Many of you are probably wondering if I am still actually working in Seattle. The first quarter of the year is always quiet for me and I try and take advantage of the that time w/ travel and family but it is time to get back to work and my camera got back into action last week when I started school pictures. I think this is my fourth year doing pictures for this preschool. I always look forward to the challenge of working with little ones for just a few minutes each and seeing if I can get them to open up. Here is the first class. They are four and five years old, full of spunk and life and oh so adorable!

I am back...we landed last week but it seems to take me a little while to get my feet back underneath me and re-enter my reality of work. We had an incredible trip covering the northwest area of South Africa & into Lesotho. On the world map it doesn't look like much but we did LOTS of driving, covering over 2,500 miles. Everyone has assumed I must have tons of pictures but surprisingly I did not take many at all. I didn't realize that I actually needed a vacation from my camera too. And this trip really was about being with my family and watching our boys get to experience the third world and wildlife for the first time. The best part of our trip was just being with my family for 3 weeks. I feel so lucky to have gotten the time and then to be in such beautiful places.
The biggest highlight for me was getting to watch the boys meet & play with kids that they couldn't communicate with but still have unforgettable experiences with. Cooper was fearless looking for ways to connect. He grabbed rocks & taught boys tic tac toe and then went on to make up a totally new game that kept everyone enthralled and laughing. It was so great. The other big highlight was getting back to our villages and seeing a few old friends. I am sharing lots of pictures here and you will see a series of images that show my husband's close friend running up to him when he heard we were in the village. We had not had anyway to notify them of our visit so it was a complete surprise. Their reunion was incredible to witness. The embraces & smiles were endless. And I have just one of me w/ some of my old neighbors as I shared pictures from the past with them from over 15 yrs ago. They couldn't believe we returned and remembered them...how could we ever forget??!! We traveled to the high school to find my neighbors daughter who was in her last year there. I was so thrilled to learn that she had made it through school.
Lesotho is such a beautiful, remote, rugged country that has remained, for the most part, unchanged over the past 15 years, still one of the poorest countries in the world. The best description of what it is like is what I envision the wild west being like. I wish everyone could visit Lesotho!

I feel so lucky to say that we are heading back to Lesotho & South Africa tomorrow. And I really cannot believe by the end of the week we will be back in the villages we left 15 years ago. I am excited to see the people we lived with for 2 years & to share with them that we got married & now have 2 little boys. I hope to be able to share pictures on Facebook during our travels so track me down there.

So my youngest somehow has become a serious dapper dresser. It is pretty cute and when we are out he constantly stops people in their tracks to check out his get up & compliments soon follow. So on Friday I got a call from a close friend who was at a local consignment store telling me I had to get there because there was a size 5 tux on the rack. When I told Oscar he got so excited and we had to go. The tux fit him perfectly and he wore it out of the store & all weekend. He looks like a little James Bond, it really is too much! So I had to share his new look before I go. Here is special agent Oscar...

Before I write anything more I must recognize the exciting news that has taken place in S. Sudan. It is official that the south will become receive their independence in July. Such incredible news and now we need to keep all eyes on Sudan to ensure that the north does not start a genocide in the months and years to come.
This image stirs many things w/in me and I think it is appropriate to share just this one for today...I will not give my narrative and perhaps it will signify something different for you.


I have decided that instead of feeling guilty about not blogging regularly in the past few months (and the month ahead) I just need to embrace my reality that this is my hibernation time (the image for me also translates to my life here). The first quarter of the year is always a quiet time in terms of shoots but for me it is busy closing up my previous year, preparing my books for the IRS (this has to be the most awful part of my job & takes way too long) and thinking about what may be ahead for me. So I am no longer going to worry about my pause on here. Please just continue to check back and I promise to continue to share images and thoughts.
In less than 2 weeks I am going to be having the time of my life as my husband and I are taking our boys to South Africa & Lesotho. We will be returning to the villages we lived in from '94-'96. It will be crazy to return & there is no way to send advanced warning of our visit so we will roll into the mtn villages & I am sure surprise a few people. I am looking forward to sharing this part of our life w/ our boys & for them to see such a different way of life. And to get to spend 3 wks w/ just my family, I feel very lucky, for sure! I have been thinking about our return to our villages for years & I cannot believe it will be happening in 2 wks!!