Steep Ravine Cabins, Mt. Tam

"Nourishing a child’s mind in the first five years of life is as essential as feeding her body..." -Hillary Clinton, for Too Small to Fail. I'm going to be doing some work with Too Small to Fail and couldn't be more excited! Next Generation and the Clinton Foundation have teamed up to provide tools and build the skills needed to help children succeed. Research shows that early years are crucial to a child’s success. Through their Too Small to Fail initiative, the organizations hope to close the word gap and improve the lives of children 0-5. #gomighty4kids

In the spirit of Too Small to Fail, we took our kids to Steep Ravine, a cluster of rustic cabins on the California coast. We spent a few glorious days in a cabin on the edge of the world. We did lots of talking, singing, exploring, with our sweet kids- serious quality family time, y'all!  Located near Stinson Beach (North of San Francisco), Steep Ravine is pretty much the most magical place ever and I'm thrilled to have shared the experience with a few other families. Here are some photos from our very cold trip (record lows!) last month. 

Our families were in 4 cabins… 8 parents and 7 kids under the age of 5. And we had the best time ever. The beach was a little hike down the rocks and we had the whole thing to ourselves. We saw sea lions, starfish, urchins, and loads of barnacles :) We even found a dead deer carcass on our hike. It was amazingly cold, but I'm not going to complain because this was our amazing view. Special thanks to Meghan who shared this place with us. Ok- photo time...

Building a dam with Dad...

Our slew of families... 

Isn't he the cutest?!

Meghan's youngest boy loves twirling her hair and snuggling. 

There's an ocean over there... 

Materials for my Christmas wreath (instagram!)

Cabins, rocks, ocean, and the world. 

The cabin had a beam (not all of them have beams) and we were able to hang up the baby's hammock. It was so so cold, but we were blessed with wood burning stoves- thank goodness because the temps were in the low 30s at night. But what really warmed my heart is this moment where Chris is playing and singing lullabies to our boys. Our older son was falling asleep in the other room. (don't you love the book, Jenga, and beer bottle?!)

building dams...

The family minus the big kid, who was too busy to be bothered for a quick pic.

Aw- these guys are a pair :)

Lots of great singing and playing and good family fun

The kids playing Uno and Vida cooking up some greens. This is the extent of the kitchen. There was also a grill out front. But no sink or any other kitchen-type things ;) And no bathrooms in the cabin either. 

My husband is a genius. And I've never heard of Hobo Stew... wrap up hamburger, potatoes, and carrots (with salt & pepper) in some foil and toss it on the grill. Boom- there's dinner. It rules. Thanks, Chris!

I love the sleepy, nursing days with my baby. 

I wish you could have heard this show. Christmas carols and kids and guitar by the warm fire. 

"reading" lyrics to the 12 Days of Christmas

 Want more Steep Ravine? Here's my post from last year. Here's a post on Gardenista that uses my photos <rad!!> 

Casting Call

Hello my long-lost loves! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was lovely & warm. I'm excited about a big project coming up in the new year and I need your help finding awesome families to model for me! 

I'm looking for families with children ages 0-5 who are available in late January or early February for a photoshoot in San Jose. To be considered, please email me with a few photos, contact info, and the age of the child/children. 

What to Wear for Family Photos

"What should we wear for family photos?" I get asked this question every time I book a family photography session. I have lots to say about this, so I thought I would put together a little post for y'all. The boys are asleep, it's Monday night, and Pinterest just isn't cutting it tonight. So you're in luck- Here are a few tips to make your family look naturally awesome. 

Tip #1- Keep it Simple. This is the nice way of me saying no words, logos, brands, characters or pictures on your clothes. Not even a little logo by the chest pocket of your shirt. Logos and designs are super distracting. And you'll be much more pleased with your photos over time if you're not a walking advertisement. Solid is probably best, stripes are totally ok, and patterns are sometimes ok if done well.  

Tip #2- Not too Formal. Be yourselves! Think about wearing a slightly nicer outfit than you usually do. Also think about the location… you don't want to be all dressed up if we're taking photos at the park. You don't want to be all dressed up if we're taking photos at your house.

Tip #3 Color. Please don't get all matchy-matchy on me. Think about coordinating different shades of a color, or similar colors that compliment each other. I would choose your outfit first- I'm making the assumption that you're the mom reading this ;) and then help with your spouse (if necessary… some dads can totally rock this out on their own) and kids (see Tip #4). It's so important for everyone to be comfortable in what they're wearing and generally speaking, the moms are usually the most self-conscious and critical of themselves. So make sure mom is super happy in her outfit. (Feel free to get your hair done… I feel downright amazing when I take the time to go to Drybar and get my hair all done up smooth and right).

Tip #4 Getting your kids to wear what you want… Ahhhhh, this is tricky, right?! Guess what? You can't make them wear something they don't want to. If you have a little fashionista or a stubborn love bug, let's keep the kids happy and give them a choice of 2 things. Give yourselves enough time to get ready so that you don't have to rush the little ones and make sure everyone is fed before the photo session ;)

Tip #5 (optional!) Shopping. Again, totally optional. You can definitely minimize your cost by planning around what you already own. But if you're looking for something new, I'm generally pretty happy with Anthropologie, Zara (kids, too), J. Crew (crewcuts!), Flora and Henri, Olive Juice Kids, Kidscase (euro alert), and Mini Boden. My super favorite splurge clothing companies for kids are Fith (sold at Cotton Sheep, SF), Neve and Hawk, and Wovenplay. Cool online retailers for kid clothes: Thumbeline, Estella, Poppys Closet, Little Vida, and Trommpo.

That's my list. Hope this helps… is there anything you'd add? Share any other ideas in the comments. Here are a few photos from a photo session last year for some inspiration.