Hi all! I wanted to hop on and give a little update on what we’ve been up to this summer, since I’ve taken a bit of a break from social media :). I’m still here, ready to start a busy fall season of family sessions and see all your wonderful faces! Here is fly-by catch-up on my family’s busy summer and some of the sweet things we got to experience together. To start, a few updated family photos in our pretty desert shot by my talented friend Steph Wahlig.
The beginning of summer was a little quiet, just lots of pool hopping and appointments, trying to ignore the heat and find fun things to do with two little ones. My sister got engaged on New Year’s Eve, so getting to do some special things with her over these months like wedding dress shopping and helping throw her a lovely bridal shower were so sweet. When July came, we hit the ground running with back-to-back trips and important events, and didn’t stop until this very week! Our whole family came down with “you know what” while house-sitting for friends in California, which was pretty rough. But before that happened we got to see some dear friends and go to the beach for… one day!
A few days after we got home, our sweet baby girl turned O-N-E! I don’t know how this happened so fast, but she is absolutely delightful and we all adore her so much! We are so, so thankful she is part of our family and that we get to celebrate her.
After a few weeks at home we were able to fly to Eastern Canada to visit my parents, where they spend half of the year at a cottage that’s been in our family for almost 100 years. It’s pretty incredible to have grown up spending summers here in this place that’s sacred to me, and to now watch my own kids make memories there. What a gift.
When we got back to the States we went straight into all things Bachelorette and hands-on wedding prep and ordering ties and trying on shoes, and all the fun and busy things that lead up to a wedding. That day finally arrived, and I truly mean it when I say it was the best day ever. God kept the rain at bay but gave us a gorgeous stormy sky with a beautiful rainbow as the backdrop to a ceremony in the pines, there were floating Harry Potter candles and gorgeous florals and whimsical fairytale signs and everything about the day was magical and sweet and full of so much joy. I spent the whole day smiling as big as my face would allow with tears running down my face! So happy for my beautiful sister, and love my new brother! They are both pretty incredible people, our top favorites actually, and to watch their journey unfold and then get to dance the night away celebrating them was the very best. And also so proud of my kids for making it down the aisle, and my husband for doing a wonderful job officiating. He did a beautiful job of sharing their story and how God wove their two paths together and filled it with so much redemption and grace and goodness. Photos below again by the very talented Steph Wahlig.
We rounded out the summer with one more visit to the beach with my husband’s family. So much sand, lots of kiddo giggles, cousins playing together, baby snuggles, walks to coffee and watching the sunset over the waves... and also tears and meltdowns and little sleep and all the realities that come with raising little humans! Also Mama (that’s me) got sick again and that brought everyone back to an extra dose of reality haha. But still filled with gratitude! Life is always both/and, isn’t it?
Thanks for catching up with me, friends. Hope you’re all enjoying what “fall” brings and looking forward to better weather with great anticipation like we are. I can’t wait to see you all in front of my camera really soon!
