to grab some shots. Then back to the canal around to the ballpark.

Ashlee and Mike were so adorable together! She's from Virginia, and he is from Connecticut. They shared stories on where they met, future plans for kids, and their surprise at what Oklahoma was actually like. They expected nothing more than cowboys, tumbleweeds, and daily tornadoes. Luckily, none of those were present during our session.  ;)

A Family Reunited

Last week, I had the pleasure of going to Ft Sill, OK for one of our military homecoming ceremonies. The family is a previous client of mine from when I did Justin's pre-deployment session last June. It was such an honor to see him coming home. Amber and J.J. met me on base at 2:30am (yep, the ceremony was actually at 3am). J.J., who is about 5 years old, was sooo emotional! Before the soldiers arrived, he cried in disbelief that his daddy was actually coming home and clung to his "daddy doll". Finally, all the soldiers marched into the stadium. After a few quick words from the COs, they were dismissed. Everyone started running in every direction - searching and embracing their loved ones. We searched and searched the gym but couldn't find Justin. I called his cell phone repeatedly to find out where he was, but he never answered. Finally, Amber got a hold of him. Suddenly, like in a movie, the crowds parted and there he was! J.J. took off like a rocket and jumped into daddy's arms. Everyone started crying, including myself. It was an amazing homecoming that was full of tears and smiles and hugs...despite being in the wee hours of the morning. I even got a big hug from Justin in appreciation for coming to support his family. Just awesome!!! Here are a few pics from Justin's homecoming and his family finally reuniting.

 

 

Bobby, Candice, and the "Z" kids

I met Bobby, Candice, Zoey, & Zachary at the park for his pre-deployment session. It had been a long day, much less weekend, for me so I was a bit out-of-sorts by the time I arrived. They were great and very understanding! Candice was full of ideas for different poses and pics she wanted. That makes it so much easier for me because I hate posing people; it doesn't look real. Zoey had a beautiful and natural smile that just lit up her whole face and made me smile just seeing it. Zackary, was a typical 10-yr old boy: climbing on rocks, climbing trees, and full of energy. It was very apparent throughout the entire session how much Candice & Bobby adored each other. Bobby left yesterday morning, so I wish him all the best and I look forward to his homecoming! Here's a few pics from our session together.