**Matilda Jane Clothing Virtual Trunk Show**

Announcing a special discounted session for the little girls in your life...your daughters, nieces, friends, etc. Receive 50% off your session when you purchase an outfit from my Matilda Jane Virtual Trunk Show next week. Sorry, no boys allowed :( They only have girl clothes and they have just launched their new fall line.

Kelly Vanderploeg
is hosting a

MATILDA JANE CLOTHING VIRTUAL TRUNK SHOW


Monday, September 8th -
Thursday, September 11th

CHECK OUT THE MATILDA JANE COLLECTION
@

http://www.matildajaneclothing.com/ (click on "the goods")



THE DETAILS...

Questions or want to place an order?
Please call or email Matilda Jane Trunk Keeper,
Debbie Katz
847.945.1822
debrarkatz@hotmail.com


Matilda Jane has sizes 12m-10 year and a line for women

Even sizes only.
Order based on your child’s age.
Shipping takes 2 -4 WEEKS.
Your order will ship directly to you!


Shipping rates:
Order Retail Value
Shipping Charge
$0 - $50.00
$7.50
$50.01 - $100.00
$9.00
$100.01 - $200.00
$10.50
$200.00 +
$13.00
For Express Shipping
Add $18.00 to above shipping rates


Return/Exchange Policies:
· All non-defective returns/exchanges must be made within 45 days of order.
· A 15% restocking fee applies to all non-defective returns.
· Refunds will be issued the same way as the purchase.
· The cost of shipping is the responsibility of the customer on non-defective items.
· Matilda Jane is not responsible for customer returns that are not received.
· All defective or mis-shipped merchandise must be returned within 90 days of order and will be accepted upon MJC inspection. Company will cover customer shipping expense up to a $6.95 value.
· An EXCHANGE/DEFECTIVE form (on back of order form) MUST be completely filled out and returned with the garments.


http://www.matildajaneclothing.com/

Contact me at kelly@kellyvanderploegphotography.com after you place your order and we will set up a date for your fashion session in your new, trendy, fun Matilda Jane clothes :) Enjoy!

Emily

Meet beautiful Emily...she has left us for the college life now, but is still offering to babysit for Brynn when she comes in town. She is such a sweetheart and Brynn adores her. We are so lucky to have met her.


She is so smiley, so I quick grabbed this shot before we started laughing again. I kept asking for her "serious" face, but this girl is so happy-go-lucky, that it was hard for her to look mysterious.

This is the Emily we know and love :D

Emily, best of luck to you as you venture off to college. You are going to do great things and we will miss you very much. I will most definitely take you up on your babysitting offers when you come back to town :)

Loving my new life...Day One

Usually when Brynn is sleeping, I am slaving frantically over my computer editing, ordering, e-mailing and blogging while my heart beats rapidly and I am short of breath praying that she doesn't wake up for just fifteen more minutes.

But not anymore...

Yesterday, Brynn took a nap in the afternoon and I decided that it was time I started working on getting rid of these bags under my eyes and trying to regain some of that brain power that I have lost due to sleep deprivation. It was glorious...three hours of feeling the warm summer breeze whip through my windows while my mind floated away into dreamland and I woke feeling rejuvinated and wondering why I didn't do that more often.

Today is my first day as a full-time photographer and while I scramble around here trying to fill orders, go to the post office, edit pics and return e-mails, I was thinking, why didn't I think of doing this a long time ago? I am so happy doing what I love. No more thoughts of law school from now on.

Now, if I ever get all my work done, my next priority will be to have a clean house, cook dinner for all of us (cereal doesn't count!), and get my priorities back in order. I feel like a weight has been lifted off me.

Happy Monday everyone!

Paul Ruby Foundation Golf Outing

I had the honor of attending and doing some shooting at the annual Paul Ruby Foundation Golf Outing at Tanna Farms Golf Course in Geneva, IL. The Paul Ruby Foundation was organized by Paul Ruby, who also suffers from the unfortunate effects of Parkinson's disease.

The mission of the Paul Ruby Foundation for Parkinson's Research is to increase awareness about the disease and to raise money for Parkinson's research in partnership with the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital for the shared vision of increasing clinical research to extend the knowledge and treatment of Parkinson's disease. - Paul Ruby




Here are the volunteer caddies in their "fuscia" shirts. Aren't they handsome?




It also happened to be Paul Ruby's birthday.

These burgers were the size of our heads.

This is Paul Ruby's doctor at Northwestern.

A toast to Paul...he's the man.

A good time was had by all...the weather could not have been more perfect and they raised a boatload of money for research from the silent auction and all of the day's events. Chad and his foursome happened to be the lucky winners...Chad even won 'closest to the pin'...must have been his lucky day.

Kyle

This is Kyle with "long" hair. I was fortunate enough to squeeze Kyle in for his senior pictures before he had to cut his hair for the first day of school. Now he is sportin' a buzz for Marmion Academy.

He is an awesome golfer, so we did some shots with his Payne Stewart hat. He was totally rockin' it out.

Gorgeous lighting...

Kyle, thanks for being so easy to work with and best of luck to you with golf and your senior year. Looking forward to doing your shots in your uniform :)

Ella again....

Ella is growing and changing by the hour...here are some shots from last week.

The proud mom and dad :)

A few shots of her beautiful nursery.

I hope she likes polka dots ;)

Kathlyn & Mike

It was amazing that we pulled this engagement session off...after having to reschedule due to an unfortunate event with mosquito bites and an incident which required the use of a bandage...finally, on the night we did get together, the dark western sky rumbled, groaned and threatened to open up on us at any moment and drench our efforts at capturing the love shared between Kathlyn & Mike.

This was a quick session due to the weather, but this couple is so sweet and so in love that it made my job easy. I think they forgot I was there and truly enjoyed just being in each other's company.

Thank you guys for being unfazed by the heavy, humid air and the impending monsoon-like weather that rushed our session. I can not wait for your wedding in December and for you two to start the rest of your lives together.

My Big Announcement...

No, I am not pregnant...as many of you have inquired ;)

After much consideration and with some hesitance, I turned in my notice at the lawfirm and am now going to be focusing all my free time on Brynn and my photography. I feel very blessed and fortunate to be able to pursue my passion for photography. Not everyone can say that they love what they do, but I get to join that minority of people.

My sister got me this little knick-knacky mini ceramic plate from my favorite store in Geneva, Cocoon, and I think this quote could not have summed it up in a more appropriate and endearing way.

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I have not a single bit of talent left and could say 'I used everything you gave me.'" -Erma Bombeck

I am thrilled to jump into this new endeavor head first and take my business to the next level. I have so many ideas for new products and some specials coming in the months ahead. By the way, holiday season is approaching so be sure to schedule your session. My new schedule will be much more accommodating, but I am going to be sure to make more time to live my life, spend time with my family and watch my daughter grow.

Cheers!

Katie & Steve

**Edited to add for photographers: I shot this entire session with my Nikon 50mm, 1.8 prime lense. I love it and it it so crisp.**

My sister and I have an identical sense of humor. We find some situations absolutely hilarious and we know what the other is thinking with just a split second of eye contact. We also love to call each other out and anyone else who deserves a good jab. We can definitely laugh at ourselves. There is only one other person who comes close to keeping up with us...

Meet Katie:



Court, Katie and I always laugh this hard when we are together. We mostly love laughing at ourselves and being goofy.

I have known Katie since she was a little neighborhood girl and her and Court used to jump on our trampoline together and I would help them make up dance routines...Janet Jackson, anyone?

Katie found the love of her life when she was in college and they have been inseparable ever since....

Meet Steve:




Steve enjoys a good laugh too. They are such a great couple and so much fun to be around. They are tying the knot next summer. My time spent with Katie and Steve walking around downtown Geneva was such a blast.




Not much to say about their pics, except, aren't they gorgeous? I will let the rest of the images speak for themselves. You will see how much fun this was for all of us.

See, she thinks I am the funniest person ever.

Thank you guys for following me and trusting me as I dragged you all around town. You guys are the best :)