My good friends from Orlando were visiting New Smyrna Beach last week and I went up to get some family portraits for them. Sheli and I worked together in Orlando with Young Life there and it has now been 7 years since my family moved away to Clearwater (then here.) Our experience in Orlando with Sheli and Jason and Young Life was a true bonding experience! Sheli is such a genuine person and all around good friend. Jason is one of the funniest guys I know and I can't imagine a single person who doesn't love being around him. He wanted to take some "special" pics just for Dana (my husband) but we ran out of time. Sorry Jason, we'll definitely have to take a rain check on those because I know they would have been fun! I am totally leaving out their beautiful children but only because the majority of these highlights are of them and are just so self explanatory. One thing I loved about these is that they reminded me so much of a season in my family when Logan and Mary were about the same ages as Sheli's kids below and had the same sweet relationship. In fact, I have some very similar images of them on the beach together.
I wanted to bring this red lifeguard chair home with me...
Love this one. feet of course, but hands too. bonus.
Love to see their personalities come out here. 
I thought this was a fitting series on how family portrait photography can evolve within a session. Beginning with above the sometimes reluctant faces of young children when asked to be still and smile pretty....
Then the family dynamic can take a negative turn if mom and dad catch on to young children's lack of cooperation. (Or if photog. asks them to make ugly faces hoping to get the opposite response next...)
Phew. Look at those happy faces. I can't help but love the grumpy ones best (wouldn't it make a statement on a Christmas card?) ..but this is what we were going for. 
This is so him.
This is so her.
And here they are doing their "thing" together.
a favorite.
Grandparents joined in...love the one below of the grandparents because I feel like you can sense the unique relationship they offer. The love of grandparents can be like a specialty store. Sort of like the Christmas Cottage downtown with the gazillions of trees and every themed ornament you can think of. Some of it is down right silly. Absurd even. Extravagant. The store holds a special purpose for only one particular audience and because it focuses on that, there is no need to worry about anything else, or to be practical in any way. It's just special and you can usually find exactly what you're looking for there -assuming you came looking for something unique. When you walk through the doors, it even feels like fun and you're freed up to just take it all in rather than just mark off your list what you came for. Can you tell on their faces how good it feels?
Successful store.
Sheli and Jason are celebrating 10 years this summer, just like Dana and I!Don't they look great?!
love this one
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