Pretty much your average dorks.
Married.
Two kids.
Livin' in the 'burbs.
How do two guys from SoCal end up in the hospital within 12 hours of arriving in South Africa, miss a few games (pick up a few more), tour a diamond mine, do a couple of safari’s and drive on the other side of the road, taking photo’s along the way…
Stay tuned as Clark shares the adventures from South Africa…coming soon!
“And then I went to visit my family and all of the sudden it was just like in the Wizard of Oz…
when it all changes from black and white to glorious technicolor!” -John Mahoney
While the guys were on the other side of the planet, exploring the cradle of humanity, Emmy and I made our way to Utah.
Thanks for the memories everyone, love you guys (and gals!)!
Sisters, shoulder to shoulder . . . who stands a chance against them?
~Pam Brown
A recent client shoot for Fathers Day, two sisters and their step-sister.
Each posses an inner beauty that rivals that of their outer, the greatest gift a Daddy could receive in a daughter.
Emmy’s end of the 5th grade year party was a…SPLASH!
Emmy had the best teacher EVER, both her and Kohl made an appearance at the event, kicking off a great summer vacation!
Someone (anonymously) brought (and left for the otherwise civilized children) the biggest pixie sticks ever created. Left them right out in plain sight. They were a huge hit.
With the kids. The parents…not so much.
I love that disapproving mommy face! It usually takes 2 weeks into summer to get that look but those darn pixie sticks brought it out on day One! Historic!
Once the sugar hit the veins the water balloon/water gun wars began. This was the first year they brought weapons. Kohl loved it, he was leading the troops in the finer points of balloon bombing. Stealthy balloon bombing that is.
They didn’t even know where they came from. He was so proud, watching them turn on their own team mates.
This bathing beauty taught me a trick her Mom does to get these super sparkly, totally unique toe nails!
You paint a clear coat, sprinkle with scrapbook glitter (superfine), let dry, then paint a clear coat to seal the whole mess together. Viola! Pretty summer toes. Easy peasy. If you’re like me you have a whole drawer of scrapbook crap of good intentions waiting for use. Let me just throw this out there…they are cute and they are unique (‘specially if you’re like me and you have a stash of colors they quit making in the mid nineties, uber chic) but for the love of all creativity – - – DO THIS PROJECT OUTSIDE. And do not think for one minute that you’ll do this project on a piece of paper and SAVE the glitter that falls off. That’s just silly.
First of all – super fine glitter does not fall off. Anything. You could, theoretically disregard the entire top coat. And it would stay put. Well, until your daughter picks them clean and leaves them in the floor board of your vehicle on a ten hour road trip. Or as an Oh-so-clever Mommy you reach for the canned air.
Yep, canned air. The kind meant to clean the junk under your keyboard out. It will clear a fresh coat of superfine scrapbook glitter off a toe and onto your forehead faster than you can release the trigger, questioning your own sanity.
Proceed with caution.
There were lots of laughs over the ping pong table. Which could be considered a war zone itself by the smashed balls littering the area.
Much contemplation over ruling the school next year and what all that holds in store.
Sun worship.
And happy smiling faces.
Aaaaah…summer.
A beautiful craftsman style complex, right in the heart of Glendale that 30 lucky families now call home (after their numbers were picked from thousands of applicants).
Congratulations to those families and the City of Glendale, what a wonderful addition to your community!
It was a pleasure to take part in your grand opening ceremony.
Our newest addition…
Allie Einstein (formerly known as Puff Ball)
Her name comes from her awesome cowlicks, her uncanny resemblance to Albert and her wicked math skills.
Emmy’s in love.
Jack is not.
As for the rest of us, only time will tell.
Christi (my photog partner) and I had the opportunity to be involved with a Grand Opening for Habitat for Humanity.
A group of 11 families and countless number of volunteers together with the San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity, have spent the last 2 and 1/2 years constructing dreams into realities.
This past Saturday, those 11 families were honored at a ceremony where they received the keys to their new homes.
And a ceremonial ribbon cutting to usher in the next chapter of their lives.
They shared their heartfelt thanks to the community for the partnership in achieving the life long goals of home ownership, welcoming everyone into their homes.
It was a touching experience and I was honored to be there, capturing the images of these truly grateful families.
“For it is in giving that we receive.” St. Francis of Assisi
After a long, lazy winter I am pleased to announce that Clark and I kicked off our summer hiking Mt. Pinos. Alone. The cry babies had other plans so we grabbed Jack and headed up the mountain.
This is a great hike for easing back into it, a little over 5 miles round trip and something like a 500 foot gain in elevation. Breathing takes a minute to get used to (as we reside around 1,000 feet above sea level and Mt. Pinos is at 8,550) but once acclimated it’s a pretty easy hike.
Don’t get me wrong, I was not exaggerating when I said it was a long and lazy winter. We hiked maybe three times from December to May. Maybe three times. It’s safe to say we were also being extra cautious by choosing this particular location, to slowly ease back into hiking and re awaken those parts of our bodies that have been hibernating.
That said, I wasn’t sure what to make of this sign…
Just sitting there on a rock, right by the Johnny Poopers, as if to say, “You haven’t hiked in how long?! Well, there’s always prayer…” After we went a ways, I noticed another “sign”…
A heart puddle! A reminder that yes indeed I do ♥ hiking!
And everyone knows lady bugs are good luck!
This one was actually biting Clark! But don’t worry I accidently bit a few on the way to the top, they were every where. Lady bug season…who knew?
We did indeed make it to the top, stopping to catch our breath and laugh hysterically as Jack attacked snowballs (hey, we were oxygen deprived and at the time it was the funniest thing on earth!).
I’d like to point out that this picture clearly indicates Jack descended from Kangaroos and that if he did choose to walk on his back two he’d almost be as tall as Clark. Just sayin’.
Perhaps the highlight of the day was driving by the American Red Cross container parked outside the lodge in Frazier Park. Seeing these disaster supply containers starting to appear throughout the county is so bitter sweet. Clark’s awesome idea in motion, those containers stand as witness to his brilliance. Award winning, I might add.
About a week ago I mentioned to Emmy that I have a few questions I’d like to ask her for her birthday interview/photo shoot. She requested that I email them to her. So I did. She printed them out and corrected the heading by underlining and circling misspelled words…I’m pretty sure she did her spelling homework at the same time.
At the top she has noted that this is “written by: Gretchen (the Mom)” and “answered by: Emmy (the daughter)” just so we’re all on the same page.
The best thing that happened to me while I was 10 was finally being able to play the 10 and up rated games.
While I’m 11 I plan to join a tumbling class, finally.
My favorite website (today anyway) is GirlsGoGames.com.
My favorite singer is Kristin Dedarge.
My favorite color is anything neon.
My favorite thing in my room is Clark Elliot, my bear!
My favorite thing to eat is orange chicken.
When I’m not at school you can find me outside playing with my buds or rollerskating.
The person I’d like to meet is Selena Gomez.
I’m a good friend because I take care of people when they’re feeling down and I make sure that almost everything is 100% fun!
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by Gretchen
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