Our friend, Matt, is coming over

I remember, as a kid, that feeling of excitement I would get when my parent's had friends over or when the babysitter had arrived. An excitement so energizing that I couldn't contain it and would go into show-off mode with wild abandon -- performing impersonations, showing off something new I'd drawn, a craft I made, telling jokes. Soaking in all the attention and loving every one of those validating "oohs" and "ahhs." As much as I loved that as a kid, being on the reverse side of that as an adult, is a whole lot better. I was reminded of this when I visited my friends, The Collings Family, last June. It didn't take long, after I arrived, for the Collings kids to go into full blown show-off mode -- showing me things they had made, new tricks they could do, favorite places in their yard, and telling me jokes. Their parents trying to reign them in, as I happily give out all of those life-affirming "oohs" and "aahs."

Love this family.

Photographed June 2015