Excuse me while I vomit!

Am I going to vomit because it is Father's Day....no! I love Father's Day. My dad is in Hawaii, so I imagine he is having the best Father's Day. But what can I do for Jake to show him what an amazing father he is??? Well we have a few things in the works... but it seems nothing compares to a public display of oogly-googly-squishy-squashy outpouring of bias, blubbering, babbling ..... of his all time greatness in a blog post! I mean, this is the contemporary standard. He could care less about my blog ramblings, so hopefully he won't find this .... and all will go unnoticed at my house! But at least I know I will have done my part to ensure the vomiting of a few more people while I display this outpouring of my deepest (hahaha... a blog is the place for that) love!!!

Enjoying an ice cream with Rob and Karah...

His usually position...

Baseball with the boys!

Grabbing Karah's hand for a train ride at the beach...

A game of football with the boys...

Rob clinging on to Jake's leg...

He always  makes time for some basketball with the boys...

But not to be outdone, by the amount of time spent in the rocking chair...

A stroll at the beach with our baby...

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads in this world who recognize the value of family... and who live their lives caring for others!  I know you're not reading, but I love you babe!

Joe and Kelly

Just a teaser....from my last session!

Shelf Reliance

Shelf Reliance is giving away a free food storage shelf, it is the most amazing thing.  With a large family, it would be a real treat to win.  You can check it out by clicking HERE.

Who cares what you're wearing?

Mommy had three boys before her princess came along. So this little girl has no shortage of beautiful dresses, pretty flowers and bows, accessories galore! But "who cares what you're wearing.....it's what you wear from ear to ear to ear, and not from head to toe....THAT MA-A-A-TTERS!" And this angel is always wearing a smile, what a fun morning we had!!! 

Does that taste good?

Happy Girl!

Pretty Girl!

This next one is so sweet...

How cute is this face?

Mmmmmmm....good!

She barely stood for a few seconds, but she wasn't scared at all, all smiles from the happy girl.

She seriously squeals with delight once you get her going...love it!

I had to throw in this last one....because I could just nibble on those cheeks and that baby double chin forever....so stinkin' cute!

I am sure you recognized the location on this session from my previous posts.  Hey, those purple flowers only last for so long, I had to get my fill!

Hope you all are just as excited as me for the busy, crazy, sunshine, splish splash, summer fun!

Have a great week!!!

Giveaway

Sorry, not from me........hahaha.....but my cousin Britain is making the most adorable hand sewn treasures, beautiful dresses for your beautiful little girls.  She is having a giveaway on her blog.  Click on the link HERE and just leave a comment to be entered into the drawing...hurry giveaway ends Saturday.  She also has just opened an Etsy Shoppe where you can order the beautiful dresses.  I bought one just now, I can't wait!!!  These little dresses, however, are perfect for a photo shoot of your little one.....so if I don't win, I hope you do.  Good luck!

Photog Day Trip

Well, my good friend Lacy was in town and her sister Tessa is home from college for the summer.  We couldn't wait to get together and turn the cameras on each other.  We all have a love for photography and never get to just PLAY.  It was so fun, no pressure, really casual...just a blast.  We found the most amazing location (thank you, thank you...) and set the camera to Manual...and just played and played til the sun went to sleep.  Now this must have been at least a month ago.....but the thought of putting pictures of myself on my blog, is a little scary!  Besides there is one of my huge mug, and I would like to apologize in advance for having to see my face sooooo big, feel free to scroll past it and not nit-pick my many flaws.

Whew!

So with that said...here is the beautiful, talented Tessa, with the best poses around...."you really worked that camera girl!"

Couldn't pick a favorite so here is my top 3.

She is totally glowing in this one!  So purrrrty!

This next one in black and white is my favorite from the whole shoot!  Love it!

Oh Lacy, lacy, lacy, lacy...dear old friend of mine.  How I enjoy our ramblings of all things photography...and the occasional reminiscing of prom, boyfriends, girl's camp, toilet papering, and all of life's little pleasures!

Blue Eyes, Vavoom!

Is it seriously possible that this girl recently had two babies out of this tiny waistline???

While I will stand by the Black and White of Tessa being my favorite picture...this next one wants to seriously compete.  The sun peaking through and the beautiful light and setting....I really likey!!!

All of the above photographs were taken by me....but all the rest were taken by Lacy and Tessa.  This next next one of Lacy, taken by Tessa, is another favorite...Lace is rockin' the serious look, I love the lines created by the fencing, and the slightest backlight adds just enough umph!

Okay, unfortunately now you must see my face...it wouldn't be fair not to showcase the photographic talents of Lacy.  I mean, this girl had to work miracles to get these nice shots of me, thank you kindly!

Sorry, sorry, sorry...

Can't wait for our next visit!  Sorry again, about my big face!

Smile!

Who says thay have to be smiling? I love this picture....there is wonder in her eyes. I did a little mini shoot with Karah...woohoo, go me....so maybe I'll put together a blog post with all my favs! Or just keep giving you little snippets. I also had a fun photo shoot with some photographer friends...that was an awesome experience, I'll share soon! Goodnight!

Jacaranda Tree

A quick photo of the day! We are enjoying our Jacaranda trees.....though it is always short lived. In many parts of the world, such as Mexico, Zimbabwe and Los Angeles, the blooming of this tree is welcomed as a sign of spring. Jacaranda can be found throughout much of Southern California, where they were imported by the horticulturalist Kate Sessions. That of course, is general knowledge I carry in my brain and not plagiarism from Wikipedia! I am told I must use LOL now, or people won't know I am joking! Well the purple flowers are creating a beautiful carpet for Karah to dance, run, jump, and play on.

I myself, must be getting old!  I'd rather just lay on the ground looking up at the few blooms that are still left blowing in the breeze.

I don't have any spectacular photographic words of wisdom, other than to always look at things from a different angle.  Only then, can we see the beauty of it all!

A Mother's Love

I had the pleasure of spending the morning with baby Brielle...don't you love her name? 

I know it is early in the post, but I am gonna go ahead and say, this next picture is my absolute favorite!

Did I mention her pretty mommy is a great friend...she brought me a weeks+ worth of groceries right after I had my 4th child.  It was so thoughtful and appreciated.

I really like this editorial style to newborn photography.  Yeah, I could get a picture of just the baby's face.  But these moments...her precious skin next to mommy's.  You can see that mom is smitten, still after her 4th child.

And baby Brielle proved to be pretty happy in her mommy's arms.

Mom took a break while I was getting ready for the next location...and I caught a glimpse of her just loving this sweet new life.  The responsibility is great, and therefore, the reward also!

I actually love this next one, how it provides only a sneak peak at their moment together.

Precious button nose...

I love her dark hair...wether it lasts or not, she is going to be a beauty!

We took a little stroll out to the local orange groves and grabbed a few more shots.  Brielle was in heaven, she was just content and sleepy, basking in the sun.

We tried for one last headshot, but it wasn't happening without the binky in her mouth.  Little diva!

Okay Heather, I am so sorry, I don't know what happened to this post...this was like a month ago.  I basically skipped it somehow and just realized I never posted these.  Once again, CONGRATULATIONS!!!  She is precious!

A Better Start

Okay, so we got off on a better start to our day....Cheerios for breakfast. Well at least Rob did. This is the usual sight of Rob eating his breakfast. He used to pick up the bowl with his face and the Cheerios would dump all over his head, body, in his diaper, etc. He is getting better at it though. He tries patiently with the spoon each morning, but always resorts to this method.

Note below...that would be gum stuck to Rob's head and eye.....don't ask....I don't have the slightest!  I put him down to bed in his crib clean as a whistle and this is the child I find in the morning...anyone care to explain?

For today, I just want to encourage you to take pictures of your kids doing the most mundane daily activities.  They won't mind because you are not forcing them to sit still, look at the camera and smile.  They are enjoying their usual life, and you are preserving a slice of it!