{Travel Log} Hiking 101 for families - we are featured on Go West Young Moms network!

Check out the latest article on Go West Young Mom network. Memorable Jaunts is featured with a two part series on Hiking and Camping 101 for families with kids!

Thank you Go West Young Mom's for this incredibile opportunity!

Go West Young Mom Network - Article

We are back there next week with an article on Camping - stay tuned! and check out other fun happenings and events posted on Go West Young Mom network!

{Lifestyle Portraiture} Sneak Peek - The K family - a tale of two sisters | Naperville Family Photographer

I have a sister so I could really relate to this family with two adorable girls. I spent about 30 minutes with these two girls and realized that they are so different...two different personalities, two different tastes and two different directions!

Ms. N was all of 3 years and was so excited to be out and about. She was curious about the trees, about the birds in the branches, the fishes in the water, the bridges in the park - everything! She had a constant smile on her face and was ready for anything.

Little Ms. K on the other hand was so interested in walking - that all she wanted to do - reminded me of Forest Gump!...She did not want to be carried, did not want to be held, did not want to be told where to go and what to do. She was happy picking leaves and presenting them to her mom as if to say "Would you look at this facinating piece of brown!"

After 15minutes of being with these two, it was clear that I were not going to get them to sit together - so I had to resign myself to the fact that I would at least try and get these two in the same frame - to prove that this was at least a photoshoot for two sisters!!!!

Enjoy your sneak peak! and all the very best with two adorable cuties! :)

This has got to be the world's best present for any mom - dried leaves picked by your child! :)

{Lifestyle Portraiture} Sneak Peek: The Adventurous M family | Naperville Family Photographer

Oh my gosh! I have not had this much fun at a photo shoot in a long time. I met the M family at the park on a beautiful day and knew right away I was going to have a blast. Not only were they super nice and had an adorable 4 year old who was not at all shy, they also had a puppy!!! and such a cutie!

As we were talking, they told me that they have'nt had family pictures taken in a while and the last time they had a really bad experience! SO the pressure was on - not only to make sure these guys had fun but also to give them a glimse of what I was seeing from the other side of the camera - an adventurous adorable family who were just too cute for words! :)

I know I put in so many pictures in this post but I could not resist!

Well guys, I hope you had as much fun as I did and have changed your opinion on photoshoots ;) - Enjoy your sneak peak!

I guess dad was really excited about this photoshoot....these guys were really such good sports!!!

This is MY ABSOLUTE favorite...

I love this puppy...he "stayed" and posed for me (a little bribe certainly helped!). Did you notice that one eye is brown and one is grey!

{Personal Expressions} A public safety message - from our family to yours!

I live very close to a school and every day I see so many kids cross the road without checking all directions for oncoming traffic and cars zooming by without slowing down for pedestrians. Scary to think that no one seems to follow the simple rules of "Look before you walk"or "Pedestrians have right of way"!

SO, I decided to run a public awareness campaign. I recruited an adorable model who is equally concerned about safety for children and we created the following :)

Spread the word! - Road safety is critial - Look before you cross the street!

{Travel Log} Boston - a great place that makes you click happy!

I am not a city girl. I tend to get claustrophobic around tall buildings and concrete jungles. Give me the mountains, open range and tall trees and I am a happy camper. But my recent visit to Boston almost has me changing my views a bit :). I loved it. I was expecting a concrete jungle but I was pleasently suprised. I saw a lot more green than concrete. The history in this city is amazing - I was so click happy :)

I stayed right across from the public gardens - the view was incredible. I was up at the crack of dawn just to go and enjoy the sights and sounds of the gardens.

What an incredible tree! - I was trying to recruit someone to come and stand under it so I could get a shot...I did get some "crazy lady" looks for sure :)

Perhaps one of the most photographed sights in the public gardens - Mama duck and her 8 babies - sooo very cute!

Who wouldn't want to see this angel everyday on their way to work, their morning jog or evening stroll!

So many people were walking around the gardens - it was a rare opportunity to get a path without any foot traffic...I took this from the street looking into the gardens!

I was so facinated with this - they actually have cycles that you can rent for a ride around town! - what a progressive idea!

I think I have a new obsession - DOORS. I saw so many interesting ones but was a little self conscious of taking pictures of people's front door. This one I could not resist. I can almost imagine knocking on the door with that brass knocker and having an impeccably dressed butler with an English accent opening the door! :)

I have to say, with streets full of such colorful quaint homes, I would love to go back to walk around the city again!

{Travel Log} Have vacation days, will travel!!! - Hiking in the woods

I think "Have vacation, Will travel" should be the new motto for the Memorable Jaunts family :)

This past Labor Day brought about some unexpected time off. Extreme weather (as in two 100deg temperature days) resulted in school being closed and gave us an unexpected 5 day weekend. What do you do with a 5 day weekend? - why travel of course!!! :).

This time we gave ourselves a day to plan and pack as opposed to our May hiking trip to Colorado and decided to drive 8 hours instead of 19 :). We were able to pack our bikes, our clothes and a cooler full of food and hit the road. To say that the trip was eventful and adventurous is to put it mildly. We started off with some car trouble which caused a 2 hour delay. But the entire MJ family took this in stride. We reached our destination at 4.00am , yes, thats 4.00am and after a few hours of sleep, we were ready to hike!

Our log cabin was so adorable. It came with its own wishing well and a small replica hung near the entrance to the property. It had steps down to a pier and the kids loved skipping stones and rocks into the water to see who could get the maximum number of stone skips :)

I love this mirror image view from the house - so balanced!

 We hiked in a national forest and visited one of the oldest wooden bridges in the state. We got soaked during one of our hikes but rather than it dampening our spirit (literally) everyone enjoyed the soak in the rain :)

We saw so many different varieties of wild mushrooms and wild flowers.

We also hiked to two absolutely stunning waterfalls. The first view of these waterfalls after a long hike was breathtaking. We had to stop and stare and soak in all the beauty!

A visit to town gave us a chance to ogle at some really cool boats and drool at some gorgeous vistas.

Of course, what MJ adventure would be complete without some wild life. We spotted this mother-fawn pair in the parking lot. They were as curious of us as we were of them!

{Lifestyle Portraiture} Sneak Peek - Peaceful Parlour Product Shoot

I met Shari, the owner of Peaceful Parlour a few weeks back. Shari has an amazing store in Geneva, IL. Peaceful Parlour is a general store for the conscious consumer. Almost 70% of the products in the store are  locally or USA made, natural or organic, hand crafted and made from renewable, sustainable or recycled materials.

Peaceful Parlour is also a community gathering place. Shari hosts a ton of events in the store (check her website for the list of events). There are music nights, costume swaps, how tos and many more. Her store is warm and inviting - a true reflection of the owner herself. 

As Shari and I were talking business, she mentioned that she was trying to get the online store launched this year. I jumped at the chance of taking pictures for her online inventory. In my mind I was dreaming up creative ways to showcase her inventory. 

I wanted to add so many pictures to this post but decided to keep this as a "sneak peak" :). The full gallery will be up soon on Shari's website as part of her online store!....very excited indeed!!!

Shari, thanks so much for the opportunity and for being so patient as I kept moving things in and out of the stores for my shots! :)

Check out some the cool things that Shari has in the store. I love the little glass cups - reminds me so much of my childhood in India. My family would travel to my grandparents house in India by train. As the train would stop in small cities and villages along the way, the tea stalls on the platform would serve small servings of hot "chai" and "kopi" in similar glass cups.

And how cute is that garden ornament - complete with a bird's nest inside - very charming!

Drool!! - this shelf is stocked with "natural" bath and body products along with non-toxic nail polish!!

Every morning Shari keeps a water bowl for the four legged customers - really! The drum below is made of recycled propane tanks - it makes the sweetest sounds.

What a novel idea! - Recycled tea cup garden decorators!