We always adore photographing lifestyle family sessions at home, and for some unknown reason (cosmic forces?) our clients always have these super cool houses so it’s always an added bonus. This week’s family had a greenhouse! With turtles! And a super awesome 1960s living room with a white brick wall and built in fireplace that I would definitely steal if it didn’t involve an ill-thought-out plan and the use large scale machinery. Roger and Melanie are awesome parents who are raising two independent and strong kids, Martin and Anabel. They are fearless and wonderful. They ride their bikes fast and put on their own gardening gloves and wear superhero capes and do their own thing. They spent the morning playing Legos, reading, and gardening, which is exactly what my idea Saturday would also constitute… especially considering that they were planting mosquito repellant plants (need these shots to be recreated at our house, please). Also featured in this shoot is 10 year old Cocker Spaniel Extraordinaire Seymour, who is adorable and fluffy and loves Melanie to the ends of the Earth. He also has totally laid claim to that leather chair in their living room. Excited to have worked with this great family!
A little ditty… ’bout JEFF AND DIANEEEE (sorry guys, I had to. It pops in my mind every time I think of either one of you.) We became friends with Jeff and Diane through our other friends Beth and David! We knew them from little get togethers and what not, and then spent a week with them in St. John when Beth and David got married. We got sunburned and drank some tasty tropical drinks and played board games and hung out in hot tubs and gave zero $&#*s. And for those of you who hear my often-repeated warning story about how you should always wear a lifejacket when you snorkel, this is the “other Jeff” who was snorkeling with Geoff and me during my near-death experience! Besides being good at tropical vacationing, Jeff is really, really good at identifying lots of obscure bands and beer, and Diane is really, really good at making crafts and cookies. She can sew like a crazy woman, and her skills are much admired far and wide. Then we went to their house to meet their daughter Cora, and found out that all of Diane’s family can sew like crazy women and are ALL really, really good at crafts. Cora, while absolutely adorable in every possible way, is not good at sewing yet because she’s not even two and you shouldn’t given needles to toddlers. She is, however, really good at swings, riding in wagons, and applying sprinkles to cookies. It is Diane’s family tradition to go insane regarding the amount and variety of Christmas cookies they produce every year, and this year Cora participated happily with Diane’s sister and her kids (Toby the dog was also really happy about this because Cora’s fine motor skills are still developing so she drops a lot of food and Toby swoops in like the cutest little garbage disposal you’ve ever seen). We’re sure as she gets older that Cora will become most excellent at both crafts and craft beer, making both of her parents very proud.