In my former life, I lived in Hawaii.  And so did my boyfriend. That was a long time ago.  Long before kids, long before I did photography.  That boyfriend is now my husband, and our very most favorite place in the world to vacation is there.  Back to the island where we lived for just a short time.  Whenever we go there, there’s a feeling of familiarity.  The humidity is like a hug from an old friend.  The welcoming skies surround you with peace.  The warm ocean water welcomes you with cradling arms.

I love Hawaii.  We love Hawaii.  Who doesn’t love Hawaii?

So, this summer we embarked on our trip to visit this beautiful island…to visit a piece of our past…where life was simpler.  Hawaii is any photographer’s dream, but  I went resolved to let the kids be kids.  No forcing them to pose for pictures.  I went simply wanting to capture our days.  While I did hope for one teeny weeny photo shoot while there, it never happened.  And that’s just fine. What did happen was still magic.  Life happened.  Love happened.  This will likely be my first installment of pictures.  I still have pictures I haven’t even seen yet.

The kids were pretty excited.

I can hear the song they sang for months before our trip: “Hawaii!  Hawaii!  We’re going to Hawaii!”  

Their first touch of Hawaiian waters.  Waikiki before the crowds.

Our first breakfast at Eggs ‘N Things.  My husband wistfully looking out at the waters of Waikiki–a place where we both learned to surf.

(and if you look closely, you can see my son hiding under the table, playing with his daddy’s phone).

We have wonderful friends that live there.  We haven’t seen them in two years, but, our kids always seem to be fast friends.

They have a really cool tortoise.  

And some really great tree swings.

And a pretty awesome zip line!

We went to the Farmer’s Market.  And dang, we ate a lot of mangoes.

We climbed Diamond Head.

We went to Byodo-In Temple.  And honestly, for me, this was a highlight.  It was so peaceful.  We took our time and took it all in. We let my daughter take her time feeding the birds and the koi.  No rush.  Just quiet and lovely.

There were many quiet moments like this–my daughter patiently waiting for the timid birds to eat food from her hand.  Years ago, the birds were trained to fly right to you and eat the food off your hands.  They’re no longer trained, so to enjoy the special moment of having a bird eat from your hand, you.must.be.patient.  And my sweet love is incredibly patient.  I loved that she enjoyed this experience so much.

My husband and son may not have been into patiently feeding the birds, but they were into having a bamboo battle.

My daughter preferred to just relax.

My son pondered how he could get his hands on a huge bamboo stick.

Gosh, look at this…. A blog post about Hawaii and hardly any beach pictures.  Believe me you, we went to the beach A LOT.  But my camera didn’t make it to the beach a lot.  Most days we were out of the house all day, and I didn’t want to worry about my camera getting wet or sandy or stolen.  But I DID bring it on this glorious day.

And how crazy is this sunflare?

Such a gorgeous beach.  That was a beautiful day.  Last shot before reluctantly getting in the car.

I’ve got loads more pictures, but I think I should stop now, huh?

And in case you don’t know what this Life Stories thing is about, I’m participating in a blog circle with other amazing photographers from around the globe.  Every month, we share images about our own family.  It’s a chance to be sure we’re taking the time to capture our own moments.  I am honored to be part of this amazing group and am happy to send you on over to Amy Lenhart’s blog right this very moment! Read her story and then follow her link to another photographer.  Follow the links all the way around, and you’ll end up right back here.  It’s a lot of fun!

And often, FACEBOOK is where I first post my images, so head on over there and like my page.

Thanks for looking!…

It’s time for this month’s Life Story.  I’m so impressed with myself that I haven’t missed one month of this monthly project!  Excuse me while I take a moment to pat my own back.

And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???

Sheesh.

Oh,  sorry….  Let me get you up to speed. Here’s a little blurb about what I’m up to:

Ever see a photographer who starts out with a 365 day project, or even a 52 week project and never finishes? Yeah, me too.  Well, I  joined a group of a few other busy photographers who decided to commit to a 12 month project! Wish us luck!

The best part is that it will be totally candid, lifestyle shots of each of our own families/lives.  This is a challenge for us to capture our every day worlds and hopefully make us and everyone aware that our “ordinary” is actually “extraordinary.”  We’re calling the series “The Story of ________” and we’ll each be filling in our own blanks. At the end of this post is a link to another photographer who participated and she’ll be linking to someone else. It’s a whole big circle of stories in pictures. Click through and enjoy!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

We’ve had kids for 9 years.  My husband grew up in the Bay Area, and amazingly, I am the only one in our family who had ever been to Muir Woods.  How did that even happen?  What is WRONG with us???  We clearly needed to rectify this situation, so off we went.

Little did we know that we had just so happened to visit Muir Woods on International Migratory Bird Day.  I know… I know…. how did we not even know it was International Migratory Bird Day???  So embarrassing….

We learned more about birds, the kids discovered that birds have wicked wing spans, and, most importantly, we made woodpecker masks.  Thank you Mr. Ranger Guy for helping them make those masks.  They made this day super extra magical for me.

They LOVED their masks and wore them the majority of the day.  And seriously, it was just one of those magical things to me.  I love color.  I love quirky.  I love my kids.  And ya know, I find that I am even more fond of woodpeckers.  Especially red crested woodpeckers with crossed eyes.

These are the cutest woodpeckers you have ever seen, aren’t they?  I know.  I know!  Totally adorable.

We were sort of expecting it to be warm, but it wasn’t.  The rest of us smarties packed a jacket, but the hubs didn’t have anything.  We DID however, have a pink and white striped towel in the car that not only provided warmth, but clearly, is a huge fashion statement.  And the hubs just OWNED it.  Work it, baby. Work it.

Trees are cool.  See all those light green leaves?  Those are the new growth for this year. Every year, a Redwood tree grows a new leaf, and so you can count back from the front of the branch to see how old the branch is.  See how all the knowledge I collected in my years as a camp counselor is paying off?  And of course, trees also have a new growth ring every year.  I dig trees.

Hello…. My name is Laura.  And I’m a sucker for sunflare.

This red crested woodpecker was having a really good time.

And this woodpecker appears to be stalking its prey….

My husband always creates the best games for the kids.  His creativity in play always impresses me!  This one was simple enough…. pick a leaf, and on the count of three, drop it in the creek, and see which leaf gets to the chosen destination first. I think my daughter won this one.  She loves daddy’s games.

But I’m pretty sure my son won this one.  He’s so intense.  I love that.

And then he looked over at me… and for just a moment, the world stood still.  I love that man.

The kids spotted a heron in the creek.  It was pretty cool to watch.  It was hunting for fish and just continued down the creek for quite some time.  Beautiful bird.

And maybe I’m alone here, but does anyone else think that E.T. should phone home?  I want some Reeses Pieces.

Shooting at Muir Woods was tough.  It was crowded.  For the most part, there are other people in your shot if you are going for anything environmental. But in a rare moment, the path was clear, and in an even rarer moment, my daughter assumed this pose.  My little tree fairy.  I love this shot.

We had to stop at the gift shop where they both chose this 5 in 1 tool.  It’s a compass, a thermometer, a small container, a magnifying glass, and a whistle.  And yes, since you asked, the whistle DOES get annoying when you are driving home and trapped in a car.

And also, if you’re wondering.  Yes, yes… he DID eat a brownie, and no… he didn’t use a napkin.

I can SEE you!

So, there you have it.  Our story of our trip to Muir Woods.  We had a great time and were just a little bit sad to leave.

IIf you like what you see, you can always follow me on FACEBOOK.

Next up on this Life Stories train is THE Danielle Frank!  I am in love with all of her Life Stories, so you are not gonna want to miss it.  At the end of her story will be another link to another Life Story.  Follow the links and see a whole pile of amazing Life Stories that will eventually end you up right back here.  So sit down, get comfy, and ENJOY.…

It’s been a busy month for me.  As the deadline for this month’s Life Story began encroaching upon me, I had to make a decision: spend a ton of time shooting and then editing pictures of my children playing OR spend that time just playing with my children.

I chose the latter.

As a photographer, I see it as my job to document their lives.  And believe me, they are WELL documented.  And in my endeavor to tell the perfect story, capture the perfect image of the perfect moment that just so happens to be captured in the perfect light with the perfect clothing, I sometimes lose sight of the simple fact that my children want to spend time with me.

And while I love doing these Life Stories and hope to have the time to do a “real” one next month, this month, I just didn’t want to take the time to tell the full story of anything.

I just wanted to spend time with my kids.

And so I did.

So, what I’m sharing here is just some of the pictures I captured this month.  Not a full story of any one event… but just snippets of our month.

We biked.

We waited for friends to arrive.We went to the library and read book after book after book.

I found my daughter immersed in cat books.

We swung.

We played in the sun.

We went to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

We hunted for eggs, played with cousins, and laughed with family.

We ducked.

We played tennis…

…it was hot.

And we hugged.  And we loved.  And we laughed.

So, there you have it.   I suppose it IS a life story of sorts.  The story of our month.

If you are not familiar with this whole Life Story thing, well, I hate to say it, but you’ve been missing out.  It’s basically a blog circle…start here, and follow the links at the end of each blog post to continue the circle!  You can get a full description of what it’s all about right HERE.  And if you want to see some of the other ones, you can go over there yonder to the left, click on the Categories tab, and then click on Life Stories.  It’s been a fun project for me this year, and I’m happy to be part of such a wonderful group of photographers who are participating in this with me!

Speaking of wonderful photographers, up next is Audrey Frantz of Kentiga Photography!  Follow all the links at the end of the post until you end up back here!  Thanks for visiting!

You can follow me on Facebook right HERE.

 …