{Family} Jon, Courtney & Linden

Over my years of blogging, I've had the opportunity to meet fellow bloggers first through their blog and then in real life. Last week I had that chance again, and met up with Courtney, her husband Jon and their adorable son, Linden. It was right at the end of a heat wave but thankfully the clouds came in that afternoon and we enjoyed a very warm evening without the glare of the sun.

This family was incredibly fun to photograph because they are photogenic, easy-going and Linden is a super happy baby with the best and biggest smile ever.

Thanks for meeting up with me - it was so nice to finally meet you in real life!













{Check out this smile!}


{There are a series of pictures like this between Courtney and Linden that are just adorable, and I found it hard to pick my favorite!}




{Too bad the watermark is right in front of his cute little tongue}


{Baby feet are so edible}






{One of my favorites}






{Near the end, Courtney stated they hadn't been very 'lovey-dovey' and planted one on Jon - it was so cute!}

{Children} Nat, Manny, Hayden, Charlie & Ally

I've enjoyed getting re-connected with some old friends in the past few years, and Heidi is one of them. We used to work at summer camp together but lost touch after that until about a year and a half or two years ago, and then she, her husband and kids moved just half an hour away from me. Her youngest two are a bit younger than our kids, but not by much. They also have two older boys and also foster a boy with Downs Syndrome.

This was a mini session of just the kids and it was lively! On their own, each kid was a superstar - I think they each actually thought that too! But once they got together, it was a bit tougher - even blowing bubbles didn't capture all of their attention as I had hoped. However, I think they were at their best right at the beginning (as a group) and the individual shots from the whole session turned out great. They are absolutely gorgeous kids and I sure had fun with them!









{Nat}


{Manny}


{Hayden}


{Charlie}


{Ally}




{I just had to include this one to give an example of what every group photo went through}




{Best 'cheese' face ever}












{I love Hayden's face in this one. Ally's looking pretty cute too}


{I think Charlie fell behind}


{And was feeling rather sad about it}


{One last attempt...not much interest in looking at the camera anymore}

{Family} Steve, Cynthia, Gavin & Anna

I recently had the opportunity to shoot my first spring/summer session...ever. It was a whole new experience for me, not just with the outdoors and the natural props, but also using my new lens. Admittedly, it was a tough shoot in that it was very bright out, I let those 'props' dominate a bit too much, and I did not consider the possibility of hay fever for the family I was photographing.

However, they are very gracious friends who totally pushed through the hay fever, the bright sunlight, and let me learn. And learn I did. I am so thankful for their kindness in being such a learning experience for me, and to make it up, we're already talking about a complimentary session with just Steve and Cynthia as their 10th anniversary is coming up in the next several months. And it is my mission to rock that session with them.

Thanks guys - you are totally fabulous!















{I told them all to hide behind a tree and peek out from behind it - and this is the tree Steve chose, setting Cynthia into laughter}








{Gavin just turned 7 and had a Star Wars themed birthday, so he gave me some sweet Jedi poses}