This is US

It’s difficult to put into words how incredibly lucky I am to have a strong, loving and close family.  Many, if not most, people in my generation didn’t get to grow up knowing how loved they were.  They didn’t get to grow up with both parents and happy siblings.  Most people didn’t get to grow up going camping most weekends, the six of us piled in our tiny pop up camper traveling from state to state, getting to witness the incredible things that this world has to offer.  They didn’t have dinners around their oval shaped dining room table, conversing about their day with the best home made country fried steak cooked by their mom.  They didn’t have dads who they could consistently and constantly count on for anything and everything that related to fixing up their cars.  They didn’t have him not only feed his family, but go out and actually catch that food, clean it with his bare hands and have their moms cook that fresh meat.  They didn’t have summers spent outside by their pool or Christmases spent at their Aunt Linda’s surrounded by the happiness of knowing that Santa would bring them and their three siblings loads of surprises.  They couldn’t count on their entire family to show up for every single event that happened in their lives.  But I did.  I don’t say all of this to sound boastful, I say this because I am so grateful every day to have the family that I have.  I’m so proud to call them mine and I’m so happy that we only grow closer and closer each year.  Literally nothing would be the same without each of them.

With all that said (sorry for the sappiness haha), my mom, Cindy, and I decided to take a break from photographing other families for a day, and capture our own!  Follow along below and meet each member of our crew!

First up, we have my parents, Cindy and Michael.  I think it goes without saying, but they are, by far and above, the best parents anyone could hope for.  They have been married for 35 years!  It took a little bit of convincing on my moms part, but my dad even hung up his uniform of cargo pants and fishing shirts for this!

Next, we have my older sister, Emily, her husband, Tyler, and their three little ones, Griffin, Jonah, and Riley.  Emily is my parents first born.  She and Tyler have been married ten years this year, TEN!  They had their first kiddo, Griffin, 5 years ago and then they adopted their other two, Riley (5 years old) and Jonah (6 years old) a little over one year ago.  These two fit right in with our bunch and it feels like they have been here forever!  This fab five is a force to be reckoned with.  Emily and Tyler are the most patient, kind and loving parents and these boys are so lucky to have them.  That goes vise versa too!  Griffin, Jonah and Riley are the sweetest and most fun little boys and Emily and Tyler are so lucky to have them!

Then there’s me!  My husband, Daniel, and I have been married four years this month!  We just had our first baby in May.  Her name is Willa and she is clearly the most adorable baby that ever lived.  CLEARLY.  Every day has been an adventure since she came along.  We love her to pieces!  We also have two pups, Charlie and Georgia, but they were being hellions (per usual) so they couldn’t make the photos haha.  Next time!

Next, we have my very best friend and basically adopted sister, Cat, and her husband Josh.  **We did not take these photos.  They were wonderfully done by a photographer in Amsterdam called Snap Me Pretty**  Even though Cat and Josh couldn’t join us for these because they live in Colorado, they were with us in spirit!  We plan on photoshopping them in later, no joke haha.  Her and Josh have been married a little over a year.  We had a blast celebrating with them in Colorado and even took some of their wedding photos!  Cat came into our lives when her and I were in 11th grade.  God had her come to me at the exact right time in my life, at a time when He knew that I needed her most and, I can’t necessarily speak for her (although, I know her well enough that I probably could), but she made, not only my life, but my entire family, so much better.  She spent the summer of our junior year in high school living with us and none of us have looked back since then.  We might not be blood but we are 100% family.  Next time we decide to do this, we are obviously just going to have to buy her and Josh plane tickets to avoid the photoshopping!

My youngest sister, Elizabeth and her husband Taylor are next!  Elizabeth and Taylor are newlyweds, married only 5 months ago!  They are sort of what spawned this whole family photo session.  Both sadly and happily, they are moving to Orange Beach at the end of the month where they will begin a new journey and adventure!  Taylor is a firefighter and, in Orange Beach, he will get to pursue a dream career of becoming a fire inspector.  Obviously, my family and I are sad that we won’t get to see them quite as often as we do now, but we are so excited that they are embarking on such a new and exciting adventure.  I’m proud of them for taking the plunge!

Last, but certainly not least, is the youngest of our bunch, Mitchell and his supermodel of a girlfriend, Morgan.  Mitchell was sort of a surprise to my parents but God knew what he was doing and our family is so much more complete with him in it.  I still remember the time that my mom sat my sisters and I down to tell us the news.  She cried a little bit, out of sheer shock I think, but Emily and I were so excited that we immediately ran out of the house to tell all of our neighbors.  With three girls, my parents were THRILLED that it was finally a boy!  Mitchell, Morgan and his dog, Midas, are hella photogenic, as you can tell.  My dad and Mitchell just recently fixed up my dads old mustang and it is their pride and joy.  It is prettttty cool, I’m not gonna lie.

Lastly are just some random assortment of photos!

Hope you enjoyed getting to know our family!!

Love, Katie