{ sisters }

Lindsay said her sister was moving to town for college. I said, "Ooooh, I want to take sister pictures." Lindsay said, "Ok, we'll give them to my mom for her birthday." Done and done. I love it when things are simple :-)

I also love it when Lindsay gets in front of my camera- I'm usually right there with her because we're, like, "so cute" but this time I kept out of the pictures. Maybe next time we'll plan an elaborate self portrait session. Anyway, I must say Tara was lots of fun to photograph, too. Aren't they gorgeous? In the words of the obnoxious bro on a bike that gawked at them in the middle of our shoot, "OMG girls. OMG." I think he summed it up.

Downtown Fullerton is full of awesome color... I'm thinking it suited their personalities quite nicely.

Loved this crappy truck...

The people in this bar probably got a good laugh at them fixing their hair.

Love love love the light.

Parking garage hanging chicken fighting is the next big thing... I'm tellin ya...

Yay! Silly face montage:

{ chris & jade are married! }

Jade's calm on her wedding day was astounding. Bridesmaids, groomsmen, family, kids, hairstylists, cell phones - everyone was bustling about the hotel, but Jade was just as cool as could be. The fact that she was getting married to her boyfriend of 8 years didn't really hit her until her hair came out of the curlers. Then she just happily looked in the mirror and said, "we're doing this."

After the ceremony Chris and Jade were all smiles and kisses. When Jade caught herself calling Chris her boyfriend instead of husband, she corrected herself with a loud, excited announcement (much to everyone's amusement). All throughout the night Chris would just look at her sweetly and tell her, "you're so cute."

Jade and Chris,

I really can't thank you enough for choosing me to photograph your day. You were all so fun, and I truly enjoyed joking and laughing with you all day. I wish you the best and hope you have an amazing honeymoon... 10 days in Hawaii is gonna be rough. JK

The wedding day breakdown:

The most amazing venue ever - Gershon Bachus Vintners. The owners are so sweet, and provide a fantastic level of customer service. The food is delicious, fresh, and the menu can be customized for your event. And did I happen to mention that it is absolutely beautiful inside and out?

The Entertainment - Invisible Touch (DJ, Lighting, and Event Production). This trio was so fun to watch! They have amazing energy and really know how to get the party going. They'll even teach everyone the dance moves to Thriller (which is waaaayyy better than line dancing at a wedding. I'm just sayin).

Hair - Ahhh! I still need to get this info... sorry

And a special thanks to Stephanie of Stephanie Ann Photography - I LOVE working with you! Thanks for all your help! Can't wait for the next wedding :-)

Now on to the pictures!

I love a nice MAC collection...

Beautiful Jade and her super fun bridal party... lots of laughs with this group.

I love the first time a mother sees her daughter as a bride... it's such a once in a lifetime moment.

A little vintage touch...

Chris had a pretty fun group himself...

Sigh. This was one of the most amazing ceremonies I've been to... the officiant was a close friend of Jade's and she did such a beautiful job - she even got some laughter out of the crowd.

A bit of fun...

Every time I turned around I saw another amazing place to shoot. Toss in some perfect lighting and I'm in photographer heaven.

Chris and Jade were amazing to work with - they were up for anything and Jade was a great sport walking around in uncomfortable shoes.

A little grape leaf frame action...

This winery is absolutely stunning - every single inch of it is beautifully and thoughtfully decorated.

And I'll leave you with the first dance...

{ my weekly top 8 }

Ok, here we go behind schedule again... sigh. Better late than never, right?

Well everyone, get ready for the 2nd ever installment of my Weekly Top 8. This random weekly post is my way of putting the 'real me' out there on the web, and giving people the opportunity to see what I'm all about. I'm not so great at just writing so I've gone with the ever popular (and probably overdone) survey approach... let me know what you think :-)

Fave of the week: I have to say one of my favorite things about my nanny gig is the silly things the kids say... with a straight face. You know, things that you generally wouldn't casually say to other people like, "Hold on, I gotta go poop and pee real bad," or just random statements like, "When you bake fish when they're dead, it's super yummy."

So the other day when I was driving with 5-year-old Zane I had to laugh when he said to me, in all seriousness, "Amanda, I have my arm out the window so don't flip the car over ok?" Uh, sure Zane, I'll wait until you pull your arm back in and put your helmet on. Whatta dork.

New thing of the week: I was lucky enough to shoot my first winery wedding this week! It was not only ridiculously gorgeous, but so so so fun as well (oh, and not to mention stupid hot, oh well, huh?). The food was fantastic, the wine was amazing, and the super cute DJ taught everyone the dance moves to Thriller. I'll post photos of all the fun-ness soon, stay tuned.

Quirk of the week: Ooooh, Josh just walked by me with a stack of fresh, clean laundry (that's right! Josh does the laundry... I cook and do the dishes, ok?). It smells soooo good! I just told him I wish our imaginary maid would wash our sheets every night... and you know what he said? He said, 'That's weird that you like the smell so much." Huh? What's not to love about a bed full of Downy freshness every night?

Irk of the week: Plantar fasciitis (thanks for the spelling help there, Google). AKA Crazy-heel-pain-itis. My feet ALWAYS hurt... it is the bane of my existence (other than how many calories are in a bottle of Blue Moon). Any time I don't wear soccer mom shoes I pay for it. And my old lady flip-flops with arch support from the ever expensive Walking Store just don't cut it. Plantar fascia inflammation, I hate you.

Blogger of the week: Daniel Tosh. I love you. Your show (Tosh.O Thursday nights on Comedy Central) is the funniest thing I've ever seen. Your blog is great. I want to marry it. Here's a clip that had me and Josh laughing for like 10 minutes... and then another 5 minutes 20 minutes later. It's a bit inappropriate... so consider yourself warned.

Tosh.0	Thurs, 10pm / 9c
Motorcycle Granny
www.comedycentral.com
Daniel Tosh Miss Teen South Carolina Demi Moore Picture

Laugh of the week: Ok, this was shot with my phone... don't judge on the photo quality! Haha. Anyway, when I got to work with the kids last Monday I saw this crime scene. It was horrific. I didn't know the kids had gotten big enough to pull a crime of this magnitude off.

Honorable mention: Sigh. Sometimes my day job is really tough. Like when I have to pack all 6 kids up and take them swimming all day at an awesome pool stocked with lots of awesome toys, and judge silly dive contests. Bummer for me.

Random photo of the week:

This week's photo comes from a couple weeks ago when an old high school friend had me photograph her whole family (25 people!). We hadn't seen each other in 9 years and it was sooooo weird seeing her all grown up. I have to say, though, that it was even more bizarre to realize that, if I thought she was all grown up, then that meant I was technically grown up, too... Ugh, adulthood is still just odd to me sometimes- I don't feel like I fit the bill yet, and that's ok by me :-)

{ karen & zackary }

Karen and Zackary are best good friends. They crack each other up, get super nerdy together, cuddle, run amok, and when something not-so-fun comes up they talk it out. They really have an understanding of one another and love each other to pieces. I love watching the two of them (in an un-creepy way) and am so so so lucky to not only have them in my life, but to call them family. Yup, this is my super awesome Sister (in-law) and her ridiculously cool kid, Zackary Orion.

A bit of trivia: Zackary was named after my husband (his Uncle Josh). When he and Karen were kids, Josh taught Karen where the Orion constellation is. She always thinks of Josh whenever she sees it, and decided to give Josh some cool brother kudos when she named her son. Cool story, huh?

Anywho, we met at the Orange Circle and had lots of fun walking around (despite a bit of a grumpy start for Zack- poor kid had JUST fallen asleep before the shoot and took a while to warm back up). Karen was a good sport in her not-so-comfy-when-carrying-a-tired-and-beefy-kid shoes, and Zack got good and hyper after a banana and juice.

Thanks Karen and Zackary! I love you!

I think this one on the left is my favorite of the day... There's nothing like a good cuddle with Mommy when you first wake up.

Awe, isn't she pretty?

These two have so much fun together...

See what I mean? Karen was having just as much fun throwing leaves at Josh as Zackary was. Nerds.

Here's a little stinker sequence-

Seriously! How cute are his facial expressions? He saw a train and flipped out, haha.

He always walks with a purpose. Always. It's so cute.

Mommy and Uncle Josh (my hubby) sure know how to make him laugh...

And, of course, my favorite kind of light.

{ kenny & shannon are engaged! }

I wonder if Kenny and Shannon ever really knew they'd someday get married when they met 6 years ago... after all they were only 17. If they didn't realize it then, they've obviously caught on by now and have since built a beautiful life together- complete with a beautiful home and one ridiculously adorable little girl named Sophia.

Shannon is so bright and full of energy- always laughing and smiling. Kenny is laid back and so easy going- he really seems to live in the moment and gives Shannon the most loving little smiles. Little Sophia is full of curiosity and smiles just like her mom. She also has the sweetest disposition. They're perfect in front of my camera.

Their wedding day is sure to be as amazing as they are, and I really can't wait. At least I had the opportunity to meet up with them for a super fun engagement session this past weekend. If this photoshoot was any indication of what the wedding will be like, it's going to be one awesome day...

By the way, Shannon's perfect hair and make-up was done by Shannon Rhodes of Laca Bella Salon 714-998-2566

I love these two shots together... they might be my favorite of the day.

They all have so much fun together... they're always smiling.

Ahhhh! She's so pretty!

I love the way Kenny just quietly looks at Shannon and smiles

I love this light!

High contrast + genuine laughter = another favorite

I love engagement shoots... It gives me a chance to really get to know people through my lens. For example, Shannon's best smiles come out as soon as she thinks I'm done with the shot. Good to know, huh?

{ my weekly top 8 }

Ok, so I've been meaning to start this weekly post for a while now... it was supposed to debut yesterday, but better late than never, right?

This is my top 8 of the week... my random weekly post that is supposed to give you a little glimpse of, well, me. It's also supposed to be a little funny, but I'll let you be the judge of that - I guess it'll depend on what my week was like :-)

And, of course there will always be a photo at the end as a reward for all your hard reading.

So here we go:

Fave of the week: Josh baked! For those of you who don't know Josh- he's my hubby. And I don't think he has ever baked. Ever in his entire life. I can't even ask him to stir the spaghetti sauce every once in a while so I can run an errand (I tried that once, and I can home to a horribly stressed out wreck that had been standing over the pot of bubbling sauce sure that the bits of parsley were in fact burned pieces that had hopelessly ruined our dinner). Anyway, the yummy treat? Brownies... from the box, but delicious nonetheless. He even delivered to the couch, complete with a tall glass of milk. Yesssss.

New thing of the week: Yoga. Not exactly new, it's kind of on the old side, but it's new to me. I've always been a big believer in yoga, and I used to practice it regularly, but life has a tendency to get in the way of things and I kinda, sorta dropped it. Keep an eye out for a calmer, better balanced, more hippyish me.

Quirk of the week: I enjoy cutting nails.... a lot. I was actually overjoyed when Hunter (one of the little munchkins I take care of during the week) let me cuddle with him and cut his fingernails- simultaneously. I know there are other weirdoes out there who like it too... speak up.

Irk of the week: Time. You suck. Where do you go when I'm not looking? I could really use you right now.... jeez.

Blogger of the week: BlahBlahBlahger I love her photoFANatic blogs... just read it!

Laugh of the week: I love my iphone. I'd marry it if I could. The kids at work love it, too... especially the new voice recording application (ok, and they love the 'fart for free' application. It's gross, but so funny). Anyway, we spent a good hour taking turns telling silly stories to each other in the dark the other day. Here are a couple highlights... just give 'em a quick listen, they're short and sweet.

... Ok, I'm so so sad. I can't get it to work :-( Anyone know how to use an Mpeg-4 online?

Honorable mention: I had two awesome photoshoots this week... one was with my most awesomest sister-in-law, Karen and my nephew, Zack at the Circle of Orange. The other was an engagement session with one of my favorite couples, Kenny and Shannon (and Sophia, their little pixie of a daughter) in Laguna Beach. I can't wait to post photos... Stay tuned!

Photo of the week: this is the announcement I just made for my super new little client Jazelle (and her parents, of course). Her baby shower, bedroom, and everything else to do with her is jungle themed so I came up with this simple, girlie safari design.

{ jazelle - 2 weeks old }

I've been looking forward to this photo shoot ever since I met her mommy for maternity portraits a few months ago - and the second I saw Jazelle I knew my job would be easy this time. She has the most beautiful head of hair, long & curly eyelashes, and an ability to sleep through just about anything... perfect. Well, perfect until I got the worst of a no diaper situation on my shorts... oh well, occupational hazard.

Rachelle and Karl,

I can't even begin to tell you how honored and excited I am to be Jazelle's first year photographer. She is absolutely gorgeous and so sweet, I can't wait for her 3 month session. It's going to be a fun year!

My favorite shot of the day. I love this chair and the light... she looks like a doll.

Eyelash envy, anyone?

Love, love, love

Aahhh, I just love the way Karl and Rachelle look at each other. They are so in love with each other, and are such beautifully natural parents.

I love me some color and chubby cheeks.