Sweet. Sixteen.

 

Rachel’s sweet sixteen surprise party was one step past ingenious. My sister, the queen of all party throwin’,  wrote a murder mystery, complete with a kidnapping, multiple locations and a cast of crazy characters. Kind of Clue meets So You Think You’ve Got Talent?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rachel thought we were having her sweet sixteen photo shoot, and planned to do a “Giselle from Enchanted” kinda shoot, because if you knew my niece . . . well, she IS Giselle. 

Instead of me showing for the shoot, she got kidnapped by two knights in not so shining armor, and transported to location #2.

 

 

Oh yeah.

 

 

 

 

Goldie Frocks and Tina Fa-lay.

 

 

 

The guests were divided into teams, given their challenge and put on a bus to a secret location.

 

 

First event. Drivin’ Miss Daisy. You get the point.

 

 

 

 

 

Next event. Write a commercial using random props. This one was “all I got for Christmas was . . . “

 

 

 

You guessed it. Snakes on a plane.

 

 

Sit down, candlelit meal right beside the lake.

 

 

And that was just the daylight part.  As dusk turned to dark, they had relay races, paddleboat races, and a  melodrama.  Then they danced the night away under the stars.

More to come. Cause we really are doing the Giselle shoot

Rachael. Erin. Best friends.

 

 

Rachael and Erin have been next door neighbors and best friends for going on ten years.

 

 

Like most best friends, they finish each other’s sentences and  say the same thing at the same time.

 

 

Now they’re at a crossroads. Rachael will head off to York College of Pennsylvania in about six weeks, and Erin will pack her bags for Bridgewater College in Virginia.

 

 

Time to  capture their sweet friendship on the cusp of a new adventure. 

 

 

Don’t think they’ll drift very far apart. 

 

 

They are wise enough to know the treasure of a ya.

 

 

They are running over with hopes and dreams and I know they’ll be there for one another through it all.

 

 

 

 

 

I know about eight Freundeli’s that are really gonna’ miss these gals. They’ve added magic to the month of June for us.

 

 

Promise you won’t forget me. Because if I thought you would, I’d never leave.

_winnie the pooh.

Katie. Zack.

The historic Gettysburg College Chapel and the Mary Penn Bed & Breakfast set a perfect summer backdrop for the wedding celebration of Katie and Zack last night. Katie planned the entire wedding and did not miss a detail . . . everyone completely enjoyed the celebration under the stars. Tim and Karen came along to shoot with me, and we had so much fun telling the story of the dairy farmer and his beautiful wife. Enjoy these first images. More to come . . . 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lisa. Steve.

Lisa and Steve will be married this September in Carroll County, so  for our “get to know you shoot,” we went back to the early days of their romance on a little trip to ersatz Italy.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you guess where Lisa and Steve met and fell in love???  

It’s a real love story, 21st century style, and they are as in love as any couple I’ve met.

Beautiful on the inside.

Beautiful on the outside. 

Consider. Lily.

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you , That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

 

 

 

 

Five years ago Matthew 6:28 came to us in a beautiful package. She made her entrance in a dramatic way . . . she was born FOUR minutes after I made it to our county hospital (which is only ten minutes from our house!)  She hasn’t stopped for a minute these last five years. Lily. Pure. Sunshine. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lily and I had a “mommy date” today.  We spent the afternoon alone together. Lily knew EXACTLY what she wanted to do on our special date. We went for a summer haircut at the mall, shared an M&M blizzard, did a little window shopping, and then came home for a photo shoot, right in our back yard.  Could life get any better??  I love going on mommy dates with each of my kids. They are never too fancy, but  so special because, inevitably, that’s when they share their hearts with me.  It’s a little summer magic, and makes me so grateful to be a mom.

Caroline.

 

Last day of first grade. My Caroline is a happy camper, swinging away in her newly invented “swing tub.” The tire swing came crashing down last week and so those littles got to work. So, it’s time to record some “favorites” at the magical age of seven.

Favorite book:  Betsy’s Little Star by Carolyn Haywood, The Lemonade Club by Patricia Polocco and Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Dream Vacation:  Disney World

Future Occupation:  ”Oh, I don’t know. I used to want to be Donald Duck at DisneyWorld, but now I’ll be anything . . . except a poop cleaner.”

What I Want to Name my Girl Twins:  Stephanie and Stacey.   Boy Twins:  Samuel and Isaiah

Favorite Restaurant :  Friendly’s. I love the mac and cheese, toast w/ butter and eggs, and always ice cream for dessert.

Favorite Song:  ”Caroline” by Daddy.

Favorite Memory of 1st grade:  Eating Egypt food in history like flat bread, pomegranates, grapes, olives and feta.

Three things I want to do over the summer:  gymnastics, ballet, and soccer.

York College. Roommates.

Twenty some years ago we five found ourselves away from home for the first time, a little bit homesick, but really excited about the possibilities ahead. Three dreamed of becoming nurses, two of teachers . . . we struggled through those growing years together knowing the value of ya’s in your corner. We’ve stayed connected, realizing that friendship is a precious thing.  And every year I learn new and important things about life. I come home energized and with a renewed focus and vision for my life. That’s part of the reason Carl encourages me to get away with my girlfriends at least once a year. The kids love it too. They get Daddy all to themselves. They go treasure hunting, baseball playing, Crunchberry-eating and movie watching. They sleep in all the wrong places, stay up too late and have the house neat as a pin when I return. I call that a WIN-WIN-WIN.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some things I learned this trip.

1.  I want to start geo-caching.

2. I need to eat more avocados, raspberries and sweet potatoes.

3. I should buy a worm farm to eat my ktichen scraps and they will give me lovely loam to feed my garden.  

4. Scratch last year’s resolution to flip my mattress . . . 21 century mattresses don’t need to be flipped.

5. I need to buy a Weber and start grilling regularly . . . if I keep buying my cheap grills, I’ll just have to replace them every couple of years, but a Weber is pretty indestructible. 

 

When was the last time you stayed up too late without thinking about how dearly you’d pay the next day? The last time you laughed and cried in the same breath? The last time you shared a secret and found out you weren’t the only one?  

 

 It’s never too late to pick up where you left off.

Courtney. Craig.

Courtney and Craig will be married this October at historic Ceresville Mansion in Frederick County, and the wedding will be full of life and laughter, just like them.

We had a great time at their “get to know you” session. It was a vibrant, showery spring day, so we were in and out of doors, dodging showers until the end when we decided to play in the rain. Courtney and Craig are huge Steelers fans, and basically LOVE just hanging out together in their condo with their dog, Tater Tot. They have an easy, playful spirit together . . . they know how to keep one another laughing. Craig popped the question on a 4th of July. His plan involved a secluded secret location, fireworks, and a surprise visit by several of his police colleagues.  Craig is about the nicest Baltimore County policeman I’ve ever met and he is crazy about his gorgeous Courtney. Visa Versa for that matter! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mom.

In our family, Mother’s Day is an all out, indulge the moms celebration.  We commenced after church as we retired to the music room for a glass of wine and delicate conversation. Meanwhile, the kitchen was a buzz with brunch preparations.  Kids took the sides. Dads took the mains. It was the perfect afternoon.  No prep. No clean up. Great food. Fresh coffee. Chocolate chip cookies.  A mid afternoon walk in the springtime sunshine.  O happy day.

 

 

 

 

 

My beautiful mom. Grace and dignity all the time.

 

 

Mom-Mom who is every bit a lady, full of class and full of strength.

 

 

 

 

 

And Gi-Gi. Never met a wee one who could resist her! Looking pretty good at 98!

 

 

My sister and I agree . . . we have the most amazing cadre of strong women in our lives. They are our mentors. They are our closest friends. They are our delight.

Good. News.

Fifteen years of good news to be exact. At the hands of Eric Byrd. Because he knows that God is good. All the time. So, when he took the job at McDaniel College fifteen years ago, and began receiving his $52. bi- monthly check, well, he held onto that God-sized vision. If you haven’t heard the McDaniel College Gospel Choir, you are missing out. For this special performance, they teamed up with the Columbia Orchestra directed by Jason Love and special guest, recording artist, Kevin LeVar. The best part of the evening was seeing a stage full of McDaniel students, faculty and alumni singing praises to God. It was a beauty to behold. Watching the interaction between Eric, his assistant director Carl Taylor, the choir and the musicians from the wings of the stage was a special treat.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I read on the back of the program that Eric offers a boot camp from July 20-24, and I, evidently,can learn to play jazz in a week. Hmm. Tempting.

 

Oh, and to view the entire gallery, go to the kathyfreundel.clients link on my website.