A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to do my first wine country wedding with my good friend Joanne.  I really was in the middle of severl projects and getting ready to leave on vacation but how do you say no to a friend that has been there and saved me on several occasions - besides Ian and Jen were just too cute. These two love birds meet back in high school and have been through a lot together.  When Jo told me that 6 years ago Jen also battled Hodgkin’s Lymphoma - I just knew I had to be there to help capture this moment for them.  Jo it was a please to second shoot with you - thanks for sharing.  

have been both fun and exhausting.  We spent one whole day and a ton of money at the California Mid State Fair - why is it that the kids can never eat enough funnel cakes, cotton candy and snow cones while at the fair.  Below are a few pictures that Gio took while he was on the Ranger (a ride I was to scared to go  on).

We also visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium - if you have not been there, put it on your must do list.  Gio went scuba diving and Jet took a back stage tour.  We had so much fun we plan to go back on Sunday - and my crazy husband bought a season pass (I think he forgot we live over 350 miles away).  Well I don’t think Monterey is ready for my crazy family… but here we come anyways. 

Ok time for part 2 of how to take better pictures.  One of the most common mistakes we all make while taking photos is to say the words “say cheese”,  ”look here”,  ”smile” or “no not that goofy look”.  Trust me, I know that these are hard habits to break, but are important to forget if you want to take better pictures.  This leads me to my second rule of taking better pictures - Engagement.Think of the things that your kids do that just warm your heart and make smile - you know, the silly jokes they tell and the way the giggle after, the new tricks they just have to show you, they way they look at you when they are sad or even the peaceful look they have when the sleep.  Those are all real life moments that deserve to be captured without forced smiles or false emotion, instead engage your child in conversation or even activities they love to do.  Capture then as who they are and what they love to do - those are the images that will truly make you see who they are and bring back warm memories years down the line.  If you have a child that loves to do summersaults - take a picture of that, if you have a child that wrinkles her nose whenever you serve broccoli- take a picture of that, if your child loves to make funny faces, act like you are in a photo booth - and take a picture of that.  Photos no longer have to be images of everyone blindly staring into the camera with fake smiles waiting for you to get it over with - they can be fun and engaging.  Get down on the floor and play with your child or even climb the money bars with them as you take pictures and you will see how much easier those smiles and laughter comes - and if they don’t, that ok too.  Remember life is beautiful - capture it!

Well, we had a rocky start to our vacation - we left 3 hours late, our navigation system broke and then we had to go to three different stores along our route for a replacement.  Then, the constant “are we there yet”, “are we there yet”? - Almost drove me insane (and that was before we had even driven 1 hour out of our 5 1/2 hour drive).  But as the saying goes, “every dark cloud has a sliver lining”, our home where we’re renting in Paso Robles is beautiful and the weather is perfect.  

Yesterday was our first full day of vacation and it was nice to start the day out by sleeping in.  We then set out to visit Hearst Castle (amazing history - if you can ever do the tour - do it, it’s worth every penny spent!) and since the county fair just so happens to be in town this week, my husband surprised me with tickets to see John Mayer and Colbie Caillat in concert - see, told you there was a silver lining.  If you have a chance to get ticket for this concert when they come to  your town - do it!  Well, I look forward to sharing more later.

P.S.

The highlight of my day was  that of Jet’s curiosity, looking into one of the pools at Hearst Castle, getting closer and closer to the edge - he later told me he wished he had $500 so he could just jump in and then pay the fine - THAT’S MY BOY!  

This was my fourth sessions with these two little beauties - and I can’t wait for me.  We were celebrating Gracie’s’ 10th month and boy has she grown.  Gracie has grown more beautiful, more independent, more friendly, happier and is just a handful of delight.  Hannah is such a proud big sis - she wanted to make she she got in a few pictures with her baby sister, And then there is mom,  I was very impressed by the fact that mom had managed to save many of the hair accessories that she wore as a child and is now enjoying passing them down.  What a rich history mom has preserved for these two young beauties. .