A Welcome Sight



Towards the end of road trips,

when I'm on the home stretch

and I've become road weary,

there's a sight that appears on the horizon

that always says to me,

"Welcome Home!"

The Gateway...

to the west,

to my home!

~~~

And this past Friday,

I spent the day with some

camera-toting friends

in St. Louis,

capturing some city sights

and

this beautiful momument...

"The Gateway Arch...

continues to symbolize St. Louis’ role as the gateway to the West.

Today, we examine this structure as a symbol and architectural achievement."

                                               ~G. Boerner

And as a great photographic subject!



Forever Friends

 

 

 

Does sibling rivalry really exist!?

 

Not with these two...

 

 

 

 

 

they don't know what the term means.

 

 

And this was obvious

 

both last year and this year .

 

 

This brother

 

 

and sister team

 

 

 

 

truly enjoy each other's company.

 

 

Not only are they siblings,

 

 

 

but friends...

 

then and now!

 

~~~

 

Thank you, Patrick and Mallisa,

for allowing me into your lives over the past two years.

 

(And thank you, Mr. Fisherman,

 for sharing your catch and bringing some added fun to the shoot!)

 

Your children are such a joy

and my time with you created a memory...

for me!!!

 

 

 



Joining Forces

Collaborate:

Verb (action word)

To work with another on a joint project.

Related words:

Cooperate

Get Together

Join Forces

 ~~~

And I'm pleased to announce that

is collaborating

with a very talented fellow photographer...

And we are joining forces

to bring to our clients our combined
talents
 and
 time
and
tripods
(ha-ha...I wanted another "t" word)


~~~

Heather,

it's not only a privilege to be working with you,
but also...

SO MUCH FUN!

You add another element to my business
that takes the
"work" out of work
and
have brought even more
enjoyment
 to my life!



The Heart of Warriors

 

 

Have you ever wondered,

 

"Hmmmm...

 

How can I contribute to my community?

 

What can I do to give back?

 

Where can I be of help?"

 

 

Well, some of our soldiers

 figured out the answer to those questions.

 

Not only do they protect our country,

but they've decided to be heroes

in another way.

 

They have given of their time

to a most worthy cause,

and, I would venture to speculate,

they received much more back in return!

 

Because, you see,

there were also heroes

on the receiving end of their giving.

 

Men and women and children

with intellectual disabilities

who demonstrated their courage

and

shared their joy and gifts and skills and friendship,
and who were heroes to the volunteers.
(Special Olympics Missouri Mission Statement)
 

The Special Olympians!

 

And this giving,

by both the volunteers and the athletics,

made the day Special indeed!



So, if you are wondering where to give back,

check out the Special Olympics organization.

 

I guarantee,

you'll receive more than you give...

 

 

 

 





Superheros and a Dream

I read a couple of polls recently.

Polls of what young children want to be when they grow up.

Not surprisingly,

superhero ranked up there pretty high.

 

 In fact,

it was the single most popular choice for kindergarteners.

  

And we have Superheros around us every day.

To name a few...

our soldiers,

our firefighters,

our police force.

 

  

So, after seeing this vintage little patrol car in

Lost in the Woods Antiques,

a vision formed....

  

this car in a beautiful field...

with some willing participants...

...and some fun thrown in to be had by all!

I wanted to visually 

document a dream of a young person...

to let his imagine run wild...

....to role play a future desire...

...and to let his Superhero wish be fulfilled!

Thank you,

Lost in the Woods,
for allowing us to get "lost" in our dream
and for my vision to be fulfilled!


Special note:
the trooper hat is compliments of a
special person in the boys' life..
their Uncle Blake.
The shoot would not have been complete without it!

Thank you,
 Blake,
for being one of our real-life superheros!


 http://www.lostinthewoodsantiques.com/

Amazing & Phenomenal With a Dose of Inspiration

I received a wonderful comment on one of my photos...



"AMAZING doesn't even describe this picture.  
Phenomenal is more like it!!!"

 

 

This quote came from one of the organizers of

a Special Olympics Tournament

held at Ft. Leonard Wood.

 

But I want to turn those adjectives

around and direct them to the

organizers and volunteers and athletes of this event!

 

The organizers were so Amazing.

Their talent and ability to put on an event such as this

 enabled these athletes to have a very special day.
Thank you for your hard work, Organizers!

 

The soldiers volunteering their time were Phenomenal.

It was nothing less than heartwarming and emotional

watching these men and women interacting

with these athletes.
Thank you for your willingness to serve, Soldiers!

 

And speaking of the athletes...

they were both Amazing and Phenomenal!

And I'll throw in the word Inspirational.

Their dedication to hard work was obvious.

The joy they were experiencing was contagious....
just look at the grin above!
Thank you for your example, Athletes!


This competition truly was a display of
the Special Olympics mission:

.... develop physical fitness,
demonstrate courage,
experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts,
 skills and friendship with their families,
other Special Olympics athletes and the community. 

                             

Job well done, everyone, 

and I look forward to more events in the future!

Off the Beaten Path

 

 

 

This past Saturday was pretty incredible.

 

Sandwiched between two photo shoots,

I had a little Road Trip to Alder Hill Farm,

(yep, I officially declare Road Trip a proper noun, worthy of capital letters!)

Scout keeping his eye out for the herd :)

 

 

 

It was  such a perfect way to spend an autumn day...
enjoying the beautiful Missouri countryside

and finding fall colors in unexpected places :)

 

 

 

 

I leisurely traveled on

 7 country roads

through 6 counties

and 1 national forest,

(have you ever googled his quotes?!)

 

 

 



(How cute are mules?!)

 

 

 

One of these things is not like the others,

One of these things just doesn't belong,

~lol... thank you, Sesame Street~

While passing through towns with the names of

Pleasant Hope,

Success,

and

Charity,

 

 

I had time to do some antiquing
and photo-prop shopping,

 

 

 

and I took a minute to pop into the

World's. Largest. Gift. Shop in Lebanon.

 

 

 

 

where an unexpected surprise

was coming across this sweet Caddie

once owned by one of the funniest ladies in history...

 

 

 

 

Before hitting the road again,

it was time for a potty break,

and in the words of a young girl in Hawaii,

"What the?!?!?"....

 



Do I use the the one on the left with the two-gender symbol, but with the "W" underneath,

or the one on the right with the "E".

Does "E" stand for Earthling perhaps?

 

 

~~~

Well, I had a very, very lovely day!

And even the layer of limestone collected

from country back roads

will not deter me from doing this.

 Again...and again...and again!