Alice – Alice Kuo Shippee Photography

I think Max has Grammy’s eyes.

My children are so lucky, because their great-grandparents on both sides have created rich legacies that have touched the lives of their communities & a great many strangers. On my husband’s side, his mother Lorraine’s family have produced maple syrup in western Massachusetts for the better part of 55 years. In addition to the farm, they have also run the Sugarhouse, which makes & serves the most delicious pancakes & waffles on earth. Though Grandpa Edgar passed away ten years ago, Gramma Helen is still, at the age of 90, going strong. She was still riding a snowmobile a few years ago! She & her children, Linda, Launie, Leonard, & Larry, share the passion & expertise for sugaring that produces their amazing maple syrup year after year.

Each autumn & spring, Gould’s Sugarhouse is open & does a brisk business, with locals & tourists alike lined up & waiting to get a taste of the famous breakfasts & to shop in the gift shop. Multiple generations of families have been working for & with the Goulds over these past five decades.

When I told the server that the waffles were unlike any I’d ever had, she replied with a wink, “Well, we’ve been doing them for 50 years. I think we’ve got it figured out.”

I’m not joking when I say they’re out of-this-world good. I’ve had a LOT of waffles in my time. Breakfast food is my favorite, & I think of myself as something of a connoisseur, if there is such a self-assigned job.

We arrived in time for the last weekend the Sugarhouse was open in October 2015, & we timed our meal right at the end of brunch, so we could hang out with Grammy after we ate. We pulled up just as the first snowflakes of the season began to whirl past our windshield. My children were rapt with pleasure at the magic of seeing snow for the first time ever. We wound down the last mile toward our destination, & the red barn appeared on the side of the Mohawk Trail, surrounded by trees on fire with the colours of autumn. The entire parking lot was covered in yellow & orange maple leaves. Disney could not have created a more idyllic scene.

We emerged from the warmth of the car into the brisk fall air, my husband sporting his soft, silver beard & a perfect, picture-worthy sweater (which he never has occasion to wear in Los Angeles). He lifted our littlest one onto his shoulders & made his way toward a place he’s known since childhood & is filled with memories & loved ones.

Auntie Linda met us & as always made us feel like we were at home. She showed the kids all the fun stuff–fruit, pumpkins, corn, & of course explained how the syrup is made. We explored the gift shop with all its maple delicacies (maple cream is heavenly if you’ve never had it), handmade hats, & local products. And then finally we were seated with great anticipation to eat all the pancakes & waffles & syrup we could desire.

Never have I wished more that I could eat a superhuman amount at one meal. Grampa Edgar, we miss you. Grammy Helen, we’ll see you soon!

Gould’s Sugarhouse can be found at 570 Mohawk Trail, Shelburne Falls, MA 01370. Follow them on Facebook! this year, their last day was October 29th, but mark your calendars, because they open for the spring season on March 1, 2018!

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My husband & I own a small CrossFit gym in Lomita. The “box” is our home away from home, & everyone there is family to us. For a few years, we were a purely CrossFit gym, but soon we realized that our members could really benefit from more mobility coaching–& from a balance in spirit & energy. As the universe will do, it sent us someone who would be a perfect fit for our box family–Julia. Our gym motto is “little box, big heart,” & Julia is one of the biggest hearts we’ve ever met!

Julia is a yogi who teaches all around the Beach Cities. She is funny, attentive, & grounded. She comes each week & gives us an unique opportunity to pause, breathe, set an intention, & pay close attention to all the things that are going on within that we never give ourselves time to observe. She gives us the chance to struggle & to apply to our lives what we discover about ourselves in yoga practice. And she laughs with us when we invariably discover all the little things in ourselves that we are really working on in yoga, things beyond our tight hamstrings & trembling abs.

This fall, Julia & her husband RG were awaiting the arrival of their first baby! I was so honored to be asked to make some portraits for them. It just so happens that Julia & RG got married at exactly the same spot that my husband & I did at the South Coast Botanic Gardens. It’s such a special place with so many delicious nooks & crannies filled with the beauty of nature. So we started our session where they started as a family–in the round where they exchanged their vows.

From the very first pictures, we were visited by beautiful sunspots. It was like the spirit of Baby Clancy just dancing right there with her parents, glowing & twinkling in the warmth. She was there where they said their vows two years before, in the fig tree grove where the trunks grow strong & the roots & branches spread wide, & at the beach where Mama Julia emerges from the frothy waves like Aphrodite.

Wishing Julia & RG & Baby Violet the sweetest time in the newborn cocoon. It’s the best place on earth.

We will miss Julia while she is nesting at home with their baby girl, but if there’s anything we always work on in yoga, it’s patience…See you soon & your whole CrossFit 1440 family can’t wait to meet the new addition!