Harper Jean

One of the things I love best about this sweet little girl is the way she looks at her momma...who is still my sweet little girl.

 

Fall and families!

A small sampling of some of the little families I got to play with this Fall!

 

We had a nice Fall this year, though it does seem like it went from 80 degrees to snow awfully quickly (yep, it's snowing right now!)!  I do love those brief days of Autumn; the colors are bright and there is lots of sunshine, the air smells of damp soil and crisp leaves, and the temperature is jeans and t-shirts until the sun goes down and then you reach for that cozy sweatshirt and contemplate the sitting-by-the-fire-weather that is right around the corner! 

 

Fall is too brief, but it was fun to spend pieces of it with these little families and others!



Heavenly.

I am home after nearly a month long adventuresome absence and am beginning to settle back in for a bit;  going through the stack of bills that inevitably pile up when you are away, finishing up the mounds of laundry that comes with dumping out suitcases (complete with little piles of sand in the bottom), cleaning house, doing some great Fall portraits with some fun clients and trying to get back into the groove of "regular" life which includes plenty of my to-do lists, of course!  Although there are certainly more pertinent chores to attend to, I couldn't help myself but to download some of my pictures from our Seattle-Olympic Park-Oregon coast trip and I came across this one, from the Olympic National Park, which makes me just sort of sigh... 

I know there must be a heaven...and I kind of like to think this is what it is going to feel like...

 



the Hunt family!



Okay, so I admit to my bias...but this is one beautiful family!  My daughter, Ashley, my son-in-law, Byron, and of course, well-known to my blog, my sweet grand-daughter, Harper Jean!  We headed out the door in the evening and the light was beautiful, so...pictures!!!  Harper just turned 6 months old...and time will continue to fly by as we enjoy her little personality developing...she's starting to babble, a lot, she loves to smile and giggle and cuddle...ahhh, she's just so cute! 

I am headed on vacation soon and it is beginning to occur to me that I am gonna miss her sweet little face!  Next year, I might have to take her with me!

 



 

Taylor!

This is my beautiful niece, Taylor!  She is sweet and sassy, fun and smart...and I mentioned beautiful, right?!  We met up in Boise and headed to Freak Alley to do some fun graffiti shots...and then wandered out of the city to do a little rural thing too.  (She is a little bit country...and a little bit hip-hop!)  Fun weekend, and I am excited to edit the rest of these images!

 

The secret to being Nana...

...okay, so maybe I don't really have a secret...because maybe there AREN'T any real secrets, to being a Nana, or to being a Mom (or a parent), for that matter.  Maybe the real secret is that we all just do the best we can...with our kids, and then, when we are particularly blessed, with our grand kids...and really, in life.  We all just do the best we can!  

Harper, my granddaughter, is growing fast, though she is still so tiny!  She explores her little world eagerly, paying so much attention now to expressions and faces and sounds and kitties!  She is almost ready to sit all by herself; she loves to stand up, with help; and still loves to be cuddled into her blanket too!  She laughs the cutest little belly laugh, especially when her momma is playing with her!  She is so fun to watch because everything is new to her...so watching her explore is a little like seeing the world for the first time, again!  I mean, I had totally forgotten how much fun it was to put my toes in my mouth!  Ahhh, she's so adorable and I love her so much!

A sweet friend of mine, a young mom, posted a picture on Facebook today of her son heading off to Kindergarten...and it doesn't seem that long ago when I took those same pictures; of new backpacks, clean shoes, fresh crayons...time really does fly by!  I was remembering a letter I had written to the girls' elementary school parents and faculty upon quitting my job there and moving here...  I wrote to them about some of lessons I had learned while working among incredible educators and alongside amazing parents...and honestly, I probably learned the most important lessons from the children themselves...lessons about being a kid, and about being an adult...lessons about the human experience.  The last line in the letter was this -

"I have learned that we all really want the same things for these children - for them to feel success and pride, belonging and security, for them to feel encouraged, nurtured and appreciated, and a sense of 'being a part of" something...and really, we all want the same things for ourselves..."  

The secret to being a Nana...well, I don't have any secrets, but I am ready with lots of love and kisses, and boxes of fresh crayons (when she's ready!)...and, I am just doing the best I can!

Oh, but here is a pretty new secret...I'm going to be a Nana again in February!!!  Congratulations to Allison & Stephen!!!  I am so excited for you!



Baby Harper's first time on the Oregon Coast!

Okay, so she might actually be the cutest baby on the planet!  Well, yes, I am just a little bit biased but...she is pretty darned sweet!  And at such a fun age, nearly 4 months; discovering her world, learning to laugh and starting to babble!  Oh, I love her!

Ashley and Harper came to the coast for a whole week...and...we played in the pool, walked on the beach, climbed the dunes, sat in the sand, saw some bunnies, found heart shaped rocks and sand dollars...and gave lots of kisses!  It was fun to spend that much time with BOTH of them; just hanging out, no schedules or commitments, just fun.  I love my girls, all 3 of them (Ashley & Harper & Allison!)!

IPhone/Instagram captures! 

Harper's first walk on the beach was a chilly one!

First time her toes were in the Pacific Ocean!!!

Trying to figure out the feeling of sand in her toes!  I hope she loves it as much as I!

Momma and daughter chat!  That indented spot on the back of her neck, that's my favorite spot to kiss!

Figuring it out!

Sitting her rear in the sand.  Gonna make a water baby out of her, teach her to paddleboard with Nana!

Vogue!  LOVE those lips!!!

More!

Okay, it's official...as someone commented, on my Facebook wall..."Ashley makes pregnancy look glamorous!"  Yes, she does!  If you could hear the daily groans about her aches and pains...you know, the ones that come with growing a human being inside of you...well, you would empathize, along with me.  Pregnancy really isn't all that glamorous, but it IS incredible! 

Baby is growing and doing great...Ashley is feeling pretty good and looking pretty amazing at 35 weeks!  And, the belly button is almost popped, just like a turkey timer!!!  :)

Now, if baby Harper can just hold on for at least 3 1/2 more weeks, I'll be back from Africa and be able to take some amazing 1st day pictures to share!  I can't wait to meet her!

  

         

 

Ashley...and Harper!

Okay, I know, I am pretty biased...but, seriously...isn't she lovely?!  Just over 5 weeks to go! 

We are so excited to welcome her little baby girl into the world!

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Saw this posted on Facebook (thanks Mollie!) and just think it's the cutest collaboration!  Who knew they had these amazing voices?!  Love them both!
Again, Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!

 

Okay, so it's not quite 2012 yet, but I, along with many, I am sure, am taking advantage of the post-holiday quiet to re-group, and to get into the spirit of ringing in a New Year!  

As I begin to put away our Christmas decorations, for yet another year, I get a little sentimental, a little reflective, about the year coming to a close.  This one was a busy one...with lots of new people in our lives, lots of travel opportunities - to familiar spots and plenty of new territories too! 

We rang in 2011 in the Tetons, one of our favorite, right in our own backyard, places!  We traveled throughout the year, several times, to Oregon, another of our favorite spots; for Allison's graduation from Oregon State University, for Allison & Stephen's beautiful wedding and all of those related festivities, and we spent a lot of time in one of my very favorite places, the Oregon Coast!  We got to go to Alaskaaaa, as part of a great adventure that began this Spring with mine and Ashley's incredible trip to Thailand and Burma!  And finally, we got to spend Thanksgiving with the Ryan family all together...and then enjoyed a nice, quiet Christmas with our beautiful (and pregnant!) daughter, Ashley!  (So looking forward to meeting our grand-daughter in 2012!!!!)

It was an exciting year!  And I am so grateful for all that we have been able to do and see...and all of the wonderful people in our lives.

I don't really "do" resolutions.  I find that as soon as I commit to a New Year's resolution, it becomes my goal, instead of keeping it, to break it, as quickly as possible, so I can let it go and relax!  Instead, I hope that I live my life as a resolution...to be an authentic, open person.  I hope that I have been true to myself...I hope that I have shown, by my actions and my words, and by my photography too, who I am and what matters most to me.  Time passes by so quickly.  It really does!  Even those days that seem to drag on forever are really just the blink of an eye!  So I hope, in 2012, I can continue to appreciate my life, continue to explore and to be open to new possibilities and new experiences...and that we all treasure every moment we are given and let the people in our lives know how much we cherish them.

To all my friends and family...Happy New Year...I love you!  Thank you for being a part of my life!

It's not just the gorgeous sunsets...

I have always loved the Oregon Coast.  Well, almost any coastline, actually, but the Oregon Coast has been a special place for me since the first time I visited, when I was 12 years old. 
My parents and I, and I got to bring along my friend Lori, drove, the summer of '76, from Michigan to Oregon, camping along the way.  When we arrived at the Oregon Coast, Lori and I got to pitch our tent right on the beach (can't do that anymore in most places) and sleep with the roar of the ocean literally right out our screen door!  It was incredible!  I think we stayed up all night, just watching the waves!  And I was hooked.
The next year our family moved to Eastern Oregon and we visited the coast often, usually ending up near the quaint town of Cannon Beach.  Mike and I spent our first 'vacation' together there, on the coast, in a really sketchy, cheap hotel in Seaside with Mark & Kelly (remember the slanted shower and the broken chair?!)!   Once we were married and had returned to the Northwest, we began a tradition of taking our girls there every summer for a week.  One of our fondest memories is the vacation to Yachats, Oregon where everything seemingly went wrong...kids with the stomach flu, pulling up to our hotel to fire trucks putting out a fire, a flat tire...and one of the best trips ever, just the 4 of us, hanging out at the beach.
So, there is certainly something nostalgic that draws me back to the Oregon Coast...like the home I grew up in, in a way.  But then there is the obvious...the beauty!  People think of the beach and it is bikinis and sand castles and miles of crowded sandy beaches...and I love that too, sometimes...but the Oregon Coast is different.  It is usually chillier than you expect for "the beach", no matter what time of year...and rugged...and fairly uncrowded, in places...and, well, relentlessly beautiful. 
There is an artist/writer, Mary Anne Radmacher, who resides on the coast who wrote "I come to the sea to breathe"...and I think it's true.  I feel more at ease there than almost anywhere else...something about the constant hum of the ocean...

Anyway, we just returned from a great family Thanksgiving in Prosser, Washington...had a really good time catching up with everyone and just hanging out with a great family...and we had a fun baby shower for Ashley while we were there (only 3 more months to go!)!  Then we headed farther west to the beach for the week...took Mike's parents with us for a few days to enjoy some sunshine, dune-climbing (and, yes, at 74-years young, Mike's dad ran down the dunes with us!), puzzle-making and surfer-watching!  Then, picked up Allison towards the end of the week and, well, we loved the chance to hang out with her. 
So these are a few images I took with my iPhone (thankful for that little gadget in my life!)...on a particularly beautiful evening.

Now it's time to start thinking about Christmas!  Getting the tree up this week, and the house decorated, gifts wrapped, goodies baking...and settling in for a homey holiday! 

Thankful for all the friends and family we have in our lives...and all the blessings we enjoy.

If there was ever...

...a more lovely pregnant woman, I cannot imagine it.

This is my beautiful daughter, Ashley...and my soon-to-be granddaughter!  I love them both so much it brings tears to my eyes. 

"I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in the darkness, the astonishing light of your own being."

Arms wide open.

I love him.  Okay, well why wouldn't I, right?!   He's very sweet, smart, funny, silly, curious, energetic, happy...oh, and just look at those baby blue eyes! 

But the thing is, he's already taken...  He's got a girl in his life who loves him even more than I possibly could.  And in this picture he is telling me (showing me) how much he loves her. 

"This much" he said, as he looked up at her.  Yep, that's a lot of love, Max. 

Well, he should love her that much...she is a pretty incredible lady...and Max, well, he calls her mommy.

A walk in the park.

One of the nicest compliments I can get upon finishing up a photo shoot is this one..."Oh, we're done?!  Okay, that was easy!  It felt like we just went on a walk together!" 

Taking a walk in the park is exactly what I got to do a little while ago, with these two...some of my very favorite two people!  And our little walk together resulted in some of my very favorite images. 

Of course, how can I go wrong...look at that sweet face!