They drove in from Houston to do their session and we had big plans of working outside in colorful, downtown Austin. The weather, however, had plans of its own. Thank goodness they happened to be staying in the ultra fabulous W hotel and we were able to get permission to shoot in/around the hotel. We tried…we really tried to go outside for a few minutes. The wind that day was crazy and their beautiful spring clothes didn’t do much to save them from the chill so we had to move indoors. No matter. These guys are a pretty FUN family and we found plenty of ways to keep ourselves entertained even while in a little hotel room. Mom’s dress, by the way, um…LOVE! Also, HERE’s what every mom should do at least once with her children ;-).

This beautiful mommy and I go waaaaayyy back…like before we were even actual mommies. Our session this year was fabulous…full of all things happy and sunshiney and colorful. In fact, I’m thrilled we were able to squeeze in one final photo session featuring the Airstream the day before it was hauled off for a complete renovation. And hey…isn’t this family gorgeous??? Wow! Happy kids and happy parents make me happy!

Ever since this article ran on The Define School blog, I’ve been struggling. Well, I was struggling before that…obviously…that’s why I wrote the article in the first place. But then, when my much loved 365 album arrived, I began to teeter on my resolution to stop taking so many pictures of my personal life. Over the past three months, I’ve taken considerably fewer pictures of our daily lives…even fewer iPhone snaps. Yes, I am happier to be able to have the freedom to live in the moment more, but I am still mourning the loss of images I didn’t ever take. I don’t think I’ve quite struck the right balance yet. I have a double standard, my friends. Especially in light of how I talked my sister in to letting me take a couple of maternity pictures for her in the hospital yesterday.

So, I took a picture today. I took it just because I wanted to remember this part of my girl’s life and for no other reason. I got her the “artistic” shirt as a gift because it’s SO HER and she’s been wearing it for days, lol. She sat down and painted a series of canvases all on her own. My husband and I watched her, so gracefully perched in the chair as she thoughtfully worked for hours. This particular canvas, she gifted to her oldest brother because he is sick right now. Drawing and painting the way she does is something that I always did myself as a girl and I longed for my boys to do the same, but they never were interested. But she just loves it. She has blue paint all over her hands and marker/paint is usually permanently embedded under her fingernails. There are flecks of paint on her new shirt as well as in her hair. I imagine (hope!) that this will simply be part of her for the rest of her life and that she will always wear the marks of an artist.

Those are the words that come to mind when I recall the afternoon I spent with this family not too long ago. I loved everything about this session. I loved the carefree nature of it all. I loved the wind-swept hair and beautiful freckles and gorgeous giggles and the love…the love of ranch life…the love of family. The sun betrayed us because we could have played all night.

My favorite mom + daughter pic is HERE.

A funny one that shows baby girl’s reaction to a fizzy drink HERE.

Another fav larger HERE.

Based on the totals of all of the popular votes (outlined here), one winner chosen by yours truly, and one winner drawn at random, I give you to the 2013 Pinkle’s Pics of the Year (in no particular order):

I am thrilled for each of their families and very much look forward to creating their family videos this summer. I will be contacting you all soon to make arrangements. A HUGE congratulations and I’m just over the moon to get to add these to the line up of winners.

Funny story: way back in June I was in the airport trying to fly out to Charlotte for a workshop. Of course, my flight got cancelled and I was a bit vocal about it on Instagram. Next thing I know, this lovely blonde walks up to me and says, “Are  you Pinkle Toes?” WHAT??? She had been standing in another line ready to board when she saw my post on Instagram! How cool is that???? It was so neat to chat with her that day and I was really honored when she commissioned family portraits a little while later. Small world 😉

Words that come to mind when I think of this session: joy, giggles, motion, dance, childhood, beauty, love, wonder, curls, dimples, jump. Thank you guys so much for an incredible session! What an joy to get to work with you in your home!!! Lovin’ this mommy/daughter portrait HERE, too. And my absolute FAV HERE.

Kinda can’t believe I haven’t blogged this session from Virginia last fall either. Kinda been dying to share THIS IMAGE in particular and I think it’s pretty fitting for today. Kinda loved absolutely everything about this session. Kinda got pretty lucky that even though we played with the umbrellas, the weather cleared up and we didn’t actually *need* them. Kinda adored her kiddos. Kinda adored mom and dad as a couple. Kinda glad we got THIS, too ;-).

I had a couple of clients who originally had sessions scheduled in Texas last year, both of them ended up in Virginia so I decided to make a trip back to my motherland to handle those sessions for them and of course, to show my kiddos where I grew up and visit with dear family.

I was a little worried when I saw my window of travel for this trip…it was late November and fall–my absolute FAVORITE season and one of the things I miss most about Virginia–would typically long be over by this time. Oh, no. What a fabulous surprise when we showed up to the most incredible weather and beautiful foliage my kids had ever seen. I think they could have played in the leaves for hours and hours. They absolutely LOVED it!!! And so did I. So much so, I can’t deny that we may have toyed around with the idea of moving to Virginia. Of course, with my little nieces on the way (both my sister and the girls are recovering well from the TTTS laser ablation, by the way!!!) we couldn’t *really* move away, but it was nice to fantasize.

Anyway, I realized that I haven’t blogged Karen’s session (who is a photographer in Maryland, herself!) and that’s sad because I REALLY LOVED it! Her family was a blast and those girls made the session so much fun. And Karen’s smile…is that not the most contagious smile you’ve ever seen? I felt very lucky to get to work in such amazing fall colors with perfect shooting weather on the grounds of the National Cathedral that day! It was actually our second visit to the landmark…we ended up going there are first day in D.C. not knowing that we would be shooting there later. I thought my kids would find it a little boring, but we were all quite surprised that everyone was excited to go back! Beautiful building, amazing gardens, and a perfect experience all around! Thank you so much, Karen, for trusting me with this job and I truly did have an incredible evening with you guys!

There are 34 entries in the running to become the 2013 Pinkle’s Pic of the Year. These images were selected by the clients themselves for your consideration to become finalists. Here’s how it works:

ROUND ONE – NOW thru midnight central on Feb 5th

• This year, you will have THREE chances to vote!
  1. The poll below
  2. “Liking” your favorites on this official Pinkle Toes Instagram page (to view all of the entries, search the hashtag #pinkletoesPOY13Round1).
  3. “Liking” your favorites on this official Pinkle Toes Facebook gallery
• You can vote for more than one image AND you can vote in ALL of these three places, but you can only vote one time.

On Feb 6th, 10 finalists will be announced here and on Facebook, selected as follows:

1. The top TWO images from this online poll.
2. The top TWO images from the official Pinkle Toes Facebook gallery (if already selected in the online poll, we’ll move on to the next image)
3. The top TWO images from the official Pinkle Toes Instagram page (if already selected in the online poll or Facebook, we’ll move on to the next image)
4. TWO images selected by a panel of professional photographer judges
5. TWO images selected by me. I may even throw in a few surprise images just for fun.

Not me, not me. But gosh, I can imagine how I would feel if I were picking up my family and moving to a new city in a new state and leaving behind this amazing city we call home. We managed to squeeze this session in literally days before their big move and I loved how they wanted to capture the funky Austin vibe with their family photo session. I hope they’re staying bundled up all the way up north (even though we *are* in the middle of an Ice Apocalypse here in Austin right now, LOL. Hey…did you see my song?) and I hope I get to see them when they *must* come back down to visit family someday 😉