(To see all images, go to the slideshow here).

I LOVE when I get to see families year-after-year and I can see how the kids are growing. You will probably remember this family from last year. Remember this little munchkin?

Well, I couldn’t believe how much she has grown in one year! Not only is she bigger, but her personality has just blossomed! Last year, it took a while for her to warm up to me and it was much harder to get her to laugh. This year, she was so fun! She talked to me about Minnie Mouse and her best friend, Lamby… She held my hand while we were walking… She was an absolute joy!

This is her now… all smiles!

She loves to dress up and get her picture taken!

Oh, and she found some pine cones that she loved. She kept smelling them and said they smell like chocolate (even though her mom said she’s never even had chocolate!)

I took more shots on this shoot than I have in a long time – this family is just so darn beautiful!

She loved decorating the mini Christmas tree! She especially liked the little gingerbread man ornament I had. Of course, it’s hers now… how can you say no to that face!!

You can their love for each other and for this precious little girl!

Thanks Saint-Onge Family! Here’s your slideshow!

I’ve blogged before about how much I love landscape photography. It’s a passion of mine, yet something I don’t get out nearly enough to do.

I have an immense respect for those photographers who do landscapes well… who utilize their equipment to get the shot in-camera without a ton of post-processing. And no one does landscape photography like Nick Carver. He is amazingly talented, incredibly creative – and on top of that, he’s a really great guy.

Last night I went out shooting with Nick, which always gets me re-inspired and reminds me what I love about photography.

Here’s one of the shots I took:

I feel so blessed to live so close to the ocean. While I guess you could say I grew up near water having spent my childhood in Michigan and it’s beautiful lakes, there really is nothing like the ocean and it’s vastness, it’s salty waves and it’s melodic sounds. I could never comprehend how anyone could get used to living close to the ocean, especially those so used to it that they took it for granted.

So, here’s to never taking it for granted….

Squeezing in every last bit of summer…

Ann contacted me a few weeks ago to set up a headshot session for her daughter, Mia. It turns out that Mia, who just graduated fifth grade, is really interested in getting into the entertainment business. These headshots were her fifth-grade graduation present (how cool is that?)!

Mia is this really beautiful, fun, bright and confident girl who just LIGHTS UP in front of the camera. She is so beautiful on the outside, but what I loved was that her awesome personality shined through as well.

And the coolest thing about the whole shoot was just how darn EXCITED Mia was to do the session! She Could-Not-Stop-Smiling the entire session! Even when I asked her to do a more “serious” look, she would try and then break-out in laughter. And I found that I had a smile on my face the whole time, too — it was so much fun!

Thanks so much, Mia! It was a pleasure! Good luck in your acting endeavors!

When I was in high school a few years ago (yes, a FEW)    I don’t recall ever feeling all that self-assured. I had no idea what it took to get into a good college and I certainly don’t think others around me felt like I had my future all figured out (which I didn’t).

Yet now when I meet graduating seniors, they all seem like they in fact, DO, have it all figured out. I am so in awe of how confident and self-assured they all seem.

Jordan fits this bill exactly, but throw in really smart, very polite, and an all-around really great guy. And he is very cool. And he didn’t complain once about having his pictures taken. And he was nice enough to make sure I didn’t fall off some big steps and break my camera. Are you getting how great this kid is?

It was a pleasure meeting you and your family Jordan! Best of luck in college and I’ll now be following the Terriers to make sure they are keeping your college years interesting.

Thanks again! Here’s your slideshow!

Every Fall our elementary school puts on a huge fundraiser. The funds raised help to supplement a number of different programs at our school including art and music, which as you may have read have been cut from our state education funding. I’m a huge advocate of music and art in our schools, so naturally we love to support this cause. Of course, the funds also go to fund really fun things like field trips, reading programs, etc. Gratefully, we live in a school district with a lot of financial and hands-on support from the parents, and as of now, these programs are still fully funded.

For this year’s fundraiser, I decided to donate my own silent auction item which was a full family portrait session. Between drinking, dancing and having an awesome time with friends, I kept checking to see how my auction item was doing (there’s always that fear that you will be the only item without any bids!). By the end of the night, though, I was SO happy to see that not only did my item get some bids, it actually went for more than I had hoped! And it was the beautiful Boutelle Family who won the auction!

While it took what seemed like forever to get our session on the books, we finally were able to get out into the Spring sunshine and do our session. And even though I didn’t bring along that pitcher of margaritas (sorry, Tony!)   we all had an awesome time! Doing shoots with good friends is the best of both worlds!

Thanks Boutelle Family! Here’s your slideshow!

There’s a quote I like, which serves as a reminder that the world our kids live in doesn’t quite look the same as the one we adults live in…

Old age lives minutes slowly, hours quickly; childhood chews hours and swallows minutes.  ~Malcolm de Chazal

I remember when my kids were little… some days felt like they would NEVER end. I remember wishing for the days when I could have a little break – any break – from the insanity of the messes, ear-piercing noises, the crying, the crankies, the diaper changing… I look back on those days and sometimes I’m in awe that any of us survive! It’s a ton of work. It takes a ton of patience. It’s not a time that lends itself to quiet reflective moments to say the least.

The days when each of my kids started school full time were really hard for me. I always saw it as the end of a chapter. I cried. I called my husband after drop off lamenting over how they didn’t need me anymore and how it was only a matter of time before they were out of the house and I would be an old hag. (Yes, I do have quite the flair for the dramatic).

I will say that now that they are in school full time, I am more aware of the time I do spend with them. Maybe it’s the whole quantity vs. quality argument that many full-time working moms talk about. And I get it. It’s hard to stay present with your kids when their presence is never-ending I suppose. (That said, I wouldn’t have given up those early days with them for anything… although to be fair, no one actually made me a good enough offer to consider!).

Fast forward to today — My kids are in school, I have a business, I stay pretty busy all things considered. And I’m guilty of it like we all are… rushing, running errands, getting work done, making endless to-do lists… it seems like it’s the world we live in. Everyone is in a rush. Everyone has lots to do.

And like usual, I had a ton of things I needed to get done this week… Doctor’s appointments, teaching a private lesson, workshop to attend, lunch with friends.

Then my littlest got sick with a fever on Sunday. Today is Friday and she STILL has the fever. It’s one of those low-grade ones… the kind that seems to come and go so you’re never quite sure if it’s ending.

I started to get stressed Sunday night thinking of all the stuff I needed to get done. And Monday came. We spent the day together, I was loving on her, she was eating it up. She’s in first grade and still in that in-between stage of wanting to be a little kid and wanting to be completely free of parental guidance. This week, she has been all about just being six. And it has been awesome. And gratefully, I recognized in the moment how AWESOME this was. And I enjoyed it.

It’s a good lesson. And a good reminder to slow down. I need this reminder. A lot. Staying present, if even for a moment, is a gift.

That said, this whole “staying present” thing might end up getting the best of me if she’s still sick next week.  :-)