As many of you all know, we went on an extended family holiday in December.  It started in San Diego visiting family and exploring the pub beach for an afternoon  The kids had a blast collecting shells and other sea life…while mom and dad enjoyed the warmth of the sun!

A car rental (an upgrade to an large SUV…that made a certain brother-in-law jealous ) took us to Anaheim for a few extra days!  Disneyland is such a fabulous place, mom and dad were both beaming from ear to ear…of course the kids were excited too!  It was funny this trip, I knew ahead that I really wanted to be “there” with my family…no scouting out light, locations and trying to get the kids to smile.  My goal was to enjoy my time, put the camera down (at least the nice HEAVY one) and really be present.

Finally…. the above images are from Loreto, Mexico.  My in-laws winter in Loreto and graciously invited the entire family to join them for Christmas.  We spent two glorious weeks in a beautiful home metres from the beach.  Loreto is not a large tourist town, but is a friendly and very welcoming village full of happy locals.  Our days were spent on the beach swimming, sea shell hunting and digging for clams.  The mountains were great for hiking….and abundant with wildlife (a close encounter with a tarantula will be remembered!).

Our last eventful day was spent on a beach a 1/2 hour boat ride from Loreto to Coranato Island.  On the boat we saw porpoises, sea lions and great cliffs formed from volcanic rock.  The sand on the beach was white and the sea was calm which made snorkelling unbelievable!  What more could you ask for in a vacation:)

I look forward to another great year photographing Calgary’s fabulous families!  As always… there are new items for the studio and awesome promos for the year.  Stay tuned!

Happy New Year to you all!

Enjoy

Brandi

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