Have I mentioned that I LOVE coming back to families year after year?

BECAUSE I DO!

And I LOVE when the kids are already warmed up to me!

The baby and the oldest – the bookends.

SO SWEET!

AREN’T THEY A GORGEOUS FAMILY!!

DAD & HIS GIRLS!!

Those boys – they have to stick together!!

I LOVE THOSE SHOTS! BLURRY & ALL – focus isn’t everything!!

Stay tuned for the rest of their session! I’m working on taking LESS pictures and having a few less favorites to show you – but it’s not working out too well!

The boys LOVE G & Pa – and they REALLY love it when Jack can be there too!

That last week in JULY was heavenly for them!

That picture on top – PURE JOY!

LOOK AT THAT BIG GUY! These babies – they need to SLOW IT DOWN!

G was NOT home when she said she would be – so we had to call her. And I love that my sister has our mom in her phone as MY MOM!

BABY KITTENS!!

DO YOU SEE HIS FACE!! He wants a kitty or a puppy SO VERY BAD!

I mean – LOOK AT THAT FACE!

SO SAD!

Enoch was WORKING OUT HARD!!

We visit my parents quite often and I rarely take pictures with my REAL camera!

BUT – I decided to take an INSTAGRAM BREAK for the month of July and it’s forced me to actually take REAL pictures of our lives!

I am an artist with a camera in my hands. THAT IS IT!

BUT – Enoch thought my chick was pretty good – mine is on the left! His is on the right – with a little help from me!

And some fruit – again – NOT AN ARTIST WITHOUT A CAMERA!!

This view looks toward the East – sometimes the sunset reflections are just as pretty as the sunset itself!

We had a small fire – we used to have BIG fires – with a few friends!

My parents live in the house that my dad grew up in – we moved here when I was nine.

This picture window holds SO MANY memories!

LOOKING IN & LOOKING OUT!

I’m sure you’ve read about my friend Trudy. We met when I went to college in Philadelphia. She was my RA and took me under her wing. I was so very homesick and she was so very supportive.

I transferred after one semester but we stayed close – thank GOODNESS for email and IM – in those days!

Trudy lives in Virginia about 7 hours away. When I got married – she was there. When she got married – I was there. But that time – I was IN the wedding AND photographing it. So – my friend and fellow photog Megan Hampton came along with me. Fitzy was 6 months old and Megan was pregnant with her first!

Jared and I met Trudy and her husband in Lancaster three years ago – but – she has TWO sweet boys now and I haven’t met them.

Megan and Trudy have stayed in touch over FACEBOOK and we messaged one day that we should meet halfway – in Gettysburg – at a place called Land of Little Horses!

Monday morning we piled our 5 kiddos in Megan’s van and started our 3 hour tour!

This guy – he has always reminded me of Fitzy – and seeing him in person – made it all the more true!

He is such a sweet pumpkin!

I mean – LOOK AT HIM!!

And this little pumpkin – she is SUCH A DOLL!

It was an UNBELIEVABLY hot and humid day. But when you make plans in advance THREE HOURS AWAY – you keep them!

THOSE BOYS TOGETHER!! OH MY HEART!!

That guy lounging on the bleachers – he is cut from the same cloth as my Enoch guy.

It’s absolutely wonderful having a friend like Megan who I love and respect who happens to have a son just like mine.

I can text her – tell her my frustrations about the stubbornness and the dedication of that sweet boy and she very much understands.

BROTHERS!! 13 months apart!

Typically the horse rides are outside – but thankfully they decided to hold them IN the arena!

We saw a horse that could ADD and stomp out the answer with his hoof!

This guy – he wanted to take this little horse home in our car! ALL THE LITTLE HORSES actually!

THOSE CHEEKS!!

Trudy and her boys left mid-afternoon – because as you mommas know – wrangling a one-year old and a two-year old in nearly 100 degree weather is EXHAUSTING and the kiddos get EXHAUSTED.

We hung out for a little bit to pet some horses!

He is very seriously trying to figure out how to smuggle those 2 horses home.

This guy loves his animals too!

This guy does NOT do well in the heat – but we made sure to stay hydrated and take lots of shade breaks!

ONE LAST PICTURE before we make the drive home!

And one stop at RED ROBIN to fill our bellies! YUM!

Megan – thank you for being adventurous and awesome! I LOVE YOU!

Trudy – thank YOU for making that trip with two kiddos – LITTLE KIDDOS! YOU ARE AWESOME!! I LOVE YOU!

WHAT DOES YOUR FRIENDSHIP LOOK LIKE!?

I have to remind myself to take pictures of MY family sometimes!

Pa ALWAYS pulls his pants up WAY TOO HIGH!

He also thinks it’s funny to put his GROSS feet on people!

OH GOOD! ANOTHER NERF GUN!

Do you SEE the look on his face?! It almost makes me want to get him a kitten. ALMOST.

That little hand holding that big hand – his favorite guy!

Red is getting old! We are hoping for some new babies on the farm SOON!

She’s really the BEST cow out there!

E wanted to go on a bear hunt – but PA mentioned that he has a LOT to learn until he can actually go hunting. He talks non-stop and NOT quietly!

Enoch LOVES jellybeans! And he REALLY loves bean-boozled! But he almost always eats the gross ones! YUCK!

We brought the cousins in for the gross “test-your-luck” game!

THAT CHEESY SMILE!!

Those crazy boys! They are growing WAY TOO FAST!

My dad and my brother – they have a special bond too! And if you look at my dad’s pictures from high school – you’d think it was my brother!

I’m so thankful for the time our kids get to spend together – even if it’s only once or twice a year!

That shot MIGHT be my favorite shot of the five of them together! You can’t even see Fitzy’s face – but you can still tell that he’s smiling!

That smile on little *J*’s face – AHH! And *R* – she LOVES her cousins! You can just SEE IT!

G – she’s the ABSOLUTE BEST!

I got my brother and sister-in-law a big print of this photo for Christmas!

*J* needed his THREE year pictures – THREE!!

My sister – she’s been trying to get that Enoch-guy to love her for his WHOLE LIFE! Sometimes he does!

G and her little *J* – AND BLACK & WHITE! THE BEST!

*J* LOVES calling the cows in! AND he loves his G!!

My sister AND my brother came home for Thanksgiving!

We weren’t ALL able to be together at the same time – Samm’s husband got home when mine had to leave – but I still wanted to take ALL the pictures!

*R* is 3 months older than Fitzy – her birthday was yesterday actually – they have a special bond!

*J* did NOT like the camera on someone else – so he snuck RIGHT IN!

*J* – he’s such a silly guy!

*R* and Sammy have a special bond too!

GOSH – I JUST LOVE BLACK & WHITE!

That sweet face!! Again – FOCUS IS OVERRATED!

As usual – I took WAY TOO MANY PHOTOS – well – is there such a thing?! No. NEVER!

SO – stay tuned for the rest of our Thanksgiving fun!

We painted some pumpkins while Sam and Jack were home!

And the sunrise – cus – you know – my littlest needs the bare minimum amount of sleep ANY human does to survive.

5 AM. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Doesn’t matter what we do to change that.

Keep him up later – still 5 AM AND a really really hard day the next day.

Tire him out more – this kid is non-stop from 5 AM to 7 PM – doesn’t matter.

And if ONE MORE PERSON says – God must have given you the non-sleepers because He knew you would handle it with such grace and beauty.

NO. NO GRACE AND BEAUTY HERE. CRYING. LOTS OF TEARS. AND CRYING. AND EXHAUSTION.

This guy – with his FRESH haircut! And his cows – his FAVORITE cows!

It was a busy BUSY fall! I have about 53 sessions waiting to be blogged – and since sessions are slowing down – I JUST started preparing them!

We spent A LOT of time with my parents this fall – at the farm!

Enoch ADORES my dad and wakes up at 5 AM to sneak downstairs and cuddle with him! And ask to go feed the cows. And ask about going on a bear hunt.

And one September day – they went on a bear hunt – we just waited until a more reasonable hour!

THAT SWEET LITTLE FACE! I miss his curls SO VERY MUCH!

They didn’t find a bear – but we did see a deer and helped Pa get his hunting paths ready!

As I type this – it’s cold and snowy – and I am MISSING THOSE COLORS and the warm – longer days!

We spent the afternoon picking blueberries with GG!

And it’s been FOREVER since I’ve taken pictures of Jack – so we had a mini-mini photo session!

That G – she’s the ABSOLUTE BEST!

I didn’t intend on bringing my camera to the fair – but I was going straight home afterward – and couldn’t risk leaving it in the car!

I’m really happy that I HAD to bring it with me!

I LOVE THOSE SHOTS!

THAT CRAZY ENOCH GUY!

G is the crowd favorite!

The boys love taking pictures of me – and I LOVE seeing how they see me!

Make sure to spend quality time with the people you love. Make sure to take pictures. Make sure YOU are in the pictures!