So there’s this super cool family that lives a few streets over from me. This is the Millett Family! I feel pretty lucky to have met them because they are such a great family. We met through a mutual friend who set up a kindergarten co-op for our kindergarteners. Despite the social distancing COVID requires, we still wanted our little kindergarteners to be able to interact and play with other kids. Distance education for that grade level is quite a challenge. Our little group has been a lot of fun for the kids to play, and just as much fun for me to get to know other amazing moms.

Elise and Michael have moved around a lot because of the military. Thank you Michael for your service! And just as much thanks to Elise for supporting him. I really enjoyed getting to know Michael as we took pictures. He ended up being my assistant for the kids’ pictures, and I was so grateful! He is such a great dad, too. I loved the way their kids smiled at him as he would make them laugh.

Elise is a fellow photographer! She is very talented! I was nervous doing her pictures because she is a photographer, but she was incredibly gracious and easy-going. She was happy with anything I suggested, and that made me feel at ease.

Dear Millett Family,

Thank you for being such great models! I adore your smiles and laughs! Thank you for making my job so easy! I’m so grateful to know you all. I think you are an incredible, smart, fun and happy family. The next time our families get together, we will have to bring our ropes and go climbing at Red Rock. I think you would love it. Thanks Millett Family for being so wonderful!

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It was the second semester of my senior year when I first met Mallory. She and her family moved to Boise from a small town in the southeastern side of the state. We hadn’t been friends for very long when I asked her if she wanted to be roommates at BYU-Idaho in the fall. To my surprise (because I didn’t think she would like me enough to agree to live with me!) she said yes! The friendship we forged as roommates in college was priceless. She was and is the best listener. She cared about all the things going on in a crazy college life, and always made time for me in her busy schedule. So many nights we stayed up late talking. She has continued to be an incredible friend and listener. Her goodness, her light, and her love have always been inspiring to me to be better.

I had the privilege of visiting TWO of my college roommates last weekend in Denver! It was so wonderful to spend time with Mallory and also Emmalee. And as you can imagine, taking Mallory’s family pictures was pure delight! She is a such a calm mom, maybe the opposite of me who is always feeling ruffled. She has a knack at the motherhood thing. For example, she makes time for each of her kids daily, and she pushes them to try their best and work hard. I loved walking with her and her kids to school just around the block. I loved the way she gently helped kids adjust their backpacks and stay on the sidewalk. She is so patient.

Her husband, Brockton is an amazing dad and spouse. He picked up groceries on his way home from work, helped get dinner going before family pictures, helped tie ties for pictures, and then took the kids away for the weekend so we could have a girls weekend. Talk about major superhero! It’s fun to watch him with their kids. He is the best dad!

Dear Sheard Family,

Thank you so much for trusting me with your family pictures. You are such a beautiful family! I wish we lived closer because our kids would be the best friends. Thank you, Sheard girls, for sharing your bed with me and for sharing your mom with me! I love you all!

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This summer, we were able to go to Billings, MT to meet up with a couple of Brandon’s siblings and parents. We had the best week! Ziplines, boating, rock climbing, biking, alpine slides, four wheelers, American Ninja Warrior course (which of course I couldn’t do at all, but it was fun to watch other people kill it!), late night visits, games, good food, and beautiful scenery were the highlights of the week. I begged Lindsay (Brandon’s sister) to let me do family pictures. And I’m so glad we did!

I honestly can’t say enough about this amazing family. How I wish we lived closer! I told my daughter I would pay her to be like Lindsay’s daughters. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do to raise good kids, right?!

These kids are the coolest kids. They are kind, funny, and smart. They are the kind of people you want to surround yourself with because they inspire you to be better. Everyday, they went out of their way to include my younger kids in whatever activity was happening. I think the world of these kids!

Dear Lindsay and Scott,

Thank you for trusting me to do your family pictures. You all were so easy to work with. You two are amazing parents, people I want to be like some day when I’ve matured a little. The way you’ve taught your kids to put others first and jump in and help is inspiring! I couldn’t ask for better examples on how to be good parents. Your kindness is infectious and I’m so grateful for every day we had together! I love you all, Evans Family!

 

The Coleman Family

Moving to Las Vegas was a little scary for me in the beginning. It’s a bigger city, and I only knew one family here. It felt a little like a dream and that pretty soon I’d wake back up in Lovelock. My good friend, Sarah (from Lovelock!), was visiting her sister in Vegas last year, and we wanted to meet up! When Sarah introduced me to Kayla and RaDell Coleman, Las Vegas felt a little more “homey.” Kayla and RaDell are just that kind of family, who make you feel at home. So when Kayla reached out to do family pictures this summer, I was more than excited!

We talked about doing pictures last year, when their sweet baby was so little. Now he is so big, walking all over the place, exploring and smiling. He has THE cutest curls! So when you scroll down and see the picture of the back of his head, you’ll know it’s because I’m in love with his curls! I just wish these pictures could capture his adorable walk!

I loved watching Kayla and RaDell play with Kairo, getting him to laugh and smile. He is so loved and adored by them. They are incredible parents, and I really enjoyed taking a peak into their family.

Dear Kayla and RaDell,

Thank you so much for trusting me with your family pictures. I’ve truly enjoyed getting to know you both more. You really do make me feel at home when I’m around you! You all were such a joy to be with. RaDell, your smile is infectious! You had me smiling behind the camera the whole time! Kayla, you are so beautiful and an amazing mom. I loved watching you with Kairo. Thank you for letting me share this evening with you, and for picking such a beautiful place!

The Emerick family is a very special family to me. This is my sister’s family, and these people who have my whole heart! My sister, Emily, and her husband, Jared, have raised these four beautiful ladies. They have taught them to be selfless, kind, thoughtful and loving. Like to the core, these four girls exude all good qualities. I was beyond excited to have them come visit us in Las Vegas!!

When I told my nieces that I wasn’t really sure when my Christmas decorations would get put up because life is insanely busy right now, they immediately offered to do the giant chore. Em and her girls all swooped in, assembled the Christmas tree, lit it up, and decorated it so beautifully. They found perfect places for my other meager Christmas decorations, and within a very short time, my home was ready for Christmas.

“What else can I help you with?” was constantly asked. “Christmas cards? You bet!” So they stuffed, labeled, and stamped all my cards. Em said, “Neighbor gifts? I’ll start right away.” And boom, she finished my neighbor gifts. Every time they even walked past the kitchen, one of them would say, “Can I help with anything?” Because my love language is acts of service (because my to-do list is always a mile long), my bucket was seriously overflowing when they left. These beautiful girls are destined for greatness!

Dear Emerick Family,

I cannot fully express my love for each of you. You all make my heart bursting with joy! The way you instantly pull my kids in to play, and the way you constantly are thinking of others is inspiring. Em, thank you for being my best friend, my confidant, and my role model of an incredible mom. I truly want to be just like you. You push me to always be better. Thank you for everything you did this Thanksgiving weekend, and for making my bucket overflow completely! Jared, thank you for hanging my shelves in my office! They bring me such happiness every day! Thank you for always passing on your good deals to us and for keeping us laughing! Come back soon, Emerick Family, and I promise I won’t make you work so hard! I love you all!

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Over Thanksgiving break, I had the pleasure of meeting up with my sweet friend, Mindi Dagerman. It is hard to believe it has been a year since we did their family session in Reno! Mindi and I have been friends for 12 years now! Mindi has been one of my biggest cheerleaders in photography since the beginning. She has sent more people my way for pictures than anyone! I couldn’t be more grateful for her support and encouragement with my photography. I knew when we left Lovelock, I would be too far to be able to do Mindi’s family pictures. And then I remembered she and her husband, Bryan, are from Las Vegas! All her family is down here, so at least I would be able to see her once in a while!

I was really excited when she contacted me about doing an extended family photoshoot. Her parents, in-laws, and brother and his girlfriend, are ALL incredible people. Truly, they are the kindest people. I kind of feel like they are my family when I am around them because of how they make you feel. It was really fun to watch their playfulness with the boys, Cameron and Henry. These boys bring the best energy to sessions! They are always full of ideas, like where to take pictures, how to grab sticks and turn them into swords for a quick sword photoshoot, and “gone fishin'” pictures. Really, I could photograph them all day!

Dear Extended Dagerman Family,

Thank you so much for trusting me with these pictures. You have such a special family with strong relationships. I love getting a tiny glimpse of how much fun you have when you are together. Chad and Katie, thanks for bringing your cute dogs to the session! They are both very sweet dogs, and maybe next time we can get more pictures with them. Jim and Jana, Allen and Trudy, you both are excellent role models to me of how to be good grandparents. Bryan and Mindi, I look forward to the next time we can meet up! Thank you all for such a great morning!

 

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It was our second time at church here in Las Vegas when Brandon told me about the Higbee Family. “Where were you? This family was so fun to meet! They even have two girls who babysit!” He had the best things to say about them.

Yes, where was I when he met them? Trying to gather all our kiddos out to the car! But I was super excited he met a cool family, and it was shortly after that that I had the pleasure of meeting them all.

It wasn’t long and we called up Makenna and Laney to babysit. Our kids absolutely love these beautiful girls. It’s just about every Sunday that Ryder whispers in my ear, “I want to wave to Laney!” Both girls have such fun personalities, and they are great examples of kindness to my kids. I couldn’t ask for better role models.

My first grader, Leila, is lucky enough to be in the same class as Ryland, the Higbee Family’s little guy. I’m positive they laugh a lot. They are great friends!

Crystal and Wayne have been so welcoming to us since we’ve moved. They know all the ins and outs of the good restaurants here, and they are always up for hanging out with us nerds. When Brandon and I had tickets to Lady Antebellum for our anniversary (thanks to Crystal helping me figure out how to get good tickets), she offered to take all four of my kids…overnight. What kind of friend does that? Wayne and Crystal Higbee. This family is just so amazingly selfless. They are always loving and serving those around them. I just can’t believe how blessed I am to know them.

Dear Higbee Family,

I cannot thank you enough for all your help with my kids, your kindness, and all our little adventures together. I consider myself incredibly blessed to have moved here and got to know you. Thank you for sharing recipes and mustard with me, and teaching me how to can jars! I watch how you teach your children, and I want to emulate that in my own parenting. You are a close-knit family whom I adore! I hope to have many more adventures with you all, and make many more memories!

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It is hard to believe it has been 2 years since my last session with Nick & Lisa! They let me do a mini session with just the two of them, and it feels like just yesterday! For those of you who don’t know, Nick is my husband’s (Brandon), brother. They look a lot alike, right? That year, we met up in Kalamath Falls, Oregon for a little getaway with our families. Our kids are about the same ages, or at least close enough that they play really well together. Our kids just crave that time with cousins!

This year, they came and visited us in Las Vegas and I am so glad they did! Because we are so new to the area, I was nervous about finding a good location with good light. I think we picked a pretty great spot!

It was so much fun having Nick and Lisa come stay with us. We got to go hiking at Red Rock Canyon, hit a few places on the strip, explored some new parks, went shopping, ate good food, and had some great relaxation time. Plus, they were really helpful with fixing all the broken things in the house! That really helped us to get unboxed and moved in. Getting cousin time was just what we needed, and it was a huge highlight to be able to simply hang out together!

Nick and Lisa,

Thank you so much for coming to visit! I know its a sacrifice to take unpaid time off work, and we are so grateful for the time we had with you. Thank you for all your help with broken cribs, cabinets, and bikes, and for all your help with  moving fridges and in the garage! I always look forward to our visits together, and we hope you guys come back soon! Maybe we will have some cooler activities up our sleeves by then! Who knows, maybe we could do our next session at Red Rock Canyon! Love you guys!

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I was really excited when Nick and Susan Katsaris asked me to do pictures one last time before we moved. I absolutely loved our last session with the entire family! Nick and Susan have done an amazing job being parents to kids of all ages. They are go-with-the-flow kind of parents, and I have loved being able to capture a few moments of their love for their kids.

This session was really fun to have just Levi as the star of the show. He is such a fun, sweet, kind little boy. I have LOVED watching him grow, even since our last session! He has the best smile, and it is super contagious. He really brought the best energy to this session! Levi’s connection with his mom and dad is beautiful to see, and their love for him is indisputable. Plus, he has a ton of siblings, aunts and cousins that go crazy over him, and its so easy to see why when I’ve spent just a tiny bit of time with him.

I was really excited when Susan wanted to do two locations. Both the farm and the desert rocks just feel like Lovelock Home. That desert glow just makes my heart happy just like this Katsaris family makes me happy!

Dear Nick and Susan,

Thank you for trusting me again to do your pictures. It really does mean the world to me, and I am so incredibly grateful for the time I had to get to know you. I think you both are fabulous and inspiring parents to all your children. The closeness and love between all of you is easily seen and fun to watch, and I hope to have those same qualities in my family and children.  You have raised wonderful kids, and you are continuing to raise a great kid in Levi. I wish you the very best in all your future endeavors!

 

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