[Picture Family] Ashley, Robert, and baby Frankie

I’ve been friends with Ashley for a few years now and we met on Instagram. We live only 15 minutes away from each other and I have enjoyed watching her family grow. Her and Robert are great parents to Frankieand she is such a darling baby. Check out some of my favorites from our beach/home session!

If you are interested in booking your authentic session at home, or on an adventure, drop me a line!

Thank you for stopping by. Check out our Facebook and Instagram for updates.

xo,
Sarah C.

[Picture Life] Introducing Baby F

To secure the privacy of my client's children, I will refrain from saying their names in this post.

Please enjoy these photos from my recent lifestyle newborn shoot with the family from my last blog post! I would like to introduce you to Baby F. He was such a doll. Although he didn't sleep for too long at once, his parents raved at how great he was at being a baby thus far (6 days in). "He sleeps, he eats, and he poops," said his father, "He's pretty different then B." B refers to Baby F's older sister. It was a joy to spend some more time with this family and see their love for one another pour out in photographs and just witnessing them at home. 

[Picture LIFE] The Warren Family

I met the Warrens in September of 2013 through my husband Chris. Chris and Rosa went to high school together, played music together, and have continued to be friends. Rosa is a HUGE Disney fan and I did a small family session with them at the California Adventure Hotel when they were visiting. Rosa and her family currently live in Santa Clara, so we set up a shoot during our stay over the holidays. I was ecstatic to take their photos again, especially with Rosa being pregnant! We started off the evening by taking some family portraits at a local park. The boys were dressed as classy gentleman. Here are a few of my favorite:

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Rosa and James moved into this 900sqft house in September of 2011. In March 2015, they will be saying goodbye to this home but then saying hello to their new home in Cupertino, CA. In the past few years they grew from being two adults sharing custody of Cohen & Max, to gaining full custody, getting married, having their own child, and two canines. Now their next baby boy is on his way! 

“It has been an amazing experience and has offered us a lot of insight into living humbly, loving each other, problem solving and staying close. ”

— Rosa Warren

James and his mother set out to make ravioli with sausage for dinner.

This was the wedding favor James & Rosa gave away: a bag of coffee beans. They own their own coffee roasting company that James started in their basement. Check out Chromatic Coffee Co. on Facebook and Stop by if you ever find yourself in Santa Clara! 

“We are a great team. Not just me and James, but all 5 of us. We each have a special role in the family, and we embrace what that is, and work together. Each component is very necessary. ”

— Rosa Warren

“We are a family that talks about everything. There is no emotion to big or to small for us to have a conversation about. This is also the mantra for our marriage. James and I have an open book policy, and it’s so great, because it really keeps us each other’s best friends, and biggest critics. We aren’t afraid to fight or disagree. Where he’s made incredible sacrifices, I have made many as well. We keep each other accountable. We know that even when it gets tough, the only way out is through it. It makes the good stuff even better!”

— Rosa Warren

Max, age 6, drew his momma a picture of their family. Only he and Leo had hair.

“Being a big family in a little space means that there’s a lot of fun to be had, I really do think it keeps us so close and connected. But the other side of that means there isn’t much “me” space or time for any of us. Feelings get hurt, people feel crowded and sometimes it can be hard. We all have to sacrifice some wants and desires sometimes, for things that are important to the greater good of the group.”

— Rosa Warren

Max got a hand-me-down camera for Christmas and took some pictures while I was. Photographer in the making I tell you! 

Brothers being brothers. They love each other, I promise! 

And then James took a close up picture of me with Max's camera.

“We became a family in this home, I met and got to know my step sons and became a Wife and a Mother in this home, we had our third baby in this home, we all did so much growing here. It will be incredibly hard to leave. But we’ll take all these incredible memories, and valuable lessons with us. It will always be in our hearts! Well, except for the part where we have to share a bathroom - as a family of 6, I’m betting we won’t miss that at all.”

— Rosa Warren

[Picture LIFE] The Evans Family

I met the Evans family just before Christmas through Jaclyn's sister Cat. Jaclyn and Colin have been married for over 4 years and have two beautiful little girls: Karaleigh age 2, and Aria age 4. When I met their girls, they were all about performing, poking, and playing. Normal kid stuff. Cat had told me about her sister Jaclyn's wonderful massages and her family's unique lifestyle. She mentioned that Jaclyn enjoyed bartering services and well, I can't resist a good massage so Chris (my husband) and I reached out to Jaclyn about trading a photo shoot for massages for us. I was intrigued by the lifestyle that they lead and couldn't wait to document it and spend more time with them.

The Evans family lives at the summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains in a 500sqft home that has a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen/living room combo. This September will mark 5 years in their humble abode.

Jaclyn describes their lifestyle as, "Rewilding; transitioning from a lifestyle of relying on society to being self reliant. Every change in perception and choice makes a big difference, and successful changes fuel that fire to continue on. Whether it be composting, foraging, fire making, or making our own soap." 

Karaleigh is on the left and Aria is on the right. I arrived soon after they woke up that chilly winter morning.

Colin makes his family butter coffee and butter hot chocolate. 

Even his girls drink the coffee sometimes. 

Karaleigh was not a fan of the "gooey egg" that daddy boiled and made momma eat the gooey part. 

First, Aria wanted to show me their fort.

And then it was Karaleigh's turn.

Jaclyn: Come sit and drink coffee with me. We do that together.
Colin: I don't like to sit by you *jokingly*
Jaclyn: You can squat. You like to do that. 
Colin: I can do that :-)

As part of their organic and natural lifestyle, Colin and Jaclyn only drink water from springs, like ones they find here. 

Even though the girls haven't seen the Disney princess movies like most little girls, they know all of the songs by heart and enjoy playing with their dolls. Rapunzel is Aria's favorite. 

Karaleigh is quite the ham and loves performing for anyone. I predict she will be an actress or performer of some kind when she's older. In this photo she is "pinning" (spinning). She can't pronounce her s's yet. I can't handle how adorable these two chickies are.

While dad makes a fire in their bedroom, the girls practice their hand drill skills that they learned at a nature awareness program in Felton called Fox Tracks. The three of them attend every Monday.

“Our inspiration for parenting comes from the old tribal mindset. Our culture is not set up to support this but we do what we can to bring it back to the roots of togetherness, songs, story telling, and following our children’s natural desires and passions rather than imposing those things. This is a reason we have chosen the unschooling route.”

— Jaclyn Evans

Time for some archery Aria got her own bow and arrows for Christmas. 

It was a wee bit chilly outside at 10:30 am in the mountains. 

Ilford 400 - 35mm film

Karaleigh was looking for some help with Aria's bow and arrow.

Every parent needs their own space. This is Colin's star jointed annex that he built himself

The bottles on the floor were collected to store fresh spring water.

Colin's standing workstation helps improve posture and focus when working on the computer.

Jaclyn wanted some photographs of Colin on his slack line. Have you ever tried walking on one of this things? It's hard! 

“Our house is small and can get messy. We get make trips to Goodwill often as we aspire to live in a yurt one day with more space to pursue our lifestyle dreams. In the meantime, while our kids are real little, I like to remember the quote ‘cobwebs be quiet, dust go to sleep, cus I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep’”

— Jaclyn Evans

[Picture LIFE] Makenzie

I am really excited to share these photos with you all! Makenzie is the 8 month old daughter of one of my best and oldest friends. Sashka and I met in pre-school and have kept in touch these past 20 years! We are only 10 days apart and have referred to one another as twiny for quite some time now. I was blessed to be part of her wedding back in 2010 in Oregon. Now Sashka, Larry, and Makenzie live in Oregon but are looking to move for grad school. I selfishly pray they move to SoCal so I can be part of my little niece's life and be closer to Sashka again. Alright, enough talk, please enjoy these: 

Best photo I got of those GORGEOUS blue eyes!

Thanks for checking out my blog :) 

- S

[Picture LIFE] Aaron, Aizlyn, and Wesley

Did a very quick shoot with my older brother and his two wonderful kids. Love them all so much! It was a joy to visit with them!