Maggie's 2nd Birthday Party! {cleveland, tennessee family photography}

How in the world this child is 2 TODAY I do not know. Seriously. July has been a whirlwind for us-2 weeks in Jamaica, back home for 1 night, then went to the beach with our friends (their beach session pics coming soon), then home for 1 night to leave the next day for Maggie's party.
Despite it all, we would not have missed Miss Maggie's 2nd Birthday Party for anything.


When we arrived, Maggie was less than excited about her party. They had to wake her up from her nap for her party and she was NOT happy. And I believe the fun life of being 2 has kicked in-"I don't YIKE cake! I don't want to see ____! I don't want to wear dat!"
About 5 minutes into it all, I snapped into reality and grabbed my camera.
After I took this picture, I said, "Maggie, you're going to LOVE this picture when you are 16!" :)

It was amazing moment when Maggie saw her party decorations and balloons. A new child had appeared. :) "Yook! Butterflies, balloons!"

And we were ready for a party!

Before her party, if you asked Maggie what would happen at the party, she would say, "Cake, pwesents, and my fwiends will be dere!"

Oh how I love this boy. How is Ryder this big?! His 2nd birthday is coming up soon!

LOVE her!

This cracks me up. Jonie said, "I think she's used to having her picture taken." No, really, I don't know why! :)

Right after this, Maggie informed me the concrete was too hot and now she DID want shoes on.

Last Sunday I almost didn't recognize Carter. He has gotten so big!

For someone who doesn't "yike" cake, she sure ate a lot!

Sharing with Papa.

As soon as Maggie opened this present, she started trying to put the dress on. She even gave Jana one (see in the background)!

Someone who really loves Maggie gave her a camera. (Wonder who?!) We need to work on her photography skills. She's looking in the wrong end!

That's better.

After all of the presents were open, it was time to play with them all!
Sweet Camden!

Last year at the end of the party, Maggie laid down right on the garage floor and I got a picture.
This year, she laid down in the chair Uncle Wese and Aunt Nise gave her.

Ohhh, Birthday Kisses from Camden!

And something VERY important to tell Ryder (although we were all laughing so hard we have no idea what she said).

And Birthday Hugs from Ryder-this is how he hugs, by turning his head and leaning into you!

A wonderfully fun party!
Maggie Skelton, we love you so much and can't believe you are already 2!
Enjoy the slideshow!

Jamaica Videos

Pictures coming soon! Click on the little square in the right hand corner to view it full screen.

We're Baaaack! And leaving again today!

We are back from our awesome mission trip to Jamaica. Everything went great and I will give a full report soon! Our group conducted over 133 Bible studies and there were 5 baptisms while we were there! Here are two reasons why I hated to leave.

We are leaving today for a real vacation. Whoo hoo!! :) We will be back Friday and then go to Cleveland for Miss Maggie's 2nd birthday party! Wow! How is she that old?!! Here's a picture I took of her while we were in Cleveland this summer.

Leaving on a Jet Plane!

It's that time of year again! We are getting ready to leave in a few hours for our annual mission trip to Jamaica (we have to get up at 2:30 a.m.!). I always cringe when someone asks us where we are going on a mission trip and I say Jamaica. A laugh, and "Jamaica?! That's not a mission trip, that's a vacation!" always follows. I can assure you that we are not going on vacation! It is a great trip and we look forward to it every year, but it is hard work!

This year we will be working again with the church at Ythanside.
We will be there for 2 weeks. When we return, Wesley & I are going on vacation. Skelton Photography will reopen on July 27th.
During this time, you can email me and I will respond as soon as I can when we return.
If you have some sort of photography emergency (I can't imagine what that would be, but if you do...), your best bet is to send me a text message. I will do my best to respond.
Thanks for your patience!
Enjoy some photos from our trip last year.
You can read all about it HERE.

I'll be honest, there are beaches and they are beautiful! But we don't spend much time there!

Matherly Family

Last night I met the Matherly family at Willow Springs Park for a little family fun!

The sweet boys are Gabe, Luke, and Daniel. Daniel was in my kindergarten class this past year. Such a sweet boy! I was glad to get to visit with them last night.

They just got these two sweet puppies-Gus and Jetta-last week. That was a LOT of fun! :)

These boys can tell some great jokes, but not as good as Mom's!

I love this shot from the puppy's perspective!

And this is a new favorite! :)

As is this one. Fun, fun tickles!

Matherly Family, thanks so much for letting me hang out with you last night!
Enjoy your slideshow!

Mr. & Mrs. Holmes-Part 5-Details, Details!

There were so many amazing details at Ben and Kate's wedding, that I wanted to spotlight them here on the blog. So much time and thought was put into each one, and they need to be showcased!

Ben and Kate had something special on just about every table in the tent.
I loved that they incorporated their favorite Bible verses.

These cupcakes were amazing!! I had one right before we left-my birthday cake! Ha!

The tuxedo strawberries smelled SOOOO good! We were informed that there were only 12 and they would know if one went missing!

Yes, I know this tree wasn't planted just for the wedding, but it was an amazing detail! I LOVE this image Brittany captured of it. I heard Ben or someone from his family say several different times that this tree was around when George Washington was.

Guests had the opportunity to write Ben and Kate a note as they entered.

Mmmmm, sweet tea!