Moving Day!!

Today's the day! I've got my new blog moved to my server, so come visit! All new posts and information will now be at www.prochazkaphotography.com/blog. It's a great new design, with more space for slideshows, larger images and best of all, it's easier to update! See you there!

Merry Christmas from the Prochazkas...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Ahhh... the holidays are here!

If you haven't guessed already, I'm taking a bit of a break for the holidays! It gets pretty crazy around here with Christmas coming (soon!) so I decided to take it easy this year. Don't worry, I'm still accepting print orders and booking sessions for January after everything calms down. 2009 is booking up fast for weddings so if there's a date you're interested in, please let me know!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season! I'll still be posting here (pictures of our various Christmas adventures - we're headed to the Polar Express this weekend and I can guarantee there will be a lot of pictures from that!)

We're Back!

What a wonderful trip we had! We went to Bermuda to celebrate our annivesary (and the kids stayed home - thanks Nana, Papa and Grandma for watching them!) The water was gorgeous, the weather was perfect (high 70s and sunny!) And what made it even better was hearing about all the snow they were getting at home! We stayed at Cambridge Beaches, which I can't recommend enough! Everyone was so friendly and the service was excellent. Plus the rooms had amazing views and were huge! So if you're planning a trip to Bermuda any time soon, check out Cambridge Beaches. I told Drew that I'm glad we booked this trip a long time ago since it was before the economy started to fall apart. We definitely would have held off going if we had waited to book it just because it seems like the whole world is in flux right now. But I'm thrilled we got to go - it was worth every penny!

Now we're home and getting back into the routine of everyday life. Here are a few of the pictures from our trip (I know, there's a lot, but it was really wonderful!)

Christmas Orders...

Just a reminder that all Christmas orders must be placed on or before November 20, 2008 in order to guarantee Christmas delivery. This includes print and custom card orders.

Also, I will be on vacation until Tuesday, November 19. I will return e-mails and phone calls when I get back.

Sarah & Greg

Halloween night... Could you think of a date that would be more fun for a wedding? I don't think so! This wedding was an absolute blast! Patti (Sarah's mom) contacted me a few months back and asked if I'd be interested in covering the wedding and of course I said YES!! She told me the reception was costumed, so I couldn't wait to see what everyone came up with. I love Halloween and the idea of a Halloween wedding sounded like a great time!

And I was right! All the ghosts, goblins and witches came out for the event (heck, even that creepy Burger King dude made an appearance!) Everyone was in character (as you can see from the pictures!) In the wedding party alone there was a devil, Jack the Ripper, Jose Cuervo, a couple of winged creatures, a mobster, a sportsfan and a witch! I got a real good laugh out of watching the Ninjas serve coffee! That's something you don't see every day!

Thanks for letting me be a part of your day, Sarah & Greg! You were made for each other and I have no doubt that you will be together for a very, very long time!

Happy Halloween!

Ok, so I'm a bit late posting this. But better late than never, right? Yesterday was a but of a crazy day for us here. Colin's pre-k class had a halloween party, then we went out to do trick-or-treating before I had to leave for a very cool halloween wedding last night. Phew! But we made it through - and more importantly, the kids got tons and tons of candy! They're still working off the sugar buzz. Tonight I am shooting my little sister's sweet 16 party, so they'll get a chance to dance it off! It's been a busy 2 weeks here for sure!

The kids always crack me up on halloween. You would think they had never had candy before. The way their eyes light up when people put candy into their bags is just hilarious! You can always tell when they "get it" too - all of a sudden they look up at us like "so all we have to do is go up to a house and people actually give us candy??!!" And then they literally run from house to house from that point on.

Meg couldn't get enough of her lollipop!

The kids actually sat down together!!! *shock* Not the best spot for a pic, but hey, I was just happy to have them still for a second! And see the bruise/cut on Meg's nose? That's courtesy of Colin. The other day when we had all the snow the kids were having snowball fights and Colin threw a snowball at Meg that had ice in the middle (he had no idea). Needless to say it hit her square in the face and she's been sporting a nice bruise and some cuts. Poor little girl!

Eating cupcakes at his halloween party

Meggie loved the masks! This mask is for Kourtnie's party tonight!

Congratulations Jessica & Joe!

What a fun wedding this was! The ceremony was beautiful, the bride radiant and they were surrounded by all of their friends and family. I can honestly say I have never, ever seen such a long conga line! I really believe all 200+ guests joined in with it. It rained (and "rained" might be putting it lightly - it poured and that combined with the wind made for some nasty weather), but that was ok too because it became part of the day. The umbrellas became props and the rain soaked windows added atmosphere. Jessica & Joe had a beautiful day despite the weather - they made it beautiful with their smiles and laughter.

One really special touch was the fact that Adrienne, Jessica's sister, hired out the Roberson Mansion for pictures after the ceremony. We had a ball going from room to room and picking out different scenes to play. It was a perfect indoor place to shoot!

Here's a few of my favorites from the day. Enjoy!

CONGRATULAIONS TARA!!!

I just got an e-mail from Tara's mom telling me that is the 2008 Homecoming Queen! Congraulations Tara! I'm so excited for you!! (And look for a little something special in your order!) :)

Here's beautiful Tara from her senior session...

Abbie & Tim

This couple was truly made for each other! Add to that the fact that they were cracking each other (and me!) up during the entire shoot and you can imagine how much fun we had! We walked around town a bit before deciding to take the session into the woods. They are getting married next fall and I'm so excited about it! If the e-session was this much fun - imagine what the wedding will be like!

Here's a couple of shots for you!





And my favorite!

Beautiful Brooke...

Remember Tara, who I had the pleasure of photographing about 6 weeks ago? This is her neice, Brooke. In her senior pictures, Tara had an orange bracelet on in support of her sister's little girl. When we started talking, Tara told me how Brooke had been in and out of the hospital since birth, due to heart, lung and digestive issues.

Since our kids were all preemies (and then Teagan was rehospitalized at 3 months with meningitis) talking about hospitals, procedures, and terms all brought it back and I knew I wanted to do something to help. Even with great insurance, having a child in the hospital usually means that you're spending every penny you have driving back and forth to doctor appointments, visiting the hospital, eating out - there's not much left at the end of the week for luxury items like photography. So I asked Lisa if she'd like to bring Brooke over for a free session. She was thrilled and I am so happy to give this family something to treasure.

And without further ado... here's your sneak peek, Lisa and Jay! Hope you love them! It was wonderful to meet you and your precious little girl. She really is a little miracle!

Meghan & Justin

What a sweet couple! They are expecting their first baby - a little girl - and are SO excited about her! With just a little over 3 weeks to go, they came over for a maternity session. Just a couple of my favorites so far!

Little Miss Unnamed...

We happened to be down on the island for a wedding when we got the call that good friends of ours had just had a little girl! They already have 2 boys and hadn't found out what they were having before she was born. So we were thrilled to hear that the baby was a girl and that both mom and baby were doing great! This morning on our way home, we stopped at the hospital quick to say Hi and meet little girl (she doesn't have a name yet!)

Introducing Miss V.

Meeting her cousin

Snuggling with Grandma

K & R are thrilled to have a little sister! They can't wait for her to come home with mommy!

Grandma with the big brothers

A Pirate Looks at Four...

We had a pirate themed birthday planned for all our family yesterday. We all had fun watching the cousins play together - they are riots! Colin got a Pirate Ship, which was a huge hit (Colin was the captain, so he made sure we all stayed in our seats in the "ship").

Anyway, the party went great. The rain held off (thank goodness) and we had fun! I'm glad to have the planning over with! So here's a few pictures of Pirate Colin turning 4!

Colin's mean pirate face

The girls finally got to play with the pirate ship - Meg even got to wear the hat!

Kissing Cousins!

Colin's pirate cake (I made it myself!)

And finally everyone got to take home a carmel apple. We went apple picking Friday so that we'd have fresh apples for the favors!

Our Baby Boy Turns 4!!

It really is true what they say - that once you have kids the time just flies by. Our son is turing 4 today - actually, not technically until tonight. 6:29pm. 4 years old! He's brought so much joy to our lives and we're very blessed to have been entrusted to raise him. Ok - that's all I'm going to say before I get really sappy!

Colin's 4 year pictures (this took some major bribing, but we got a few that I love!)




And my favorite! There's a story behind the scooter. When we were up in Maine vacationing we went into a toy store. Colin found this scooter and fell in love with it. As soon as we left the store he said "Did you see that scooter, Mom? Wow - that was the coolest scooter ever! It's beautiful! And it rides great!" He spent the rest of the vacation going on and on about it. So as soon as we got home we ordered it and hid it in the garage. Or so we thought. Last week Colin went in the garage to get his fishing pole and came out saying "What's in the box, Mom? The box with my scooter in it?" I told him it was for someone else and he didn't mention it again for a while. Then an hour later he asked if we were ever going to let him open his scooter since he saw it in the garage. So we called Daddy at work to ask him if it was ok to open the scooter (I wasn't sure if he wanted to be there to see his reaction). When Drew said Yes, it was ok, Colin ran into the garage and came back staggering under the weight of the box. He was SO excited! Little sneak!! :)