It started with a photo shoot or two.  My awesome cooperating teacher from my student teaching days wanted me to take pictures of her adorable 5 year old daughter Stella.  I was all, absolutely, but they live in Fulton.  2 hours away, in our old college town.  But another client wanted to do pics in St. Louis as well, so I planned on stopping in Fulton taking pics and then driving to St. Louis  for another shoot.  Then we would get to see Jon’s fam.  Perfect right?  Not quite my St. Louis client had to reschedule due to unexpected business travel, so I was going to have to reschedule  Kara’s shoot as well.  I was disappointed with a capital D.  Whenever something disappointing or discouraging comes up I try to turn it into something even better.  So I thought hmmm…and then it hit me, Jon and I hadn’t celebrated our anniversary, in fact, we hadn’t had alone time in FOREVER.  We constantly joke about the date night that never seems to happen.  So I decided to book a b and b in small town Rocheport and enjoy an afternoon sipping wine at the A frame at Les Bourgeois winery.  The day was even more perfect than originally planned.  I love when something expected turns into something wonderfully unexpected.  Perfection with a capital P.

I hope that after seeing the pics you are excited to take your own trip to little Rocheport where the wine goes down easy and the light is always golden.  Let me tell you more about my day.

At about noon after scoping out some great spots we started our shoot with the Wagner clan.  They are a happy bunch and Stella is about as photogenic as they get.  Here are just a few from our shoot.  I really couldn’t pick because there were somewhere around 60 perfect pictures!  But here are some favs, maybe later I’ll post the rest on a slide show.

Stella wasn’t afraid to work it.  No coaching was involved.  This little one is oozing with confidence.  Hold on to it girl, you rock!

For sure Daddy’s little girl.   Stella adores Jason

I just love it when kids do there thing.  I’m just happy I had my camera ready to capture this Stella moment!

If you know Stella this is her smile, warm and radiant.  She doesn’t mess around with grumpy.

PS her toenails are purple too!  LOVE IT!  Sparkly purple toes are pretty close to perfection.

Kara and Stella have such a bond.  I just know they’ll always be close.

Stella was amazing the whole time, but I think by the time we were done she was pooped, but still smiling!  Sometimes ya just gotta lay on a log.

I’m so happy we made this happen.  Kara your family is great and I look forward to more pics with Stella in the future!

After the shoot we headed back to Rocheport for some much needed down time.  Of course I took my camera, even though Jon probably wouldn’t have minded my leaving it in the car.  I had to play with my new lens.  Here are some pics I got.  Ahh it’s relaxing thinking about it.

Les Bourgeois is a fun winery and if you’re ever driving through the state it’s worth a stop off.  You can sit under a tree at a picnic table high on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri river, drinking wine and eating cheese.

I love my hot hubby’s mug!  He has a great looking smirk.

My favorite summer wine.  Sweet and refreshing.

After we checked into our little B and B,  Jon needed a nap and I needed to catch some of this light before it was gone.  So I took off down the street of this small town.  The whole town is only a few blocks.

Rocheport isn’t on the bluffs like the winery, it’s down in the valley, right by the river.  So the evening light comes in and fills the valley with this gooey golden light that makes everything look amazing.  Even old chairs.

Everything in Rocheport is quaint and middle America.  I wish I could have seen the town in it’s booming railroad days.  The railroad tracks are now a part of the 225 mile Katy Trail.  You can walk it or bike it.  I would love to go back and bike it this fall when the leaves are changing colors.  There is an old railroad tunnel that totally gave me the creepers.  I felt so unsafe walking through it.  Obviously there isn’t tracks, so no train was going to come through, but it sure felt like it.  I regret not getting a picture of it.

This is our bed and breakfast.  The Schoolhouse was built in 1914, but you would never know.  The owners have done a fabulous job of keeping it up, and thinking of every little detail to make the stay memorable.  The bed was great, the heart shaped jacuzzi was better, and I loved the breakfast.  We will definitely come back for another stay in a different room.

Old is cool!

I didn’t get a pic of Abigail’s but I want to give them a shout out for the great meal.  It’s the only place to eat on a Sunday evening, but I would go back any day of the week.  Everything was made fresh, in fact, the menu was on a white board with things scratched out as they ran out.  And our dessert menu was handed to us on an index card.

This is one of the most perfect spots for pictures the light was gorgeous.  I told Jon we had to take a pic.  So I se my camera up on a gate and focused and hoped for the best.  I really want someone to get married in Rocheport so we can do pics here!!

Jon and I had a great time, but I’m ready to go back.  There’s something appealing about the simple life of a small town.