Snuggly Family Photos on a freezing winter day at The Landing

The mother of this beautiful family below is one of my dearest friends.  We were roommates in college and have stayed close since with annual “Missouri girl’s trips” over the years.

Shannon is one of those people with what seems to be endless energy and ability.  The minute, no no, the second she picked me from the airport for this most recent trip, we were off talking a mile a minute with no pause in between topics till three days later when I had to say goodbye.  She’s like the energizer bunny, she just keeps going and going, until she suddenly stops, puts her earplugs in, and promptly falls asleep for exactly seven hours.  The next morning she jumps out of bed and immediately starts tackling her to-do list.  Seriously!  I can’t tell you how many girls trips we’ve had where we’re all still rubbing the sleep from our eyes and Shannon’s been on the phone making plans and figuring out complex concepts an hour or more.

The tall drink of water in these pictures is Shannon’s husband Vladmir. I can’t imagine a better match for her. He’s as passionate about soccer as Shannon is about growth and learning. It was to play soccer in college that originally brought him to the states from Belgrade, Serbia.  He now owns the fastest growing soccer club, Puma F. C. in the Kansas City area. If it’s not obvious from the pictures, he’s an amazing Dad, thoughtfully (and adoringly) helping to raise their two lovely daughters.