Summer Vacation Part One.

With Scott’s family living only 15 minutes away from the university, it has been a joy and a privilege to get to know his family so, so well these past few years. They have invited me into their home and have truly loved me as there own and for that I am so unbelievably grateful. A few weeks ago, they let me tag along on their family vacation to Cayucous, a quaint little beach town right outside of San Luis Bispo! I absolutely adored every second of it. Our days were filled with endless boardgames, catching sand crabs, sunset walks, chilly mornings, homemade dinners, and lots of laughter.

Alongside my family and Scott’s, I truly do not know how I got so lucky. Being loved by his family has been such a source of comfort throughout my college journey and I can’t thank them enough.

Cheers to summer!

Sam // Senior

Downtown Monrovia, Ca

We didn’t have a plan or a location but we somehow stumbled upon this little downtown area & I must say, it turned out to be absolutely perfect for Sam’s portraits. I love spending afternoons wandering, catching up  and capturing this sweet  friend.

 

Morgan // Senior

pasadena, ca.

Morgan is one my dear friends that I have had the joy of getting to know over the past year since meeting abroad in South Africa last spring. She is every bit of beauty & grace & laughter (she definitely takes the cake for best laughing pictures!!). Thankful for friends like this & days this this.

   

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Kacie Johnson — Canyons

after 8 years, this sweet friend still says yes to being my go-to when i want to

adventure through the canyons on a rainy day.

N Y C.

day 1//

                             

day 2//

                      

day 3 //

             

day 4//

                       

 

A few forgotten frames.

I spent the weekend doing a little sweep of my computer & came across these frames that I took of my sister over winter break & really can’t believe I never blogged them. I was quite obsessed with her look on Christmas Eve, so I begged her to let me photograph her before we left for church & as you can see she (kind of) agreed. These pictures encase everything about winter break;  my home, rainy winter days, family movie nights, morning coffee, and everything in between.
               

Making my way downtown…

 

 

With no plans for the day after Christmas, my dearest friend Kacie & I decided to take the streets of downtown Sacramento // Now, keep in mind, Kacie & I started doing shoots like this in junior high, but I’d like to think I’ve gotten better since then buuuut she is absolutely my favorite person to shoot solely because I know her so well. The morning was filled with lots of brick, close encountered parking tickets, mastering one way streets, adventuring to find stairs, people awkwardly staring & muddy hands. Needless to say, this shoot is one of my favorites!

San Francisco, CA.

After the fall semester ended this past week, Scott ventured home with me to Sacramento for a few days. We spent them watching movies, doing puzzles, soaking in the holiday season, and just relaxing (after a crazy whirlwind of a year, it was just what we needed!!). On Tuesday we got off our butts and headed to the city for the day. We’ve already been here before so it was nice because we didn’t feel like we had to see every part of the city. We didn’t have a plan and this was probably my favorite part of it all.

((Also, heres a little fun throwback from our first trip to San Francisco over 2 years ago!))

 

friends & snow covered cabins.

 

 

 

While most of the APU population made the wise decision to stay home and study considering finals week starts tomorrow, my silly little group of friends decided that this weekend would be the absolute perfect weekend to just get away! We packed up on friday and traveled to Wrightwood, Ca where one of our friend’s family has a cabin. We spent the weekend doing zero homework, snuggling up by the fire, watching movies, eating dinner on the floor, playing clue, celebrating christmas, sledding, antique exploring, and sipping on hot chocolate. Weekends spent just like this one are my new favorites.

       

thanksgiving shmanksgiving.

I must say that this Thanksgiving was one of my absolute favorites. On Wednesday, Scott and I met my family at Disneyland and we spent the whole day running around, going on as many rides a possible until we literally couldn’t walk anymore. Its so silly but I remember waiting in line for Tower of Tower and being so genuinely happy. In that moment I just felt so loved. There is something about being surrounded by family that brings such joy. The next day, we traveled to San Diego to have thanksgiving with my dad’s side of the family. When we were little, we used to do this every year but as the years have passed, we grew up and got busy but it was absolutely wonderful to all be back under the same roof. We sat around, watched football, ate more than we should’ve, battled in the game “heads up”, and sipped on coffee by the fire as we watched old home videos of us from previous Thanksgivings. I must say, this was the best one yet.

Thanksgiving day!