Fresh Baby

Introducing little Miss Muriel at exactly one week old. She wasn't due for another 6 weeks, but couldn't wait to meet her 3 brothers and 1 sister. Looking at her size, I'm happy for her Mommy that she didn't wait another 6 weeks! Her mom told me that last night she woke up from a a loud sucking sound and saw that Muriel found her little thumb. Here are just a few introductory pictures of her, I'll post some more creative shots soon.

Beach Boys

A quick peek for mom Michele! I love the colors of these pictures, lots of golden light, warm brown tones and tanned toes. Another beautiful family, who was so nice and laid back and up for anything (thanks Mike, for shuttling us to the beach). Big brother Mike was an absolute angel, and little Jake loved the beach, pointing out the birds and watching the waves (future surfer, I'm sure). Michele, there are lots more, I had a hard time deciding which ones to post!

Surfer Girl

Last week Makena entered her first surf contest at Junior Lifeguards. She was a little apprehensive, but Lifeguard Timmy talked to her and she decided to give it a go. She won her first heat, advanced to the finals, and ended up in third place! We were so proud of her and told her she is the first ever Duty Family member to compete in a surf contest. She won a really cool trophy and we celebrated with Frappucinos afterwards. I was so nervous while she was out in the waves, I forgot to take pictures!

Beautiful Family at the Beach Part 2

Here are 3 more shots from this session. I really like the freckle face picture. When my mom and her sister were little girls they got teased for their freckles. My wise grandma told them: "A face without freckles is like a night time sky without stars." I happen to love freckles, they are one of my favorite features of my husband :). And little girls with freckles are just the best...

Click on the title of this post to see the whole slide show (more freckles included).

Beautiful Family at the Beach

For Sharon: Okay, here is a sneak peek! I looked through the files really quickly and picked some that caught my eye. I LOVE the colors, you guys look great!!! I hope you love the pictures! More to come!

Sharon is an old college buddy of mine, we bonded over a LONG Spanish summer class and a shared obsession with Diet Coke. She brought me Super Big Gulps of DC to class, I knew I made a special friend. It was fun to capture her family at the beach. It was pretty windy, with big waves, lots of windsurfers out. The kids were awesome and the results are amazing!

Junior Lifeguards

Today I got to combine business with pleasure: I got to take group and individual pictures at Junior Lifeguards. Our kids are in week 5 right now, with one more week to go. It's been amazing to watch all the kids learn to love the ocean. Leo has a shore break, I'm very hesitant to go in on a big day, and these kids have all the skills now to handle it. They are learning a TON of other things, too. The lifeguards and assistants are wonderful, great role models! Can't praise them enough. While I was shooting individual pictures of one group, another group was doing a buoy swim. They got hit by a set of big waves (outsiders) when they tried to come back in. It was thrilling to watch the lifeguards literally dive into action, in case somebody needed assistance. Almost no one did, and everyone got to shore just fine. I'll post some more pictures soon.

Birthday Boy

On July 24th Kai turned 11! A few days later we had a fun, messy party in our backyard. We played games involving shaving cream and chocolate pudding. They were a big hit! These pictures crack me up. So much for photographer's kids looking PERFECT in all shots!


Here is Kai covered in shaving cream and cheese puffs. The biceps and abs are compliments of Junior Lifeguards.



And here is Makena, happily covered in chocolate pudding!
Unfortunately her game partner poured more on her eyes than into her mouth!



Look who is Makena's game partner- none other than her big brother Kai! Hmmmm....