John, Rachel, Zoey & Bridger :)

meet John, Rachel, Zoey and Bridger!

they were a ton of fun!

the kids are ridiculously cute!

they had me in smiles the entire time :)

we decided to meet at the train station...

yes, those are train wheels above :)

after i finished editing, proofing and touching up the images...

i kind of started over.

i couldn't help myself.

they were just irresistible!

but, can you really have too many pictures?

mmmmaybe???

maybe not?

did I mention that these kiddos had me in smiles???

well....

they certainly had me crackin' up!

it was a great shoot :)

thanks Roundy & co!

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xoxoxo

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Bailee Nicole (creative inspiration)

meet Bailee Nicole.

she is a cutie-patootie!

Bailee is my first model (other than my own girls) for my creative project.

it took two separate days to do the shoot...

but, she was so stinkin' cute I didn't mind :)

my girls are the ones who inspired this project...

however...

kids in general are sooo free...

to say what they think and show how the feel...

there's something very inspiring in that.

their free spirit and kindred heart is something we all could learn from.

they love unconditionally...

they smile that contagious smile at all the right times...

and their hugs and loves are out of this world...

their giggles make this world go round and round.

the cutest chucks I've ever seen :)

i wanted to make sure to get a snap shot or two of Bailee and her mama.

thanks Nicole for letting your little girl model for me :)

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xoxoxo

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the Gerber Fam Bam

meet the Gerber Family :)

we've been talking about doing a shoot for over a year now...

we finally made it happen after canceling once (it was super dooper cold and windy)...

I think I took more pictures of this family than of any other (other than my own of course)...

the kiddos were too cute and I didn't know it but I was working on a great sunburn...

McKay & Lyla.

this shoot was a mother's day gift.

and lemme tell you...

Miss Alla is one stinkin' cute mama :)

one way to get Lyla to smile...

was to JUMP!

she absolutely loved it!

actually...I'm pretty sure the entire family loved it!

and little McKay had a library full of silly faces...

and I ate it up!

he also had plenty of hugs (and tugs) for his sister :)

all in all, it was a fun, blustery day :)

happy mother's day Alla!

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xoxoxo

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My Own Creative Inspiration ;)

you know how picture day is always stressful...

especially for a mom?

we always want our family to look perfect.

we buy clothes specifically for picture day.

we make sure everyone looks the best before we get a chance to perfect our look...

and by that point the kids are ready to play in the dirt and yank their bows out of their hair...

and dad, well, dad is ready to call it quits.

well...

my daughter Aislinn inspired me over the past few years.

every time she gets dressed, its always something ridiculous...

and I have yet to let her out of the house when she dresses herself.

then...

it hit me...

why not showcase who the characters of my family truly are.

so...

today, I gave in.

I let her dress herself...in whatever she wanted...

today's special was halloween tights and an old christmas dress.

then, I told her sister to get dressed in whatever she wanted...

I knew she would pick a tank top so that was the only restriction I put in place...

only because it's not quite warm enough for tank tops and flip flops...

after the girls got dressed I grabbed my camera and we headed outside!

it was a ton of fun!

I am newly inspired on so many levels and I think this may be a future addition to my business...

I don't think it will be too hard to market once all the moms out there see how cute it is and hear how fun and stress-free picture day can be!

So...

here are my girls.

I had NOTHING to do with what they wore...

and I let them jump around and run around and strike their own poses...

we had a blast!

we had SO much fun!

now I just need a name for such a shoot...

any ideas???

xoxoxo

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a day or two in Santa Cruz... :)

there was a time in my life when I would have said that San Diego was my favorite place.

that was until I was able to spend a day or two in Santa Cruz with my fam bam and friends.

we didn't have to do anything while we were there.

but we made sure to enjoy the heck out of every minute while we were in Santa Cruz.

the girls LOVED the water.

they LOVED the beach.

they LOVED just being little kids without a worry in the world.

I LOVED watching every minute of it!

a lone pair of sunnies on the beach. my fav picture :)

a day on the beach would hardly be complete w/o
a Binder Family Self Portrait!

danglin' feet!

twin bridges park @ sunset.

my sweet friend Ruthie and her adorable son Levi.

our trip to Santa Cruz was perfect.

it was slow and quiet.

peaceful.

there is a different life out there besides wanting to punch the alarm clock every morning at 430 am...

if I had a choice...

we'd be living in a shack close to the beach in Santa Cruz...

wearing flip flops and a hoodie every day! :)

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a day on the beach with the Foisy Family... :)

meet the Foisy family.

they are basically family to us.

Brody and Brian recently celebrated their 20th best friend anniversary this year.

(well, they didn't actually celebrate it, but it has been 20 years)

and, this wasn't an actual shoot...

it was a beach day with our two families...

and of course I had a camera :)

i am waiting for a phone call from HURLEY... :)

the kids loved playing in the water...

well, running away from the water is more like it...

but they all had a blast together.

it's fun watching the kids of the best friends play together...

still waiting for the phone call :)

Callie wasn't exactly fond of the water to begin with...

so, I snapped some pictures of her in the sand.

Callie lovin' on daddy :)

and...well...I did have my camera...

so, I forced them to stand together and smile :)

and...then turn around and smile...

it wouldn't be right without a booty shot...

at least not from me anyways ;0 )

we had a great day playing on the beach with the Foisy Fam Bam!

I just wish we could do it more often!

Foisy's...

we love you and we're looking forward to Christmas in February ;0 )

you wont need your flip flops tho...

snow boots will do :)

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*****

xoxoxo