… at ease.

well, in reality, this navy man and his lovely bride didn’t need any orders from us about relaxing in front of the camera. they knew the drill. it was really refreshing to watch how carefree and joyful they are together. from the moment we met up with them (on a particularly hot and humid evening), they were all smiles and ready to go.

taylor and elyse are new to athens, landlocked here at the navy supply school, which — sadly — will be closing in the near future. so their stint in the classic city will be brief. (alas, the nomadic life of a military family.) but that hasn’t stopped them from setting up home. they’re already making some great memories!

taylor, who got to the navy school before elyse, called us up to plan a surprise portrait session with his wife to celebrate her much anticipated arrival home. i’m happy to announce chivalry is not dead. (any guy out there wanting to up his game as a husband, i hope you’re taking notes.) in fact, eileen met up with taylor earlier to schedule the shoot and remarked to me afterward how mature and polite he was. after spending the evening with him and elyse, i have to say, they definitely found their matches in one another — the kind of guy and gal who must have felt really good about bringing home the other to meet the parents. (heck, two minutes after meeting them, and i wanted to bring ’em home to meet my parents!)

anyway, thanks, you two! it was so great getting to know you. i hope we can get together again some time before you pull up roots. till then…

keepin’ it real. i was so excited to catch this brief, spontaneous… err, well, what appeared to be a secret handshake. how cool is that!? (sorry, the fist pound is all you get: the rest of the shake is top secret.) 

elyse, as it turns out, is trained in a wide variety of dance — tap, jazz, ballet… even crip walk and popping, i think. you name it. (taylor can sway back and forth pretty well.)

congratulations, you two, on keepin’ the flame alive. keep it up. we can’t tell you how much we appreciate your service… and love.