Salem Portrait Photographer . . . A GIRL AND HER BIKE.

Christina is not only adorable, but she's quite talented when it comes to working on and restoring old bikes. I think her appreciation for these old bikes rivals mine for old cameras, so I kinda get it!

Life Stories: The Story of (almost) going to the beach.

 I missed last month, but I'm back at it with Life Stories. In case you're new to this concept, it's a blog circle with a few other photographers. We post photos documenting something in our own lives once a month. Please make sure you click at the link to the next photographer at the end of this blog post and keep clicking to complete the circle!

So, I decided to take my kids to the beach yesterday.

It was a gross 90 degrees here and is always much cooler at the beach, so I thought it was a brilliant idea. Only when I told the kids in the morning, they didn't even want to go! UGH! A few a hours later, though, they changed their tune and off we went, with our car fully packed (although rather haphazardly) with buckets, shovels, towels, extra changes of clothing, books, toys, etc.

First stop...a few antique stores. Aside from being told by their annoying mother (repeatedly) to stop touching things, they rather enjoyed checking out the shops.

Possibly the coolest thing about this particular shop was the 

selection of interesting (and old) hats. 

What? They have iPhone cases in an antique store?!

This little gem caught my eye and I intended to purchase it, but got distracted and totally forgot about it, until I loaded the photos onto my computer. Sigh. Just as well, I guess, since I don't have "two or more" with with I can perform spells.

Hotwheels?!

Off to our next adventure...

Oh, but wait! There was a pretty lavender colored wall that looked so nice with Kayden's shirt and skin coloring. Kayden wasn't thrilled about it, but...well...tough! Someday he'll thank me for taking all of these annoying photos. Someday.

We found a local bakery! You would have thought we'd won the lottery. 

Clearly my kids get their sweet tooth from me. 

I hope to see something like this 20yrs from now. The three of them sitting around 

over coffee or something, just enjoying each other's company.

They do NOT get this whole "dip your donut in milk" business from me. Ick.

When I ask for a "nice" photo of the three of them together, this is what I get. Of course, I love it!

Spotted this in a store and had to chuckle.

I adored these hats, but Oscar did not.

The thing they were most excited about was salt water taffy. 

I've noticed a new trend in candy stores lately...bacon. Bacon candy. Bacon gum. Bacon jewelry. Bacon everything. Gross is not a strong enough word.

The sidewalks have these little stones (all different, of course) every so often. 

Oscar got a kick out of them, so I took a photo.

The loot!

Final stop...the beach!

Only it was cold, windy, and late. So, this is as close as we got to actually 

feeling the sand between our toes. HA!

We only live an hour away, though, so we can go back soon.

Now, please go check out this month's life stories post by Beth Lofgren Photography!

Salem Family Photographer . . . One Urban Morning.

We met up on a Sunday morning. 

They sipped coffee and hot chocolate while doing some window shopping downtown.

Portland Child Photographer | Two.

You may recognize this girl from my post a couple of days ago. She's the big sister to newborn twin boys. She's such a doll, though, that I felt she needed her own blog post. She's only 2, but seems much older. Not only is she tall, but she's very verbal and smart. 

A few film shots...

Lovin' on her mama.