Relay For Life 2016

On June 27, 2016 By LindyIn charity, photography

Saturday night was my 7th American Cancer Society Relay For Life event. I love Relay for so many reasons – from the cause, to the camaraderie, to the symbolism. A few of this year’s highlights:

I had the biggest team to date, with 30 people representing Team Dukes.
Our team raised over $3,000 – approximately $27,000 over the last six years!
I’m proud to say we had a breast cancer survivor on our team this year!
My husband made a couple of awesome light-up signs for our team – one we carried around as we walked the track for eight hours.
Thanks in part to all of the above, our team won the Spirit of Relay award!
My thoughtful team gave me a framed, signed print and a pedicure thanking me for being team captain (even though I couldn’t do it without them).
My 2-year-old stayed up until 1 a.m., playing hard around the track, in the long jump sand pit, and in the bounce house. She was a crazy, fun, hot mess!

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Family Portrats – Liberty Memorial

On May 3, 2016May 3, 2016 By LindyIn photography, portraits

I loved working with this family last fall, and I couldn’t be happier that they asked me to do their extended family portraits this spring! Kansas City’s Liberty Memorial is a great place for photos – the obvious iconic memorial, the city skyline, the steps and stone, and the greenery offer a ton of variety. I was pumped that they had a few of their own ideas for fun poses. And what’s not to love about mint green Chuck Taylor’s?

Kyleigh’s Gift 5k

On October 13, 2014October 13, 2014 By LindyIn charity, photography

This weekend we participated in a very special event – the first annual Kyleigh’s Gift 5k/3k Run/Walk. It was held in conjunction with National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in memory of Kyleigh, a baby who passed away unexpectedly during childbirth. The money raised goes toward a fund her family started to provide sleep sacks for each baby born at Liberty Hospital. It’s a cause near and dear to many people’s hearts – most of us know someone who has lost a baby or had a miscarriage.

On a more upbeat note – I loved the lively atmosphere with all the kiddos! Check out the photos below.

Best balloon animal ever. — Best balloon animal ever

A butterfly release to remember Kyleigh. — A butterfly release to remember Kyleigh

Kyleigh's parents and brothers. — Kyleigh’s parents and brothers

Adorable kid's fun run. — Adorable kid’s fun run

This cutie was more interested in my camera than the fun run. — This cutie was more interested in my camera than winning the run

Photo(s) of the Day: Nature Sanctuary

On September 4, 2014September 4, 2014 By LindyIn nature, photography

One of the aspects I love about where I live is that despite the size (pop. ~30,000), and the location (the Midwest), there are still fun things to do. The Matha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary is a great way to spend a morning or afternoon. We’ve taken a picnic and gone on a few hikes there twice now, but this was the first time with Baby K. Saturday felt like a nice day, until we started hiking in the sun. It was hot. We saw a lot of small wildlife though, and it was so nice to have a laid back Saturday afternoon – the first one in months! If only we had Labor Day once a week instead of once a year!

9-4_IMG_1330 — These flowers attracted a lot of bees. (What kind of flower is it?)

9-4_IMG_1334 — Along the Rush Creek trail. The water was too high to cross and continue the hike.

9-4_IMG_1350 — Baby K taking a breather after being in the hot Ergo carrier.

9-4_IMG_1359 — Baby K observing a caterpillar. She loves The Hungry Caterpillar book!

Photo of the Day: Sunset at the Corn Maze

On November 16, 2013November 15, 2013 By LindyIn nature, photography3 Comments

One of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen recently was at the Liberty Corn Maze. (Check out yesterday’s post to learn more about this fun outing.)

Photo of the Day: Date Night at the Corn Maze

On November 15, 2013November 15, 2013 By LindyIn nature, photography1 Comment

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I had a rare, fun evening date at the Liberty Corn Maze. Their mazes are amazing – five different mazes form a really intricate design – this year was the Kansas City WWI Museum. Four of them are over 2.5 miles long! We had a lot of fun finding the checkpoints throughout three of the four mazes.

A side note … this week we had a date night at our local library, watching Charles Dickens’ great-great grandson perform A Christmas Carol! Not only was the performance top-notch, but it was free. As infrequently as we do it, unique date nights are really key to keeping a relationship strong.

Photo of the Day: Free Love Van

On June 2, 2013 By LindyIn photography, street photography1 Comment

I’m a day behind on posting a photo, but yesterday was so busy. We started the day at 5 a.m. when we woke up to participate in the Hospital Hill run with a few friends. My husband and I ran the 10k in about 57 minutes, which I thought was pretty good considering all of the hills. I placed 169/1189 women. Check out my friend Julie’s blog to see photos and read more about it. After that our group had brunch at a cute downtown restaurant, then we went with Julie to the Liberty Arts Festival. The weather was gorgeous, and we enjoyed that the festival wasn’t overwhelmingly large. Although we didn’t purchase anything, it was fun to look at all the local artists’ talent. And all of that happened before 1 p.m. Below is my favorite piece of “art” from the art fest!