I think the best way to describe two year old Amanda is happy-go-lucky.  She jumped out of the car at Half Moon Bay with a huge smile, despite an hour long car ride and being a little under the weather.  The entire session she just had fun, danced around and was a total sweetheart. 🙂

And here's a little fun with mom and dad…  

This was my last northern CA photo session…for now.  So, I'm glad I was able to go out with a bang!  If anyone will be visiting the southern CA area, I'm setting up shop in Long Beach. 🙂
-Kristin

I survived the heat on Friday with Justin, Jordan, Jalen and their parents.  :)  They were absolute troupers as we walked through the park and even changed outfits several times. 

The following family picture is one of my all time favorites…I just love how everything worked out with the layout.

Here are some super cute pictures with mom and dad…

Thanks guys!  I hope you enjoy the pictures!

-Kristin

This post is going to be short on words, because we're in the middle of a move.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.  Harper is the cutest retro baby!  She just turned one. 🙂

You are simply adorable, Harper!

-Kristin  

Way back in March, Arlene and I started talking about taking pictures with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.  I did a little research and found out that Baker Beach was the place to be.  I was so excited to actually do these pictures!
Bronson is such a scientific guy- this is him keeping an eye out for hermit crabs.

I told everyone to go run in the water for a bit.  The water was freeeezing!

I love these pictures of Arlene and Ryan…

And one last picture of Gavin having some fun!

Thanks for the fun time at the beach!

-Kristin

Meet Andrew…he's a pretty serious guy.

During the family photo session, he was doing what all toddlers do, wander.  So, we decided to have Grandma read the kids a book.  I'm cracking up at his mischievous little expression as he wanders away from the group. 🙂

He eventually wandered back to listen to the story…

And this is the newest member of the family, Savannah.

I was taking pictures of her in the excersaucer and couldn't pass up taking a photo of these chubby legs!

Here is big sister, Vienna, blowing bubbles with Andrew.

She is such a great big sister.  She helped me by holding her baby sister…so sweet!

Here's mom and dad…now you know where the kids get their good looks!

What a cute family!  Thanks for spending Saturday morning with me!

-Kristin

We got a little bit of a rough start when Aiden fell and skinned his knee…before any pictures were taken.  But thankfully he was able to quickly dry his tears and have some fun!
This shot was taken when he was still recovering from his injury 🙁

Three clicks later was this picture.  I love how kids bounce back!

This is little brother, Brendan.  He is such a little ham!

I loved the doorway of their home…and the lighting was really nice, so we took a few pictures there.

Then they changed into more comfortable clothes and we headed over to the country club.

The brothers were so cute together.  I got so many great shots, I have to share a few of my favorites!

Of course, Shannon was as cute as ever too!

And here are a few more favorites from the day…

You guys are such a CUTE family!!

-Kristin

Sometimes I get a little pre-photo session jitters…whether it's about the lighting situation, organizing a large group of people or maybe just coming up with creative ideas.  This time my jitters were about parallel parking.  It's a little bit ridiculous that I'm a grown adult that cannot parallel park.  I know this.
Maybe I should back up.  When I took the drivers test in high school, I lived in Montana.  With about a hundred people in the entire state 🙂 there's nor reason to parallel park.  So, when it came to that part of the test and I failed miserably, my instructor said, that's okay.  Here I am 17 years later, no better a parallel parker!
That brings me to yesterday.  I met Gonzalo and Claudia in San Francisco, where parallel parking is a MUST HAVE skill.  Brent went over the basics with me, using the boys' toy cars.  I felt pretty good until I saw how small the parking spaces were when I got there!  God smiled on me when Gonzalo met me in front of their house and literally drove my car around the block and parked it for me.  Wow…saved again.
Enough rambling about parking…on to the gorgeous Claudia.
We started out at Claudia and Gonzalo's home, which had amazing details.  I loved how bright and airy their bedroom was, especially with all white bedding and pale blue walls.

Their cat, Nut, kept wanting to join them on the bed, so he was finally allowed up for his photo-op!
I snapped this one as Claudia paused for a moment in the doorway.  I love this color on her!

Next we went over to a local park for some outdoor shots with Claudia's mom.

Claudia had so many great ideas for the photo session, including this hat…which I'm in love with!

Finally we went over to a fountain and Claudia and Gonzalo rolled up their jeans and got in.  I love this shot because it feels like the their are in their own little world.

Best of luck to you both!

-Kristin

Back in April, Brent and I went to Hawaii and Elroy came to watch the kids.  Elroy decided to bring his owners at the last minute to help him out…because 3 kids are a lot to handle for one dog!  At least that's how my kids looked at the situation.

Ever since my parents have had an empty nest, Elroy has become their fifth child.  He has quite a personality, which is helped along by my mom.  She sends packages to the kids with dog prints and a return address of Elroy from Montana.

My parents are amazing!  They watched the kids and a rowdy dog for the whole week.  Every day they did something fun like going to the zoo and waterslides in the backyard.  I think the kids were a little bummed when we came home!

But, since Elroy is part of the family I can brag on him a little.  Not only can he smile for the camera-

but he also does tricks.

I got so many great pictures of Elroy, I decided to make an album for my mom.  🙂

-Kristin

Last weekend was the half marathon I ran with my friends.  It's amazing how much fun it is to thrash your body. :)  We were all complaining for days after about blisters and sore backs.  But, I guess being over 30 doesn't help much!
Here we are right after the race.  I was so proud of my friends.  When I ran this race last year they both rolled their eyes and basically said they'd never run 13 miles.  Look at them now!!

Toward the end, you have to just keep putting one leg in front of the other, but it helps to have your kiddos there cheering you on. 🙂

See Jane Run is a great women's event in Alameda.  You run by the water almost the entire time…if you're looking for a fun way to thrash your body, I totally recommend it!
-Kristin

This week I gave Marcus and Lucas a visit since their Grandpa was in town.  They are as cute as ever and even remembered me. 🙂
We started out with some more formal family shots…

The sun was very bright, so I had my work cut out for me…but we worked with angling them against the sun and with the help of a reflector I got some really vibrant colors.

I also took this one with the house in the background.  I really like the vintage black and white action for this shot.

It was getting close to the boys' naptime and they were a little tired of taking pictures.  Desperate times call for desperate measures 🙂 so I pulled out the bubbles.

I love this series of photos taken with Grandpa.  You just can't beat authentic smiles!!

I love the 3 generations in this picture…

Thanks for letting me be part of your afternoon!

-Kristin