Kyle's Bridal Shower

It was a lovely afternoon with good friends, laughter, and food (ahem - in Spring '08). Kyle and Geoff's wedding last August was amazing too, but that's a post for another day. I'm almost done with several family mini-shoots, but until that's finished, here's something new to see:

"P" Family Sneak Peek | Folsom Family Photography

This is my beautiful friend Michele and her darling family. Our kids attend preschool together. Which, incidentally, is an awesome preschool and is now accepting applications for Fall, email me if you're looking for a fabulous Folsom-area preschool.



During Memorial Day weekend I got to meet and photograph her extended family: siblings, cousins, grandparents, the whole sha-bang. What a fun group of people. There was so much laughter (and great food) in that house! The weather was gorgeous and cooperative... I just wish I'd taken them up on the offer to stick around for Dad's BBQ ribs. They smelled soooo good. Not to mention the bacon. I don't even know what dish the bacon was being cooked for, but man that smell put me right at home. Yeah, you could say I'm food-oriented.



Too bad nobody loves this little guy, huh. It was a challenge to get him to smile at first, but once he did, look how his eyes lit up!



And the fantastic & fun Great Grandparents were very cool. And sooo in love with the kiddos.


(Um, yeah, Grandpa is 83! Can you believe it?)

Michele & family - thanks for having me. I really enjoyed documenting a little bit of your day. Here's a short slideshow:

Mom's Day 09

These pink roses were a gift for Mother's Day. I finally pitched the withered, stinky-stemmed lot of them in the green waste yesterday. But look how lovely they were! I separated them into 3 vases and spread the love throughout the house.



Thanks for an awesome day, guys. Breakfast was early, tasty and quiet (before worship team), the gifts were thoughtful, and the hugs were warm and there wasn't as much hug-dodging (running away screaming "too much kisses mama!") as usual. What more could a mom ask for?

Do you smell smoke?

I've been working feverishly of late, more so than usual, sleeping a bit less but smiling a lot more! There's smoke coming off my keyboard. Fun photography plans are in the works, still being polished but the planning is a blast!

Yesterday I ran another luncheon with 70-ish guests, and the dessert we chose at the Vizcaya Pavilion was this unbelievably tasty Strawberry Napoleon... yum... I almost licked the plate, but ultimately decided against it (not so classy, that).

And since today is the day after an event, that makes it Mama & Monkey play day. So I'd better go start up some mischief. That's what this day is all about. Well, that and trying to catch up on some housework.

And here are two pictures that I have on my bathroom mirror right now. We'd been having family bowling "tournaments" on the Wii, so we thought we'd take Monkey to an actual bowling alley. I don't know what he said to make Royce laugh so hard, but this image just makes my heart happy. They look like this most of the time, my laughing boys. It's a little grainy. But I love it anyway.




And just one more: aww, my boys.

I am speed.

We took Monkey on his first go-cart ride(s) today. As you can see, he hated it.





On the way home, I got a phone call... and booked a photo shoot! A mother's day surprise: family portraits of Dad & the kids. We met 3 hours later, and you won't believe how beautiful these people are. Glad I stuck my new business cards in with the preschool fundraiser proofs, thanks to my supportive, brilliant and forward-thinking husband... More to come (after Mom's Day, of course)!

Encouraged.

Amidst the chaos of the parent meeting, his mom told me quietly, "this is the best picture I have of my son." And as she walked away, I teared up. I got to do that.

The fundraiser was all black & white, and the image she has was edited that way. This is the original, SOOC and technically imperfect. Looking at it, I see what I would change, enhance, brighten. But the fact that I made someone happy like that? That'll carry me through a month of board meetings at my "day job." For real.

Spring Break 2009

So guess where we spent part of Spring Break?

I'll give you a hint:
















40 inches tall = roller coaster legal and lovin' it.
























The weather was unbelieveably lovely.

















We took in a parade:


























and got our dance on.

















Yeah, we'll be back.




















Yes, mom, I know there are no pictures of me from the trip. I was having an allergic reaction to the sunblock and it wasn't pretty. Next time for sure.

What's all that giggling in the shower about?

The shaving cream (barely visible, lower left) lives on a higher shelf now.

Grammar Girl

Happy 2009!

So I used to work with the coolest chick ever, Gina Smith. Haven't talked to her in about 10 years, though I randomly discovered that she was an award winner when I was checking out the cake decorating results for the California State Fair a couple years ago. (I never think to enter any of the baking contests until, like, the week after the deadline. Atta girl.) Totally funky, extremely smart, and married to a real live rock star dude, that's Gina.

Anyway.

I think of Gina with the change of each year, because she always makes the same resolution: "read more books, watch more movies." With her permission I've copied it since I met her, and it's the only resolution I've been able to keep all year. I wonder if she still makes that resolution. I'll look her up on Facebook and ask.

One of the things Gina and I shared was a fondness for proper punctuation. It's not hard, but sadly, is neglected by the masses. So in honor of my friend Gina, and because apparently I feel the need to preach from a soap box today, here are some gentle reminders for anyone who cares to read on:

How to use an apostrophe

Use it for contractions.
you're = you are, you've = you have
it's = it is, she's = she is
I'm = I am

Use it to show possession:
Dori Gough's camera
Monkey Gough's drumset
Daddy Gough's power tools

If a word ends in s, you can either add an apostrophe s or just an apostrophe; both are correct.
Jesus's life
Davy Jones' locker

If you are showing plural possession, it changes to s apostrophe (s'):
The Goughs' house
The Smiths' cookie jar
The boys' bath toys

(and if it already ends in an s, then you add es apostrophe)
The Joneses' new Wii is getting a lot of play this week!

But here's the thing that irks me, friends. It makes me wince when I read signage on buildings, in stores, on menus, and yes, even in Christmas letters... I hate to see apostrophes added where they don't belong.

When NOT TO USE an apostrophe:

Don't use an apostrophe for the plural of a name.
More than one Gough? They are the Goughs. Not the Gough's. Unless you're talking about the Gough's cookie jar, drumset, or amazingly clean house. Seriously, you should come see it. It's never looked this good.

We had a yummy lunch with the Westbrooks last week.
Vacationing with the Willsons is something we hope to do in the future.

Don't use an apostrophe in a possessive pronoun.
his, hers, its, theirs, ours, yours, whose
They already show possession so they don't need an apostrophe.

A note about its

"It's" is a contraction, use it only if you mean "it is" or "it has."
It's raining, it's pouring, my husband is snoring. (Nope, not Royce. He NEVER snores...)
It's been a nice break, but now I'm eager for preschool to be back in session. (So. Eager.)

There's no apostrophe in "its" when it shows possession:
The dog sucked down the burrito in one swallow, licked its lips, and gave a hearty "woof!"
(I saw that on TV yesterday.)
The dryer has consumed its fill of socks this week, we've got 3 singles again!

I know this post has sentence fragments. And that I often. overuse. periods. But that's commonly accepted blog grammar; I like that it reads how we speak. (And the extra periods are to add emphasis, in case ya didn't already know.) There's also a neglectful lack of capital letters on some blogs I frequent, and I hardly notice. I will gladly overlook such grammar goblins; language is a living, changing entity. But seriously, I just had to speak out on behalf of the apostrophe and the plural.

*Stepping down off soapbox*
Thanks, I feel better now. Time to look up Gina on Facebook and think about some resolutions. Or go start dinner - company's on the way.