Before They Grow Another Inch | Hotel Del Coronado (Iwen Family)

Sherri booked a last-minute San Diego trip and wanted to get her four kids on the beach before they grew another inch. This ended up being one of my favorite sessions of the year. Grant is ten, Chase is seven, Lucy is five, and Henry is three — so if you’re doing the math on what it takes to get four kids under ten to look at a camera on a windy beach, you’re not wrong. It’s a lot. But these kids were so interactive and fun, did whatever I asked, and had this exuberance and passion for life that I just love.

Grant and Chase are all about nature, sports, and gaming, so the sand and waves were more of a bonus than a distraction. Lucy is their gymnast — sweet but tough, and the kindest little caretaker there ever was. And Henry is a ham. He has a heart and soul and a look that can win anyone over. The affection they have for each other really came through in this family that Sherri describes as energetic and driven. When I asked Sherri what she was hoping to capture, she said, “The moments I know I will miss one day.

They will never be this little again.” Favorite photo? She couldn’t pick one, which is a big compliment — I love hearing that. They stayed at the Hotel Del, explored La Jolla Shores and Shell Beach, and did a marshmallow roast on the sand — the kind of trip you remember.

Mom and four children stand together on the brick courtyard at Hotel del Coronado with palm trees
Dad holds Henry while standing with Grant and Chase on the Hotel del Coronado courtyard with flowers
Sherri smiles at the camera in a white off-shoulder dress with flowering shrubs behind her
A family of six poses together amid white flowers and palms at Hotel del Coronado
Mom and Lucy walk hand in hand through Hotel del Coronado gardens with white flowering plants and palms
Mom swings Lucy into the air in Hotel del Coronado gardens with white flowers and palm trees, golden hour
Chase hangs from a blue painted beam at the beach, smiling in the golden hour light
Henry raises his arms while standing under a blue painted beam on the beach at golden hour
Lucy stands on the beach sand in her blue dress with white bow, pier structures visible at sunset
Henry stands on the beach sand in light checkered shirt, with pier structure visible at golden hour
Mom and Lucy run along the beach sand as waves wash onto shore at golden hour
The Iwen family gathers on a bright blue lifeguard tower numbered 20 at the beach, split to each side
The Iwen family sits and stands together on the blue numbered beach lifeguard tower with ocean behind
Lucy leans against a gray pier beam on the beach in her blue dress, smiling at golden hour
Henry stands against a gray pier beam on the beach in light shirt and shorts at sunset
The Iwen family runs together across the beach sand with a lifeguard tower visible in distance
Lucy runs playfully on the beach with sand and rocky outcrops behind her at golden hour
Grant stands confidently on the beach sand in light blue shirt and dark shorts, ocean behind
The Iwen family stands together in shallow ocean waters at the beach, holding hands and smiling
The family wades together in the ocean at the beach, reflections visible in the wet sand
Sherri holds Henry close while smiling at the camera with the ocean and horizon behind them
Sherri cradles Henry on the beach in overcast golden hour light with waves in the background
Sherri stands with Chase on the beach in a white off-shoulder dress with ocean waves behind
Sherri and her husband walk hand in hand along the beach in soft overcast light
Four children stand holding hands on the beach as waves wash onto the shore
Henry runs across the wet sand on the beach in light checkered shirt at overcast golden hour
Dad stands in shallow ocean water with his four children as waves wash around them
Sherri stands with her four children at the water's edge on the beach, both reflected
Four children run barefoot across the wet beach sand with their reflections visible below
Children's silhouettes run along a sand dune against the golden sunset sky at the beach
Henry stands in shallow ocean water playing with a small yellow toy sailboat on the beach
Chase and Henry crouch in shallow ocean water together, playing with their yellow toy sailboat
Dad embraces Sherri from behind as they stand on the beach with ocean waves rolling in behind
The Iwen family stands together in silhouette against the golden sunset sky on the beach

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