Sneak Peek: John, Whitni and little G

Here's a sneak peek from our last-minute session with John and his family. He's being deployed next week and asked if I could create some memories of his family before he left. Introducing John, Whitni, and baby "G..."

Pancakes and Sand-castles (just a day in my life)

We're such procrastinators. Joy, of our "Joy and Light" production, had her birthday last week but it took us over a week before we all went out to celebrate. Party animals that we are, we settled on a girl's breakfast at Cinnamon's of Kailua. We just love their yummy eggs benedict. And I have vague recollection of Krystal saying "we should stop by the beach afterward and build a sand castle." Wow, that sounds like such a cute idea. I thought of tossing on some swim clothes but I figured it would be a brief and carefree jaunt to the beach.

The girls (Tricia, Krystal and "birthday girl" Joy) and I headed over to Cinnamon's. I had the veggie eggs benedict with a poached egg perched on a chair of spinach leaves and tomatoes. Yum Yum. The ordering process was slightly complicated by Tricia who seems to have inherited a little "Sally" from "When Harry Met Sally." We stuffed ourselves full of Portuguese sweet bread french toast covered with drizzled maple syrups and benedicts.

The real adventure started on the sandy shores of Kailua Beach. I think the critical turning point was when someone started digging a hole in the sand and Tricia and I kind of stalled with the infamous question "Do you think that's high enough above the waterline?" Remember that question, it became critical. Thus ensued what was about 75 minutes of hauling endless buckets of sand under the hot sun...75 minutes that felt like 5 hours. It was so much fun...I just don't remember sandcastles being such a workout. I think I'm going to have to fill my plastic blue bucket with wet sand and see how much it weighs.

Krystal was the castle foreman and I focused on the protective moat and property wall. Very quickly we realized the tide was rising and waves were battering across our moat and washing up against our castle walls. Then it became a frantic rescue mission and all four of us had to abandon the castle and dig fervently to keep the water away. It was a total losing battle. We decided our castle would be a duplex so we just extended it up the beach. Despite our red faces, we must have made it look like fun because we had a sibling pair on vacation here from Hawaii join in on the fun. It was perfect timing because I think we were all about to pass out on the sand and they were little balls of energy. They actually were born and raised in New Zealand.

(You can't see me but I'm wearing a bright neon blue T-shirt. I somehow missed the memo to wear a black shirt.)

(Krystal, it's supposed to be fun, remember? There, that's better...there's a laugh)

(Tricia and her minions, she worked those two little New Zealand kiddies)

(Can you believe that Tricia actually thought she was going to go straight to work from the beach?)

(Our sand castle taking shape...it was a mansion)

(I can't tell who is having more fun)

(towers and castle doors)

(she was getting a little worked up over the battle between the wall and the waves)

(her brother was building a pond nearby for the castle royalty)

(then he took a little surf break)



(the stellar castle company)




I'm not a beach person but I'm already gearing up for my second trip to the beach today. This time for a photo session. Stay tuned for a sneak peek of John and Whitni's family session.

My new apprentice

Every week, our house usually gets a visit from an adorable little 18 month old little girl. I once told my roommate, Tricia, "HB loves you." To which she replied "HB loves everybody." And it's so true. She loves to hug people and she starts to booty dance every time she hears music, even if it is just you singing to yourself. And my husband is the worst. One time, he rushed into the room her on one arm and a tub of M'n'M's in the other hand and gave both to me. He said "Here. She wants candy and I can't tell her no. You tell her." Oh goodness.

She's so photogenic that I have been using her as my model for...well, eighteen months.




But she's starting to pick up the whole camera thing. Now she races towards my camera and lifts it up to her face. It's much heavier than regular point-and-shoot cameras so I've always got a firm grasp on one end. The other day, she figured out how to press the shutter. I took a look and holy cow, she took a really nice picture. I think...I think she's got talent.


Now the logo is actually incorrect. A photo always belongs to the individual who took it. So, disclaimer here: This photo is actually the property of HB, I guess I have to make a "HB Photography" logo. Just a few color curve adjustments in PS and there's your final product. I'm thinking I can be her second shooter when she hits five.

The Happiest Place on Earth...

..is behind the door that beckons me each night after work.

But we did visit another place that came close...Disneyland. See, it all started a few months ago when Scott and I went to see "Up." I was blubbering in the movie as usual but this time, when I looked over to Scott I saw that I was not alone. He was wiping away shiny tears on his cheeks. He walked out of the movie with a resounding goal for us to start traveling and not miss out on our dreams. So, we celebrated our 2 year anniversary with a short jaunt up to Los Angeles.

I'll have to blog with my hubby's pictures because I didn't take my camera. I didn't have room...we probably had the most inefficient packing ever. I had the day off but spent it cleaning the house because we were having a friend house-sit for us. Yes, he's a 25 year old bachelor who probably could have cared less as long as the mini-fridge and tv was working...but I have an insane need to leave the house spotless. It's the same reason why I brush my teeth before dentist visits and wash my hair before a visit to the hair salon.

It was such an awesome trip. And although we've been back for a week, I feel like I'm just getting back into the swing of things. And just in time. This weekend, I have two sessions coming up. A maternity session for a little baby girl. And a family session for some good friends, Whitni and John. John is being deployed on either Monday or Tuesday and won't see his wife and 4 month old son until next year. So, we're really trying to see if we could squeeze in some last minute time together to capture this moment to keep with them for the next months.