Vacation, traveling with girls, and Miss Arkansas

Me and the girls loaded up last week and headed to Hot Springs for a little R&R. For those of you who know me, it's pretty funny that my vacation was sort of planned around the Miss Arkansas pageant... I so deny being a pageant mom - even though I totally support Britt when she competes. So, we'll just say that we vacationed in Hot Springs and the pageant just happened to be the same week!:-)Actually we were a little late in actually planning when we would all be able to take off for a week, and Britt had already planned to be in Hot Springs.

Every year that we travel it seems like more stuff has to go with us. It literally looked like we were going abroad for a month! When I made the announcement to bring everything to the car, it looked like a luggage store was dumped in the driveway! I wasn't sure it was all going to fit.

But, somehow we managed to get every bag crammed in the back of the explorer.

And, yes that is a jewelry organizer hanging in the back!

We searched online to find our condo and were so surprised to pull into the driveway of a house! Hot Springs Village is a bit of a drive into Hot Springs. But, it was so worth it. This was a great house and our little oasis for a week!


And, if you were wondering why so many suitcases....shoes!That would be Britt & Lindsay's closet!

For the most part, the week was for relaxing. Sleeping late, swimming, and lots of downtime. But,we did spend a fun day at Magic Springs and Crystal Falls.

Britt & Lindsay braved just about every ride at the park. This was just before the soaking!



I'm pretty sure Britt was screaming through that whole ride!

We had a lot of fun strolling Central Avenue and shopping. Hannah and Lindsay posed a little for me in front of the Arlington Hotel.

And we found the coolest little coffee shop. Nothing like a little coffee and ice cream break where you can sit and play chess! Here's Hannah contemplating her next move...

Britt went to every night of Miss Arkansas, and we joined her for the final night. Here's my girls looking fabulous at the pageant!

From Britt competing in preliminary pageants, she had several friends competing this year. And, as it turned out I used to work with Ashlen's mother many years ago. Small world! I would not have wanted to be these judges, because all of the top five were amazing and incredibly talented.

Anyone that does follow the pageant world knows that we had wonderful Miss Arkansas in 2007, Katie Bailey. Katie represented our State very well and was a Top 15 finalist at Miss America. It was fun to watch her final performances as Miss Arkansas.



At the end of the evening, Ashlen Batson from Newark, was crowned Miss Arkansas. Ashlen was amazing all night and it was obvious she came to win! She had an amazing presence on stage. She'll be a great representative for Arkansas this coming year. I know Lynn and David must be very proud!


Now you know why if you called or emailed me last week that I was MIA. We had a great vacation! It was hard to come back and go back to work. But, lots of fun memories! Good luck at Miss America, Ashlen! - Cheryl

America's Next Top Model in my house!

For those of you who are out of college, married, maybe with kids...remember back in your teens and 20's when you could just go with the moment, experience life, and pursue interesting opportunities. Now think about after college, you're married, have a job, kids...responsibilities...lots harder to pursue opportunities that may only come around once in a lifetime.

It's no secret to anyone who reads my blog, that we are addicted to America's Next Top Model at my house. We are glued to the TV when the current season plays on Wednesday nights. It's quite possible that I have been photographing America's Next Top Model for the past 20 years!

I was reading the newspaper a couple of weeks ago and saw an ad for the open audition call for Cycle 12, which will be filmed later in this year. We immediately started kind of prodding Britt to go audition.....it actually didn't take much prodding.

Yesterday she drove down to Little Rock and camped out all day in line at the Metroplex to audition. From what she says and what I saw on Fox 16 news there were girls from all over the U.S. even at the LR audition. And, later this week her audition tape will be sent to the Production team at the Dallas regional auditions! How cool is that?!?

Here are her "best shots" from the modeling sessions we did to make her portfolio for the audition:







I couldn't stand to post the full body swimsuit portrait...this is my baby girl after all! And, yes she is wearing a swimsuit under this black box (someone pointed out that now I've made it look like a nude photo! OMG!) No, she's got a swimsuit on, just couldn't bear posting it....don't want it downloaded and ending up God knows where!

Is she gorgeous, or what? I think she should absolutely be picked, of course! Hopefully the producers of the show will see what I already know! I couldn't think of a better role model to have on the show for other young girls and women!Good luck, Britt! - Mom (And, here are a few candid photos by Britt's friend, Casey, from audition day)

Vacation!

With the exception of a couple of portrait sessions that were previously scheduled for this evening and tomorrow evening.....I am officially on vacation! A much needed vacation! The girls and I are headed out to Hot Springs for a little R&R and pampering....I can't wait!

I have worked almost non-stop for the last two weeks to get all orders processed or delivered. The very last batch of orders that were ready for delivery went out in this morning's mail. So....if you haven't received your order it will be on the top of my priority list next Monday morning!

There is a good chance if you call me from Wednesday through Sunday that I will either be lying by the pool or at the spa!


That will be me this week! I will return emails and calls beginning next Monday! Everyone have a great week! - Cheryl

Engagement Sessions

People are always asking why are engagement sessions so important? Everyone now has a digital camera and family or friends have managed to snap a really good shot of the two of you together. Why can't we just use that for our newspaper announcement?

The answer is that you can do that. However, the importance of an engagement session with your wedding photographer serves more purposes than just to provide you with an announcement portrait. I include an engagement session with every one of my pre-designed wedding packages. And, I do that for very good reasons.

This is a time for me to get to know the two of you, and for you to get to know me. This time together is much more important than just the hour or two we'll spend together. I observe how the two of you interact with each other, and learn ways to enhance your wedding day portraits by looking for those cues. I will also study your engagement portraits after that day to look for your best attributes, that I can showcase in your wedding portraits.

This session is one of the building blocks for the rapport we'll have on your wedding day. I want you to be relaxed with me around taking hundreds of portraits on your wedding day. It's really important that I'm not a stranger to you on your wedding day, in order for me to captialize on your personalities and the special things about your relationship.

Engagement sessions are scheduled on location, and you can suggest your favorite one. Places that are special to you, will make your portraits more meaningful. I like to have fun, and nothing if off-limits. I want your session to be about you - the romance, your personalities, and your relationship. So let your imagination run wild. Unless you are very formal in your everyday life, I suggest casual attire. You will feel more comfortable dressing as you normally do; and your portraits will reflect you more naturally. Sometimes the location will dictate what you should wear.

In the end, you'll have a beautiful DVD slideshow set to music that showcases the two of you, in love, and taking that next step in your lives. But, also in the end, I will know more about the two of you, what makes your relationship special, what you have gone through to get to this point in your lives, and how to make you feel comfortable on your wedding day. I can also email your favorite portrait to your local newspaper to use as your engagement announcement, if you still need one.

So, here's the deal. Try us out with your engagement portraits. When you are thrilled with the results, book your wedding - then take $200 off the cost of the wedding package! Call today to book your engagement session and let's talk about your wedding photography! 870-219-6504 - Cheryl

Joi & Terry

I got a phone call a few months ago from a couple in Dallas looking for a photographer for their wedding. That's how this all started. Seems Joi actually grew up in Jonesboro, met a guy from Caruthersville, Missouri, and now lives in Dalls. Her mother lives in Newport and as we got to talking, her mother was actually my daughter's fifth grade teacher...talk about a small world. So, anyway, Joi wanted to come back home to get married and be with family and old friends. So even though we had never met, I was looking forward to photographing Joi.

We got to the church on Friday afternoon for rehearsal in the absolute pouring rain! But out of the car bounces this beaming young lady with the "bride" t-shirt. As it turns out, Joi is the sweetest, most down-to-earth person you could ever hope to meet. I had lots of fun getting to know her and hanging out with her on Saturday. Absolutely nothing was going to break her spriit. This wedding day was about family and friends, which always make it a stress-free, enjoyable wedding to photograph.

Joi was just a gorgeous, classy bride:



I think Terry had a big smile on his face all day long.

This wedding party really knew how to have fun!


The ceremony was just beautiful.


And, Kristian brought down the house with her rendition of "At Last!" Girl, I know you are holding out for Tyra and America's Next Top Model....but you should give American Idol a thought! This girl can sing!







As a photographer, there are lots of receptions throughout the year. But, I have to say this reception at the 501 Club has been one of my favorites. Wedding days are long days with usually no meals after breakfast, which means usually munching on celery or carrot sticks at some point toward the end of the reception. But as the party wound down I sampled some of the fare, and have to say this was the best reception food of my 2008. So for my Jonesboro brides who may not have decided on a reception venue, I highly recommend the ambience, service and food at the 501! On another note, part of what made it so much fun, was that everyone there was just plain having a good time. Check out the four-layer, four-flavor wedding cake by Donna Thomas - which tasted just as good as it looked!





Joi and Terry - thank you for hiring me to photograph your wedding. I am so glad that I met you both. Your families are just awesome and I feel blessed to have been part of your big day! Be safe traveling back home to Dallas! - Cheryl