Summertime Part 1 of Our Trip To Missouri

My trip home to Missouri this summer was sweet and sour. Sour b/c my grandmother passed away and then sweet b/c Sloan and I spent 2 1/2 weeks there with my Mom and stepdad "D". I was able to spend alot of time grieving, reading, relaxing and just taking some time for myself and to spend with my family. Everything slows down in that little town that I grew up in but I always welcome going back home and drinking in the laziness. I was able to check my email twice in 2 1/2 weeks and that was only b/c we went down to the coffee shop (Perk on the Plaza) on the square where they had free wifi. My mom has a computer but won't get internet...it's very frustrating but I tried to embrace it this trip. :) Since my parents are thinking about moving to the islands (and you all wonder where I get my beach fever from?) I knew that this could possibly be one of my last trips back to Missouri so I wanted to drink in all my favorite summertime stops and share them with my son. We hit the Black River a few times...one of my MOST favorite places in the world. I have a ton of great growing up memories from this place. It's a beautiful, crystal clear river that runs through the hills of Missouri. One day we decided to do one of our infamous 6 mile float trips on intertubes and 8 hours later fried crisp we arrived at our pick up. It was pure delight! We went to Clearwater Lake, Johnson Shut Ins, we did a horseback riding excursion, we fished, we went and checked the cows with Farmer Frank, we picked fresh veggies out of the garden, we made friends with Bob (a recurring turtle visitor to my mom's front porch), we jeeped, we saw old friends, we took nature walks, we chased bunnies and I read my ass off. Hee.hee. It was just what I needed. Here's a few pics from the first part of our trip...don't they just smell country?

Brandi Is Back In The Office

I have returned from my trip home to Missouri for my grandmother's funeral and I'm trying to get back into the swing of things in Texas. I've got a great family video to share with you all from Memorial Day weekend and another post coming soon about our trip back to Missouri...stay tuned and turn your volume up...I love this song!

Out of the Office

I'll be out of the office for the next few weeks. My grandmother (aka Gigi) passed away this weekend and I'll be heading back to Missouri for her funeral and time with my family. I feel so blessed to have had her in my life for 40 years b/c I know there's alot of people who never get to know their grandparents. At the same time though, it makes it that much harder that she's gone now b/c I'm so used to having her here in my life. She was quite the woman of strength. She lost her husband when my mom was 6 years old and she never married again. She always wore her wedding ring that my grandfather had given her 60 years later. She was smart as a whip and even at 90 years old her mind was razor sharp. She was the greatest Gigi ever even if she did love George Bush and Sarah Palin. I'm going to miss her so much and all our little things we did together...I could always count on her to fill me in on Young & The Restless, our shopping trips to the mall, her always staying at my house when she came to visit, the smell of her Youth Dew, her always having a sweet treat for us which was usually fudge bars or frozen snickers, her cute little house, our giggle sessions, her and Sloan teasing each other and most of all her hugs and kisses. Bertha Pauline Erickson was one fine lady and I do love and miss her so much already. Here's a few photos of her from last Christmas... which is so weird to think that she won't be celebrating anymore holidays with us. It's all still trying to sink in.

Memorial Weekend Family Shoot

Over Memorial Weekend I had a few big family shoots. Holiday weekends are always a great time when big families get together and celebrate and this is a perfect time to squeeze in some family photos, too. This shoot was so fun b/c there were 6 kids (cousins) and we were shooting at an elementary playground so they could have playful shots of the kiddos. The family wore blues, greens & white and I love how the shots are colorful and happy but not "matchy matchy". This is a great tip when planning a big family shoot b/c clothing options are always tricky. I tell people to pick 3 colors and work within those colors and that will give a good variety for everyone.
There's your little photography tip for the day!





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Picnic In The Park

This family wanted to do their shoot down at the Capitol and wanted to pack a picnic and work into the shoot. It was a great idea b/c half way through the shoot the kids are always ready for a snack. They packed watermelon slices which just looked so cute and colorful in the photos. It just says SUMMERTIME! I love photographing this family b/c they are just so natural in front of the lens and they like the playful photos with their kids...which are my favorite, too!

Little Sassy Bee

I always love seeing the growth in the kiddos that I photograph. It's been almost 2 years since I photographed this family with their wee one and my oh my how she has grown. I absolutely love her strawberry hair and her porcelain complexion...what a little doll! They wanted to do their shoot at the Botanical Gardens and I had not been there in forever so we had a great time wandering the gardens and getting some great shots.