Miriam's Bat Mitzvah

I knew from the moment Miriam walked in the door for a portrait session a couple of months back that we were going to have a great time at her Bat Mitzvah. I love it when a kid (or adult for that matter) has a great sense of humor -- defined loosely as their willingness to laugh at my jokes -- and Miriam has that in spades.

We started in the morning with some pictures of Miriam at the altar:

and then moved on to some pictures with the family. Now, mind you, we took some really nice shots of her with parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc., but due to time and space limitations I could only pick one favorite: That's cousin Sarah, Miriam, young Aaron, and cousin Tommy. Sure, I could have gone with one of Miriam and her parents but this to me was the most 'Miriam' picture of the bunch. And not incidentally also the most 'Sarah', the most 'Aaron', and the most 'Tommy'.

Speaking of Aaron, he graciously consented to be my guinea pig whenever I needed to check my lighting. We took this one on the terrace at Oakwood Country Club where the reception was held:
In addition to being a good sport about being the lighting guinea pig, Aaron's also a (self-professed) expert at Madden 2008. I asked him how he got to be so good when his team of choice is the Chiefs and he explained that through a series of shrewd off-season moves he was able to trade for Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ladainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates, Chad Johnson, and a select few others. Who knew. Having sat through the debacle at Arrowhead this past sunday I can't help but think that they might be able to apply the skills young Aaron brings to the table.

We got a few shots of the family outside before it started to sprinkle so we had to take things inside into the foyer. It was then time for the extended family pictures -- 20 or so people -- and I wanted to make sure that things got off to a good start. Enter cousin Eli:
Being a good sport must run in the family because Eli was more than happy to oblige when I suggested that everyone should rub his head for good luck.

Speaking of good luck, it apparently takes a little of that to win a round of Miriam Trivia. She jumped right into the fray to help the DJ ask questions:

Turns out Miriam's favorite Jonas brother is not Franklin as I'd guessed. That's where the luck comes in. That and knowing the names of the Jonas Brothers.

After a few more rounds of Miriam Trivia I noticed that the sun was setting so I asked Miriam to come outside on the veranda with a couple of friends and we grabbed a quick shot:

Then it was back inside as the DJ started to kick out the proverbial jams. Photographic evidence of the effect of the aforementioned Jonas Brothers on a crowd of teenagers:

Then as my time at the party came to a close it was time for the chair dance. Here's one of Miriam "enjoying" (????) her turn on the chair.

So there's a few of my favorites from the day. I want to take a moment to say thanks again to Miriam, Karen, Don, and Aaron and their family and friends for including me in the fun. I hope that they had just as much fun with me as I did with them.