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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Les Miserables at Theatre Baton Rouge!!!

Tomorrow night, I will go to Theatre Baton Rouge's production of Les Miserables.

To say I am excited would be an understatement.

This cast... from the lead roles to the ensemble roles, EVERY SINGLE PERSON either has performed a lead or could take on a lead role in any musical without a problem. They are all INCREDIBLY talented. They are all beyond good. I am THRILLED to be able to see this show.

We are the FIRST community theater in Louisiana to get to put on Les Miserables. Community theaters just recently received the rights to put on this production, and TBR jumped on it! (We were also the FIRST (anywhere!) community theater to put on The Producers in 2008! Which i co-stage managed. And yes, I'm bragging. I am so proud of our theater!)

Anyway. I am going twice. Brad & I usually go to pay-what-you-can night (which is always the night before opening night), because we are poor. :) But this time we decided to go TWICE. They double-casted the roles of valJean & Javert. And i want to see both actors in each role. Brad decided he is okay with seeing it once. So tomorrow night I will go with my mom & am excited that my pastor, his wife, and another couple from church are also going!!

And then later in the run, probably mid-July, Brad & i will go!

YAY!



CANNOT WAIT! :)


Monday, June 24, 2013

This Weekend, I...




This weekend, I did my first newborn shoot for my friends, Patrick & Wendy. This is Mia! Isn't she a beauty?! It was very difficult to not take her home with me... but I managed!


This weekend, I celebrated my husband's birthday by writing this post about how wonderful he is and by cooking him a breakfast casserole (his request!). He got a couple other things, too.



This weekend, I scored MAJOR wife points by buying him THREE GALLONS of his ABSOLUTE FAVORITE ice cream, Mint Chocolate Chip from Baskin Robbins. I even managed to sneak it in the house & in the freezer. His reaction was priceless & worth every penny spent! (Good thing I don't like it!)



This weekend, I, for some unknown reason, decided to watch "Switched at Birth" on Netflix. Um... I am kind of into it! (I am also having withdrawals from my regular shows (Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood & Law & Order SVU) which are all on hiatus until the premiere in SEPTEMBER! Gah!)

This weekend, I took a nap on Saturday AND on Sunday. Geez.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Derek, Jen & Landry {photography}

Last weekend, we met up with our friends Derek & Jen, and their 18-month old daughter Landry, for family pics! We met them at LSU's City Park. Brad & Derek have been good friends for many years. Derek was actually a groomsmen in our wedding. He & Jen were newlyweds at the time, and when I met her, I thought she was super sweet! She is a kindergarten teacher, and i think her students are very lucky to have her!

Brad & I have been meaning to hang out with this family for way too long now, but for some reason it's never happened! So he was more than willing to tag along with us on the shoot, and we all went to breakfast afterwards. It was a fun time! Brad even got some smiles out of sweet little Landry! :)





 



Such a sweet family!!

Saturday, June 22, 2013

the best gift I've ever been given {a mushy post}

Whenever people ask me how I met my husband, i am unsure of how to respond. I mean, there is no simple answer like,

We met in youth group.
We were in high school band together.
We went to college together.
We were set up on a blind date.
We met online.

The reason I am not sure of what to say is because I do not REMEMBER when we first met. I mean, really... he was 3 years old and i was just a baby. Not even 6 months old yet. :)

Our parents met & became really good friends in church. So we met way back then. (As I am writing this I am realizing - I could say "we met in church". I mean, we did! We just don't actually remember it!)

Side note: This is why i smile & nod when i see a friend post a pic of her baby daughter with her best friend's baby son & their caption says "the future mr & mrs!" or something like that. Because really... it could happen!

Moving on.

I am so glad my mom decided one day that church would solve her problems & that she needed to start going to one. I am so glad she recruited my dad & they decided to visit Zoar, a nearby Baptist church. I am so glad that on probably their first or second Sunday, they met the Venable family. The family of my future husband.

I mean, what if they had wanted to start attending church, but never actually did?!
What if they decided to go to a different church?!
What if the Venable's chose a different church?

You see why i believe in fate? And romance? Soul mates & fairy tales & "meant to be"? I mean, really. God set that up. He knew they would meet. He knew Brad & I would one day be head over heels for each other. He knew we would one day be the best of friends. He knew we HAD to meet, that it would be a match made in heaven.

I am sorry for the mush post, but people. IT IS HIS BIRTHDAY TODAY. And THAT is worth celebrating! I love him! I am so glad he exists & that he is mine! :)

 1997 - sadly this is the first pic i have of us together... 
i am sure there are some from earlier somewhere!

February 2008 - when we first got back together after 11 years apart!

 Late 2008 - watching me walk down the aisle
 
  June 2011

 March 2012

January 2013
 
June 2013

He is so sweet to me, so kind.  He is my biggest fan, my main supporter. He loves me unconditionally. He takes me just the way i am. He LOVES me just the way I am. He lets me cry & vent & scream & rage, and he never thinks less of me or looks at me differently. He will apologize when he is wrong (& sometimes when he's not!). He would do anything for me. I am his favorite. I am his person. (And he is mine!)

He humors me. He waits on me. He notices things i have dropped or lost and puts them where they go - sometimes before i realize i have lost them! :) (We were discussing this today! Haha!) He gives the BEST hugs (I mean, he just wraps me up in it! It can soothe my heart after a rotten day!). He lets me be silly, and he is silly right back. He's actually hilarious. And he just laughs it off and doesn't get mad when i can't get into his deep theological trains of thought! :)

He is the best gift I have ever been given!

Happy birthday, my love!!




Thursday, June 20, 2013

Parker & Jude! {photography}

I got to have a photo session with this sister-brother duo last week. Parker is 4 (i think!) & Jude was just days shy of the big TWO. :)



Their mom, Janee, started reading my blog years ago but she is from my same city & we have tons of mutual friends! Ha! Small world! :) It was nice to finally meet in person & to meet her adorable kids!!

My friend Rachel came along for the shoot, so she could get in some photography practice. I think she is pretty awesome! :)



Meet Parker & Jude!

Notice Parker's shoes are on the wrong feet. ;) 







After the above pics, they changed clothes & then we went to a little playground. Um, pretty much every shot I got of Jude at the playground was by chance! He was having way too much fun! :) 



 I love this fabulous outtake! Haha! 

Parker is one cool chic! :)

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Around Baton Rouge {photography}

I have been having so much fun doing photo shoots!

This is the first night in weeks that I haven't had either a photo shoot or a photo shoot to edit! Haha! I am not sure what to do!

I do have 2 photo shoots I can blog. :) But first i wanted to show you some pics from around town. I snapped most of these during photo shoots with people - when something caught my eye that i needed to capture really quick! :)

These first three were taken at the LSU Hilltop Arboretum, where I did Camdyn's session


 A type of hydrangea that I'd never seen before! Well, i did a little research, and apparently these are "hydrangea paniculata", while the blue ones most people think of when they hear the word hydrangea, are "hydrangea macrophylla". Oh, the things you learn! 



This next photo is from Magnolia Square, which is actually a new neighborhood in Central (the suburb of Baton Rouge where I am from). And i guess it may be boring to some... but i am finding myself obsessed with trees. (I think this may be a sign of old age...maybe.)



Last weekend I did a shoot at LSU's city park. I took this one at the fountain. I kind of love it!



And these last ones are from downtown Baton Rouge. My favorites. I was there to do Beth's headshots, which was SO much fun, but I need to go back just to take random pics!! 
 
The Old State Capitol 

 And the levee! Nice place for fireworks on the 4th of July! That is the Mississippi River Bridge, in case you were wondering. :)


Hope you enjoyed these!!




Sunday, June 16, 2013

Weekend & Family

What a great weekend it has been!

Saturday morning, we met our friends Derek & Jenn at LSU's city park, so i could do a photo session with them and their 18 month old daughter. Pics of that coming soon! Afterwards we went to breakfast at Another Broken Egg...one of my very favorite places! Yum! Derek was a groomsman in our wedding and we have been meaning to catch up with them for awhile now!! We had a great time with them.

Today, my sister & brother-in-law came in town for lunch & dessert with the fam. Brad's family joined us, as we like to celebrate father's day (for my dad & my father-in-law), my husband's birthday, and my sister's birthday all at once (Michelle & Brad are born 1 day apart - their birthdays are next weekend but we normally celebrate them altogether on Father's Day, since she lives out of town!). We had a great time!! They ordered Sonny's BBQ and mom made two delicious cakes from scratch. YUM!

Michelle & Brad ALWAYS take a photo like this at their birthday shindig... or something else equally ridiculous. Ha! It's become a tradition! I also love mom's face in the background!

Michael never resists an opportunity for a silly face either. The shot i took right before this one would have been SO GOOD... no silly faces... just a nice normal pic... but it was completely out of focus. BOO! (Oh-well.)

Since they came in last night, they also came to church with us this morning. Yay! :) It has become a tradition at Covenant Church - for the last several years apparently - to have ice cream cones after church on Father's Day. Pastor Jeff asked if i could bring my camera & of course i said YES! So you get to see some pics of my church family now, too. :)


 Our pastor, Jeff, & his wife, Mary Ann. (love them)

 Ashley & Victoria 

 Our youth directors, Andy & Ashley :) 

 Zach (pastor's kid #1) & Jonathan

Alex (pastor's kid #2), John, & David (our drummer... and a darn good one too!)

 Chuck! He's a pretty awesome guy. 

And i LOVE these two of my dad! :) 



(I love my dad!)

Happy Father's Day!!