{wedding.overload}

So I'm not an "official" wedding photographer. But, I have a brand new appreciation for those folks who are solely wedding photographers . . . The work is HUGE! BUT, how much FUN have I had reliving the magic of the day! I have had a BALL working on the pictures from the wedding I photographed last Saturday. My precious, sweet, patient husband agreed to take off the whole day today to hang out with the girls while I hunkered down in front of my computer and got down to some wedding business. So, while the morning started shaky (Addy sat on the potty for an hour and a half before she finally went. Potty training is just not fun at all. Addy clearly could care less. I mean, truly. Not a care.) I'm worn out, people. And I haven't moved much from my trusty computer chair. But, what a beautiful and precious thing that I get to do! Now, I'm not done (so don't get too excited yet, Amie), but I am making some serious progress. So, here's a little sneak peek. :-)

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{why.long.car.trips.don't.work.for.me}

So, here we are, back to life at the Powell home, and I can resist sharing with you how our car ride went on the way home (and how it usually goes). You would think that with these brilliant DVD players, everyone would be entertained. Everyone would be happy. Everyone would let me ride in peace, except for the "My Little Pony" theme song blaring in my ear because, apparently, both of the girls are going deaf at any early age. BUT, throw sweet Addy into the mix and what should go as planned, usually doesn't. Let me break it down for you.

We ate at Pizza Inn following church on Sunday, with the hopes of full tummies (um, have you tried their chocolate chip pizza . . . ridiculously good), which should translate into happy girls on the way home. We pull out of Pizza Inn at 12:15.

12:16

(Addy)"Are we dere, mommy?"

(Me) "No, Addy. Remember, it's a long ride home from Grammy's."

(Addy) "OK, Mommy."

12:22

(Addy) "I ready to be home."

(Me) "Me too, Addy. We'll be there in a while."

(Addy) "OK, Mommy."

12:27

(Addy) "Are we dere yet, mommy?"

(Me) "No, Addy. It's a long, long, long ride, remember?"

(Addy) "OK, Mommy."

12:32

(Addy) "I ready to be home."

(Me) "I'm trying to get us there as fast as I can without getting in trouble."

(Addy) Silence. For sure, I could go faster, right?

12:33

(Addy) "I want some "fute" snacks."

(Me) "I don't have any, Addy. I'm sorry."

(Addy) "YOU CHECK. LOOK IN MY BAG."

(Me) "There isn't any in your bag."

(Addy) "What do you have?" (As if I have brought all of the Wal-Mart snack aisle with me.)

(Me) "How about some Dora animal crackers that Daniel gave us?"

(Addy) "OK. I hold the bag."

(Me - speaking to myself) "I don't care if she eats the whole bag. At least her mouth will be busy. Please, child. I'm about to go insane, and we haven't even gotten on 385 yet."

12:35

(Addy) "I all done, mommy. Are we dere?"

(Me) "No, Addy. We're still a LONG way away."

(Addy, crying) "But I want to get out."

(Me) "Sorry. You can't get out right now."

(Addy) More crying.

12:38

(Addy) "I need a snack."

(Me) "How about some craisons?"

(Addy) "I hold the bag."

(Me) "Super." (Can you see my words dripping with sarcasm? I realize that Craisons are a fiber rich food that could have some serious repercussions, but at the moment, I don't care.)

12:40

(Addy) "I all done. HERE YA GO."

(Me) "OK." As I swerve to grab the Craisons bag.

(Addy) "Are we dere now."

(Me) Silence. Deadly silence. Praying Addy will fall asleep.

And so our car ride goes. Just like that, subbing in every single snack that I brought. I want to scream. I want to throw myself out of the car. I want to make enough money to buy a private jet that only holds one person and the pilot.

This is why long car rides don't work for me.

I promise wedding pictures are coming. These weddings are hard work!

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{i.heart.faces.beach.entry}

This is my first time entering the i heart faces challenge, and I'm super excited! I just realized that I didn't follow the directions so my second post should be correct. You would think being a former teacher, I would be capable of following some simple directions! I read the i heart faces blog all of the time, and I have mad love for it. I truly have learned SO much! Can you stand the look on this little guy's face? As his sister leaned in for a sweet shot of the two of them on the beach, this is what my camera grabbed! I know some of you have seen ti before, but what a hilarious shot!!

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{gorgeous.baby.m}

We have returned from our week long visit at my mom's, and it may very well take us another week to pull ourselves back together! We had SO much fun and both girls were sad to leave . . . though it is always nice to come home. I will have LOTS and LOTS to say about the wedding that I photographed on Saturday, but, for now, I wanted to share with you a few pictures from baby M's three month photo shoot. She was an absolute DOLL. Isn't she gorgeous?

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{just.peachy}

Perhaps I shouldn't have made the previous post, as everything didn't start out so peachy for our sweet Mimi. We were all set to have Mimi come to Grammy's house for a morning of peach picking and picnicing. The girls were so excited have Grammy AND Mimi (imagine the attention). As we eagerly awaited Mimi's arrival, we got a phone call explaining that Mimi was, yes, you got it, lost. The sad news is that, yes, you got it, we (being directional morons) couldn't help her. So, sweet Willy did the best he could to guide his frazzled mom into Grammy's neighborhood and, thank goodness, she got here . . . not because we helped her . . . at all. Not one bit. We just stood by and hoped for the best . . . which is super unhelpful in these kinds of situations. Sorry, Mimi.

BUT, the good news is that we did make it to the peach farm without making ONE wrong turn. Seriously, not one. And, it was quite fun, as you can see from the pictures. Addy was sad there wasn't more to sample, as she did not care for the "crust," otherwise known as the peach skin. (On our venture to the strawberry farm where we did get very, very, very lost coming home, Addy consumed at least 50 strawberries rather than picking any.) We filled up a great big basket of peaches, and now we are in search of yummy peach recipes. Then, we headed over to the local park which was, thank goodness, on the way home and had a lovely time there too. The girls are getting so big and so brave . . . while there are moments that I think time is passing by slower than Delaney walking through Target, there are others where it seems like just yesterday I was lugging around one of those insanely heavy carriers while Delaney toddled around . . . at her usual slow pace. Time is a tickin' people . . . get out there and take some pictures . . . because you can't photoshop time. It is what it is. And I'm so grateful for what God's given me so far!

Mimi and Grammy, the rest of the pictures are loading on my website right now so hang on! Just head over there in a bit (http://www.sillygoosephotography.smugmug.com/) and then click on "Peachy Girls." Mimi, the ones of you and the girls in the tunnel are HILARIOUS. They'll be on the next post. :-)

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{directionally.challenged}

We are currently visiting my sweet, precious, beautiful mom (otherwise known as Grammy) in Woodruff, South Carolina for a final hurrah before school, CBS, a part time job, and so on begins. So, I don't have full access to all of my programs, pictures, etc., but I couldn't resist this post. You see, it occurred to me today that my mom and I have a serious direction problem. Sure, everyone gets lost every now and then, but we seem to get lost now, then, and in the future. As we were finishing up what I'll refer to as the polar bear swim at the water park (seriously, I was wishing for my winter jacket, 8 blankets, and a cup of hot chocolate way more than my bathing suit, a soaking wet towel, and a cold diet Coke - though I have a love affair with diet Coke). We decide it would be a stupendous idea to take the girls and their ADORABLE cousin Daniel to a Sonic that was supposedly close by and super easy to get to. See, those should be clues that we are destined to be lost. My mom explains to my sister that it can't be THAT hard and as I nervously buckle the girls into their seats, I start to wonder . . . will it be THAT hard? Oh yes. See, Delaney is most observant and after a few minutes in the car surrounded by nothing that would indicate a Sonic is near (you know, run down buildings, large pastures, cows, tractors that haven't worked since 1965), she pipes up, "Do you guys know where we're going?" Of course, we say. The road should be right up here. A few minutes later, she pipes in again, "Where is the Sonic? Do you know?" OF COURSE WE DO NOT KNOW. WE STILL DON'T SEE ANYTHING THAT RESEMBLES A SUITABLE PLACE FOR A FAST FOOD CHAIN. "Yes, Delaney. Don't worry. We should be there soon" . . . as we drive past the same place . . . AGAIN. Finally, we brialliantly decide to stop at a lovely gas station. I run in and ask the lady, "Where the heck is the Sonic? You know, the one that is supposed to be RIGHT HERE?" Unfortunately, my hopes are not high as she simply stares at me and my bathing suit clad self and says, "Stay straight through the red light." I anxiously anticipate her next direction. There are no more. She turns back around and goes about restocking the twinkies and the like. I go back outside as my sister and my mom have high hopes that I have the answer. I don't. My sister calls my brother-in-law, who has been called on MANY occassions to help us when we are lost. I didn't here the convo, but I'm sure he's rolling his eyes as my sister asks for the nearest Sonic. Because, you see, at this point, we MUST find a Sonic. It can't be a MacDonalds or a Wendy's . . . oh no, they don't have tater tots. BIG PROBLEM. My brother-in-law saves the day, as he gives my sister directions to a nearby Sonic. We follow my sister, which is a much better idea than anyone following us. I wouldn't even follow myself. What seems to be MUCH, MUCH later, we arrive at the glorious Sonic. And I realize . . . yes, we have a problem. We are directionally challenged. In fact, we are direction morons. And, unfortunately, you can't photoshop THAT.

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{crazy.busy.3}

AND MORE!! Photoshop and I have bonded quite well this weekend. THANK YOU, THANK YOU to my sweet, precious, good looking, patient, supportive husband who got a taste of what being a stay at home dad would look like . . . His briefcase is packed and ready to go very early tomorrow morning. :-)

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{crazy.busy.2}

More from this weekend . . .

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{crazy.busy}

Well, I am so super grateful that I had the opportunity to meet some precious families this week. And, I got to photograph a beautiful senior as well . . . SOOO much fun! If you know any seniors, send them my way. I promise it won't be the cheesy experience that most high schools offer.

As I was photographing this senior, it occurred to me that one day, my girls will be all grown up and ready for the next chapter in their lives. I know, I know, not for a LOOOONG time, right? But, just the same, it brought tears to my eyes. Oh, how FAST they are growing up. Addy's legs looked a mile long today when I was changing her diaper. (P.S. - I recently asked Addy when she wanted to use the potty. She usually responds, "Wednesday." I don't know what's special about Wednesday, but I'm pretty excited. Unfortunately, it's never the current Wednesday. So, when I asked her a few days ago, she says, "Um, maybe next year." NEXT YEAR? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Please pray. Addy tends to do things in the most difficult manner possible.) Anyway, back to my teary eyes. Then, I looked at Delaney, with the sparkle in her eyes (and on her shoes, as she chose to wear her glittery shoes with socks and a sundress to church today. Not a battle I was willing to fight. Willy tried. He lost.) and I'm just amazed that she has but one more year of preschool and then she's off to "big" school.

I'm off to take more pictures . . . before they get any bigger.

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{definitely.not.photoshopped.}

So I am working on some pictures of a most precious family, and this picture pops up . . . Can you stand it? How HILARIOUS is the look on that little brother's face? Oh yeah, he knew exactly what he was doing . . . and he loved it. If this doesn't make you laugh out loud, I'm not sure what will. This moment was definitely not photoshopped.

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{the.rembold."chiwldren"}

I so loved this photo session with four adorable, fun, full-of-personality kiddos. I love how photo sessions end up being a super fun playdate that just happens to have this lady with a camera. It so much more fun, and I am able to capture so many expressions. Rembold "chiwldren," you're the coolest.

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{spunky.family.w}

I so enjoyed hanging out with this family and catching their many expressions. It is so much fun to open up pictures after I have taken them to see what emotions I captured. This family was full of laughter and fun. So, while they aren't the "perfect" family portraits that you might get at {gasp} Sear's or somewhere un-fun like that, but they are definitely real. Thanks, you guys!

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{precious.baby.r.}

Here are a few more from baby R's session. She was MOST precious, and was fast asleep inside my little bowl. What a doll! What a treat to be a photographer!!

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{pitiful.princess.pout}

So Willy and I took off for a peaceful, relaxing, no-kids-are-going-to-wake-me-up-at-5-am time at Fripp Island to celebrate my - gulp - 3oth birthday. Suddenly, 30 sounds so very young. At the conclusion of our trip, Willy and I stopped into TJ Maxx (Willy's favorite store), and I discovered some lovely princess costumes for the girls to dress up in. Willy thought it was a fabulous idea to purchase them (or at least he said OK). I noticed that the two costumes were not identical, but I thought it would be silly to have two of the very same costumes to dress up in. Fast forward as I walk in the door, so excited to bestow my two little girls with their new dress up costumes. At first, all was well and everyone was pumped . . . until we discovered that the costume we had bought for Delaney was too small. Trading was not an option, according to Addison. Then, the costume actually ripped. So guess what I did. I turned right back around like an insane mommy and marched my little self into Tuesday Morning, where I knew they had dress up costumes at a reasonable (in my opinion, not Willy's) price. I found a costume very similar to the one that Addy refused to take off of her body no matter what and even purchased white slippers to accompany the costume. I return home to find Addy still in her costume (as if she was going to give it up) and bestow upon Delaney her new princess costume. She's happy, but not as overly excited as I'd hoped. She puts it on and all is well in the Powell house again . . . for now. Am I the only insane mommy out there?

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