Holiday Mini Sessions….I traveled to Morongo Valley Preserve to take pictures of the Pelton Family: Lisa, Brandon and Codi. Lisa is actually my oldest childhood friend from 1st grade (so basically 26 years- yikes!) We used to play barbies, hide n seek, truth or dare and even managed to get in a little innocent trouble in our teen years. I told my parents she shaved my eyebrows, lol even though it was me who did it. Sorry Lisa!! Thick and thin she has always been there, I had the honor of being in her wedding and Codi was in ours as our flower girl. So needless to say, there is definitely history behind our friendship! It is so weird to see how much we have grown up! Here we are with husbands, kids and homes (well I am still working on the last two), but it is just strange to think after all these years we can remain connected. Yet another thing I am thankful for in my life and once again I am able to share the gift of photography with the ones that I love most.

Back to the location, seriously, I grew up in the Palm Springs area and had NO IDEA the place existed! Such a beautiful place for photos- absolutely amazing colors and scenery. I am so happy I found this place, however, I guess it was only a secret to me because I have never seen so many families taking their holiday photos in one spot.  So I am guessing it is probably one of the most popular spots in the area. So next time you are in the area, you should stop by and take a quick hike!

After the photo session we decided to join them for a friendly little rivalry of UCLA vs. USC college football- OMG their daughter Codi was flippin’ hilarious! I know she learned her love of sports through her dad but man what a trash talker she was! My husband, Igor, and I were cracking up! She definitely defended her Trojans to the end but they fell to the Bruins pretty early on in the game. Good thing she likes the LA Kings or I don’t know if we could be friends haha…

Morongo Valley Preserve near Palm Springs, Ca. Family photos 2014