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!



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!

 

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.

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!

Happy Birthday to my Dad!

Hard for me to imagine, but my Dad would be 72 years old today!  He died of cancer over 17 years ago, and, those who have lost loved ones will relate, I have missed him every day. 
Sometimes it seems like just yesterday that he was playing in a tent in the yard with his granddaughters, who called him Papa.  Or taking one of them out on an early morning trip for pancakes...or chasing one of them around the dining room in their Pittsburgh home.  And there are days when I realize how much he has missed...watching them grow, go to school, date, graduate from high school and become young adults.  He would have been so proud to watch Allison graduate from college.  And of course I thought of him on both of their wedding days, how much he would have loved seeing the beautiful women they have become.
I didn't write this post to be a downer...as I sit here in tears!  I do, however, want to remind everyone to cherish every single day you have with the people you love on this Earth.  It is so important, in our busy, list-filled, chore-driven lives, to cherish, to love and appreciate...and celebrate your life!
Happy Birthday Dad!

Wedding Day!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Spicer!  And thank you, for allowing us to be a part of your wedding day!

I love this family!

No, really, I do!  My daughter is a very lucky woman, to have married into such a great family! 



I couldn't resist...

...this little guy, nor could I resist posting his picture here!  So cute! 



Happy Holidays!

...to this family, and all of the families I had have the pleasure of meeting this year! 

(A sneak peek, Mark & Tor...you have a beautiful, sweet family!) 

Love these kids!

Did a recent family photo session with this amazing group of energetic people!  They are funny and sweet and smart and kind...and beautiful...and, oh, they are MINE! 
We consider ourselves very fortunate to call these wonderful young women our daughters...and so blessed that they have chosen to love these wonderful young men, who cherish them in return!



Happy Birthday Ashley!

Sometimes I wish you were this little again...and sometimes I am really glad you aren't! But all of the time...I love you! Happy Birthday! :] Mom

Happy Birthday Grandma!

So, I don't really "do" resolutions, persay. I am not a pessimist by nature but somehow I see resolutions as doomed to fail! However, I did make a promise to myself in the recent past to make family, both my own immediate family, as well as extended and "long lost" family a priority.

In keeping with that spirit, I recently had the pleasure of reconnecting with a few of my relatives in that "long lost" category...my aunt (who, just by seeing the resemblances, reassured me that I will, in fact, age quite beautifully), my cousin (whom I haven't seen since we were kids) and my Grandma (who is a joy)...all on the occasion of her 90th birthday.

My daughter and I only got to stay for a few days but...the warmth was certainly a welcome change for us, the sunset "pink moment" in the valley was remarkable, the beach was lovely...and the opportunity to spend time with my family, well, as the commercial says, it was priceless. My intention is to return, soon and often...and my wish for everyone is that you never forget where you came from, appreciate your past and love the people who were always there for you. Oh, and laugh a lot! :)

It was a very cold and very windy day...

...no wonder the hardest part of this shoot was to get this beautiful, energetic family to stand still! We thoroughly enjoyed this family shoot...it is always great to see families who love and appreciate each other! And who don't mind a little fun!

Merry Christmas to everyone! Enjoy your families!

"Oh my, how you've grown!"

...that is something my Grandma said all of the time...and now I find myself saying it!
Have you ever noticed that everyone else's children seem to grow up faster than your own...? Especially true of kids you don't get to see every day...they seem to age really quickly...certainly quicker than I do!? These young ladies are no exception...I haven't seen them in nearly a year and they are growing up right before our eyes! Such beauties and so much fun!

A really great family we always enjoy visiting with! Oh, and how cute is their new puppy?!