Sara Gray Photography Portland, Oregon

Literally, the last time I saw my friend Angie, she had just found out she was pregnant with Grace. Grace is almost five. It’s ridiculous how fast time flies sometimes.

Angie and her husband Josh, plus their daughters Grace and Eileeta, had also waited way, way, way too long (since before Grace was one) to have their family photos taken. I was so excited to get to meet up with them on a surprisingly sunny day a little more than a week ago to photograph them.

Both Grace and Eileeta are total characters — I think they keep their parents plenty busy.

Thanks, Angie and Josh, Grace and Eileeta, for being so much fun to photograph. You’re such a great family and I can’t wait to watch your family grow.

When Jennifer scheduled her session, she had one request: Fall leaves! But by four days later, when we got out into them, a lot had fallen off the trees. I do love what we got, though — spending time with she and her husband Scott was so much fun!

Scott and Jennifer have a lot in common with Eric and I — they met right around the same time we did and got married a couple of weeks before we did. I’m a big fan of the small world effect.

When we did find leaves, we used them — I even made them throw leaves, which ended up in their hair and stuck to their backs. At least we got a good laugh out of it.

Jennifer and Scott, it was so wonderful to meet you both and get to photograph you together. I can’t wait to see you guys again!

Eric spells his name with a C — “the right way,” he told me. I have to agree, since I’m married to an Eric.

This Eric goes to Jesuit, my alma mater, and he’s a super smart guy who also has a great sense of humor. He cracked me up throughout our session in the Pearl District last month.

There is just nothing that beats fall leaves. I love that window of time when they’ve turned their most vibrant colors, but just before they’ve dropped to the ground. I wish I could fit all my senior sessions into that window of time!

Thanks Eric, for coming out and being a good sport and letting me photograph you! Good luck in your crazy hard math classes and I can’t wait to hear about it when you get into your dream school!

Between the candy and the cake, there were a hilarious number of ramped-up kids at Alexis and Daniel’s reception. They were having so much fun!

Alexis’ mother made all the cake herself — doesn’t it look professional? She did a great job.

This is me with my friend Lindsey from the fourth grade. It was so fun to see her again!

Congratulations, Alexis and Daniel! You are so wonderful and it was great to be a part of your wedding. I can’t wait to see what comes next for you guys in your life together!

Alexis and Daniel had a really wet, rainy wedding day — but they handled it with style.

The reason why I titled these posts “Oh, sugar sugar” is because of all the sugar at Alexis & Daniel’s reception. They had a few kinds of cake, plus a huge table with five different kinds of candy.

Come back tomorrow for a taste of Alexis and Daniel’s sweet, sweet reception.

It was through a lovely coincidence that I got to know Alexis and Daniel, and I love coincidences that bring me to wonderful people. In fourth grade, I was dear friends with Lindsey, but then my family moved away and we lost touch. Earlier this year, we reconnected on Facebook and she introduced me to her friend Alexis, and I’m so glad she did.

Alexis had a whole collection of great bridesmaids – sisters and friends. They had so much fun getting ready.

Alexis was such a calm, happy bride. Look at that smile!

Her two little flower girls carried metallic purses down the aisle filled with flower petals. These little girls, Lily and Mabrie, were so cute and hilarious.

Come back tomorrow to check out more scenes from Alexis and Daniel’s October wedding!

I’ve been so impressed with the interesting and ambitious high school seniors I’ve met this season. Nikita was one of these ambitious students — she’s going to PCC now on her way to a pre-med degree and then medical school. She wants to be a pediatrician.

Nikita and I had lots of fun on a fall day a couple of weeks ago at the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse. I love how it looked there with the bright fall leaves.

Nikita was such a natural in her photos — casual, laid-back and sweet. She’ll definitely be a good doctor.

Thanks, Nikita, for coming out to be photographed! I had lots of fun and I can’t wait to hear about all the things you’ll do out there in the world.

Isn’t it weird watching someone grow up? I don’t have kids, so my best example of this is my nephew, Forrest. I was literally there the day he was born (it was a Tuesday, and my parents let me miss school back in the fifth grade) and now he’s 14 and it’s amazing.

Forrest just finished his first water polo season at Hillsboro High School, and so a few weeks ago, I went back to the world of photographing high school sports (which is what I used to do for a small community newspaper in rural Washington state) to commemorate the season. Turns out, even though Forrest is just a freshman, he is really awesome at water polo. Of course, I’m not biased at all.

It has been really fun to watch him grow throughout the season and I can’t wait to watch his games in different sports throughout the next year and then again in the pool for his sophomore season. Of course, I used to play water polo, so there’s another place where I’m totally unbiased.

Yes, that’s right — Forrest scoring a goal. He’s a lefty who shoots with both hands, and in this game, he shot and scored twice — once with each hand. To say the least, I’m a proud aunt.

This morning’s random drawing came out in favor of Kelly, who entered on the blog to win a $200 credit toward a Christmastime family portrait session. I can’t wait to meet and photograph your family, Kelly!

As for the rest of you, thanks for entering and remember to come back next month for our last drawing of the year!

I don’t know how many of you love your neighborhoods. I mean, like, love it enough to write a love letter to it on your blog. But I really do love my neighborhood that much.

Eric and I moved to Hillsdale in the spring, and here’s what I love about it: it’s tiny, and even people who live in Portland sometimes don’t know where it is. We have the best farmer’s market ever (these photos are from last weekend’s array of fall produce) and it’s open year-round, which is pretty amazing. We can walk everywhere, Baker & Spice is my favorite place on earth (and also the best bakery in Portland, hands down) and everyone seems to be a retired librarian, driving Volvos from the late 1970s and smiling at each other on the sidewalk.

Every Sunday, we go to the Farmer’s Market. Eric hasn’t missed a week, even though I’ve had to miss a few because of weddings this summer. We usually have a bagel sandwich from Tastebud, which is also phenomenal. Eric usually gets the lox, but I’m a fan of the seasonal — first it was peach during the summer, now pumpkin or pear (above). Delicious.

Do you love your neighborhood?