skin issues:

rosanna had a zit on her face the other day*.
on her chin, bottom right.
that tiny little dot.
you might not see it.

thats okay, because it was there, and it HURT.

* i have her full permission to share this story. in fact, she asked "are you going to post that photo of me on your blog?"

me ages 2-4.

digging through family photos is always fun for me. i'm sentimental and nostalgic. i never really knew i had a hanging-out-in-the-bathtub theme in my life though.

i was reading a Kids Bible.
probably called Bible 4 Kidz!

little shannon in florida.

first day of preschool
...decorated with my mom's clip-on earrings and bow,

my mom sewed me this outfit, including the headband. (and i think she sewed that cat too)

don't blackmail me,
especially since my hair didn't grow until age 4.
shannon

the Leith family photos

i'm going to start with the first Leith family photo.
all the way from November 1986, with me and my parents:

then came Ryan a year and a half later,

I couldn't find one with just me, Ryan, and Jason (oops! middle-child syndrome strikes again)

here's when Carson arrived:

and then finally came a sister, Heather!
thanks for color-coordinating us Mom. specifically note jason's yellow socks which bring out the yellow in the girls' dresses, and carson's green converse, which i bet she bought specially for the photo.

now, THIS is our last professionally taken photo. on the beach in Washington. the glowing sun rising over the hill. entirely denim. jason whispering sweet jokes into heather's ear. me playing with a stick. carson holding a basket. mmmmmmmmmmmm.

and then fast forward to our totally fun family photoshoot we did in Old Town Orange with Kurt Hilmerson! It was sure weird being on the opposite side of the camera for once, but I had fun!

I now know what it's like to stress over WHAT TO WEAR FOR THE PHOTOSHOOT. ahh! ha, I always tell my clients: "just wear whatever you want! wear what you love. wear something that feels totally YOU." well-- my little philosophy left me confused when it was actually my turn to be photographed. is brown too plain? do i look good in v-neck? will my mom like it? will my friends like it? do i like it? ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

i told my mom that no one was allowed to tell each other what they were wearing. the ultimate solution so that we didn't end up with everyone in 100% jean.

if we ever start a band?

if we ever get asked to do a gap commercial:

if we ever get our own reality tv show:
hi! we're just normal people! sitting on a curb

this one's cute!

my brothers, in age order:

ryan jason carson

oh, the girls.
we're much more fun.

okay, we pulled the melodramatic card too.

i need to explain these next two.
my family has teams. the brownies and the blondies. each team shares specific quirks and tendencies and personality traits.

the brownies. my dad, me, and carson.
we pride ourselves in being the more... normal ones.

the blondies are more...weird?
(they were all blonde when they were younger. promise.)
my team rolled our eyes at them the whole time this shenanigans was happening.

kurt wanted us to be a rap group, so here we are:

aww my parents :)
are cute :)

hi mom and dad!

and here's our ending series. taken in the middle of the street while the police told us to GET OFF THE STREET via loudspeaker.

a big big thank you to Kurt for taking these.

and to mom dad ryan jason carson and heather,
thanks for being so much fun.
we kind of overtook old town orange for the afternoon, didn't we?
love you,
love shan.

and hi grandma and grandpa! i'll send you prints!

Annie and Drew's Engagement Session

heres a little addition!
my faves, the polaroids.

Annie and Drew, you are absolutely stunning in this photo.

Annie and I have been emailing each other about her wedding for a few months, and she hired me without ever meeting in person! I was so excited when she told me her fiance was Drew: because he was my boss when I was sixteen!! It's a small world, and I love photographing weddings of people I know. Annie also admitted to being a long-time blog stalker of mine. Since before she even MET Drew! She's wanted me to shoot her wedding from before there was ever a boyfriend on the scene (so girls: there's hope! now she's found her man!)

Old Town Orange is the best backdrop for photos! We walked around town for an hour or so and found cool little spots, like this one:

Most people get worried about looking awkward in their photos. It's a common fear. I always tell people to just relax, because I guarantee they'll look natural, beautiful, glowing, and happy:

there's this alleyway we found that acted like a windtunnel--

could it get any more perfect looking?this couple is going to be such a blast to hang out with on their wedding day!

i love how Drew's looking at her here,

i told him Drew, be the MAN

this one is so happy! I love it.

hi, we're models.

and a fun close one to finish us off!

Annie...Drew...
you guys were SO great and I can't wait to see you again soon for the big day!
Shannon

Festim made us pizza. MADE!

We invited our friend Festim over for dinner the second we found out he knew how to throw pizza dough. We'll provide the ingredients and the kitchen and the cute dishes, you provide the culinary expertise. per,fect :)

Anticipating an epic meal, Rosanna and I also invited our friends Charity and Ellen. Dinner party!

there wasn't a dress code, i promise you,Ro and I take polaroids of our houseguests for our fridge.
Pizza throwing? Dude, you're in.

Charity brought us brownies! With Andes mint on top!

Charity, those brownies ruled. Thank you!!just fulfilling the what i ate for dinner part of my blog header...

with love,
shannon