our snaps (april 09)

i’ve had some personal photos i have wanted to share this month, but haven’t done it for some reason. but now i am.

first up are some shots i got of anna one morning before it was time to get ready for school. this look is entirely her own, i had no part in it. she is still obsessed over her skates, and i laugh because she reminds me of one of those roller skating waitress pin up girls from the 1950’s, what with her ample and scrumptious little girl roundness and the way she rolls and turns doing chores or helping me in the kitchen.

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one of her favorite things to ask me to do is walk quickly holding her hand through our main rooms downstairs, and then turn, spinning her and letting her go at the same time. she spins and flies into the other room, giggling madly, her eyes wild with happiness.

a couple more from that morning. expressions that are so completely natural, so completely her.

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and there was the afternoon that i watched the falconbridge girls. yindi entertained me with the way she ate cheerio’s. the girls were up to their usual antics of running around in the backyard in their birthday suits. this time with more mud! and chalk rubbings of bottoms and hands and bellies!

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then there was easter. we had a really nice, quiet morning at home. rachel and i had decorated the kitchen table the night before, filling the baskets, and hiding eggs all over the downstairs and backyard. i was jarred out of sleep in the morning by anna, who came rushing up to my side of the bed, whispering loudly, “MOM! ITS A MIRACLE! the easter bunny hid eggs! AND HE LEFT ONE IN MY ROOM!”

the easter bunny smiled and kissed her excited little girl. she thought about staying in bed but couldnt resist the excitement. plus she wanted to see who was the one to find the egg inside of the BBQ. (it was nathan).

after the hunt, and a big homemade breakfast, we all got ready for the beach to meet up with my family for an afternoon beach picnic.

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unfortunately, the weather uncooperated with our plans, and after a few hours of biting cold wind, we decided to head back to our neighborhood pool. the weather we experienced at home was completely different from what was happening at the beach.

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and then, just a couple of days ago: these.

these.

when i looked through the camera and saw him standing there, looking at me, i was startled at what i saw happening on his face. its something i see nearly every time i photograph a young teenage boy. a look of polite reluctance, measuring me up, not quite daring to open up all of the way. there is an age when children lose the total abandon into which they look into a camera lens. when their self consciousness comes to the surface. for drew, it has happened. i snapped twice before it registered, and then i put my camera down and laughed and ruffled his hair, nudged his shoulder, told him to cut it out, and smothered his head with kisses.

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the mcgarveys • home movies that rock! with tara and michel sandy • san diego photographer

michel’s request: a rockin’ family
my request: backyard bbq, football out front, lisa’s margaritas

when deciding what video or videos we would like to do to build our portfolio, we decided we wanted to find two very different families to work with. so that we could create two things with very different feels in order to try and reach many types of families. our first collaboration was a magical, almost fairy tale of a piece with a family of little elfin girls. the best way to change things up? find a family of wonderful and energetic boys. and make a funny, happy, energizing movie for them. and i knew just the group.

lisa and her boys.

i guess i am incredibly lucky, because lisa is another friend of mine in whom i have a sister. our boys connect. major. we connect. major. my childrens eyes light up when i tell them we get to visit seamus and finn. they all think lisa is the best thing since money in a birthday card. she is like an auntie to them. they adore her. lisa is like the pied piper. kids will follow her anywhere. i love watching her interact with her kids and mine. i learn so much from her open interest in them. how she spends her time with them.

her two young men are ALL BOY. they have a portion of the backyard dedicated to “seamusland”. its a dirt section with a tree for climbing, a picnic table, and a small fort. complete with holes dug and then covered as traps, contraptions, and did i say dirt? the boys spend a lot of time there creating and scheming and i love that she gives them that space. i love so much about her house and yard. its got the greatest vibe. she has family photos hung almost floor to ceiling along her hallway, where skylights shine sun upon your head once you stop to admire them. and you will. the boys artwork is framed and hung for everyone to see when walking in the front door. she is surrounded by beautiful trees and the sun shines on their home in the afternoon like it was created just for that purpose. you are naturally drawn outside, because there is always a cool breeze. you can hear her wind chimes along with the slam of the screen door as the kids play and we relax on the front porch. there is always music playing too. great, great music. in fact, the song used in the movie was heard at her house that day.

i knew that her family would be able to give us exactly what we were looking for.

we showed up as the lobsters went on the grill and the margaritas were poured. and then spent two wild hours hanging out with them as they had a typical afternoon at home.


Mcgarvey Family Film from Michel Sandy on Vimeo.

music: ray lamontagne, you are the best thing

michel, you did it again! xo