True love.  Some say it is only for the movies.  Some think they know it when they find “the one” and  marry off to the land of bliss and happiness.  I am not sure I would know how to define true love or that I would want to put it in any certain box saying “you feel it when”…..but I will most certainly tell you:  I have seen it.  The look on a mother or father’s face when they see their baby for the first time, the half smile that softens the face of a parent as they stroke their child’s hair, the bubble of joy that explodes inside the first time they hear their baby laugh; yes I have seen true love on the face of many.

In our house we are on the journey of getting ready to meet a baby boy, a second child,  just like Samantha and Jeff, so I couldn’t help but feel like I knew just how they were feeling.  I couldn’t help but wonder if Samantha thought about her heart the way I have thought about mine: wondering if it will be able to expand enough to love both children the same….knowing it must be true, but ignorant to how it could possibly be so.

We walked down the hill to the lake, the and the sun sparkled on the water in a way that took my breath away. And then when I couldn’t help but think of  how the glistening of the lake reminded me of Cinderella’s glass slippers, I chuckled to myself: Oh how our lives are about to change.

Jeff is a regular fishing-pole-and-tackle-hauler, and I have never met a man more excited to welcome a baby boy into the family.  It was Jeff who picked our photo shoot spot, and I thought it was perfect.  Not only is it the most fitting spot for us to capture their family and all they are right now, out-door-loving and regular fishers, it was also the most perfect spot for us to reflect on the excitement of welcoming a little boy into the world.

Come meet Jeff, Samantha, sweet sweet Paige and baby boy on the way…

After family time…Samantha and I attempted to sneak away to grab some belly shots of just her. We grabbed some of my favorite shots from the shoot:

One of these is a bit of an out-take, but I just had to include it cause I love her laugh so much:

Isn’t Samantha stunning?  She and I met at a party and being that she has one of my most favorite girl names in the world so of course I liked her right away.  Then we chatted about our tenacious little girls and laughed about what we have in store for the teenage years and I got to see in action what  a sweet mom she is to Paige, and I knew we could hang out every day.  Then when I found out she was a super talented hair stylist at The Loft in Escondido…(do I hear an audible “ah that makes sense!”…cause I knew you were all jealous of her awesome hair like I am)…. I knew we could no longer hang out, for she is simply way cooler than I.  So now I get to just feel incredibly lucky and cool that she chose me to hang out with and capture her family last Saturday morning. Thanks again so much Samantha, Jeff and Paige!

Patriotic tunes.  American flags.  Snow cones.  Trains.  Old men dressed up having mock gun fights.  Writing thank you cards to our soldiers.  Watermelon. Sunshine. Lots of American flags, laughter, sticky hands, and fun.

What more could we ask for?  I sure do love being an American.

Happy 4th of July!

To all the dad’s out there…there are never enough thanks for all you do.

Happy Father’s Day!

She has always been a bit of sunshine to me.; her care-free personality the perfect complement to my strict upbringing and her laughter the perfect balance to my high-strung nature. As we have gotten older over the years we have both changed and grown so much, but she has always been a bit of sunshine in my life and in my days.

We get about 10 days of rain a year here in San Diego. And yes, that is why I live here. And yes, that is why it is easy to be an outdoor on-location photographer here. However, every once in a rare while it is cold, grey, windy or rainy despite our “sunny city” name. Jen and Jeff and Mallery traveled came to San Diego from Sacramento hoping to soak up our beautiful beaches and glorious sun, but the skies had a different idea. We had 3 days to fit in a photo shoot while they were here, and just as luck would have it, those were 3 of our 10 days of rain. Jen and I had about 100 phone calls back and forth to each other. Can we pull it off? Will the skies open up for just enough time? Will the wind be kind? We wondered, we hoped, then we decided to give it a shot and I am so glad we did.

The beach was cold and windy and cloudy and on the verge of another bought of rain, but true to her form, Jen lit up the whole beach with her sunshine smile. I really have to give a big shout out to the whole family because truly you would never know how cold it really was by looking at them. Now that is what I call having the best clients ever.

We started the shoot at some nearby buildings in attempt to avoid the cold and wind.  I love love love this modern architecture and was so excited!

Then we headed down to the beach at La Jolla Shores. They played, ran, dug in the sand, and shared plenty of laughter….you’d never know that the weather wasn’t ideal.

Since it was so windy I knew I had to throw in the back of my car a kite and blanket.  I always feel like the best “props” and the impromptu and natural ones, the ones that make sense for the day.  I am so loving the flying kite and the way that the blanket encouraged lots of sweet snuggles.

Got to end with this one, I just love this love.

They were good friends and roommates, nothing more.   We have heard the story before; perhaps you have even had a chapter of this story in your own life.  A best friend.  A roommate.  Nothing more. But fate knew that this time it was going to be different; that this time there was in fact something more ….love.

When she told me their story I couldn’t help but think of all those romantic comedies that I spent much of my single life watching. You mean the guy really can capture the attention and love his cute girl college roommate in real life? Turns out that sometimes romantic comedies can come true. When I met Melissa and Erik and saw them with their daughter, I saw that there is nothing more real than these two; nothing more real than their friendship, then their love, and then their absolute head-over-heels-smitten-ness for their daughter Olivia.

But I have to tell you, there is more to this story for me.  As strange as it sounds, I fell in love with this family long before I met them face to face. When I first met Lexi I swear I had never laughed so hard or been so comfortable right away with one of my clients (not to mention that she has incredible style that I have swooned about many times on this blog before). Tanya, Lexi’s mom, did a playroom for her grandkids that is simply the cutest and most divine playroom I have ever seen. (In fact, I stole her idea of a “dress up corner” for my very own daughter’s room too!)

So when Tanya emailed me and told me that Lexi’s brother Erik was flying out from Boston with his family and that I had to do a family photo shoot for them too, I jumped out of my chair and screamed with glee. A chance to meet more of this family that I am already in love with in a strange stalker kind of way even though I haven’t even met them all? YES PLEASE.

They didn’t let me down. We hugged. We laughed. We told stories and I teased them about their accents. We took some photos. They made me laugh an awful lot more. They made me feel like I was a part of the family.  I fell in love with Olivia and her eyes and threatened to steal her.  I took some more photos.  Then I realized I want Erik and Melissa to move back to California so I can invite myself up to hang out with this ENTIRE family every weekend.

After the family portraits we headed back to Tanya’s house for some fun with just Olivia. Hold onto your seat.  You are about to see just a part of the best play room EVER. [Not to mention, the super cutest baby ever.]


I am on this adorable couch, but WAIT, what is that over there? A dress up corner?

Yes Olivia, that was my exact reaction the first time I saw the dress up corner too.

We ended the session by giving Olivia her first bubble bath. I had been dying to try out this tub so I asked Melissa what she thought and was trying desperately to hold in my school girl excitement when she said she loved it too. (Just another way that Melissa won over my heart; being up for my crazy ideas!) Thank you Melissa for this these, you were a total trooper!!

To the entire “A” family….thanks for everything! Each and every one of you has stolen my heart! Your kindness, wit and generosity is topped by none. I can’t wait to come to your next family reunion (it is okay if I just invite myself like that, right?)