Last Thursday I went out with Trevor & Alicia and had a great time photographing their engagement session! They are an awesome couple and I am really looking forward to their wedding coming up very soon. I’ll actually be shooting Alicia’s bridal session in the near future as well, so stay tuned for more great images!

First their engagement session…

Then Tracy’s bridal…

Now their wedding! I have had the great opportunity getting to know Brian and Tracy for quite a while now and we just celebrated their wedding together September 23rd!

Congratulations to you both, and thank you for allowing me to be a part of your lives!

Tracy & the girls hanging out

Brian and his best man, Michael

Brian gave these cool timepieces to all of his groomsmen

Got cake?

This past week we went and spent some family time down at Outer Banks, NC! It was a much needed rest for all of us, especially with how hectic the past couple of weeks have been.

The weather was amazing, and there was hardly anyone there which was awesome. Amy’s eyes got huge when she saw the ocean for the first time! Her first thoughts, “Wow - look at all that water”. Austin was kinda freaked out by the sound of the ocean, but he adjusted to it after a while!

Here are some images from our trip…

ANY trip that starts with going to Macaroni Grill is going to be excellent! Many thanks to my friend Dave for his kind gift certificate. We really miss Macaroni Grill as they are everywhere out west. Right after this we headed across the street to the Cheesecake Factory - incredible! We really didn’t eat healthy at all last week - but hey, we were on vacation! I did have a great mango-habanero chicken wrap at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Nags Head, and we looooooooooved the cookies from The Bread Bistro.

Amy makes her first trip to the water.

I am a huge aviation nut (love RC airplanes) and so we visited the Wright Brothers Memorial. I have a lot of respect for them not only because of their flight accomplishment, but because of their determination in the face of adversity. They acomplished what others said couldn’t be done.

Life takes faith, but it is especially true when you believe in something you cannot see.

The Bear Factory is cool! Leah really wanted to do this for the kids and we had so much fun. You pick out an animal, then put a little guardian angel or star in the back, make a wish, stuff the bear, put it in an outfit, and write out a birth certificate for it! Amy hasn’t hardly put hers down and Austin drags his with him as he toddles around everywhere. It is such a great experience for the kids (and big kids too).

We also went over to the aquarium on Roanoke Island which was neat! They had some cool creatures which you could get pretty close to.

Here’s Austin getting a kick out of the crocodiles!

Hmmmm, hope he’s not hungry.

The tanks were great as you could get super close to the animals. This little guy is completely underwater (see the fish behind him).

Lastly, one of the other really cool things we did was visit Jockey’s Ridge. It’s the largest dunes in the east and is almost like a desert by the ocean. I got to fly a sport kite from the top and we had fun jumping off them as well.

It was an awesome vacation and we loved getting away for a little bit. Some of the best memories I have are us just walking along the beach collecting sea shells and enjoying doing absolutely nothing!

Here’s to our first annual family vacation!

Best Wishes Always,
Michael