A Proposal . . . She said, "YES!"

Earlier this year, my brother contacted me to tell me that he wanted to ask his girlfriend to marry him and to enlist my help.  Yesterday, the plan came to fruition!

The Ruse - I was to meet Patrick and Rachel at Rachel's dad's house on the lake.  I wanted to take photos to build my portfolio - nature, wildlife, and people.  AND, since I would already be at Rachel's dad's house, my family, along with a few friends, were invited over to watch the UT game.

The Problem - Patrick forgot to run this plan by Mother Nature!  There was a 100% chance of rain yesterday!  It was raining buckets from early in the morning, but by the time I got there the rain had stopped.  We headed out on the lake to get "my pictures," ably assisted by Rachel's brother, Russell, as our Pontoon Chauffeur Extraordinaire.

The last photo as simply, boyfriend and girlfriend.

And then Patrick said, "I have an idea for a photo."  At this point, Rachel was still completely clueless, but she caught on quickly!

I've heard many a TV proposal, from friends on how their proposals happened, and have experienced my own, but this, this ROCKED!  He brought tears to my eyes.  I'm pretty sure I saw Russell wipe a few tears away, too.  Seriously, it was that good.

Patrick explained the significance of the rings.  They were our great grandmother's wedding rings.

Back on land and toasting the happy couple.

Oh, and I did manage to get a nature/wildlife photo!

Karing Fair 2013

Saturday, August 17th, was the 5th Annual Kari's Heart Foundation Karing Fair.  We had a great turnout and wonderful weather.  Check out this sneak peek of our day.  And if you don't know about Kari's Heart Foundation, please follow the link and learn about this wonderful organization. They provide assistance to families with sick children in the hospital.  Everything from a bag of toiletries to gas cards to groceries to rent to fixing wells.  These are amazing people doing amazing things.

 The morning started out with the bike ride.  These dedicated riders chose between a 25 mile or 65 mile course! To see the rest of the KHF Bike Ride photos please visit J. Commons Photography KHF bike ride.

This was the first year of the 5k.  It was a tough course, but everyone had a good time.  To see the rest of the 5k photos please visit J. Commons Photography KHF 5k.

Overall winner.

The three other main winners - (l to r) Overall women's winner, Women's Masters winner, and Men's Masters winner.  Congratulations to everyone that completed the race.

The Volleyball FUNdraiser.  I had so much fun taking photos of the volleyball games - there are so many opportunities for great action shots! To see all of the Volleyball photos please visit J. Commons Photography KHF Volleyball FUNdraiser.

Your Volleyball FUNdraiser Champions!

The chalk power car road course. To see all of the photos from the kids fun areas please visit J. Commons Photography KHF Karing Fair 2013 

A tractor train ride

Face and Nail Painting

Balloon Animals!

Nerf Wars

Water Fun

Inflatables

And, of course, FOOD!

Maryland, My Maryland

At the end of last month I spent a few days in my wonderful home state, Maryland.  On this trip, more than any other since the first year I moved, I wanted to stay.  Every moment was perfect (okay, minus my Aunt's house being robbed while I was playing at the ocean), every sound joyful, every smell a memory.  I managed to pack the things I missed most about home into a few short days - Crabcakes, Snowballs (it's a Baltimore-thing, you just wouldn't understand), Family, Baltimore, Ft. McHenry, Orioles, Friends, The Ocean, Birch Beer, and Bergers Cookies.

Here's a not-so-short peek at my Maryland.  If you just can't get enough, I will be putting everything up on My Smugmug Site in a few days!  I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed being there to capture them!!

Friday night I drove straight to G and M's for their amazing crabcakes!  I devoured it before a good photo was taken!  Afterwards, it was straight to a snowball stand!!  Chocolate with marshmallow - my favorite!! (taken with my iPhone)

Saturday we spent the whole day in Baltimore.  We started with a stop at Ft. McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.  My dad worked there for years, until the big move to Tennessee, and I played on the grounds as a kid.  It always takes me back to those carefree days as a child when I am there and I swear I can hear my friend and I running around squealing!

Across the harbor.

We drove to the Inner Harbor and stopped up on Federal Hill to get some skyline shots of the harbor.  I'm in love with these.

Iconic Domino Sugars sign.

In front of the World Trade Center in Baltimore were pieces from the World Trade Center from 9/11.  It was eerie and spooky and I almost didn't take the photo. (Taken with iPhone)

After the Harbor we went to the O's game!  I was so excited to be back in Camden Yards!!!

Chris "Crush" Davis has a sweet . . . swing!

Eutaw Street at the end of the game.

After the game we went back up to Federal Hill for some night shots of the harbor.  Love.

On Sunday we just chilled and hung out with friends.  Surprisingly, I didn't take a whole lot of photos that day.  But Monday it was off to Ocean City!!  I've always loved staring down the beach and seeing the hotels disappear off in the distance.  They just seem to go on forever!

The Boardwalk! (taken with iPhone)

Under the fishing pier.

iPhone

Once the sun came out, the beach got a little busy.  We packed up and headed to Assateague Island National Seashore.  The beach was a lot quieter and we could enjoy the ocean waves.

iPhone

iPhone

And of course, there were the wild horses on Assateauge.

This group of horses cracked me up.  They walked single-file across the road and then lined up to all get a drink from the creek.  So cute! (iPhone)

Tuesday we packed up and headed back to Tennessee.  I was ready to see the hubby and the animals, but I really just wanted to stay . . .