RYAN & JAMIE || PARTY OF NINE

Many of you know that my sister-in-law Jennifer passed away in May of 2017. As you can imagine, being a single dad to 4 little kids has been REALLY, REALLY hard for my brother Ryan. In July of 2017, he met an amazing woman, Jamie, and they started dating. In October, I went home for Skylar's homecoming, and they were just starting to talk about getting married, but hadn't picked a date and Jamie hadn't even met our family yet. We invited her to spend the weekend with our wild crazy family, we figured she would either survive being with ALL of us for a few days, or it might scare her away from our crazy crew!! {we are a lot when we are all together!}

I guess she decided she could handle us, because I had only been home to Chicago for a week or two when Ryan called and asked me if I would be willing to come back and take their engagement photos. {uhm, sure, why didn't we just do it while I was there? Kidding, Sort of!!} We made arrangements for me to come the first weekend of December, and I was only going to be in Utah for a little over 24 hours. I PRAYED for good weather and a good day to take photos. I also prayed that I could keep control of 7 children under 11, that none of them would end of in the stream, {in hindsight, that might not have been our brightest idea}, and that we would get ONE good photo for the announcement!!

When we pulled up to the park, there were protesters EVERYWHERE, apparently we had just missed a rally at the capital building and we were stuck in the middle of everyone leaving. Luckily we found some parking and went to some stairs far away from the water and the protesters...and because prayers are answered the weather was beautiful and somehow we managed to get ONE almost perfect shot!! Oh man, they are CUTE together!!

Personally I think this one is my very favorite, maybe my favorite from all of last year. This is real life, especially with 7 kids!!

And because somehow everyone was cooperating {mostly} for a couple seconds, I was able to grab some individual shots of each of them. While I was trying to get a few shots of Ryan and Jamie {and while trying to make sure the kids weren't in the water} we had a few little helpers who wanted to be a part of the action, I'm pretty sure this is going to be their new normal. {They better plan lots of getaways because there isn't going to be any relaxing at home!} But man, these two have some CUTE kids!!!

Happy engagement, I know it's totally anti-climatic now that you're already married, but hey, I didn't pick my busiest time for you to get engaged and married!! :) I love you both and can't wait to watch you raise these little munchkins!! 

THE ADAMS FAMILY || 3 BOYS AND LOTS OF SPORTS

I had so much fun meeting up with The Adams Family while I was in Utah {yes, I'm still playing catch up from a month ago!} Kim and I went to high school together MANY years ago!! I'm so grateful for social media so we can stay connected throughout the years.

The first thing I noticed when I saw all the boys, was that they brought along their sports equipment to get some shots with props. I LOVED it so much because it reminded me of my 5 brothers and all the hours {and hours, and hours} we spent at the ball field and at the stadium throughout the years. I remember going from one baseball game to another all day every weekend for many, many months!!

I know these boys are great athletes, I've seen lots of pictures of them online playing their favorite sports, but I was so impressed with how kind and considerate they were. They listened well, were helpful and made their session a breeze - and we got a few silly ones too!! The fall colors were perfect, it was a beautiful fall day in Utah and I could not have asked for a better way to spend a few minutes than with this awesome family.

Thanks Kim and Bob for making this such a fun session and thanks for making the timing work while I was in Utah for just a few days, maybe next time we can get lunch together and visit for longer.

 

THE CONDIE FAMILY || SPECIAL FRIENDS

I don't even know where to start with the Condie Family. There are just some people who walk into your life and you are never the same again. These are those people.

I met Annalisa and Greg during a very dark time in my life, I was struggling with depression because I was struggling with infertility and I didn't know how to deal with it, who to talk to or how much to share. I don't even remember how we met or how we connected, but I know that Annalisa was meant to be here in Chicago during that exact time. I'm sure it wasn't just for me, but I am just as sure that it was an answer to my prayers.

We shared everything about fertility and the lack of it. We talked about trials and struggles, we talked long hours in her driveway after YW meetings. We shared recipes and planned activities together. She served as my counselor when I was the YW President and when I was released I knew that she was the perfect person to take my place. She loved those amazing girls every bit as much as I did.

Several years later, I was over the moon excited when she announced that they were pregnant with twins, and it didn't even hurt my heart that it wasn't me because I knew how much it meant to them and how much they had struggled. They were born just a few weeks before they graduated from medical school and moved away from here. I am grateful for the "unexpected" trip to help them move to Kalamazoo so I could spend a few more hours with them!! {that is a really fun story!!}

They moved again to Virginia, Greg finished school {finally, am I right?}, are now back in Utah, and just bought their first house. YAY!!!! I was SO, SO excited that we were able to work it out so that I could take their pictures while I was in Utah. I got to see those cute twin boys, who I haven't seen since they were just weeks old. I got to meet their newest son who I've never met and I got to see how grown up their oldest daughter is.

Annalisa and Greg, I don't know if you know how much your friendship and example have meant to me over the years. I don't know if you know how much of an impact you had on me all those years ago. I don't know if you know that all those nights of talking about infertility were the healing balm to my broken heart. I don't know if you know that you were one of the first people I called when I found out my mom had cancer, because I knew that you knew how I felt. I knew that you understood, and I knew that you would know what to say and what to do, because you had been there.

Thank you, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there for me, for loving me and for supporting me all these years. I am so grateful that I get to call you my friends.

THE BRIGGS FAMILY

I am having so much fun meeting so many new families this fall. The light and the colors have been beautiful. It's been warm a lot longer, it's been pretty rainy and the leaves on the trees haven't really changed yet, so I'm hoping that means we have a longer photography season and I can schedule some more fall sessions for the first few weeks of November!! - Every Photographers Dream!!

These two littles were pretty much done before we started, but I chased them around in the weeds and captured them doing exactly what they love best, being boys. I grew up with 5 brothers. Well, really I only grew up with 4 in the house with me, I have a brother who was born 2 years after I got married so I was more like a mom to him than a sister. I have a son who is 18 and I have 9 nephews.

I know that boys are wild and crazy. Boys are non-stop. Boys love dirt and bugs. But, boys can be so sweet when they want to be. I'm so glad I was able to capture these two sweet boys. This age is so hard to capture, but it will be gone before you know it and these wild and crazy days will be replaced with girls and dating and pretty soon your sweet little boy will be all grown up. Believe me, I know how fast it goes!!