San Diego With My Boy

While working at Gap Inc. what feels like a million years ago I met Ryan. He was one of the head guys in the Store Design department. He seemed quiet and always calm. Words that I don't think many people would use when describing me, especially back in the day. Ryan has a wife. She too can be described as calm and at peace. Khamla is from Laos originally and besides being a calm spirit, she happens to be strikingly beautiful.

Khamla and I were pregnant with our first babies at the same time. With babies in slings and a lack of sleep that made life fuzzy but wonderful a friendship was born. We then wound up pregnant with our second babies not far apart and became the mothers of two boys each. It made hanging out fun to say the least.

Even though we didn't see each other all the time there was a connection and understanding that we shared. Just knowing the other one was out there in the world, living a similar life, made it easier to get through the day. A random phone call here or there with a story of some crazy moment and a fit of laughter to make it all o.k. could describe our relationship.

Last year, to our dismay, they moved to San Diego. It was a great move for them, close to his parents and minutes from the beach but for us it was difficult. Mason every once in a while would tell me how much he missed Rasea. He was pretty much his best friend. Not being able to hop in the car to see him was more than upsetting.

Well, Southwest had a deal not too long ago and I bought two tickets for Mason and I to take a trip to see our friends. Mason almost jumped out of his skin with excitement when I told him we were going. Miles was going to have a daddy weekend and Mason and I were taking flight.

When he and I were at the airport and going through the security check I couldn't believe how grown up my baby was. He, without me having to tell him, took his backpack off and put it in a tub along with his tiger cub, and get this, his shoes! Can you tell we're no strangers to flying? I was amazed. He was such a big boy. Wanting to do it all himself and doing such a great job.

Our weekend was more than fun. We just hung out most of the time but being with good friends was something that we both needed. Mason and Rasea played Star Wars the ENTIRE time. O.K, with the WII in between. We went to the beach and the boys sand surfed, we played in the backyard and ate yummy food. Ryan opened a "pop-up" store in their town of Cardiff and I got to check out the location. The store has shut down and he's talking of opening another one in it's place. I took a few shots of Ryan in his space. It was a fun photo project while on vacation.

Our visit all in all was great, more than great. I hope we can see them again sooner than later. I have a feeling Mason and Rasea will be friends for a long time. They just "get" each other. Isn't that what it's all about? Making connections with people and sharing your life? I think so.

Khamla, Ryan, Rasea and Kade, thank you for an amazing weekend. We LOVE you!!!!!

Addie & Chelsie

Way back when, I was a part of the Discovery Workshop here in Marin. It was a photography workshop that Rick Chapman, Garrett Burdick, MeRa Koh and of course her husband Brian held for women looking to dive deeper into the world of photography and themselves.

I came in for a few hours on one of the days to talk about branding your business and to create vision boards with any of the women who were interested. Chelsie was one of the women who sat down with me and created the beginnings of a great vision board. At the end of the day she brought her mom over to meet me. It was clear that they were both passionate about photography, about making a change for their lives and their futures. They wanted to move in a direction that allowed their creativity to flow in a playful but meaningful way.

This process with Addie and Chelsie was really more of a journey than a job. We worked together to sort out the name of their business, the color story that worked for them as well as the logo itself. It truly was a discovery. Of self, of partnership and of the strength they had by themselves and together to take a leap of faith toward the unknown.

When creating the logo I wanted to be playful but natural. To design something that felt like a combination of mother and daughter yet would stand as a brand on its own.

I love that we came to the tree branch in the end. That when you put the back of the cards next to each other they form one bigger branch. The tans, browns and burgundy are so beautiful together and the curls of the branch add just the right touch of whimsy that I was going for.

Addie and Chelsie I wish you the best of luck with the launch of your business! I know great things are in store.

Star Of The Week

At Mason's school they have a program where one child from each class gets to be "star of the week". This means that each day they can bring in something to share. Toys, favorite books and photographs. In Mason's class whoever is the current "star" picks a name basically out of a hat to find out who the star is for the following week.

Two weeks ago Mason came running in the house on Friday after school to tell me that HE had been picked! He was SOOOOOO excited. We spent the weekend figuring out what he would bring and Matt printed up a bunch of photo's from birth to present day.

It was so interesting to see what he picked to share. His large bionicle riding a ship that shoots balls was of course on the list. Other items were three sand dollars, his alive cub, bugbot (that's for another post), his "Mater the Grater" book and his Bible.

We brought everything in a bag so that he was able to choose each day what he would share. The school has assembly every other week and at those assembly's the "Stars of the Week" are called up on stage to say their name and which class they're in. Mason's assembly was last Friday. It was so cute to see. I was able to snap a couple of photo's and take a short movie of the experience. One of his best friends at school who's in another Kindergarten class was star of the week too which made it even more fun.

Here are some photo's of his 15 minutes of Kindergarten fame. Oh, and when on stage they're asked if they want to say anything and of course Mason's hand popped right up. When the principal brought the microphone to Mason he shared that he had gone on vacation that week. His recent trip to San Diego to see his friend Rasea was a HUGE highlight and it was sweet to see him share his excitement.

Way to go Mason and just for the record, you're a star here at home every week!

Mason found Miles and Daddy in the audience...