My Sister's Best Friend | WEDDING, FAMILY, & CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER | PEKIN, ILLINOIS

When we were growing up, my parents were friends with the Meekers. And, it was a ton of fun to go to their house for supper, because they had two daughters that were the same ages as me and my older sister. As you grow up, you get busy with sports, 4-H, and other extracurricular activies, and I think somehow the friendship between my older sister Karen and their oldest daughter Sherry drifted apart.

However, one year Karen was going to the National FFA convention, and Sherry was the only other girl in FFA at our high school; so, they shared a hotel room...and they've been the best of friends ever since. And, it's a win for all of Karen's sisters because Sherry is one of those friends that is thoughtful and giving to not only Karen but to all of her sisters too! When you get a gift from Sherry, you kind of start smiling before you even open it, because it's a given that you're going to laugh! She gave me the movie "Monster-in-Law" for my wedding shower gift(complete with a pizza cutter, pizza mix, microwave popcorn, and comfy blanket for movie-watching) and she gave Colby her first swimsuit complete with hot pink sunglasses! In any case, I think you get the drift as to what kind of person Sherry is...a kind person with a sense of humor!

So, when Sherry emailed me to see if I would take updated family pictures of her three boys and little girl, I was thrilled that I could finally do something for Sherry! Sherry, thank you so much for all you've done for the Rankin sisters over the years! You're one of of us! Kelly

A few of my favorites from the session are below. Click here to see a few more.

PS - Please note, my MIL is NOT a Monster-in-Law...she's a really great MIL!...Plus, I know she reads my blog! :)

This is one of those pictures that makes me feel old. Oldest son Kody was born when I was in college. Now make no mistake, he's in high school...but in this picture I feel like he looks 19. Geesh.

Kaleb was born to be Mr. GQ someday. I could say "Smile slightly...now just a little bit more...tilt your held to the left"....and he was a natural! And, every single one of his pictures are this good! Each with a different smile and tilt of the head!!!


And Karter. When we met up with each other, Sherry told me that they had no formal pictures of Karter since he was one year old.....he was that horrible when there was a camera around. He and I took off and had a good old time around my aunt's place in the country. I was really proud of myself that I had gotten Karter to do so well. Later I found out that Sherry had threatened him that he couldn't go to our hometown's festival that weekend if he didn't do well in his pictures that night. It was like taking a needle to a balloon....there went my ego!

This is my favorite of their family pictures. And yes, I know they're not looking at the camera for the most part, but at the kitty. But the littlest one of the bunch wouldn't stand still for the family picture unless the kitty was nearby. Kody held the wild kitty as long as possible until it leaped from his arms. This picture shows the group as they watched the kitty run away to freedom from little hands! I love it!

And, this little girl didn't care if she missed the Popcorn festival! We were to make sure and capture her birthday pictures! However, she ran, she hid, she scampered to get away from the camera...

...but I finally got her. :)

Thanks for checking in! Kelly