I'm taking the next few days off for my birthday, but wanted to get these sneak peeks up beforehand :) 

We braved it all yesterday! The extreme heat, possible critters and creatures in the bushes, the overly bright sun.....and nakedness ;) Mom and dad were up for anything....and it was perfect!  Mischa (age 2) and Nico (nearing age 1) were amazingly good sports despite the heat and crazy things we put them through ;) 

I have to say that we've had the most unpredictable weather this summer. One day it's hot and bright, one day it's cloudy and humid, one day it's raining and thundering, one day it's cold, overcast and gloomy. It's definitely one of the challenges of this job.....you never know exactly what the weather will be like until you show up. What started out as a pretty nice and somewhat cloudy morning ended up being completely humid, overly bright and HOT. Luckily these kiddos (and their parents!) were complete troopers and we all made it out alive ;) Connor and Kyle are such happy go lucky boys. From the moment we started til the moment we were done, they smiled, laughed and were just awesome to photograph. 

PJ helped me make dinner again last night. She helped me season the fish, wash the rice and measure the water to put back in, wash the sugar snap peas and wash the zucchini.  Her love of cooking must be from both of her grandma's because they both cook all the time (and amazingly I might add). Who knows, it could also be because of "Ratatouille" (hence the "little chef" name I gave her)  ;)   I don't mind though. It keeps her busy, makes her feel important...and makes her want to eat everything since she helped make it. She not only finished every last bite.....she asked for seconds :) 

My little chef helping me season the fish.......

While dinner was cooking I set up her paints to keep her busy while I cooked the veggies. In between cutting, stir frying, etc, I snapped a few pics.......

Cindy - If you're reading this, that little bunny painting is for you (she added more to it after this - lol). She said "this one is for Cindy because she likes bunnies. How do you spell "love" mommy?" :)  hahahha

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!   Have fun, be creative, spend quality time with your kids, teach them, inspire them and most of all, LOVE them :) 

Also, *HAPPY BIRTHDAY* to one of the most wonderful mothers I know, Carolyn......who is the amazing mother of PJ's equally amazing godfather Alyasha.....whose birthday is tomorrow! :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY to BOTH of you! Hope you are having a wonderful time together in NYC :) We love you guys!! :) 

P.S - The adorable apron that PJ is wearing is from - http://www.polka-dot-market.com/

The overcast and gloom were in full force (again), but we still shared laughs, nearly lost a purse, broke the law and had a good time :) 

.......my nephew that is. Mason turned 5 on Saturday and the Jedi's were in full force. Ok, let's get serious, I know NOTHING about Star Wars (much to the disappointment of my husband and the rest of the Star Wars geeks in our families).....so who knows if I even used "Jedi" the right way. Let's hope I did. If not, I hope all those aboard the Millennium Falcon will accept my apology ;)  I've got a ton of editing to do and more shoots, so I went through the pics quickly and just grabbed a few to show.......

The b-day boy (pretty much the only pic he stopped long enough to let me take) in the super cute shirt I got him.

Winning the "hot potato" (forgot what my sister called it, but it was a Mr. Potato Head that looked like Boba Fett) game is apparently a BIG deal  ;)

There were even some special guests.......

......and the look on some of the faces as they headed down......

Some were excited, some were nervous....and some were downright scared sh*tless (like the birthday boy, his brother AND my kid....who all literally disappeared within seconds!)

Too bad they did because they missed this.......

Apparently my dad thought it would be fun to grab the Stormtrooper's "package".....

The lightsabers were a HUGE hit..........

How hilarious is THIS??? I heard some crazy giggling so I turned around and caught this......

Of course no party would be complete without some kick ass favors and an awesome cake made by Jeff of Rhino Cake Co.! ( rhinocakeco@hotmail.com )......