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Category Archives: travel

The Story

A couple of days ago, I posted a picture to my personal Facebook account.  I’ve gotten a few questions about it, so I thought I would share the story here.

Several years ago, my little family took a trip to Rome.  As we were touring the streets, we came across a fence lined with locks and on these locks were names and dates.  I was totally intrigued so asked our tour guide what the deal was.  He said that people get married at the church around the corner and then come and put a lock with the date on the fence just outside the church.  He waived his hand as if to dismiss the whole idea as a little childish, but I was thrilled!  HOW NEAT!

Over the years, I’ve been on a search for more of these “locks” and I’ve seen a few scattered at various places.  Mostly just a couple here and there and even some being cut off of a famous tower in Florence.  We were going to search out the “lock bridge” while in Prague, but never got around to it.

Earlier this month, my family took a little trip to Cologne to visit the Christmas Market.  As we are getting ready to leave the next day, my hubby says that he wanted to stop by the “lock bridge” on the way out.

WHAT?!!  There is a lock bridge?!  Oh, how awesome!

Off we go, and find parking pretty easily.  This my friends, is the ULTIMATE lock bridge.  And by Ultimate, I mean most awesome, fantastic, biggest, longest, billions of locks, I’ve EVER seen.  It seriously took my breath.

So I’m going a little “snap happy” taking tons of shots of the different locks that I think are pretty neat.  Old ones, new ones, fancy ones, plain ones.

 

My hubby taps me on the shoulder and says, “Hey Staci, look at this one.”  I turn and in his hands is a lock with two keys.
I can tell you for a fact that right at that moment, my heart melted and rolled right out onto that bridge.

So not only did I get to see the best “lock bridge” in the world, but my love is locked on there as well.
He is the most amazing man, and totally “gets” me.  I have been blessed.
And if you decide to visit the bridge in Cologne, please don’t step in my heart.  I was so happy, I didn’t even reach down and scoop it up.

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Connections | KMC Family Portrait Photographer

Seems the last month or so my life has been all about connections!  Mostly Airline connections, and running through airports in my flip flops to make said connections.  (Hello Phili!  I hope to never connect through your fair city again!  LOL!)  I’ll be heading out again shortly to make a few more!

But the best “connection” I’ve made in the last month or so was with this family!  The last time I saw this sweet little girl, she was only a few days old and her family had just arrived in the KMC area!  Now they have started a new adventure, but we were able to connect for one last session before they left.

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Not on the list!

Every year on my birthday I make a list.  I know you are shocked!  Me?!  Make a list?!  Why yes!  A list!

It’s a list of all the things I want to accomplish that year.  It’s really a no pressure kind of thing, just a few goals and what-nots.  It sits on my desk so that I can look at it daily.  Sometimes I want to throw that thing cause it’s all staring me in the face and mocking me!  Other times I read a few things off and laugh or grab my date stamp and happily cross one off the list.
There are personal goals on my list this year like #2.  LET IT GO!
There are silly goals on the list like #18:  THIS IS THE YEAR I RIDE AN ELEPHANT!
There are crafty goals like #35:  FIND CHALKBOARD CONTACT PAPER or INVENT IT!  and #28:  MAKE A QUILT!
And There are practical goals like #14:  START CLEANING FOR THE MOVE! and #31:  LIST EVERYTHING FOR SALE ON RYS.
One thing that was NOT on the list, and has NEVER been on the list was JUMP OUT OF A PERFECTLY GOOD AIRPLANE and plummet to the earth at terminal velocity with a little German strapped to your back, praying that he isn’t as crazy has he seems and will pull that shoot at the appropriate time.
Nope!  Never been on the list!
It has been on my hubby’s list and if you hear him tell it, it’s been on his list from birth.
If anything I’m a supportive wife, so the little man and I head out one Saturday morning to watch Dad Skydive.
Everything is fine, I snap a few pictures of the training lesson.  Watch as the first group comes down.
Then start counting.  They are going up in groups of two and the group we are with is one person down.  My hubby is the odd man out.
Watch as the second group comes down.  Then it happened, the question.
“Will you please jump with me? I need a partner and I can’t think of a more perfect person to do this with.”  (or something like that!  at least that’s how it replays in my mind!)
Seriously people I didn’t even think!  I just said OK and signed the paper and put on the suit and jumped in a plane.  I had to borrow shoes cause I was wearing my flip flops!  I passed my camera over to the little man and kissed him and told him to take some pictures!
I didn’t even think that my child was down on the ground watching BOTH his parents jump out of a plane, until I was at about 8,000 feet.  That’s when I asked if we were high enough.  I think crazy German man laughed at me as he said NO.  That’s when I started praying.  ALOT.
At 11,000 feet the door opened, and I’m pretty sure I had a heart attack.  I just looked at crazy German man with huge eyes and said, “BUT I WASN’T PAYING ATTENTION!  I WASN’T GONNA JUMP!  I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!!!!”  and do you know what crazy German man says?  I’ll tell you what he says.  In this hour of pure terror, so scared I couldn’t even say any bad words, basically handing my life over to this crazy German, his words of wisdom are:  ”It doesn’t matter.”   IT DOESN’T MATTER!  Then I’m pretty sure that he pushed us out of the plane.

The free fall lasted about 45 seconds. There is video of this. It’s pretty much the most awful thing you have ever seen. First I couldn’t breath, and the wind was shooting up my nose making it look 5 times bigger than normal. Second, I really didn’t know I had THAT many chins. Third, I didn’t know that neck skin could travel all the way up to your cheeks, but turns out at 120 MPH it can! At one point my tongue starts hanging out my mouth as it finally saw an opportunity to meet my neck up there with my cheek. That is 45 seconds of terror that no one needs to ever see. Ever.

My child!  He stood on the ground and shot the greatest pictures ever!

So I scratched off #33:  WORK HARDER! and replaced it with #33:  GO SKYDIVING WITH MY MAN!
Work harder?!  Seriously, how was that even a thought!

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Oh the Snee! | KMC Portrait Photographer

You might remember this tree from last year… I had to read that post again for myself!

We are setting out on a little adventure tomorrow.  It just seems that everything just keeps trying to throw a wrench in my plans!  And all this snow…hummmm, not sure what to think.

So today I’m looking UP! once again.

I will be a little out of pocket over the next couple of weeks.  I have lots of free time and I’m planning lots of blog posts so stay tuned.  If I don’t answer e-mail back right away, just hang on, I plan on taking things super slow over the next few weeks.  I’m gonna enjoy the time I have with my little man!  I have a feeling that the “wonder of Christmas” is departing for things a little more “grown-up” and I can’t miss this opportunity!

Hope that everyone is enjoying this SNOW DAY!

-S

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Happy, Happy! | KMC Portrait Photographer

Working in a job like this brings many different people into my life.  And seriously people, I LOVE IT!  LOVE.  IT.  LOVE IT!!

And the best part is how those people become friends, and those friends become best friends.  Before you know it, you are taking vacations to other countries to see the new babies, and staying in their homes!  There really are great people in the world, and I say POOO to anyone that would say otherwise.  (I have proof, ask me and I’ll show it to you.)

Last week at a viewing session, as I was about to leave, the client handed me a beautiful handmade Thank you card (Thanks JESSICA!).  It had the most beautiful words inside, and I think I’ve reread that card 10 times in the last few days!  I told her I was gonna put it on my board, and to be honest it just made it to the board today, cause I’ve just been reading it over and over!

I receive notes from clients on occasion, and they always go to my “board”…it’s the Happy Board.  The Happy Board is my favorite thing in the office.  I really cherish each and every note I receive.

Here’s a few things on the board right now:

1.  Coolest thank you note of the ultrasound photo from a maternity shoot.

2.  Sweetest handwritten letter from Carl n’ Mary that came with a calendar!  Seriously, they made a calendar with some pictures and it’s so cute!

3.  A motivational card that I made and is going up for sell at the gallery in Texas

4.  My birthday crown, that I wore all day on my birthday, and sometimes I put on when I’m editing pictures.  Yes, I do.  I’m the queen of this castle, people should know that!

5.  Jessica’s sweet, sweet, card.

6.  A graduation announcement, cause I totally LOVE my seniors!

7.  A card from sweet baby J, all excited about his up coming shoot!

8.  The best most wonderful e-mail EVER, from Italy.  I read this one a lot too!  Love you guys!

9.  My letter of appreciation.  I seriously got one.  I know right?  I have to keep this here..like, forever.

10.  A few inspirational ads from magazines that I totally dig.

Yes, I know, it’s messy.  But that’s what’s great about it!  If you want to find something, you have to dig through the treasures!  There are lots of things on there that I didn’t even mention, cause they are buried.  Maybe, I’ll clean it up.  Or, maybe I won’t cause that’s not me.

I have this “seasonal affective disorder” thing, which I totally diagnosed myself (thank you google, LOL!)  As in, I NEED THE SUN!  I need sunshine.  I gotta have it.  Rainy days, give me the blues.  So when I’m in my Rainy day PJ’s, I just dig through my Happy Board.  Then, I’m HAPPY!  See how awesome that is!

Go out, and make yourself a Happy Board!  I would love to be the first thing on it!  Let me know and I’ll send ya a little something to put on there!

-Staci

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