Hey there Mr. Grumpy Gills [Personal] {northeast, tx portrait and lifestyle photography}

When life gets ya down, ya know what you've gotta do? 

Just keep swimming...just keep swimming.

Just in case anyone was having an off day...a downer day....a flop day...

hope this'll cheer you up. :)

~Through Christ's Love ♥

Smorgasbord Orgasbord Orgasbord {red river portrait and lifestyle photographer}

So if you people are as great as I truly believe you to be, you know from the title that this post will be about The Fair. Because you will remember this scene from this sweet childhood favorite of mine.

Thanks for being great. ;)

So, let it be known that no trip is complete with out M&A (if you poke around on my blog for any amount of time you're sure to hit a jackpot full of pictures and musings about them). They are just too eh-DAR-able. ;) And they successfully got us more than hyped to enjoy the night after going on and on while we were driving, about how much fun we were gonna have. We hopped out of the car humming Adele, basking in the setting sun, smelling the sweet smell of rusty contraptions, livestock, and sugary treats; thoroughly prepared to have a wonderful time. :D

Maggie was the brave one...she knew she was going to ride everything in sight.

Anna believed herself to be brave. Her courage was soon to be put to the test.

We were happily joined by their beeeeautiful friends: 4 year old Addison

 And 6 year old Avery :) {btw, these girls have amazzzzing eyes...wow...}

 Maggie gravitated quickly to her favorite ride first. No matter what they invent...the classic slide will be a forever crowd pleaser. :D

(To lay some ground work to straighten all this out...that's my Uncle Donald holding her {my mom's oldest brother.} It's Maggie and Anna's Paw-Paw because it's their Daddy's Daddy. SO, to set the record straight: Maggie and Anna are my oldest cousin's {on my mom's side} little girls. Thought you'd like to know. ;) Alrighty then...moving on...)

 Anna wasn't quite ready, she was still...ya know...warming up to the idea of being that high off the ground.

Uncle Donald: Look Anna, there's Maggie.

Anna: Oh. *Gulp*

 Uncle Donald: That looks fun, doesn't it?

Anna: Yeah!

Uncle Donald: You wanna do that next? Or just stay here with Paw-Paw?

 Anna: I wanna stay wif you, Paw-Paw.

 Next ride choice...the Go Gator {tiny} roller coaster.

 Anna was especially nervous.

 Maggie: I got this. This ain't even scary. Anna'll be fine.

Anna {to herself, through gritted teeth and rising panic}: *I can do this, I can do this, I can do this...

 Anna: No I can't!

Maggie had the prospect of riding alone for a full minute or so...

Then Anna was back!

Let's just say, she battled a mood swing or two before she finally convinced herself she was okay. 

Usually the ride starting suddenly makes your decision for you.

 Big sisters are such blessings...can I get an amen or aye?

 I was subconsciously eyeing this ride half the night...

 The cars were much more suited to Anna's anxiety level :D Personally I think this is an endangerment to society. Think about how many countless children that will be prepared to drive cars with two steering wheels! This can't be good...Our roads are going to be a dangerous place in a decade or so, just wait...

 Maggie and Anna's friends; Cousins Kate and Reece thought it a pleasant ride as well. But, really, isn't driving a firetruck always a thrilling experience?

 The perfect ride for a gaggle of girls to enjoy themselves in. :D The girls on the far left and right are Alexis (Reece's big sis) and Abby (Kate's big sis)

 My subconscious was finally satisfied. ;)

 That's my Aunt Dana in the middle...yep, that means I'm the one laughing hysterically with Snoopy on my shirt. ;) Generally having a blast. :D 

Anna was slightly worried but she felt better with her Grandmama (my Aunt Freda) so close to her.

Maggie was all smiles as usual. :)

 The last time I was crazy enough to ride this I was 4' 11", 9 years old, and my friend Jessica's flipflops flew off and slammed me in the face. I'm sure I had a black eye for weeks...

  You simply cannot leave a fair without getting a sugar rush, right? That's somewhere in a long-lost rule book, isn't it? It should be.

 Just between me and you...one of the girls got much stickier and colorful than the other...but I can't quite remember which one it was.

 Uncle Donald couldn't bare the fact that there was no pictures of me. So he took one. And I, having the great privilege of The Self-Conscious Photographer who has such a hard time letting go of the camera and all the implied rights and getting in front of it, enjoyed myself by super-over-editing this...I had to have some control, ya know. ;)

When we left we were all sufficiently filled with high fructose corn syrup no doubt, our heads were spinning after all that circular movement, and our eyes were swimming with neon color. "Umor has it" we had a lot of fun. I'd say so too. ;)

~Through Christ's Love ♥

The Beauty of Summer {northeast, tx portrait and lifestyle photographer} [Personal]

That beautiful season...

Summer...

Filled is the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape

Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.

| Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |

{Hope you are in the mood to tarry for a bit...this may be on the lengthy-ish side but sure to make you smile. ;)}

As swiftly and gloriously as it made its appearance, my favorite season is fading fast. It is crazy to think that its already almost September. (Did I really just say September??) 


It seems like just yesterday that June began our festivities...
Gardening, Canning, and Crape Myrtles

Hanging out Laundry, Honey Suckle, and Homemade Garden Fresh Pizza

Babysitting sleeping baby girls and sleeping baby ducks

July came marching in behind with joys of its own:

American Flags and Fireworks

More Gardening...more Canning...

Dairy visits and Petting horses

Camping with Friends and A Great Bible Reading Challenge

The Miracle of Life

Swing-sets and Daring Leaps of Faith

Movie Making and more Movie Making

And then there's been August... 

Getting extra swimming in before summer is over!!

Being at dear friends' house during golden hour and a beautiful sunset...

Friends with adorable little ones...

Enjoying the sweetness and relaxation of simple country living...

And lastly, something so very bittersweet happened to abruptly cut short this summer fun.

Maggie

started

Kindergarten.

On the 22nd she woke up, got dressed, and prepared to embark on one of the biggest journeys of her little life...her little bitty life...especially compared to her great big backpack and huge "flip-flopping tummy" smile.

Anna was close by her side, nearly as excited as Maggie herself.

Mitchell and Brandi held it together like champs...though I know they felt like going into hysterics, "MAGGIE!!! OUR BABY!!!" 

They saved that emotion for after they dropped Maggie off. ;)

{Along with me who came home and bawled as I looked back over the pictures I had taken}

As we drove to the school Maggie turned to me and said, "It's not summer anymore, Allix." I nodded. "You're right Maggie. Looks like summer's over." She sighed. "Yeah...even if we wanted to go to the beach...we couldn't. That's what it means when you start Kindergarten. No more summer."

She stopped for one last smile before she walked through The Doors.

And then, there she was. As if she had been going to Kindergarten her whole life. As if she had never been a little baby wrapped up in a big pink blanket. As if she had never been her Grandmama's Silly Girl and her Mama's Gracie. As if she had never been 2 feet tall with a 5 inch blonde ponytail. As if she had never had trouble saying her L's and looked at me with those sparkly blue eyes and said, "I yove you Ayix." :')

She just seemed to blend right into this new world.

But you and I both know the truth.

Summer did happen.

And it was wonderful.

I wish it never had to end....

Now I'm back to the school books as well...trying with all my might to finish high school. Just call me the "Little Junior that Could" and I'll stick through it with a few "I Think I Can's" playing through my head. Let's face it...it's down from 107 to 105 degrees here in Texas. Summer is fading.

But at least we have the memories. :)

I'd love to hear some of yours! Tell me...what did you do that was oh-so-lovely this summer??

~Through Christ's Love ♥