The Adorable Hoggan Family

As promised, here are some photos I was privileged to take
of some of my favorite people:)

The fun, happy colors totally reflect the personality of this gorgeous family! I love it!

for more info on my portrait photography click here
or e-mail me at shelldransart@yahoo.com

Thanks for visiting!

BFF

(My hubby took these of us :)

Kayley and I have known each other since elementary school, and I have loved her ever since.
In 8th grade she moved from California to Utah and we had to wait over a year at a time to see each other, sometimes over a year! So we had to rely on writing each other old fashioned letters and sending them in the mail (this was before e-mail, cell phones and text messaging), and our parents didn't really let us call each other too often on the phone because the bill was so expensive back then.
Its crazy to think we went to 2 different high schools in 2 different states, and had different experiences and different friends, but never lost touch. She would come and stay with me and my family for the summer sometimes and I loved it! I seriously never got tired of her, not even once!
When I look back at our lives I realize how much each of us have gone through growing up, with other friends, boyfriends, and our families. We have always been there for each other through all of it, even if it was just through letters, or phone calls, even when I was on the other side of the world having adventures, I missed her like family.
I cherish her because no matter what I have done in my life, no matter how different it was from what she was doing, she has always been so supportive and happy for me (and I for her).
Friendships have come and gone through out the years, and some have changed, or lost their appeal. I have had friends who as I got happier in life, they became unhappy, irritated, and mad, not rising up to love me for me and be happy for me and who I was. Kayley has never made me feel bad, or tried to hurt me. She has always been happy for my happiness no matter what type of exploration I was doing: world travels, art, photography, or any time I have grown or evolved. When others were threatened by my adventures or development of myself, she was supportive.
Isn't that what true friends are for? To celebrate you as you truly are?
I can't tell you how many so-called friends I have toned myself down, and not been honest about who I am, or what I love to avoid the weird vibes.
I only hope I have been as great of a friend to her as she has to me.
I am so lucky to have her as my BFF, she is the sweetest friend you could ever have. (I could honestly go on and on about her, I haven't even touched the surface about what a cool, funny , pretty, sweet, devoted, an amazing girl/mom/wife she is... and she is super humble too!)

What's even more cool is I LOVE her family and our families get along so well, its a dream!
That doesn't always happen, you know?

I love my Kayley!
PS. Isn't she just the cutest!?
More photos of her and her adorable family coming soon!

artists in residence

The little artists in residence here get up bright and early and get to work.

I never know what they will be creating,
But they inspire me daily...

~The River~

4 of the 7 river rascals

We were so lucky to be invited to stay at a river front home (the Colorado River on the California/Arizona border) with with our great friends, the Hoggans the past weekend.
They have 3 boys so you can imagine the the fun my 2 boys had. Plus, we were privileged to meet and stay with their friends and neighbors Sarah and Nate who have 2 girls!
All together there were 7 kids, age 6 and under, so there was never a dull moment.
We really had so much fun.

The wave runner got a lot of use, and there was a lot of wake boarding, tubing, floating and lounging, and even a bit of motorcycle riding and target shooting.
(I had so much fun wake boarding, but I was SO sore the next day!)

D taking B and me for a spin on the wave runner

Yay! A family portrait! My sweet friend kayley took this right after we got off of the wave runner
(check out the wave runner hair on B and D compared to the pic above, heehee!)

I can't wait to go through the rest of the photos! I was lucky to photograph the Hoggan family and Sara and Nate's family the last day. And Kayley took some of B and me, and B took some of Kayley and me together. I'll post those soon!
Have a great weekend!

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes (an interview with my 5 year old)

I interviewed D with these questions in March, and just read it again today, and thought it might be fun to post on here. A friend had sent me the questions on Facebook. Feel free to copy them and interview your own kids, its pretty cute!

How to Play: Ask your child(ren) these questions and write down their answers word for word. The more silly, the better! If you have more than one kid, pick one between 3-12 years old :) Or whoever is funniest!

Mommy Survey from the mouth of: D! (5 years old!!)


1. What is something mom always says to you?

"be a listener"

2. What makes mom happy?

"do good things"

3. What makes mom sad?

"when I yell at you"

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

"tickling me!"

5. What was your mom like as a child?

" ME!"

6. How old is your mom?

"33!"

7. How tall is your mom?

"bigger than me"

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

"take me on dates"

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

"paint, photography, website, do art, ...that's it!"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

"She's nice and helpful... (and you know how to write your name too)"

11. What is your mom really good at?

"Writing cards and making cards for me and Daddy and Gavin"

12. What is your mom not very good at?

"you're good at everything!" (Wow! I swear I am not paying him for this! ha ha!)

13. What does your mom do for her job?

"teaches the kids to be nice at the Montessori school, and paints pictures"

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

"Everything! Green salad, fugecicles, hummus and naan,... all foods!"

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

"you draw something beautiful and give it to me"

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

"Wow wow Wubsy"

17. What do you and your mom do together?

"dates, anything I want"

18. How are you and your mom alike?

" We both write beautiful pictures!"

19. How are you and your mom different?

"You are a girl and I'm a boy"

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

"Hug me and kiss me"

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

"take walks at the Lake "
***********************
Kids are so fun, I feel inspired to come up with my own questions and do another interview with him.
If you haven't read it, I recommend reading "Just Use My Heart As A Phone" where he talks about communicating with me after I pass away. I am inspired and in awe by the authentic and genuine purity of children.
I hope you are having a great week!
xo
Shell

25 things about me

Girl in Guitar
(a self portrait I did back in January)

25 Random Things

I was sent this little excercise by friend on Facebook, and did this in January, and am so excited to see the changes I have made since writing this! I am way more open than I used to be (thanks to this blog and all of you sweet souls out there)! I just re-read it and thought I'd post it for fun.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

25 Random Facts about Me (from January 2009):

1. Doing things like this is really hard for me, I hate talking about myself and love to hear more about others. I am very private, believe it or not, and don't like to feel vulnerable.

2. One of my goals this year is to allow myself to be more vulnerable with people, so I guess this is good for me...

3.I love to listen to international music and memorize songs in different languages.

4. I love nature and thrive in it. I feel my best surrounded by water, living things, and breathing fresh air.

5. Being active keeps me Sane (with a capital S).

6. I sometimes laugh or smile inappropriately. (Bryan can tell you this- he hates it) Sometimes when life gets too serious I can't take it and I start to giggle- especially when I am most angry and in the middle of an intense argument!

7.I honestly think my nails have been painted 20 times max. (fingers and toes). Its just not something I ever think to do! And if the thought crosses my mind, I forget about it.

8. Before kids I skydived, hopped freight trains, slept on benches in foreign countries, and traveled to remote and sometimes dangerous places. That seems like another lifetime now. I have turned so domestic! (and am now a bit of a chicken!)

9. I think I have used a hairdryer a total of 10 times in my lifetime. Every time I have received one as a gift I use it to dry my paintings... works great!

10. I love creating! I don't care what it is, I go through phases: painting, sewing, collage, drawing, crocheting, writing. I just recently gave myself permission to create without critiquing myself every step of the way, much more fun!

11. I love learning new things.

12. I love dark chocolate! I can't stand white chocolate.

13. I love traveling and I look forward to a time when I can travel again with Bry, or with my boys, or have a lone adventure!!!

14. Everyday I give thanks for what I am blessed with. Some days its as simple as my ability to run. Most days its my healthy children, loving husband, and caring friends and family, and living in paradise.

15. I can't wait to one day be able to redecorate my house to my complete taste!

16. Last year I told myself to let the house go and allow myself to do more playtime with the kids and create more. Now my house is a disaster most of the time, but my kids are stoked! (OK, maybe disaster was a strong word, but it feels like that sometimes!)

17. I want to get back into being more spiritual. It used to be way higher of a priority.

18. I want to get back in the water (surfing)! (Its hard with a baby attached to you at all times!)

19. I cherish all of my friends- so if you are reading this, thank you for your friendship! You help make my life complete!

(almost done...) What else...

20. I hope to one day have more patience to really learn guitar. I can play a few songs, but get easily frustrated because I want them to sound perfect. so I go through long dry spells of not playing at all.

21. When I was younger I was psychic and could read my friend Shea's mind. We spent a lot of time speaking telepathically (even through high school). This is not a joke! Shea can vouch for this.

22. I really need to get better at spending time with friends (outside of play dates). I don't remember the last time I hung out with any of my friends without kids climbing on me and interrupting my every sentence!

23. I am really appreciative of the little things in life (my husband calls me a cheap date). I am happy just walking in nature's beauty (my idea of a perfect date), a good cup of coffee, laughter, health, a sweet letter or card from a loved one...

24. One day I would like to write a book. Maybe even just a beautiful coffee table book with pictures of people from all over the world. I am not sure what kind of book yet, could be something completely different than that. I think its in my future work.

25. I love reading and hearing about other people's journeys, experiences, adventures, and creativity! I find it extremely hard to reveal my own, and now that I have a blog on my website it can be torture for me. I pray to be brave like this more often. My blog would be much more intimate.
********************
Its so cool to see the changes I wanted to make, and know I have made them! I am back into surfing and more open in my blog, much more spiritual again!

I won't tag anyone, but if you decide to do your own list of 25 things please let me know, I'd love to read it!
I am packing for a weekend trip to the River with my family tomorrow evening. I am excited to hang out with one of my bestest friends and her adorable family as well! Hope you all have a great weekend!
xo Shell

Images from the beach

Hoping your day feels just like this...

weeee!

As you have probably guessed by now, my favorite things include my family, the beach and photography. So I hope you don't get bored of the beach on my blog, but I can't help but take photos if I have my camera with me!

(My cute hubby)

By the way, My little G is back to his curious and active self, totally well and happy once again!
YAY!
Thanks for all of your prayers.

Someday I hope to get motivated to use the tripod I got for my birthday in March, so I can be in some photos too.
My 5 year old looks in the scrapbooks I have made for him and wonders aloud why Mommy wasn't there :(
I need to remember to include myself sometimes (especially so my kids don't think I was never there for anything!) I am sure you all relate. I just get so wrapped up in photographing everyone and everything else!
Do any of you have any tips on including yourself in photos? I'd love to know how to get better at this. I never even realize it until after I am viewing in the uploaded pics on the computer.

Lots of love, health and happiness to you,

Until next time...
Happy Wednesday!

XO Shell
PS I want to thank you sweet supportive peeps for your supportive comments on my last photoshoot, and also my first adobe illustrator project (map). I really appreciate your kind words and take them to heart! Many, many thanks!

Bummer in the summer

I took this photo a couple of weeks ago of my wonderful hubby cleaning the old wax off of my board, and re-waxing it, modern day chivalry! :)

I hope you all have been having wonderful summers!
We have been busy and having fun, and spending lots of time in the back yard and beach... that is until last week when my precious little G got a bad virus. He has been through it all, high fevers for days, throwing up, sore throat, and now a rash all over his little bod. Its so sad when they are this small. I think we may be at the end of it because he is starting to eat a little bit here and there. He has lost so much weight, and we were feeding him with a dropper filled with pedialite or chicken broth. The photo above was taken a couple of weeks ago when he was still his spunky little self. Who knew what the future held. Its been so stressful, so thanks for being patient with me while I tend to my munchkin on the mend.

If you didn't know, I signed up for an online intensive digital drawing/adobe illustrator class. And I must say...I can't wait for this digital drawing class to be over! I know it should be for fun, but its just so much having an assignment or project every other day, when I have my plate already filled! Hey, I want to relax this summer too! (wah, wah, wah).

The first real project we had to make was a map. I had never really made a map before, so I was intrigued. I decided to make one for my son D's room of all of the surf spots we go to on the Ventura coastline. His room is a surf/beach theme so I figured It would go perfectly. (my first Adobe Illustrator project, Ventura surf spots map, click to enlarge)

We had to add a couple of buildings on our maps so I added a couple of local surf shops. It was fun because it was just a decorative map assignment, not to scale. It was fun coming up with objects to make to put on the map, which was also a lot of work in itself! I had to make all of these little items from scratch: the compass, the palm trees, the dolphin, the surf shacks, the surfboards, the waves, the landscape and roads, all of it. I would have never made this if it weren't for this class. And we only had a few days to do it, so the pressure was on! This is just one of the many projects I had to do. My next assignment is a fantasy landscape (as in science fiction/ fantasy). I am so behind on everything since Gavin has been sick, and I am loosing motivation, so who knows what will come of it. Its an online class so it can be difficult keeping up at times.

I have really missed my blog and connecting with all of my wonderful sweet blog friends.
Thanks for hanging in there and being patient with me while I have been away!
I hope to be back soon. In the meantime, I wish you all well, take sweet care of yourselves!
XO Shell

The Kincaid Family Photoshoot

Here is a sneak peek of just some of my favorites from my latest photoshoot with the Kincaid family. I had a great time running around through the grass, wildflowers and beach!
(Click photos to enlarge)

What a cute family! Thanks again! I had fun with you all!
XO Shell