Let’s just start this off by saying that today is my 12 year anniversary. Happy Anniversary, sweetie! Thanks for sticking with me! I love you!

Summer is in full swing here, which means, I hardly have time to get this blog post up. So let’s just see if I can keep this to 11 images this time.

I’ve had this idea for a while, but finally took and edited the picture. See the original HERE.

She cut 10 inches of her hair to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, but before I could send it off, I needed to make this picture happen.

And I got an underwater bag.

And I’m obsessed.

My self portrait this month wasn’t taken by me, so it’s not really a self portrait. But, I had to share this beautiful picture taken by the talented Christie Hobson of Christie Hobson Photography. We were down in Orange County for our summer vacation, and I HAD to hire Christie to capture our family. I love her. Check out more of the session right here.

If you like what you see here, come like me on Facebook!

Up next is my amazingly talented friend, Taryn from Blu Hippo Photography from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Her work always makes me feel calm and happy. I know you’ll love it too!…

It’s been a dang fine month. And I’m sort of wishing this project was called 25 on 25 or something, cuz I have lots of images I want to share. But I will try to limit it to 11-ish. If you don’t know what this 11 on 11 project is, you can read about it right here.

Let’s get this party started. If you saw last month’s post, then you know my daughter turned 10. I had fun with her pictures for that. She celebrated her birthday with her friends at a gymnastics place. She had a blast. And because I didn’t want any leftover cake, those kids got the BIGGEST pieces of cake ever. LOL. I don’t think any of them even finished their plate.

We went for a hike. It was a really pretty day.

My daughter was having a grand ol’ time.

My son… well, he was sighing heavily because I made him stand there for 2 seconds. Poor child of a photographer.

The planets aligned this year because all of my siblings’ kids had the same Spring Break. This hasn’t happened in three years.

It.  Was.  Awesome.

I love my family.

Of course, we had to go to Target. And in a rare moment, the dude WANTED me to take his picture. Shocking.  Seriously.

We went to Japantown in San Francisco. I am in love with this wall.

And for a very strange reason, my daughter’s head grew very very big. Her usually normal sized hat now looked incredibly small. Weird.

My niece is actually a panda with duck lips.

And my nephew is uber cool.

My niece is seriously just the cutest little girl. I adore her little underbite and her voice and her giggle. She’s fantastic.

This is my  youngest nephew. He’s in love with my kids, especially my daughter. He is energetic and adorable. I swear, my siblings make really cute kids.

Um, 11 is not enough pictures when my entire family was here. Don’t count. I can’t stop.

My dad has a photography gallery going on right now. He’s an incredibly talented photographer.

My mom continues to fight hard. She starts “maintenance chemo” this week. Hoping those brain tumors get the message and just stay the heck away. I love the relationship my daughter and mom have. It makes me melt. That one on the left was a simultaneous blink from the two biggest blinkers in my family. I love it. I love them.

OK. Let’s pretend that I have now shared 10 images. I will now share my 11th image!  A self portrait of sorts. A family self portrait at that!

The story that goes along with this picture is a doozy. If I ever see you in person, you should ask me about it. Let’s just say it’s a miracle that this picture happened with relatively everyone smiling. Most of the spouses couldn’t make it since they have non-school jobs and don’t get a Spring Break. My sister in law was respresentin’ the in-laws. She’s aces.

And one last one of my parents and their four children. The one in the striped shirt is their favorite. Obviously.

I had to do some serious culling to get that down to 11, or um, close to 11. Next up is the insanely talented Sallykate Photography. She’s such an amazing photographer, and I am honored to be part of this blog circle with her. Go check her out. She just got a fisheye lens, I’m just gonna take a guess that MAYBE she’s showing some of that stuff off over there.

Bye now!

…

This last month may well be remembered as the month that I didn’t shoot very much. I love taking pictures of my kids, but sadly, they don’t so much love me taking said pictures. In an effort to keep them loving me and not running in fear when my camera comes out, I have been, for the most part, just been leaving my camera in its bag. The horror! I’ve enjoyed many uncaptured moments which include making Oreo truffles, painting wind chimes, building Legos, reading books, dancing in the kitchen with our socks on, throwing football… you get the idea. Life has most certainly been happening, even if my camera hasn’t gotten the chance to document all this fun.

But I was determined to get my 11 pictures for this month. If you don’t know what this 11 on 11 thing is, you can read more about it HERE!

So, while pickings may be slim this month, what I can show you is this:

This is Om Nom. Om Nom is the lovable little green guy in the game ap Cut the Rope. My kids are obsessed with him. Um, so am I. He is totally adorable.

My daughter performed in the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade for the second year in a row. This parade is the biggest Chinese New Year Parade outside of China. They work SO hard to learn their kung fu moves, songs, and dances. Here’s a shot of her before the parade.

My little guy got his orange belt this month. He refused, I mean REFUSED, to let me take a picture of him wearing his new belt. But I did manage to get this shot of the guy.

He hates my camera now. It’s such a bummer. He used to be my go to guy for pictures, but not anymore. This is more what I usually get. And why is he smiling in that last one? Oh, because he’s doing a spit bubble. Well, at least he’s smiling.

And if you’re counting, these three count as one, cuz I said so.

Wielding a light saber is serious business.

My sweetie had a birthday this month. Can you guess how old she is?

You got it! She’s TEN! HOW did my little baby turn TEN?  How have I been a mother that long? It’s been an amazing ten years, and watching her grow into the amazing ten year old that she is makes me all sorts of proud and giggly. She’s an amazing child. She has been growing her hair out forEVER and is getting ready to chop it all off to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths so that her hair can make a wig for someone who is fighting cancer. She decided to do this on her own, and I think that is amazing. She’s a special girl.

Ten candles for ten years.

I got a little weird with this one. But I LOVE it.

And finally, the self portrait. This almost didn’t happen this month. It’s March 10, and I shot this today. SO thankful I have mad skills in Photoshop. Goodbye wrinkles!

Next up is the amazingly talented Atlanta Area Family Photographer and Rockstar, Kate T. Parker. She’s insane. Like, in a good way, insane. Like, OMG, does every picture she take have to be so dang good??? Answer? Yes. Check her out!

And if you like what you see and want to follow me on Facebook, I won’t complain. …