Family Pictures and Self Portraits

We recently did family pictures with the Talley family.  Family pictures are so much fun!!! We always make it our goal to get the most natural smile possible and to capture each personality.  We always have a good time doing family photos and trying to get everyone to smile.  Jon is really good at making people feel relaxed and making them laugh.

We also did self photos this year.  Gotta love self timers on a camera! We always have so much fun and end up laughing so hard trying to set the timer and then running to get in place.

Road Trip 2 - Pennsylvania/Virgina

We recently took a second road trip this year.  The first one was in May when we went to San Antonio.  This time we went to Pennsylvania and Virginia.  It was such a fun trip to take in the fall.  Our first stop was Gettysburg, PA.  We did not stay long because it was freezing cold (compared to what we are used to) and windy.  But, we did drive a little bit around the battlefield and the town.  It was fun reading about the history and sobering to imagine what it was like during the Civil War.

Our next stop was Amish country, Lancaster, PA.  We loved Lancaster.  It was beautiful.  With the covered bridges,  farms and beautiful rolling hills, it was a great place to spend the day.  We had so much  fun driving around the countryside.  The farms were amazing (I am a sucker for farms - love them).  And of course it was also fun to see all the horse and buggies.

Next, it was on to Philadelphia, PA.  We were so excited about Philly.  We recently watched the "John Adams" movie series (if you haven't seen it, you need to!!!) so, it was fun to see the all the historical places. We love American history so Independence Hall was definitely a highlight.  Seeing the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed and where so many brave men chose to stand up for freedom was incredible!!! We also saw the Liberty Bell and walked down the oldest residential street in North America. We also got to eat an authentic Philly steak and cheese!!! Yummy!!!

And of course we couldn't leave Philly without running up the "Rocky Steps".  Such an experience!

Next it was on to Virginia!!! It was so good visiting family.  My cousin had a baby this year so this was our first time meeting Caleb.  What a cutie!!!

While we were in Virginia, we decided to do a little sight-seeing.  We went to Mt Vernon.  I haven't been there since I was a kid so it was fun to see it now that I'm older and can appreciate it more.  It was literally the perfect day to go.  A beautiful blue sky, a cool day and colorful fall leaves!!!

After Mt. Vernon, we went to Alexandria, VA.  I was born in Alexandria, so it was fun to explore the town.  They have a historic district right on the water.  It was so much fun to walk around the town and look across the water to DC.

Our last stop on our way home was Colonial Williamsburg.  We had so much fun in Williamsburg.  It is such an experience. With all the horse and buggies and people dressed up, it's like taking a step back in history.

It was such a great trip.  We are so thankful for that opportunity!

Fall

I love fall.  I love it when I walk outside and the air is cool and crisp.  I love the beautiful colors.  Unfortunately, living in the south we don't get to see many colors.  Everything here pretty much goes from green to dead.  The last few years we have used a lot of our vacation time to travel in the fall so we can get a true fall experience.  This year we went to Canada and we also did a road trip to Pennsylvania/Virginia (pictures coming soon!).  Here are a few pics we took of our fall travels.

Pinterest

I LOVE Pinterest!!!! It took me forever to decide to join Pinterest.  It was the last thing I wanted to do because keeping up with Facebook, Twitter and Beenup2 has almost been a full time job! But, my cousin talked me into it and, I must say, I'm glad she did!! It is so inspiring!!! There are so many creative ideas on Pinterest.  

With Thanksgiving coming up, I decided to try making one of the things I saw on Pinterest.  It's a thankful tree.  I just took some fake branches and cut out "leaves" from scrapbook paper.  On the back of  each leaf we write something that we are thankful for.  It's a fun, creative way to remind us that we have so much to be thankful for!!! 

Happy Birthday Grace

Grace is celebrating her sixteenth birthday!!! I was asked to make a memory dvd for her. It was so much fun to look through pictures from her life.  She is so beautiful and so talented.  She has such a heart after God.  I know He has great things in store for Grace.  She is a powerful world-changer!!!! Happy Birthday, Grace.  I am so proud of you!!!

Happy Birthday Grace from Jonjo on Vimeo.

O Canada

We recently had the opportunity to travel to Quebec, Canada with two of our favorite people. It was soooo much fun.  We flew to New York and then drove to Quebec City.  Quebec City was absolutely beautiful.  We stayed in an amazing condo with a wonderful view of the river and right in the heart of the historic district.  It was so much fun walking around the town and soaking up the history.  It was also alot of fun trying to understand and communicate in French. 

Remember this church?  The square where this church is was in Catch Me If You Can.  It was at the end of the movie where they finally caught Frank.

We ate at some wonderful French restaurants.  We tried all kinds of new food including escargot, rabbit and duck.  We also tried poutine (pictured below).  It is very popular in Quebec.  It is french fries with a beef gravy and cheese curds (squeeky cheese - and, yes, it really does squeek when you eat it).

We also had beaver tail. It's not what you think.  It was like a flat doughnut and then you could top it with all kinds of different things like chocolate or candy.  We got ours topped with apple pie filling.  It was sooooo delicious and messy!!!! We asked for forks and they told us NO.  They said they were meant to eat with your hands.

After Quebec City, it was off to Montreal to visit family. They live in a beautiful town outside of Montreal.  They took us into Montreal for the day.  It was a beautiful city.  We spent time walking around the historic district and they took us to the cathedral where Celine Dion was married.  It was very impressive.

It was such a great trip and a much needed time of rest, relaxation and fun!!!

Twins

I had so much fun photographing these girls.  They are so cute and such a joy!!! What an amazing family!!!