In the past week and a half, I have shot from a ski lift, at a fair, in a vegetable exhibit, and at Fenway Park.   WOW.

You may remember Kam from her headshots not long ago!  Kam was (sniff, sniff – I can’t believe class is over!) a student in one of the classes for which I was a teaching assistant at CDIA, and she asked me if I’d take photos of her and her family (I imagine Kam as a photographer, like me, is not in any photos).  I haven’t really been doing family portraits for quite some time as I am trying to focus on the wedding and performance branches of my business, but I was psyched when Kam asked me to take their photo.  And I was even MORE psyched when I found out that Kam’s husband Larry had arranged for us to do the shoot at Fenway Park!

This next shot, of the dugout, is my favorite shot of the day.  And yes, I was in the dugout.  Wicked cool.

I snapped this next shot on our way down to the field.  Because we got to walk on the field.  Which is awesome.  And also weird, because the field is way deeper than I imagined it would be.

Green Monster!

This next one is my second favorite shot from the day – everyone making Spiderman webs!

I love this next one because London looks so dignified.

Get ready for some cuteness that you will not even be able to tolerate!

In case you couldn’t tell, Efrain and Ayden are brothers.  They are my husband’s cousin’s children, and while we were visiting them in Philly this past weekend I got to take some photos of them!

During our photo shoot, E(frain) was convinced to be photographed with his lightsaber.  Me = happiest photographer ever.

Here he is using The Force!

And this is Ayden flying – is this related to The Force?  I’m not sure.

I could go on and on… there are like 12,000 photos with unimaginable cuteness but I think I will stop here.

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Meet Ryan, Katie’s little brother.

Ryan is super-chill…

… and also super-happy.

Here are some of my favorite photos of Ryan from the outdoor portion of the shoot.

I am ill-equipped to handle the cuteness in the next photo!

I visited Katie, Ryan and their parents this past weekend to visit their brand new home and to take some holiday portraits for them!

Katie was really getting into being a model!

She also got into making all manner of entertaining and silly faces.

When we were done inside the house, we decided to head outside to play in the unseasonably warm weather.

Katie was kind enough to display the leaf she found in their awesome yard!

This next photo is my favorite photo from the entire day.

You’ll see more of Katie later in the family pics!

Jack came back to the studio! Woo hoo!!!

Jack still prefers running around the set to posing on it. I love this next photo because it captures the enthusiasm of running around.

After our on-set adventures, Jack decided to head up to the office for more posing!

After all of his hard work, Jack decided to eat an Oreo…

… and take a break on the couch.

Thanks for coming over Jack!!! I hope to see you again soon!

The comic theme was chosen because my brother is a comic artist. We celebrated Spiderman, The Hulk, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Iron Man and Batman. We also had toys from our childhood everywhere – the whole night was a trip down memory lane!

Here are some photos of the guests getting ready for the big surprise by donning party masks!

My brother has allegedly never been surprised in his life, so we went to great lengths to protect our surprise party secret! Being involved in surprises stresses me out to no end – my brother kept calling and I kept not answering the phone for fear of being completely transparent! Here’s everyone hiding – quietly! – in the dark stairwell waiting for Mike to let himself into our garage.

“SURPRISE!!!!!”

“There are a bunch of crazy people wearing Spiderman masks in your sister’s stairwell!!!”

Yes, folks, he was completely and utterly surprised. Mission accomplished!

As part of the party, I made a set to take a family photo of all of us wearing Spiderman masks, but I’m not going to post it because it’s really really weird. Instead here’s a photo of my sister on the set! Party!

We listened to music from various phases of my brother’s life. Here’s Mike reenacting the Boyz II Men era: “Doom doom doom da da!”

As is normal for any function involving any one or all of my siblings, the party turned into a dance party! It was the first time anyone had danced in our new condo and it rocked!

Even Spiderman got down.

I don’t know what’s going on here but it is hilarious.

Happy birthday Mike!

When Ronny found out that her cancer had returned during her pregnancy, my heart immediately broke for her and her husband. I can’t imagine anything more scary. Ronny stayed upbeat and positive and is now the proud and ecstatic mother of Maddy, the cutest baby of all time. Seriously – Maddy is obscenely cute, and together they are even cuter.

I loved taking these photographs because Ronny was so happy. Seeing Ronny and Maddy playing together, posing together, and enjoying one another made me so happy! I felt lucky to be part of something so beautiful, and to be friends with someone who is so strong. I hope that the playfulness, joy, and Ronny’s happiness in being a mother, come across in the photos.

Ronny is a good friend, amazing photographer, and wonderful mother. She has the highest spirit of anyone I’ve ever met, and her ability to stay positive is a constant source of inspiration to me. Please keep Ronny, Maddy and Andy in your thoughts as their battle against cancer is not yet over. I thank you in advance for sending as many positive vibes as you can out into the universe on their behalf.