I feel like a college kid trying to explain to my professor why my mid-term paper is unreasonably late… but you guys are such sweet and faithful blog readers that I can’t help but want tell you what I’ve been up to and why it’s made me such a delinquent blogger this summer. : )

So… where have I been?!?  What have I been doing?!?  Don’t know if it sounds as silly to read it as it does to write it, but I’ve been:  1) cooling down between shoots, and 2) editing mosquito bites.  Mostly the latter.  As in, a few red swollen bites on the face of each little one in each shoot, times 30-40 pictures per shoot, times a few shoots a day, times a bunch of days a week, well… you can do the math!  Who would have guessed that such a little insect could give this girl such a hard time?  I won’t go on and on, but let me just finish this little paragraph by saying that I knew it was getting bad when I swallowed one while photographing a running toddler a few weeks ago.  Totally gross.  I mean, totally gross.  Ahem… moving on…

Between those little issues, a studio make-over (it’s looking AWESOME but there’s more to share!), and some super-amazing family milestones, I’ve been completely out of time for blogging.  I really can’t tell you guys just how much I’m looking forward to this fall… cooler weather, no bugs, and lots of time for pondering and sharing here on the blog.  Thanks for hanging in there with me… I love writing now more than ever and can’t wait to finally get some of my thoughts down on paper up on this screen. : )

Good news, bad news : )… My hard drive isn’t here tonight so I can’t show you guys pictures of you.  But I DO happen to have some pictures of US from this past month.  Can I show you a few?

My sweet baby girl turned one!  Little note about our baby girl… this child just bubbles joy.  She’s just one of the happiest little people I’ve ever met, and it’s no surprise that she’s been an absolute delight for all of us at the Tripple house this past year.  These pics I snapped of her at her first birthday party really show her darling personality… (and thanks again, Lisa, for giving me a hand with these, I know I’m a picture nut!)

She’s standing but not walking.  I just love that stage.  She gets so darn excited for herself every time… how CUTE is that?!? : )

The other awesome celebration we had this month was our tenth anniversary.  I really don’t think a little paragraph could do justice to the priceless treasure we’ve found in our marriage, and I’d love to blog our story for you sometime just because it’s such a sweet one.  For tonight, however, let me just say this:  I love my husband now more than I ever dared to dream as we would take walks around our college campus on those chilly fall nights twelve years ago.  We were babies.  We were insane.  We were head-over-heels-in-love.  And we chased the dream of a life together as we’ve come to chase so many of our dreams since… with the fullest of hearts and totally reckless abandon.  It’s a beautiful thing, this crazy, sweet life of ours.  And together it’s been no less than a glimpse of Heaven.

We celebrated by heading up to the lake…

Grabbed some dinner at the local pub : )

Took a boat ride to watch the sunset…

And took in the glory of the night sky together…

And that’s where I’ve been. : )

There’s a lot I could tell you about Allie, seeing that I shared a room with her for 16 years. : )  I could tell you that she is an absolutely beautiful person, inside and out.  I could share that she was a kick-butt teacher for 6 years.  I could tell you that she believed me, as a four year old, when I told her that I had a leprechaun hidden in a secret spot but could never ever EVER show it to her (SO sorry about that one, Al!).  I could share that she’s out-of-this-world organized, doesn’t like long lists (and is constantly checking things off of them), and has a very gentle and perfect way of reminding me to put stuff away when I’m done with it.  I could mention that she treats Wrigley, her yellow lab, like a real baby and calls her “Moo Moo” and “Muffinhead”.  I could tell you that she’s teeny and sweet but has it in her to be tough… I’ve watched the girl break boards in half, mid-air, with her bare feet through years of karate training.  She’s a pretty multifaceted girl, for sure. : )  There’s a lot I could share…

But I think what I’ll tell you about Allie is that, in a million years, I don’t know how we got as lucky as we did to have her as a business manager.  She’s kind, she’s firm, she’s organized, she’s sweet, and she has a *fabulous* sense of style.  Allie is a gem, and I’m oh-so-proud to introduce her to you today!!!

Thought it might be fun to do a little list of “Allie’s Faves” for you guys today…

perhaps it will give you a better idea of who she is and what makes her tick.

So… here we go!

favorite Bucky’s drink…….. tall skim latte!

favorite book………. The Atonement Child

favorite place……….. the lakehouse

favorite magazine ………… Real Simple!

favorite place to eat……….. Gatto’s in downtown Downers Grove  (YUMMY!)

favorite color………. blue or pink

favorite decor………… classic & relaxed

favorite way to chill……….. watching the Food Network (she rocks in the kitchen, btw…)

favorite splurge………… anything at Williams Sonoma

favorite thing about her new job………. working with her sister (no I didn’t pay her to say that, hee hee!!!) : )

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So that’s my baby sister Allie.

To sum it up… she’s a doll, and I know you’ll enjoy working with her when you need something from us here.

We’re SO glad you’re on-board, Allie girl!!! : )

When I’m out shooting a photo session, I have many, many, many little goals flying around in my head.  There are the obvious goals, like…

1. I want to be your kid’s bff for the duration of your session.

2.  I want to use my technical knowledge of light and my camera to capture wonderful shots as they happen.

3. I want to help you, the parent, relax and feel at ease despite your initial stress and nervousness. : )

4.  I want to capture your kids being themselves… totally natural, completely authentic.

One huge secret goal I’ve always got in the back of my mind is a little less obvious, and I’m probably absolutely crazy for sharing it with you guys now, but here it is…

I want you to be so head-over-heels-in-love with every single one of your pictures that you can hardly choose which ones to order.  I want to give you such a huge variety of adorableness that you can hardly stand it.  I want you to shed a few tears as you watch your slideshow.  It’s a silly little goal, but I go for it every time… : )

So how cute is this little guy?!?  We had some fun yesterday running around in the woods!

And… a quick note about this heat:

Yeah, it’s hot outside.  And sticky.  And icky.  So my strategy these past few days has been to work FAST before the inevitable meltdown hits.  Please don’t think, when you see me working quickly, that I’m rushing you so that we can be done sooner… I’m shooting quickly so that we get tons of great stuff before cheeks get red, hair gets sweaty, and kiddos get cranky.  As a quick example, yesterday we wrapped up the above session in under half an hour, and these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the cute shots we came away with.  In the heat, faster is better. : )