Here we go again. With all the stuff I’ve been learning in my workshop, of course I had to pick one of my shots for that class.
Some of my favorite this month was of my baby girl and her stuffed animals! Here’s the one I’m submitting to the Click It Up A Notch Contest.
Don’t forget to check out all the other great submissions there!
Over the weekend I got together with my favorite photographer mama and her kids for a “playdate”! I had discovered a gorgeous locale in the city through my Instagram feed and was itching to check it out.
The mysterious and incredibly lush Mount Davidson.
This little gem is just a 10 minute drive from our home. I can’t believe after living in SF for 12 years this is my first time up this neighborhood hill. It felt like we were walking in a cool and damp rain forest. Which is really odd to say given we live in a climate where the only rain forests you can find are either at the Academy of Sciences or Botanical Gardens! Both man made.
Apparently the views from Mount Davidson are pretty spectacular. But since we chose to go up on a typical foggy morning in July, we were more interested in discovering the muddy fog-filled trails. There were a couple of things that stood out for us on our short hike. One of them is a huge cross at the top of the hill. A memorial to the 15 million Armenians killed during the 1915 Armenian genocide. This was all new information to me. But my Grizz probably already knew this 
I wish I had gotten a better shot of the cross but the ones I took got lost in the thick fog. If you look real hard you can probably see it in the bottom left shot in the collage below.
The other item of particular interest to me was this cool looking tree. I’m guessing it’s dead. But its spot alone on an outlook point was impressive. I’ve obviously never seen it in any other setting than this dense fog, but I can’t imagine it looking as haunting as it does this way.
Yes I realize I’m talking about a dead tree.
The kids did pretty well on our muddy hike. Well Rex was ready to go after 20 minutes but we managed to stretch it out to almost 2 hours! Total win! 
*sigh* I just love discovering hidden gems. Especially with my lovely photo partner in crime! It’s been a few weeks since we’ve gotten to enjoy a cool photo walk together so this was a really fun morning for us both.
Pretty sure the kids enjoyed it too. Maybe.
You’re not surprised at the lengths I’ll go to study my light right?
Yes it includes keeping my kids up past their bedtime and letting them dig into chocolate chips by an open refrigerator.
My kids have learned that some of mama’s photo op ideas can be worked to their advantage…
This week’s theme is senses. Taste, touch, smell, sight, sound. I thought, cool, so many options, this should be easy. Well there’s such a thing as TOO MANY options. I was a little overwhelmed with my choices.
So I focused on smell.
I actually started off deciding on touch. But yeah that didn’t work out. So smell it is.
Here is my take on the theme.
And here are a few outtakes from my attempt…
Yeah we had fun with our flowers from the farmers market!
I’m into my 3rd week of this class. Mastering Indoor Light. Gosh I’m just loving it so much.
I see shadows in everything and everyone these days. The way light wraps lightly around the planes of a face, hand or even a random toy. There is so much beauty to be found in the depths of simple shadows.
I love that I can practice the class lessons just by sitting my child in a spot with interesting light and then just chat while I snap away.
My kids. They are taking “play in good light” to new levels with me now!
There are still many nooks and crannies in my own home I have yet to discover interesting light. Who knew right?
When the sun peeks out in our neighborhood we get out as often as we can.
On days like this it *almost* feels like a real summer day…
And after all that play in the sand comes the necessary scrubbing in the bath tub!
Don’t forget to enter our Sacramento Giveaway! Only 12 more days!
I’m a little late with last week’s theme. But here it is.
Jump.
I decided to interpret this one a little differently. Everyone jump starts their vehicle in the dark with only a headlamp, right?
Yeah I just wanted to play with some sparks
Have you entered the Sacramento Giveaway yet? Details in this post!
With our summer coming to a close and the start of school (and First Grade for Rex!) looming in a few weeks, Grizz and I have been researching places for one last family getaway trip. One of the destinations that popped up on our radar as we planned our final summer “hurrah” is Northern California’s capital and often overlooked city to visit – Sacramento! I have to admit even we forget the thriving family friendly River City is just a short 2 hour drive from San Francisco.
After a little research we found it to not only be a stones throw from us but also filled with kid-family attractions, museums, playgrounds, outdoor festivals all rich in culture. Who would have thought right?
Trekaroo, a one-stop site for everything related to traveling with a young family proved to be an invaluable resource of great tips and inside information during our reasearch There is a wealth of useful tips for traveling with kids, a place to post a travel question and get real answers from other parents and you can even purchase gear and book hotels directly from their site. If you’re traveling anywhere any time, I recommend checking them out for great information all geared towards traveling as a family.
So how would you like to explore the beautiful city of Sacramento, family style? You would be shacking up at the gorgeous Residence Inn at Capitol Park located in the heart of downtown Sacramento!
(photo credit Marriott International)
I’m so excited to share with you that we are partnering with Trekaroo and The Design Confidential to host a giveaway packed with these premium accommodations, delicious meals at Cafe Bernardo and BarWest Burgers and Wings and fun family activities at Fairytale Town, Sacramento Zoo and California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.
This giveaway package for ONE lucky winner is valued at $700! It includes -
*The blackout dates for the hotel are August 9, 10, 11, 2012 and December 31, 2012.
All prizes expire August 10, 2013
Contest is open to US Residents only
Deadline to enter is Sunday, August 5, 2012 at 11:59pm PST
So, how do you win this awesome prize? You have 24 ways to do it. Yes TWENTY FOUR! Definitely use all of them!
By the way, have you visited our other partner in this giveaway the Design Confidential? It’s a gem of a site with an abundance of design ideas for everything from print to wood. So many DIY inspirations with detailed plans and instructions. Rayan, Design Confidential’s founder is one talented young mommy!
And for you San Francisco area readers of my blog, this is your perfect chance to get away from our summer fog for the weekend! So please use all the opportunities listed above to enter to win this wonderful package!
Rex spent the past couple of weeks with his friends at soccer camp.
He had a blast! It’s fun to see him get excited and into something outside the house for a change. He can get too caught up in his Legos some times.
His favorite part? Being goalie. Not sure where that came from but he loves it. I got him a pair of goalie gloves which he loves.
Camp is over now but I have a feeling we’ll be spending a lot more time on the soccer fields when school starts up.
The Rembrandt Triangle. It’s one of the things I learned in my class this week. What is it? It’s the little upside down triangle that appears on one side of your subject’s face when you light them from the opposite side. Confusing? Do a google image search on it and you’ll see
Or check this one out
I decided to go on a hunt for it while the kids jumped around and played in their room.
Yeah so it’s not that easy to find much less photograph that triangle while they’re jumping around.
Thank goodness the older one sat still enough for a few seconds for me to catch it. Trust me, he’s not as happy as he looks here when I requested for him to sit still.
Leopard party for the 3yo officially in the books. Time to take off the ears, yeah?
So this was going on in our house today. Yeah.
Americano's.
Golden hour on the east side of San Francisco
Got out for a rare happy hour outdoors in the city this evening
This kid . God I love her.
Morning light.
![](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7283/8740344302_c1ee791ff4_m.jpg "Had my baby girl play right "in the middle" of the pretty light. #cmglimpse")
Had my baby girl play right "in the middle" of the pretty light. #cmglimpse
Started a creative workshop this week. Already finding inspiration everywhere...
Her last few days of terrible-twos. She turns into an angel at age 3 right?
My morning so far... ❤
The only way we watch an #sfgiants game at home.
Dining al fresca with this munchkin.
Date night happiness. That is all.
We had to leave when we were down by 1 in the 9th. Walked back in when we tied it up because of these 2. Look at them. I couldn't be a prouder #sfgiants mama.
Bribed them with a trip to the dugout store for this shot *sigh* #sfgiants
Sunshiny days at the yard with this kid are back. ❤ #sfgiants
Teaching my baby girl that there is more than one kind of diamond to love. #sfgiants
Guess where we're headed? #sfgiants
Do you know those days where you leave a pile of laundry on the bed, dishes from breakfast in the sink, contracts to clients unsent, pizza for dinner? All cos you spent 4 hours looking for lions at the zoo, trying on (and buying) too many pairs of cheap s
