A new friend on the windowsill...........

I can honestly say with a straight face that Bren's favorite animal is a snail.

She's always been intrigued by them and has stopped many times during our walks to inspect one. But she's never grown so attached that she's inisited on making one a part of our family.

At least not until she met Anika.

We ran across this friendly little snail during a recent photo shoot. She was making her way across a weathered windowsill in downtown Newport off of Thames Street.

Madison and Bren stopped long enough to admire her and then we moved on up the street for more of the shoot and a wardrobe change. On our way back down the street, Bren was so excited that Anika was still there. She helped Bren (created a distraction suitable to the level of DONE that Bren was at the time!) to get through the rest of an exhausting shoot and wiggled her way into Bren's heart.

After lending so much inspiration, how could we possibly leave her behind?

Anika is now a full fledged member of our family. She is the most personable little snail I have ever seen. She has her own little aquarium, but tends to spend alot of the day hanging out on Bren's arm. Bren is fiercely protective of her new little friend.

When Anika is in her own space, she's usually in her shell, but when Bren picks her up she comes to life, bringing her body out of the shell as far as she can and lifting her head high, little antenneas waving as if to try to communicate her appreciation for being so cared for.

Now if you know Bren, you know what a strange combination of creatures this is. But slow moving, doscile anika and the ever in motion, bouncy Bren get along just fine.

Below are photos which chronicle the discovery, fascination and adoption of Anika the snail.......

The discovery.................

The fascination..............

Returning after continueing the photoshoot up the street...................

She's STILL here!!!!!


The adoption.........................

Anika's new home........................

Joy!

Can't you just hear their giggles?

This is Bren as Bren is.

In perpetual motion, colorful, energetic, fearless, boisterous, jubilant!

Her zest for life is contagious, spilling out on innocent by-standers, compelling them to smile, laugh and shed all seriousness right along with her.

I wonder what you are going to be my little cherry on top, my happy ending, my exclaimation point! The stars are the limit for you, and I know you'll reach them and dare me to come along with you, just for the ride!

New York City!!!

Every year the e-bay design community gets together in NYC for what has come to be called "Summer in the City". It is thrown by a lady named Lisa who definitely knows how to entertain! The food was phenomenal! Filet Mignon, clams, mussels, jumbo shrimp and the BEST New York Cheesecake I have ever had!! She had a magician, cotton candy and a carnival ride there to wow the kids.

We decided to make a mini vacation of it and stayed for two nights at a hotel in New Jersey. We only spent one day in NYC because as you can see, Zachary sprained his ankle the night before we left and had to be on crutches. We narrowed our sight seeing down to things that required the least amount of walking. We were still able to see alot of things and had a great time!

Rockport, Mass

All I can say about this tiny little seaport town on the coast of Massachusettes is WOW!!!! There were sooooo many quaint little places and sweeping waterviews that caught my eye, it was hard to keep the camera off of my face! I think I saw 90% of the town though my lens because as soon as I'd get one shot, I'd turn around and there would be another I just had to get! I'll have to go back and see it with my real eyes one day.

Some of my favorite teens!

Although I would not be 16 again for a million dollars, I loved being a teenager in my time! Far removed from today's technical world of ipods and text messaging, we actually talked on the phone with our voices. The phones were attached to walls by long spiral cords that I remember twirling around my fingers during long giggling conversations. We played cassette tapes in our cars and watched movies on VHS that we had to rewind before returning to the video store. We watched music videos on Friday nights before the days of MTV. Our jeans were rolled tightly at the hem, our lipstick was bright and our hair was sprayed out as far as we could get it!! Yup! Those were the days!!

Todays teens fascinate me. Not only are they gorgeous, trendy, responsible and intelligent, but it just blows my mind at all that they are able to do at one time! The bombardment of media is incredible! I know several teens who can carry on a face to face conversation while simultaneously text messaging someone else on their phone and not miss a beat! I have a hard time listening to the radio in my car and concentrating on where I'm going at the same time!

Youth is wasted on the young, huh?

I just love doing portraits for teens! Here are some of my favorite teen portraits from the last few weeks. The first two are my boys, Zachary and Michael.

Rhode Island's Tall Ship tour and Parade

The arrival of the Tall ships to Newport harbor is a big deal to Aquidneck Island. An entire festival week is planned around the Tall Ships ending with a grand parade best seen from Castle Hill.

My Favorite Holiday

Those of you who know me know that the 4th of July is my favorite holiday of the year. It is so fitting that this year we live next to the town that has the oldest 4th of July parade in America! Bristol, Rhode Island is a gorgeous little town, but in July it comes alive with red, white and blue decor and patriotic festivities. We were able to get great seats on the parade route thanks to some friends who put our chairs out at 4:00 am! The parade was a little over 2 hours long and was just amazing! We took a little walk while waiting for the parade to begin and saw all of the houses decorated for the holiday. This is definitely the place to be if you love the 4th of July like I do!

Meeting Lexie........

I've met so many great people online, but I get to meet very few of them face to face. Because of her friendly e-mails and general kindness in the e-bay boutique community, I really wanted to meet Heidi. Aside from having jewelry design in common, we are both moms of little boutique models, so I knew we'd have a lot to talk about. When I found out that we were moving to Rhode Island, I contacted Heidi to find out how far we'd live from each other. Come to find out Heidi and her family visit the Newport are quite often so we were able to meet on Saturday. We spent a too short afternoon on the beach talking about everything under the sun while our little girls romped about in the surf and sand together. It was such an enjoyable afternoon and I can't wait to get together with our new " real life" friends soon!

Can you hear the waves???

Remember what it was like to be a little kid enjoying something with such abandon that you just jumped around in pure excitement? Bren's screams of joy almost overcame the sound of the waves crashing to the shore yesterday evening when we decided to explore the beach at sunset. She has always been a beach girl and has loved the Ocean from the first time she was introduced to it at about 6 months old. She had the best time jumping around and chasing the seagulls!

Click on the picture to see it in a larger format.

All About Maddie!

My girl Maddie loves to sing her favorite songs at the top her lungs. She loves dancing, swimming, playing soccer and oddly enough, math. She's an awesome big sister to Brendell and a spunky little sister to Zach and Michael. She's a creative soul with a vast imagination. She loves ice cream and hates folding clothes. She loves animals and hates to be alone. She loves spending time with me shopping, watching movies, cooking, talking and doing girly things.

She says she wants to be a professional photographer when she grows up and has already developed quite an eye.

Here is how I see her....

Madison and I were finally able to go out and do the shoot I had been wanting to do with her. Standing on the threshold of being a little girl and being a teenager, she is who she is and I really admire that in her. Her strength and determination inspire me and her propensity for doing the right thing amazes me. She's a one of a kind, precious gift from God.

I wanted to capture her fun personality and her contageous smile. I love you Madison Joy!