Time for the Matthews bunch to squeeze in their yearly session.

Since they moved all the way to Northeastern Oklahoma, it’s been tough trying to figure out the best way to get them in each year.  Usually, we schedule something around football games.  They are HUGE Oklahoma State fans (me, too!).   I can pretty much count on them being in town for all of those.  BUT, this time they were visiting family which made things super easy.  They only had to drive another couple hours after we finished to reach their destination!  Sheesh!

It’s a good thing they love me, right! 

Hopefully, I’ll find a way to photograph this crew EVERY year, because they keep getting better looking!  I’d hate to miss all the fun each year brings.  This year, they added Cole to the mix!

Here are a few of my favorites…

I was so excited to see what her mama had planned for this session.  She always comes prepared and this time was no different.  She had balloons, bubbles, cookies, and an amazingly cute ladybug tutu.  Add to that my stash of fruit snacks and we were all set.

Kylie really wanted to go exploring so it was hard to keep her attention for long.  Believe me, the fruit snacks and cookies came in extra handy!  Notice the orange fruit snack in this first set?  Yep.  I was bribing her like crazy AND asking her to name NEARLY every body part to keep her attention.  Worked like a charm, though.  I love this series!

Last time it was just Mama and Kylie.  This time around, we talked Daddy into coming for a few shots.  I think he lived through it. 

I love going to Will Rogers Park in OKC.  It’s huge and leaves plenty of room for romping.  We had so much fun chasing Kylie around while she played with her balloons and blew lots of bubbles…

We did have to pause for a cookie or two.  Every girl needs a little nourishment.

Yes, we even got in a game of peek-a-boo.  AND just before leaving, we had to chase the ducks!

And, she’s outta here!

It was a BUSY night with sweet people and a completely adorable two year old.

FYI:  Most of you know my window was busted out and my purse stolen last Saturday while shooting at Will Rogers Park.  If you don’t know, I wanted to give you a heads-up.  Please carry your belongings with you while at the park OR leave anything of value at home.  Apparently, this has been happening fairly frequently this summer.

Mom came prepared, which was SO awesome.  As she was unloading the stroller from her suv, I noticed there was a red wagon loaded down with goodies being pulled from the vehicle, too.  She had packed everything from toys, to stuffed critters, to tutus and beads for Presley.  AND, since Presley recently turned ONE, she brought along cake, too!

SUPER wow!

It sure helped make our time together VERY successful.  Presley LOVED the beads and Conway was all smiles with his Lego airplane!  Take note, all you parents out there!  If you’ve been wondering how to change things up and get less traditional photos, this is it!  Bring anything and everything to show your child’s personality.  You’ll get great photos as a result!

Just take a look at all the great shots we got of these two cute kiddos.  Here are my favorites.

I love how sweet it is that little Presley is sharing cake with her big brother.

AND, don’t forget his big sis who’s pretty excited about his arrival, too.  This time around I met up with the gang at a local park for some hot, sticky, but fun shots to help tide us over until the little man gets here.  As usual, I had a great time hanging out with the Precure family.  I go home with sore cheeks every time I see them.  I can’t imagine how big I’ll be grinning next time.

For now, here are my favorites!  Amy, you look beautiful in EVERY shot!

This gang made my job so easy.  The kiddos were perfect and full of grins.  Even the dads were great sports, which we all know isn’t always the case.  I figured for a group this big, we’d want a pretty large park.  Our spot was perfect.  There was plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy ourselves.  The sunshine was awesome and we didn’t sweat too much since we were shooting after 7pm in the evening.  HA! 

Here are my favorites!

Sometimes, when you have no other choice, you simply MAKE it work.  This past weekend was a prime example of that.  AND, I’m happy to say, it did work out.

So, for those of you who think it’s too cold in December or too wet or too anything for outdoor photos, here’s the proof you’re wrong.  HA!

There was simply no rescheduling for this crew.  Between schedules of three different families and crazy bookings of a CRAZY photographer, our session had to stick.  When the pouring rain and freezing cold threatened to ruin our day, we called a bazillion different indoor locations in hopes of finding a warmer and less wet place to shoot.  BUT, when life gives you lemons….

you know the rest. 

Instead of hiding out in someone’s house or canceling our session, we figured we’d just go for it anyway.  Off to the park we went…

in the pouring rain….

and freezing cold wind.

Believe it or not, the first handful of shots were taken through a Ziploc baggie.  I was trying to preserve the life of my camera and still get some shots.  Somehow, for a few short minutes, the clouds parted and some rays of sunshine poked through.

and we said our prayers of thanks.

I have to say, the kids were all troopers.  They had chattering teeth and major goosebumps, but were still able to show me a couple of grins through the madness.  Even poor little Sam forgave us for a split second and showed me some teeth.  Thank you, Sam. 

Toward the end, we were all so wet and silly, we decided to update our Facebook profile photos.  HA!  Why the heck not?  We’re here.  We’re wet.  Might as well have a little fun, right?

Right!

Thanks to all my fellow crazies for being such troopers and making me smile through the rain.  I appreciate you for going with the flow.  God is good, not only through the rain, but FOR THE RAIN.

After going back-and-forth trying to decide on a location, we finally settled on Will Rogers park in OKC.  It’s the perfect spot for big families because there is plenty of room to run and play.  These kiddos definitely agreed with me.  They were having so much fun…

Well, that is, everyone except their littlest man.  He wasn’t quite sure about the whole “photo-taking” thing.  He gave me just about every moody look in the book.  Until finally, I got involved in a game of peek-a-boo…

wait for it…

AND, lookie there… I believe I see a hint of a smile.

Oops!  Back to being serious.  But, brother had enough grins for both of them!

He finally loosened up toward the VERY end of our session.  By then, everyone had the giggles.

I had a great time and loved the gorgeous weather we were blessed with that day.  I’ll have your proofs ready soon!

They literally keep me in business, because they LOVE having photos almost as much as I love taking them.  I see them regularly throughout the year and love it.  The cool part is they are so laid back, let me choose the location most times, and have really great kiddos who love to laugh with me (and AT me!).  I have NOTHING to complain about.

This time we went to Will Rogers Park (somewhere they’d never been before).  The Fall leaves were blanketing the entire area, which was awesome.  Plus, the girls were super pumped about getting to play in them a little bit.  The weather was perfect, not to chilly.  It was a bit windy which made for interesting hair, but if I got the timing just right I was able to work around it.  I promise!

Oh, Will Rogers Park has great nooks, too, for getting out of the wind.  We took advantage of ALL of them!  The neat thing is where there are nooks, there are LOTS of leaves…

just ask these two.

I couldn’t believe how much “little bit” had grown since the last time I’d seen her.  She is changing so quickly!  I’m just glad her parents know how fast time flies and are documenting all of it with TONS of photos.

I absolutely love that this family is willing to let loose and have a little fun while I watch and snap photos with my camera.  If everyone could do that, it’d make my job so unbelievably easy.  I’d almost feel bad taking your money!

We got to see plenty of belly buttons as we made our way through the park.  That’s just fine by me…

Theirs happen to be really cute ones!

They look better and better each year!

As usual, I had an amazing time with you guys!  Can’t wait to share your gallery with you VERY soon!

As for the rest of you, have a Totally AWESOME Tuesday!

But one thing remains the same.  He’s still the cutest baby on the block!  AND, just like last time, he was all smiles for his favorite photographer.

As you probably already suspect, he’s the center of the universe for his parents.  They adore him and laugh at him and LOVE him a WHOLE WHOLE bunch!

and, I’m pretty sure he likes them just a tiny bit. 

Just like last time, we had to get Grandma and Grandpa in a couple of shots.  They adore the little guy almost as much as his parents!

I even talked his momma and daddy into a few shots by themselves.  With a couple this good-looking, I couldn’t resist.  Luckily, “little man” was there to get them to smile!

I had an awesome time, as usual.  I can’t wait to show you guys the rest of the photos, but you’ll have to be a little more patient than in the past.  Things are taking a bit longer than my normal one-week-turnaround.  Have a sensational Saturday, blog land!

You never know how an engagement shoot is going to go…

Will they be all “lovey-dovey” or shy while quietly holding hands or totally embarrassed about being in front of the camera.  Audra and Ryan were a combination of the second two.  I know they were thinking I was insane after some of the things I asked them to do.  BUT, they stuck it out and we were able to get some great shots.  Thanks, Audra and Ryan!

Here are my favorites!

Even with them (mostly Audra!) wanting to kill me during the session for all the ooshy gooshy stuff I made them do, I think they look awesome!  See how cute you guys are, Audra?

Smooches and all…I love this shot!

This is another shot I love.  Although, I couldn’t decide if I liked it better in b/w or color…

Here’s the color version.

We had to get some ring shots, and look Audra, another smoochy smoochy shot.

I had fun hanging with you two.  Ryan, I hope you didn’t feel too picked on…I always enjoy tormenting you poor, poor young men.

Here’s a big one in b/w for the road…