maddie, the one year old

It is hard to believe that just one year ago today little Maddie came into our lives! I will never forget seeing those great big cheeks for the first time! I love that she does not look exactly like anyone - she is just Maddie, unique all in her own. She did luck out in the eye department thanks to her mom though! Sticky and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful niece to love and watch grow! Maddie has a new brother or sister coming in less than two months and he/she has no idea how lucky they are to have a big sister like her! Happy Birthday Maddie and congratulations on the monumental walking!! Love, Sticky and Brandy

kittens....

Everyone knows that I am an animal lover especially when it comes to kittens!!! My parents have a black kitty that had a litter before they got a chance to get her fixed so they are looking desperately for good homes for these little ones. They are all nice kitties with great personalities. Everyone really seems to like the light colored one (he looks like Stew when he was little) so that one will probably not last. If anyone is interested (Lexi??) let me know! There are 6 in total - all are black/grey or black and white except that little light one. Like I said they are all cute and their mom is very nice so they probably will be too.

a few from john bryan...

Sticky and I camped out with a few of our friends a couple of weeks in John Bryan State Park. We had the intention of watching a meteor shower, which we unfortunately could not see, but we still had a great time. Nothing beats campfire, good friends and sleeping under the stars - especially in Sticky's world. The next day we went on a hike around the park. All in all it was a great and relaxing 24 hours.

jordanne, seth, sage, and shelby.thank you

This past weekend Sticky and I shot a wedding in Dayton which was a referral from a previous wedding, Jordanne and Seth. We were looking forward to this wedding for so many reasons one of them being getting to hang out with our previous couple as well as Seth's sister Sage and mom Shelby (let's call them the Clydes). The wedding was a blast - all outdoors, great food, and fantastic people! After the wedding we ended up hanging out with the Clydes for a little after party. Sticky gave all of us a ride and let's just say that it is a good thing that none of us are overweight. The next morning Sticky and I woke up very early and very tired but we had to get on the move b/c I had a shoot that day. I thought it was far too early to wake them up to say goodbye so we left with the intention of talking to them another time. On the ride home I was thinking about how they got to the wedding/reception site and could not remember if they took a cab or drove their car. I immediately felt horrible for not waking them to ask if they needed a ride to their car so I sent them an email as soon as we got home. Jordanne emailed me back to let me know that they took a cab to the wedding so all was well. A couple of days later I walked into my other office (I have one at home and one a KAM) to find a thank you card and a bottle of wine from none other than the Clyde crew!!!! Sticky and I could not believe it! All we did was stuff them into Sticky's tiny little truck and drove them a few miles. If anything we should be sending them a gift for having such a blast after a long day of work. I just wanted to post this because there are times I feel truly blessed for doing the work that I do and part of that totally has to do with meeting such wonderful people like the Clydes. Thank you so much for the company the other night and for the thank you gift - we owe you guys dinner!!

my favorite subject...

Whenever I purchase a new piece of equipment it is always fun to try it out on our chocolate lab Willis. I love his eyes - he acts like a puppy still but if you look into those eyes he looks like such an old wise dog. Here are a couple that I snapped with a new lens. The bottom pick is how Stew feels about Willis (actually he is just yawning).

a couple from a couple of weeks ago...

Hello everyone! Once again I am sorry about the lack of posts!! I have been really busy but there really is no excuse. I have tons of things I would love to post - hopefully I will get to it in the next few days.

We did venture back up to Kelley's Island a couple of weeks ago for a little camping. My niece and nephew, Stephanie and Austin, joined us this time. It was a very hot and sticky weekend but we still managed to have a good time. I think we spotted at least 10 deer on one of our hikes so that was pretty cool. You can always count on Stephanie to be on deer lookout and you can always count on Austin to talk so much that the deer get scared away! Quite a combo. After the kids returned home their Mom and Dad surprised them with the latest family purchase - a camper! I guess Austin's tent days are numbered.

The last pic is a of our friend Cecelia and her new dog Roxanne. We finally made it to Scrubber and Cecelia's new home in Columbus last weekend. It is an adorable home and the living room alone is bigger than their last apartment so they are loving all the space. We had a blast hanging out with them and Cecelia's brother Edgar. The next day we ventured over to the Irish Fest (after a nice lunch with Hoser and Katie) in Dublin, OH. We chatted with Brian and Katie V. while listening to some fantastic music. It was actually a pretty terrific festival! Like an idiot I left my good camera in the car so no images from that unfortunately!