Sophia and I went to Seattle a while back (I'm ashamed to say how far back and I'm just now blogging these) - and while we were there, we stayed with long time friends, Carol and Rob Hille. We have been crashing with the Hlles for about 25 years now and many years ago, we nicknamed their house The Hilleton, since we used it as a free hotel so often! (Now we stay at the Hilleton PNW.) Well, it just so happened that their two darling daughters, Jessica and Stephanie, neither of whom live in the State of Washington, were in town too. We decided to do an impromptu photo sesh around Seattle. It was a bit cold and rainy (go figure) -- a little windy at times too but what the heck . . . it is Seattle after all! Home of God's softbox. :D We headed down to the sculpture park and played around.  It was awfully fun and hopefully will give them something to hang in their new Seattle home!


Just wanted to see if we could get Rob to be silly with us a little . . .

There just aren't many things in life better than watching little boys play! We had a family session with this darling little family - two boys - Brooks is 2 and Charlie is 4.  Both boys have the most beautiful blue eyes with the longest, thickest, dark lashes!  They had a little picnic, shot some air rockets off, kicked a soccer ball, threw a big red ball, played with cars, sang a song about boogers and laughed until they fell over, got in the water, found a stick - - - well, you get the picture. And all in a matter of minutes for the most part. Charlie was ready to play but Brooks had to kind of warm up to me. (gave me THE LOOK a couple of times- Ha!) Thankfully his mom can always make him laugh. Lots of energy, and tons of fun!

All we needed was Winnie the Pooh and Piglet to complete this blustery day session! Cousins just in town for a wedding and only one time we could squeeze it in so . . . blow away wind and we will just play and let you carry us along! Mr. Liam is one of my favorite little subjects  - so pensive and purposeful. I love to watch him - you really can see the little wheels turning in there! So when his cousins were in town recently for his Aunt Mary's wedding, we decided to have a quick little session with the 4 of them. Oh, yes, did I mention - Ryan- blond and beautiful (yes, it's a family thing) is just 2 1/2, Liam is 2, Ryan's little brother Clay is 9 months and Henry was brand new - about 7 weeks old. Yep, that's 4 under age 3! This calls for serious measures - THE BUBBLE GUN! Ryan took charge of that right away and started blowing bubbles for Liam to chase in the wind. The babies came outside for awhile, and we had grandparents too and we even got the mommies in on it a bit! All the little blue eyes in this family - hypnotizing.  WOW!


I LOVE the looks these two boys are giving their aunt while Henry is crying a little. "Aren't you going to do something?" So FUNNY!

Oh my, I can't really think of anything I like better than new babies but if I had to come up with something, I'd have to say it's new parents. I just love them. I love the way they stare at this little person who is undoubtedly running their lives now. I love the way they smile at every little movement she makes with amazement.  I love the sometimes unsteady but going for it way they hand her off to each other and I LOVE the looks they give each other over the baby. So proud and united!  They have made a FAMILY. Oh, and it's official and it's being announced by it's newest member at regular (and irregular) intervals. It's the first-born bond that as parents, you never forget.  I was privileged to see this all again last week when little Mia was here. Six weeks old - past the "newborn" stage but just 10 pounds and still very tiny! Tons of dark hair, deep, dark eyes rimmed with long dark lashes (just like her daddy's) and a little hint of pink in her cheeks and pouty lips (just like her beautiful mama's!) Precious with a capital 'P'. And those fat little cheeks, creased arms and legs . . .really, I could just eat her up with a spoon! She did not sleep - she dozed briefly a couple of times but mostly was very alert and did not want to miss a thing. We riled her up a bit from time to time and she got pretty mad once or twice (which BTW doesn't phase anyone around here), but overall, she was a trouper!  Her Grandfather was here from New Jersey visiting this brand new granddaughter of his and it's easy to see, he, too is quite smitten!

Well, they're not creepy, and they're not kooky (okay, maybe a little) and they are not in the least bit spooky but they ARE a whole lot of fun, The Adams Family. When Rodney and Denise came in for their planning session, their love for Rodney's daughter Ashley was very apparent and our first must was we were going to schedule just so she could be present from her Texas home. That meant Christmas week and big prayer for good weather! Then as we kept talking, I learned that their dogs - Maddie, a gorgeous mini schnauzer and Tucker, a recently adopted schnauzer mix (good people - always room for one more!) were a big part of their lives. I don't need to remind you how much we love to have dogs along!  Oh, and one more thing - they have a slight obsession with their Mini-Cooper. So the wheels are turning, the plan was falling into place and with all the pieces present and, but for a little wind, good weather forecasted for December, we just decided to throw caution to the wind. Park in NO PARKING zones! Run in the streets! Just whatever moved us that day.  It was such fun! The love this family has for each other is evident in all 5 of them and it was an honor to capture it for them.