First of all, I really have to give it up to Michelle and her husband, Ken—they are so, so awesome. As times goes by, the more people George and I know are starting to have kids. And everyone has different methods in raising them and I find myself very interested in what works for some families and what definitely wouldn’t work for us… Just for future reference, ya know? And Michelle and Ken have such an active family life, I can’t help but have a deep and utter respect for them. Their kids, Natalie and Aaron are two of the nicest and most calm kids I’ve EVER met. I hung out with them while we watched Le Tour de France and Aaron gave me a breakdown of how the race works. And then Natalie and I talked and carried on a conversation like we were old-time friends and I had to keep reminding myself that she’s twelve years old. Twelve years old! So cool!

I just pray that when George and I decide to have kids, we’ll raise them to have similar dispositions… Although, with George’s hyper-streak… Gosh, I’m totally in for it, aren’t I?

FAMILY TIME!

I love this almost more than I can bear… The light was just so gorgeous.

And I had to get some pictures of the newest Sidles, “Miss Lanie”. Michelle just loves her—can’t you tell?

These were some of the biggest freakin’ dandelions I’ve ever seen in my life! How could we resist?!

We saved the coolest location for last. We went to an airplane hanger, as this particular spot was very special to the entire Sidles clan. I love how this one turned out…

Oh, my gosh, I really love this family…

Seriously, Michelle, can we make this an annual thing? Pretty please?

Be sure to check out Michelle’s site this week, too. She officially started sharing photos from the wedding we shot and they are turning out great! A few slides that I took from that day will be coming up next as well.

As for this week—I had so much fun! Omgosh, where to begin?!

On Monday morning, I spent the shortest 45 minutes in flight ever flying to Spokane, WA, where I met up with long-time online photo-pal, Michelle Sidles. A couple weeks ago, she sent me the sweetest email and asked if I’d be interested in second-shooting a wedding with her. Of course, I had to say “Yes, yes, yes!!!” as Michelle is such a dear friend and confidante and the opportunity to hang with her for a few days was simply too good to pass up! And we even got to squeeze in a gorgeous family photo session!

So I got in Monday morning, spent the day with Michelle and her awesome family, capturing some pretty awesome family images, if I do say so myself. The wedding was on Tuesday, (I know! A Tuesday! Unreal but so awesome!), and Michelle and I had a lot of fun. Maybe even too much fun. I mean, we could not stop cracking jokes and finding humor in every single moment. And the wedding party itself was so relaxed, they just made it that much better.

Now I just got back to Seattle this morning and I have a bit of catching up to do. I’ve got two senior sessions to drop on you in the next few days, so stay tuned for those. AND, AND, AND… If you’re interested to know about the George+Carly Project, I’ve got a big, fat element already wrapped up, so stay tuned to find out what it is! It makes me so happy, I just wanna explode into a million nuggets of happy!

Speaking of Happiness Nuggets…

Shortly after George and I got back to Seattle, we held a family dinner, which led to an impromptu shoot of my extremely precocious 2.5 year old niece, Reagan. I’m telling you, this girl is a performer! She loves to entertain and she is good at it too! My sister, Cassie, is expecting Baby Deuce in late September and I am thrilled to announce that it’s a boy! Something tells me he’s going to be quite entertaining as well…

I also managed to make an appearance in a few photos! Mom rocked it in auto focus, baby!

The whole time I was taking pictures, Reagan was harvesting “Daddy-lions” and “Baby-lions”…

Whoa, Reagan. Just smell the flowers… Don’t inhale them…

Uh oh! GiGi brought out the CHEWY chocolate!!!

This next series is my FAVORITE. Remember, I said this kid is precocious and entertaining? This is what Reagan does when we ask, “What does a deer say?” It was the best my sister could come up with when Reagan wanted to know the “sound” a deer makes. So now, whenever you ask, this is her response—a silent “deer in the headlights” face. SO ÄSM.

I don’t quite make the “deer face” as amazing as she does…

I know what you must be thinking…

There must be something in the water they drink…

And my guess is that you’re probably right.

Happy Wednesday!

We just ARE!

And it’s exciting!

So just before we left Tennessee, I snuck in a quick session with two of the dearest people in my life. Christy-Anne+Ed were in our wedding parties and it’s crazy to think it was nearly three years ago that Christy-Anne caught the bouquet and Ed caught the garter! And now, they’re expecting their first baby! Seriously, where does the time go?!

It kills me that I won’t be there to see little Matthew Maximillan arrive next month but thankfully, Christy-Anne got a new camera for Christmas and she has promised to upload millions of pictures to Facebook.

I just hope he’s born with Ed’s curly afro hair. It’s truly my only wish…

Ed ♥’s Christy-Anne.
Christy-Anne ♥’s Ed.
And I ♥ them both.

Say “hello” to the Hakes’ family of seven! When Faith (the Mom) emailed me about scheduling a shoot, I knew right away we would get along. Her phrasing went something like, “I’d like to a book a family sitting… I mean, I don’t plan on you sitting on my family, but maybe taking some photos of me sitting on them?… Are you interested?”

And I’m like, “HECK YES!”

We met up in Chattanooga, ran around a park, and eventually found a small field where I tortured the kids and arranged them until they were a grassy mess. It was great!

So let’s get to know Faith, her husband Gary, and their kids Taylor, Tori, Big L, Little L, and Girly L.

Huge THANK YOU to Cyndi of Cyndi T. Photography (who you recently got to know here) for coming out to help and bringing along her brand new Canon 50D! It was a pure joy to photograph the Hakes family. These kids were just so happy and care-free, I couldn’t help being a bit envious for childhood again! And kudos to superhero mom, Faith! Not only is she mother to five kids but she’s also their teacher too! I honestly don’t think I could do it… Seriously blown away.

I’ve decided to open the books up a little more for any last-minute photoshoots only because George and I are really feeling the moving-across-the-country pressure and would like to create as much buffer room as possible before our big adventure. So if you’re still looking for some carlybish action before we leave, feel free to send in your inquiries. There’s still time to book a shoot!

Okay, and one last thing! This family just puts me in a good mood and I feel like spreading the love! So share some love to the Hakes family, pick your favorite photo or just say something nice in the comments and you’ll be entered for a chance to win an iTunes gift card! So feed the comment-monster and get some monster-lovin’ back! (Only comments received now through 12:00am EST today, 3/2/2010, will be eligible.)

Apparently, Andy&Sissy Figlestahler decided that BOYS were the way to go! And THREE of them, too! These were taken last month (sorry for the delay! It’s been a busy month!) in downtown Cleveland and it was cold! The boys chattered their teeth and begged for their jackets, but they were troopers through it all! We had a lot of fun walking around the block and checking out the festive decorations in the shops! The boys couldn’t get enough of this toy train display inside a bank window! I think they would have looked at it for hours if we had let them!

You might remember Sissy from this post. Well, she’s launched her website and I couldn’t be happier for her! She asked if I would take a few headshots for her and specifically asked for photos with “Betsy King” style. Now, I am NO Betsy, but I tried my best! Sissy, you’ve been such a good friend and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you and and your family. Keep up the great work! I know you’ll go far in this industry!

Hannah turned five years old last week and she had a birthday  party at River City Pottery in Chattanooga! Even though birthday parties and parties in general are not typically what I do, when Ayana asked to hire me for the event, I had to say “of course!” And I have to admit, it was a lot of fun watching the kids paint different pieces and getting really into it! Not to mention, what a great way to take pictures of children! I’ve never seen so many kids staying in one place for such a long period of time! It was a rare thing to witness, I can assure you!

Man… Kids are cute. I kinda wish I had one, but I assure you, not yet. But seriously, kids are cute!

Okay, so I figure I’ll include a mini-update about life in general! As you saw, my brother came to visit over the weekend and flew back to Seattle yesterday morning. It was only for two days, but we packed it with as much activity as possible and it ended up feeling more like four or five days! But of course, that much activity totally wore me out and after driving 2.5 hours to-and-from Nashville (for the second time!) yesterday morning, I took a much needed nap! But I am recouped and ready to tackle these next few projects before we head to Seattle ourselves! I’m so excited to be home for Christmas! My first in six years! I’m sure you’re thinking by now, We KNOW! It’s been SIX YEARS! We GET IT! But seriously, you don’t know unless you’ve experienced it yourself. So I’ll say it over and over again. FIRST CHRISTMAS IN SIX YEARS, BABY! I just can’t wait!

Earlier today, this was the message I read on my Facebook wall. It was from Ayana, the beautiful woman in the pictures you’ll see below. Her husband, Bill, and two gorgeous little girls, Hannah and Madeleine, booked me months ago for this gorgeous fall session. And even though it was cloudy outside and a little gusty, we had a wonderful time and the colors turned out lovely.

Ayana, you can blog-stalk me all you want (because I kinda like it).

After exploring the nature park, The Winchesters and I ventured to a real park with tire swings and zip lines. Pfft… Stupid nature park… It’s not a park without tire swings and zip ties. Let’s get real!

And once again, saved the best for last…

I love you guys! Let’s do this a million more times, k? *hugs*

I miss her…

So the story of Eric&Jolene is beautiful and I’m so happy to know them better. The funny thing about Eric&Jolene is they are some of the first people I met after I moved to Tennessee. One night, when I was still dating Andy, we went to some friends’ house for a “game night” and Eric&Jolene were there! And I never forgot them! I saw them regularly coming through Starbucks—getting their iced-triple-grande-one-pump-vanilla lattes—and Eric works out at the same gym that I do, and we’d chit-chat from time to time. They’ve been together almost eight years and they’re approaching their one year wedding anniversary while baby “Sylas” appears quite cozy inside Jolene’s belly! (There’s a baby in there! Isn’t that crazy?!)

Eric&Jolene are such a special couple. I love how difficult it is to stereotype people anymore. A loving, committed couple expecting their first baby who work with people who have special needs—Jolene has served one-on-one for a girl with cerebral palsy for seven years! And Eric works with a man who is a quadriplegic. And they love tattoos.

Jolene&Eric—Thanks for being so willing to take pictures with only six days left of your pregnancy! Thanks for trusting me even though I’ve never done a maternity shoot on my own before! I had so much fun! You both crack me up and I can’t wait to hang out with you guys again!

Okay! I just have a couple more things to say and then I’m DONE! First of all, I can’t tell you how nice it is to work with people who have a great sense of humor. If there’s anything I want to convey to readers/blog-stalkers, is that I like to have FUN! I love to laugh and goof around with the people I’m shooting. As much as I want this to be my business and part of my daily life, as soon as it’s no fun anymore, I’ll walk away. Life just isn’t worth it unless you love what you do and you can laugh through the process! And even though I still work at Starbucks and the economy blows, I know that eventually, my time will be my own and I can spend all of it doing what I love.

So there. I said what I needed to say… Now what do you think of Eric&Jolene? Rather, how much do you love them?! Because I know you do! I LOVE that they play together, even after eight years! I love that Eric painted Where the Wild Things Are on the nursery walls before they knew about the movie! I love how at peace Eric&Jolene are and the little glances they give, like they’re speaking some silent language only they can understand. Spending a few hours with them made me think really hard about how genuine and compassionate people can choose to be and how blessed “Sylas” will be to grow up in that environment.