California Sunshine

My job is so fun! I get emails from people all over the globe on a regular basis.... and.... it's just plain exciting. I've made friends all over the place. The Internet makes it easy to exchange ideas, collaborate, share and encourage each other. Across oceans, fields, interest groups, and professions... people can connect. It's simply incredible when you stop and think about it (and even when you only ponder it momentarily!)

One such email I received way back in June (???) is from mom/graphic designer/photographer/knitting extraordinaire, Kimberly K from out in sunny California. She is a woman of many talents (the design genius behind Limberdog Design) and we started talking. Long story short.... she, her husband Aaron, and 2 cute kiddos were headed to Kansas to photograph a wedding, so she wondered if they could drive up for a photo shoot with yours truly. Well.... color me flattered!

I was stoked. They came up on a cold, Monday morning after a 3 day weekend of wedding/family/photo mania. The kids spent countless hours in the car shuffling around with mom and dad... and they were ready to get out and stttrrrreeetttccccchhhh a bit. So, that's exactly what we let them do!

Here's Miss Elisa....

Brother Mark.

The whole crew. Did they do a great job choosing colorful tops, or what!?

Here's Mark snatching Dad's glasses, and loving every moment! (He looks so much like Kimberly... it's amazing!)

I had the brilliant (not so much....) idea of giving the kids ornaments to play with. Silly me... I actually thought they'd just hold them peacefully in their hands and look angelic for the camera (can you tell I don't have kids yet?). Ha!

Of course, they became instant weapons and they were slung fast and furiously all over the studio while I tried to shoot the action and keep up with my camera. The good news is, we only broke one, and nobody stepped on the broken pieces! Yay!

Here's Kimberly chillin' while the kids explored every other part of the studio.

The girls!

Dog pile!

To me, this is what parenthood looks like. I *love* this image!

Mark is such a stinkin' cutie!

After wearing down the kids in the studio.... we had lunch, then headed downtown to grab a few more shots. Then Kimberly and Aaron stole a moment for themselves....

From California, these guys don't get the crazy cold weather that we Nebraskans have grown accustomed to. Thankfully, it snowed while the kids were in Kansas so they got to play outside in the flurries. Here, we had to make-do with leaves. The kids had no complaints! (other than runny noses!)

I *love* this one too!

I tell ya.... these kids deserve gold medals for putting up with what we put them through. As soon as they were warm and toasty in the car, they were OUT! :)

Kimberly, so fantastic to meet you and the rest of your crew. What a fun bunch. Happy and full of life! Thank you for entrusting me to capture something special for you. I hope to see you in Vegas in Feb! :)