"Third Time's A Charm"

I have had to reschedule other appointments before due to bad weather, but Courtney is an all time first. We have rescheduled her family portraits not once, but three times since December due to rain. I was just beginning to think that there was some sort of curse on her portraits and me being the photographer for them when a streak of good weather finally hit Bakersfield. I quickly contacted Courtney to finally get her family portraits scheduled. Saturday morning I woke up to ugly skies once again. I thought to myself you have got to be kidding me. There is no way I can reschedule this appointment again. Luckily the clouds parted just enough to finally allow us to do her family portraits...only 3 months late!

Courtney and Chad are so easy to work with. Every time I have an appointment with them I walk away wishing all appointments were this easy.

Their daughter Dava is the most photogenic girl I think I have ever met, and she loves taking pictures. I seriously could take her out for an entire day and never get bored photographing her, not too mention I don't think she is even capable of taking a "bad picture".

Braxston, their son, has a mind of his own. He has so much spunk to him. I believe it has been well over a year since I last saw Braxston, and he has grown up so much. He hopped out of the car with his little skinny jeans and polo shirt and yelled, "Valerie!" I was shocked! Braxston has never liked having his picture taken by me; so when I heard him, I was excited to have a first with him. He was going to love it this time around. Well, I was wrong. Once again as soon as we were ready to take our first picture he was mad and didn't want to. It took some consoling on everyone's part, and of course a red wagon bribe, but he finally came around. I actually think it was his happiest appointment to date!

Braxston was hell bent on pulling his big sister around in the red wagon. After a few strenuous tries though he realized it would be much more fun to let Dava pull him around.

I absolutely love the dynamic between Dava and Braxston. You can totally tell he loves her to death. She did an awesome job entertaining him for the hour in the orchards, makes me wish she was my older sister.

Little Stud!

"The Family That Plays Together, Stays Together!"

"Little boys come in all shapes and sizes,
Shy and adventurous, full of surprises,
With misshapen halos and mischievous grins,
Small dirty faces, and sweet sticky chins.

They'll keep you so busy, and yet all the while
Nothing can brighten the world like their smile.
And no greater treasure has brought homes more joy
Than a curious, active, and lovable boy!" -Author Unknown

Moe and Olivia have the most amazing boys. I wasn't sure what to expect from an appointment with three little boys, I was prepared for disaster, but I was dead wrong with this entire family. They were so much fun to spend some time with. Everyone was so happy and playful (well it took Jeremiah, the youngest, a while but he definitely came around);very enjoyable people to be around.

Right off the bat the boys were giving me the silliest faces they could come up with, and I thought to myself, "Oh this isn't good! Olivia is going to hate these pictures!" About 3 pictures in I realized Olivia likes to have fun just as much as her boys do. I guess you would have to, having 3 boys so close in age. The family as a whole, fit together perfectly. They were an absolute pleasure to be around, and really make me realized how lucky I am to be blessed with such an amazing business.

Jeremiah, let's just call him Mr. Good Looking. He walked up at the beginnning of the day with his hand in his pocket and his little mohawk, and my heart melted. He was the serious one of the group, but he did manage to have a little fun and let out a smile here and there.

Nathaniel is absolutely adorable. He was a total sweetheart, and definitely could entertain, but I think his big brother was the true influence on goofiness.

Moonie, the oldest, had so much personality and absolutely loved to be goofy. I was amazed to find one family picture from the whole day that he wasn't making a silly face in. He definitely was the entertainer for the day.

I have to end this post on how I see this family through my eyes. I see unity, love, silliness, playfulness, and ROCKSTARS (I thought of you Olivia :-) and your rockstar hands)!!!!!!! Most of all I see a total blast that I can only hope to have the opportunity to meet again! Moe and Olivia keep up the amazing job with your boys, they are a true blessing to be around.

Engagement John and Rachel

There's nothing better than capturing two people in love and enjoying life in the moment.

John and Rachel contacted me last year about engagement photos for their upcoming wedding. They decided to hold off on photos until this year because they had their hearts set on the orchards. I thought it was a great idea so of course I couldn't wait to let them know when I finally saw the first blossoms.

John was a little timid about being in front of the camera (what guy isn't), but I was amazed at how willing he was to be in the moment and enjoy having fun with Rachel. They were a blast to be around! I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them; they seriously kept me laughing the entire time! They both were wonderful people to be around and I was honored to have the opportunity to meet and spend some time with them.

I absolutely love the realness of this photo!

I wish you guys the best in your leap into marriage!

Gavin's 1st Birthday!

I was so fortunate to get to spend the afternoon with Gavin, on his actual first birthday. I made sure I came to his session with lots of fun to celebrate his big day.

His brother, Ethan, and himself were a total blast to be around. There were so many favorite photos from this session that I had the worst time narrowing it down for a blog entry (and even still I went overboard).

I'm sure the boys would both tell you that there favorite part of the whole afternoon was the last 20 minutes when they got to eat the cake that I brought for them. Who wouldn't love a chocolate cake that you actually get to eat with your hands? I know I was dying to shove my hands in it, and I even saw my daughter take a sneak bite when she thought no one was looking. We had a great afternoon and I thoroughly enjoyed being around the boys. They both are friendly and helpful kids that I would spend any afternoon around!