Commiting early...

 In the world of college athletic recruiting it's not uncommon to hear of prized players making their "verbal commitment" to a university before their senior year of high school.  Sometimes as a junior... sometimes as a sophomore even. 

It's not unheard of for colleges to start the recruiting process even as early as junior high.

While this isn't athletics, this one made her promise early on.

Very early on.

Like 5th Grade kinda early.

I had photographed Alexa and her brother a couple of times when they were young, and then suddenly, they started showing up on a rival's website.

While I've never been one to actively "recruit" or pressure clients one way or another, I couldn't help but be at least a little concerned.  I bumped into Alexa's folks all the time as she's my daughter's age... and her brother is in my oldest son's class at the same school.

Then came the explanation.

A business relationship with this rival afforded them a deal at the other studio that they couldn't refuse, but Alexa's mother, Megan assured me that her daughter had already made up her mind where she was going for senior pictures.

In fifth grade.  :)

I laughed and said I understood.   I appreciated the sentiments and figured a lot could change in six or seven years time.

Evidently her "verbal commitment" never wavered.

The photographic equivalent of signing her national letter of intent came a few months ago when Mama Megan called and took us up on our early bird special, and game day finally arrived this past Monday.

With all the competition that's out there nowadays, I certainly have a soft spot in my heart for Miss Alexa and her little girl dreams that turned into young lady realities this last week.

It wasn't without some anxious moments leading up to the event however.  I had just returned from my families' vacation a couple weeks back and I ran into Megan at the post office.

"Alexa has some ideas... but what about the REST of the images?  Do you just come up with those for us?"

I assured Megan that we would undoubtedly fill Alexa's preview book with so many images it would make her head spin... and in the end... I had much bigger problems than trying to make Alexa Boliver look good.

Monday rolled around and it didn't take long to figure out that Miss Alexa had very likely spent the lion's share of the last six years making plans for what she wanted out of this day.  Ok... maybe it was just the last year scouring over ideas on Pinterest... but you catch my drift.

Truth is, I valued her "homework" and it's always a fun challenge to take a senior's idea or vision and make it come to life for them.

The highlight of the day for Team Alexa (which included Megan, stepmom Nicki (also known as the Hair Czar) and I) was when Uncle Wade jumped into the fray by providing some elevation assistance for us.   We had just been out to Lake Wolken-Upah (also knows as the Quarry Lake just east of Ferguson) to capture some adorable water images on their pontoon and surrounding areas.  We even had to mix in an image with Grandpa Dan's combine.

But that's when the real fun began.

Alexa had a hope to get a shot in her East Marshall Cheerleading uniform on the field in LeGrand.  Normally not a big deal, and it's been done several times before... but we had a couple hurdles to clear.

Hurdle No. 1:  As many of you know the EM football complex is a little tore up right now as Construct, Inc. is turning over some serious dirt there in preparation of installing a new track.

Hurdle No. 2:  Miss Boliver wanted to be sitting UP ON THE GOALPOST.

Never fear... Uncle Wade (with a little help from little brother Blake) to the rescue.  Wade buzzed into LeGrand with a couple ladders to help get our fair maiden hoisted up on the crossbar.   Clinging to the upright for dear life with a look of near death on her face, Megan reminded her daughter that "this is what she wanted!"

Suddenly, it seemed Alexa wasn't so sure.

The crossbar sagged six-inches to a foot towards the back end of the endzone and even MY heart was racing a bit as I had visions of the entire structure crashing down. 

Alas, the images were captured and our Mustang Cheerleader was safely returned to ground level.

All that was left were a few images that highlighted her supercute red boots and a shot to show off her obsession with peacocks and the next thing you know... it seven hours had passed.

Seven years of preparation packed into seven hours of a whirlwind day full of laughs and memories.   Hopefully we made some new ones that she'll never forget.  Here's the payoff for your early commitment to my studio, Alexa.  Thanks so much for your choice. :)