Happy Easter/Spring is in the Air!

Chris and I spent Easter with my sister and her family in Alabama this year. I always love going there to visit! Harmony has such lovely friends and i just adore spending time with my niece and nephews. Here are a few snapshots from the weekend:






While we were there, we also stole away Harmony's BFF, Caryl, for a Spring photo session. Caryl is a professional photographer out of Prattville, AL. She does the most amazing things with light and angles which add such a flare to each picture! We went to Pratt Park and it was a gorgeous spring day - perfect for a photo shoot. The wind was a little bit too strong, but we were able to make it work for the most part. Caryl was so laid back and easy-going, while completely professional and full of good ideas for us, that it made for such a fun and successful shoot! It was so nice to get to spend some time with Caryl. Harmony is always talking about her and it is so clear that they are "bosom buddies", but it was very nice to see for myself that Harmony has someone very special in her life in Alabama - a best friend that cares for her and loves her in the ways she needs the most, in ways that I can't give her b/c I live so far away. So, "thank you, Caryl, for always being there to support and take care of my sister. I love you so much for that!" Here are some pictures from our Spring photo shoot. Disclaimer: Some of these photos have been retouched and others have not.

You can visit Caryl's blog at http://caryllawsonphotography.blogspot.com/. She is also linked to my blog on the right side of the page :) I strongly encourage you to take a look at her site and book a session with her! You WILL NOT be disappointed!

A Love Story for All Time

When I was 17, my dad and I went on a special trip to NYC after HS graduation. My plan was to enter Meredith College in the fall to study musical theatre. Knowing this, my dad and I went to several Broadway shows while in NY. These shows were all amazing, but my favorite show that we saw was Miss Saigon (featuring Lea Salonga). Not long after we saw it in NY did the show close after being on Broadway for 10 years. This made me so sad b/c I thought that I would never get the chance to see this show again. While I did buy the CD and do own a DVD with clips of the show on it, it still would not be enough to satisfy my longing to see the full production again. Well, to my surprise, last summer I received an email stating that Miss Saigon was being revived and will be touring the US in 2009!!! My wonderful parents bought me tickets to the show for my birthday back in October and this past weekend we got to see the show! Chris and I also invited our good friends, the Mehaffie's, the the show with us as well as my parents (a gift my sister and I gave my mom for her birthday). So we all got to experience it together. With the exception of my dad and I, this was the first viewing for everyone else. It was such a wonderful night (despite the rain) and I fell in love with the story all over again. I always said that if I were to choose one role to play in a Broadway musical, it would be Kim from Miss Saigon. However, not being of the Asian culture, this was never a realistic dream :) But the show was everything I remembered it to be and I was SO sad when it was over! Maybe it will be revived again in another 10 years and I'll have the opportunity to share it with my future children :)

Here are a few pictures from our night at the theatre!

this is a picture of the Saigon backdrop and Mr. Ray Walker (a legend at the North Carolina Theatre) giving the pre-show announcements

the Harrell's and the Mehaffie's

the Harrell's and the Strong's (my mom and dad)

Chris and I right before the show started - SOOO excited!

Luke and Rockie (pre-show)

mom and dad (pre-show)