As he sits so regally, his face and collar tell a story … a story about a bag of powdered sugar and a heyday party in the backyard. This beautiful guy lives next door to us and he decided to pilfer the closed cabinets and drag a bag out to make the backyard a little more cool with a snow shower of powdered sugar. I couldn’t get my camera fast enough and didn’t know until it was too late what was happening … so much for being prepared.

He went back inside as if nothing odd had happened … and only after I tattled on him did he come sulking to his mom to show off his new snowy collar and face. He’s such a sweet dog, but he has a serious ‘curiosity killed the cat’ complex! This is NOT his first foray into the naughty dog realm.

How can you punish him though … he is almost never caught in the act … and he just has this old man innocence about him … Good luck staying out of trouble, Gus … I’ll try to be ready to catch your next moment in the spotlight … it won’t be long!

From behind my lens,

Stacy

Okay … let’s start with a disclaimer … there are a few photos that one of my Besties took of my daughter flying this weekend and this ^ is one of them! She is amazing and shares such wonderful experiences with my daughter and I … and she is FANTASTIC at documenting such things! If it’s a close-up … it’s hers

Anyway, Sydney and her friends got to go flying with a good friend of JC at Indy Exec Airport this past Sunday. They got all strapped in and headed to the circle the farm and look down to see the horses! We forgot to send up the camera with everyone except Sydney so we only have a couple of photos of the farm .. and they are crazy blurry and grainy … but they show it I suppose.

Jim, the pilot and JCs friend, said he had three different kiddos in the cockpit who had three crazy different ideas of how to show their excitement. Miss E was FULL of questions .. how fast are we going on the ground? How fast are we going in the air? What’s this?  She now knows enough that she could likely fly the plane on her own!

Mr. T sat quietly taking in all of the sights and sounds and enjoying his turn. Jim said he thought Mr. T REALLY wanted to fly the plane as he was thinking about playing with the rudder pedals during the flight. Maybe next time …

And .. then there was Ms. Sydney … she doesn’t hide her excitement … EVER. She let’s it all hang out with her voice and her facial expressions .. there is no wondering whether Sydney is having a good time!

Jim said she talked the ENTIRE time. She said that this was the best day ever and kept repeating how cool it was! She had so much fun!!

This is Ms. E taxiing down the runway to take off! She was the first flight assistant for the day …

Mr. T and Jim did a little flight planning before their fighter pilot excursion! Don’t they look all official and stuff!?!

Sydney as she and Jim return from their aerial photography session! She couldn’t even stop smiling!

Jim, you are a SAINT! You made three kiddos CRAZY happy for the day! They will be talking about this to ALL of their friends for a while! It was so kind a generous of you to include Sydney when it wasn’t necessary and we appreciate it! I have such amazing friends. 

From behind my lens,

Stacy

It has been brutally hot here in Indiana for the past few weeks. The temperatures are in the high 90s and the heat index has hit triple-digits day-after-day. We are melting here is the middle of the country!

Playing in the park was a fun time this evening … we got a bit of a breeze now and then … but it was still roasting! The sunset this evening made up for the sweltering heat …

We had some fun … and some ‘serious’ moments. Did you know that when you ask an almost 10 year old little girl to look serious it looks a little something like angry … hmmmm … I’ll have to think of another way of asking. Well, one figured out the serious and ROCKED it! Way to go O!

From behind my lens … melting …

Stacy

We are Miami Hurricanes. We ♥ The U.

We all bought gear for the upcoming year … we are going to root for our Canes … and our Canes are gonna ROCK.

From behind my lens,

Stacy

Tropical Storm Bonnie rolled into Southwest Florida while we were vacationing in the area. The weather men said it wasn’t going to cause any real damage, but it was going to leave it’s mark with quite a lot of rain and some 40+ mile per hour sustained winds … they fibbed.

I was excited to be able to catch some cool photographs of the storm rolling in … but it was reasonably uneventful … and left as quickly as it came. The waves were not above two feet … but there were a couple of guys out on their skimboards anyway.  

I couldn’t believe that he could get air from that little 18 inch wave! It was fun to watch for sure.

 The wind kicked up after the rain moved on and made some cool sunset photos … though mostly hidden by the clouds.  We went back to the beach the next day and had HUGE waves … like five FEET out on Captiva!

We enjoyed our Southwest Florida vacation. I’m looking forward to getting back to photo sessions and school starting. A routine is our friend here at the Green House …

From behind my lens,

Stacy

Sydney and I spent a few days in Savannah, Georgia and enjoyed every minute of it … well … except the moments where we were breathing humidity … and even then, it was a gorgeous place. If you are a friend on Facebook you will recall me asking my husband if we could move to this absolutely gorgeous place … I was completely serious … yet my friends have another opinion.

As a photographer I was excited to get the opportunity to take photographs in the Bonaventure Cemetery … it’s the one where the ‘Bird Girl’ statue from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil used to be located. I wish I could have ordered a bit of fog and wonderful evening light for my afternoon shoot. I was really hoping to take Sydney’s yearly photographs in the cemetery among the gorgeous statues and hanging Spanish Moss. We put in a good effort and spent about 45 minutes snapping away … but the 59,875,219 mosquitoes ran us out. I got a few good shots of Sydney and just a few of some cool monuments and then we were in the car and saving the rest of our blood for ourselves!

I am sharing the monument shots today … I”ll share some of Sydney later. Enjoy the shots!

From behind my lens,

Stacy

These are the pillars directly under the dome of the United States Capitol Building in Washington DC. There are MANY of them as the dome itself weighs close to 9 MILLION pounds! The room is formally known as the Crypt, though it was never used for the intended purpose of being the final resting place for President Washington. I absolutely loved the architecture in this room! It is amazing how from every angle there is a new view … a new look. The stones are laid in the round and the arches atop the pillars make for an interesting photo. I love how there are two types of lighting in the room. There is the central chandelier that lets you know the room is somewhat formal and fantastic and the utilitarian lighting providing needed light for tour groups. Such a statement about what was intended for this room and what it has become in housing several statues from the National Statuary Hall Collection.

This is the East front of the US Capitol Building. The nearest section is the House of Representatives and the far section is the Senate. The building is so large that this is one of the best ways to show the entire complex without being quite far away. The statue atop the building is The Statue of Freedom. A lady in robes commissioned to celebrate ‘Freedom triumphant in War and Peace’ and was first placed atop the Capitol building in 1863.

There are many statues in the Great Hall at the Library of Congress. This is but one of the amazing sculptures that seem to stand watch over the room.  The ceiling above is gorgeous. The colors are amazing and the scenes and quotes are inspiring.

 How amazing would it be to be able to see something so beautiful every day. This is certainly too ostentatious for a household to have and would be seen as a gaudy display of art, but it would most certainly be gorgeous. The decorated and gilded decor of days gone by is one tradition that I wish would be en vogue again!

This photograph is the main reaading room in the Library of Congress. Again, an amazingly fantastic room that most using it would not necessarily even notice because it is one made specifically for the purpose of burying ones nose in a book.  The statues on the balustrades are bronzes to pay homage to men whose lives symbolized the thought and activity represented by the plaster statues around the room symbolizing Religion, Commerce, History, Art, Philosophy, Poetry, Law and Science.

When I took the photographs I wasn’t intending to blog about the specific art, but when I was actually posting them I felt like you might want to know what you were viewing.  I loved seeing the city as an adult and look forward to another visit when my husband can be included in the trip. Sydney and I enjoyed Washington, DC and I have some fun snapshots that I will post later as well.

From behind my lens,

Stacy

Everyone has really enjoyed that Sydney is dressed in period costume this week. She wore her American Girl Felicity dress to Colonial Williamsburg and has been the talk of the town. The girls can rent dresses in town that are plain white and then have colored sashes, but everyone has those … and Sydney has her own dress that all of the men and women have l.o.v.e.d.  The costumed interpreters speak with her as she walks by because she looks like them … the men especially tell her she looks like a fine young lady, though she is missing her stockings and proper shoes!  Today she made a friend of a prominent man in town .. by talking about horses, no less … and he made sure she had the finest seat for a few programs. They are SO nice here!

We have seen and done many things here in Colonial Williamsburg. We visited the stables … took a carriage ride … bought post cards and sent them … played children’s games … learned about early Colonial traditions and government … saw Martha and George Washington … walked where Thomas Jefferson walked … heard about a freed slave pastor … participated in some Revolutionary War celebrations … saw amazing sights of houses and cool Colonial buildings … and tried some seriously disgusting foods. We went on a Tavern Ghost Walk … kid friendly and easy walking for sure. AND, Sydney has followed the rule of saying good morning and goodnight to a mischievous ghost in one of the taverns every day. We have become new soldiers in the Continental Army complete with marching and standing at attention … a fun evening … gun shots and all! And, tonight, we participated in an 18th Century dance party. Most people were able to learn a simple dance or two and it was the most fun program for sure! Sydney danced three separate times and loved every minute of it!

I wish I had photos of the evening programs, but they don’t allow photographs because they keep it very authentic. No lights in the house tonight for the dancing either .. just candlelight. They do allow photos AFTER the program, but that doesn’t capture the pure joy of the children’s faces in performing things that are so foreign, yet so fun, for them. I’m glad we made this stop on our Summer Roadtrip. This has been an amazing trip so far and it is only beginning. My broken foot is not loving the walking, but my heart is loving spending time with my girly and my girly is loving spending time with Mommy … she doesn’t even know she is learning stuff!!

I’ll post about Washington, DC later in the week.

From behind my lens,

Stacy

We had a SERIOUS amount of fun with our friends on Sunday evening.  A baseball game … fireworks … and friends. I can’t think of much better!

Who knew dessert was going to provide so much residual entertainment?! We had a ‘Runway Walk’ competition … where EVERYONE competed and the Dessert Cup Trophy was awarded to Mr. Tyler Conour for a fantastic pose and runway walk … watch out Tyson Beckford!

Gotta love besties – ALWAYS a fantastic time!!

From behind my lens,

Stacy

This photo seems to exude cool. It is edgy and grungy and urban. Mr. M is full of personality even if it take a bit to grab it out of him. He is confident … and silly … and funny. He definitely let me capture his real self in my lens. The ipod is churning out some great tunes and he is rockin’ it out!

This location was absolutely perfect for Mr. M. He knew just what he wanted and was willing to do whatever to capture a great image. I love when seniors come with ideas … and cool clothes … and an attitude that is fantastic!  I don’t haul all of my gear out to have some standard photo session and snap a dozen photos … I haul my gear to capture people doing what they do. I think we got it this time … I think Mr. M showed me what he was made of and we had an awesome time!

 Our outing was almost cut short by a crazy concert and 487,529,365 people who converged on our photo shoot location … but we worked it out! I’m glad we spent the evening together … I think we got some GREAT photos!

Thanks for a great evening Mr. M … have a fantastic time in Australia!

From behind my lens,

Stacy