Happy Halloween!

I LOVE Halloween. L-O-V-E it. My love for this fun "holiday" doesn't have anything to do with raging in a teeny tiny loin cloth or anything; it's because the kids get dressed up and are EXTRA cute during this time of year! Today our company hosted it's annual trick-or-treat parade for the employee kids, and they were AH-DORABLE!!! I missed a couple kids, but that was because they were hiding behind their parent's leg or hiding in general. :-)

Happy Halloween, everybody! Be safe and have fun!

I'll be back soon!

I've been battling a weird flu, and each day this week I've been extremely fatigued and nauseous. Stay tuned for Paige's and Micah's posts! I post process photos every minute I feel a new surge of energy. :-) Told ya I loved this stuff!

Sneak preview: Micah at three years old

Meet Micah. This kid is seriously a riot to be around! At the tender age of three he's already got a bag full of jokes and tricks and even some Bob Marley songs up his sleeve! I can't wait to edit his photos - he's absolutely beautiful!

Here's a sneak preview of Micah laughing. He met a few bikers whom he befriended, and they told him to add them on Facebook. This is Micah's reaction:

Sneak Preview: Paige at four months

I really want to post this sneak preview before I become a hermit and battle my flu. Paige's mom Gina had warned me she might be a fussy baby, but this beautiful little girl was everything but fussy! Well, except towards the end when mom and dad made her wear her pink bunny costume. But c'mon, could you blame her? Paige did a great job smiling, sitting patiently in baskets, and being just too darn cute!

More photos to come!

Excited!

Mark and I are currently restructuring my blog and I'm TOTALLY excited to launch it. I'm not sure when this will happen, but it will be done before Thanksgiving. Mark is no computer science buff, but he sure knows a lot about the technical aspects of this business than I do. I secretly look up acronyms he and his friends throw around so I look a fraction as smart as they do when we discuss tech news. Yea, they really do discuss tech for hours at a time during occasional dinners in the city. I'm not gonna lie, it's inspired me to be a lot more tech aware from which I realized is a deep love I never knew I had.

I'm quite blessed to have a husband who's so smart he doesn't even know it, loves me to death and makes sure he tells me every single day, AND on top of his consulting work someone who really wants to help me grow in my own career. Last night I had complained that his check list for my business was way too long and overwhelming and that I just needed more time to get these things done. Mark said it best when he responded, "That's why YOU are the master creator and I am the executer! We are going to make a great team!" I couldn't help but laugh because it's all so true. I dream up these big, colorful ideas, and Mark makes sure there is logic behind it and that it happens. How did I get so lucky? :-)

Sneak Preview: 6 month old Peyton and family

I had a great time photographing baby Peyton and his very large family last weekend. On top of his mommy and daddy Peyton has four very energetic aunties and two uncles who can't get enough of this kid. I seriously had so much fun working with this family - it reminds me of my own huge family when we have our get-togethers.

Here are a few previews from our session. Peyton is going to have his very own solo photo shoot in a few months once he's stronger to sit and ham it up for the camera. I can't wait!



This is pretty much how the entire session went.

I leave my heart in San Francisco

Did I ever tell you how much I love San Francisco? Well, I LOVE San Francisco. I especially love it in October when I step outside the office building after work to smell both the crisp, cold air of Autumn and the salty ocean breeze from the bay. Here are some favorites I captured in the past week after dining with Mark and walking along the Embarcadero at night.

Boulevard Restaurant



Five photos of the Bay Bridge "stitched" together in Photoshop



Long exposure shot of the Ferry Building - isn't it dreamy? Makes me want to visit Paris :-)

Let there be light!

As I walked down Main Street in SOMA today, I randomly looked up and saw the most beautiful light I've ever seen in my life. YES, this is some serious light, folks! I want to note these photos were taken with my point-and-shoot I don't leave the house without, and they are not enhanced in any way. What you see is basically the same thing I saw with my own eyes.

How amazing is this?! I almost thought I was going to see God - I was that in awe.

Judy and Davidson engagements: UC Berkeley campus

As I observed these two love birds interact you would think they had just met each other yesterday and fallen in puppy love. Judy giggled at every funny face Davidson made; she stared adoringly in his eyes and whispered sweet messages and giggled some more. They kissed. A lot. However, Judy and Davidson didn't meet yesterday. Nor did they meet a year ago. They met seven years ago when Judy was a mere little freshman at Cal and Davidson was one year her senior. They hit it off from the start and haven't looked back since. Well, except for every year come college football season when Davidson makes Judy come with him to fan day to help him stand in lines to get the players' autographs. Yea, Davidson, she told me that Jahvid Best story.

Judy and I have been friends since our freshman year when we both lived on the all girls floor at the Unit 3 dorms. We actually stem from a group of four girlfriends from that floor who have kept in touch to this day - Judy, Janie, Kimberly, and me. Today is actually Kimberly's birthday - happy birthday, girl! I was the first brave soul to go (aka get married), and now it's Judy's turn. Who's next??! I promise it's not that bad. :-)

I remember the first day I met Judy she was a ball of energy, always smiling and laughing with her super cute dimples. She had that same smile and laugh when she told me about meeting her boyfriend Davidson. And this past weekend when we went back to our alma mater for their engagement session, you can bet Judy had that same huge smile and laugh the entire two hours we were there. I'm confident to say Davidson and Judy are going to live until they're super old and wrinkly, still laughing and smiling and kissing as if they had just met yesterday.

Congratulations, Judy and Davidson! Couples like you make me love LOVE.



This is the building where they filmed Mary Poppins





Strada Cafe - a good study spot back in the day :-)





Isn't she gorgeous? And check out that ring! Good job on both, Davidson!



Seriously, I don't even tell them to smooch anymore. They just do it. :-)









Campus is full of beautiful trees...



Speaking of trees, I made them climb one. Thanks, guys!





Romping in Eucalyptus grove



This was officially their very first shot of the day, so I had to post it because Judy was so nervous she kept kissing Davidson!

Sneak preview: Judy and Davidson engagements at UC Berkeley

Judy and Davidson got engaged last winter and are going to be getting married in San Francisco in summer 2010. Here's a little sneak preview of their engagement session on the UC Berkeley campus. Davidson actually proposed to Judy here right at the Campanile! Go Bears!

Half Moon Bay pumpkin patches with Corie

As we drive into the valleys of Half Moon Bay my cousin asks her two year old daughter, "Can you see all the pumpkins, Corie?" Corie's neck stretches as high as she possibly can and is barely able to see the stretch or bright orange pumpkins outside the car window. We soon pull into our first pumpkin patch, and we are all very excited to be here. Corie picks up on this energy and starts kicking her feet and covering her face with her tiny two hands whispering with excitement, "Punkins! Punkins! Punkins!" She's so overwhelmed with emotion that she doesn't know whether to grab her face, her ears, or the hat Uncle Mark puts on her head, so she tries to grab all of them at the same time. What a silly girl. :-)

Halloween is my cousin Ly's favorite "holiday." It's obvious this gene was passed on to her daughter Corie. How can you blame them? Halloween means carving pumpkins, it means lots and lots of candy, it means the beginning of Autumn (personally my favorite season), and best of all it means fun, colorful costumes! This year Corie is dressing up as a very ornate peacock, and she is so stoked! In fact, she gets so excited about her costume her parents have to hide it from her or else she'll want to put it on every time she sees it. Being the awesome parents they are, Ly and Lyle let Corie debut her peacock costume a little early this year at Farmer John's pumpkin patch. Not to brag or anything, but my niece is the cutest peacock in the entire universe. Seriously.

Here are some snapshots I got of our pumpkin patch adventure. Thanks, Ly and Lyle, for inviting us! Mark and I always have a blast hanging out with Townsends!

This is what Corie looked like when we arrived at the first pumpkin patch.



More excitement as she sees all her options.







Corie couldn't resist the bounce house; but once inside she was too scared to stand and fall, so she just army-crawled her way through, every so often waving at us to let us know she's okay.





Daddy's little girl



What a beautiful family... I request a Corie #2, please! =P







Corie and Uncle Mark - my, what a height difference.



And saving the best for last, Corie's peacock costume!

*on a post processing note, these came out a little over saturated but I decided to post them anyway because she's too darn cute not to

President Barrack Obama wins the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

I know many have different opinions about this, but I just want to document this on my blog as unbiased as I possibly can because this blog isn't just about photos for me. It's a documentary of all the things that have an impact on my personal life, career growth, and occasionally headline news I don't want to forget.

President Barack Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize today.

A blurb from his acceptance speech this morning:

"I know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honour specific achievements. It's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as... a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st Century."

Congratulations, President Obama! Now let's go with that momentum and work on "peace in the Middle East!" :-P I just had to say it.


Getty Images

Leo Zahn 7 days old {Bay Area newborn photography}

Leonidas. Such a courageous and manly name for such a teeny tiny newborn. However, this name is bound to be a self-fulfilling prophecy as my time spent with little Leo proved he's got more strength than his itty bitty body can handle. At only seven days old he was trying to crawl, lift his head, and had quite the soccer kick. His sweet mother Mai is in over her head with two very active and inquisitive boys. :-)

Mai and I go way back to junior high school and continued our friendship through high school. I remember Mai as an extremely bubbly and sweet classmate, and she was the glass-half-full type of girl. Well, you know how they say some people never change? I'd have to agree with that one because in her mid 20s Mai is just the same sweet girl I knew when we were barely teenagers. The only difference I notice now is that she's a mother, and she's an amazing mother at that. As we caught up she would tell me endearing stories of her oldest son Max and of what it's like to be a mother of two. Her eyes continued to smile as she told me what it felt like the first time she saw Leo after his birth, and what it's like to have your life revolve around a growing family. As I listen to her I sense my baby fever growing by the second. But uh...easy there, readers, it's growing, but it's still a wee lil "baby" itself. ;-)

Thank you, Mai, for opening up your home and family to me. I can't wait til we get to hang out again!

His mom knit this cute little beanie just for this photo session!



Zonked out







"What's up, guys?"









And finally one more of Leo in his giraffe costume. It's too cute!