Easter

So I know we still have Valentine's Day and St Patrick's Day coming up, but Easter is on my mind. And it's early this year - on March 31. For many years we've spent Easter day with good friends. Every year the table decorations are lovely. But last year they were especially pretty.

We did another fun project last year. We planted grass seed in egg shells. It's just a fun Spring project!

I'm always on the lookout for fresh table decorations and fun projects for the kids to do.

Two Parents & Four Great Kids!

I love this family! And it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm related to them. :) Last November we strolled around the streets of Old Town Tustin stopping occasionally to snap a few portraits.

I love these kids. I especially appreciate how they take up for each other. 

See what I mean about how great these kids are! The boys are constantly watching out for their baby sister and she lives for their attention.

They worked hard posing for my camera. It was time to let them run around and give Mom & Dad a break.

These just make me smile.

I'm ready to take some more family portraits. Anybody want to help me out with that?

Just for Fun

I got this new lens for Christmas from my daughter. And I am really enjoying it on this cold, blustery day.

Boys & Toys

My boys are members of the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics). With the exception of media related devices (TV's, DVD players, etc) they love most things that are remote controlled such as airplanes, cars, robots... Yesterday we went to the annual expo where the boys got to play. It's amazing how the simplest things really do bring the most fun. Josh brought along his friend and they had the best time flying their balsa wood planes back and forth down an empty hallway at the convention center.

And we couldn't leave without waiting in a long line to enjoy these crazy cars!

Let It Snow

My girl went back to the great white north yesterday. And I am missing her already!

Finale

Tomorrow it's back to work and back to school. But today we took one last day trip up the mountain to Lake Arrowhead. And it snowed for us.

Annual Ritual

For many photographers the desire to be behind a camera came early in life. For me not so much. In fact we don't have all that many photos of my early years. My mom wasn't much for picking up a camera and while my dad did his best and took his share of pictures he really didn't have an eye for such things. There aren't many family group shots and the ones we do have were those of Olan Mills fame. They could easily be in an entry on the Awkward Family Photos blog. So when I joined my husband's family 23 years ago I was pleased with their tradition of taking a Christmas Eve family photo every year. As the kids (meaning my husband and his siblings) have grown up we have added many more to our numbers. There are now 21 of us. Over the years not everyone has been able to be in every photo, but this year all the family was home and mostly healthy. And it was my honor to be the official family photographer.

After corralling the kids and securing the light stands that kept blowing over in the wind we managed to get smiles on all 21 faces. Of course I was like a comedy routine myself running back and forth from the camera in 10 second intervals. I really need to invest in a remote shutter release. But our efforts were not in vain and I am pretty pleased with the resulting image.

Back at the house we got everyone together for a cousins photo with Grandma & Grandpa.  

But this one might just be my favorite! With so many personalities it is always fun to catch them when they aren't looking :)

I hope you have all had a lovely vacation and I pray that 2013 is off to as good of a start for you as it is for me.