baby pigtail

miss alexa's mom contacted me about doing 6 month pictures for her.  apparently we picked a good day because after a 3 hour nap, she was a happy little camper!

vacation round-up

so we hit the road to head down to oregon last week.  didn't have internet access at our (ahem) BEACH HOUSE, so i decided to give you a highlight of each day.  keeping it down to one picture a day was a unique challenge!  stay tuned on facebook to get a more detailed account.

day 8: we got to go on a date!!  we drove into vancouver, grabbed some mexican take-out and headed to jericho beach for a *free* performance by the avett brothers (i.e. we sat on the sand and watched the sunset and crazy hippies while the folk fest took place behind a big see-through fence next to us).  oh, and kettle corn is growing on me.  slowly but surely.

day 9: welcome to the united states of america (click on the picture to read his jacket).

day 10: salem art festival.  next time you see me ask me about the dance troupe made up of 15 year old girls and an incredibly awkward 40 year old man wearing a red velvet court jester costume.

day 11: oh, hey there depoe bay.  welcomed by a gatrillion seagulls, a grey whale and more mexican take-out.  thank you very much.

day 12: oh, hey s'mores.  first successful cousin coastal adventure.  fire making, kite flying and couch jumping had by all.

day 13: ship captain in the making.

day 14: oh hey, sand eater.

day 15: oh america.  even your roller coasters are patriotic.  skidsville, usa summer festival.  i've never seen so many inflatable machine guns in my life.  where freedom looks like being able to tell your wife to $#@! off in public.

the end.  as much as i give you a hard time, united states of america, you sure are beautiful.  and you claim some of the people i love the most (you know who you are).  so i guess i can give you some slack.  i leave you with a picture from the deck of the amazing home we stayed in.  did i mention it was right on the most perfect beach?  well, it was.  thanks for following me on our family vacation...back to reality today!

b&a - part two

they were a little self-conscious to start, but by the end of our time together we were having so much fun...their chemistry is amazing!

b&a - part one

we were privileged enough to be at anthony and bev's impromptu beach wedding last summer.  it was tuesday.  the conversation went something like this...
anthony: "hey cliff, so i know we were going to hang out on thursday night with you and sharalee and we still want to, we just thought maybe you could marry us as well".
cliff: "uh, okay.  as long as your dad says it's okay"
and the rest is history.  it was cliff's first time officiating and it was a beautiful, family only affair.

so here we are a year later and i get a message from bev that goes something like this...

bev: "so i have this dress that i was supposed to wear for our wedding last year.  do you think we could do some pictures in it?"

me: "how about tomorrow night?"

impromptu.  that's just kind of how we roll.

day 7

we were grouchy.  all of us.  maybe we pushed it a little too hard this week, but it was just going so well...who was to know this was one step too far?  stanley park, third beach.  beautiful day, grouchy family.  happy auntie shantini, though, because we saved her from what she thought was going to be a day at work.

sandy fingers

sandy animal crackers

sandy bottoms

apparently lifeguards have adopted a "no swimming rescue" policy

anyone who really knows cliff knows the terror this photo represents.

and finally, this is not a joke.  nor is it staged.  she literally was so tired, she fell asleep this way.  and stayed asleep this way for quite sometime.  and yes, that's jeff foxworthy.

day 6

can you say "waterslides"?

since when did i raise a kid who doesn't eat their crusts?!?

and as if the day wasn't fun enough, i got to end it like this...

more to come soon...