The day finally arrived, the one she had been counting down to, the same one I had been dreading selfishly just a little - the first day at Kindergarten.
I love her at this age and know she will change and grow and do well, but the first day of Elementary school feels like the end of a chapter in our lives of her being this little "wee thing". I wanted to capture her on her first day, so we did the obligatory sitting-on-the-doorstep photo and I snapped some on our walk to school. 
That same day in the evening we stole down to J’s Landing, an old Pennsylvania Barn and stables - my new favorite place for photos. With the promise of frog catching after 30 minutes of photos, you will see her holding a mason jar with a twinkle in her eye. She caught 7 frogs that night, had the best day ever in Kindergarten and had her family as company on her first journey to school.


Heading out the door with her new backpack

We all walked to her school

Oh, the Places You'll Go!



I did shed a tear that day, I won't lie



She lit up the minute she started to read.

 

Her three favorite books!

A mason jar of 7 baby frogs with a happy Kindergartener.

Little Bo Peep

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep and sets off the find them, but on the way she gets side tracked by fountains, flowers, fairy houses, and castle ruins. When she returns to the farm she finds her favorite lamb thirsty for milk, not far from the flock.

She hatches a plan



and heads off to find her lamb, passing the fairy house

a beautiful fountain,

and flowers is bloom.

She finds her lamb at last



And thirsty for milk she gets his bottle

And feeds him

and the flock watches on







Making New Memories

I often take photos of friends, but I rarely share them online. I had the pleasure of photographing one of my dearest and oldest friends while home in Ireland and she gave me full rein to capture her family and feature them on my page. We started on our local beach to recreate their engagement photo with one special edition – their baby son! I can honestly say, it was arctic winds on the beach and we stayed all of 5 minutes before I suggested we head to a different location I visited that morning with my girls. Sheltered and picturesque, this new location was also coincidentally the place where some of their wedding photos were taken. My suggestion to jump into the car and drive 4 miles on the fly was welcomed and we got our money’s worth in return. Their little boy braved the cold weather without complaint.
 

 

The Different Ways to Approach Strawberry Picking

Yesterday I brought my girls strawberry picking and smiled as I watched their different approaches to the task at hand.
My eldest ran around trying to pick every ripe strawberry at the farm, running back in intervals to check if her bucket was fuller than her sister’s. My youngest, however was content to pick a few and eat them all before starting to pick again.
It reminded me of my first summer job many years ago in Ireland. I so wanted to pick more than the other kids around me and remember my nervous pride when I placed the full trays on the scales, but just like my youngest, I can still remember sneaking a few of those sweet, sweet fruit.
 

She found the largest strawberry

Taking a break

Singing while you pick

Those irresistible fruit

One filthy dirty little girl

 

Heading to the scales