Wonderfully Four!

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of photographing David. It was both for his Cute Kid Contest entry and to help commemorate his 1st birthday.

This month, I had the honor of photographing his big sister (and family) in honor of her 4th birthday! Happy 4th Birthday, Alex!!!!

We started the session with family portraits.

Sweet little Alex surprised me when she lovingly snuggled with her brother. SO SWEET!!!!

You can tell that Alex just loves her baby brother.

David has grown so much since I last saw him in April. He was just starting to walk then and now he is so fast and on the go! His eyes still make my heart melt. =)

They are such a beautiful family and throughout the session I could feel the love that mom and dad have for their little Angels.

Show me how old you are Alex! 

Alex’s mom made these ADORABLE flower hair barrettes for her. She had one to match each of her outfits.  Aren’t they just the cutest????

I just LOVE this tender moment between mom and Alex. She is such a little love bug!  I loved  how in the middle of taking pictures, she would take time out to close her eyes and enjoy the love between her and her family.

This is my favorite image from the day. I think it is the seriousness that I like.

    

Once again, I had a great time with you Alex and David! I am so excited that I had a chance to photograph you both with your parents. You were a blast!

A Trip to the Happiest Place on Earth

For DJ’s 6th birthday, we took an eventful trip to Disneyland. It was a lot of fun and action packed, including a trip to the ER for DJ (heat exhaustion – poor guy!).

The first day visiting the park, some of our favorite San Diego people came to spend the day with us. DJ was excited to be reunited with his BFF. She is an older sister to him and we all miss her SO much!

Here is Goofy with 3 Goofy kids! That giant of a boy is my 11 year old Godson – DJ’s favorite wrestling buddy.

 

Cody was excited to “meet” Mickey.

2 of my favorite San Diego people spending QT with Goofy!

 

I love that they had this hat there! It was perfect for the trip! Doesn’t he look so excited to wear it???

The last evening, we went to California Adventure. This is Cody’s preferred park because he LOVES the Bug’s Life area. He can spend hours there (and he did!").

Once the sun set, the rides’ lights were turned on and this is my favorite!

The thing I looked most forward to in the evening is the fireworks!!!! I was excited to practice taking pictures of them! These are a couple of my favorites.

A Trip to Washington…again

June was a busy month full of trips. After returning home from the Me Ra Koh workshop on Monday, we headed back to Washington for our nephew’s Graduation.

It was a 10- hour drive, but the kids kept themselves busy in between naps.

 

Cody was all smiles when we got there and happy to be with family. He finally got to meet some family members, including his paternal Grandmother.

Meet Bella. This is my brother and sister-in-law’s dog. We all adored her.

CONGRATULATIONS SEAN!!!! We are proud of you!

The last stop before heading home was to Pine State Biscuits in Portland. Doyle had seen it on one of our favorite shows, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, so we had to check it out.

 

There was a line out the door and standing room only inside. We were lucky enough to beat the crowd and find a table!!!

It was DE-LICIOUS! Their Reggie is the best. If you are in Portland be sure to check them out!

A Northwestern Sunset

When I was 8 we moved to Kodiak, Alaska. The one thing that I remember about Alaska is how beautiful it was. I especially enjoyed the colors in the sky. At times, it never even got dark so we were able to enjoy the sky even longer than most people. =)

It has been a LONG time since I had seen beautiful sunsets like the ones in Alaska.

During our road trip to Washington last week, the sun began to set around 9 pm. It was an amazing sight.

This was the view from our car.

Isn’t it breathtaking?

My favorite part of the image is the way the sun rays just fill the darkening sky with hints of red.

A couple of days later, we were at my nephew’s high school graduation. It was in the evening so we were able to enjoy another sunset.

The sky went from this…

to this…

It just puts me at peace.

We do get beautiful sunsets in California, but the colors in the Northwest are just….well, magical.

A Day at the Farm

A couple of weeks ago was DJ’s first field trip. They took a trip to a farm!

They were most excited about riding on a bus more than anything else.

This is DJ with his best buddy, Marella. They have known each other since they were itty bitty so it was great that they enjoyed their first year of school together.

Marella’s mom pointed that you can see DJ’s reflection in the window. Cool, huh?

When we got to the farm, the kids listened to a brief presentation regarding the rules of the farm. Don’t they all look so bored?

Even Cody wasn’t feeling it.

He did enjoy sitting on the logs like the big kids, though.

The first stop was the bunny cages. The loved petting the soft bunnies.

Cody didn’t want anything to do with the bunnies. Notice how his back is to the cage? =)

Then they moved on to the goats…

Then to pet some baby ducks…

Then the pigs…

But got side tracked by a dog…

Then off to the sheep…

While Cody did some off-road action with daddy…

There were peacocks roaming free throughout the farm. That was my favorite part.

And the most exciting animal that my group saw was….are you ready for this exotic animal that captivated their attention????

Yes, a cat!!!!!! And because this cat was sitting in the green house in a tray with plants that are for sale, there was a sign behind the cat that said “$2”. DJ asked us if he could buy the cat because it was only $2! HAHA

When we asked DJ what his favorite part of the farm was he said “petting the cat”. Ya, DJ, that is what a farm is all about…the cats! =)