Oh... The Places We'll Go...

I was warned...

Repeatedly.

I had already worked with this family one other time.   Daughter Alexandra... East Marshall Class of 2011.

Sweet. Quiet.  Shy.  Unassuming.

And THEN there's Daughter Number Two.

Being a life long card carrying member of the East Marshall Community, I was vaguely familiar with Jay and Amy Wyatt's second baby girl.  That being said, I found out quickly I had a thing or two to learn.

Oh, I was told (in retrospect, I think it was actually threatened) about Samantha.

She's our wild one.

She's different.

She's a handful.

You just wait.

You have NO idea.

I thought... I seen and heard it all over the past two decades... Bring. It. On.

So the day finally arrived, and Mama Amy had asked in advance if we could go to some place special to Sami and the family.   Of course I said yes... and we were on the road... To Eldora.

Turns out that the WHOLE fam damily spends a good portion of their summer at Camp Quaker Heights.   A camp ground get away for members of the Friends Church from all around the area, Amy thought it would be a nice place to pick up some fall foilage... and document an area that holds a special place in Samantha's heart.

While it might not show in the photographs, it was a BRUTALLY cold morning.   How Sami tolerated it... I'll never know.   I'm bundled up... and there's Samantha... short sleeves... a PROM dress of all things!   BRRRRRRRRR!   Add in a stiff wind and we had our work cut out for us... but Sami was a champ.

It seems to be just a part of her personality that seemingly NOTHING will phase her.   I think the girl is in a perpetual state of giggling.   What a wonderful way to go through life, huh?

So we bounced all over the camp grounds on golf carts and a Gator ATV.   The colors were amazing... and certainly worth the trip.

But wait!  There's more!

I had suggested to Amy when she called that why we were up north, we should get some urban images of our crazy gal in Eldora, since I hadn't ever done that town before.  

Not surprisingly, they were game.

So there we were... in a hard-to-miss prom dress... in the center of town, making a spectacle with our purple princess.

Sure we got some garden variety what-the-heck-are-you-doing looks from the good folks of Eldora.   But we wouldn't have it any other way.

It was one laugh after another as Team Wyatt (it WAS a team... sister Alex and Papa Jay were with us as well!) bopped all over the town square getting some of my favorite images from the session.

I said SOME.

I'll reserve my FAVORITE images for the first and last pictures in this blog.

I had seen plenty of her outrageous side throughout the day, but when we returned to Montour for the indoor part... she certainly saved her best for last.

Samantha had brought in a Dr. Suess "Cat In the Hat" style lid for me to photograph.   And if there ever was a trademark image for a senior... it was this one.   Fittingly she had a "Sam I Am" shirt from the Green Eggs and Ham fame... and, of course... the Wyatt's know that they can count on this ornery hombre to take the ball and run with it.

Run with it I did then... as I did my own share of giggling last night as I prepped the Sam-I-Am collage, if you will.   It's priceless Samantha at her finest.   But if all of this wasn't enough... she did have one more surprise for me.

The girls left the camera room after i did the collage series... and told me they would be back with one more added twist...

I was told she was gonna change her hairstyle... and I was simply going to have to wait.

The girls returned... and the guilty grin on Sami's face told me I was in for it... but I still didn't know WHAT she was up to.

A video of the "unveiling" may be the only thing that could have done proper justice to what I saw as Samantha began to lift her tall hat.   But the final image of this blog will have to do.   The slow-mo lifting of her hat was just like the Energizer Bunny... it just kept going... and Going... and GOING!  

"WHAT THE HECK!!!!"

I've seen a lot of hairstyles over the years... but I can safely say that THAT one was NOT one of them.

Outrageous?  Yes.  

A fitting way to end a crazy session with amazing girl and a family I adore?

Absolutely.

Thank you.
Thank you.
Sam-I-am.

;)