More Snaps from Up North

I know that I already blogged some shots from our most recent family weekend in Carmel, but I can't resist doing it again... Please excuse me while I indulge myself, and I apologize if you find this kind of stuff boring...

Since we're in the Monterey area quite a bit, we have annual passes to the aquarium and hit it on most visits. Sometimes we stay for awhile, but we've also been known to stop in for just 20 minutes or so (even spending a portion of that time getting a snack in the yummy cafe).

On this particular weekend, my daughter really wanted to go, but the boys didn't. With the U.S. Open going on a few miles away, I was worried about crowds but offered to take her while the boys and their dad went to their favorite park. (Or perhaps more correctly, I took up my husband on his offer to hang out at the park, as it was cold and foggy and I was not in the mood to freeze my tail off.)

I was pleasantly surprised to find the aquarium emptier than I'd seen it in awhile -- maybe ever. I guess it makes sense that families would steer clear of booking their Monterey vacation on Open weekend, and all of the golf fans were on the course or huddled around a TV.

Anyway, I highly, highly recommend a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium if you're ever in the area. It is SUCH a remarkable place, and the opportunities for learning are abundant.



Their newest exhibit actually focuses on global warming. Among other things, it includes an interactive feature that allows you to pledge to take personal steps to help the environment; you can even snap a photo of your face and watch "yourself" in a video of your pledge. Here's my girly watching the videos of herself and of me unloading groceries from my reusable bags and chopping my locally grown vegetables:



You can even email your video to friends and family. Pretty cool!

And one final non-aquarium image and thought... We spent TONS of time playing the board game "Cathedral" that weekend. We have an original version in hilarious 70s packaging (complete with a smiling John Davidson practically winking at us from the box). Amazon has the same game, though sadly it doesn't include John or his dimples anywhere on the box.



All three of my kids loved this game. It's great for developing spatial awareness skills, and when they get tired of it, they can just use their imagination to build a little town. Such a refreshing break from the Wii!

Long Time Coming

Usually, I pencil in my newborn sessions and generally keep tabs on how and when those babies make it into the world. I am interested, certainly, and I am especially excited when I know the families well. I look forward to the day when I get to photograph the new little love.

In this case, however, it was a long time coming. You see, the mommy in this case was my own daughter's preschool teacher. And given my girly's preoccupation with babies and all things maternal, I heard regular updates. VERY regular updates. Along with far-fetched theories regaring how often Mrs. W was going to be visiting classmates' homes with baby in tow.

So when Baby S finally arrived, I was fired up to finally meet him. Unfortunately, his premature arrival coincided with the end of the school year and some other events, and we weren't able to get together until he was a month old. It may have been a long time coming, but it was worth the wait; he was a doll.











So glad things finally fell into place! I hope the whole W family enjoys a fun and amazing summer. What a very special time. :)

Father's Day 2010 (and the U.S. Open)

Last weekend, we celebrated the end of the boys' school year and Father's Day with a weekend trip up to Carmel. We didn't plan it around the U.S. Open (in fact, we'd talked about trying to avoid it), but in the end thousands of golf fans descended on our special place just as we did. Oh, well.

As it turned out, the golf fans swarmed Carmel proper -- and Pebble Beach -- but they weren't into hitting the aquarium or seeing Toy Story 3 and The Karate Kid. Whew. We were even able to eat out in Monterey without much of a wait.

So we peacefully coexisted with the spectators and even had fun watching them schlep up and down Carmel's steep hills on their way to a multi-hour wait for a bus to take them to the course. We also made a little fun of their outfits. Why do golf fans need to dress so much like the golfers themselves? Did they think that they were going to get asked to step in for a putt or two?

Brian and I each went on multiple runs, and he came back from one reporting that we could actually view some of the action from the beach if we were so inclined. So after a morning of gifts from the kids (ping pong paddles and balls apparently rule, even if you don't own a table), we went on a family walk.





The kids insisted on pulling along their "dragon tails." E kept it up for most of the walk.



Eventually, we got to the action. Yep, that's the leader board as it stood during our morning walk:



The kids found a little cave and quickly made it their fort:



Guess what was right on top of their fort?



They even scrambled up the hill for a better view:



And this is what we saw when we swiveled around 180 degrees:



Now this is a cute golf spectator:



And lastly, I was happy to get a shot of myself with the Big Man on Father's Day. E took this one, and I think he did a fine job. It's not easy hoisting up my heavy camera gear. :)



The only downside was not seeing my own dad on Father's Day, but I understand that my brother and sister-in-law and my mom treated him well. Glad to hear it, as he's been a great dad for more than 37 years now!

Baby Girl is Four... Wha??

My littlest crazy turned four yesterday. I find that so hard to believe, and yet... not. Hasn't this not-so-little person been trailing me forever, chattering away about babies and political ads and when she can have her next meal? Handing me a notepad and requesting that I sign in for my beautyshop treatments?

Then again, I do fuzzily remember a time when her diction wasn't perfect. When she requested that we play "muse-git" and eat "breppast" and when she hollered at her brothers things like "Do NOT operATE me!" (For awhile, "interrupt" was "operATE.")

But now she makes faces and she jokes and she adds a very girly presence to our household. Last night we went out to dinner, and mid-meal she pulled a lipgloss out of her purse -- one of MY lip glosses -- and began to reapply it in a remarkably nonchalant manner. I told her that I would most certainly NOT be laughing when she pulls the same stunt in 10 years.

Here are a few snaps to commemorate the milestone. We spent the morning of her b-day breakfasting with my parents, getting our nails done and hitting the nearby donut shop with a couple of friends before visiting Daddy's office and helping him shut down for an afternoon of birthday-centric fun and frolicking. Whew. What a day.





Happy birthday, Baby Girl!

Baby & Toddler Mini-Sessions Preview

A couple of weeks ago, I sent out an Erin Clausen Photography newsletter offering mini-session appointments for babies and toddlers. I didn't advertise it anywhere else. Not here on the blog, and not on Facebook. The response was fantastic, and the mini-sessions were filled with fun faces -- both old friends and new.

If you didn't get in on these mini-sessions this time around but want to know about future specials and events, be sure to sign up for my newsletter.

And without further adieu, I present a peek at the sweet faces from this week's minis. Enjoy!

Little Beauties

These identical twin girls were so delightful. They were smiley and happy and oh-so-sweet. The absolutely made my day yesterday.













Thanks, A & G, for bringing your little lovelies to me. I was very grateful for the experience!

Happy Birthday to a Cutie

Yesterday, a new little friend came to celebrate his first birthday with some photos. His mom has been good about getting his picture taken (and he's a third kid!), and it seemed that he knew exactly how to be a good little photo subject.











Of course, the big fun at a one-year session is the cake smash, and man, I got LOTS of good photos of this guy and his cake. He was slow to warm up to it, spending several minutes poking it gently and then carefully fingerpainting his knee with frosting. But when he got going, he GOT GOING. Imagine cake flying in every direction. It was awesome.

I can't wait to go through all of the cake shots and put together a very fun collage for his family. For now, here's a shot of the adorable monkey cake that his mom made, along with a look at a very happy boy.

Who's Hungry?

I take no credit for the idea behind these photos; I saw something like this done and thought that K & K were at a great stage to try it at their monthly session. Fortunately, their mom is a fantastic sport.







Of course, we got some other shots as well:







And the boys together (awwww...):

Visitors from Idaho

This family was visiting California from Idaho and decided to weave family photos into their busy travel schedule. I was grateful for the opportunity to meet them and to spend time getting some pretty pictures. :)









Sorry for the brief post, but it's a very busy weekend. Lots of work to do!

Fabulously Pregnant (Again!)

This gorgeous woman was my first maternity client just over a year ago. She went on to have the adorable Tommy, and now she's on the verge of giving him a little brother or sister. So exciting!

Thanks, M, for spending time with me yesterday. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you and your family, and I'm so looking forward to meeting the newest addition and getting to photograph him or her. It will be such a pleasure.

Can you tell that her family is from the Midwest? Go Blackhawks!











And I love, love, love when clients are up for trying anything. Even things that might at the time seem really strange. :)