A Family Story :: Ashley, Jonathan, Lilly & Olivia

Ashley contacted me after seeing Christi's maternity session images. We traded some emails and picked a date and spot to meet up with her and her sweet family.

Ashley and Jonathan's little girls, Lilly and Olivia, are just the sweetest and most adorable girls ever. When they popped out of the car in their little ruffle skirts, all dressed in pretty pinks and purples, I just smiled...despite that it was a colder than normal Santa Barbara evening tonight.

Lilly was a natural from the word "go"! Such a beautiful little girl.

She loves her Mommy...and she's THREE!

Olivia was a little more shy, and definitely Daddy's girl. She kept close to him almost the whole time.




Despite the different personalities...these little girls were sisters. The best kind.



If you hadn't noticed already....Ashley is due with number 3 soon. The little bun in the oven this time is their little brother. He's due to make his grand appearance in December, and I think that the girls, and maybe Daddy too, can't wait!


Such an adorable little family.


I could have spent the entire time taking pictures of Ashley.....she is glowing, gorgeous and the camera LOVES her!


It was also easy to capture the love that she and Jonathan have for each other.

Who doesn't love a little impromtu game of Ring Around the Rosies?


I couldn't help more alone time with just Ashley. Loving it.


As Ashley was sitting there, the girls came to join her on their own....but as hard as we tried to coerce them to both touch Ashley's belly at the same time, it just didn't happen. Then, all of the sudden, without any warning, they were done with that idea...and walked off. I just love the look on Mommy's face as they took off. Priceless!

Congrats to your family on welcoming another baby into the world!! I had such a great time with you, and can't wait to meet the little guy real soon!

A Love Story :: Alison & Jono

I got an email from Alison a few months back, saying that she was a coworker of Bethany's, had seen her pictures from last year, and asked if I'd be interested in taking some engagement pics of her and her fiance.

I was, of course, up for it, and we agreed to get back in touch with each other after Brett and I got married and returned from our honeymoon. After our return, Alison and I started to plan. We had a few dates and locations picked out at first...but then.....THEN....she came up with the neatest idea.

Alison is the Ticket Manager for UCSB Athletics, and Jono is the Men's Basketball Coach....so they spend quite a bit of their time in the UCSB Thunderdome. She asked how I'd felt about spending part of our time together there. I agreed immediately and couldn't wait!

I met Alison and Jono on campus and liked them both in an instant. As they changed into their super sharp outfits, I had some fun around the inside of the stadium with the numbers and letters in the stands....more to be seen of that in a bit. :)

They came out, looking totally great, and were so much fun from the start. They were up for anything, and the two of them just had a really great time together no matter what we were doing.

Alison got out there and showed Jono how it was done...in heels! She was a pretty good shot too!!

I loved it when Jono came out of the locker room with props. It didn't feel like I was working at all....I had so much fun with these two!

Alison said that this is a pretty typical scene from time to time....that she's in the ticket booth working while Jono will come by to say hello.

After a quick change, we went to another part of campus that I hadn't been to before. The students of UCSB are so stinking lucky to have beach access from campus!! I would have never been able to get any work done if I had gone to school here!

A short walk along the path before getting to the water's edge.

Ahhh, the golden light was amazing right as we arrived.

They didn't even blink as I kept asking them to get lower and lower in the sand...love it!

I was so happy to meet Alison and Jono and learn a little bit about them, and their fun story. They will be married at the Bacara Resort & Spa in June of next year. Best of luck in love to you both!!

OH! I almost forgot.....I did something a little fun for Alison and Jono, a first for me. I thought I'd give the +Site functionality of SHOWIT a try, and had a great time putting this together to showcase their photos and story.

Check it out here!! The site has a slideshow with a lot more images of these two lovebirds!!

A MINI Family Story :: Dave, Dayna and Hadley

I think that this might have been a record....as I mentioned, it was cold, and windy, and Hadley wasn't having too much of it in her little onesie...so this was a SUPER quick session on the beach. 13 minutes to be exact. In between the tears, I just kept snapping. Hadley is one cute baby and I was so glad to have the few minutes that she wanted to cooperate with us. :)

Dayna has taken to motherhood so well.....she's such a natural and I know I'll learn a thing or two from her one day. :)

We got a few smiles from Hadley.....Brett was behind me trying to get her to laugh by shaking her snack container. At one point, he got a little too excited, and shook the 16-35mm lens instead....right into my head. Oops! Luckily, I recovered quickly....Hadley had a few more smiles left for us.

It was only her second time experiencing sand and I still don't think she got enough. She was a very curious little baby.

I love the sweetness that exudes from parents as they get in close and canoodle with their babies. Love it.

Heehee....I kind of dig this one. :)

Hadley seemed to like the grass a little better than the sand....but for only a few moments. ;)

It was so much fun to hang out and get a few super quick shots of the beautiful O'Neil family. Love you guys!!!

Hanging with Hadley....and her parents :)

A few weeks ago, we got on the O'Neil calendar....or made them get on ours....so we could hang out. After being "unplugged" pretty much all weekend...Brett and I stayed inside almost the whole time, except for leaving for some food and church.....we were excited to see our friends on Labor Day for some fun.

Hadley hadn't napped that well in the car, so shortly after they arrived, we put her down for a nap, and broke our our new Settlers of Caatan game. It was Dave and Dayna's first time playing, only my second, but that didn't stop Brett from dominating the board. Yes, he won. He claims that he hadn't in quite some time, so I guess it's OK...but he has all of the rest of us aching to play again and take away his title.

After a bit, Hadley woke up and we decided to get out of the house. We took a stroll down State St and at one point, D&D were inside, while Brett and I hung outside and played with Hadley. It's fun hanging out with other people's babies. :)


We stopped for dinner at one of Brett's favorite places....Chipotle...and then made it over to Butterfly Beach for a VERY short photo session. When we got out of the car, it was a little colder than we'd thought, and we don't think Hadley liked it all that much. But, we got some fun shots (see next post) and then bid our friends adieu. It was so fun hanging with the O'Neils...until next time. ;)

Ahh....Santa Barbara

Today was a sunny day......warm enough to want to be outside without a cardigan.....so we headed to the beach for just a little bit.

We don't ever stay long, but the hour in the sun was just enough. Just as we got there, we spotted a line of birds across the sky over all the paddleboarders in the ocean. Perfect!

I hadn't noticed the lifeguards on the beach before....but then I noticed that their shirts said SANTA BARBARA BEACH GUARD so I guess they were there guarding the beach, and not our lives. Good thing I didn't try to get into the water. :)

8 Days Old

Last time I saw Christi, little baby boy was still cooking....but he made his arrival and appearance on the 26th and I got to meet him today.

He is so teeny tiny and perfectly adorable. Christi and Jaimeson are over the moon excited to be his parents, and I'm glad to be his friend.

Friend Filled Thursday

I have been watching Andrea's updates on Facebook, and when I saw that they were on the road from Houston to their new home in San Francisco, I teasingly wrote that they should stop in Santa Barbara on the way.

Well, I called Sean Wednesday on the way home from work, and learned that they were, indeed, going to stop in SB on the way. So, I went to go visit with them on Thursday morning at their hotel before work.

It'd been about 5 years since we'd seen each other (I think)....I remember visiting right after Carys was born.....although, it was like it was just yesterday. I am so excited for them and their move to "the city".

After work today, we had our first official Dinner Group with the Morans, Moores and Shinns - the young marrieds I guess you could say. Kirsten and Alex hosted....they really know how to treat with a yummy dinner. Burgers, corn on the cob, a great salad and dessert too.

We had great conversations and a wonderful time with friends. Looking forward to our next gathering in about 3 weeks!