The Pumpkin Patch

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch on a HOT day in October.  We headed back to Hall Family Farm again this year because they have a fun, festival-like atmosphere with bluegrass music, free activities, and even funnel cakes.  Our Sunday afternoon at the pumpkin patch was extra fun this year because we were joined by the Browns and Brooke’s sister Dana’s family.  We explored the corn maze together (I say explored because, after over an hour of wandering around the maze, we ended up coming out the entrance), picked our pumpkins, played some games, and shared a funnel cake (Ella and Jack’s first taste of one).  It was a very fun, albeit hot, day.  I love fall! 

{we were a little overdressed for the occasion because i wanted to get a quick family shot for our holiday cards.  jack and ella were troopers, donning their outfits from our photo shoot a week prior.  thanks, brooke, for the photo!}








{always love the outtakes with this crew, sometimes more than the posed shot.  who knows what’s going on here.}

Instagrammin’ in October

Another busy month, spent mostly enjoying the beautiful weather.
found another beautiful spot in our favorite park. #tuesdayeveningwalks | the highest she’s ever been. #pianoteacherstree | enjoying our outdoor fireplace. | thanks, jack, for the reminder, but next time pick up a dust rag. | parents’ night out. #heistbrewery | fun in the corn maze at the pumpkin patch. | afternoon with great friends. | playin’ hookey to go to the dixie classic fair with baden and ilse. | fun at the fair. | dixie classic fair in winston salem. | last week he was “tired of walking”, this week he was running. #tuesdayeveningwalks | love this park. | puppy love. | bike to school day. | polo fest. | rebuilding the teepee in our woods. | lights! camera! fashion! with dao. | #tuesdayeveningwalks | pajama day | gator’s birthday wish. #heloveshiswalks | happy birthday to gator! #10yearsold | her take from a field trip to a gem mine. | inspired by his new art teacher. | a well-earned popsicle from an awesome 8:01 mile run. | enjoying some symphony tonight! #bachtoberfest | hangin’ with the one and only christopher warren-green. #heconductedtheroyalwedding | date night at the symphony! | jack scored the most goals on his team this season. | they carved our pumpkin all by themselves this year. | neighborhood kid art contest on the driveway. | girls night out. | pearl jam concert! #itwasamazing | in the studio waiting for the mayoral debate to begin. | morning spent photographing the charlotte mayoral candidates. | let the zombie-fying begin! | iceman and his zombie crew. #zombiefootballplayer #zombiecheerleader

My Kids

I realized recently that it had been a long while since I had taken portrait-style images of my own kids.  I get out my camera for the big events and milestones—and thank goodness for Instagram for the daily stuff now—but, I rarely do a study of these beautiful, ever-maturing faces.  On this particular lovely fall evening, we scouted a new location I’d been wondering about for client sessions, we shot a few pictures with Gator for our holiday card (he’s 10 this year, had a really rough year, and is, of course, very important to us so we wanted to include him on our card for the first time in years), the kids were very cooperative for a little photo session, and then we enjoyed a nice walk around the park.  These are a few of my favorites from our family session.  And, please excuse the watermarks—I had already set up the images for posting on my professional blog, so I’m going with these in the interest of time.  Love these faces…

Jack’s Changing Smile

In mid-September Jack lost his first tooth naturally (the other two teeth he’s lost were pulled by the dentist).  Jack ran home from the bus stop after school, tooth in hand, to show me his brand-new smile.  Losing teeth the natural way is so exciting around this house—it’s, of course, always exciting when there’s an impending tooth fairy visit, but it’s also awesome to avoid the multiple appointments (yes, multiple—when Jack’s bottom front permanent teeth were coming in behind his baby teeth he had a dentist appointment to say, “Yes, you do need to have those baby teeth pulled” and then a second appointment to actually pull them) and the several hundred dollar bill associated with them.  Anyways, back to Jack’s new smile—he finally lost an upper baby tooth!  We’ve been anxious for this change—him especially—because, frankly, his baby teeth seem like tiny little nubs now that he’s grown so much and he thinks they make him look a lot younger than his friends.  This is a big year for Jack’s smile—lots of changes in store!
Side note: I captured these images on one of Jack, Gator, and my Tuesday evening walks, a new favorite activity we’ve enjoyed this fall.  Ella takes tennis lessons on Tuesdays at a local park with an abundance of wooded trails, so Jack and I take Gator for a walk during her lesson.  I love it.  Gator loves it.  Jack, well, let’s just say he accompanies us.  Most days, Jack is a good sport about our walks (he’s never been a huge fan of walking just for the sake of walking)—like this night in particular—and I thoroughly enjoy this time with my two little boys. 





{it won’t be long until you see the inverse of this smile—where there’s a missing tooth here there will be a big permanent tooth and four more upper baby tooth (there’s an extra baby tooth in there) will be gone.}

First Day of School

Ella and Jack headed back to school on August 26th.  Ella started fourth grade (the big leagues—she can now join school clubs and the schoolwork is definitely more challenging) while Jack is now in second grade.  We’re thrilled with the teachers we were assigned for both kids and we’re all excited for this new school year.

Instagrammin’ in September

Back to the grind of the school year—lots of activities and a routine, which to me is wonderful.  The weather in September was just gorgeous so we spent a lot of it outdoors.
enjoying our beautiful new patio. | while ella plays tennis each tuesday, my boys and i enjoy a walk on the nature trails. | back to soccer—this boy’s a natural. | his first tooth lost naturally! #hehadtwopulled | a saturday morning workout with ella turned in to a workout with jack and the neighborhood kids, too. | a hat trick game for jack. #threegoals | still enjoying the pool. | orthodontist mug shot. | a morning bike ride on the trails. #mykindofdate | ready for his 5k! #21:08 #allgasnobrakes | another game, another goal. | learning about harvesting organic sweet potatoes. #knowyourfarmstour | we weren’t kidding when we told the kids we were going to a broccoli farm this time. #familyinsidejoke | chickens! #knowyourfarmstour | hayride around the bountiful fields of barbee farms. #knowyourfarmstour | jack’s ready to take one home while ella’s ready for some sausage. #gratefulgrowers #knowyourfarmstour | a cattle farm. #knowyourfarmstour | having fun at the fruit farm. #knowyourfarmstour | last stop. #knowyourfarmstour | beautiful evening for our tuesday evening nature hike. | now you see them. #teenytinybabyteeth #byebyeextrababyteeth | know you don’t. #hadfourfrontteethpulled #twostitches #bravekiddo | we enjoyed a lunch date, too, before his dentist appointment. | looking cool at brother’s soccer game. | she’s so excited to be taking art classes each week with the big kids now that she’s old enough for the 9-14 class. | date night to celebrate our 12-year anniversary. | perfect night—gorgeous fall weather, a walk in a park, us.