Chrystal was vulnerable and authentic in front of a group of girls on the night I needed someone to be vulnerable and authentic.  Have you ever had one of those moments?  I wouldn’t call it coincidence.  After that night we became fast friends; we have the kind of friendship that comes easy, but doesn’t lack deepness for the amount of ease.   So when Chrystal asked me to capture her family, it goes without saying that I was excited beyond words.

I have never been one to want to make your family look “perfect”….for I have yet to meet a family that carries such a title. To me families are about love and about connection.  That is what I love to capture.  And beauty to me is more than a pretty face or a perfect set of teeth or a glowing smile with the most fashionable outfit.  Beauty to me is in the things that make you, well, YOU.  It is in the way she tucks her hair behind her ear, the way she looks so inquisitive when she is trying to figure out the answer to a question, the way he will only stop for a quick snuggle before going on to climb the next mountain, or the way any child looks when they laugh at their daddy’s jokes.  So that is why I would rather capture your laugh than your smile; every time, every shoot.  I strive to capture the authentic you, the person that makes you, YOU.  Whether that authenticity is shy, or strong, or sweet, or silly, or tender, it doesn’t matter to me, as long as it is all you.

This is why I was so excited to capture Chrystal and her family.   Chrystal and I began with authentic; we started our relationship with the real, so I knew  that Chrystal would be the type of person who would want capture her family the same way: capturing the THEM that makes them THEM.  And I am so happy to share that  the “T” family didn’t let me down.  They brought them: all their beauty, silliness, tenderness, passion and strength.

Chrystal even said to me about half way through the photo shoot, “If they cry, will you take a picture?  I love capturing all that is them right now.”  Now THAT is what I am talking about.  [But I am happy to share: this was a photo shoot with no tears...and a lot of laughter...]

Meet the “T” family.

Being one of many sisters myself, I can truly appreciate how each girl is so different…and how each sister also has the power to make other crack up. How I adore sisters….

We had another little “member” join our shoot for a bit…it was so fun to see these girls pick up the little guy with no fear…and let the giggles and screams flow freely.

One of the things that Chrystal has said many times about her family is how much she loves their silliness and joy. She was SO right! These little girls had me in stitches for so much of the shoot! [This next shot is them all pretending to be tigers in the brush.]

And knowing about their silly side, I was inspired to bring mustaches….and they didn’t hesitate to play along:

I don’t do black and white all too often, but I am just loving this last set of photos in black and white.  First, what I call the “for grandma and grandpa family portrait”:

Then comes the more authentic portraits….cause isn’t this more what our lives are really like?

And ending it off with my favorite shot of the day. I wish all family portraits were like this:

“T” family, thanks so much for everything! I can’t tell you how much I loved spending the morning with you and coming home with my sides aching from laughing!

I would be willing to bet that you could never guess how many bagels got eaten in my house between February and May this year.  I am so glad that I can hold down something other than carbs now, you have no idea.  Bring on the vegetables! (And, I might add, to my complete delight it is in perfect timing with the veggies popping up in our garden!) So June and July has brought back the world of food into my life and I am thrilled!

With Dayla I craved fruit, while with this baby it is all about the veggies.  So needless to say, this veggie sandwich was simply di-vine.  Easy too.  If you are veggie lover, just grill up any old thing, slap it on a roll (I personally recommend the “Herbed Focaccia” rolls from Fresh and Easy….hearty enough to hold the sandwich together while still soft and delicious)  and top it off with a bit of cheese.  I am telling you, you can’t go wrong.

Today’s Feature: Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Sun dried Tomato Aioli and Goat Cheese

Whirlwind. It was just like that. I snapped my fingers and in two weeks I went from  3 sessions booked to this:

I am completely booked for the remainder of 2011.

Woweee.  YesSS!  WOOOHOOO!!  Right?!

I am beyond thrilled and jumping up and down on my chair, but at the same time my heart is so sad for all of those who I get to see every year who are not on my calender for this year!  Since I just can’t bear the thought of not seeing your smiling face in all of 2011, I am thrilled to announce:

I am SO EXCITED that this year I will be featuring Holiday Mini Sessions!  I have saved a few spots in October for Mini Sessions this year for all your Christmas Card needs.  I will not start taking names or booking these mini sessions until the end of July, but come August jump quick cause I have a feeling they will fill up fast. Can’t wait to tell you more…so stay tuned for all the details!

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!

I warned you. I noted here that there was probably going to be a lot of salads in my (and your) future this summer, as I have just really been in the mood for yummy salads!  Maybe the baby likes lettuce? I am pretty proud of my salad creations: the BBQ Chicken Salad knock-off, the Green Salad with a Fancy Name (that got re-named “The Great Green Sweet Crunchy Salad” here), but I think so far this one is my favorite. It was a really last minute salad, a throw everything that I have in the fridge into a salad before it goes bad kind of salad, but it was DELICIOUS.

This is the salad that will open my restaurant.

Today’s Feature: Summer Berry Extravaganza Salad
Of course every menu has a description to go with their great salad.

My salad description would read:

A refreshing salad with a bit of crunch: green leaf lettuce, raspberries, strawberries, celery, avocado, and creamy goat cheese.  Topped with your choice of raspberry vinaigrette or ranch dressing.