heartbreak.

Our sincerest thoughts and prayers go out to a fellow creative who we've never met but work we admire, Jill Thomas and her beautiful family after hearing the tragic news of her sweet daughter penny, who passed Wednesday away after a pool accident. Just 21 months old. We aren't parents ourselves, so I know that we cannot even begin to comprehend the pain and heartbreak that the Thomas family is feeling at this time, but our prayers have continually been with them. We ask that you would extend your thoughts and prayers to the Thomas family during this time.

"I will turn their mourning into joy. I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing." Jeremiah 31:13

If you feel so inclined to help, a PayPal account, Pennies4Penny (click to donate), has been setup by friends and family members for donations while the Thomas' are not only faced with their loss, but funeral costs as well. No donation is too small. If you are unable to give, please bless them with your prayers!

under the weather.

I'd like to think that I have a strong immune system, seeing as my track list of sickness is just about once a year. Yesterday morning, woke up with a sore throat. "Oh, it's probably just from the fan blowing on me all night." As the day processed, so did my cold symptoms :( By the end of the day I was a sinus pressuring, runny nose, coughing mess. 3 days before our double header weekend! This isn't happening.

 Double header: shooting 2 consecutive weddings in a weekend. The timing could not be any worse! Today I'm still feeling under the weather. I'm one to plan out my "to do" list the night before, and it's amazing how much your "to do" list standards change when you wake up sick. Today has been devoted to tea, vitamin C, lots of water, and rest. Please pray that I can shake this thing before 5am on Saturday!

weekend trip & grad school.

This weekend was our very first destination wedding for work (this year). I'll use the term "destination" lightly, as it really just consisted of a 75 minute plane ride up north near San Fran. But hey..here's a couple pics from our trip.

rehearsal dinner time...man do I need a tan

off to work.

All our flights were on time, our bags arrive to and from, and our hotel had an awesome bath. A must for a after wedding bath ritual. High-maintenance? naahh...after 10 hours of shooting, my feet love me for it. We flew home Monday and Paul didn't skip a beat, off he went for his first day of grad school. I on the other hand, took a nap. But seriously, my husband has major determination. I meant to grab a picture of him on his first day, but as I mentioned before, I was napping. Wife fail. I'm so excited for Paul as he begins this new 18 month journey. I do feel a little sad that he's back in school, but I know this is something he really wants to do for himself. Cheers to Paul!

my bow tie boy.

My bow tie boy hasn't had a dedicated post to him in awhile. Here's 5 updates on Paul..

bear and penguin photography

1. You won't be seeing him sporting a skinny tie at weddings for awhile, bow ties are his new cup of tea.

2. He talked me into letting him get a new set of clubs 2 weeks ago. The kid lives, eats, breaths golf all of a sudden.

3. Currently, he's half way thru watching all 8 seasons of The Office. For the second time this month.

4. His air conditioning obsession continues.

5. I'll officially be married to a grad student starting new week!

just a wedding film for your enjoyment!

Happy Monday! We have a new 618 wedding film to share today. Maybe it will get you out of that Monday funk, I know I'm feelin' that way today! Meet Briana & Chris, charger fans till the death, lovers of Christ, and incredibly sweet people.

s'mores > everything else.

Our weekend off was wonderful. It started with hiking, happy hour and yogurtland, continued with pizza and friends, and ended with the beach, hot dogs and s'mores. 

Paul, "please kelley, I'm driving, no pictures." He gets his sass from me...or did I get it from him? hmm..

Life without s'mores < life with s'mores. I'm totally obsessed.

Our sun hats came out of hiding too! Honestly, I bought this hat on a whim, too afraid to ever wear it out in public. I think I love it. Spending the day in Carlsbad was great, the weather couldn't have been better and the company was fun too :) Little sis Lauren even talked me into getting in the water, and to my surprise, it was warm! Wedding free weekend, you were too good. See you again in 6 weeks! 

fall. only the best season ever.

As a California girl, I've never really experienced a real "Fall" I just pretend that I have. And although it's 80+ degrees out, I still found some great outfits on shoprushe.com to fill my closet with in this new season!

because everyone needs a unicorn cardigan. 

I inevitably have a color each season, Blush/coral was summer, looks like green will be my favorite for fall!

updates & a photo bomb

See me...? You know, the one photo bombing..

image by Tyler Branch Photo

We.have.this.weekend.off. Those 5 words, the sweetest i've ever heard. Learning our lesson from last summer, Paul and I vowed to take breaks when we could during the months of June-Sept. Montana was one and this weekend is another! Talk around our place is endless of what we are going to do with this glorious Saturday work free. Meanwhile, our main concern is not melting. I made the mistake of introducing Paul to our AC unit. Oh boy...

Know that Paul and I both grew up in homes without AC so we're used to roughing it and fans being our best friend. So AC is like a slice of heaven, now we Paul can't turn it off! When the AC isn't on Paul has a fan on him 24/7. No joke. Whenever he leaves to go into another room, the fan comes with him. Needless to say, this heat has put a pause on our running routine :( I've been so happy to finally begin seeing results though! It made me feel especially good when swimming with our family this past weekend my brother said, "Hey, have you been working out? Your abs are coming back." Ok..so maybe he was just being nice, but brother got bonus points regardless that day.

Only because I have puppy fever...

My puppy fever is high but under control. No, no it isn't, I'm obsessed with the idea of getting a dog. Luckily with Paul's family getting their new pug Cali last Christmas, the fever is calming. This photo is everything Cali is, a little sassy and kind of cute. The underbite comes with the package too. We get to see this little one this weekend with another trip to San Diego. Saturday we're shooting in one of my favorite towns in So Cal, Del mar. Sadly, we'll be slumming it at the l'auberge ;-) Ya right, rumors say Johnny Depp stayed there last weekend. Oh you fancy huh?

Montana {part 2}

   

 The newest addition to Paul's family, Cali the pug, made the trip this year. She gave us so many laughs throughout the trip, my abs now thank her. Paul especially had fun playing with her on the lawn, the camera loves you "darlings!" In addition to shenanigans, Montana is also the perfect place for finishing a book in record time. Paul's dad took up 90 Minutes in Heaven and sis Lauren fed her Hunger Games obsession. We literally didn't see her for an entire day. Heart to heart convo's are also what comes to mind when I think back on our trip. Around the dinner table, on a walk, relaxing on the lake, these are all instances where I've enjoyed some quality meaningful conversations with my in-laws. We're already planning for our trip next year!

Montana land {part 1}

Squirrel hunting buds.

I can't be serious in front of the camera, too much of myself is spent behind it. Little sis Lauren tried to teach me her ways.

Montana was just the right amount of time, after 10 days or so I really began to question what the heck I was still doing in this cabin without cell service/internet. The thought without it going into vacation was great, I couldn't wait to have the freedom of not being able to check instagram, twitter, Facebook, email, pinerest, etc. at any point of the day. Towards the end of vacation, with us being in our busiest time of year the email list was beginning to grow, as was my anxiety. Paul needs to teach me his ways. The boy didn't think about work for a minute! *sigh* Overall, this trip was amazing. I had all the boating, s'mores, home cooked meals, family time, Crochet playing, hiking I had dreamed of. Part 2 coming up next!