I had NO IDEA what to expect going into this shoot. When Melisse and I had talked about what her family would like for family portraits, she mentioned that she would love to include her horses in some of the shots. Horses. I’m always up for a challenge…. but still… as Christopher and I drove down to Rancho Santa Fe, I couldn’t help but be a little nervous. But after spending the evening with the Mossy family, I think I might have had a change of heart toward these ginormous animals…. I think maybe I like them…. their horses, at least.

Dust kicked up behind my car as we drove through Osuna Ranch and the sun was still high in the summer sky. Even though it had been kind of gloomy in the morning hours, the 5pm sun had finally broken through the clouds and I could feel the reminiscent heat of June. Jason Mossy walked up and greeted us, but his words were broken by the piercing cry of a rather large white tipped hawk hovering about 10 feet over our heads. We looked up, half expecting a giant eagle from the loud cry… and in a surprised stupor we watched it glide past us toward the fields. Turning back to our greeting, we kind of chuckled at such a dramatic meeting and made our way toward the stables where Melisse and the girls were getting the horses ready.

We took a hike through the ranch and I was pleasantly surprised at how much their horses liked my camera… although it might have been because Christopher was standing behind me holding a bag of carrots. Here’s some shots from the day… I think they turned out SO GOOD!

This is my favorite series… they were so cute together…

I love this shot too… makes me SO HAPPY!

Cowboy/girl BOOOOOTS!

Love this shot…

This picture was completely Ashlyn’s idea… and I think she nailed it!

After we spent some time at the ranch, we headed back to their place where Ashlyn and Savannah immediately took me to their tree and showed me their awesome swings they made themselves…. love these shots!

What a beautiful and super fun family!

Mossy Family…. I know you guys are on a Wagon Train trip in one of the Dakotas…. I hope you’re having an amazing time, amazing sunsets… and I hope you enjoy each other! You’re so blessed to have such a wonderful family and I SO SO SO enjoyed spending time with you!

Loved This. <3

I used to be taller than him. Really though… at one point in knowing Chris Brown, I was taller than him. I mean, it was like 5 years ago, BUT STILL! It was a glorious time in life. But at some point, he grew like 10 feet over night and totally passed me up in size. Then one day, he showed up at the aquatics center I worked at and tried out to be a lifeguard….. and we ended up working together at William Woolett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine for a couple years. Now, he’s graduating and I feel OLD.

Okay, but in all seriousness… Chris Brown is a really cool kid… he’s a volleyball stud who will be graduating this June from Northwood Highschool. He surfs, he swims, he plays volleyball, he’s got the brains, he’s an overall nice guy, aaaand he’s taken… sorry ladies.

Chris, I had fun hanging out with you at the Orange Circle and I hope you know how awesome you are. Whatever college you decide to go to… they’ll be trying to figure out why their “awesome” meters explode the second you step on campus. (okay… it sounded better in my head….) Here’s my favorites from the afternoon…

It’s always been the assumption that I got the creativity gene from my Aunt Karen. (Even though technically, it would have run through my dad’s genes as well) She’s the artist….. a stinkin’ good one. Many fond memories from my childhood are the times Auntie Karen taught me how to make something cool….. like an origami jumping frog and how to hold a paint brush when I watercolored. She’s pretty  much the epitome of Creativity… and I LOVE IT!

She recently had a milestone birthday and asked me to shoot some pictures of her in this new stage of life. We laughed as she got used to having a camera in her face… and enjoyed the crispy colorful winter weather. The colors were delicious and I wanted to soak up as much of them as I could!

Here’s just a few shots from the afternoon…

In going shopping for a proper birthday gift, I came across a beautiful card with a pink glittery bird on the front. One the inside, it said simply, “You’re a rare Bird.” It was the perfect card and I couldn’t wait to give it to her! As I continued shopping, the creative gene kicked in and I decided I was going to decorate in a “Rare Bird” theme (since it’s my job at family parties to add my artistic flair to the decor)… and I found some sweet decorations. I used some old teacups, some branches and flowers from the bushes outside our house, an old jar, lots of candles, some super cute magnetic glittery birds from Papersource, string and paper hearts, and some fake daisies.

Here’s a collage of the birthday party and decor….

Be like Aunt Karen.

Be your beautiful self.

Do the things you love with all you’ve got in you.

Choose to Love…. always.

Be joyful in all circumstances.

Have the courage to jump off your branch… take risks.

You might just find that you remember how to fly.

Nowadays, There aren’t many birds who have the courage to do what they were made to do.

Be a Rare Bird.