Kiawah Half Marathon

Two of my favorite things to do in the whole world are photography and running. At first I was very bitter and disappointed that registration was full when I tried to sign up for the Kiawah Half Marathon, but then I realized that I get to be the photographer for some of my very best friends who did get to register! We spent the weekend in Kiawah and had a blast! More pictures from the rest of the weekend are coming soon!

K-rock, Mary O, and LMR (so we call them) ran the race and kicked butt! I was so proud of them. Here are some of my favs from the big day. You can click to enlarge the collages.

Karin and her husband (and my fellow photographer), Dylan. 

My husband was there supporting as well, but for some reason, I didn't get a blog-worthy shot of him! Bad wife/photographer!
INTRODUCING your Runners:
K-Rock
LMR...ran the race in under 2 hrs
Mary O
The Jump shot (more jump shots to be posted soon :) )
LMR and her boyfriend, Ryan
This picture makes me so happy. I love how they are listening to the ipod together!
Katherine and Dylan mapping out where we need to be in order to catch the runners at 1 mile, 9 miles, and the end. We actually ended up running a good bit to catch up to the runners, so I got 2 of my favorite things after all:). 
Photographer D. Curtis.
Katherine
Ryan & Mary (LMR)
These are the good lucks/goodbyes before the race started...precious.
Runners, get set!
This is a random...I was practicing panning...looks like he's running super fast! So fun.
I had to post this one...the man carrying the flag was a navy seal...here comes the best part...he carried that flag just like that for 26.2 miles!!! OH MY GOSH.
GOOOO TEAM! we liked this woman because every time we cheered for her, a huge smile came across her face. She was wearing a team in training shirt (leukemia and lymphoma society). Karin and Dylan ran a marathon in CA earlier this year with team in training. It is an incredible organization.

These people were out there for the runners, playing their hearts out. I felt like I was in Jamaica! It was so fun!
Karin and Mary O at mile 1, mile 9, and finish. I should explain why I didn't get LMR at 9 miles and finish. At 9 miles she happened to be running by at the same time I was messing with my camera and she finished before we could get back to the finish line from 9 miles. Sorry LMR!
The sassy (sorry Dylan)-we just ran 13.1 miles-after race picture 

We always have to get this picture after a race...oranges are pretty much a guaranteed after-race food. Congratulations guys! We are proud of all of you! 

Introducing Adeline Grace/ Cincinnati Trip

Last weekend, Wes and I took a mini-vacation to Cincinnati for 4 days to visit my family and to see our baby niece for the first time! 

Adeline Grace was born on September 10, so she is 2 months old! That being said, you must know that she is extremely smart and advanced for her age. Just take my word for it...I don't say that just because I am her aunt. I will say that she is the most beautiful baby girl! Now, since he weather wasn't great and we couldn't plan any shoots for outside, I had to snap shots whenever I got a chance in order to fit in as many pictures of this precious baby as I possibly could!

Her older brother (Paul) plays football and she has quickly become a very devoted cheerleader! She went to her first football game when she was 1 week old! PURE devotion.



BATH TIME!!
This is one of my favs!
Chunky monkey!


"You talkin' to me?"

These are her little Christmas shoes...cutest thing EVERRRR!

The last day we were there, Liz (my sister-in-law) had to take the boys to school and drop by work, so Wes and I woke up to Liz handing Addie to me with a bottle! It was the best way to wake up! Believe it or not, I am completely serious. After her bottle, she fell asleep on our bed (naturally, since she is 2 months old) and I couldn't resist grabbing the camera...

One of Liz's friends brought this authentic Chinese outfit back from the Beijing Olympics for Addie. Precious!!
This is not a great picture, but this is the hat I got for her to go with her Christmas outfit. It says "I've been good...mostly."  She wasn't happy by the time we put on her complete outfit, so not many pictures came out of it. This is her "If you don't get the camera out of my face..." look.

Check out the hair! She LOVES her Uncle Wes!
Random, I know...BUT I really love orchids and they happened to have some in the house...
These next shots are of Charlie, one of Addie's 2 older brothers. 
While waiting in the car for Paul (the oldest) to get out of school, Charlie had a little photo shoot:




The first day we were there, the weather was pretty decent, so after we picked Paul up from school we took the boys and Addie to the park so I could snap some siblings shots. Despite the fact that the boys were not thrilled about the idea of taking pictures, I managed to get a few shots.

Paul & Charlie


So precious! I love Addie's expression! I also love the fact that Paul is 5 shades darker than his brother and sister. 

They grow up WAYYY too fast!
Sunday we went to Wes's first NFL game: Bengals vs Eagles. I grew up a Bengals fan and Wes grew up an Eagles fan, so I was a little torn. I wanted to be loyal to my husband, but DEEP down I felt like I should cheer for the Bengals. 

Now, none of this really mattered in the end because the game finished with a TIE and it resembled a circus. That's right, it was just not even good football. We were positive the Eagles would kill the Bengals, judging from the fact that they are/were (how do they rank when a game is tied?) the second worst team in the NFL. However, this clearly was not the case. My theory is that the players were too cold in the 25 degree-windy-weather. I know I was!

Joe Montana right here. I have the utmost confidence that this kid will get a full ride football scholarship to a great school and go on to play pro football. 

Me with my sister-in-law, brother, & nephew
I love this bridge. It is one of the most beautiful I have seen.


We sat so far up from the field that we had to take two of these escalators to get to our seats.
THE EAGLES!!
The Bengal's grand entrance into the stadium...I have to admit...pretty cool.

Here we have our Bengals fans...
And our Eagles fans...
KICKOFF!

Okay, I'm not hating on the Eagles, but here is an example of that bad football that I previously mentioned. Here is #28 running the ball all the way down the field and ALMOST making a touchdown...
And here he is tripping on his own feet and falling on his face. I think one of the Bengals is actually simultaneously doing the same thing...please explain to me how this happens!
It was an amazing and fun-filled trip. The next time we see Addie, she is going to be so big! Despite my seemingly bitter attitude about the game, we actually had a blast. It was a great atmosphere (at least until my toes and fingers went numb). 

Thanks again, guys, for a great time! We love you :)