if you have enjoyed this blog, i know you will love the new one, so please click on over and don’t forget to change the bookmark on your browser and the subscription link in your reader! i will not be updating this blog in the future. the new one is much better.

also, if you have linked here on your blogroll, please take a moment to change that url as well.

here we go!!!!!

racheldevine.com/blog

the blog has been growing daily and i am excited to use the space to share my photos and musings, but i was not happy with the lack of design ability with this free wordpress format, so we are moving and it is going to be so nice! there will be new features on things i love and i will be sharing a bit of my tips and techniques for photography. i’ll be taking some questions and even having some contests. so much is planned. hope you will join us for the ride!

we have landed back in the land of no dr. pepper.

it is back to work for me and back to school for gemma. the twins are enjoying being reunited with all their toys, it is like christmas for them!

lots of fun things coming up for my business. redesigning the blog and updating the website in the next few weeks. more kid fashion shoots and private commissions on the schedule.
i am thinking about a work trip back to the states in the fall…will keep plans updated here on the blog. for now, i am going to recover from the 11,000+ mile flight and go get reacquainted with my warm and cozy bed.

i will be processing more photos from the trip during breaks from my client pictures.

monty, you are a very lucky boy to be born to two of the best people i know. you are going to grow up being shown the tiny joys in life. the smallest details are not merely noticed, they are celebrated. the ordinary becomes remarkable, the heavy…blithesome. your parents are a treat to be around. i love them both so much. i miss you all everyday.

(photo by peta mazey)

with just enough quarters for 2 hours of parking, we had a blast on our quick trip to the beach.

luckily clover enjoyed the novelty of being in a different stroller enough that she never noticed that she missed out on playing in the sand.

kieran was a nice boy and sat right where we put him.

liam went wild in the surf. it was great to watch.

gemma just got covered in sand instead of water.

then began the spectacle of getting 5 kids and 2 strollers (one of which was never ever intended to go anywhere near sand) 3 cameras and assorted toys back up to the boardwalk…

all the while keeping the language clean.

and hoping the moms had enough change left over for ice cream!

what i did not get was the shot of the ice cream on the floor of the shop…i was too busy working on my own cone by then.

It is the little gypsy herself:

That has always been one of my favorite photos from our travels. London is such a great city to explore with kids. If you are going, I recommend you pick up a copy of This Is London to read first.

the last week of our trip home.

the pedicure has gone from 8 of my toes…it must be getting close to time.

we are enjoying the summer and family, but we will be happy to climb into our own beds. this trip has been an adventure for all of us and i am going to treasure the last few days.

i can feel it in the breeze on the dock. i can hear it lapping at the hull of the boats. i can smell it in the coming thunderstorm. i can see it as i close my eyes and go to sleep, exhausted from a day on the water…still rocking gently with the memory…

kieran reminds me so much of my brothers…

i have 3 other drafts under way, but they will linger for the moment as two of my creatures are sleeping and one is with the electronic babysitter… i am praying that buys me enough time to finish this.

i have a secret. i want to live on a commune. a commune with women. there are a few select women i have in mind. we can bring our husbands as someone will need to fix stuff for us while we are drinking wine.

ann is one of those chosen few that i would like to call my sister wife. i mean clover looks more like arlo’s sister than gemma’s sister….

i am not sure how the timing worked out, but our lives have followed similar paths finding each other in our wild youth and again as new mothers. now i am just waiting for her to catch up and realize that melbourne is calling her family. i am looking forward to trekking the exotic locals of our plans with her family.

i can’t believe how much indra and arlo have grown over the last year. it isn’t right that we have missed all that time. when i drove away from ann’s house, she had a tiny infant clutched to her body in a sling and last week i was reintroduced to that baby… he was no longer a baby, but a growing boy.

i mean to be fair, when i drove away, i had two tiny fetuses tucked inside my belly and this time i brought with me real live almost year old twins.

we got to celebrate our reunion at the “dinky store.” the grove was our spot when i still lived in los angeles. the american girl store called our name and indra and gemma acquired tiny replicas of themselves which they both named, dinky. the coffee bean called our name as well and ann and i got highly caffeinated. i looked forward to our grove dates and i miss them terribly all the way from melbourne.

this visit we had a proper lunch date in the american girl cafe (after a stop at coffee bean of course.) i wish they had a party package for “i only have a few days in town and it is nowhere near long enough to fill my heart.” kieran got sick, i think he faked a fever, so arlo was the man for the afternoon. gemma, clover and i were surrounded by my favorite ladies and had an amazing time.

indra even traded a trip to disneyland for the lunch party. that is love.

out of any of my friends, it is ann and her brood who i can actually envision meeting up with us in vietnam or bali. i would love to see indra and gemma experience a new land with each other…indra inspires gemma with her confidence. i would be excited to see what arlo could teach the twins.

ann, i miss you more than i am apparently able to tell you. i love you my friend.