Riley's Baptism Pics

It is hard to believe Riley is turning 8...as are several of her friends. I still remember them all when they were tiny. In our church, the age of 8 is significant. This is the age they are baptized a member as they have reached the age of accountability. Riley has been looking forward to this as several of her church friends (and classmates) have already hit this age this year. Now, it was her turn. I had been looking since early spring for a dress for her to wear. It's hard to find a white dress with sleeves that is not too expensive (at least I had a hard time) but then I might be picky. My mom has a friend who runs a costume rental shop that also rents wedding dresses and such. Well, the wedding dress part was being sold or gotten rid of so she was able to bring down some dresses (flower girl type) for Riley to try on. We found one and my mom could get it for like $25 and it could be hemmed. It wasn't Riley's favorite because the sleeves were too puffy but it looked good on her and it was the right price. I had this idea in my head to take pics of her in the dress outside so I could use it for her announcements. I racked my brain on where to take the pics. One morning when I was running, I found the place. I took her to a butterfly garden that sits in between two towns (Winter Garden and Oakland) and right off bike trail. I had to borrow a camera since my lens was broken and couldn't be fixed when I needed it. I'm so lucky to have a friend who was willing to let me borrow their NICE camera for these pics. It was fun taking the pics and I was lucky and got some shots I really like and that let her personality come through.