Turns out that southern California is a much nicer place to be in late December than Boston is. Who knew. I spent the day with the hilarious, gorgeous, smart, generous Shoemaker family. They rented a place on Balboa island near Newport Beach and we basically just hung out all day and watched little Emerson be precious.  If Emerson fit in a toaster I would slather her with butter and eat her. She's such a great little kid.
Enough of me, let's look at some pictures.  Meet The Shoemakers of Newport Beach.  Rockin.
Thank you. Enjoy. Love.

Worrrrrd.  I've been besties with Kristen since we were three years old and if you follow my blog (and I can't imagine why you wouldn't follow my blog. It's not like the blogosphere is saturated) you'll know that I make an annual pilgrimage to Wisconsin to see m'girl and spend time with her (amazing, hilarious, funny, happy, silly, playful, talented, smart, gorgeous) family.
It's fun to see a family grow so here are links to the past three years:
Year One 
Year Two
Year Three
This year we had some new additions.  Kristen's big brother and two of his sons joined us for a fun afternoon.  And Kristen and Mark have a new niece who we visited.
I hope you enjoy watching this super sweet family grow over the years as much as I do.  I have the giggles just thinking about them.  Sighhh... Kris, I miss you. :(
Thank you. Enjoy. LOVE!!!!!

Gawwwwwwwd I love these people.  I love them in a way that makes me want to check if Jet Blue is running any sort of free flight program from Boston to San Diego if you make the trip once a week...which they're not, by the way.
Isaac and Erin were friends in high school, started dating at 18 years old, and have been married for ten years.  Somewhere in their courtship they moved to San Francisco from San Diego.  They met Jon Gray in San Francisco.  I'm certain they met others while they were there, but they met a soul mate in Jon.  I too met Jon Gray in San Francisco, 11 months before Isaac and Erin met him, 14 years ago. Jon talked so much about these two people that their two names soon sounded like one: Isaacanderin.  Jon gushed pretty hard about the people he loved and he gushed CRAZY for this couple. They sounded awesome so I started asking about them every time I talked to Jon.  Though I didn't know them, I kept up with their lives through Jon. I knew they moved back to San Diego, got married, had two girls, taught high school theater and music.  I felt like I knew this family so I was always happy to hear that life was still rad with Isaacanderin.
Jon died suddenly in Brooklyn on April 21st of this year.  I got in touch with Isaac immediately. I introduced myself, he had heard of me. Without ever meeting each other, Isaac helped me endlessly through those first few nights of realizing Jon was gone.  Finally, after 14 years of hearing the lore, I met IsaacAndErin at Jon's memorial in Brooklyn. I loved them immediately.
As anyone knows who has lost someone they love, the sadness and loss comes in waves without warning. One particularly long and sad night in June grief hit like a sledge hammer. I was desperate to connect to Jon so I decided I needed to photograph Isaac and Erin and their girls in San Diego.  I asked if I could, they seemed psyched, we booked the trip.
I arrived at Isaac and Erin's home with my camera and plenty of luggage. I stayed for three days.  It might have been the most wonderful three days I've had in a very long time. They have a life I have never seen.  They have it all: a beautiful marriage based on friendship, love, and FUN. Their home is constantly full of musicians and artists making music together and having fun. Their GIRLS!?!?!  Their girls are kind, hilarious, smart, happy, sweet, adorable, generous...and they harmonize when they sing together!  It is truly one of the best families  I've ever seen. It's a harmonious, happy, low key, giggly, fun life.  The three days I spent with them showed me a life and lifestyle I didn't know was possible.  They truly have it all.
Jon has left us with such an incredible gift and this friendship will always be focused on keeping him alive, always celebrating him, talking about him and loving him hard.  All the way to heaven and back, baby.
Jon, your generosity has floored me.  I love all the people you loved.  You had such good taste, man.  I love and miss you.  We all do.
Tell the people you love that you love them.  Don't worry, you won't regret it and you won't scare anyone.  Being loved feels good.
The Langen family, baby... enjoy. I did. :)

Sighhhhhh....It's days like this one that fill my cup so full that I go to sleep with tears of gratitude in my eyes.  This family is sooo delicious. Gorgeous California light floods their home in Mill Valley all morning, their yard is full of lilacs and a magnolia tree, their Bernice Mountain dog named Dewey rounds out the greatness.  Little Natalie is a DOLL!!  She's so sweet and curious and beautiful and kind and giggly and happy.  She's very excited about her new sister, Kate, who got to earth only last month.  The lovely mama, Amy, is a marine biologist so when we wanted an adventure, a trip to Stinson Beach was the obvious answer.  There, they played with crabs and jumped rope with bull kelp. Adam, the papa, is just the jungle gym that Natalie needs to climb on and love.  I thought I died and went to heaven.
One of my favorite families of all time.  Thank you endlessly for letting me document a day in your lives.  I hope I remember this day forever.
love.

Yaay! Back for another year to photograph the growing McMahon family.  Since our last shoot last year (HERE), little Ava has entered the world.  She's as cute as a little round button and big sis Emily seems happy to have a new friend around.  Like all young families, they're a very busy crew, but unlike lots of families they live surrounded by fruit and fig trees, artichoke bushes, and an herb garden.  What a great place to grow up!  After harvesting all sorts of fruit we headed out to tu-tu school where cute comes in buckets. Lots of cuties in tutus and lots of french spoken. It was super sweet. Sunset was spent in the McMahon's favorite place: the beach, and dinner was at their favorite pizza place in San Francisco. Melt down? Oh, that happened in the tub!
What a day. Thank you. Enjoy. Love. Obv.