Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Words can not express how blessed I am to have such wonderful clients as you all. Thank you for letting me capture your precious memories this year. I had a blast doing so! I am looking forward to a wonderful 2012. I cannot wait! I am taking these next few weeks off to spend much needed time with my own family playing, baking, snuggling and having a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I will be up and snapping away though come January don't worry! lol! Until then have a wonderful Holiday Season. Oh, and Valentine minis are right around the corner. I will announce them January 1st. Stay tuned! :)

The Ritchie Girls

My last session of the year! I met up with the beautiful Ritchie girls for a session this week. They are so adorable! We had fun taking a hike through the woods on this session. :) We even managed to get all three looking at the same time! lol!




Then little Miss K is having a birthday soon...tea party style! We had to snap a few of this too! ADORABLE!!! Enjoy Ritchie family!! Merry Christmas!

The Errera Family

Last Saturday I met up with the sweet Errera family! We met at a beautiful spot for this session. The leaves right now here in Tx are just gorgeous! Really our fall happens in Dec.! lol! We got lots of smiles that day. Thank you guys for such a great morning! Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

The Pickens Family

Last Friday I met up with the sweet Pickens family. I love seeing how the girls grow from year to year! It makes me smile. :) These guys are so much fun! Their sessions are always filled with laughter. :) Merry Christmas Pickens Family!

Marcy, Zander & Zoe

I met up last week with these guys!  They are just so stickin cute!  Soooo photogenic. I could take their picture forever!  It was a tad chilly, but a perfect day!  Thank you all!  Merry Christmas!

The Ward Boys

We just got back visiting family up in Wv for Thanksgiving. We had so much fun! Shawn's cousin, Autumn, and her boys came over to visit one rainy day. This was my first time to meet little Milo. What a doll he is. He just sits there with a huge smile on his face! lol! We only had a few minutes to snap a few pictures under the porch, but we got some great ones in. I caught Zander and Eli amongst all the playing and got in a few of them as well. lol! We also were able to get all five of the kiddos to sit for just a second too. That is always a big challenge. haha!

It was a fun day! We miss you guys!






:)

The Bowersock Family

Before I go on Thanksgiving break I need to post The Bowersock Family! These guys were so nice! We had a great time on this session...even busted out the giant lollipops! Thank you for such a fun evening! Enjoy!

The Krenek Family

This is the 2nd year I got to photograph the sweet Krenek family. We had fun trying to get everyone to smile. lol! We got in some great shots. Thank you guys for a wonderful morning!










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The Hollis Family

The Hollis family came ready to smile friday morning! We got lots of them too. It was a beautiful morning to spend with a beautiful family! Thank you guys! Enjoy your sneaks!

The Fedele Family

Thurs morning I met up with the sweet Fedele Family. They are all so stinking cute! It was bit cold, but they were troopers and we got in some great shots! Enjoy your sneaks!








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The O'Leary Family

Welcome back to the blog O'Leary Family! These guys are just wonderful! I love every time they have a session. My goodness, the little ones are growing up so fast! We had fun tromping around and exploring. Thanks guys for a great evening! Enjoy!









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The Stephens Family

Saturday evening I met up with the sweet Stephens Family. These guys rock! They are so nice. Little Hudson is a ham! He finally kept that Santa hat on! lol! It started out warm,but a cool breeze came though which was great! Thank you guys! Enjoy!










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The Mason Family

I met up with the adorable Mason Family Saturday morning. These guys came ready! I loved their coordinating outfits! Lots of smiles were had by all. A little bribery to see Taylor Swift that night brought out a few more! lol! Enjoy your sneaks!









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The Burrer Family

I met the cute Burrer Family Sunday evening at one of my favorite spots for a family session. These guys came ready for a great session. Lots of smiles, laughing and running around chasing ducks were on the agenda. :) Thank you guys! It was super fun!







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The Austin Family

Chilly Sunday morning I met up with the sweet Austin family. They did not let the coldness stop them. Big smiles all around. :) These guys rocked it! Thank you for such a wonderful morning! Enjoy your sneaks!






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The Wilson Family

Saturday was a busy day! lol! The adorable Wilson family was my last session that evening. What a way to end the day! These guys were so dang sweet! :) We had a great time walking around talking, and taking some great shots. These guys do not take bad picture! Lots of love in this family! :) Enjoy your sneaks!








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The Burns Family

Next up on Saturday was the sweet Burns Family. I can't believe how much the little ones are growing! They remind me of my little ones at that age. :) So much personality and showing their independence! I LOVE it! It was a fun session! Enjoy your sneak guys! :)

The Riggs Family

These guys came full of smiles! I love clients like that! It was a tad chilly (finally) Saturday morning, but it did not stop these guys. We had a great time and I bet they got some great candy afterwards. lol! Enjoy!

The Schwartzkopf Family

On Tues, I met up with my sister and her family. It was such a nice evening at one of my favorite locations. :) Blake and Ella knows that Aunt Holly always has a camera in hand so I did not have much trouble getting lots of smiles in. :) They like being my little models. haha! Thank guys! Enjoy your sneak peek!







:)

The Brennan Family

I met up with cute family Sunday evening. Two weeks ago their session got rained out so I was a bit nervous when it rained in the morning! lol! It cleared up and the ground dried by time evening rolled around so we were good to go! We got in some great family shots! This family is cute as a button! They don't take a bad picture. :) Enjoy your sneaks!








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Eloise At The Plaza Birthday Party

So my daughter, Kathleen, is way into ELOISE AT THE PLAZA. Eloise is a children's based character drawn and written by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight. Kathleen can recite every book and every movie by heart! lol! Last spring she decided that she wanted an Eloise themed 5th birthday party. I thought to myself "How am I going to pull this off?!?" haha! So I scoured the internet for inspiration, studied the movies and read all the books for ideas. I even called the Eloise At The Plaza store in NY to purchase lots of items. They are so nice there and so helpful! My brother inlaw and my father both made trips to the store as well while in NY to load up on Eloise loot. :) I knew it would not be an Eloise party with out being at a hotel! I mean, that is what she is all about! Sooooo, it was only fitting that we had it at The Woodlands Resort. It is The Woodland's own "Plaza". We just love, love, love the resort. We have rode out hurricanes there, always check in for Spring break, and just "get away" there whenever we can. It is an Oasis in our own backyard! It was only fitting that I had Kathleen's party there. She feels like "Eloise at The Woodlands Resort" anyways. lol!


So... We did!




We obtained the absolutely fabulous Presidential Suite on the tip top floor (in Eloise style) to have the party. It was PERFECT!!!!! It is a stunning room. Perfect for our "Eloise Suite". :)



First up some details. The cake table was adorable! Eloise themed presents for Kathleen surrounded the awesome birthday cake. Skipperdee and Weenie stood guard.






I had a perfect kid size pink candy buffet. Cute Skipperdee the turtle graced the pink treat bags. There were pink & white marsh mellows, pink whoppers, pink jellybeans, pink candy sticks, pink oreos, pink white chocolate dipped marsh mellow pops that I made and personalized Eloise candy bars. The balloon holders I made from the pink Eloise tissue paper that came in some of her presents she received earlier.





The large dining table in the suite was just perfect for us. I had made up a menu for each place setting with Eloise on it. We had Eloise and Skipperdee centerpieces with a gorgeous pink flower arrangement in the middle. I placed picture frames with Kathleen dressed as Eloise in them from our photo shoot I did with her last week through out the table as well. The menu consisted of Cheese and Crackers, pepperoni, Star shaped (just like Eloise likes them) PB sandwiches, grapes, white pudding with pink sprinkles and Eloise outfit cookies that I made. Pink lemon aide topped it off.






In one of the bedrooms I had a bin full pink tutus for each girl & pink feather boas that they all got to keep. To complete the dress up attire in the bathroom were bracelets and necklaces. Kathleen and her cousin Ella spent the night with me after the party for a girl sleepover, so I surprised them with their own Eloise beds! Each had their own sign above the bed with matching pjs, Eloise books, and Eloise pencil and pad.





Each girl got their nails painted - pink of course! So for goody bags I gave them a box (with a cute ballerina Eloise) filled with their own pink nail polish, remover and cotton balls. They also received an Eloise pencil from the Eloise Store in NY. & an Eloise book. Inside was an Eloise bookmark that I made that said "Thank you for coming"






I also made special Eloise coloring books for each girl to color while they took turns getting their nails painted.







We had all the little girls meet us in the lobby of the hotel first. Once we were all there, we headed to the "Eloise Suite" to party.

Once there a butler holding a sign saying "Welcome to Kathleen's 5th Birthday greeted them. The girls opened the door to a pink paradise! Balloons galore were in the entry way showing the way to the gorgeous suite.









They all stood there in amazement. Just taking it all in! They were speechless! haha! Then, they all ran around checking everything out! Skipperdee was even there in a giant glass just like in the movie! Eloise the movie was even playing on the tv. They quickly found their dress up clothes and got all gussied up as Eloise would say! After they settled down there was an Eloise Story time.






Then the painting of the nails and coloring began. :) My awesome babysitter Victoria did such a great job! Thank you!






We made our way to the decked out table to enjoy an incredible tea party. They girls were so happy! Everyone had a giant smile on their face!





After their bellies were full, there was a knock at the door. Ms. Sara, the hotel concierge came up to take us on all special tour of the hotel! Just like Eloise we got to go behind the scenes to see how it all works!


The girls all lined up and down the elevator they went. Stopping at the pool for a group photo. :)






Then, waiting for us was Mr. Benjamin and our own private bus! I have never heard so many squeals! We jumped inside to see where we were going.







First stop - The Laundry room! It was so cool! We got to see all the washing machines. There was even a cool machine that you feed a sheet into, it goes back and forth and presses it, then pops out all folded! The girls could not believe their eyes! Us moms decided we need something like that at our houses! haha!





Ms. Wilma , the manager, even gave the girls a goody basket filled with soaps, lotions and rubber duckies! Wow!!




Then, it was back on the bus to the lobby again. We took a short walk in the gorgeous glass hallway. We got lots of smiles from hotel guests.





We made our way to the bakery!!! There, Executive Pastry Chef Kevin Pysell met us with lots of special treats! They enjoyed cookies, special Eloise treat boxes he made and pink cupcakes! The girls could not believe it! He toured them around, showed them the mixers, where ingredients were stored, and freshly made biscuits! It smelled so good in there. He really spoiled us!




We hopped back on the bus to go back to our suite. Kathleen blew out her candles while we all sang Happy birthday. Yummy cake and milk was served in cute little "Milk Cups with pink , black and white straws".





We all gathered around while Kathleen opened up her gifts.





Pink & white bead bracelet making came next and a trip to the candy buffet. Yum!





It was then time to say goodbye. The girls were bummed to leave. I heard several say they wish they were Kathleen's cousin so they could spend the night too. haha!



Kathleen, Ella and I headed to the pool to relax after all the fun. I had a nice mommy drink. lol!





Kathleen & Ella had a fabulous time in their "Eloise Suite". I think they watched the movie about 100 times that night! Lots, and lots of bed jumping was going on. Lots of giggles came from that room!





Many trips to the candy buffet were in order that night too. They had super fun in their beautiful bathroom! haha!





About 10pm I made them get into bed. That did not stop them! They were drawing pictures for each other on their Eloise notepads. Then, they crashed!






The next morning we had breakfast Eloise Style...room service of course!!! We were sad to leave that afternoon. We had so much fun!






General Manager Kent Johnson and all the staff at The Woodlands Resort really went way, way out of their way to accommodate us. Kathleen just loved, loved, loved her party! Thank you, thank you, thank you!


She really was Eloise for the day! Memories for a Lifetime were made that day. Priceless

:)

The Carlton Family

Sunday evening I met up with the Carlton Family. These guys were so much fun. I got in some great family shots. The whole gang jumped in a few as well. The weather was perfect for a great evening shoot. Thank you guys! Enjoy your sneaks!

The Leishman Family

Saturday evening I met up with the sweet Leishman Family. These guys are my neighbors. They are the kindest, sweetest, ,most caring neighbors ever! The kids all play together everyday. Everyone always looking out for each other. :)

We went to a local park with the most beautiful fall colors. Yes, we do a get a little autumn color around here. lol! It was a beautiful evening with a beautiful family! Enjoy your sneaks. :)











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The Miller Family

I met up with the adorable Miller Family Saturday morning. Each time I see them there is a new kiddo. :) Baby brother will be arriving early next year. Yay! This is one of those families that always puts a smile on my face. :) Enjoy your sneaks!







:)

The Shelton Family

I met up Thurs morning with the cute Shelton Family. These guys were great and full of smiles! We started out at a local pumpkin patch and then ended with some great family shots. Thanks guys for such a lovely morning!











:)