Collins Twins - Big Cabin, Ok

I know I say this over and over, but I LOVE babies! What's better than one baby.....TWO! That's right I got to take some photos of TWINS! Two adorable 2month old baby girls. I can hear you saying, "AWWWWW" right now.

Say hello to Clancey and Blakley.

Now I've taken photos of twins before, but not any this young. Their momma is a wonderful momma with skills. Just like Napoleon Dynamite has nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, and computer hacking skills. Well, this red headed lady has momma skils. When one girl was happy, the other one was upset.....and then to top it off the happy one would hear the other cry and then start crying too! But it was such a cute cry! Awwww.

See.....once one is happy and content.

The other doesn't want to have anything to do with it!

But once they are together.....it's just priceless.

Until next time,

MW

Claremore Portrait - Choat Kids

Thank you to the Choat Family for asking me to capture these adorable kiddos! Click on the photos images to view larger.

Enjoy!

MW

I just can't have nice things......

I've been begging my Cowboy for a pool for years. Hello! We live in Oklahoma and it's hot in this state 80% of the time. But every time I ask, "Pretty please with a cherry on top". I get a very quick "NO" for an answer. Doesn't my Cowboy understand that a girl needs things to be happy. And one of those ever so important things is a beautiful golden tan. I know I could just lay out in the hot hot sun, but that would involve sweating. I don't like to sweat when I'm trying to relax. Sweat and Relax just shouldn't be associated together. EVER! So a pool is the answer that I came up with. I could work on my golden tan and stay cool at the same time.

Yet again the answer was no.

I've had friends mention that our back yard was perfect for a pool.

The answer was still no.

When Travis Meyer, the weather guy on Channel 6, said that it was going to be over 100 degrees for the rest of the year (maybe a little exaggeration).

The answer was yes.

Yes? I'm sorry I don't think I heard my Cowboy correctly. Yes?

YES!!!!!!

My Vision.

My Cowboy's Vision.

Our Compromise.

As you can see, I didn't necessarily get what I wanted. But it will do. So for a couple of weeks I officially owned a pool. I was getting one of the first good tans that I'd had in years.

Until.....

Occasionally we like to turn our horses out in the "front" part of place for the day. We simply close our driveway gate and let them engorge themselves in the tall lush grass around the pond bank.

My Cowboy had just gotten home from work and I was in the office working on some photos from a recent photo session, when it happened.

One of the horses, and I'm not going to name names, bit the top blow up ring of the pool and deflated it. Then he pulled and separated the whole top ring away from the pool! I ran out the back door to stop the madness. As I ran around the corner of the house I saw the worst sight ever........

The Damn Horse had one of my floats in his mouth and was swinging it around in the air like he was swinging a rope!

So the moral of the story is that I just can't have nice things.........also I have a Horse For Sale for real CHEAP!

Happy Thursday.

MW

Give it a try..........

A very good friend of mine posted the quote below on her Facebook status yesterday.

"It's impossible" said pride. "It's risky" said experience. "It's pointless" said reason. "Give it a try" whispered the heart.

Most of you probably know that I have recently just retired from my "real" job to pursue a photography career. Crazy, I know! The decision to "retire" took a lot of time and many prayers before I committed and took a leap of faith. Believe me when I say that there were MANY low's, MANY scared "What If's", but also MANY happy thoughts during the decision process.

The quote really made me think about all the pros and cons that my Cowboy and I discussed during our decision making process. For my Cowboy it was a very analytical process. Those of you that know my Cowboy, know that he is a spread sheet king. It doesn't matter what the decision is........he always lays out the pros and cons in a spread sheet. If the spread sheet has more pros than cons......we go for it. If there are more cons than pros...........we drop the subject. I'm pretty sure he even did a spread sheet with the decision being......."Should I ask Missy to marry me?" I'm not kidding!

In the very beginning, all that I knew was that my "real" job caused me to be on the road away from home every week. And I knew that wasn't what I wanted. However, after looking for jobs close to home for 2 years and no positive possibilities in sight, the idea of getting to get off the road seemed "IMPOSSIBLE".

I knew if no one was willing to hire me locally..........I'd have to take matters into my own hands. That matter was photography. I'd always enjoyed photography, in fact I took a few photography classes in college. Now I needed someone who could push me. Someone who shared the same interests as me and wanted to grow in the photography world just like me. That person soon came into my life. Debbie was the person that influenced me to Eat, Sleep, and Live Photography. And that's what we did. (And still do) There isn't a free moment that I don't use to research something about photography. But wether or not I love photography, it wasn't a guaranteed pay check. And this is where I began to feel I was making a "RISKY" decision.

I might have felt that I was making a risky decision, but my Cowboy's spread sheet said it was doable. So the decision was made. We put a plan together (a financial plan). All we had to do was stick to the plan and all would be fine. However, there were times that I felt like our financial plan was going no where! Was my dream of being home and doing something that I love, "POINTLESS"?

This was the point were words of encouragement and love came from my Cowboy, family, and friends. As long as you have that you can do anything! I feel like Super Woman......I don't look like her (I'm working on that!). I feel that I can take on anything. Dream of anything. I know now that I have followed my heart and I "GAVE IT A TRY".

I can't thank my Cowboy enough for standing behind me during this adventure. I know that while there have been huge changes in my life, there have been "HUGE" changes in his life as well. For example, he now has a wife that is home every day and every night reminding him of things he's done wrong ie. toilet seat, putting clothes away, throwing trash away. As with any change in life, I know there will be struggles and down moments. But I can honestly tell you that I have never been as happy as I am right now. I am where I'm supposed to be.

MW

Fritchey Family Photo Session - Welch, OK

My Cowboy told me a few months ago about a really neat bridge that he thought would be a cool place to take photos. Of course with me still working on the road at the time, I didn't get around to checking it out. Then during my first week of retirement from 'real' job, I was contacted by a rodeo friend from back in Iowa. Kelly and her family were going to be down in Oklahoma visiting her husband's family and wanted to know if I could do a family photo session for her. Absolutely!

So......now where do we take the photos? My Cowboy suggested the bridge again. Ok. Ok. Let's go look at this 'amazing' bridge.

He couldn't quite remember how to get there so he called our friend Jen to get directions. Bad news. They have closed the bridge and she wasn't sure if it was still there or not! Are you kidding me?!?! Jen called her dad just to make sure and we were just in luck.....the bridge was closed......but it wasn't torn down........yet. So we quickly jumped in my Cowboy's little white Toyota and drove to check it out. It's kinda funny to put Cowboy and Toyota in the same sentence. But it's a true statement.

Well, it was pretty amazing as well as the dirt road on the way to it. I guess my "photo eye" has rubbed off on to my Cowboy!

With the time and the place of the photo session set. We were ready to bring on the Fritchey Family!

This was the dirt road before you got to the old bridge. It was a great shaded place to take photos.

Look at this cute couple!

Talk about a little diva with attitude! She was so cute and crazy at the same time. My Cowboy and her enjoyed throwing rocks and sticks into the trees together.

This little guy was one of the happiest little boys I've ever been around! Look at that smile!

And this is just "priceless". Period.

Thank you to the Fritchey Family for letting me capture great photos of your family. And for trusting me enough to drive on a back, back dirt road in Oklahoma.

MW

Marshall is 2!

I can't believe it's already been a year since I first took Marshall's 1 yr. photos. Now the little guy is 2! A year ago he was the cutest little golfer......and now he's just too stinkin' cute. Look at those eyes!

This adorable guy is all boy with a mind of his own! Of course I've come to understand that all two year old boys have a mind of their own.

After a quick outfit change, Marshall enjoyed a game of peek-a-bo with his momma.

Thanks Marshall for being such a great model. I hope you enjoyed seeing the big train!

MW

Iowa Wedding: Annie and Craig

It was the day they waited for. Seven years to be exact. On a first date, Craig slipped the famous words.....I love you. And they did fall in love. Awwwww.......tear! It's just like something out of a wonderful romance "chick flick" movie. You know the kind of movie that you need to take a full box of Kleenex tissues to the theater.

Annie and Craig looked just like the characters of those good old black and white features. Annie was beautiful in an over the top dress that made me say wow from the time she took it out of the garment bag. Craig was a jaw dropper in uniform. Oh god I love a man in uniform.


Annie knew how to make one happy photographer........her colors included ORANGE! (Go Pokes!) OH ya and a beautiful purple. The bride's maids looked wonderful in strapless purple gowns and orange bouquets.

Annie's dress made me just speechless. Enough said.

And they said "I do."

Congratulations Annie and Craig! Thank you for letting me capture such beautiful memories of the most important day of your lives. I wish you many joyous memories and a long life together.

MW