Colorado Monument • Anniversary

If you’ve wandered through my website and blog, you will probably recognize this beautiful woman. This is my sister Jodi and her husband Jayden.

This past week I got to meet my family up in Colorado and spend some time with them. Whenever we’re together I try to make sure I get Jodi and Jayden some updated family photos if possible because they are a blast to shoot! So I asked if we could head up to The Monument which is one of my all time favorite places to explore and shoot at. I have shot a surprise proposal and I have shots our family photos here before my brother left on his mission to Alaska!

I loved the light we had this specific night. It’s a little cloudy with the sun peeking through every couple minutes. As you can see it was stunning! I love Jodi‘s yellow dress. I felt like it was perfect for the backdrop we had. Little Myla-Jade is now two years old and I love her! She is so much fun to hang out with. MJ talks so much. I love seeing her be so talkative, especially for a two years old. I feel like I can have complete conversations with her.

I’ve honestly never been much of a baby person or a kid person in general. I usually avoid holding babies and kids and they were never a fan of me either. But when Myla-Jade first called me KeKe (that’s now my aunt name) I was hooked! She was one of the first kids who actually would come up to me and want to me to hold her. It has always been so special to me.

Enjoy my favorite Anniversary photos of Jodi and Jayden in Colorado! Their family photos are toward the end! (Saving the best for last!)

Jodi + Jayden • Anniversary

Colorado is seriously one of my favorite places. It's where my mom's family is from and it seems to be a mutual place of meeting. I knew Jacob and I would be traveling there for Thanksgiving, so I started mentioning it to my sister in hopes that she and Jayden would join. And thank goodness they did because it gave us the chance to have one epic anniversary session on the Monument. After shooting Kaden + Keely's Proposal I knew Jodi and Jayden's Anniversary session had to be up there too. Surprisingly it was a chilly night when we shot so I was wrapped up in my dad's coat most the session. 

Jodi purchased her dress from a boutique in Utah called Sew Trendy. Jodi said her customer service was AMAZING! She ended up adding some fabric to get the look Jodi wanted and she did it free of charge! And can we talk about how amazing this dress looks on Jodi?! Seriously, she is a model in anything she wears, but this has to be one of my favorite things next to her lace wedding dress. 

Anniversary sessions get to me. I love cerebrating love, especially when it has blossomed over the years. And when we're celebrating new life coming, it makes it all that much better. Jodi and Jayden will be giving my side of the family a niece and I cannot express how excited I am! In less than 2 months I will be meeting my new niece. For now, enjoy the best of the best maternity shots of Jodi and Jayden. :) 

With Grateful Hearts • Thanksgiving Wrap Up

Christmas was my favorite holiday growing up. But since going to college I reconsidered and it has changed to Thanksgiving. Family is a high priority to me and since thanksgiving is all about family and being grateful, it aligns perfectly with what I love. And with time away from my business, I was able to contemplate about the things I am so grateful for. Along with family, my faith, and my husband, here are just a few things that have really stuck out to me this year.

Laughter. I'm thankful God gave us the ability to laugh. And I love hanging out with people who have that contagious laugh that gets me laughing for no reason, which happens to be quite a few of my Bride's. Whether it's playing a hilarious game with family, or laughing at myself for my dorky mistakes, laughter makes everything that much better.

Hard Work. It used to be something I dreaded. But now I can appreciate it. After 8 summers of hard labor and construction work, I can finally say I worked my way to have my dream job and it was the farthest from easy. Truth be told, I still have to go home and work a few weeks of construction out of the year because my job doesn't actually pay all of the bills. But because of my hard work, I can appreciate the things I've worked for.

My Clients. I sincerely appreciate my sweet bride's, seniors, and families for trusting me with their important memories. One of my favorite things about my job isn't actually shooting, editing, or blogging, but the friendships that form with my clients. When I say I have the best clients, it's honestly an understatement. I couldn't do this without them! 

A Colorado Thanksgiving

On Wednesday after catching up with Cafe Rio, we did our family photos on The Monument. Kaden and Keely's Proposal was done here and I knew it'd be the perfect spot for updated family photos while we were all together again. Then we hung out at Grandma's and caught up with everyone who arrived. 

How hilarious is this?! My brother Jacob put on Jodi's floral crown and she mentioned he looked like Sid off of Ice Age. We busted up laughing and once I pulled up an image of Sid to compare later on, there was no stopping it. But seriously, take another glance.  

One thing that's awesome about Colorado is that there's always something eventful and adventurous to do. Thursday morning started with Get Air. I loved being able to literally jump everywhere, and the dodge ball torment following was pretty epic as well. 

Thanksgiving day was my favorite day of the trip because of the atmosphere. The Case's love full heartedly and you can feel it the entire time you are there. Everyone is uplifting and sincerely happy and interested in you. As we went around the table saying what we were grateful for, I realized I have the best family I could ask for. I strive to be more like this amazing family I am surrounded with. We also played Watch Ya' Mouth and I highly recommend it if you want to pee yourself from laughing. 

Darcy hosted a baby shower for Jodi Friday morning. Then that night we had a "Feast" with food and the scriptures. And life sized Hungry, Hungry Hippo may have happened as well. 

Before ending the night, Jenni said we each had to tell an extremely embarrassing moment. The stories were ridiculously funny and everyone was tearing up from laughing so hard! Ending our trip on laughter was amazing and has Jake and I looking forward to future Thanksgivings in Colorado.