Miriam + Esther's Civil Union!

In a state that is famous for civil unions, it is surprising that after years of photographing weddings, I finally had the honor of photographing one.

I met up with the delightful Miriam and Esther along the Burlington waterfront on a recent evening to document their beautiful ceremony at the Burlington Earth Clock.

It was such a relaxed evening with amazing light and there was plenty of time for photographs, which always makes me happy!























M+E: Thank you both for allowing me to be a part of your special ceremony. I wish you every happiness together!
xo

Girls (and a boy) on the Run

Ok, I am definitely blogging out of order here, but I was so proud of my kids yesterday that I wanted to share right away...

For the second year, my daughter, Summer, participated in the Girls on the Run . Their website states: "The program combines training for a 3.1 mile run/walk event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts. The goals of the program are to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development." It's an all around great program, with amazing people and I'm so happy that Summer has been involved.

This year, the schedule fell on the evening the kids had piano lessons, so Baxter joined the group on Thursdays. They enjoyed having him around and thought of him as their team mascot. He told me, "It's fun to run and also I like running faster than most of the girls." That's Baxter for you!

The program prepared them for a 5km event, which was yesterday, in Burlington. Both years I have been completely blown away by the spirit and enthusiasm of this event!

I photographed the event for the Free Press, but took lots of pics for my family too...

Hannah, Rebecca and Summer!
One of my BFFs, Lucy and her sweet daughter, Madison
girls having fun...
...staying cool...
... and signing shirts.
Laura and Evangeline
Baxter cools his head
the loves of my life!!
peace
a big smile from Summer
a few of Summer's teammates...
and more of the team!
Waitsfield photographer, Corey Hendrickson, was busy capturing the action for the GOTR
pre-race stretching
fun shadows
the line-up
and they're off!
I was shocked and delighted to see Baxter finishing in 8th place overall! I almost didn't recognize him because his little face was so red and he was a bit dazed as he crossed the line. The 90+ degree weather was a huge challenge to everyone who participated...even to those of us who didn't!
I worked on getting Baxter rehydrated right away
then it was on to the ice cream!
I almost missed Summer! It's tough being a working mom!
A little smile
I think this is my fav of the day

Steve + Sarah's Wedding!

Steve and Sarah couldn't have had a more gorgeous day for their recent wedding. It was a spectacular day filled with love and laughter.
Sarah is so sweet and my very favorite kind of bride...the kind that wants to spend lots of time taking photos. Fortunately, Steve was game for it too!
I had an extremely hard time narrowing these down, but here are some of my favs!

I met up with Sarah at Mirror Mirror in Burlington where she was having her make-up done.
Fun mirrors!
She was all smiles!
Steve was preparing for the day at his place in Burlington and Andy was there to grab some nice moments.
The Hilton overlooking Lake Champlain, was just a block away, so she dressed and put on the finishing touches there.
The ceremony was at the stunning St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Burlington.

The newlyweds!!



Following some family formals, the wedding party packed into the limo and headed down to the Burlington waterfront for some fun photos.


Later, we all met up again at The Old Lantern in Charlotte for an evening of celebration.
...and some more photos in the amazing light.

I love this one!
Sarah and her father had one of the most fun father/daughter dances I've seen!And Steve and his mother had one of the sweetest!






Congratulations Sarah and Steve!! xo

Jennifer + Scott's Wedding!

Scott and Jenn’s wedding marked the beginning of our much anticipated wedding season. I always feel a bit nervous for the first wedding (can you believe it?), but I was immediately at ease when I met up with Jenn and her MVP’s at her parents’ home in Essex Junction. Jenn was incredibly relaxed and so full of enthusiasm for her big day. I knew it was going to be spectacular! And of course it was!!


I love this moment as Jenn arrives at the church!
I was wishing for a tissue when I turned my camera from Jenn and her father walking down the aisle and saw Scott's eyes.

The ring bearer was the perfect little gentleman.
A fish-eye view of the ceremony.
Happy guests wait their turn to greet the newlyweds.

Scott's uncle owns a collection of very cool cars, so the wedding party traveled to the reception at The Ponds, in style!
The next 2 images illustrate the beauty of having 2 photographers. Same fun moment...2 perspectives.

Jenn was the most fun-loving and adventurous bride! It was almost cold enough to snow and she was all smiles and laughter through the photo session. Scott is a big nordic skier so he digs the chilly weather too. Of course, guys are lucky because they get to wear jackets. :-)
The wedding party were very good sports as they smiled through chattering teeth!
The happy couple!!

These rings capture Jenn + Scott's love for the outdoors perfectly! Can you see the mountains?
How cute is this moment? I love the big belt and shoes!
Heading in for the evening of festivities.
A beautiful moment between Jenn and her father.
Only in Vermont...
The receiving end of the garter toss. This character had me cracking up all evening.
Jenn and Scott had this fun illustration drawn up at a local fair. I just love originality!


xo

Katie + Adam's E-session

I met up with the super adorable Katie and Adam recently at Shelburne Farms. I was immediately smitten with them! They were so much fun to work with and didn't complain once...even as I had them sitting in a soggy field and smooching in a flower bush. Added to the fact that it was chilly out Katie was running around in a sleeveless top. Fortunately, she had Adam to keep her warm!

Here are a few of my very favorites from our session...





















Shelburne Farms

Playing in the Garden

Last evening after dinner and a fun family soccer match, I tried out our new 100mm macro lens around the garden and I am totally in love!
There was a breeze, which made photographing flowers a little tricky, but it was fun to play a bit.

Tell me if you have a favorite...

lily-of-the-valleybleeding hearts

prairie flower crabapple
lilac
epimedium
bridal wreath spirea
perennial bachelor button
i'm pretty sure this is a trollius or globe flower...

sweet woodruff
forget-me-nots



This week I'll be posting up our first e-session and wedding of the season...so stay tuned!

xo

NYC---the final chapter

On Saturday morning we were rushing to grab breakfast in D.C. and bumped into Vermont's own Howard Dean. Such a small world!
Then we sped off to NYC for Summer's super secret birthday surprise.
We snoozed at the very stylish Le Parker Meridien and after recovering from the trauma of losing Summer somewhere in the hotel the next morning, we played tourist for the afternoon.

Guess where we went first...

While other tourists waited in the never-ending line to get up in the Lady Liberty...we had fun in the gift shop!

silly kids!

How sweet are these moments of Baxter playing with Andy on the ferry? You've gotta love the 70-200mm zoom lens!!



Sweetheart Summer
My beautiful boy
My handsome hubby
Our CELEBRITY sighting at The Coffee Shop in Union Square.
Our last, and the kid's favorite stop of the day was to Dylan's Candy Bar. Nothing like a good candy fix before a long car ride!

stairway to heaven...
All you need is...

D.C. and Beyond---chapter 2

We had a terrific visit with Andy's Uncle Martin and Aunt JoAnn at their new home in Richmond, VA.
Later that day we traveled a few miles down the road to Cousin Hope's house and hung out with her beautiful family. We had a great visit and a memorable meal of Uncle Martin's famous fried chicken.
Mason
Ryan
Ryan with his Grandpa Martin
Our little wiseguy by the neighbor's mailbox.
Thursday morning we headed for George Washington's estate, Mount Vernon. My mom said the restaurant was not to be missed, so we had lunch there. Summer was thrilled to have sparkling cider and Baxter shows off his "beer".
The line to get into George's home was a mile long, so we opted to run around the grounds instead. There were too many photo ops!
Our naughty monkey at work...

a moment of peace
An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Our little photographer tinkers with the camera settings...
Romping in The President's backyard.
Later on we had a super fun visit with Andy's cousin Jimmy and his wife, Kimmy, in Chantilly, VA. Here are his darling girls: Nina and Tery.
Jimmy and his beauties.
That evening we shared some great times with Andy's cousin Susan and her husband, Tom, in Annandale, VA.
Early Friday morning we were back in D.C. for a tour of The Capitol.
The plaster model of The Statue of Freedom is in the basement of the Russell Senate building. The bronzed version graces the top of The Capitol.
Our wonderful tour guide was an intern from Senator Leahy's office, Patrick, from South Burlington, Vermont.
We rejoined the Pasley family for our tour. The rotunda was amazing!!
One little segment of the rotunda ceiling.
A tasty tour tidbit.
The office of Ted Kennedy.
Segways: cool or dorky? you decide.
A brief visit to the National Air + Space Museum. One small step for man...one small tickle for Baxter's neck!
Then it was off to the National Zoo for the afternoon.
I adore this photo Andy took of the flamingo feet.
One cool looking bird.
This peacock did a very impressive dance to score a cute peahen. He just called to ask if we could photograph their wedding in 2009.
My baby panda, what big teeth you have...
These animals should be caged!
This is kind of sad...
But this is kind of funny...
After dinner, we decided to take a walking tour of the monuments. It was one of our very favorite memories of the whole trip! Here is the Washington Memorial. (These are all hand-held because there was no way I was lugging around a tripod!)
Playing with the lights.
The World War II Memorial.
And finally...the Lincoln Memorial. We watched a fireworks show from the steps and it was quite memorable.

Happy Mother's Day!

We wish all you mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day!

I had a great day. The kids started off by making me delicious blueberry pancakes and a fantastic fruit salad with mango, papaya, pineapple, peaches, and strawberries! Yum! Then we took a wonderfully sunny but epic five hour hike up Camel's Hump...encountering SNOW (on the ground, not falling) about two/thirds of the way up!

Here is a tulip from George Washington's gardens for you to enjoy!

Perfect Ten!

Our family just returned from our big road trip to DC and NYC and I have TONS to share from our fun adventures; however, the photos are going to be a little out of order because the most amazing event happened yesterday that I am so excited to tell you about!....

Our beautiful, sweet, smart, silly, precious and precocious daughter, Summer, turned ten years old!!! We are officially in the double digits now. It's scary how fast that happened. Seriously.

(Just a warning to all of you parents of very young children or parents-to-be...it is true what everyone is telling you...they grow up too quickly. So enjoy every amazing moment!)

So how did we celebrate?? I surprised Summer with an afternoon at the American Girl store on Fifth Avenue in NYC on Saturday. We started off with a show, then had reservations at the cute-as-a-button cafe and ended with some shopping. We walked out with a bag that was so big that Baxter could have fit inside. (I should have snapped a photo!)

Anyway, enjoy the photos from our sweet + cozy little birthday party...


too many choices...


this darling little box was filled with fun little questions we could ask each other during dinner...


who wouldn't love a skewer of fun shaped fruits?
Summer spies the waiters lighting the candles...
she was going to kill me...

luckily she didn't blow them all out on the first try, because I can't afford a pony!
Julie gets some peppermint ice cream too...
it was an extra special day!!!

Citius, Altius, Fortius…

I just learned that the English translation for the above words are...Swifter, Higher, Stronger. If you knew that AND you knew that they were the Olympic motto you are much smarter than I am. I didn’t take Latin and I’m ok with that because I have a smart husband who did, so he can easily translate for me.

So our kids recently participated in the Greek Olympics at their school. The games culminated the students’ ancient culture studies. It has been a tradition in their class for at least twenty years and is held every Olympiad.

I was photographing the event for the Free Press, but I snapped up some photos of our kids as well. I adore school events!!

Our family is off on a road trip to Washington D.C. for the week starting Monday. On Tuesday morning we will be drinking coffee and eating donuts with my hero, Senator Patrick Leahy. I can’t wait!!

We’ll be checking our emails periodically if you need to reach us.

Have a great week!

xo

Baxter's teacher, Miss DeForge, reminds him that as Zeus, he must have a loud and powerful voice.
He made a very fine Zeus!
Kindergartners wait for the games to begin...
The classes enter the stadium, aka the gym...
The school Principal, Mr. Terko, reads the Olympic oath...
The athletes agree to the oath...
Summer (in the center) had a big job during the games to help the kindergartners with their ribbon dance. She was a champion!
Allyson competes in the long jump...
It is difficult to focus when there are little girls to bug...
Brigitte announces the events on her trumpet...
Thumb wrestling is one of the lesser known Olympic sports...
Baxter competes in the marathon...Amazing after all those miles he can still smile...
A musical interlude...
Summer and Jackson compete in the chariot races...
I spied lovely Summer...

The fabulous Mrs. LaFlamme participated in her last Olympic games, as she will be retiring in June after about forty years of teaching. It won't be the same without her amazing spirit!!
Baxter and Summer with Mrs. LaFlamme, the best kindergarten teacher EVER!!

Happy Spring !?!

When I think of spring I think of daffodils and green grass. I don't think of snow boots, winter parkas and frozen fingers. But living in Vermont, that is our reality. Love it or leave it. So when Easter morning arrives, we don't pout about it, we just don our winter gear, do a quick egg hunt and run inside to thaw out and eat yummy food. The funny thing is, my kids didn't grow up with the spring memories that I did, so they don't really know any other way.
I hope you had a happy Easter day!

Our family egg hunt...



Baxter is thinking...all right already, can we go inside and eat jelly beans now?

Later in the morning, our friends came over and we had a second egg hunt...

Yeti loved the hunt!



Sugar and spice and everything nice...
and you know the rest...

Summer caught in the act of sneaking goodies...

Chillin' with Mickey and Friends

We just returned from our week of fun at Disney World. We visited The Magic Kingdom (3 times), MGM, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Blizzard Beach (a Disney water park). The rest of the time was spent swimming at our hotel pool and simply enjoying the warmth and sunshine. It was sad to leave, but thankfully we have lots of photos to remember our great times. I picked a few of my favorites to share with you. Enjoy!

Hey Howdy Hey...it's Woody and his Round-up Gang at the Magic Kingdom
More photos from the Magic Kingdom...




A snapshot of the Wilderness Lodge where we stayed for a few nights. We spent the remainder of our trip at Disney's Beach Club.

A mural at the Animal Kingdom.

We met up with some of our favorite friends, the Pasleys, on Wednesday at the Animal Kingdom. Here are Will, Patty and Mia.

The Tree of Life at the center of the Animal Kingdom is 50 feet wide and has 325 animal carvings. It's amazing!

Bougainvillea is one of my favorite flowers. Too bad it doesn't like the Northeast!

We spent Thursday with the Pasleys in the Magic Kingdom. First stop...the Dumbo ride!

Kids who misbehave at Disney get locked up with the evil Emperor Zurg. ;-)

Summer, Mia, Patty and I dined in Cinderella's Castle amongst the princesses to celebrate Summer's 9th birthday. Patty felt we had won the lottery to be there. It was quite the magical experience, I must admit.

Andy took this photo of one of many beautiful mosaics in the hall of the castle.

Cinderella's Castle

Max couldn't wait to get on this carousel. Here he is with his dad, Tom.

Summer & Mia

Photos from Epcot...


A fun way to cool off.

We had a family celebration for Summer's actual 9th birthday with another fancy lunch. This time it was in a Norwegian castle in Epcot with visits from Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora and Ariel. Summer was so happy when she was presented with a birthday card signed by all of the princesses when lunch was over. Lucky girl!

Hmmmmm....which one is Dopey?!

Our last hurrah in Disney was the fireworks show at Epcot.

This Weather is for the Birds (and other goodies)...

We're supposed to be getting spring any day now...well at least that's what we keep telling ourselves. We just got whalloped by the big Nor'Easter you probably read about. We received minimal damage such as broken tree limbs and a few toppled trees. However, our friends, the Shinns, down in Rutland said their street won't have power for days because there are hundreds of downed trees and the wind was so severe that it knocked down their big play structure. yikes! They are headed to our home tomorrow to shower and get warmed up again. The only thing that is keeping us smiling about the weather is knowing that we'll be off to Disney World next Sunday!

Andy snapped this photo of a lonely turkey eating crab apples in our yard.


Back in July, I blogged about this incredibly cool kids clothing store called Zutano and a photo shoot that Baxter did for the Spring 2007 collection. The spring catalog just came out and, once again, you can see how amazingly cute all the Zutano clothes are! If you want to see him in action click HERE and HERE and my fav (!) HERE !




ONE MORE THING...

I was recently nominated for the Bloggers Choice Award "best photography blog".
I certainly don't expect to win, but it is cool to be on the list.
I only have 3 votes so far (one is from Andy and one is from me), so it would be great to get a few more, hint, hint...

Click RIGHT HERE to vote for me.

(It takes just a second to start an account and I would really appreciate it!)
Thank you! :-)

Happy Easter!

I love life in Vermont, but I can't help but feel a bit nostalgic for California each year at Easter time. I fondly remember the sweet scent of spring blossoms, bright green grass and blue skies with puffy white clouds.

But what Vermont lacks in the perfect weather department it makes up for in the community spirit. Each year on the day before Easter, our little town has the cutest egg hunt at 9am sharp at the town green. Frigid temperatures, snow or rain don't keep hundreds of kids and their families from showing up with baskets and big smiles on rosy faces. This morning it was 27 degrees. Can you say burrrrr?

It gets pretty competitive out there with all of the big fast kids, so Baxter was a little stressed about finding enough eggs. Fortunately, he's as quick as lightning so he did well. Summer, on the other hand only gathered two eggs, but she wasn't disappointed because she found an egg with a golden seal, so she won an enormous basket! It was half her size!

After thawing out from our egg-cellent adventure we had some fun coloring eggs.

Enjoy some photos taken by me and Andy from our fun family day!

Happy Easter!

I adopted the tradition of creating a Paas boom or Easter tree while living in Belgium.
Summer watches while Baxter applies glitter to his egg.

A special egg just for Daddy!

Fortunately, the kids saved me an egg to decorate.

Baxter's shows me his Ninja moves with a baton that came with Summer's prize winning cheerleader-theme basket from the morning hunt.

They're off!

Lookie, Summer found an egg with a golden seal! Lucky girl!
Our neighbor, Lucas, and Andy being goofy under the watchful eye of Williston's finest. I suppose egg gathering kids could potentially get a little out of control (?) Or maybe he was more concerned about the parents whose kids didn't gather enough eggs! ;-)
Is the bunny safe with lions running around??