Calgary Zoo Adventures {Kimberley BC Family Photographer}

So I had actually completely forgotten that there was a long weekend in May. So I ended up booking quite a few sessions during that weekend but still had Sunday and Monday free. Thats right FREE!! Woo hoo! So we decided to take the boy to the zoo. I'm actually ashamed at my lack of picture taking on this trip. The only photos I took were the ones posted here, aside from some iPhone shots. This is mostly because I recently bought a Canon AE-1 program which is a 35mm film camera. So most of my time was spent fiddling with it and trying how to learn how to shoot blind! 

We stopped in Banff for some lunch and we had intended on renting a canoe and enjoying a leisurely afternoon, however, the crowds were on another level of crazy which I.cannot.handle. AT ALL. Which is the main reason I didn't join my boys in Disneyland this winter. I absolutely freak right out if I feel trapped in a crowd. So we didn't bother spending any more time in Banff, instead we got to Calgary, hit up some of our favourite stores so that I could start outfitting Kaz with school stuff, and of course Lee and I needed hats. Thats right...hats. Monday morning we were at the zoo bright and early and Kaz was stoked the entire time, like any other 4 year old would be when seeing an adorable red panda for the first time! 

Luckily though, bunny (being the stuffy who got to come on the trip) didn't get eaten by any of the fierce creatures. Kaz kept him tucked away in his coat pocket so that nothing could get him...

Lucy

That weekend Kootenay life...{ Kimberley/Cranbrook Family Photographer}

WARNING: This blog post contains boogers, and a dirty child. It may also ignite a desire for adventure vanning, turquoise water and serenity. Veiw at your own risk.

Lake days have officially begun here in my tiny section of the Kootenays. I know it's been here for a while for our friends to the west but 2/3 of my family is now slathered in sunscreen on a daily basis so that means the summer hustle is real. 

I have had a raging headache for about 2 weeks due to a pesky wisdom tooth wreaking havoc on the left side of my face, so needless to say I've been irritable, snappy and disinterested in anything involving moving my head off my pillow. However, my boys (husband, son and brother) wanted to go get fishing licenses and go to the lake for a few hours so I put my big girl pants up and sucked up the pain to try and enjoy my life a little. Even though my head was throbbing and the ride out was on another level of bumpy, we had a great time and I decided to let Kaz get dumpster baby dirty. All in all the evening contained all the ingredients for beautiful memories with my favourite people 

Lucy

Kaslo, British Columbia {Kimberley/Cranbrook Family Photographer}

Vanning. Described in the Urban dictionary as: Noun: the act of creeping in a van, preferably one that is shady in some way, such as a rusty license plate or missing door handle

Now while I like to think we're a little classier then this description and that the van has more of a wandering feel then a creepy feel, I do think that everyone should give banning a shot from time to time. I wasn't always a believer, but with a little convincing from my better half it has now become a favourite pass time.

This past weekend we "van'd" to Kalso. We checked out a couple local restaurants and rode around town on our bikes. This adorable off to the side little town is one of the many gems in the Kootenays that must be explored. While we were in the area we also took in some hot springs action in Ainsworth. Kahzik's monkey "Samson" was the lucky toy who got to join us on this adventure and ended up making it into the bulk of the photos, in some of which he decided to very rudely pass gas in a restaurant, sending Kaz into hysterics. Oh well...

Lucy

Heidi and Sam {Kimberley/Cranbrook Family Photographer}

Meet Heidi and Sam. A dynamic mother daughter duo. I had asked Heidi to model for a Mum and baby session for me so that I could test out some unfamiliar locations, try my hand at styling a session, and to give my new assistant some on the job experience. Generally for work like this I do a lot of guiding so that I get the vision that I had in mind. However, these 2 completely blew my vision out of the water and gave me something better then I could have expected. I asked Heidi to just play and interact with her daughter and I would shoot her as she went. "No problem!" No awkwardness. No weird blank "I don't know what I'm doing" stares, just genuine connections. My favourite!! Even though Sam wipes out once, and went in the water a little too far and ended up with cold wet feet, we got some beautiful images of what motherhood is really all about, comforting your littles. I don't even think Sam noticed half the time that there was a crazy lady following her around with a camera which just added to the feel of this session. 

Heidi is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. If only I could some how tap into just a fraction of her strength and optimism. Despite having experience unfathomable loss in her life, she remains the life of the party. Her lust for life is contagious and you can't help but smile when your around her.

I hope you love these as much as I do!!

Lucy

hippie days in nelson { Kimberley/Cranbrook Family Photographer }

While we were still living in Saskatchewn and making plans to move to the East Kootenays I would day dream about all the weekend mini trip adventures we would have since there doesn't seem to be a shortage of amazing places around here that are right at our finger tips. However, when we actually moved we found that life was still pretty busy! We got off to a good start though, we did quite a bit of traveling around the East Kootenays and found some beautiful places that we've had a chance to make some beautiful memories at, but then over time things started to slow down a little. We got super comfortable just hanging out in town (and if you've ever lived in Kimberley you'll know how easy that is to do!) and unfortunately we experienced a couple personal tragedies in the last couple of years that seemed to slow down our desire for exploring. So this past weekend, there was a change in our normal schedule and we ended up having most of Saturday and all of Sunday free to ourselves, so in a super quick discussion we decided to borrow my brothers SWEET camper van (lovingly named "Raging Bull") and head over to Nelson! You might be thinking to yourself, "whats the big deal? It's only Nelson". But it's so much more then that, it's a sign that were becoming us again.

I can't really say I knew a lot about Nelson or what to expect, which is a good thing, because it far exceeded my limited expectations! Even just the drive was enough to make the trip worth it to me. It just reinforced how thankful I am to have the privilege of living in such an amazing part of our country! And I'm sure we've only touched the tip of the iceberg. We've decided that spending time alone as a family is a beautiful thing and we've committed to making more of these impromptu mini trips. There is so much out there to see, you just have to...get out there!!

In the mean time, some of these photos are literally my most prized possessions. There is nothing that I own on this planet that touches me deeper then these photos of my best friend (aka Husband) and my son. They mean so much to me, because I didn't have to tell them to do anything. I saw them goofing around on the dock, grabbed my camera, and ran like hell to get the shots haha.

I love these boys more then my life.

Love,

Lucy xoxo