so early on boxing day we were off! we had both kids in the back, mom and i were in the middle and dad and adam were up front. we had an arsenol of movies for the kids to watch, and kellen had received a leapster explorer for christmas, there were snacks and drinks, blankets and pillows and no one could really move. things were a little hairy through the mountains, i was carsick and not much help to the boys so a lot of their care fell on my mom (thanks mom:) and tyce kept throwing his soother so we’d have to hunt through the piles of stuff to find it. and at one point in the middle of the mountains he had managed to lose it. mom and i couldn’t find it by his seat or up by ours so we thought maybe it was in the back with the luggage so dad found a lodge to pull over into and him and adam literally unpacked the whole van and it was still no where to be found. after an hour i had had enough and was ready to find the nearest airport…which was probably abbotsford:) so when adam pushed the stow and go seats back up…the soother fell to the floor :/  after this we tried tying the soother clip to the car seat buckle so he couldn’t throw it anymore which royally ticked him off but he did end up falling asleep shortly after this and made for a much quieter ride to medicine hat. we stayed at the ramada there and i have to say that on the outside it’s not too much to look at, but the bedding is to die for!!

the drive through the rest of alberta, saskatchewan and into manitoba was really good. tyce had given in to his fate of being confined to his carseat and was a good little traveller. we arrived at my aunt and uncle’s place in brandon mb for night. it was fun getting to know them again as it’s been many years since i saw them and i got to meet some cousins too so that was fun. kellen loved all their toys as they had every tractor and trailer combo you can think of and he lined them all up under the coffee table. he also really enjoyed our sleeping accomodations as we were all on the floor together and usually its just him on the floor so he thought that was cool.

the next day we continued our trek to rosenort which is where i spent the first 7 years of my life. we had a gathering with my family that still lives in that area, we had good food, played games and the kids even got a sleigh ride that was pulled by molly, my cousins huge dog. tyce was loving it and threw a fit when the ride was over. meagan and billy were there too and it was so good to see them both again. they stayed with us in my parents friends house. they were so generous to leave us their house for the week as they were in belize visiting their son and his wife and kids. their only rule was to NOT lock the doors!!! it is a custom that we are not used to anymore and it was unheard of to adam but we complied and left the doors unlocked so they wouldn’t have to break into their house when they arrived home.

as a mother, i know first hand that raising children is no easy task. it is full of responsibility, hard work, sleepless nights…not to mention the lack of spontinaity. you can’t up and go to a movie, or take off for the weekend. you must first ensure that your child is taken care of. and in alot of cases that means you just stay home.

i am so proud that michaela chose to keep emma, especially after the intense and LONG labor she endured!! i think a lot of girls would have given up, but not michaela

i am so glad that her boyfriend has chosen to stay by her side and they will raise emma together, there are also a lot of young boys who would run the other way, but he is excited to be in this with michaela and for that i am also very proud. they have taken a really tricky situation and though there will be tough times ahead, i can assure you that if you are in it together it is alot easier!

anyways, here are some more photos of the precious baby emma, she slept through the entire shoot and was a perfect angel!

this was one of the most memorable shoots to date for me:) these brothers were non stop laughs and jokes and just rambunctous, lol! linda and her husband tracey have raised three boys with so much love, and it shows in how much they love their parents back. and now linda has a bunch of great girls in the family too:) we’re just waiting for some weddings, haha.

those are some hot couples!!

caleb just wanted to play. he didn’t really want his picture taken. but we still managed to get a bunch of great shots. 2 year olds have their own agenda and you really can’t break that agenda every time. i think i pulled out some big guns…a squeaky toy, gummies, i even made adam jump around behind me, which did work a bit but when you think back to your family shoot, what are you wanting to remember? how “perfect” your children are? what great parents you are because your young kids listen so well? or the struggles that give you a really great picture of reality? as nice as it is to always capture the smiles, i also find joy in finding a cute little pout, even a tantrum(which caleb didn’t have btw) because kids will be kids and every parent knows that our children do not perform when we expect them to. they do things on their own terms and thats what makes them special. i love watching as kids characters come out. each personality a little bit different than the last. it makes my job unique and keeps me on my toes:)

here are a few shots from the mcgovern shoot…

derek and deb are such good parents and it is evident in how their boys interact with each other and how they were during the shoot!

i brought an old radio flyer wagon and ethan was such a good helper, he dragged that thing all the way down the street with a chair and a blanket in it. what a trooper! then the boys took turns “pulling” each other. so cute!

here are some shots from the day…

we went back to the house for the portrait portion of the day and i think we got some pretty stellar group shots and laura was so beautiful that i had a tough time putting the camera away. her and kurt were so relaxed and let me do my thing, which i love! almost all of the groomsmen i had met a year ago when i shot derek and sarah’s wedding at newlands golf and country club so it was a fun experience to know them all!

we finished off the day at the executive hotel in richmond. the food was great, everyone did a great job at speeches and you could just feel all the love for kurt and laura in the room!

thanks so much for letting me have a glimpse into your lives and family/friends and i hope you enjoy the photos!!

the sizes you can choose from are 4.25 x 5.5 as well as 5 x 5.

both options come with envelopes. and you get 25 for $22.00.

if you are not my client but would like one of these christmas cards printed, simply email me the appropriate amount of photos for the option you chose

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