My Family. Colorful. Crazy. Love. 2011.

We stood in front of his camera with our color coordinated outfits, but not too matchy-matchy of course, smiled and tried to look normal. But seconds later it became obvious we are anything but normal and Chaz Cruz got to see the real us. Crazy. Loud. Rambunctious. But with a closeness only people who truly love and appreciate each other can share.

This is weird. Writing about your favorite people. My heart is full because of them and I have no idea how to use enough words to express how much they all mean to me. Sure, every single one of them, except Eliana of course, has gotten on my last nerve at one point in my life but I still love them. So very much.

When my brother and Megan got married they moved to Alaska and it was definitely tough not having Jose in the same city because we’ve never been far away from each other. But when we found out Megan was pregnant and they would be relocating to Hawaii and not California we knew it would be one of the hardest things we would ever have to accept. Although I’ve been able to visit often it had been over a year since we were all together. In the same city. And with Eliana.

So during their visit to San Diego last month I forced everyone into having family portraits taken. These would be the first family pictures we’ve taken with Eliana so it was kind of a big deal. I wanted her to be able to look back and absolutely love what we came up with. These photographs mean so much to me and I know my family will treasure them forever so thank you a hundred times Chaz Cruz for bringing my ideas to life and capturing my family in such a beautiful way. I want to cry every time I look through these and I knew that you would be the perfect person for this craziness! And thank you Kim Marcelo for being the best assistant ever, this would not have been possible without you either. We love you guys!

We started in the most random place you’d ever think to take photographs. Like, really. But I ADORE how it turned out. It worked out perfectly! From left to right… Eddie, Me, Ketzia, my mother(Alicia), my dad(Joe), Jose, Megan and the best part of our family, Eliana.

It all started over thirty years ago with these two…LOVE.The first five. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this photo of us but I can’t imagine us without Eddie, Megan and Eliana now.This is the part where my parents admitted that I’m the favorite…actually, that’s not true. It’s the middle child syndrome I guess. Oh that’s right, I’m the middle child. That hottie on the left is my LITTLE sister. Crazy. I look like I’m twelve next to her haha!DYING over this one. Oh my gosh I just started crying…<3Who’s the short 5′ 1″ girl in the middle!? She’s throwing off the whole picture hahaha!The ladies!Mi chula preciosa!!!The boys!Eliana wasn’t havin’ it…I DIE over this picture! HAHAHA!Okay, so sit back and take a sip of your tea. Coffee. Wine or whiskey. Whatever. Because it’s going to get VERY interesting. And colorful. This is Part II of the Flores Family shoot…BOOOOOOOOOOOOM.My dad. This man is a rock. He’s my rock. The things this man has been through are crazy, from motorcycle accidents to blood clots and shoulder surgeries. But his response to me has always been don’t worry mija, I’m like a rock. When he was in the hospital in 2006 to have stents put in, my sister and I found a small rock and gave it to him before he went into surgery. I’ll never forget the smile we put on his face. Unfortunately he’s currently dealing with a collection of health issues and it hurts to see him in pain and discomfort but I have hope that things will get better. This is another reason these photos are so incredibly important for us, Chaz captured my dad exactly how I had in mind. Vibrant. Strong. And happy.THOSE EYES!!!! And the b&w photo on the left!? Probably my favorite photo of my dad. Ever.My mother. And one of my best friends. I hate thinking about all of the time I wasted being a stupid teenager always arguing with her. It wasn’t until I was a little older that I realized how wonderful she is and how blessed I am. I only hope to be at least half of the amazing woman she is one day. Love her.My brother. Probably one of the people I bicker the most with but also one of the ones I laugh the most with. I can’t believe he’s a DAD. I feel like it was not long ago that we were playing Battleship in our pj’s or that I was trying to break up fights he’d get into in school. Ha!My sister in law. Love this girl. I mean c’mon, Eliana came out of her. LITERALLY. I can’t imagine our family without her and I am so proud of her and the mother that she is. During one of my visits to Hawaii we had one of my favorite conversations that I’ve ever had with someone and I realized that the term ‘sister in law’ isn’t for her, she’s become my sister. And that’s all there is to it.

The husband. *sigh* I love this guy.Mine.Me. You probably know enough about me if you read my blog ha!My sister. Up until a couple of years ago Ketzia and I couldn’t stand each other. We both have strong personalities and we are extremely opinionated so that wasn’t really working back. But now, we can’t go a few days without seeing each other and catching up. I still nag at her about things she should and should not be doing and she still finds ways to annoy me but we end up laughing and craving a good movie and snacks at the end. I’m going to miss her dearly when we move to Hawaii.Eliana. The best part of this family. She holds all of our hearts in her tiny little hands.Color fight.MY FAVORITE. Love how my dad looks in this picture. Notice me on the right, *whipping my hair back and fourth*love you guys.My favorite family photo of us. We look like some type of color warriors. Or something like that.

Pa, Ma, Moe, Meh-gahn, Horsey, Eli and JR, I am so thankful to Jehovah for every one of you. I love you all. With my whole heart.