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Travel

Does anyone know who makes the best luggage (suitcases) on the market? Continental Airlines destroyed (no joke – I'll be posting pics) my suitcase after our trip to Mexico last week and now I'm on the hunt for new luggage…they said to just send them the receipt. 🙂 I'm thinking Brighton…to match my purse…LOL…any other suggestions???? I want something cute that stands out and is "run-over-by-a-truck proof" and preferably not in black. I'm sure some of you remember that post about the lady that nearly walked off with my last suitcase in March after the WPPI convention! 🙂 What is it with me and suitcases these days?? LOL

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After April's maternity pictures, she thought she was headed out for a drive with her sister so we all hugged and said good-bye after her photo shoot…but she only THOUGHT we were done with pics for that day…LOL   We headed over to her baby shower quickly and got final set-up shots while Jess stalled her arrival. This was one of the cutest baby showers EVER!! As always, the details were AMAZING! Here is a shot of the giraffe that was on top of a cake made of diapers…SO CUTE!

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As Jessica was planning April's shower, she saw my post on here about the Jones soda bottles that Courtney & Tom used for their wedding a few months ago and fell in love with the idea…she had custom blue soda bottles made up with April's photo on them…adorable…:)

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The diaper cake… 

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April's reaction as she realized what was going on…:) 

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They had the cutest baby games and activities planned…one of them was for each guest to hand paint a shirt for Jalen to wear, this was the funny example they used… 

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And here were some of my faves… 

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LOL! 

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Look at all of the loot!! LOL! 

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April's cake… 

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I try to do this shot at weddings…so I was back in my element…LOL 

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And Jalen was hungry for some cake! 

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They had a pinata planned for the final activity, the poor thing got beat up but candy flew out everywhere and it was a huge hit!  

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Thanks for a great time that day!! 🙂 

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The day before we left for vacation, we photographed April's maternity session & surprise baby shower! (Those pics coming soon…) She was so much fun to photograph and with a big sis like Jess (one of our favorite clients) we knew it would be a blast hanging out with them all day! 🙂 Here they are together below…

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The weather wasn't looking too good when we first got to their house, can you believe we ended up with a beautiful sunny day for outdoor pics after this?! Indiana weather is so unpredictable! LOL  

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Karen Hall did April's hair & make-up…she looked and felt amazing for her photo shoot!  

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While she was in the process of getting ready, we photographed details of her nursery… 

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Then she showed us Jalen's first baby pics…:)  

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April was due on Labor Day (as in next month) but Jalen arrived early! His b-day was July 26th, Happy Birthday Jalen!!! When my mom was pregnant with me, I was supposed to be born on Labor Day too but I guess I decided it was warm and cozy and I wasn't going to leave until 9/9. 🙂 

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She had the cutest dog that LOVED to be photographed – we're talking POSING for the camera! 😉 

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He had to show both of his favorite toys to us that day… 

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Then Jalen decided he was hungry for McDonald's so April made a pit stop on the way to the park as the weather was clearing up…:) 

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I LOVED this statue…it was so perfect for the photo shoot and totally unplanned, I turned around and freaked out when I noticed how it would work perfectly for this shot! 

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Loved this too….:) 

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Although it had rained that morning, it worked out to our advantage for a couple of cool shots!

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There was this blue & white building on the park grounds and I fell in love with it, it was perfect for her shoot!

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How cute are these shoes?! This little guy seriously has more shoes than I do…her nursery closet was full of them! LOL

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Towards the end of her photo shoot, we all went to feed the ducks. They were really tame and let me get up close to them for their close ups. 🙂 

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Congratulations you guys on your new addition!! Baby shower pics will be posted on here soon….:) 

We will be out of the office for the rest of this week and next week, returning on July 30th and we'll return all calls and e-mails when we return! Check back the week of the 30th for new photos of our 7/14 wedding, 7/15 engagement session and tomorrow's maternity session PLUS some fabulous pics from an exotic destination!! 🙂

Some of you probably remember last year's blog post about my dad participating in the Notre Dame Fantasy Football Camp. Well, on July 4th we headed north to South Bend again for another awesome game and even more great memories. Check out some of my favorites! 🙂 Since Rocco's was going to be closed on 7/4, John & I had dinner with my aunt and my sisters at Rocco's the night before dad's big game. They have the best pizza in South Bend and now dad's picture from last year's game hangs on their walls next to Lou Holtz, Frank Leahy and other famous ND coaches and players!

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It rained early that morning but cleared up in time for all of us to head over to the stadium…

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Since we got there early, I pulled out my fisheye and snapped a few cool, unique pics of Touchdown Jesus… 

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Here's one of my beautiful sisters, Mary… 

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John got a shot of my nails…:) Last year, my sisters painted their nails blue & gold for dad's game and so the day before we left, I had a few minutes to run over and get my nails filled and when I got there, they had a new shade of blue polish…so, what the heck, I went ahead and painted them blue & gold. 😀 Of course, the lady at the nail place probably thought I had lost my mind. LOL Oh, by the way…if you look closely, you can see where the logo bling idea came from. 😀 My e-ring is a heart shaped diamond…unique and girley, John did good. 🙂 

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We had Mazda Signs in Carmel print up this 30×40 in. banner for dad before we left and they did a fantastic job!!  We surprised him with it that day after he came out onto the field for practice…he had the best looking sign of course….;)

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(Rudy theme song playing here….) 🙂 

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#7 on the wristband, in memory of dad's friend Arty, who played for the NDFFC last year… 

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Us pros rarely get our pics taken…LOL…here's one of Mike, the official NDFFC photographer…he's a great sports photographer and the official Notre Dame football photographer too. I talked to his wife for awhile during half time and she's so nice!! He stays with the guys from the day they arrive until after the game so he's able to get a lot of behind the scenes shots that I love…and I'll be buying more this year I'm sure! 😀 

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Gold team won 21 to 0! 

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After the game, we all had dinner in the President's VIP box upstairs. It was delicious and the view was incredible….here's my favorite shot of dad taking it all in. I don't think he knows we got this shot…:) 

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Autograph time! 

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Congrats dad, we love you!!!