Hayes and Hailey

I was excited when my aunt Krystle (who is only 4 years older than me!) asked me to take photos of her son Hayes and step-daughter Hailey on Christmas day in Charleston. Nine-year-old Hailey loves the camera and is one of the most photogenic children I've ever worked with. Four-year-old Hayes is a ball of energy and a complete ham.

Here's what I got after chasing them around the yard for 2 hours:

The skateboard Hayes is holding has lots of special memories for my family. It belonged to Krystle's older brother (my mom's younger brother and my uncle) Eddie. More than 15 years ago, we used to ride the skateboard down the driveway of my grandparents' house, carry it back up, and ride down again. Sometimes we would ride solo on our bellies. Sometimes we would ride double with our legs folded up in front of us. Sometimes we would get our fingers smashed between the underside of the board and the wheels. Oh, we have so many memories associated with that skateboard...

When Eddie died tragically in 1996 at the age of 18, my grandmother gave his skateboard to my brother, Bryn (the only other boy on my mom's side of the family). When Hayes comes to my parents' house, he rides the skateboard down the driveway, carries it back up, and rides down again. It was amazing for me to be with my family on Christmas day, reminisce about years past, and see a new generation play with the same toys that were the center of so many wonderful memories in my childhood.

Here's to a year of many more memories and photographs :)