Family Photographer, Northern Virginia

Today I had the pleasure of spending time with my dear friend, Monica, and her 2 boys. Monica is gorgeous, isn't she??!!!! And she's such a good mama --- those boys love her to pieces. We took some fun family photos and then the boys played in the fountain, which made for some super fun pictures as well!

Love you, Mon!!! I had such a good time today! Thanks for "understanding"!!! :-)

Wedding Photographer, Northern Virginia

This past weekend, I had the very great pleasure of photographing the wedding of Lindsay and Mark. They are such a sweet and easy-going couple, so my job was nothing but fun. Here are a few images from their beautiful outdoor wedding at the River Farm in Alexandria, VA.

Thanks, Lindsay and Mark for letting me be a part of your day! I had a wonderful time. Congratulations!

Morning Walk

I woke up this morning with a little extra spring in my step, you know those days where every cloud has this obviously huge silver lining and the ordinary things just seem so extraordinary. I normally take the girls on a morning run, but today I chose to take the same route and instead we walked it, taking in all the beauty. I brought my camera along and here are some of the beautiful things we saw...

Have a wonderful day!

Pet Photographer, Northern Virginia

Ok, I don't think it's any big surprise that I LOVE, L-O-V-E dogs....I love them! So naturally, taking photographs of dogs is one of the great joys of this profession. Allow me to introduce you to Nikko. Nikko is a German Shepherd and is gorgeous. Oh wait, he's a boy, he'd probably rather be called handsome, debonair or regal, I suppose. Here are a few of my favorite shots from our session today...

Definitely my favorite.

Such a good boy. He was staring at his dad in this picture....and really wanting to be released to go chase his tennis ball!

Catching said tennis ball. This is a very happy Nikko!

And the photo to melt his mama's heart. Just look at those eyes.

I am finalizing some of the details on a big Pet (and their families) Photography event in October. Stay tuned for how you can sign up and get a jump start on photographs for your Christmas cards!

Happy Labor Day!

To celebrate all the hard work we've done this year (haha!), we loaded up the girls and headed out for a hike today. Our friends, Jodi, Jonathan, Wyatt and their pup Marley joined us on the expedition.

Our happy family.

Me with Jodi and Wyatt -- that little dude LOVED the hike. He talked, laughed and told us stories the entire time.

Yet another happy family.

Left: Wyatt before and during hike. Right: Wyatt at the end. He worked REAL hard and wore himself right out!! ;-)

(photo taken this morning from our kitchen window)

So as you know from a below post, we sold our house and are in the last minute frenzy of "what's our next step? Do we buy? Do we rent? Do we stay with friends for a time?" One thing I know about myself is that I like change, but I like organized change with a fully-developed plan. Fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants change makes me a little wacky. Same for Will, we're much alike, that hubby and I.

New subject: I must admit that I have not been embracing the coming of fall. I love summer. I love it! I love long days, the warmth of the sun on my skin, and shorts and tank tops. Maybe it's still ingrained in my brain from back when I was in school, but summer represents freedom....freedom to go on trips, roll the windows down in the car and let the warm breeze in, and freedom to relax and enjoy life. I wasn't enjoying all that being over.

Another new subject: This morning I was sitting in our kitchen with the windows open and a crisp breeze blowing in, drinking my coffee and emailing a very dear friend that I miss a ton. All the sudden I was excited about fall....the way the leaves change such beautiful colors here in Virginia, the crisp air, the coming of holidays, and a sweater or really pretty scarf all started to sound very appealing to me.

And then it hit me. Change happens. It happens whether I want it to or not and it happens in God's perfect timing, which somehow happens to be exactly when we need it. Hmmm....and I'm worked up about where we will live next....why? Yes, change is happening, but change is good and His timing is always perfect. Patience, Stacey, just have patience.

A Day in the Life

Well, I was about to apologize for posting more pictures of our cute pups, but then I decided that if you are knowingly perusing a blog titled "Dog In Dog Out," then I suppose I have absolutely nothing to apologize for --- so DEAL WITH IT!!! :-) Hahaha!

A day in the life of...

...and...

"I love my sand pit! I always find such great treasures in here!"

"Oh boy, what do I smell? This one's gonna be good!"

"What's that? I hear something coming towards me!"

"Oh no you don't, sister! This is my sand pit...I will fight you for it...and you will lose!"

"I might be smaller, but I am queen of my world!"

"Whew, that was hard work. I'll rest in the shade under some stranger's boat."

"Now what did I hear? I'm trying to rest here."

"That's right, sister, you better RUN!!"

-------
And a few pictures just because I think they are adorable. Not sure if I like this smiley, happy pic of Bailey better...

...or this one with her tongue curled. I love them both.

The girls.

Oh, they keep me entertained. And I couldn't love them any more than I do. Have a wonderful day!!!