Family Archive

Yesterday I had the honor of documenting a US Navy Commissioning ceremony.   The man getting promoted is Chief Dayton Swann, husband to my good friend and local wedding coordinator, Brenda Swann.   Below is just an overview of what the ceremony is like.

The ceremony was at the Veteran’s Museum in Balboa Park.

Brenda gave a witty and very emotional speech

I love how Dayton is looking at her 🙂

Brenda receiving recognition for being a Navy wife!

Dayton’s father

Dayton’s best friend got to be the first to salute him

And finally Dayton giving a speech. Don’t tell Dayton I told you this but there were a few tears shed.

The centerpieces were made by Christine at Fancy That Flowers and Gifts

Dayton explaining to his family what everything stands for

Thank you for inviting me to be a part of your day!  

Dayton leaves very soon for his 2nd Deployment, best of luck to him and I will be keeping his wife company back here in San Diego!

xoxo, M

Last Tuesday I got to be involved in something new!  Well, new to me.  Shannon and Tim have done this two times now.

Tim was in the Marine Corps and was stationed overseas a few years back.  He got out, found a great job and was enjoying life with his wife and two little boys.  Then last year, the Marine Corps called him back to active duty and sent him abroad for the second time.

Shannon found me on Myspace and hired me to shoot Tim’s first moments back after 7 months.

Tim’s mom (and dad) and good friend Andy came out to California to surprise him.  Shannon flew out from Virginia.  We were waiting a few hours before the 200 men and women were dropped off at Camp Pendleton.

Shannon was super anxious!  Tim kept texting her from the bus.

They have to march in before they are excused to find their loved ones

Shannon didn’t want to let go!

A few days later I met up with Tim and Shannon at the Oceanside Pier for some fun beach shots.  Its not often that they get to spend so much time alone without their sons, so they took advantage of it!

Tim is a very private guy, I’m glad I captured him laughing.  He was probably laughing at me, people tend to do that often.  🙂

Shannon I had so much fun getting to know you and your extended family!  I know if you lived closer, we would be good friends!

See you in DC!

xoxo, M

I’ve been staring blankly at my screen unsure of how to start this blog. Brianna’s father, Jeremy encouraged me to share as much about Brianna and her terminal illness as I am comfortable with. I want to start off with talking about Neimann-Pick Disease. Brianna has Type C. Please click here for a basic overview of this fatal disease or click here to read about the Foundation and to donate to the cause.  Jeremy is all too familiar with this disease, he lost his oldest daughter Bailey a few years ago to the same thing.

Jeremy and Brianna have an amazing relationship.  Being in a room with them for 5 minutes will show you that this little girl is his universe.  I hope to have captured their relationship in these photos.

My good friends Jodi and Adam are old friends of Jeremy’s.  Jeremy saw some photographs I took that are hung in their home and really liked them.  When these two families planned Brianna’s last trip to Disneyland, Jodi knew that she wanted to bring me along to document the day and surprise Jeremy.

After the Disneyland trip, I got an email from Jeremy. The last line said this: “I don’t know how to thank you for taking the time out of your day to do something special for us.  All I can say is that you have made an impact on both of our lives that will never be forgotten.” And isn’t that what life is all about?

But guess what?  Brianna and Jeremy made an impact on my life too.  I hope you can see that in these photos.

Mickey and Minnie came by to visit the girls, Brianna in the middle and Riyen (Jodi and Adam’s daughter) on the left.

And of course, Riyen, who could be called a “regular” on my blog by now!

These next two images are some of my favorites of the day.  I couldn’t decide which one I liked better, so I posted both!

I love how Brianna is looking at her dad in this photo

And meeting her favorite, Tinkerbell!

Jeremy and I would like to encourage to you hug your loved ones a little bit closer today and every day after this!

xoxo, M

Just after Christmas, I made some time for one of my greatest friends, Allison and her family!  Her sister Kendall just had the first baby in the family, gorgeous little Jake!

Here they are! 

The girls!  Kendall, Allison and Erica

I’ve known these two since before they even met!  High School sweethearts.  Their 8 year anniversary is today, so HAPPY ANNIVERSARY you two!!

Jake just woke up from a nap!  He is almost 2 months old now 🙂

It was great to see all of you together again!

xoxo, M