Disneyland Part 1....!

We decided back in the beginning of summer to take our kids to Disneyland for Christmas this year.  When we told them, they jumped for joy.  Kirk and I were jumping for joy too because we LOOOOVE Disneyland.  

But...I can't believe I'm sitting here writing this, with Disneyland done and gone and Christmas Day done and over.  We had such a great time and we exhausted our kids everyday.  By day 3 we went on just about everything except for anything in Toon Town.  We started our first day in my favorite place, Fantasy Land.  But first, I took some documentation of our car ride to Disney.  The kids have this book for years and they love to read it, filled with coveted information about "hidden Mickeys" and trivia about the park itself.

Gwyneth chose to sleep on her way there.  

Once we got there Will was obsessed with the park map.  I think because it was so colorful.  

A couple of days before we left I went to Savers, the thrift store, and I purchased a used Disney themed shirt for every single member of our family.  I got 9 shirts for about $20.  And they are so cute!  Look at the one Will is wearing, it looks so vintage! 

So cute, the employees at Disney are like angels, I'm telling you.  They were laying down tape to form some line and of course my kids forced their way in to help and the sweet Disney angel employees were happy to let the kids help.  

They were going sooooo fast.  ;)

In the book that Georgia is reading at the beginning of this post, it says that there is a hidden Mickey in his eye, sure enough, it was there!

Peter Pan!  He was hilarious, not grown up at all.  ;) ;);)  How he managed to get Will to make the same face and stick out his little tongue as well, I will never know.  :)

Our hotel room was two blocks away about 10 minutes walking distance.  Not bad at all.  It was cozy and big enough for our families.  We had such a great time the first day, I felt like it was a dream come true that I would wake up to go yet again!...To be continued...

Life at home...

I have so many Christmas picture ideas my head could explode.  I've resorted to writing my ideas down because at times, they take over.  :)  I am grateful for these great daughters of mine.  

Shane got this batman zip up sweater last year for Christmas and now it finally fits him.  He wears it all the time to dress up in or to keep him warm, since it's actually been really cold here this year, so far.  

The other night we went to Palo Alto to visit the annual Creche Exhibit.  We use to go every year but the last few years we have taken a break.  They have this great play room in the back with manger scene dress ups and crafting.  I hadn't noticed but someone dressed Will up as a Shepard and when I found him he looked at me just like that.  He looked really happy to be adorned with this particular garb.  Haha!

Will is in a constant state of sword fighting, battling, building and train playing with his brothers. 

As soon as I wake up I turn on the tree and play Christmas Music.  Last week Summer wanted to lay down with a blanket in the middle of the afternoon and listen to the music by the tree.  She fell asleep and took a nap for the first time in two years.  I wanted to join her.  She looked so dreamy by the lit up tree.

We've had an abundance of left over ice cream from Thanksgiving and I keep walking into the kitchen to find certain kids "looking" at the ice cream.  :)

I caught her in the kitchen stirring the oatmeal, she looks like a little pixie fairy.  

Saturday morning I left early to go to the gym, do some shopping and other errands.  I came home to a messy house, these kids playing "king of the hill" on their dad and the older boys were ripping out the downstairs bathroom.  Yep, just days before Christmas we are remodeling our downstairs bath.  If we stay on schedule, which we will, it should be done by this weekend.  When I was taking a picture of this I was thinking about how grateful I am for my life.  I'm grateful for the mess, the projects and the kids because they are growing up fast.  And I know it will be an instant that I find myself in a different stage of life.  I am enjoying what I have at this very moment because it's wonderful.  

What I Love Most is Getting Paid for my Photography!!!

I love taking pictures.  The funny thing is that my husband is the one who started out as the photographer, started our blog and the whole nine yards.  But, he got busier with work and wanted me to take over the blog, which I was hesitant and I had no desire to take pictures.  How can that be when I had so many kiddos?  I don't know.  Maybe at the time it felt like one more thing to do.  I was still in the midst of really growing our family, in the thick of pregnancy after pregnancy, but low and behold I have been bit by the craze of photography.  

These are a few of my favorite images shot in the last year.  (I can't post all of the clients I have shot in the last four weeks, due to Christmas cards and such.  But I am having a website built and some of the best ones will be posted there.) I am sneaking the one below in, however, because it's one of my favorites.

As time goes on I notice that I am editing my pictures differently.  I love the picture below, it may be one of my favorite family group shots, but I don't tend to go as heavy on the contrast and clarification these days.  

One of my favorite shots of a couple.  It's just real and candid.  

Some of our best friends have been using me for awhile as their photographer.  This is one of my favorite shots.  I love the shadow, the action the smiles, the sand, it's dear to me.

I love action shots, and with a little blur, the better.  I think it tells a better story behind the picture.  

Such a great shot.  She has five girls, this is her youngest. 

I love that his sister's face is slightly out of focus.  One of my favorite ways to shoot.

 This is my daughter Georgia.  I got the idea for this picture out of the Anthropology catalog, where I get a lot of ideas from.  She is great to photograph because she's really versatile with her look.

Here she is again.  This was the Elsa/Anna shoot I did- she's Elsa...at the end of the day.  :)  I love this picture, I think it looks like it could have been taken right off the streets of LA in the 1980's, just has a vibe about it.  

This look like my son William but it's a little boy I photographed, along with his family as a referral. 

This picture below breaks all the rules.  I misused the lens capacity and created a "fishbowl" effect with their faces, nonetheless, I love it. 

My daughter Summer below, I'm voting it as the best action picture of the year.  Award given by me.  :)

What's not to love about this picture?  Nothing. 

I love the shot below because it looks double exposed.  

This was such a great photo shoot.  I made the costumes, and look at them- they are spot on as Anna and Elsa, seriously.  This was an outtake but one of the cutest in the batch.

Summer, the other day at the Christmas Tree Farm.  It was legitimately cold for those ear muffs, I tell ya.  

So many different ranges of light to be had.  The rage right now, in my opinion, is the sun burst pictures.  But, one of my favorite times to shoot is just after the sun has gone down.  The glow is beautiful as you can see in her hair and her dress. And she's blurred just a tad, just the way I like my action shots.  

I love the city, it's near and dear to my heart and always will be.  I love that bridge.  So many memories.  The light in this picture proves that you only need a little bit to make a great shot.  I love photography.  I have a passion for it.  The other thing I love is creating sets and scenes.  But, I can't take those pictures!  I have to have my husband do it, which I am just grateful because he's also great with a camera.  More on that later.  What I love most is getting paid for my photography.  

I was a slacker this year and missed 5 days of blogging for the month of November.  But, I am going to keep it up.  Not everyday, but at least once a week.  I love Instagram but I don't feel it is the right media source to write such long posts.  The blog is so great for this type of long winded writing.  Ha!  

Happy Holidays....Love,

Shauna xo