Carmel by the Sea.

Oh yea! Going for one last shot of our favorite spot before the end of the year. Last minute... just the way we like it!!=) Paradise here we come. WYWH!

Grandma.

Ben and I went to Utah two weekends ago to see my Grandmother who lives in a nursing facility after taking a scary fall. It happen to also be the BYU game that weekend, which sweetened the deal. My visit with my Grandma couldn't have been more perfect, while the game turned out to be a total disaster. But that story will come later. (we met the prophet in a serendipitous stairway collision)

My Grandma is 88 years old now and I've watched her body change and age over the past decade while her mind has stayed the same. She is phenomenal! When she opened the door I said, "grandma!!" She said, "Yes, can you believe it is me?... I have white hair!" She is the most perceptive and self-aware elderly person I have ever seen. We cracked jokes and she told stories while Ben and I listened intently. I couldn't get enough of her. She was jovial, sarcastic, self-deprecating and refreshing all in one. She didn't want to let us go and we didn't want to leave. Ben and I were in tears each time it came time for her to leave for a meal or us to go to the game.

We got out her old jewelry box and she told me stories about each amazing piece. One necklace in particular was a heart shaped pendant with a picture of her mother as an infant that her Grandmother wore her entire life. Her grandmother had left the family when her mother was just a girl. She wanted me to take it, but it didn't feel right. She gave me a bracelet that my father had given her once and I felt better about that.

When she laughed she would close her eyes and scrunch her face. Ben teased her and she didn't skip a beat for one minute. My grandfather was such a colorful character that I don't think I've realized how independently hilarious my grandma is until he passed. I asked her if she was always this funny or if it was just from living with grandpa all the years they were married. She said, "No, I've always been this funny." Totally matter of fact.

When I left I hugged her one more time and told her how much her life had meant to me. How all her hard work and character had rubbed off on me and made me want to be better. Her eyes seemed to soak up every word. I felt like a child sitting on Santa Claus lap, relishing every moment we had together. It couldn't have been more worth it.

She had just got her hair done, and put on some lipstick. I see my father and myself in her brown eyes.

We both wear size 11 narrow! We always joke about our big feet!

 

busy, busy.

Where do I begin to post? I can't even put my mind around it. Just did this session on Friday. Alicia's mother-in-law hired me to take pics of her beautiful grand-babies! There was a lot of energy between all 8 of them. It didn't hurt to have Alicia on the sidelines feeding me with comic relief! =)

 

I'm a little obsessed with this little girl! Look at her dress! And the socks. It was like shooting a little girl from a different time! =)

My favorites! Love these three kids.

It is Alicia's b-day today! Doesn't look a day over 23!!

Um, heartbreaker in the making! Just like his daddy!

And my current crush... LUKE! He is eat-able!!

 

The girls.

 

The boys.

Just for fun.

     

The daughter-in-laws. Don't they make beautiful kids!?

Thanks grandma Sutton for sharing your beautiful family with me! It was a blast and an education all at the same time! What a group of beautiful little people you have to watch grow up!

not bad.

How can I be sad when this is who I live with everyday!?

Colby turns one!

Just got done with this shoot. What a love. This might be my favorite age to capture. We had a good time with both mom and dad there to help keep the little guy happy. Happy birthday Colby!

Buzz kill turned success!

The next day my parents were in town Ben and Papa went to a Giants game and so Grandma and I took the kids on an adventure to exotic LIVERMORE! Or so we tried. I have always wanted to go to this one really cool regional park in Livermore but have never had the time to scout it out. I decided today was the day so Mom and I piled the kids in reluctantly and headed off. Lets just say we got more than a little lost and stuck in more than one traffic jam. As we pull up to the park I had been waiting to see we are met with this…

BUZZ KILL!

Yes. There was laughter and tears and disbelief all in one. My mom and I looked at each other after an hour in the car and decided to forge on. We went to a favorite park in Dublin and watched the kids live out their childhood like my mom once watched me live out mine.

 

Then… out of the stillness of the night… we hear the jingle jangle of a familiar friend. William runs to me and asked, “ Mom, why are all the kids running toward that van that plays music?” Poor child. Poor naive, neglected child. I realized this was a first for him. Apparently the ice-cream man doesn’t visit the park in San Ramon? But we weren’t in San Ramon now were we? Dublin, Ca USA can serve a purpose! Upon the news that this truck was filled with magical, cold treats we booked it over to pick from the selection of delights. And that’s when i captured this moment…

this may be one of my favorite photographs I’ve taken. There are so many things I love. First and foremost, the picking. Then the trying to picture what his face looks like as he makes the decision of what to get! The outfit or lack there of doesn’t hurt and the van that could be a kidnapper’s getaway car, but in this case is an ice-cream truck. Seems like a conflict of interest to me but who am I to judge?

June’s Turn. Can you only guess what she chooses?

Dora on a stick!? Brilliant yet disturbing!

 

 

William suffered a little from buyers remorse and coveted June’s Dora stick the entire time. Luckily she grew tired of it halfway through and he got what he wanted.