columbia, mo to sweet san antonio and back...

thanks to everyone for being so patient with me as i've tried to get back in the groove of things this week.....paul + i had promised our kids this summer we'd try to get away but other than a wonderful long weekend to lincoln, nebraska, in august....well, between weddings + paul's new job, we just sort of ran out of time.

SO, for us to take a family vacation over the Thanksgiving week gave us even more to be thankful for.

it was our first major road trip with all 3 kids....
can i state for the record that it was RIDICULOUS of the old me to have EVER been negative about those built-in drop-down DVD screens! (how may times can a family really play the alphabet game?) Seeing head-phoned kids engrossed inside-the-van movies USED to seem to me, well a bit GROSS. But now i'm a believer! more of the story: paul found a used mini-van (i know, it was hard for us, too) off e-bay (see, all kinds of firsts here) last month and that video screen was pre-installed on this sanity-saving Nissan Quest. it was a holiday kick-off so we took along some classics: how the grinch stole christmas, charlie brown christmas; reviewed a few family favorites (princess bride!, parent trap) and discovered new favorite as well: akeelah and the bee (LOVED IT!)

We first stopped for an evening in New Town, outside St. Charles where our friend Rita lives to play a little team trivia in the community center. A college reunion of sorts with weaver (who was my bridesmaid soooo many years ago) AND brickey (our go-to-friend + grace-saving wedding coordinator) but....aargh, in trivia, though our team had some skills, in the end: we got stomped. [There was a playwriters category that did us in.]
oh, if i go into this much detail, i'll never get to the images....ok the fast version:

--had no fun driving thru Oklahoma....
BUT (thank goodness!) one of my MOST FAVORITE PEOPLE IN THE WHOLE WORLD -- Aunt Jan! -- lives in Rockwall, Texas, as does my cousin Cheri and her family. [side note: she's why i love the The BeeGees and thought satin bomber jackets VERY VERY cool...] So -- hooray! -- we caught up with those guys for a bit. Aunt Jan is recently retired and I hadn't seen her new on-the-lake condo. She's so cute...even has her own *FESTIVE* golf cart to put around the place:


Cher + Dallas treated us to a REMARKABLE mexican place in Dallas.... oh, the name escapes me -- but I'll come back and link up, it was TERRIFIC!

We spent a day at the fort worth zoo. we LOVE a good zoo and of all we've been to in the last 15 years, ft. worth zoo may be our absolute favorite. (didn't even take the camera in, this was not only our first family trip via road and in a VAN, it was our first trip with our new sony handycam...Avery's going to do the editing, so maybe we post a video clip soon...or maybe not, but boy we had fun!)

many of Avery's early months were spent on the Baylor campus since we were there for paul's grad school (MPPA from Baylor's Political Science Department) when she turned 1. we hadn't been back to the area since and she had never (as a grown-up kid) seen the places we used to push her in the stroller.... so we all did the our-old-stomping-grounds-tour. like:
- first pool avery swam in;
- place where she took her first steps;
- our old apartment
- campus t-shirt place so paul could replace his threadbare baylor volleyball shirt
- OH HERE, avery, was where those god-forsaken fire ants attacked you (for those of us NOT from the south, fire ants seem too science-fiction-horrific to be true...she wasn't quite 1 and in a matter of seconds got 220+ bites ON A SINGLE LITTLE TODDLER LEG...

.....ok, i digress (again)...anyway we did lot of stuff ENROUTE to San Antonio.

once there, we stayed in a hotel called Hotel Contessa. LOVED IT! could look down from our room onto the River Walk and paul and i took advantage of being able to escape when (not) needed over to this fabulous little lounge called DRiNK across the street. We thought that place was AMAZING! Paul's still talking about the "nearly-award-winning" hummus ~ absolutely the best we've ever had. Delicious Tappas!!!! PLUS, big SHOUT OUT AND THANKS TO manager/owner (?) GABRIEL for giving us such good insider heads-up on where to go, and more importantly, where to EAT for our four days in san antonio.

Tycho LOVED the alamo; esp. after we had watched the RiverCenter iMax show about it. the alamo seemed castle like to him and well, that's his thing (along with hubcaps and football and food of all sorts)

SEA WORLD SAN AnTOnIO (on Thanksgiving Day!!!) WAS MEANT TO HAVE BEEN the trip highlight, but a cold COLD wind came along...

it was still fun, but sheesssh we had NOT packed for that kind of weather
so we each piled on every sweatshirt we packed...and then bought a sea world sweatshirt to make zoe's 7th layer while there.
so loved feeding those dolphins, and of course there WAS ST. SHAMOO:

riverside spots for the san antonio holiday parade was sure fun, but nothing can compare to hearing that MIZZOU-KANSAS game on the radio while driving home THRU KANSAS! HAAAA!!!!!! whew, now THEY'RE in San Antonio, but we're back here at home....

GO TIGERS!
[have you seen that "Mizzou, that's who!" cover? whooo-hoooo!!!!]

goodnight!
amy enderle

first dances...

oh, this is a topic that brings back good memories....

Jennie + Scott, wasn't it you two who did the TANGO?

a number of our clients have sent us this youtube link, and we're having such fun remembering our favorite first dance memories we couldn't help but share, see:

Encore! (The Upper Crust & CBS!)

What are you doing TONIGHT?! If you're looking for ideas, here's one: head over to The Upper Crust on Elm Street downtown for their Encore Wine & Dessert Bar. Why tonight? Get this: a film crew from the CBS Sunday Morning Show will be on site, getting footage for this weekend's episode, which will feature the country's TOP DESSERT SPOTS (and our favorite desserts are found right here in Columbia, Missouri)!

The Encore Wine & Dessert Bar is the brainchild of The Upper Crust's new owner, Adam Guy. In addition to being a PHENOMENAL entrepreneur, Adam is the brother of SilverBox bride Ashley Patton (formerly Ashley Guy).

Amy and I met Adam at The Upper Crust yesterday to photograph those amazing dessert creations. YUMMMM! Take a look: ~kim

Ya-Ya! laura, chris + list[s] of loves...

Don't know who's luckier....Laura + Chris (thinking of the amazing November weather plus fabulous sunset they had on their wedding day) or Annika and I for getting the chance to document this celebration. There's so much to love. But first:

6 things
(that perhaps)
only photographers love

1. the mild chaos of the nerve-filled Friday... (Pretty much a guaranteed prelude to a wonderful weekend ahead.) Advice to all nearly-marrieds regarding Friday rehearsal: don't fret, it's SUPPOSED to feel this crazy. For a recent example, follow the hands:
2. the way a great lens can capture the threads of a veil; oh la-la.... THIS is why we're all about that f/1.8:
3. polarizer filters .... if you're using a digital SLR without one...go directly to www.b-hphoto.com.
Keep those blue skies blue!
[Full story: a polarizer can't create blue out of ....ummm.... (literally) thin air but we've found it nearly impossible to preserve the blue hue of the sky, via digital capture, even shooting in RAW, without one. In non-documentary moments, light (such as fill flash or full "one-light") can be used to substitute/replace/enhance the blue but during your "real" wedding moments polarizers are our best outdoors bet...]
4. side lighting with fill:
5. a rocking, spot-on second shooter.
Great stuff this weekend, Annika!!
Fun fact: according to our camera clocks, the following 2 images were taken at nearly the same time:

EXHIBIT A ~ pre-ceremony
----Annika with the girls, inside the lower level of Les Bourgeois, as the bridal party watches their guests gather outside on the bluff:
-----me just outside the side door as guys start to line up and Chris's dad reaches over for some last-minute collar adjustment:
EXHIBIT B ~ just married
----(from Annika) as newly married Chris + Laura start up the aisle
(on to-do list: carrying an extra polarizer so we cover both 85 primes; compare sky to #3 above)
---- and this split-second later, from my top-of-the-hill vantage:
6. laughing (trusting!) brides:
(the 2nd Set)
7 Wedding Day Loves
[universal listing]
1. (above) Little People in grown-up attire. Laura's ring-bearing nephew calls her "Ya -Ya" ~ could there be anything more sweet?! (well, see #3 below for a literal sweet alternative)

2. a proud proud Papa (plus the way black-and-white sucks you in to the emotion:)


3. The creme filling of a pull-apart cookie (see Laura's nephew during Chris + Laura's vow exchange, below)

4. g i r l f r i e n d s !
5. Autumn on Missouri "shores":

6. when colors like this
are what your find just around the river bend:
7. love of a lifetime

(and click here for a slideshow of even more!!!)

do what you love :: love what you do!
~amy enderle

Law of Attraction (Oregon Installment #2)

"It's NEVER this mild in October! You guys are lucky," the locals would tell us when they found out we were in Oregon for a mid-afternoon wedding on the beach. Was it luck or was it "The Law of Attraction!" as Brennan + Amanda joked . . . the idea that setting ones' thoughts and intentions (like wanting an unseasonably warm day to be married on an Oregon beach) can affect reality? Hmmm....don't know, but whatever the cause, reality was pretty great.

And it was great on so many levels: the big, grand, breathtaking landscapes (including a view of Haystack Rock made famous by "The Goonies" ~ 1985 film favorite of Brennan + Amanda's), as well as the small, fleeting moments . . . a quick glance, a touch on the shoulder. The ceremony had both: take a look at some of amy's and my favorite shots of the ceremony as well as Brennan and Amanda on the beach afterwards:
And then, talk about setting one's intentions! Amanda had decided over the summer that she would walk into the ocean wearing her wedding dress on her wedding day. With no concerns about keeping the dress pristine, Amanda was able to do it ALL: climb on rocks, run through the surf, jump into tidepools, roll in the sand and YES! swim in the ocean in her wedding dress (which apparently gets heavy when wet!). Watching Amanda take that plunge into the ocean, knowing that she was driven by pure joy and by intense determination, was exhilerating, awe-inspiring, like seeing someone accomplish a physical feat they'd been training for for years. Amanda, rock on!!!!

There were so many wonderful moments from Brennan and Amanda's wedding, that it's been hard to narrow down photos for blog entries. So come see more by watching: Brennan + Amanda's Oregon wedding slideshow. And Amanda and Brennan, you have been the ideal SilverBox couple . . . so full of life and laughter, so bold and brave AND so intent on creating a wedding experience for you and your guests that was unique to you. Thanks and congrats!

~kim and amy