Family pictures by the lake

We were lucky enough to squeeze in a family photo session when Julia and Yuriy were in town last month. We did it the day after Naomi's family birthday party, where I cooked dinner for a million people for the second day in a row, so by Monday (which was also Memorial Day, and we had plans at the park with our church), I was pretty burned out. I was picking out outfits as Julia and Yuriy were arriving, and working on the girls' hair as they were taking pictures of Naomi. I meant to have the outfits all ready to go the day before, but I just kept washing laundry all week long and never got to finish washing it in time. I wanted everything clean so I could have all my options in front of me and be able to put something together that worked.Oh man. Embarrassing, but I'm so glad I didn't tell them to go back home cause this mama didn't have her crap together. I was pretty tempted to. 

When we were all ready, we did some shots of the kids inside, then headed back to the same park we had been at earlier in the day, and Julia and Yuriy worked their magic as the sun glowed golden behind us. It was the quickest photo shoot we've ever done just because I was late getting ready, we were working against a setting sun, the mosquitoes were eating us alive (but you can't even tell!), and there was something insanely allergenic in the brush. We all just wanted to get out of there! Our noses instantly got stuffy and runny, our eyes started swelling up, and we couldn't stop sneezing. I couldn't believe how fast and strong the symptoms came! As we were driving home in the car, we just kept getting puffier and puffier (mostly Mila, Ben, and me) as we rubbed our itchy eyes, and by the time we arrived at the store to pick up some children's Benadryl, Mila's eye was almost swollen shut. The symptoms wouldn't go away for days as I doled out Benadryl and wanted to rip my own eyes out, but it was worth it. No doubt. Just look at the pictures below.

I'm so thankful to have this time in our lives captured, to have these moments frozen in time for us to enjoy even as the kids grow, Bogdan and I get older, and the family dynamic changes. Because as we parents know, things change in a family very, very fast. We think this certain thing one of the kids is doing will stick around a while, but within a couple weeks they are done with it and moving on to something else. Photography is such a gift, and even though I didn't feel quite ready for the shoot, it's so nice to have these pictures now. And if you're on our Christmas card list, be prepared for one of these to show up! :)

xoxo,
Tanya