Apparently I have the worlds worst luck with beach shoots and ZERO sunsets ;) I can't even remember the last time I had a beach shoot when there was actually SUN and a sunset. Saturday rolled around and it was a beautiful, sunny, warm day.......well up in my area anyway. The P family was visiting from Pasadena, vacationing at The Hotel Del Coronado and wanted to do the shoot there (which was cool for me since I hadn't been there since I was a kid. But acck....crossing the Coronado Bridge freaks me out). I had some cool shots envisioned.....but they entailed a SUNSET.....something that we didn't get that evening (yet, OF COURSE I saw it on my drive home as I neared North County. Apparently it was just fine (gorgeous, pink/orange sunset) up there, but nothing but clouds and gloom down south). It's ok though.....sun or no sun, they BROUGHT the "sunshine".....in form of their two adorable kids.....Matteo and Valentina :) 

 

Matteo wasn't feeling too good, but was a trooper anyway :)  He did give me a few "looks" though ;) haha..........

When I first met Sean (age 5) and his mommy, Sean was acting really shy, not saying anything, looking everywhere but at me, etc. It's totally normal and happens quite often, but when you're a photographer, you do get a little nervous and wonder if you can break their shell. All it took was a little sword fighting....and it was all smiles, giggles and fun after that ;) Even when we were done, Sean still wanted to stay and sword fight....and told his mom that he wanted to come back to that exact spot to sword fight (keep in mind they live a good 45 min away - haha). Sorry V, I hope I didn't create a "sword fighting" monster who is asking you 24/7 to sword fight with him now ;) Oh and yes, we started off at one of my most requested locations....."the green wall" (per mama) :) 

 

Sean was soooo funny.....

 

.....and of course we ended with more sword fighting (per Sean's request) :)

 

......and a quick thank you to a few of our special guests......

...pig, 2 ponies, 6 goats, 3 dogs, 1 cat, 1 donkey, 1 fish and 7 chickens!!!

This amazing and gorgeous family are some of our very best friends. We see them numerous times a week (usually at their house, or their awesome restaurant - Mama Kat's in San Marcos! THE best breakfast around. Try it out!! Even my dad frequently drives up from Chula Vista for it!!), our daughters (PJ, and their youngest, Kamryn) were born just a few weeks apart and go to the same school, we've been having weekly "taco nights" for the past few years, etc, etc. We love this family from the bottom of our hearts....and I love them even more for always letting me use them as my guinea pigs. Last years shoot was a big hit, so just like with my sister's shoots, we knew we needed to step outside of the box and do something fun again this year. I suggested this last year and they were completely up for it! :) Seriously, I could have asked them to fling mayonnaise at each other with slingshots, wearing burlap sacks and flip flops.....and they would would have totally done it ;) They trust me, my ideas....and do whatever it takes to help create my vision. Yesterday they brought out the bed from their guest room and set it up in their front yard, they bathed/groomed all of the animals, washed the truck, hauled a bunch of the animals out (we left a few in back....mainly the chickens ;) hehe - if you know me...you know i'm freaked out by birds), got all dolled up, etc. Everything went exactly like I had hoped for and we had a BLAST! The hardest part of the shoot was trying to keep the animals on one side of the yard (mainly the donkey and goats).....and fending off some mosquitos (surprisingly I only walked away with 3 mosquito bites....but one is on my NECK - damn Edward Cullen mosquito!). Ok, so is anyone even reading this? Let's get to the pics already! P.S - I know my processing is all over the place, but I couldn't figure versions I liked best, so here's a taste of all of them :) 

 

 

.........and we went out with a SPLASH!........

Twins are usually a challenge. Newborns are usually a challenge.  3+ week old newborns are usually a challenge. But not in this case :) Tayah and Harlyn barely made a peep the entire time. They are such good girls....and love snuggling with each other :) 

I can't wait to watch these two beautiful babies grow up........

 

Mona is the best "big sister" in the world......