Sandoval Family Blog

October Snapshots

Some quick Olivia snapshots are up at the photography blog.

We're a Typepad Featured Blog!

We're honored to be a Typepad featured blog. The featured blog for Tuesday, August 28, to be exact. Love the description, too. Check it out!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 6 1/2 and/or 8th Anniversary Amy!    Hehehehe.

Love,
Steve

Smoooth Jazzzz

Olivia's 1st Baseball Game

Olivia went to her 1st baseball game Monday!  I took her to see a daytime game at Harbor Park. Although it was not the Red Sox, she was happy to go in her Red Sox Princess Hat. She made 2 "Go Tides!" signs to take with us and we met one of my friends and his son. The boy was almost the same age as Olivia. Olivia shared her cotton candy with him and he shared his Sprite. They had a good time. She really liked yelling "Go Tides, you rock!" It's a good thing we weren't sitting near too many people. After the game, Olivia and John, her friend - NOT boyfriend, went onto the field to run the bases! She was like an old pro. I was suprised she wanted to go out there, but she had a buddy to help her out. She ran from 1st base to home, then to 3rd base. (not quite the correct order, but we didn't care) When we left she said she had the best time ever at a baseball game. I'm sure the snow-cone, cotton candy, water, Sprite and rainbow face paint didn't hurt.... ahhh Daddy's little boy... I mean princess  :)

Where have I been? And a "Check it Out" Note

Where'd I go? Well, probably taking photos. In the last three weeks? Two weddings and an engagement session. Shew.

And then there was the great external drive failure of 2008 a couple of weeks ago. Yes, the drive with all the 2008 client photos on it. (I had back-ups of nearly everything, but believe me, it was still painful.) Don't worry, I think we got all the data back. One word: DriveSavers. Steve was a huge help, too. He very carefully wrapped my damaged drive up, shipped it to California in some sort-of super snazzy bag and then set up new amazing Drobo - which should help me avoid having this problem again.

On another, much more fun note, I have soft-launched a new photography blog (I won't be launching it publically for a bit longer) and there's a really funny entry about Olivia at the top of it right now. Check out the photo of the sky, too. I will likely be posting a few personal photos there from time to time as it's important to keep the business blog up-to-date (search engine optimization, as well as keeps people coming back!) - I will try to remember to "cross-post" here to refer those loyal readers here (hello, family!) over there when I post cool things.

Steve's Cryptic Message

So, did some of you read that last post and go, "WHAT?"

We've had a running joke around here since two nights ago when Steve went upstairs to check on Olivia and discovered her in her room coloring and listening to the local smooth jazz radio station. Yes, as in, the light and airy tinkly sounds of smooooooooothhhhhhh jazzzzz.

And yes, for those of you who know Steve well, that's exactly how he says it. In a really deep Isaac Hayes (aw, we miss him!) voice. And yes, he does do this around 7:30 in the morning, too.

Not long ago I walked in Olivia's room to find her tuned in to hard core.... gospel music. As I've said before, this girl is going to have the most eclectic taste in music, ever!

2 Words...

Smooooooth Jazzzzz

Friday evening in Sandbridge

I was off on Friday and took Olivia to Little Island Park in Sandbridge. It was too cool to really get in the water, but perfect weather for sitting (or in Olivia's case, running, jumping, leaping, sprinting, etc.) on the beach. Here are a few photos of our relaxing getaway:

Olivia loves to pretend to be a dog. Specifically, she calls herself a "Tooshi dog" - yes, sounds like the word some people use for the posterior or "peaches" as we call them. I don't know where she got the name "Tooshi dog" but it's become a household name around here. And just wait until you hear the low moan of a howl the Tooshi dog makes when she is abandoned by family and is left alone (one of the scenarios Olivia has made up for the Tooshi dog - whereby she gets in the den cabinets, shuts the doors and howls - her howl is the funniest thing I have heard lately). So, here she is as the Tooshi dog:


I watched her watching the waves. She'd hike her little cover-up up her legs in anticipation of the water coming closer.


In action! Love the reflection of her body on the sand and the way she's still running on her toes.

Running. Non-stop. That's half of what she did on the beach - the other half of the time she was piling up old seaweed. Note the hair in her face - the normal state of things.   

Hurrah! Featured in Joshi Camera Magazine

I was asked back in January about permission to publish some photos in this beautiful Japanese photography magazine - Joshi Camera. How thrilled I was to receive a copy in the mail a few weeks ago and to see my photos in print! Can't read a word of the interview, but basically they asked me a few questions about my favorite things (I see a link to prolenswear.com there, which is where I got one of my bags) - and they also spotlight the tecnical specs on a couple of the photos. It really was an honor to be included - particularly since one of my idols - Brenda - was on the pages literally just before mine!

Congrats also go to Sabra - who is constantly posting mouth-watering gorgeous food shots on her site and Paula Swift, who I discovered thanks to the magazine.

The magazine's target audience is targeted to women in Japan interested in photography - the photos throughout the magazine are absolutely beautiful. The article I'm featured in is about 25 female photographers - "25 Girls with Camera in the World." I am very proud to be one of the four Americans selected for this edition. Here's my featured work:

   

Let's take a few photos...

One of the best things about having the photography side-biz is that Olivia willingly lets me take her photo again. I wanted a little practice with a new wide-angle lens and she willingly jumped at the chance to go outside and jump around with me. I love how her hair is blowing in the wind in the top two - the same photo in color and black/white because I can't decide which one I like best. Either way, we had a lot of fun and she gets more expressive each day!

I call this one "Here I am world!"