On this rainy Sunday evening, we decided to get the lights out and play around a little.

Today was the big Neisha’s Dance Academy Ballet recital at the San Diego Civic Theater. This year’s theme was “Circus”.  After the dress rehearsal yesterday, we were able to get some shots of outside the theater.  The theme of her dance was “Masquerade”.   It’s always striking to me how this young lady…who trips, bonks, bangs, falls, bruises herself, kicks the boys in TKD, and falls down regularly…. can be such a graceful and elegant ballerina.  We have to give some credit to Ms. Angela, her  amazing  instructor, for teaching all of the girls to stand tall and believe in themselves!

We usually skip the traditional school photo every year.  Instead, we take each of the kids out on (or near) their birthday and do a quick photo shoot.  This year’s 9 year old shoot was pretty brief.  We were on our way to my parents house for dinner (and the amazing chocolate cake) and made a quick stop at the park. We lasted about 10 min and then needed to get going.

Today is Julia’s birthday. It’s a big one.

Last weekend we visited a few close friends in Seattle, but today was the actual day to celebrate.  The kids and I started the day for her with breakfast in bed.  If you’ve ever tried to make breakfast with the help of a 6 and 8 year old, you can imagine how challenging it can be to do it quietly and quickly. (while Julia still slept).  We finally made it back upstairs with a tray of scrambled eggs (w/cheese and ham), slightly burnt toast, and a big cup of coffee.

After a slow morning around the house, filled with more coffee and many phone calls from Julia’s family and friends, we went out to lunch in Coronado at McP’s.  It’s not a fancy place, but it is one of her favorites. The afternoon was topped off with a walk on the beach.  The weather could not have been better.

Julia is a special person. She is beautiful, brilliant, and amazingly kind.  She’s the first to laugh at her own quirks and mistakes.  She cares for others before ever thinking of herself.  She loves to smile.  She lives for our kids.  She will be embarrassed by these comments, but I’m putting them out there for all to see because I want you to all know how miraculous I think she is.  Happy Birthday, Julia!

Here’s a few photos from our time in Coronado today.

Last night we celebrated Julia’s birthday with some of Mom’s chocolate cake.  Yum.

This is the time of year where I start to think about resolutions.  Well, “resolutions” might not be the right word.  I believe more in “goals” or “intentions’ than “resolutions”.  I still have some “intentions’ from a few years ago that are on the list.  One day they will be a reality. Until then, they just stay on the list.  One of the things I’d like to do more in 2011 is include additional personal/family posts on this blog.  In that spirit, here is a video of  2010 in our family. Thanks for looking. The video is about 5 min long.

(in case you wondered, the music is from the band Miggs and their insOmnia album)

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

This photo pretty much sums up the fun we had.  We were able to spend some valuable time with family just hanging out and enjoying each other.

Growing up in Southern California suburbs means that I spent hours on my bike and skateboard as a kid.  A few weeks ago I realized that our kids might be missing out on a part Southern California culture. They didn’t have skateboards.  With some help from a friend, I was able to be “the best Dad in the world” by bringing home a pair of beautiful new boards. The rain this past week has meant that they’ve only been standing on them them in the living room while watching cartoons.  It certainly made me smile to see them learning to balance on the boards, even if I-Carly was taking up most of their attention.  Today, Julia picked up the needed safety gear. So before the sun completely set tonight, we went out into the cul-de-sac for the first rides.  They quickly learned that the wheels role MUCH faster on concrete vs. carpet!  Both did really well and smiled the whole time. Except when they were trying to look tough for photos.

Running on the grass, going for a walk around Balboa Park, playing frisbee and just hanging out with your best friend….sounds like the perfect day.  And I think for Colby, this black retriever, it was.

Both Julia and I love dogs.  Our yellow lab, Roxy, is always laying at our feet when we are on the computer. She’s ready to play fetch at any moment, and our family is more complete with her in it.  So we understand when people want to have photos taken of their animals.  Jennifer contacted us a few weeks ago looking for some photos to take back with her to northern California. She was having to leave Colby here in San Diego, but hopefully these photographs help her remember the bond they share.  Working with dogs can be a little nerve racking at times, but Colby was content to just walk with us as we hung out at Balboa Park. He loved catching his frisbee. While he was certainly curious about the family of squirrels in the leaves, he was quick to come running when called. Thank you, Jennifer for a fun time at the park.  Hope you enjoy this sneak peek of your photos.

Let us know what you think in the comment section below…and feel free to share this post with others.

At Schafer Photography, we feel passionate about the importance of education. We both have strong ties to the education field. Without question, teachers give their heart and soul to their profession. Day-in and day-out, these people provide guidance and love to kids in ever increasing class sizes for less and less money. This year, once again, our kids were blessed with phenomenal teachers who not only challenged them in reading, writing, and math, but also modeled the caring personality, insightful, and resilient character traits that we hope to instill in Christopher and Ainsley. This summer we are offering a special package for all teachers.

Teachers Rock! Package: $350.00:
Book a session between now and Labor Day and receive:

• 1-2 hour photo session
• Online private gallery of digitally edited photos
• Complete full resolutions images on disc with copyright release to have images printed at your favorite lab
• Web sized images to share with friends and family through email /social networking sites.

Feel free to send this information to any teachers you know.  In fact…send it to anyone you know who works at a school (this offer will apply to any school employee). You can even use the “Sharing is Caring” buttons at the bottom of this post to send it out easily.

Last Friday I got to live Jason’s dream and attend a Jay Reilly workshop. Jason was insanely jealous, as he should be.  I spent the day getting lighting, camera and business tips from Jay Reilly and hanging out with a group of great photographers.   We used Artist Alley in Oceanside for our first photoshoot with some great kids. This was followed up with another photoshoot on the beach with even more great kids, sunshine and surf.  If you are interested in attending a useful and fun workshop go see Jay.

Here are a few images from the day…….

Thanks guys.  I had fun.  Here are a few of the gang who I hung out with in Oceanside…….