Forever Summer Family Photos

This past summer was such a special season for our family. We truly slowed down and focused on time together; filling our days with so many happy forest hikes, sunny afternoons on the sand, and cozy evening bonfires— I literally lost count of the number of s’mores we consumed! What I have not forgotten, and never want to forget, is how freeing it was to choose our adventure each day, the joy in our children’s giggles and the sounds of their feet patting along the wet sand, and the lightness I felt in my heart for the first time in a long, long time.

To commemorate this particularly happy stretch in time, we decided to take our family photos before the summer ended and highlight some of our most treasured pastimes from the last few months. It was such a lovely evening, and the perfect way for us to bid farewell to the season. As the sun began to set, we hiked up and over the hill to our favorite lookout spot, and then down onto the beach for a bonfire and, you guessed it, s’mores! As an added bonus, the cats joined us for the entire adventure— even on the sand! We especially treasure these photos of our dear Charlie, as he disappeared just a week later– a further reminder we just do not know what tomorrow will bring, so we must do all we can to make the most of each and every day together.

We sure are thankful for this little family of ours…

As we ascended the hill, Lauren took this photo and my heart just about burst the moment I saw it. The connection, the familiar road, the sunlight streaming through the trees– this image so perfectly captures the feeling of our summer, and fills my heart with sunshine.

To families out there planning their next photo session, I can not stress enough how much more meaningful your photos are if you take them in a place that is familiar, and you highlight your favorite shared pastimes. It preserves the feeling of that stretch of your lives– a time you will never get back– but you can relive a glimmer of that magic every time you look through your photos.

It also helps to hire a photographer whose work and personality you connect with deeply. We are so fortunate that all of the photographers we have worked with over the years have been extremely talented and salt of the earth good people. We adore every single one of them, and would jump at the chance to work with them again! Lauren is a dear friend who I met in college and then reconnected with years later as we both began to build our photography businesses. A tenderhearted mother herself, I appreciate how she looks for points of connection and shoots through the moments. She listened to our ideas and cared about learning the significance of each place we visited during our photo session. Her imagery highlights movements and little details, and ultimately captured the essence of our family. Thank you, Lauren, for helping us forever remember the happiness we experienced this summer!