A Different Sort Of Spring

Ever wonder what it would be like to arrive in Southern California for the first time? Not in these days, with national geographic and google maps. But as some sort of sturdy Irish immigrant who pioneered their way across the country in a covered wagon. They arrived to the promise land of milk and honey and while the sun does always shine, it also looks like this.





Quite the culture shock I'd imagine if you're used to heather covered hills and bagpipes. Or something.

Then they probably got closer to the coast and thought "oh whew, it really is paradise after all"... plus man eating sharks, scalp hungry Indians and no Hollywood sign gracing the valley. (just kidding... cept about the sign)

But despite the fact that most of us crowd in as close to the beach as financially possible. The desert is beautiful. A study in contrasts. And only a short drive away (well, reasonably short-ish).

This people, is as green as it gets. The advantages of hiking through the desert with two small children?
The flowers and succulents are absolutely stunning. Has anyone ever seen a wedding done with cactus flowers? For coming out of a dull colored and prickly plant, they sure are whimsical and fairyish looking.








Happy Spring.

Serenity

Sometimes, if you squint your eyes just right, you can imagine all the woes of pregnancy don't exist.

There are no such things as swollen ankles, or hips that require you to roll out of bed and land on your hands and knees. You haven't really gained four pounds in one week, and you didn't actually eat an entire family sized bag of Lay's BBQ potato chips.

Instead you are serene. You are beautiful. And you realize pregnancy is both a full time job and a work of art.
If you've ever been pregnant, or been close to someone who's been pregnant, then you are quite familiar with the full-time-job part. The maternity photoshoot I did over the weekend proves the latter-- Knitting a life together is a beautiful thing.












I'm thinking I should a) shoot more photos on the weekend, and b) take a giant chill pill more often. Rachelle and I shot all these in my backyard, side yard... and front yard. We ate lunch in the middle of them and just generally had a blast.






You'd never guess these shots were also taken in my yard, but despite the fact I live in the country (obviously), I like the urban feel of these photos.





Amazing.