Gone Fishin'... again.

I was told back in the spring... that this time... it was gonna be different.

I was at a track meet in Conrad when I bumped into a pair of twins that most in those parts will not soon forget.

Jamie and Nicole Fisher were back to watch their kid sister run track for the Comets.  Mama Linda was there, too.   I spent some time catching up with the ladies...

What had they been up to?   How were things going?   What were their future plans?

And then the topic changed from the NICL and Missouri Valley legends to MY immediate future.   And that future included Fisher sister No. 3.

Kayla Marie.

I was assured that she marched to her own drumbeat... and I was totally down with that.  I was asked if photographing with livestock was an option.  I told the girls that it wouldn't be the first time.

The good news to me was that evidently I had done enough with the twins that  no-nonsense Mama Linda was fully preparing to come back to our studio.  And while the task at hand was more all country than it was all state... that was perfectly ok... and just because she wasn't the Gatorade Player of the Year... didn't mean that she wasn't truly special in her own right.

Miss Kayla showed up... and while Team Fisher has opted to exclude the livestock that keeps their third daughter busy at the county and state fairs, I wasn't going to escape animals altogether.

I was informed a couple days prior to the session that a new member of the family had been added.  No... Scott and Linda aren't grandparents.... a new family PET had been added.   Milo the puppy was a freshly added adoptee to the Fisher household, and one glance at the image of Kayla and Milo... and one cannot deny that adding lab/collie mix to the session was not a good idea.

The rural/farm/country theme never really left our sights on this day.   In an era that finds me seeing much more bling than bales of hay... more stilettos than sticks... Kayla was a throwback... an country girl and proud of it.   And in my book... that's a-okay.

So we bounced from barns to fences... from sheds to swings.. from hay racks to chair backs... all in an effort to showcase Kayla... her way.

Sure we finished up the day by donning a couple Comet uniforms.   The familiar softball pinstripes have been traded in for a modern sleek black look and the BCLUW cross country uni's made an appearance as well

It was homecoming week last week for Comet Nation.   And with the reappearance of Linda, and daughter Nicole it indeed felt like a homecoming of sorts for me.   We shared old stories and gave each other a hard time and got caught up on what's happened between 2009 and 2014 in each other's lives.

So yes... Kayla was a different kid than her twin sisters.   Nevertheless... she was absolutely spectacular in her own right.   I think all of us parents will readily agree that each of our children are amazingly different and blessings in their own ways.   It was my job to showcase Kayla's style and personality... and I hope she feels that I did just that.

Thanks Team Fisher for allowing me to be your Gatorade Photographer of the Year... and your Best In Show for all of your girls.