BFF & Company

My best friend Julie is married to Kyle.

Kyle and I have a love/hate relationship.

I love him.

He hates me.

Well… I don’t know if he ACTUALLY hates me, but I am pretty positive that I drive him nuts.  And oh my heavens do I love it.  Example… Kyle doesn’t like to talk on the phone and I make it my own personal challenge to force him to have a conversation with me every time he answers the phone when I call Julie.  He’s kind of a serious fellow, and see, that just doesn’t cut it with me.  That’s why talking about “farting” to make his children laugh and watching him be completely appalled… makes my day.

Like I said… I love him.  I also LOVE this photo.  I love that my BFF is smiling her real smile not her “posed at JCPenney’s smile” and I LOVE that Kyle is laughing and the real him shows up.  Not the serious doesn’t like to talk on the phone guy, but the I love my wife and kids guy.  Sidenote, they are both laughing because I told them not to smile.  Funny how that works.

These are the offspring of Julie + Kyle.

Not everyone LOVES a Kathy McCloy photo shoot…

OH MY GOSH did that pic of Brooklyn just make you laugh out loud?  I think that might be my favorite from the entire shoot.  Here she is redeeming herself…

Little bro Coy.  I love the name Coy.  That was always my boy name (before I actually had kids).  Darn it Otey and your surname.  Coy McCloy.  Just couldn’t do that to a kid.

Julie always talks about how her kids fight like cats and dogs. Don’t they look like they are about to get in trouble in this next shot.  Perfect.

Kyle had a great idea to drive a few miles down the road to this way cool old barn.  I had trouble editing this photo (I’m a tad OCD).  See how the ground is level… the barn is really leaning that much to the left.  In photos that you can see the horizon line, I REALLY like them to be perfectly level.  The way the barn leans made my eye (and my OCD) go crazy.  I love the character it adds, but at first glance I want to tilt my head.

How about the crazy Bender family and myself climbing up in to the old loft?  It was odd how clean it was.  No old hay… isn’t that odd?  An old barn, with a loft… and no old hay?  Odd… but nice.

Sure love my friend… sure love her family… and sure love the chance to photograph things I love.