Kriz Family

Last Sunday we were scheduled to do an outdoor session with Victoria and her family at Nicollet Island, but had a backup plan to high-tail it to the studio if the weather didn’t cooperate.  We watched the weather and saw that we had a window of sunny skies until about 3pm, at which point, there would be a 30% chance of rain.

As Gretchen and I drove to Nicollet Island, a few raindrops hit the windshield.  We groaned, rolled our eyes, and willed the clouds to hold out for just an hour.  When Victoria pulled up, a few more drops were falling.  We opted to shoot in the sprinkles. 

The girls were troopers!  They were cold, but we moved fast to keep them warm and dry.  We joked that the rain would stop as soon as we got in our cars, and sure enough, it did.  It rained only for the length of our session.  Despite the rain and a few shivers, we got some great photographs and had a very memorable session! 

 

 

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Walker Family

Our life is busy.  With two girls under the age of five, a couple of jobs between my husband and I, out-of-town family, and of course, the upkeep of our own home, we are constantly on the go.  Conversations get interrupted, decisions are made in passing and date night seems to be non-existent.

But when we get an opportunity to let it all go for an afternoon, by golly, we seize it.  We let go of our adult concerns, “Did I get that application in?” “We need to pick up toilet paper.” “When was the last time we got the oil changed on the car?” and we play.  We laugh, we run, we get silly.  And then, I am reminded that I need to find my inner child more often than occasionally and have some fun!

We invited Gretchen to join in the fun at Apple Jacks Orchard so that we could cherish this time and these memories for years to come.  Thanks lady for your beautiful work!  

~Sarah

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Hensold Family

A longtime friend of Gretchen’s, Melanie first came to us with her husband, Jesse, their son, Carson and her adorable baby bump.  We were so thrilled to hear the good news when a healthy baby girl was born.  Get this – their son, Carson, was born on Christmas Eve. Nine years later, almost to the day, Anora was born… on Christmas Day.  This family now has a lot to celebrate during the holidays!  

We hadn’t seen Melanie and her family since Anora’s newborn session in January.  We were thrilled to see how she had grown.  There was a natural, autumn light at Silverwood Park when we met up with them, but there was also this awesome glow amongst their family.  It was truly a pleasure to be in their presence that day and to document this beautiful moment in their life.  (Seriously??  How cute is this brother and sister?)

 

 

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Oliver

Carol and her son, Oliver, happened to be at Central Park the afternoon we held our Open House.  She spotted the mini-session drawing box and submitted her name.  Later that evening, when we pulled a entry form out of the box, her name appeared!  Needless to say, Carol was so excited to hear they won a free session. 

We met them at Silverwood Park on a gorgeous afternoon and immediately were charmed by this sweet little boy looking up at us with a huge grin.  We had a lot of fun watching Oliver explore the park!

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Peters Family in the Fall

I’ve known Laura my whole life. Our moms are friends and our older sisters were friends, so I guess you could say that we were born into our friendship.  How lucky is that? :) I’ve photographed Laura and her family for years and I love watching them grow and change in front of my lens. This last shoot was a ton of fun as we ran around Merriam Park in St. Paul and played in the leaves. Thanks for a great evening. I love you all!

-Gretchen

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Scarlet

We were fortunate to have a beautiful day for the first of our mini-sessions on Saturday.  Although it was cold, we had some really beautiful light.  Ashley, Luke, their darling daughter, Scarlet, and even Grandma and Grandpa braved the chilly wind to walk around Silverwood Park in St. Anthony Village.  We had a great time chasing Scarlet, laughing with Ashley and Luke and watching Grandma and Grandpa at work spoiling their only grandchild!  We are excited to watch this little girl grow up.  She's got an amazing family that surrounds her.

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Issac, 6 months

The night before Isaac's photo shoot, the local news stations were threatening rain.  We were bummed at the thought of rescheduling or moving the shoot indoors.  However, the morning came and it was beautiful.  Dry, sunny, warm - a perfect fall day.  (Can you believe this weather we have been having??  I can hardly believe it's October!)  Isaac was such a trooper as we piled leaves around him, moved him around the park and took shot after shot after shot.  What a handsome little boy!

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Lillian and Elise

Don’t get me wrong, I love being a mom of multiples, but it definitely has its unique challenges. Fortunately, I’ve found an amazing support group in an ECFE* class specifically for multiples. I have met some amazing parents through ECFE. My favorites are the ones who have opened up and been honest about the fact that parenting is HARD work. We all want to be the perfect parents, but sometimes we have to settle for just getting through the day with everyone still alive, fed, and relatively clean. 
Sarah is one of the moms who I met through ECFE and, as a mom of 18 month old identical twin girls and a multiples reporter for the Examiner (http://www.examiner.com/parenting-multiples-in-minneapolis/sarah-willson?CID=examiner_alerts_index), she knows the ups and downs of parenting as well as anyone. Her girls, Lillian and Elise are adorable, active girls and we  had a blast running, singing, playing and photographing them on a beautiful fall morning in St. Paul. Thanks to Sarah and Tyler for sharing your family with us. You’re doing a fantastic job!

* For those of you who don’t have small children and, therefore, a constant need to get out of the house before you’re driven crazy, ECFE stands for Early Childhood Family Education. If you are a parent who is looking for something to do with your little one(s), I highly recommend ECFE classes. They are available all over the metro, cater to young children from birth to preschool, and provide some much needed socializing and support for parents and kids. Plus, you learn tons of songs that your kids will love (and, if you are anything like me, will entertain you for hours while you lie in bed at night wondering why you can’t fall asleep when you are so incredibly tired. :)

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