cora tripodi: family.

chrissy has been one of my closest friends since pretty much forever.  we went to the same school and church all growing up, spent a lot of time playing video games and eating ice cream snicker bars in her basement, loved to put on makeup and take photos modeling together as "cover girls" (ha!), studied for just about every test together, worked on just about every project together, were bridesmaids in each other's weddings, married men who have quite a bromance going on, and even now as we live a long way away from each other, always manage to pick back up right where we left off.

chrissy is one of those women who just seems to know how to do it all. she is an amazing wife and mom and can somehow manage the ups and downs of raising three small kids with such grace and joy. whenever we are together, i just watch in utter amazement. 

so when i was back in rockford this last week, i was more than happy to take photos of her youngest, cora, for her first birthday. cora is one of the sweetest babies i've been around (she must get it from her mom). she laughed, dug in to her cake, and didn't seem to mind at all when we gave her a little bath in the middle of the backyard. 

bottom line: tripodi family, i just adore you. you've got a really good thing going on here. 

hattie ray: family.

you may remember this little lady from some photos i took of her last year, and it's incredible to see how much she's grown in such a short time. 

hattie is our landlords' daughter, so i get the privilege of seeing her adorable face all the time. she loves to sit in her baby pool in the front lawn, play with her bucket and rakes, pick rocks for her collection, and just be the cutest little girl you've ever seen.

i can't wait to watch her continue to grow and learn and start talking up a storm because i know it's only a matter of time.

i realize i say this a lot, but you will just die when you look at these photos. the cuteness is just too much.

deep in the heart of texas.

ahhh, summer. the gift that just keeps on giving...when you're a teacher.

fortunately, i've never known a summer without a couple months off, and i hope and pray that i will never have to.

this summer i started off my travels with a trip with my friend kim to the great state of texas. we flew into austin, drove to san antonio, and ended the week in houston. in austin, we stayed with my wonderful friend jamie and her adorable family, spent most of our time on south congress ave., ate as much ice cream as possible, tried to keep hope alive in the midst of oppressive humidity, waited for hours to see millions of bats fly out from under a bridge, "learned" how to two step, and gave ourselves a tour of UT in the pouring rain. 

in san antonio we stayed with kim's cousins, ate (too much) delicious food, strolled along the beautiful river walk (just like the bachelorette), and remembered the alamo. 

we planned to head to the beach next, but our plans got interrupted by tropical storm bill and a whole lot of rain. never fear though! mathis, texas has a la quinta inn, complete with a gym and a continental breakfast! so it was pretty much the same as the beach. 

we ended our adventures in houston, where kim met up with one of her college friends and i spent the weekend with my wonderful family. it has been years since we had all been together, and i don't think words are adequate to describe how good it felt to be with them. the only way i can think to describe it is that it just felt like coming home. 

not only did i spend quality time with my aunts, uncles, and cousins in houston, but my sister and i got to visit our grandma who has advanced alzheimer's disease. although she couldn't talk and didn't know that we were her granddaughters, there was something so special about looking into her eyes, telling her we loved her, and giving her a kiss on the head to say goodbye. we played a song she love, gave her oreos, and filled her room with a lot of love and laughter.

i am so thankful for great friends, family, adventures, and the gift of time.

what a gift it is.

the williams: family.

tameka is one of those people you just love instantly. we've worked together for the past three years, and i love to stop by her office to chat whenever i get the chance. she is hilarious, thoughtful, and loves to talk about clothes, so clearly we were meant to be friends. 

this photo shoot was extra special because she wanted to take family photos to send to her husband who is currently deployed. she was able to put a care package together for him and send these along for father's day. 

it's clear her children are completely adorable and equally as hilarious. we had a horse drop by for part of the shoot, which they loved, and only a couple of them ended the evening with allergic reactions (whoops!) 

enjoy some of my favorites of these adorable kids and their amazing mamma!