yellow

Yellow is one of my favorite colors.

It hasn’t always been this way, but it has crept like a sneaky cat into my heart.

I can’t wear yellow (it makes me look jaundiced-shucks).

But I can decorate with yellow.

And I can photograph it. Remember this post? I was finally able to finish up the rest of the photos taken that afternoon.
Here they are.

Some extra deliciously yellow.

First up, Shane and Rachel snuggle.

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He is over six feet tall. She is five-two.

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Shane does the incredulous eyebrow. (I can do this too. So can our Dad. So can Drew.)

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And my little brother, in one of his many many many sarcastic t-shirts.

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Hotness.

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And now, (rubbing my hands together with glee), its our turn.

Yes, I am about to show you a lot of pictures. But, you understand, i couldn’t narrow them down. There was something either big or small in each one that is special to me. I have been working on these off and on for about a week,  and every time I dig into them, I feel so good. I smile into my screen. My heart swells. I feel complete.

My children, while often causing my blood pressure to soar in unhealthy ways, take my breath away.

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and this little one right here, the last one of the bunch, rounds our family out with just the right amount of sweetness.

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and was the only one who stayed near me when i asked them to. the others ignored me and took off to play in the grass.

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It took that, this and this…

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To get to this:

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They are all incredibly her, but that last one makes me well up with tears.

I lined all of us up…Shane took these.

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I LOVE the candidness of that one, momma duck organizing her ducklings. And i LOVE the depth of field on this one.

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From sweet to crazy in 0.0001 seconds flat.

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I LOVE every expression in that one. Kenna’s arms up in the air! My beaver teeth! Nate trying to be cool. Anna watching what everyone else is doing. Drew’s sweet “okay, ill jump” face. Jeff’s notorious leap into the air.

Another complete and total head over heels jump up and down on my bed FAVORITE! (Rachel took these)

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Then we plopped down in our nest of green and yellow. Having this interaction between all of us and Mckenna is priceless. We love to make her laugh. I can’t remember exactly what was said, but I am sure it was along the lines of “He was half dork, half boy. We called him … DREW!” (spy kids movie quote altered to suit our needs.)

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Priceless.

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xo

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171 Comments

  1. These are gorgeous! I was so inspired when I first saw your yellow flowers pic. In Oregon it took longer for spring. The search was on… One morning I found the perfect spot and so that evening, during the ‘golden hour’ we made our way to the aforementioned perfect spot, only to find it had been mowed away! 2 weeks later, another perfect spot. Golden hour again. This time, got attacked by mosquitoes! My husband and son said they would wait until next year when we are living in California, as this time…it just wasn’t meant to be!

    You inspire me with every picture you take…

  2. oh tara, i dont even know your kids – but i know if i did, i would love them.

    i have to admit i am jealous of these. my daughter and i had a long haul before i met my husband, and when we finally had a son, it was a very long and complicated ride to have him and i survive the pregnancy. hes almost two and i still have health problems from it. i would just melt to have a family photo (family photos) like this/these. we do not have any family portraits of us together, there is no one here who can do it like my vision and the way that you do. i just long for it, for it to be my family’s turn, too.

    *sigh*

    someday :)

    just beautiful tara. i really love them!

  3. tara, you’re so beautiful! you simply shine from the inside out..
    and such a lovely family you have!

    what a lucky woman you are. :)

    and these photos! simply breathtaking – they have such a happy, contented, magical feeling about them. thank you so much for sharing! <3

    ingrid

  4. this is my first post ever, but i have followed your blog for a while, and have admired your creativity since your scrapbooking days (many years ago i want to say!)….I just couldn’t help but say that these are fantastic…as a fellow photographer, it is so nice to see that you have quality pictures of you and your kids….i need to do something like this myself….you trully look like a happy family…congrats

  5. These are scrumptious Tara! I love that you treat yourself to some good family pictures too! It seems that the hardest thing for the photographer is to get someone to take good pictures for us. These turned out amazing!!! Your family is adorable:)

  6. Dayum, these are so amazing! Talk about being grateful–I’m grateful I got to look at all of these tonight! So beautiful, so inspiring. Thank you for sharing.

  7. they are gorgeous! and priceless! and, something i understand. my husband is a photographer and while he takes beautiful pictures of everyone else, we are never able to have beautiful pictures of ALL of us. we one day hope to have you do that for us! thank you for sharing each one. beautiful.

  8. Wow, I was feeling really low today. A truly tough day. And then I logged on to your blog…WOW. Totally turned me around. I was filled with awe, love, and joy just from feasting my eyes on those gorgeous photos. Your family dynamic, the pure joy in your face, the way I feel I almost KNOW you and yours through these… I love the light, the yellow flowers, the clothes, the beautiful and unpretentious nature of these. Thank you for the Zen moment. Thank you.

  9. Tara – I think I commented once before about how much Drew resembles your brother. I see it again today! And Anna in the midst of the yellow flowers looking dreamy – the money shot? Well, it looks like the money shot of her Mama from your earlier post about this “shoot”. :)

  10. these are *beautiful* love the colors and the feel and the family-ness. we did a little shoot in a field of yellow flowers recently too (you can see my blog)… hopefully the hubby will join in next time too. =)

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