Mr. Triathlon Man

As I mentioned, last weekend was a busy one -- and not just on the business front. Among other things, my super awesome husband did the MTS triathlon out at Lopez Lake. How could I not blog that action?

Two of the kids and I went out to watch, but a car-versus-bike accident occurred just before we got to Lopez, so the road was blocked off for a half-hour and we missed the swim portion of his race.

We did make it to the bike finish line in time to see him come in. Then we hung around a bit, trying to catch another friend who was doing the race, and finally we headed over to see him bring it home on the run.



Never one to take things too seriously, he offered "moose hands" (knuckes) as he passed us:







I love how he just strides it out, like it was nothin':



And I couldn't resist a pic of the athlete and his mini-me:

The Twins with Their "Bigs"

As I've mentioned before, I get to photograph a set of darling twin boys each month of their first year, and we're about halfway there. (If you haven't yet seen some of their monthly blog appearances, check out this and this and this, for starters.)

Their mom has been wanting to get some shots of the boys with their big sister and brother, otherwise known as "the bigs." Last week, we met up to get it done.

It was a blustery day, and the little guys didn't get a good nap, but we managed to get some fun shots of the kids together...





...as well as some informal portraits of the bigs on their own.





And one final shot that was funny and sweet:



Whew. Last week was a busy one. Now we're on to spring break and Easter, so the next few blog posts will likely highlight the family and our holiday fun. I'm pretty sure my own kids have big plans for the 18 eggs currently sitting in my fridge...

Cousins. Friends. Family.

So there was a girl named Kelli. And she had a best friend named Kellie. Then Kelli's sister married Kellie's brother and then there were kids and more kids and when they are all together it is lively, loving and very, very special.

Here's a peek at our evening in the park.

The Lovely Miss A

This sweet little girl was not a deep sleeper -- at least not for me. But she was every inch a doll, as was her fabulous big sister.

I am always pleased when my clients refer me to their friends, which is just how this family came to be in my home today. I've grown my business over the last year and a half almost exclusively through word of mouth, and I am truly honored and grateful for that.

Without further adieu, I present the lovely Miss A.













I've got a couple more previews to get onto the blog in the next few days, so stay tuned...

I Find Them Everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

So my daughter has recently re-discovered her little Hello Kitty journal that her Auntie Viv gave her for Christmas. She plopped it down on the kitchen table, right next to my laptop, along with a big ol' box of stickers and a pen. Now, when I am on the laptop, she's sitting there, doing her own "work."

Her work consists solely of drawing little love notes for me and for her dad. She whips them out with incredible speed and then races off to deliver them. By deliver, I mean, "find a door, close it, and then shove the rolled up note under it." At first, she tried to shove them under my forearms as I sat typing, but she didn't get the best response from me the first 30 times she did that. Hence, the under-the-door strategy.

I love, love, love her interest in creating something and of course the fact that her creations are meant for me. But it is getting a little crazy. I mean, I can't open a door without finding this:



Please excuse the door in need of a wipedown and the fact that I haven't replaced the door stop dealybob that one of my kids yanked off as a toddler.

And in case you want to peek at a love note from Foxy, here you go:



I need to start collecting these little notes to show her when she's all grown up. Sniff.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I got to spend part of this morning in my daughter's preschool class, where they were visited by a real, live -- though astoundingly big, given the lore -- leprechaun. Rumor had it that the teacher's husband had something to do with arranging the visit. ;)

Since I didn't attend the party armed with photo release forms, I can't show those pics on the blog. (Show of hands now by those who wouldn't put it past me to show up with actual release forms.) Instead, I'll share some shots of my two youngest troublemakers working on a holiday craft. Unfortunately, the shipment to the preschool arrived too late for them to make good use of the materials. It was, however, lucky for us!

Note the amount of glue that was apparently required:







More glue...



The littlest stinker:



And since he probably won't take me to task for not obtaining a release form, here's Mr. O'Smoochy, who was dangled above the party along with about 20 of his peers.



Cheers!

I Heart Them

One afternoon last week, I was walking home from a neighbor's house and found my boys on our front lawn, doing this:



And a "behind the scenes" shot:



And I promise, I didn't put them up to it. I'm sure that when they're 20 and 22, I'll show them these photos and they're insist that I did, but I didn't. I pinky swear.

I Entered a Contest and You Should, Too

If there are two things I like in this world, it's CAMERA STUFF and PURSES. Forgive the all caps, there, but these things are just THAT IMPORTANT TO ME. Ask anyone who's been around me for five minutes. Or anyone who has seen my closet.

Not long ago, I heard about a really cool new camera bag that looks like a very fashionable purse. Super cool, I thought. Then I heard that the very same company was sponsoring a contest through which one could win a Canon 5DmkII camera body or a $2,500 credit with Southwest Airlines. Um, seriously???



So I did all the things I could to enter the contest, and if you want a kickin' new camera body or several free trips (and who the heck doesn't), hop over to http://www.haveanepiphanie.com and do what you need to get in the running.

Or not. Because I'm okay with you not diluting my chances.

My Little Ballerina

I was doing some more organizing this afternoon* and came across the following snapshots, which I took more than a month ago for my mom, who bought this dance outfit and wanted to see it in action. I figured that I'd put them up here... for no real reason. Maybe those who know me personally and check the blog for pics of my own kids will enjoy seeing the ballerina today. ;)







*Lest my references to getting organized make you think I'm some uber-organized person, I'm not. Well, in my dreams I am. In actuality, the piles of kid art and schoolwork and notes and doodads have driven me to the breaking point recently. I actually spent the afternoon scanning three piles of kid crud. Er, I mean "awesome things produced by my sweet children." Doing that makes me feel a little less guilty when I dump said piles into the garbage bin.

More From K & K's 5-Month Session

There are so many fun shots from yesterday's session. And we got mommy in on the act. :)



More with their special blankies...











Doesn't she look fabulous?

Peekaboo! We See You!

Just a quickie from yesterday's session with my little buddies, who came for their five-month photos. How quickly they grow!

I'll be back with more from their session, which was SUCH a good time. For now, enjoy this shot of K & K peeking at me from behind their very favorite (for the moment, at least) blankies.

Just a Quickie Post

I am spending a bit of time getting organized this morning, and while doing so I came across a few random snaps that made me smile.

Just before our trip to Disneyland last month, my daughter got a new "princess" dress. She already had Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, and Walmart was out of Snow White in her size, so we went with Rosetta, one of the garden fairies from the new-ish Tinkerbell DVD. The dress came with a teeny tiny Rosetta dress, which Miss F immediately put on her Tinkerbell doll.

And she finally had her very own twin, crazy scraggly hair and all.