The moment in a child’s life when the social calculus no longer dictates that it’s cool for mom or dad to drop them off to school is almost a rite of passage. It’s often heartbreaking for parents, but to be fair, some kids have to deal with high and tight mom jeans, bad dad combovers, and perhaps a healthy dose of adult-responsibility addled pensive nervousness. You can’t blame the kid; they shouldn’t be encumbered by their parents’ uncoolness.

Well, that’s most kids. Maybe not these kids, not for a long while at the very least. Erralyn+Mike are approaching their 10th wedding anniversary, and just short of that as a family with children. Knowing them as we do, you’d never guess they’ve been at it that long. They’re a consummately handsome couple who are wonderful people on their own, but are even better together. There is a spark within in each of them that make them magnetic company that we just loved to be around. Each is so giving of themselves, had strong opinions that served as jumping off points to deeper conversations, and senses of humor that really jived well with us.

Aside from Lyn+Mike, they have three girls who are notable for their own strong senses of self and their obvious love for their each other. They came decked out by mom in coordinating outfits [it needs to be noted that this was not blithe “matching”; there was a defined motif of maroon accented with blue that was made unique to each kid with deft use of garment type, style, and materials] that unified them visually but allowed for their individuality. What made the wardrobe choices so appropriate became apparent the longer you spent with each of Lyn+Mike’s daughters; they were all smart, sweet kids, but in their own ways. It became clear that the different wardrobe was not simply in service to looking good in photos, but actually a reflection of who they were as young people.

Lyn+Mike haven’t lost their verve for each other despite being a decade in. It’s inspiring in our own marriage that they are so passionately in love. While some might be worn down by the responsibility of caring for a family and lose touch with each toher, this is not the case with them. This fact was obvious by how remarkably little needed to be done with them for their closeness to come through the camera. Their love is never far beneath the surface, and and always on display. You almost have to feel for their three daughters, since mom and dad are at such high risk to get all mushy and stuff in front of EVERYONE ;-). Well, perhaps not really, they are also a class act, but I wouldn’t put it past them to pick out a special time to horrify their kids with some PDA, just for kicks. They are just that cool.

All this made it exciting to photograph Lyn+Mike and their girls. It was especially great watching how their eldest took care of her younger sisters. She would often help us set up shots, get the youngest in line, and overall just make things easy for us when working with them. She was well respected by her younger siblings and willfully followed her lead, and as such was instrumental in helping get some of the best shots of the afternoon.

We startede in Downtown Livermore with the whole family, and then set off with just Lyn+Mike to the beautiful drive just south, near Del Valle Regional Park for some shots on a ridge overlooking the valley near sunset. A beautiful time all around. We’re really excited for their anniversary party a little later this year; we’re sure some really great will end up here in not too long. A huge thanks to Cat+Jey for putting us in contact with this great family!