Swenson Style

D Family

2013-11-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

It's always fun when you get to capture families you've known for some time. When Stef's regular photographer took a quick break, I was more than happy to step in this year. It's an honor really. Stef is really an inspiration in Mama-hood. Here are some of my favorites from our morning session.

W Family

2013-11-14T12:29:00.001-08:00

Gah, I honestly don't no where to begin with this family. They mean so much to me. I remember when Elizabeth and my paths crossed shortly after Ezra turned one. I knew right away that we were kindred spirits. And I have deeply loved living out life together. Both the joyous and the painful. Thanks, Elizabeth, for not only allowing me to capture your adorable brood, but more for being such a source of encouragement and always pointing me back to the One who created and knows my heart. Love you, sweet Sister!!

xoxo,

V Family

2013-11-12T13:25:00.001-08:00

Yet another beautiful family I got to capture!!! I seriously love love love being able to do this! Being able to capture families, like this one, that are gorgeous both inside and out brings me such JOY. The V family is so sweet to boot! I felt like we should have all had dinner together after our session. Liana, we should anyway so we can relive our high school youth group shenanigans, right?! ;) Thanks again for trusting me to capture your loves!

M Family

2013-11-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

This particular family is quite near and dear to us. They are such an encouragement and inspiration for loving well. Just really good people who have huge hearts for others. I loved being able to capture some moments while spending the morning with them!! Love you guys!

Happy Halloween 2013

2013-10-31T13:12:00.005-07:00

From the Avengers!

Seriously, these two were WAY too excited for gparent day and showing off their costumes at gymnasitcs. Not interested is keeping still for a civilian photo-opp. Gotta take what you can get with these heroes. ;)

We're doing our usual tricking-n-treating with our besties in the next town over this evening. And yes, this year: no homemade costumes. The boys have continued to come home from gparent day with a different costume over the weeks and have been so excited about their dress-up collection that I decided to KISS {Keep It Simple, Stupid.} ;) No need to stress about something if they're content with what they've got. Looking forward to celebrating with our little gang this evening!

Hope you enjoy yours with yours!!

xoxo,

swenson gang

Kookiest Pit-Stop // Bravo Farms

2013-10-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

On our way back home Sunday afternoon, we made THE most unusual pit-stop: Bravo Farms

This place has the oddest collection of antiques, hand-built kid houses, a shooting gallery {a Swenson favorite}, chicken coop, goats, mini-golf course, and a hand-built seven story tree house. There was also a BBQ jot, creamery, fruit stand, gift shop, and wine and cheese tasting on site. Seriously, this place was a smorgasbord of everything under the sun, and then some.

Did I mention it was kooky?!

What we thought was going to be a 20 minute stop, turned out to be well over an hour and a half. We decided to have lunch there too. The wood burning grill tri-tip sandwich was delish. And we grabbed some of our new favorite flavored milk at their creamery! So bummed that Rosa Brothers isn't carried up here! The kiddos passed out before we even pulled back onto the freeway and it was a delightful drive home the rest of the way.

Such a good good weekend with our littles. My heart was filled and my bucket-list shortened. ;)

4:35 AM

2013-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

That's the time we all woke up to head to the Rosa Brothers Dairy Farm.

Because I was getting to cross off one of my bucket list items!!! Hand-milking a cow! :)

We met Mr. Rolland Rosa at the milking barn at 5am. Several milkers were leaving because they had done most of the milking by then. Did you get that? Most of the milking by then.

They have to milk their 1,000 cow herd every single day, twice a day. That means each cow is milked via machine for 8 minutes. The two Rosa brothers are third generation farmers and still see over each milking as well as the other process to care for the cows.

Mr. Rolland gave me a quick lesson in hand-milking.

Then he let me go to town for as long as I wanted. :)

Hand-milking was so much harder than I had expected!! Mr. Rolland's dad and siblings had to milk 11 cows each by hand twice a day when they were growing up. I can not even imagine. Especially based on the five minutes I actually milked. After awhile my hand cramped so then he let me put on the pump machine to see how it works. Quite similar to a human pump, but more vacuum power and has two extra covers.

I liked having some background knowledge already about how this whole thing works. ;) There are so many similarities between both Mamas. And much like what I've experienced from nursing, feeding time provides relief. You could tell some of these cows were antsy to get things going! I also noticed that after being milked, the cows got anti-bacterial dips {that dark orange-yellow-ish liquid on the floor you may have noticed in the above pictures} so nothing could re-enter at the site. No mastitis for these cows. ;)

W got in on the milking too.

The whole experience was amazing. Our entire gang had a blast and learned so much. You could tell the farm take great pride in caring for their herd {we learned later on the farm tour just how well they do that}. It truly is an amazing operation to gather the 8,000 gallons of milk these cows produce.

E+ T || Los Altos Hills Wedding

2013-10-24T10:30:00.001-07:00

I had the privilege of spending the day with my sweet girlfriend, Tara, from Tara Marie Photography at a local wedding. She was kind enough to let me tag along, teach me the ropes, and let me shoot along side during most of the wedding event. I'd be lying if I said I didn't fall in love and can't wait to do it again.

This backyard boutique wedding had such a great vintage and personal vibe. The bride's grandma's house served as the venue, and her dress as the bride's wedding gown. It was such an intimate gathering-- to be witnesses of their love and celebrate long-standing family traditions.

Congratulations to a beautiful couple and another huge thank you, Tara, for generous and making it look easy. ;) I've got a lot of work cut out for me ahead.

Holiday Boutique

2013-10-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

Over this past weekend, I participated in my very first craft selling boutique. It was also the weekend of an amazing block birthday party that included a whole roasted pig, jump house, and beer on tap. Annnnnd the stomach flu for the boys. Seriously, never a dull moment.

I had several reinforcements throughout the weekend to help: my mom, dad, and neighbor {who sold some cards too}. W stopped by throughout the weekend to bring me things I had forgotten at home, feed me, or take/bring back V. I'm so glad it happened so close to home.

My table neighbors were fabulous and sweet. Of course, Juju was the highlight for everyone. If I came without her, everyone would ask where she was. I was never short of arms to hold her while I ran to the bathroom, ate lunch, or needed to sit. It really was a blessing to have so many sweet and gracious women around.

Another highlight was meeting and exceeding my costs for the experience. Meeting cost was the goal I set out for myself since I had no clue what to expect. I was so excited to get two custom orders while there too. One for a bridal shower that was happening Sunday afternoon. I made it over the night and she picked it up on Sunday morning.

On the flip side, I seemed to have brought the majority of my traffic. Most of those that purchased from me, I already knew. So I'm not sure if I really needed the boutique other than to have a place to set up shop. I also had plenty of inquiries from strangers on whether I had an online shop. Still have my work cut out for me. I had a blast, loved trying it out, but with a full weekend away from my family, I'm not sure if I'll do it again. Perhaps, I'll do a virtual store-front first?!

A GIANT thank you for everyone who encouraged from both near and far. And to my family who supported me through time and energy! This was certainly NOT a one-woman show. ;)

S Family Preview

2013-10-20T21:35:00.004-07:00

Baby C is just a few weeks younger than Vesper. And he has some rad parents...and some RAD facial expressions. His brows pretty much won me over by themselves. We got together under the golden sunlight for some family pictures. This little guy is working on his top teeth, but still managed to gave us some smiles! Thanks, guys, for letting me play with your family!

C Family Trio

2013-10-14T12:29:00.001-07:00

We went to our first pumpkin patch of the season last week to shoot this cute trio! They were an absolute hoot to work with and their giggles were awesome. Thanks, Becca, for allowing me to run around in the pumpkins with your cute kiddos!

Little S + Family

2013-10-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to finally meet this little guy. I had seen plenty of pictures of him online, so I was happy that his Mama contacted me to set up a time to meet while they were visiting local family. Welp, this little toddler and his sweet temperament did not disappoint. I know my boys would have loved to play with him while he explored during our shoot. Thanks, Kelly, for letting me capture your lovely family!

This smart guy figured out how to open the luggage so we just went with it. Looks like he's ready to travel! ;)

Styled // Inspired Vintage Car Shoot

2013-10-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

When Emily, from Sparkle Meets Pop, approached me about doing an inspired photo shoot with her grandfather's 1970 Mercedes Benz, I was giddy! More opportunity to practice? A styled shoot?! Heck, YES! It was a great chance to try new ideas, different edits, and try my hand with the delicious morning sun. Thanks, Emily, for being such a FUN collaboration partner!! Let's do it again!

Sayonara, Suckers!!!

{said in my best John Belushi voice.}

More SnapShop

2013-10-03T13:17:00.002-07:00

Our class is coming to an end! So sad! And I'm not quite sure what my next steps will be to challenge myself to grow. I would love to invest in more editing software, a few more lenses and eventually an upgraded body. But who's got the money for that?! Not me, right now. A girl can dream and pray though and put the word out in case anyone is ready to unload some old equipment, no? ;)

Here's some more of my practice during the course!

A is for Apple.

2013-10-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

We started rowing a new book this week call How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World. Yet another great read. We spent a good chunk of time at the library first thing this week; picking up picture books about all the places the girl travels to get her ingredients because the market is closed: France, Italy, Sri Lanka, England, Jamaica, and Vermont. One of my favorite aspects of this curriculum is getting to water the adventurous-spirit-and-travel-bug seed with geography.

We're also going the uber classic route and doing the letter A and apple activities. Because I can play the cliche card every now and again. ;)

We discussed the parts of an apple.

Who doesn't love a good time of apple stamping?!

{grandma disclaimer: he's snacking on the previously cut-up apple, while painting...not snacking on the painted one. k, thanks. ;)}

Give you three guesses what our field trip will be for this book.

And one guess who'll I'll be delegating the apple pie makin' to.

The one who went to culinary school...

H + C

2013-10-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, I got to hang out with these two precious babes. My highlight, besides getting to capture their sweet faces, was getting to hold them at various point through the shoot. And their Mama is doing a major job loving on these two, so close in age--total hero in my book. Thank you, Ashley, for sharing your littles with me!

Art With Lentil // Whittling

2013-09-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

In the story, Old Sneep grumbles while whittling on a park bench because he's jealous of Colonel Carter and the town's celebration of his return.

Whittling is where you carve something into a shape by cutting small slices off it; typically used with a knife and wood or bone. Little kids have most likely not heard of this trade-skill before, if you're pre-scout age that is. So, we gave the boys a chance to whittle using a butter knife and ivory soap. This activity was right up W's alley so we saved it for the weekend so he could teach them in the backyard.

The boys were way too young to really have the fine-motor skills for this, but they thoroughly enjoyed it and W loved being able to instruct them.

E somehow managed to shape his into a gun with random cuts.

They sure loved this art project.

Math With Lentil // Fractions

2013-09-27T13:13:00.001-07:00

We did a little lesson with music and fractions for Lentil. I was kinda hesitant to try what the book suggested, and pleasantly shocked that E grasped the introductory idea of fractions.

We sang a few songs that they know by heart and tapped out the beats to show him examples. He used the work "split" in place of "divide" so I went with that. Together, we split {cut} the two other whole circles into halves and quarters. We practiced splitting a handful of nails and popsicle sticks {it's what I had quick on hand}. And a banana as well.

We reviewed where Lentil lives on our US map, and where we live.

And on our world map.

We also played the "hearing game" to add to our senses. I pulled up youtube and played a sound effect for him {ie. lion, monkey, fire truck, motorcycle, waves, rain, etc} and had him guess what he thought he heard. He "drew" a picture of his guess, then we checked the screen to see if he was right. He enjoyed me "trying to trick" him and he figuring it out.

I feel like I'm starting to warm-up finally. Like prepping lessons, being intentional about getting school in during the days I have planned, and including T where I can. And it's nice that so far, the lessons have been just the right amount of time before E is done. Short and sweet, but with enough time for instruction and practice.

Baby W // Coming Soon

2013-09-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

I met up with some sweet friends the other night for some maternity pictures. Paula and Andrew used to live near us before they upgraded and we've missed them ever since. They are so fun-loving and going to rock this parenting thing. We are beyond excited for them and their little guy.

Science with Lentil // Sense of Taste

2013-09-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

So we started rowing a new book this week for school: Lentil. It's such a cute story about a small town boy named Lentil and his determination to overcome the handicap of not being able to pucker his lips. He finds he can make music in another way: the harmonica. The conflict of the story revolves around Old Sneep and his devious plan to stop a celebration by making everyone's lips pucker via him sucking on a lemon. Lentil saves the day with his harmonica.

So our science consisted of taste testing and learning about our tongue and where the difference taste receptors are.

Of course, the lemon was THE most fun for the boys. T's expressions were my favorite. He tried it a few times before handing the entire thing over to Ezra. Some honest and true distress right here. ;)

E's initial reaction was similar to T's, but on a much smaller scale. And after awhile, I think he just got used to it, because he sucked on the lemon for quite some time AFTER our experiment was done.

Throughout the week, we've also been talking about the other four senses. We've also touched on the letter M for Music and US geography for California and Ohio {where Lentil takes place}. Hoping we can squeeze in a few more activities for math and art this week too. This book has some great content to study!

Snapshot Workshop

2013-09-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

A few days in to Ashley Ann's SnapShot workshop and I'm kinda obsessed. Not only is her teaching and feedback excellent, but I'm loving the collaboration aspect of it too with the others in the class. And what's nice is that pretty much everyone is on the same field. So encouraging and so challenging.

It's funny how some things start to click. Like when we need to share about our relationship with photography. I remember walking along Sunset Blvd near my apartment in collage with my mom's old dslr and taking pictures of flowers, front doors, and fences. I even got some of my film rolls printed and framed. I had no clue what I was doing, but I loved it. I've always loved the art behind photography: the elements of composition and story-telling. I'm just so thrilled to finally learn some of the technical.

Here's a bit of what I've been working on...

Here's to brighter and crisper pictures that require less editing. ;)

A Little Bit of Country // Meyers

2013-09-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

It was a gorgeous evening when I met up with the Meyers Family. And they were so nice to humor me: I made them trek along a trail until we reached this great spot. We let the kids plays and I tried to catch as many giggles as I could...

It's A Small World, VALENTINE.

2013-09-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to report I found new guinea pigs to be my models!! My girlfriend Laura volunteered her two adorable {and super photogenic} babes to help my cause. Paige's SIXTH birthday just past and with her "It's A Small World" birthday party coming up, we decided to play up the theme just a little.

Now, Paige has a ham of a little brother. And he couldn't not join in {heart-breaker warning}.

And a few of them being silly and sweet together.

TWO Cool For School Party

2013-09-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

T's birthday party was over the weekend. I had no idea until Sunday morning that it was also the kick-off of football season. Duh! But everyone came and loved on our little butterball...with the game playing in the background. ;)

I went with a "school" theme for the party--even though he's a loooong way off from crackin' open the books. But with the new vintage desk and giant school map in their room as inspiration, I just went with it: paper airplanes, lined paper, a globe, number two pencils, books, and apples.

I kept things real simple by just serving a handful of snacks and just focusing on dessert. W is master dessert maker so he made the cupcakes and frosted them, per usual. He made a slightly larger cupcake for T.

For a guest book, I made cut-out apples for everyone to sign.

And put his baby book out viewing.

Opening presents was by far the best entertainment. T would get so hooked on one gift that he would completely ignore my suggestions to keep going. And E was having the time of his life watching all the new gifts T was getting. I'm pretty sure he must have figured out that he would be playing with them too eventually. But I was grateful for his awesome attitude either way.

And I'm so happy to report that he kept that birthday crown on the entire party. He sure knows how to make this Mama happy. ;)

He may have needed a little help with blowing out the candle but certainly not the eating part.

Happy second birthday, Butterball! You are totally TWO cool.

Pre-K // Homeschool Style

2013-09-06T13:38:00.001-07:00

We "started" preK this week. I use that term loosely only because we've only done a little of our reading program. PreK is really nice like that. So is homeschooling.

We'll be working our way through this curriculum. And we're in our second day of "rowing" the book The Story About Ping. Very similar to unit studies. I made a make-shift homeschool corner...because there really isn't a corner left in our small space. There's a world map that we got in a random mailer, the ping duck to place in China {where the story takes place}, and a few 'artifacts' that I scrounged up. Hoping my planning will get better in time?! ;) And our dining area chalkboard will work perfectly for scripture memorization and reading highlights.

So far, E has worked on numbers, the letter D, and sewing and tracing for fine motor skills--in addition to reading our book. We're going on our first "field trip" this afternoon to...to observe and feed the ducks with friends who are also sticking to our program/schedule.

He's randomly picked up on recognizing numbers 1-5 and 8 {which may have something to do with helping me press numbers around town.} Glad to know I wouldn't have to formally cover those.

Normally, the stories are covered in a week, but we're starting out with two. Next week, we'll be covering science {buoyancy, animal kingdom} and social studies {China geography and culture} and hopefully art.

This will certainly be a marathon journey and lots of "figuring out as we go", but I'm so excited to be able to do with my kids!