Surprise!

A couple of weeks ago, one of my favorite friends surprised her dad with a party to celebrate his 65th birthday.  She asked me to take photos to capture this special time when a lot of his family would all be together -- and he had NO IDEA what was coming!

It was a lot of fun to be a part of and I think Amy's dad was very pleasantly surprised.  You could tell that he relished seeing so many friends and family all together in one place.  I think Amy's mom was definitely relieved to have the secret finally revealed, but she really enjoyed being in the moment with him and all the family, too.

Here are some of my faves from the day:

{surprise!}

{Happy birthday, Jeff!}

Taylor turns 3!

Last weekend, Taylor celebrated her 3rd birthday at Old McFaye's Farm in true cowgirl fashion!  What a fun party for her and her friends -- so much to do on the farm, from feeding the animals to tractor-pulled hayrides.

Here are some of my fave photos from the day:

Happy birthday, Taylor!  So much fun to capture this special day for you and your family!

Happy birthday, Taylor!

A couple of weekends ago, I had the honor of taking photos at Taylor's 2nd birthday party.  Taylor is the daughter of friends of ours in Wilmington.  She had a Minnie Mouse themed birthday party and it was so much fun to be there!

Here are some of my favorite photos from the day...

[dancing with Minnie] 

[such a fan of all the details] 

Happy birthday, Taylor!  So glad I could help you and you family celebrate your special day!

[Cagney] Family...

A couple of weekends ago, I had an opportunity to do a family photoshoot for our next-door neighbors, Fergal & Carrie, and Carrie's family that was visiting.  They rented a nice big house down on North Topsail Beach (not far from where we live) for the week.  There were 14 of them, including 6 energetic kids!  :)

Here are some of my faves from the day:

Cora Beth turns 5!

Wow, can't believe 5 years have passed since this sweet girl was born.  My niece's birthday party was last weekend so we made the trip to Lexington and had a great time celebrating...

 

I would like to mention how upset with myself I STILL am for forgetting my camera at my mom's house before heading to the party.  I remembered to bring it with us on the trip, but between remembering gifts and ice cream, stuff for Deacon, etc. I forgot.the.dang.camera.

 

So these photos were taken with my phone/instagram.  And that's okay in a pinch.  I just really wish I'd had my camera.  It is what it is, though.  The important thing is that she (and we) had a good time at her party.

 [Pin the Lips on the Frog -- so cute!]

 

 [Argh, mateys.]

 



Bear turns 2!

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity-dog!  Any Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fans out there??  Ooo, we are, we are!  Our nephew, Bear, turned 2 years old last month and my brother and sister-in-law threw him a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed birthday party at their house.  It was fun!  I think everyone had a great time...

 

 

much to be thankful for...

We went to my parents' for Thanksgiving this year (as we usually do) and got to spend time with them, my brother and his family and my grandparents.  It's always a good time and, of course, we eat good, too.  :)

 

You wouldn't know from these photos that it was Thanksgiving; I think I stopped taking photos of the food table once the kiddos came along.  They're MUCH cuter than a pan of mashed taters.  :)

 

Momma and Daddy soaked up as much time as they could with their grandkids -- so fun to watch them interact!

 

 

My Daddy and Jeff "built" this house for the kids, and Deacon had the best time with it!  He loved going in and out of the door and closing the door.  He also invited all of us into the house at one point or another.  And we all, without exception, got ourselves into that house.  Ha, ha!  Fun times!