Annual 79th Street Memorial Day Block Party

When we moved into our house (far, far, far) beyond our dreams early May 2009, we were supremely excited to fill the larger living space with our children's laughter and the sounds of their feet running to their little hearts' content. The first day that Jeremy and Chase walked Jaelin to her preschool (only five minutes by foot!), the boys discovered that our street led to the most beautiful bluff views of the ocean, marina and city, as well as cute walking paths to newly constructed neighborhood parks.

The kids are loving their spacious play room, Jeremy is passionately designing the backyard to include an impressive playground for the children, and I admit that I am loving not needing to share any bathroom space - ha!

But it just kept getting better and better...

Shortly after moving in, we were invited to a block party for our street. For the past ten years, the residents of 79th Street have celebrated Memorial Day with LOTS of good grub, exactly our style :) We joined them for our very first block party and were overwhelmed to meet such fantastic and friendly neighbors. It has always been our dream to be part of a living community who cares and looks out for each other. Jaelin even met another little girl who is attending the same kindergarten as her in the Fall. We look forward to play dates and dinners with our neighbors, as well as many more block parties in the future. Hopefully, our neighbors liked us enough because we are definitely here to stay :)

The kids made chocolate chip cookies to share for the block party.
They were so excited and proud of their work :)

Tug of war...

Sack races...

Saying good-bye to one of the families moving out of CA...

Judy and the Little Man...

The whole 79th Street gang...

Kristen and Blake's Wedding - Lake Oak Meadows

What an adventure! Judy, Drew, and I made the trek down to Temecula to photograph the wedding of Kristen and Blake. The wedding was amazing. It took place at the beautiful Lake Oak Meadows Winery. The ceremony was held in front of a lake that wrapped around us. The food was delish, and everyone made it out onto the dance floor.

Moments before seeing his bride for the first time...

The first dance...

Thank you Kristen and Blake for inviting us to be a part of this important moment in your lives.

Kristen and Blake - "Engage" session

I had the pleasure of finally meeting Kristen and Blake in person for their engagement shoot. We had a great time and hit it off like old friends. They are a fun couple game for anything. We started the shoot in their beachfront apartment and made our way around to the park nearby. The sky was amazing due to a storm coming in. It was cold and windy. Poor Kristen nearly froze her toes off doing the shoot. Good thing we ended the shoot with her slipping back into her cozy Uggs and warming up to a cup of hot cappuccino.

This was an amazing moment in which everything just fell into place. It was taken during the last ten minutes of sun, as the storm clouds were roaring in. A kite happened to swing into frame split second. I saw the moment and captured it.

Pam and Dave's Wedding - Altadena Country Club

We had a great time on Saturday (03/14/09) shooting Pam and Dave's long awaited wedding that took place at the beautiful Altadena Country Club. I also had the pleasure of creating the slide show presentation for their reception. Pam looked stunning, and Dave was quite the distinguished gentleman. It was the perfect day. Pam and Dave are both such heartful and genuine people. The room was undeniably filled with love and support for them.

Pam and Dave - It was such an honor for Judy and I to be a part of your day. I hope you enjoy your very well deserved honeymoon. Stay in touch!

Big shout outs to Judy and Drew for their assist!
It would not have been the same without you two.

Bonnie, Brian & Toni Photo Shoot

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a fun couple, Bonnie and Brian (an animator from Sony Pictures), and their daughter, Toni. Toni turned one year old on the day of the shoot. What a fun birthday present. :)


Here are a few shots from the morning...

Toni just loves water!

This is my absolute favorite shot from the day.

More from Pam and Dave's Engagement Shoot...

Pam and Dave Engagement

Last Sunday (January 18th), I had an engagement shoot with some good friends of mine, Pam and Dave. We had originally planned the photo session before the crazy holiday time, but our scheduled date ended up during the time of the most recent LA fire. That day, it was advised that people stay indoors, especially residents of Pasadena, the location of the shoot. I'll always wonder though how interesting the colors would have turned out on that day. I remember it as the day of perpetual sunsets due to the ash in the air.

Pam and Dave were a lot of fun to shoot with. Dave is a total goofball. Just looking back on some of the pictures made me laugh all over again. To Pam - You have your work cut out for you (haha)! And to the lively couple - I had too much fun "playing" with you guys on Sunday! Looking forward to the big day (March 14th)!

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New Year's Eve Party @ Wynn (Las Vegas)

It was that time again to party at the Wynn for New Years. This has been our tradition for the last few years since the Wynn first opened in Las Vegas. The resort hosted two separate parties on New Year's Eve - one for the adults that included a five course dinner & dancing to a live band, and another one for the kids. For some reason the theme this year was Scottish. I'll have to dig around to understand the significance of that. In the adult ballroom amongst the tables were lots of lights, trees, and various forms of plaid. Apparently plaid was in vogue this year. In addition to Judy's family, we partied with Travis and Vivien, Huay, some of Christy's friends, and our very own wedding photographer, Scott Robert Lim, and his wife, Stacey.

Judy and Huay on the dance floor.

This pictures clearly shows one of the great advantages in having your wedding photographer with you at a party. I actually made it to the "other side of the lens" this time with a beautiful photo by Scott.

Judy and Christy doing their usual silliness.

Travis and Vivien getting an early dessert.

Scott and Stacey

This year's dessert...All the servers came with almost 2,000 of these dishes at exactly 11:05 PM to match the time on the chocolate clock.

The kids had their own party in a ballroom next door. It was full of video games, clowns, face painting, carnival rides, candy, chocolate, photo booths, dinner food, and loads of prizes. Here's Jaelin sporting a couple of her acquisitions. After the party we rounded up all the kids and ran upstairs to view the fireworks from one of the rooms. Another great year. :)