My daughter & I head out to Shriner's Hospital for Children in St. Louis every year. I'm always so impressed with the medical work they do there and how much of the organization's focus is to simply do good for others. It's a boring plane ride, so we had a bit of fun with music and a point & shoot...

Every time we go, we get to meet some amazing people. Many are overcoming obstacles more difficult than many of us ever have to consider in our day-to-day lives. Sophie's roommate this year was Ali. She and Sophie shared a passion for singing and meandered the halls singing Hannah Montana in harmony. Nearly the entire week. Seriously. Ali is actually a celebrity in her own right, scoring two free passes & a limo ride to the Hannah Montana concert, by being receiving over 30,000 votes by those who checked out her adorable audition...(you may have to wait through a brief commercial first, but her sweet voice is worth the few seconds!)

I know I would've voted for you if I lived in Detroit, Ali!! Sophie misses you so much. Keep on singing :) :) :)

After months and months of negotiating for approval to run through Chapel Hill and Carrboro, Endurance Magazine finally got permission to host the inaugural Tarheel 10-Miler, a 10-mile running event, benefiting the YMCA Strong Kids Foundation. Securing this race was quite a coup (Congrats, Steve, Thys and the rest of the staff!!), and the 10-mile race will join the Franklin 5000, which will be the second year that Endurance Magazine has hosted a 5K race down Franklin Street, now open for registration. By the way, last year's race was too fun - Rachel came out to photograph Erica Dempsey (whose wedding she was photographing later that day), as she zoomed through the course, along with some bridesmaids!!! The whole wedding party ended up getting awards :) I am a big fan of the YMCA Strong Kids Foundation for a few reasons: 1. The goal of the organization is to enrich the lives of kids in the community and to provide a safe and nurturing environment for them - they also create scholarships for after-school programs for families in need in the community. 2. They have a goal of reaching $45,000, and these events are the catalyst for kicking off their annual campaign. 3. My good friends Leslie & Hubert Davis have worked HARD to bring more attention to this organization, and we love to help out people who put in great effort for awesome causes. I truly love how many people do!! The 5K race runs straight down Franklin Street, a very cool, scenic course that ends in the middle of downtown Franklin Street. The 10-mile course is, uh, longer. It winds around the entirety of downtown Chapel Hill and all of Carrboro, and it includes nice rolling stretches around the entire area, to finish at the corner of Church & Franklin Streets. If you're looking to travel to Chapel Hill for the races, check out the Franklin St. Hotel downtown for the ability to take a cool stroll to and from the race... Both events take place on Saturday April 26th at 7:30am!!! Endurance Magazine is also giving away three limited edition iPod shuffles - anyone who signs up by March 8th is automatically entered to win. Go here to register , and I'll see you on the course :)

I first met Brandy and Fabio at Victoria & Jeremy's wedding at Hilton Head Island. Brandy and Victoria are sisters, and Brandy was very helpful at the wedding, totally gung-ho for some fun shooting, with a great eye for cool shots. We met up about six months later at a leafy park in Chapel Hill for a lively portrait session. Brandy made the trek up from Charlotte with her husband, her incredibly sweet mother-in-law and father-in-law (visiting from Italy) and their gorgeous baby, Lorenzo. This shoot was particularly fun because Lorenzo is a super-smiley-exceptionally-adorable-baby boy, Fabio is a genuinely happy & loving guy and Brandy, beyond being a natural in front of the camera, knew what was going on in terms of what shots I was trying to get. I loved how she'd subtly tell everyone else to get out of the background so I could get certain angles. Check out this ADORABLE NUGGET:

Leaf Shower in the park!!!

Seriously - who does not love a baby in a tree???

With sweet nonno and nonna (can you tell that I am working my English-Italian dictionary???)

And why Brandy & Fabio are still very much in love - goofy, cute, and not afraid to jump on each other in front of the parents :)

...and I just had to throw in this great shot of them together at Victoria & Jeremy's wedding...

Oooooh - and this one!! Brandy is "The Splasher" :)

These days we find ourselves hurrying to design and deliver all of the albums from this past year before the '08 wedding season is upon us in full force! :) Mary Margaret and Nate have been busy with new jobs since their wedding back in July, but they did manage to come by for a bit the other day to choose their album images. I think they made some good selections!