{’tis the season…}

to celebrate, to spend a lot of time with family & friends, to laugh, to give, to reflect and be thankful.  This year we've done a lot of all of those things.  The kids have been so giving this year, understanding that although it's fun to get gifts it's also fun to give gifts.  So they've been on a giving spree - making cookies and giving them to others, making cards and giving them to friends & neighbors.  I'm eating up their enthusiasm!  This year we didn't do the Polar Express, we didn't do the North Pole Experience, instead we spent time together talking about Christmas, talking about our wishes, and doing a lot of  crafts.    Brielle has made so many snowflakes I can't even count them (some of which have gone to neighbors & family).  Tyler has been writing stories, making books.  He's encouraged Brielle to write stories as well so most mornings they are up early at the kitchen table, coloring, drawing and writing fun and sometimes crazy action packed stories.  And since it's been unseasonably warm here we check the forecast daily hoping for a cold, wet day so we can light the fire place and sip on hot cocoa with marshmallows (our favorite!) :)  I think it's finally starting to get cooler - yay!!  So many things to be thankful for this Christmas - my amazing clients (I really do have the best clients out there and I'm so thankful for them!), my families health, my loving husband and my two silly kids, and my friends (who I've neglected a bit during busy season - thankfully I think they forgive me) :). Here's a little sprinkle of the things that make it feel like Christmas for me in Arizona. :)  Merry Christmas to you!

Brielle's Room - the kids wanted a tree for their room so we got these little trees for them to decorate.  They don't want to take them down after Christmas...but they'll see them again next year :)

Tyler's Room - I love the billiard balls (whatever they're called) that he choose to put on his tree.

And on final one of Brielle at her Christmas Performance for Ballet, Tap and Tumbling.  She was so excited for us to see her perform!!

{Fairy Dust, Friends, Cupcakes & Musical Chairs...}

What more could a birthday girl want?!  Okay, I know Brielle's birthday was in August, but things were crazy and hot in August so we post-poned her party.    She's never asked for a party, never asked for presents and just enjoyed the celebrating with family.  Since she's never had a 'friend-party' I thought turning 5 was the perfect time.  She was elated!!  So we set to make this party, and her day memorable.  She enjoyed helping me decorate everything in light pink, dark pink, pink, pink, pink ;o)  Tyler was a huge help on party day hiding on the balcony and sprinkling fairy dust (glitter) from the balcony into the courtyard as each fairy entered.  I wanted to get sprinkled too but I refrained ;o)  And he assisted like a pro in all the games.  The games we played brought me back to my childhood birthday parties.  We began with the cotton ball scooping game (my favorite as a kid, and now Brielle say's its her favorite), we played musical chairs and we made finger puppet crafts.   It was a magical day with friends for Brielle.  I loved seeing her excited and over-joyed to have her friends at her house celebrating with her.  And WOW, I have a 5 year old! Here's a peek into her birthday party.

{Saguaro Lake - Labor Day Weekend 2010}

A little gem is only 20 minutes away from me - Saguaro Lake...I had no idea!  Our friends invited us to go on their boat with them & the kidlets.  Anyway, we made the quick trip up to the lake early in the morning and spent the day tubing, swimming, having delicious watermelon mojitos, and yummy snacks.  The kids were in heaven.  It was the first time Tyler and Brielle tubed and they loved it!  Tubing wasn't only fun for the kids, we all got turns too - yes, the adults.  I think I pulled a muscle holding on so tight and Bill, our wonderful captain and friend took it easy on us even though we were airborne many times LOL.  I had a raspy voice from all the screaming and hollering - it was so much fun!

{below:  the kids as we rode further into the lake looking for the perfect spot.   Anxious, excited kiddos aboard}

{below} Liam, such a handsome little man.

{below}  I think someone's excited.  Brielle was so excited to go tubing for the first time.  She'd say, 'Go Fast! but kinda slow'.  I loved it.

Going 'Fast, but kinda slow' here. LOL - love each of their expressions.  Ty's cracks me up :)

{below}  Little Grace was ready to get off the tube and just go swimming.  She's daring on the tubes but not on this day.

Much better, dipping in the cool water with her momma, Sue.

{below}  Sweet Ella, she's only 2 but hung in there the whole time.  She spent her time playing games in the lower cabin of the boat and swimming when we found a good swimming spot.

{below}  Captain Briella & Co-Captain Sue - or is that the other way around?

All the kids together chillin on the tube after swimming.

Grace took over the wheel for a while :)

So the boat overheated at the end of the day and we were lucky enough to get asked by a nearby houseboater to play on their boat and with there two grandchildren.  The kids had a blast - they jumped off the roof of the houseboat - how cool is that for a kid?!  We were so thankful the kids were happily occupied in the 110 degree heat.

Brielle really wanted to jump off the top of the boat and we all rooted her on {peer pressure, how bad is that?} but she was reluctant and came back down the ladder.  She preferred playing in the house-boaters inflatable floating pool.  Smart girl ;-)

The Boys.  Will, Liam and Tyler.  What an awesome day with great friends and fantastic memories made.  :)

{newest member of our family...}

On Saturday, August 7th we introduced this adorable puppy to our home - to our lives.  The kids are beyond excited and are deeply in love with this little fur ball that we appropriately named 'August'.  His full name is 'August Saturday May' lol.  Silly I know, but the kids were the decision makers.  I'm actually in love with the name August and would've wanted it for a boy if we had more children.  So I'm glad the kids loved the name :) and were adamant about naming him August.   We found him from a lady in a neighboring city who breeds them.  He's 3/4 Shih Tzu and 1/4 Poodle - a Shih-Poo!!   We are all smitten over this newest addition and are re-learning the way to care for a puppy - crate training, potty training, teething, etc.  Thankfully he was newspaper potty trained when we got him (at 9 weeks old) but we don't have any newspaper in the house (we're a green news reading family with out iPhones & Macs lol) so we take him outside every few hours and reward him enthusiastically with a treat whenever he potty's :).  He's adjusting well to our house too yay!!  He gets more love than he needs from all of us but we can't help it.  Here's a few more pics of our little man. :)

Below, we had friends come for a BBQ from Anthem who were also our old neighbors in Seattle.  It was fun to see them and they too spoiled 'August' with love and attention.  :)

Below, Brielle always wanting to hold August.  She treats him like her baby - notice him proped in her baby doll stroller above.  He seemed to take it well. :)

{My boy...}

He's growing up way too fast!  I still can't believe he's going to be in the second grade next year.  I vividly remember looking at him as a fresh little newborn thinking...this is going to pass and I'll have a toddler, a boy, a teenager, a young man.   This is my boy.  He had just lost his two front teeth when I took these about a month ago.  Such a huge thing for me... his baby teeth are falling out.  That's proof he's going to the next stage of life - I'm not ready for it but I'm cherishing each of them here and now and holding on to the memories of yesterday but looking forward to his future and what he'll be someday.  I love my boy.

{No More Monkey's Jumping on the Bed}

That's right. We've experienced first hand that playful jumps on the couch can be painful to our 4 year old.  We were hosting a neighborhood gathering at our house when this happened to little B.  She's been such a trooper through all of this.  She split and bent her bone in her forearm/elbow.  A few days after she got her splint we had an appointment to get her arm casted but after doing more x-rays the Doctor told us that B had to go in for an surgery that night so they could straighten (break) bend in the bone that was putting pressure on her other bone.  Gosh was that a shock - it was heart breaking to see Brielle unaware of what was going to happen as we got her in her gown and in the hospital bed.  Her spirits were calm and peaceful, she colored and we played rhyming games for the 2 hours it took them to prep her.  She's amazing!  These pictures were taken the day after her procedure - her cast is wrapped with bandages because they split the cast down the middle to allow room for swelling after her surgery.   Again, she's coloring and blowing bubbles with her bubble gum :)   Note to Parents:  Don't let your Monkey's jump on the bed or couch in our case!  :(  Although I'm pretty sure this won't stop her.

{Missing Mexico....}

I can't believe how much time has passed since my last blog post.  Gosh, I'm sorry.  I have so much to blog and so little time.  But I'm honestly going to make it a priority since I appreciate you taking the time to come by and see my little space in this vast cyber world.

As you may remember, my family and I went on vacation to Mexico in March and we are all missing it already.  The kids had a blast, we relaxed and everyone ate far too many chips & guacamole.  Anyway, the things we saw and the experiences we had were ones I hope my kids never forget.  My parents were there (we all go together every other year) and I'm so glad my children were able to experience this vacation with their grandparents too.  I tried to photograph what I could without looking like a tourist with a big black box attached to my neck.  These are some of the moments I was able to capture.

{Above}  Native to Mexico this nice man kindly allowed me to photograph him.  His look of worry and heartache haunts me.

{Above} Brielle, in her new handmade Mexican Dress that Grandpa bought for her.

{Below}  Taking a break from exploring the markets.

{Above}  A bridge colorfully painted by children who live in this small town.  I loved the unique artwork each child dedicated to their space.

{Below}  Tyler's hard work in bartering.  He was so proud of his thoughtful spending.  We were too.

{Below}  Cobblestone Streets...I fell in love.

{Below} Funky archway.

{Below}  A beautiful old church we visited. I loved the blue glass windows in this church.

{Below}  A food truck drove passed us on this narrow alleyway.  I couldn't resist photographing all the vibrant colors.  Made me hungry too. :)

{Above}  We ate lunch and had drinks at  peaceful restaurant on the beach.  Yummers.

{Below} And we played.  Tyler bought this slingshot for his daddy with some of his left over money.  Now they both have slingshots.  Boys.  :)

{Above} Tyler, quietly waiting for our food to come.

{Below} More refreshments.

{Below}  No this is not beer.  It's pineapple juice and Brielle drank every last drop - I think she liked it.

{Above}  This man stopped at our table while we were eating lunch hoping to entertain the kids.   He terrified them with his talking doll so we kindly tipped him so he could move on.

{Below} The peaceful quiet streets in Bucerius.

{Below} Gorgeous chandelier at our resort.  I would love to have a miniature one in my house.

{Below}  The maids would leave a different 'towel animal' on the kids beds each day. This was one of their favorites.

Swimming - both kids are fish!   :)  And we convinced Brielle to come out for a quick nourishment break here (rare, she won't leave the pool for anything).  :)  Tyler got brave with the waves. He wants to boogie board next time :)

{Before I go...}

I was hoping to post more about my time at WPPI but I'm headed to Puerto Vallarta tomorrow and have been running around trying to get things done before my trip.  So I'll leave you with a picture of sweet Brielle an image that I thought needed a vintage, aged look.  And Tyler, sitting for a series I've been working on.  I love vintage photos.  In fact after I get home from vacation, I'm heading off to my grandmother's house in the Berkeley hills.  It was a house my grandfather built over 60 years ago.  It's been quite a while since I've been there so I'm looking forward to visiting her and taking pictures of the 100+ stairs that lead up to her house. Anyway, I hate to make this so short but if I don't I may have to pull an all nighter to get everything done.  Thanks for stopping by!  I'll blog more when I return!!

{Rangefinder Interview}

I know, I know...I'm super late in posting this.  My excuse - I'm trying to edit, edit, edit my sessions from Seattle and school just started for the kids so I'm a slave to my car right now with the temporary commuting I have between our temp house and their schools.  Anyway, I've had so many kind e-mails from other photographers who've read my feature in Rangefinder Magazine.  And the latest one was razzing me for not posting anything about it on my blog, so that prompted me to bump it up on my to-do list and post this evening. ;-)  The article was shown in the Special Edition -Portrait and Senior Photographer's August Issue of Rangefinder - it can be found on line at www.rangefindermag.com or click here to go directly to the article.  I don't know much about the magazines archiving system but at the end of this month the September issue will be shown so my article will be in their archives on-line (I believe). Anyway, I'm so excited and honored to be featured in this great magazine.  The interview took place just before we moved so it sounds as if I'm still in South Carolina - but I'm not....I'm here in the metropolis valley of the Sun!   So different and so fun.  I do miss my favorite old locations in the South but thankfully I'm finding a lot of variety here in the desert.  It's amazing what's out here.  Anyway, thanks so much  for checking the article out :)

{Designer Spotlight - Ribbies!}

Oh I'm behind on posting to my blog again :(  I really don't like going more than a week without posting but things have been nuts as you can imagine.  I've been doing  some fun commercial projects,  a few client shoots and getting ready to head out tomorrow for Disney World!!!  Since we're on the east coast and in the south we figured we can't leave this area without a trip to Disney World for the kids.  They are at such a fun age for it now, so I can't wait to see the excitement on their faces while we explore the park.  Without a doubt, Jeff and I will turn into big kids ourselves which will make it even more fun.  Of course my kids started to get sick last week, so I promptly took them to the doctors so we could cure any ailments before our adventure.  I want them to have fun and avoid the misery of being sick on such a fun vacation for them.  I'm glad I took them because they both had ear infections and bad colds - now they're loaded up on antibiotics and starting to feel like themselves again  - whew.... ;-)  After we get back from Disney - we're home for 2 days and then we head off to Arizona for a week+  to look for places to live and Jeff starts his new job when we get there!  Did I mention things were busy?   tee hee ;-)    Then the kids and I head back to SC so they can complete school, we can hopefully sell our house (praying)  and I can work with my amazing clients before saying goodbye to friends and our life here in the south.  Gosh that sounds so sad :(  But again, I do plan on coming back once a year for sessions and to see the great friends we have made while we were here.   

Okay, on with my original post!  I'm sooo excited about this commercial client of mine.  Kim from Ribbie's , contacted me recently to photograph some of her new products.  I was excited since I had just seen Ribbie's clippies the week prior at my local Target on one of the end-caps and was thinking about getting some of these hip little clippies for my daughter.  They come in so many fun colors and they actually stay in little one's hair with their unique foam grip.  Anyway, I learned a little about how Ribbie's got started too.   Kim and her sister, Kristen, went into business in 2006 after searching for cute hair accessories for their young daughters and noticed that the selection hadn't really changed much from when they were young.  They  saw the same big bows and plastic barrettes that slid out of fine hair.  They  wanted to design something more simple and proportionate to a baby/child's face.  About the same time, they came across the huge selection of cool scrapbooking ribbon that was relatively new to the market and thought it was a perfect fit. They added clips and their unique foam grip and tried it out.  The clips were a success staying in their daughter's hair all day.  In 2006 they started making them at their kitchen table.  Now they have manufacturer, a fulfillment center and distributors in 4 countries!! Their product popularity expanded at an amazing rate.    You can find Ribbie's at www.ribbiesclippies.com.  { Shipping is only $2.90 for up to 10 pair. Also receive 10% off by typing coupon code:  Kara May on the last page of check out.}  And the Ribbie's 4 packs can be found at target stores and at Target.com  -   http://www.target.com/gp/search/177-9662574-5715568?field keywords=ribbies&url=index%3Dtarget&ref=sr_bx_1_1&x=0&y=0  I found them on the end cap in the baby shampoo section.    This Spring they will be expanding their  line with several new products including pacifier clips and headbands made from Ribbies own ribbon designs.  Stay tuned for more products at their website and on my blog as I feature more of their new products.