Lauren!

Lauren is a runner at Westwood.  We’ve shot her several times in our poster shoots (WW track/cc) and were so happy when we found out she wanted to do her senior session with us! What a sweet & beautiful senior.

 

 

 

 

We also got to do a mini-family shoot after right after her senior session.  It’s so fun to meet the whole family and watch everyone interact and enjoy each other.  Also, this quilt they’re laying on was crocheted…by hand of course…by their GREAT-grandmother.  It is gorgeous!  What a great little touch with a family heirloom for their portraits!

Debra

Debra is such a sweetheart, so calm and relaxed.  Maybe it’s because she’s already done with high school and is about to walk into college with a TON of credit from all the hard work she did the past 4 years.  (lucky her!!)  Here’s just a couple of shots from our shoot a couple weeks ago. 

niSPLASHBASH this weekend!

One of my favorite promotions of the year is our SplashBash Party at the studio yard.  Kids come from near and far to play on slip-n-slides, run through sprinklers, splash in kiddy pools or baby mats, meet new friends, eat cupcakes…and drink lemonade!  SplashBash is a fundraiser we put on to raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand (who donates the money to a childhood cancer research).  This year we are also partnering with the BEST cupcakery in Austin, who happens to be right down the street from us….Cupprimo Cupcakery & Coffee Spot! 

It’s happening THIS Saturday, the 26th.  We’ll be photographing your kids playing in the water.  And, these images will be available for purchase online after the event at special pricing…and we donate ALL these proceeds to Alex’s Lemonade Stand! 

So, COME!  Come for cupcakes!  Come for the lemonade! Come for the great pictures of your kids’ wearing GIANT smiles as they swim, splash, and slide in the sun!  And come to support cancer research!  

An RSVP is appreciated

Clara & JZ

And here we have MORE blue eyes!  Wow!  I think Clara could be a model for the Cabbage Patch Kid dolls! Do you see any similarity here?  
 

 She’s adorable and her personality is just hilarious….as you can probably tell.  Clara and her dad, Jason, are quite the pair!    He is so sweet with her.

 

Cam & Family

Meet Cam & his crazy, fun, sweet family! 
Cam is my sister’s boyfriend and is like a big brother to me.  He took me all around Seattle (on bike!). He loves to do about ANYTHING outdoors…skiing, mountaineering, climbing, camping, biking, mtn. biking, fishing, hunting, kayaking, backpacking, surfing, windsurfing, scuba-diving, swimming, triathlon-ing, etc. etc. etc.  He knows everything about ALL the latest/best gear for all the above.    Cam’s going to be a Seattle fireman someday.  And, he’s a nickname-maniac so, if you spend a couple of hours with him, I’m sure you’ll get a new nickname.  The latest one he’s tagged me with is Marzipanoli…along with Marzipan & MaariMaariPantalones.  (not sure where they come from but he makes sure they stick)

Cam (& his bro Erin) are the biggest goofballs around.  Little Ethan is a blast to hang out with, always laughing & smiling and making others laugh and smile.  Emma is an angel and in awe with her big brother.  EJ is training for a half Ironman with Cam (and inspires me).  Erin made the coolest extra-large picnic table for his family at home.   Glena is a passionate grandma, dedicated mom, & makes beautiful jewelry,  & Craig makes the BEST salmon I have EVER eaten. 

There is so much love in this family!

 

The Morse Family!

Sarah, Peter and Gus were great! Everyone in the family was so relaxed and at ease, such a joy to shoot.
Gus was fascinated by ROCKS and wanted to touch and pick up each one. He would gift some and let some go, throw others, and pocket a few for home. Lucky for him, we made our way down to a whole beach of nothing but ROCKS! No shade, but lots of rocks.

I can’t get enough of his big, round, blue eyes! And as you will soon see in the following posts from my other Seattle clients…I think it’s a requirement for all little kids in this area to have big, round, beautiful eyes.

The Callaway’s!

I was so excited when Mandy said they wanted to do an urban shoot behind/below Pike Market. The alley they suggested using, of which they happen to live around the corner, was perfect in every way. Can we send this alley to Austin, please?

Mandy and Taylor rocked this shoot. I love the energy in their session! And these are the most well behaved dogs you will ever meet. Neve & Duncan, way to go! All the hours of training have paid off. What a cool family!

Happy Belated Father’s Day, Pops!

I know Father’s Day was weeks ago, but I wanted to send some blog lovin’ to my dad anyway. (i’m a little behind on blogging lately because I’m entirely distracted by Seattle)

I am a HUGE fan of my dad, as many people are. My sisters and I weren’t able to be with him this year in Austin, but we were able to spend it together. We know brings him much joy when we spend time together so we thought we would go out of our way to do something extra special this year…since he deserves it. I can’t go into detail about the highly involved “gift,” but I’m sure he’d email you the letter/project/puzzle/etc if you asked. Here’s a sneak peak of the day the three of us spent together working on our Father’s Day Gift.

We left quite an impression with Home Depot….

oh if you could only see the rest!

Wait no longer ARC friends….the sneak peak is finally up!

 Phase one of our project with Round Rock’s Austin Regional Clinic is … half…complete!  What a week(s)!  We shot over 15 families in a week and a half and it was an exhausting  BLAST!   Everyone was totally in their element…as you can probably tell from the pictures below.  Each family came up with great creative ideas.  My mom and I enjoyed meeting and photographing all of you.  We look forward to the next round of sessions at the end of the summer/fall with the rest of our applicants.

Pretty soon the walls of the clinic are going to be vamped up with the beautiful faces of the families of the doctors, nurses, and staff that work there.   

Below is just a sampling of what’s to come…

 

 

 

Phase one of our project with our Round Rock’s Austin Regional Clinic is … half…complete!  And what a week(s) it’s been so far!  We shot over 15 families in a week and a half and it was such an exhausting BLAST!   Everyone was totally in their element…as you can probably tell from the pictures below.  Each family came up with some creative ideas.  My mom and I enjoyed meeting and photographing all of you.  We look forward to the next round of sessions at the end of the summer/fall with the rest of our applicants.

 

 

Triathlon Update…

I finally made it on the plane to Seattle!  And I SOOO didn’t travel lightly.   TWO bike boxes, TWO suitcases, TWO cameras, ONE laptop/camera bag….etc etc etc.  It made me really miss the days of traveling around for weeks at a time with only a backpack!   (Maari….that day will soon come again…maybe it will be to South America this January….or maybe Mexico in August… or maybe Indonesia…or maybe…)The triathlon is done!  It was a great experience the whole time.  2500 women of all shapes and sizes participated that day.  Everyone was doing  what they used to think was impossible.  Everyone was believing in themselves.  Everyone was pushing themsleves.  Everyone was celebrating.  It was so encouraging and emotional.

I surprised myself that day with how much heart I found inside to push me through to the end!   And I think I passed more people than passed me!  Yay!   Thankfully…no leg cramps in the swim, no flat tires on the bike, and no tripping or rolling my ankles on the run. 

 

 

The worst part of the whole thing:  the Run-O-Shame (I like to call the first transition…run up the grassy hill in the middle of hundreds of fans IN YOUR SWIMSUIT to get to your bike…ugh.)

Some pre-game pictures my mom snapped…. I’m looking a little anxious don’t you think…

Let the games begin!  I love this shot, mom. 

Oh, the bike!

The pink sign on my leg says “In honor of my beautiful Aunt Mary” who is a breast cancer survivor!  It was motivating to keep running when I thought about the amount of strength she had to overcome!

I’m so happy!  What oh what is next???

And the thing I forgot that day….. my water bottles & Gatorade that I was planning to drink during the race.   Way to go Maari.  At least it wasn’t my shoes or helmet.