"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.