As most of you may know, Chihuahuas can be a little shy and tend to get nervous around new people and new big, black objects looking at them (aka, the camera). When I first met Lola and Charo, I took the safe approach and greeted them with treats and stayed down on their level. Charo, the long-haired fuzzy one of the pair, instantly was a fan! Anyone that gave her attention was a-ok in her book. Lola was a little more timid but I could tell she would eventually come out of her shell. As a matter of fact, I was 99% sure that she would be a camera ham by the end. (Spoiler alert! I was right!)
I introduce Charo...
...and Lola...
Charo instantly fell into her top model ways. I'm pretty sure she's done this before. ;) She was completely ready to show off her "frizzy cotton ball" look!
Lola hung back for a while but really started to come out of her shell once we reached the beach at Lake Norman.
She was pretty interested in the water and even got her toes a little wet at one point!
The sisters had a blast running around on the sand!
Such cuties!!!!
Right about this time, Lola really started to steal the show. She totally "got it" and was ready to work it!
Lola's like, "yeah, I got this!"
When we walked out to the peninsula, we were greeted with the most amazing sunset! Most of the session was shot with cloudy skies - something I normally avoid. However, they worked in our favor since we wanted to capture the background of the lake. As the clouds parted, the sky turned the most gorgeous shades of orange, pink, and purple!
And the family enjoying the lovely views...
I heart this sweet family and I hope you enjoyed their sneak peek!
Scooby attended the event to keep all the pups happy and to lead the walk.
The day started off with a 5K trail run...
Then it was time for the 1-mile dog walk! Scooby stretched beforehand...
And they're off!!!
Afterward, attendees enjoyed some time to visit the vendors, view adoptable pups, and participate in a costume contest.
An agility course was also set up to entertain the dogs (and people). ;)
A super-awesome flyball course was set up for people to try out and for demonstrations.
Thank you so much to everyone that attended this year's event! To see more pictures from the day, check out the entire gallery here: 
Sullivan started off the session a little on the shy side. He wanted to stay right by mom...
unless we brought out his ball!!!! As a side note - I think he has the longest tongue ever!!
Sullivan was a little obsessed with the ball but it worked to our advantage. It got him to venture away from mom and we got some super fun shots of him! I love the one on the left. He's all like, "I know you didn't get a picture of me missing!!!" He made up for it on the right. ;)
Again...that light! I die!!!!
Nash on the other hand, was a total camera ham. At 11 years old, he was pretty chill and did anything for some attention. His smile was super-contagious!
Nash enjoyed the scenery as much as we did!
He is seriously the happiest little man I've ever seen...
More fun with Sullivan in heavenly light!
Oh Nash. You steal my heart in this image! 
And the two boys together. We were so excited they did this because they aren't known to hang out too much together. Good boys!!!
These brothers are 2 years old and have the good looks to go with the young age! Barkley is the darker of the two and Bailey, well, I guess she just wanted to stick her tongue out...
In certain light, these two seriously glowed gold. I wonder if they are 14 or 24 karat?
Barkley and Bailey have a huge pen that they hang out in when they want to go outside. They are on full-force playtime when they are out there!
I love that the leaves were starting to fall and collect on the ground. Ahhhhhhhh...Fall...
Barkley had a good ol' time playing with the flurry of leaves.
Bailey was way more interested in the squeaky ball I brought.
But he also took some time to play in the leaves. :)
I'd like to meet the person that could say no to this face!!!
More gorgeousness in the leaves. I love how Barkley and Bailey blend right in - total camo!
This is my favorite of Rudy and his mom...
I'm so glad things remained fun and positive during the session. These smiles and kisses are etched into my memory now...
I told you I'd try to keep this from being too sad of a posting. With a face like Rudy's sister, Penelope, you can't help but laugh. This goofy girl has the tongue, legs, floppy ears, and dirty nose to cheer anyone up!
More Rudy lovin'...
We brought Rudy inside to give him a break from the stresses of the outdoors. He was just posing away once he relaxed on the bed. He even jumped in for a picture with his sis.
And even shared the love with her...
Another one of my favs with mama...
And because we have to leave on a fun and positive note, one last image of goofy Penelope. 
Pellie certainly has the most chill personality. She likes to just hang out, lay around, and eat anything available.
Lazer, on the other hand, is pretty go-go-go! He LOVES balls and always wants a body to play with! And he has the most handsome smile as you can see.
Every once. in. a. while. Pellie will grow a wild hair and will actually play a bit. I felt pretty special to witness the occurrence not very often caught on film...
Lazer's all business. Are you gonna throw that?!?
Pellie gets goofy for a minute...
But goes right back to doing what she love most...
I was so excited to go inside to grab a few shots. Their house was recently redone and it was totally my style - loved it! A huge window behind the couch washed the room with some really wonderful natural light and Lazer decided to pose in front of it. Pellie's not quite sure what he's doing!
Ooooooooohhhhhhhh! Lazer's trying to get on the couch! I'm gonna tell!!!!
And I had to finish this post with a couple more goofy shots. Of course, Lazer is in take-off mode...ready to leap off the porch at a moment's notice.
And Pellie, who probably was just rewarded with a yummy snack.
I didn't have any session booked this trip so I took advantage of my oh-so-reluctant model, Sadie. She usually HATES when I pull out my camera...she knows what's coming. However, when she's been playing on the beach for 3 days straight, she has little care left and tends to be a little exhausted and distracted.
I'm kinda obsessed with this image. I immediately downloaded it to my phone and set it as my wallpaper. It looks amazing at a large size and I've really been digging the long, horizontal panoramic crops lately. This will be enlarged big somewhere soon!
Sadie found her second calling on the sandy shores. She dug to her hearts delight pushing every grain of sand she could between her big webbed toes. She even used her snout when she became frustrated with the sand that kept falling back in her ever-so-important tunnel.
This is her victory roll for a successful dig. Because she wasn't dirty enough. ;)
Nothing that a good rinse off couldn't take care of.
This is the second image that I'm obsessing over right now. Again, the panoramic steals my heart. Sadie looks like a creature emerging from the depths of the deep, dark ocean floor. And the light. I wish I could bottle it up and bring it to every session.
Of course I had to include some shots (just a couple) of this lovely island.
Gorgeous skies looking back at Emerald Isle from the fishing pier. There aren't any huge hotels or tourist traps. It's so chill and easygoing.
This is the fishing pier...
And more amazing clouds on the beach that goes on forever.
Kyson loves to be the center of attention. And with a mohawk and super-spectacular head tilt, I understand why!
Kyson has the Pomeranian charm down pat!
Kalani, which means Heaven in Hawaiian, is a little more reserved than her brother. She doesn't mind stepping away from the spotlight but can hold her own if she needs to. :)
She's a little curious about the camera...
When she perks those ears, she becomes a little irresistible furry cutie pie!
Lastly, we have Jeter. Like I mentioned, Jeter is still a little bundle of nerves but he did surprisingly well during our session.
As long as he was by his new mommy, the world was right. :)
However, once he figured out what a treat was and that they are super tasty, he was all mine!
We ended our session with the bluest sky over Charlotte.
And then the Duke Energy Building lit up in a rainbow for Charlotte Pride. What a perfect ending...
I just had to include this last image. At the beginning of our session, we spent some time at the pups' great grandfather's home. He simply adores these guys and has even said he wanted them at his funeral. His eyes spark up whenever they are around and they come to visit him often. I'm so glad we got to capture them together! And in Kyson form, he stole the show. :)
