Lindsi reached out to me for family pictures when they got together for a family reunion here in Las Vegas. It was really fun to meet her and Daniel’s four beautiful children and two of their significant others. Lindsi’s parents came for the reunion too! Lindsi and Daniel have raised really great kids. It was really enjoyable for me to meet them and get to know each of them. 

Each child/couple lives from a different city, so it was really cool that they all came together for some quality family time. One couple lives in northern Nevada, one couple in Oregon, grandparents in Idaho, and the rest from Colorado. I know how hard it can be to coordinate schedules and get everyone to one location. My siblings are all spread out too. I loved seeing this sweet family make their family a priority. 

When I asked how they were dealing with the heat, I felt pretty bad for Lindsi’s parents who are from Idaho. I’m also from Idaho, and this Vegas heat can be awful!  I definitely sympathized with them. They are lovely grandparents, and real troopers to come out in July to Vegas. 

Dear Blanco Family,

You guys are really fun to be around! I bet if you lived here, we would go hiking or climbing together. We would totally be friends! You all made my job so easy. Especially the girls, you are all so beautiful and photogenic! Thank you, Lindsi for reaching out and asking me to take pictures! I loved meeting you all. I hope the rest of your week was amazing and relaxing. I hope you made memories that will last forever! Thank you all so much!

Continue reading “Blanco Family”

Coleman Family Pictures

I absolutely love when Kayla messages me to do family pictures. They are the kindest family. Kayla and RaDell reached out to me about 2 years ago to do some family pictures. You can see those here. I met Kayla’s family while living in northern Nevada and was lucky enough to be introduced to her and RaDell when I moved to Vegas. Kayla is a teacher (a big thank you for being a teacher! Teachers are amazing!). And RaDell works for USPS (also a BIG thank you! I use USPS all the time!).

Kids grow up so fast in 2 years. Kairo was just a baby last time I took their pictures and he has grown up so much. He is so kind and smart! I was blown away at how smart he is. And Kayla and RaDell have a beautiful daughter Tatum! She was so happy despite it being pretty chilly and windy. She is so cute, I just want to squeeze those rolls all day long. I’m always impressed with Kayla and RaDell, and how amazing they are at parenting. These kids are so blessed to have such an amazing mom and dad.

Dear Coleman Family,

Thank you for trusting me to take your family pictures. Thank you, Kayla, for being more than patient with me when I kept calling you by your sister’s name. RaDell and Kayla, you are both gentle souls. You have such calming personalities that make my job easy. I have LOVED seeing your family grow. Kairo and Tatum are so fun and so beautiful. Families are what this life is all about, and I appreciate your example to me of making family a priority. You guys are the cream of the crop, the salt of the Earth. Thank you for emanating goodness and light!

Continue reading “Coleman Family May 2022”

I first met the Clayton family at church about 2 years ago. Our kids are very close in age and they play so well together! The Clayton family moved to Las Vegas as part of their military service. Spencer works for the Air Force as a psychologist. He’s being deployed soon, and that’s always really tough. Spencer, thank you for your service! I’m very grateful to those who serve in the military. I know it’s a tremendous sacrifice.

Joanna is an amazing mom of 5 beautiful children. She pushes me to be a better mom as she limits screen time for kids and has them regularly doing chores. I upped my chore game (and decreased my kids’ screen time) when I saw how awesome her kids are at helping around the house. She is really good at spending one-on-one time with her kids. She also has an entire binder full of activities for kids while traveling in the car. I now have a binder packed full of activities for road trips. Thanks Joanna for helping me be a better mom! Joanna is also just really fun to be around. She’s funny and always smiling. I appreciate her happiness so much.

Dear Clayton Family,

Thank you for moving to Las Vegas! I’m so glad we met, and I’m so glad we are friends. I love that our kids love to play together. I’m so grateful for all you’ve taught me during the short time we’ve had here. Our conversations are always fun and meaningful. You push us to be better, and I am so grateful for that kind of friendship! Be safe, Spencer. I love you, Clayton Family!

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Meet the Zobrist Family! Caleb and Nicole are the parents of these five incredible boys. These boys are some of the kindest boys I’ve ever met. And when you meet incredible kids, you know their parents are even more wonderful. I’ve admired Nicole from the second I met her. I hope to be exactly like her someday! Although, that may take me centuries…. The Zobrist’s love all things hockey, Vegas Golden Knights to be precise. They are athletes, sharp students, and some of the kindest people you’ll ever meet.

Nicole is so lovely, so fun, and so tenacious. She’s the PTA president, serves diligently in church, and loves her family fiercely. She is funny too, never afraid to laugh at herself. She just has so many qualities that I admire. I have watched Caleb from afar, and he is a wonderful dad too. His quiet demeanor and infectious smile just make you feel at ease. It really was such a treat for me to do their pictures.

I was pretty excited when Nicole switched up the location to head to the snow. It’s soooooo pretty up at Mt. Charleston when it snows! We weren’t exactly sure where we could stop, but these boys were super adventurous, and made my job really fun.

Dear Zobrist Family,

Thank you for trusting me to take your family pictures. I adore each and every one of you! Thank you for trusting me with this top-of-the-mountain spot. You all looked so handsome (and beautiful, Nicole). Your family is one of my favorites; I feel very blessed to know you all. Thank you for your goodness and friendship towards me! I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoy you all!

 

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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!

Continue reading “Sheard Family”

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!

Continue reading “Emerick Family”

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!

 

Continue reading “Dagerman Extended Family”