Sweets

Our house is still dripping with candy and I don't see it going away until summer. Once Halloween comes the holidays, which keep the kids fully stocked, hit at a regular clip until Easter. 

My oldest is the type who will finish his last piece of Halloween candy the day before trick-or-treating again. I think most parents throw it out, steal from it themselves or let the kids eat it all quickly so it doesn't draw out for months but those options haven' t felt right to me. yet.

He digs through the bag and has the self-control to keep the best pieces of candy the longest. Where he got his restraint, I don't know. 

All the candy at my house got me thinking about a shoot I did this summer of a few of our nephews. We are lucky to have such great family. For the last few years we have been able to spend some time together at Cannon Beach each summer. The cousins play, the adults eat way too many maple bars and carry all the pails, shovels and children back and forth to the beach several times a day.

One of the highlights of the trip for the kids is a trip to Bruce's Candy Kitchen to hunt for a special treat. Each of them choose unique flavors, shapes and sizes and everyone come out with giant smiles. I bought a few extra lollipops while we were there as reward for my cooperative subjects. I love that my boys will have such great summer memories to hold on to when they grow up.

...brown paper packages tied up with strings

...these are a few of my favorite things. 

What fun it has been for me to package orders which have been heading out the door. Thought I would share a photo of the brown packages I really love getting ready for my clients. 

If any of you are looking for a Christmas gift, I could wrap up a beautiful gift certificate for a special someone on your list.

The holidays are here, hope this helps get you in the mood.

"invisible to the eye" -Vancouver, WA Family Photographer

"Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." -- "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I am pretty sure my heart grows three sizes, just like the Grinch, each time I spend time with adorable families taking pictures. I get excited and bubbly and I talk way too fast and too much. A tremendous rush of creative adrenaline comes over me which needs to come out somehow.

I get a chance to hang out with the best people in the world and get to make photos and create art. For this I am thankful. But when all is said in done, it is not about the photographs. It is about life and living it and sharing it with others. 

I like to read my horoscope, just to see what it has to say. Sometimes it doesn't come close to describing life as I know it. Today I think it held some truth. It read, "Somehow you manage to put other people's interests before your own without selling yourself short or making yourself small." I don't know about the first line, but it is the second line that got me. "You just love people, and serving others is as natural to you as breathing air." Wow. That's me.

Now for the sneak peek of the little Prince I got to hang out with. Thanks for putting up with my fast talking so my heart could learn a little more about you.