Maribel and Kids

Spring time in Bakersfield is well-known for the blooming flowers of the almond orchards. Last year I missed them, but this year I wanted to be sure to photograph at least a few families in them. Maribel is a friend from high school who has three handsome boys. They looked so great in their plaid shirts and pants! They were all pretty well-behaved and when they got a little rambunctious, I didn't even mind because we were able to get some great candid moments out of them! The wind had blown a lot of the blossoms off many of the orchards but we were able to find a few left. :)

Princess Emma Turns 2

Emma, my niece, is such a pretty princess. Lover of all things girly, we decided to crown her with (plastic!) jewels and give her a royal steed to ride upon for her birthday pictures. She loves to twirl and spin in her pretty dress. I can't believe she's already two! Time flies when you're having fun!

Jax and Gray

These two were so cute! I photographed Jax and Gray during a "mini session" for Valentine's Day in my mom's backyard. Gray was doing pretty good sitting up by herself and her brother stole the show in his smart-looking glasses. Together they made an adorable pair!

Valentine's Sweetie

Well, it's a good thing Bailee's not camera shy, because she's going to have a LOT of pictures taken of her. :) She is pretty good for me, but likes to do her own thing too. I wanted to get some shots of her in a valentine's outfit and she wanted to play outside, so we compromised.

Cousins Christmas

My daughter Bailee has two spunky cousins, Ryan and Emma. When the three of them get together, watch out! Emma is the dainty girly girl, and sometimes gets taken advantage of but I know she's secretly plotting her comeback! Ryan and Bailee get into all kinds of trouble together, Bailee's my princess tomboy, a pretty good mix of both worlds. She can dance in pretty dresses and princess crowns with Emma and turn around and smash trucks with Ryan. My son Brandon, was only two months old so he slept most of the time. He did wake up towards the end but he was hungry so he is crying in most of them. We did these pictures after Christmas, but better late than never right????

Vicki and Meagan

Vicki and her adorable daughter Meagan posed for me last fall - Meagan was a natural in front of the camera so I was excited to photographer her again. I also go to do a few shots with the family dog. I wish someone had gotten a photo of me balancing on a rock, camera in one hand and dog leash in the other, as I snapped a few shots of the two of them. It was a fun day!

Michelle, Chad, and Brad

Shhh! This was a surprise session for Michelle's (and bros!) mother for Christmas! We did a bunch of photos out at Riverwalk Park and they were going to choose the best to frame and give her for Christmas. This was the first session I had done with adults in a while, and though I LOVE photographing children, it was kind of nice to have people who cooperated with poses the first time. :) Though one of them maaay have fallen off a log during one pose, no people were injured in the taking of these photos!

Nick, Andrea Gebhardt and kids

This is one family I have known forever! We all used to lifeguard together out in Wasco in high school, and our weddings were within two weeks of each other. Ethan and Carter were in a boys only club until the birth of their cutie little sister, Paisley, in 2010. She had just taken her first steps before our shoot and proudly practiced more with Mommy. Carter was a little unsure of having his picture taken at first, but he eventually warmed up!

The Monroe Family

What a fun family! I got to meet up with the Monroe's out at Hart Park around sunset to photograph them for their Christmas cards. Lisa I knew from church but I met the rest of the family for the first time that day. Rex and Joelle, ages 3 and 5 months, definitely love their mommy, but it was really neat to see the special relationship they have with their daddy as well!

McCuan Family

Up next is the McCuan Family portraits! I have known Serrena since high school, we were both cheerleaders and swam on the swim team. Another fun fact - her family moved into my old house in Wasco! It had been a while since I'd seen her, and I'd never met her two girls so when she asked me about doing Christmas photos, I was excited! We had a fun day out at Hart Park, the girls were both super cute and loved cheesin' for the camera!