Photographers call it golden hour, but let’s be honest: it’s the part of the day that feels dipped in honey and wrapped in poetry.

Golden hour happens about two hours before the sun sets, when the light gets lower in the sky and everything turns soft and warm. Harsh shadows? Gone. Skin tones? Creamy and dreamy. Hair? Lit up like strands of gold.

It’s flattering. It’s artistic. And it brings a kind of magic that midday just can’t touch.

After nine years, it’s time to say goodbye to this house. Not just the walls, windows, and doors—but the life we built inside it.

I’ll miss the home where…

These sessions are an invitation to step into the frame. With your children. With your partner. In your carefully curated home. In the spaces you’ve shaped with intention and love.

My youngest son has been growing his hair out for a few years. It started with the need to have Steve from Stranger Things (yes, I let my 10-year-old watch that show… don’t judge, I’ve been a mom for 24 years, I’m tired) to go with his “Scoops A-hoy” costume for Comic Con San Diego. The costume only lasted a few hours into the con, but the hair has endured.

Black and white family photos have a way of pulling us in—past the surface smiles and curated details, straight into the emotion of the moment. They strip away the distractions of color and leave only what truly matters: connection, expression, and the energy between the people in the frame.

Okay, let’s be real. Summer is beautiful… but long. And if your kids are anything like mine, they’re bouncing between “I’m bored,” “I’m starving,” and “Don’t talk to me” about 12 times an hour while being glued to a screen of some kind. So here it is: my lovingly curated list of magical (and some free!) things to do this summer with your kids in San Diego.