memories, dreams, and reflections

one | me!

joni, december 2010

two | i love you

jason: carolina panthers game, december 2010

i hardly ever take pictures of this amazing man, but i hope to make more of an effort to get him in the photos in 2011.

three | still laughing

mackenzie, september 2010

although this photo was taken after our summer vacations, it does remind me of when we went to the ripley's believe it or not museum.  a mirror with a sign that read "can you roll your tongue" was on one of the walls.  of course, we all lined up to make faces in the mirror and attempt to do incredibly odd things with our tongues only to find out later that other museum guests were on the other side watching us.  we fell right into that trap! it was pretty funny to watch other people try to roll their tongues when we made it to the other side of the mirror.

four | winter wonderland

right: ryan, january 2010    left: jason and elijah, december 2010

lucky us!  we were able to "enjoy"  a big snow twice this year. the snow in january was the first big snow for my children except for mackenzie. the kids loved it. me, not so much!  i do enjoy the smiles it brings to their faces though. we were luck enough to have the snow in december on christmas day.

five | birthday

phoenix, june 2010

 phoenix turned five in 2010. she is such a big girl now.

six | friends

top: matt and jennifer, independence day, july 2010     bottom: amanda and rick, december 2010, carolina panthers game

i truly have the best friends ever.  matt and i have been friends since middle school and he is the brother i never had. amanda and i met through work and i don't know what i would do without her friendship. 

seven | i was inspired

december 2010

through inspiration from ashley sisk and the work on this photo that was chosen as a top photo over at the trendy treehouse, i was encouraged to spend more time on textures. i hope to learn my new photo editing software, lightroom 3 and photoshop cs5, and begin to use more textures in my photos in 2011.

eight | spring fever

elijah, easter/spring break 2010

this was one of the first photos i took with my new camera. elijah was just starting to sit up really well and move around some.

nine | vacation

ryan and jacob, july 2010

we traveled a lot this past summer, but one of our favorite places was the georgia aquarium.

ten | summer days

tyler, july 2010

when we weren't traveling, we spent MANY days at optimist pool in raleigh.  their HUGE kiddie pool was perfect for phoenix, tyler, and elijah, and we couldn't keep ryan, jacob and mackenzie off of the high dive. none of my children are afraid of the water.

eleven | a day in my life

fall, 2010

i travel this road every day to take mackenzie and phoenix to school. i spend a lot of time in my van as a carpool mom.

twelve | all smiles

phoenix, july 2010

we always think phoenix has the funniest little crooked smile, but it's hers and we love it. she was all smiles the day we took her and the rest of the kids to one of their first durham bulls baseball games.

thirteen | autumn harvest

jacob, october 2010

this day was the perfect fall day. all the kids got outside to rake the leaves and jump in the pile. it was so nice to see them all enjoying the weather, getting along, and having fun...together!

fourteen | family

elijah and phoenix, december 2010

snuggling up on the couch put elijah right to sleep. we are trying to teach them the importance of family and hope they all have a strong relationship with one another when they get older.

fifteen | celebrate!

phoenix, june 2010

phoenix graduated from preschool in 2010 and went on to start kindergarten in august. she LOVES school and her teachers, ms. malone and ms. eggwards (edwards...she has a hard time saying it right).

sixteen | let's do it again

phoenix and tyler, august 2010

"let's do it again!"  that is what we heard every time my kids rode one of the rides at busch gardens in virginia.  this past summer, we purchased 2 year passes to busch gardens and water country usa and it was definitely the best investment ever. 

seventeen | i miss you

dad (jason's dad), july 2010

we had an amazing time in georgia with jason's family during july of 2010. jason hadn't been home in a couple of years and it was terrific to get down there and spend some time with his parents and sister.  we took the kids to the world of coke, and the georgia aquarium.  we also drove down to valdosta, near the florida line, to spend a few days with his sister. i had such a wonderful time and i miss being down there.

eightteen | beautiful

gracie, november 2010

gracie is my best friend amanda's daughter, and she is truly one of the most beautiful little girls (besides my own children, of course).  she has the sweetest little voice and the best little personality. i love photographing this little munchkin!

nineteen | dress up

mackenzie, april 2010

mackenzie attended her first formal school dance at the end of her sixth grade year.  we went to together to pick out a dress and she chose this one. it fit her so perfectly and really brought out her hair and eyes. 2010 was the year mackenzie really came into herself and i noticed her growing into a young lady.  although she does STILL like to hang with her brothers often and do boy things.

twenty | macro

august 2010

the story of this tiny frog is pretty funny, but really only to me.  it could definitely have been the one thing i am still laughing at but i feel guilty for laughing so i try not to.  this cute frog caused a brawl at the natural science museum between phoenix and tyler that i will never forget.

twenty-one| holidays

mistletoe, december 2010

mistletoe, joined our family christmas day as mackenzie's newest pet hampster. 

twenty-two| favorite

jacob, elijah, ryan: november 2010

i love this photo because it shows the personality of these three nuts to a tee. while taking fall photos and during a moment that i was just sitting there talking to them, that this magically goofy moment happened and i was able to capture it.


twenty-three| don't ever change

tyler, april 2010

2010 was the year that tyler turned into a total diva. at now 4 years old, she loves, fashion magazines, frilly clothes, doing her own hair, putting on her disney princess makeup, painting her fingernails, and wearing lotions and sprays.  it may turn into a very expensive lifestyle for her, but i don't want her to ever change because mackenzie and phoenix are nothing like this and it is kinda nice to embrace the girly girl in her.

 

twenty-four| just because...so there!

virginia, august 2010

this is probably one of my favorite motion blur photos from 2010. this tunnel we went through in virginia is completely submerged under water so that military ships can pass over top of the waterway.


twenty-five| hopes and dreams

august 2010

this is one of my favorite SOOC shots from 2010.  i already have my goals set for 2011, but my hopes and dreams are all for my children. i really want to make 2011 all about them and what they want to accomplish as well.