For those of you who don’t know me, I used to L O V E to fly…. anytime, anywhere. I even used to say that i “loved turbulence.”

** insert beginning of tangent ** Of course, that went out the window one fateful 30 minute flight from San Antonio to Houston in 2002. It was the flight from hell. I had just watched “Castaway” that Christmas break and remember specifically telling my mom how unafraid of air travel I was… I believe the words “hey, if its my time to go, might as well be on a plane,” even came out of my mouth that conversation. However, at 25,000 feet on the flight from hell, I quickly recanted, repented and begged God not to say “times up.” I also got incredibly nauseous and felt like screaming with the rest of the plane (oh yes, there was much screaming and dry heaving into barf bags on this flight). When we landed, my legs turned to jello and all I remember is wobbling my way to the airport store and grabbing some Dramamine and taking a double shot of it. You see, I was about to get on leg two of my journey… back on the plane, back into the vicious skies. Ugh. I feel sick remembering it. Of course the absolute highlight was landing in Tulsa and being met by the guy of my dreams (aka my now husband) who I was just starting to dig and who I was hoping was digging me. The only problem is that I was WAY over-medicated with motion sickness medicine. And I looked the part. John’s first words were, ” Man, you don’t look very good.” Yeah….. Charisma isn’t his strong suite. Granted, he was with it enough to totally regret saying that and tried to back-pedal, but alas, it was done. Let’s just say it was a memorable meeting.

And ever since then, every time there is the least little bump in the air, my heart starts racing and my stomach threatens to jump ship. Its awful. One stinking 30 minute flight ruins years of turbulence enjoyment for me.** end tangent **

Anyhow, what I was trying to say is that turbulence aside, I L O V E traveling/flying alone. OMG. Its like a vacation in itself. No diaper bags, no strollers, no checked luggage, no lap baby, nothing. FREEDOM. Its beautiful. And I love flying places.

So I flew to Miami. We lived in Miami for 7 months back in 2004 right before moving to Europe. One of my dearest friends ever was made during that time in Miami (we bonded while barricaded in a house a couple of times during hurricane season). So I needed to get out and see my friend Shannon. At the same time, another dear friend, Alyssa, and I had been talking about doing a photo trip for a long time. She is a mom of seven. She needed the getaway even more than I did. So she met me in Miami  and we both crashed at Shannon’s house. It was a great time had by all to be sure. Lots of chilling, talking, walking, driving, eating, walking, hanging out, laughing, and sleeping. Well, sleeping for everyone but me…. my cough decided to take over at night and robbed me of much sleep over the weekend. But the fellowship with mom-friends made up for it in a big way.

Lakelyn loved Miami. Thought she was in a parade the whole time and just waved excessively to everyone on South Beach. She was a hit.

welcome to SOBE yo.

ok, what you don’t see in this next pic is the 4 other containers of dessert that Lys treated us to on our last night. Mmmmmmmm……..

On the last day in Miami, Shannon arranged a fun shoot with two models from her/our (we used to go to the same one) church. These gals were the best… very chill, very fun, very laid back, and of course knock down gorgeous. They let us dress them up any which way we wanted, which was way fun. Alyssa is the fashionista of the group and it was fun seeing her throw together outfits that would have taken me a week to piece together. The only unfortunate thing is that a storm blew in and dumped on us literally as we were getting into our cars and heading to scout out some photo locations. Well, we thought it was a bummer, but when we found this abandoned parking lot under a bridge with reflective pools of water and funky colored walls all around, we realized we just scored a fantastic photo op.

Meet Sierra (yup, she models and acts… look for her on the big screen, yo!)

And Kirah (uh, huh…. amazing model)

Oh yeah, and Molly? Your props and accessories were simply perfect!

Jenny and Topher had to be THE most excited bride and groom in the history of the world. Totally serious here. I have never seen anyone so giddy with anticipation and excitement. They worked overtime to make their day the most memorable of their lives thus far. Two examples of this… First, they each wrote part of their vows to surprise the other with. But instead of sharing them with each other (and the other couple of hundred guests) for the first time during the ceremony, they chose to share them with each other while we were doing a “first look” session before the ceremony. It was so sweet. So tender. Secondly, they took each other’s rings and had something special inscribed on the inside as a surprise. After the ceremony, they were sitting in the golf cart and ripped off their rings as soon as they could and read the special messages. How cool is that? I love it.

There were many examples of that special touch throughout their wedding day. More on that later… for now, the images! Aren’t they just FUN?

nothing screams SPRING WEDDING like tulips!!

did i mention that jenny and topher are just plain FUN? fun to be with, fun to be around, fun to watch them having fun together.

i love the symbolism of their joined hands leading them into their new life together!!

the light was DELICIOUS!

I LOOOOVE the next two. OMG. Look at each “pose” in the air. The perfect jumping pic!

meet Victoria:

and Angel:

cousin-friends:

Enough talking…. you just have to see the pics!!! We love you guys, Grove family, and are really thankful for your friendship as fellow transplants in Phoenix!

Definitely check out Me Ra’s blog and check out her upcoming contests. They really are a great way to challenge yourself creatively and technically (depending on the theme) and just to have alot of fun. The photography community is a very welcoming place and a fun place to hang out.

YEA!!!!!!

i hope they dance. always.

you can see more of these images on my personal blog HERE.