Yep, we're still here...

Man, don't I feel bad. A friend of ours emailed and asked, "are you guys still doing the blog"? Boy, talk about a smack back to reality. I've had three things, all personal, I've wanted to post in our "down time" before the wedding season kicks into high gear. Well, high gear starts with tomorrow's wedding of our assistant, Beth, and continues on for the next 6 weekends! So no time like the present, huh? Be warned this is a super long blog post!

Even though we had April free from weddings, we've been super busy being a normal all-American family, ordering new sample albums, and getting our gallery ready. Speaking of which, I have a post about that, but to keep from doubling up, I'll post laster this weekend. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

First off are some photos from a mini session with the girls in a field of daffodils. I say mini session because Millie had a little meltdown and it was buggy and warm.

We were dealt a pair of cuties for sure.


Maddie playing flower girl.



And Maddie had her first dentist appointment. Her first cleaning and checkup. We were a little worried she'd freak out, but she did awesome!

She watched Mommy go through it first... I think she said "I don't know about this."


Then it was her turn. They gave her little sunglasses because the light was so bright.


All clean!


"Smell my breath Mommy!"


We reward her for doing so well with sugar to rot her teeth. Parents of the year.


And a little fun at the McDonald's playground.




She's such a ham. "I'm trapped in a cage Daddy!"

Next up, we finally did Millie's 6 month session around the time she turned 7 months. Yeah, we're procrastinators. But we couldn't have picked a more cooperative model.

First, Maddie had to play on my "set", her bed. Normally we don't let her jump on her bed, but, well, Danielle wasn't in there. And I knew they'd make for some cool photos. I call this one "Timber!"


And then Airborne Maddie.


For the record, I'm not into the matching dress thing like Danielle. But I will admit they are cute together.


Little sweetie!


I know every parent thinks their kids are adorable, but come on right? They're too stinkin' adorable!


Big smiles!


Maddie wanted some photos too.


Little Vol.


She's a cowgirl, baby.


But not too big of a fan of the hat.


She looks so serious, like "don't mess with my blocks, man."


This sounded something like "aaaaaaaaaaaagghghghaaaaaaa!"


Baby Butt Crack!


She's so proud to be sitting up.


I think she gets these goofy looks from me.


Happy baby!




One of our friends is a knitting junkie and made Millie this little bunny hat for Easter. It's cute, but I don't think she's a big fan.

I hope you enjoyed an update of the girls. But now I have to be a downer. I've wrestled with the idea of sharing this because there's a theory among some photographers that you should never post anything negative on your blog. I don't agree with that because you all are our friends and clients. We share life's good and bad with you. We're a part of your lives just like you're a part of ours.

A lot of you know about our dog Buster through our Facebook updates. He suddenly became blind about three months ago and unfortunately the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. At first, it seemed like he would adjust and everything would be okay. Different, but okay. And then his health started to decline. He stopped eating and drinking unless we forced him to and he became very disoriented and confused. It came time for us to make the decision no pet owner wants to make. Two weeks ago, we said our tearful goodbyes and took him to the vet one last time.

Buster was more than just a great dog and companion for us. As I've been reflecting on the 10 years we had with him I realized that he was a testament of mine and Danielle's love. He was our first true test. I got him from the pound while we were dating and Danielle quickly trained him. It was like having our first child in the early stages of our relationship. And we survived. He's been by our side through thick and then and as our family has grown. Ever the protector and always willing to play; the perfect traits for a pooch. Over the years with Buster, we tried to get other dogs thinking he needed the company, but they never worked out. It seems that no other dog was as good as Buster and he wasn't crazy about sharing us. I honestly can say he's the best dog I ever had and will be a hard one to top.

So here are a few photos of him throughout the years. Most are from the old film days and were easy to find. I'm sure I have hundreds more buried in the digital archive, but regardless, these are some of my favorites.


Buster as a wee pup at my apartment. We guessed he was a lab mix, so when I asked the vet what kind of dog he thought Buster was mixed with he flatly said, "a black one." I love sarcastic doctors.



I think the bone was almost as big as he was.


The first trip Danielle and I took together was to the Outer Banks. And we took Buster with us. Thanks to that, we had to stay in one of the only motels that accepted pets, the "Vivianna". It was the definition of fleabag motel and was later condemned and razed. But he loved every minute of the trip and so did we (and look at how tiny we all are!).


Being Buster and running through our big yard.


This is one of my favorite photos. When I was in college, I had this crazy dream of buying a Jeep and getting a dog and driving to Alaska. Two out of three isn't bad. I was sent up to the Smokies for the newspaper one day to hunt for features so I swung by the house and picked Buster up. We hung out all day in the mountains. A boy and his dog.


I would come home from lunch and he'd curl up in my lap the best a 55 lb. dog could.


He always had such wicked brown eyes. It was sad to seem them after he went blind.

These next few were from his last day...

He had gotten weak and wouldn't leave the porch for a few days. And then all of the sudden he stumbled out into the yard and would just walk endlessly in circles until he hit something, like our fence above. We would get him back on the porch, but as soon as we left he would do it again.


Look how pitiful he was. :(


Danielle and I said our goodbyes. Surprisingly, Maddie was the strongest one of all. "Don't cry guys, we'll see Buster again when we get to Heaven."


And finally, the burial. Maddie and her K'Maw helped me fill in the grave. During our little service we had, we all said a little prayer of thanks. In timeless fashion Maddie piped up, "Thank you God for Buster. But actually I want a puppy." Nice. The kid is a classic. We buried him underneath a Bradford Pear that Danielle and I planted the first year we were married.

So, sorry if I bummed you out, but I felt Buster's story needed to be shared. And many of you have met him over the years. He was a truly a great dog.

That's it for now. Thanks for hanging in all the way through this monster post. :) I promise that the posts will be more frequent now that the gallery is open. Remember to check over the weekend for details about it and for info about our open house on Monday.

-Wes