My Missouri Vacation

My sister and I had been planning a Missouri vacation for some time. You may be asking yourself - what the heck is in Missouri? Well, that is actually where I spent most of my childhood growing up. From kindergarten to fifth grade, I lived in a small town called Shell Knob. It is located in southern Missouri, about 8 miles north of the Arkansas border. My family owned a beautiful home right on the lake - no seriously, it is right on the lake! 

That little house with the green roof ^^, that was it! We had our own private beach and all. My childhood dog Bailey used to swim out to the boat, from just about that distance in the picture. I guess the people that live there now actually have a dog named Bailey too! Her spirit lives on :) Unfortunately my parents had to sell the house after they divorced.  But no matter what it will always be my house!

Before my boyfriend and I left for the trip, I had saw these princess-like dresses on a Facebook post and knew I had to buy my niece one for a photoshoot while we were there. OMG - they are fabulous! You can order one for yourself at AHL Homeade on Etsy! https://www.etsy.com/listing/235132957/fluffy-tulle-fairy-dress-enchanted-fairy

Isn't she adorable. I loved taking her out and just watching her walk around. It looked like she just floated above the earth like a true fairy princess :) 

Fun fact about me - I learned how to water ski when I was 4 years old. Living on the lake made that easy and we used to take the boat about nearly every day in the summer. This boat was my grandparents who eventually left it to my dad. Lets just say it's 'vintage chic'. Regardless, my sister was able to tow it all the way from Iowa so we could relive our boating days on Table Rock Lake. This time with her little ones to continue the tradition. Brylee adores my boyfriend George and it was sooooo cute seeing them hang out together. He's actually really good with the kids. He can handle both Brylee and baby Dre no problem!

I love candids. Although I loved my stylized shoots, grabbing some family candids are great. 

Baby Dre is such a ham ball. The guy can pretty much sleep anywhere. See that spot - that used to be where I slept when I was his age. Told you the boat was 'vintage chic'. 

Here is the Shell Knob bridge. This bridge is amazing. People actually jump off of it for fun! It was the 4th of July when I took this picture. We stopped at the bridge to camp out until the fireworks. Not a bad view. 

And here are some more a little Miss Brylee being her adorable self. 

Of course I couldn't resist getting in the water. When Brylee came in with me, I asked her if she wanted Uncle George to come in the water. She said "yes!" Hahaha so he had no choice but to jump on in!

I wanted to get more pictures while at our cabin - unfortunately the weather turned pretty awful the remainder of the trip. I hope to get more of Brylee and Dre the next time I'm out visiting. 

I hope you have enjoyed this little blog post to see a peek of my summer vacation. Being a photographer never ends - but I love it!!