the 7-H club

i've been realizing a trend here lately that warms my heart and makes me smile.  several times over the past few months, i've had the honor of shooting sessions with some of my favorite people.  in the whole world.  and last week was one of those days....

the Hs and i have a long, long history together.  when i was a sophomore (maybe freshman?) in college, i ended up babysitting for them through an odd series of events that i'm not sure i even remember correctly anymore.  but what i do remember is that the first time i walked into that home, i was met by one of the most amazing families i've ever known.  at the time, they had three young daughters, but now those precious sisters are four strong and have three younger brothers that i spent some fun time with last week. 

now i'll be the first to admit that getting three kids to sit still and smile at the camera at the same time isn't always the easiest job.  and when those three kids are BOYS who would rather be doing a zillion other outdoor activities, the difficult meter tops out pretty quickly.  but these guys were great to work with, and despite a handful of hilarious outtakes, i hope we grabbed that "one shot" mom was looking for.  :-)



if you've been keeping up with me for a while, you've probably caught onto the fact that yes, i love a really good traditional portrait-type photo, but what makes me absolutely giddy are those life-as-it-really-is pictures.  you know the ones i'm talking about -- where giggles, personalities, and life simply explode out of the shot.  like this...



oh, the fun of childhood...



to the H family from me:  i love you dearly, and i'm enormously thankful for the blessing of your friendship, mentoring, and guidance.  and girls?  i'll be seeing you soon -- HOORAY!  :-)