Happy Birthday!

So this weekend, my baby sister Samantha, turned 21. It is hard for me to believe that she is finally that old. Her friend Lacy came up to spend the weekend with her and we (my sister Becky, Lacy, & I) took her out.

We started that night at Grande's for dinner and went to see Bridesmaids and finished the night at Friendlys for some ice cream. I have to say that Bridesmaids was a great movie. If you are looking for a movie to see with your girlfriends I recommend it. I was laughing so hard and so much through the whole thing that my face hurt for like an hour later.

The only disappointing thing of the night is that I forgot to take any photos. We were so busy chatting away at dinner about everything that I forgot. And I could not take any during the movie.

But here are a few photos of the beautiful birthday girl...

Samantha and Lacy.

Samantha and Eli.

Samantha and Grace!

The plan was that I was going to reshoot Samantha and Lacy, but our weekend plans did not work out that way.

Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally

Every summer our county puts on a big Hot Air Balloon Rally. It is called "Spiedie Fest & Balloon Rally." For those who do not know what a spiedie is, I will explain- it is meat (chicken, beef, lamp, pork, even venison) cut into cubes and marinated in a sauce. They are then put on skewers and cooked on the grill. They have a big cook off for the best ones as well as releasing of the balloons 5 times over the 3 day event. Here are a few of the balloons that I was able to get last year.

My sister was able to go up in one the last night with a friend. I had her 2 boys and my daughter and was able to meet them when the landed. The owner of the balloon was very kind to take the kids and I up into the air. I am not sure how high we were up but we were above some of the trees. For someone afraid of heights I did not think that I could do it, but mission accomplished. I am looking forward to my own trip in a hot air balloon sometime in the near future.




I love this photo. This one was taken from the care on our way to meet my sister where her balloon was landing. I was able to capture this one at the right moment. I love how it is just over the barn.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is the day that the United States honors its mothers. So on this day I wanted to wish a Happy Mother's day to all the women out there that are mothers. Including those women that have furry four legged creatures as their kids, because they are kids too. You have to feed them, keep a roof over their homes, and pay for their medical care just like a human child.

So... HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

I would like to honor all the Mother's in my life today. My mom, my grandmother, my mother-in-law, and my sister!

A special thank you to the kids that made me a Mother! May you all have a great day! I love you all!

New Blog

OK so I did it... I created my new blog!

It is called Random Ramblings of the Female Mind. You can find it at this link www.ramblingsofthefemalemind.blogspot.com.

It is things that I hear through out my day from the mouth of the females that are around me. From family members (including Grace), coworkers, and friends. You can find it there.

So, when you are not having a great day, or just want a quick escape, go on over for a quick laugh or just a distraction. It will definitely make you say "Where do these things come from?"

Become a follower on there and leave comments too!

Going-Ons

I can not believe that it is already May...

The beginning of this year has just flown by. I am still behind in my postings and trying very hard at getting caught up. I have not had time to get photos posted for the I Heart Faces Challenges either. I have one to post this week, its already I just have to get the link posted and get it on the website. The challenge is Soft & Sweet. It is what we feel resembles something soft & sweet. I have chosen a photo of Grace and Fluffy.

I have a banquet that I am shooting in just a couple of weeks. It is for the Central Baptist Christian Academy Jr/Sr banquet. The juniors put it on for the seniors, and this years theme is "Shooting for the Stars." I am looking forward to helping them create the memories of the night that will live on with them for years to come. I am hoping to post a few of the formal photos that I take that night.

I have found this great spot that I am going to take Grace to and shoot some photos of her in her Easter dresses. Yes I did say dresses... We found a very nice sailor dress that came with a matching doll dress that she just had to have for her and her doll, Natalie. Then we were out shopping again and came across another dress, a pink floral, with a matching doll dress too, so we picked that one up. She ended up wearing the pink dress, but I still want to shoot her in both. Any way, back to the 'great spot", it is not a spot that is going to be easy to shoot at. Check back soon to see where it is.

My younger sister, Samantha, will be coming home soon from college. With Mother's Day just around the corner I want us three girls an our mom to have pictures done. It is something that we keep saying we are going to do and have not ever done. This year I am making sure we get these done and this is why...

This past year has been a very challenging year on my family. My sister Becky was diagnosed in August with an AVM. In a nut shell it is a cluster of arteries on her brain that developed before she was born. It became symptomatic in august with non stop headaches due to a sack of fluid that developed. It was putting pressure on the brain causing the headaches and she had a MRI done and they found the AVM. She has had multiple procedures to shrink the AVM and they have been able to shrink it. She still has a few more to go and then we will see what is next for her. She is doing great and has been keeping a great attitude about it all. God has blessed her with great doctors who are not only treating the AVM but also her. I will post a link to a website that Becky has shared her story on for any interested. Here is the link for Becky's story: http://www.avmsurvivors.org/profiles/blogs/the-beginning. In this same time period my mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's. She has been doing physical therapy and occupational therapy to help her through this. She still has good days and bad days, but the phsy. therp. and the occ. therp. have been helping her immensely. It took me awhile to become OK with everything that has happened to my family. While it still gets to me from time to time still, I wanted to be able to share the reasons why I have decided that this year I am going to focus more on family.

So this is why it is important to me to have a shoot with us 4 girls. When we get them done I will be sure to share them with everyone.

With the school year in its final months and the nice weather finally on us I am hoping to be better motivated to get photos posted.

Thanks to all of my followers
Trisha
KG Russell Photography

Soft & Sweet- Photo Challenge

This weeks photo challenge on I Heart Faces is Soft & Sweet. This photo of my daughter and her rabbit was taken last Easter. She got the rabbit as an early Christmas present in 2009. So when it came time to shoot her Easter photos, how could I not include the Rabbit, Mrs. Bunny (as she was known at the time, now she is Fluffy.) This was not the actual image that I was going for when we put the rabbit in the basket. She kept sticking her head out and I told Grace to get close "like you are kissing the bunny." Since she loves to do just that she happily obliged., and we got this great shot!


Ok... so I totally flaked again... and missed posting this picture on I Heart Face. Maybe I will get more on top of it next week... Enjoy the photo anyway