My husband, his family and I have been friends with this family for a long time. When I first got to know them, it was almost 10 years ago. Now in the last year, I have taken their youngest son’s high school senior photos and then this year I had the privelege to take college senior photos for their oldest son, Matthew. We did a mix of photos, some graduation, some with Matt and his girlfriend, Lacey, some brother shots and some family photos.

So as I looked through the memories I captured from the last year, a few things became apparent to me. And it tells my story. The story of my life as a whole and also for one year. The photos are mostly from my iPhone, so they aren’t picture perfect, but they are mine. Here’s my story…

I love my husband, Jay. We celebrated 8 years in January.

He always wears flip flops and shorts – even in the winter.

I love my dogs.

Gadget is our oldest. He’s a 6 year old Pug.

He likes to be quirky.

And sometimes naughty.

Midnight is our “Virginia girl” since that’s where we got her.

She’s a 5 year old Pugapoo (pug and poodle mix).

She loves her tennis balls.

Kaiya is our baby. She’s an American Bulldog.

And the sweetest thing ever.

She likes to stretch.

And sleep.

I dress my dogs up for Halloween…

celebrate their 1st birthdays….

 and give them Christmas gifts.

This year my baby brother got married.

So did Jay’s brother. Then they had our niece, Chloe Kenna.

(held by her aunt Leah)

This year I helped my husband and his dad start their own business.

I saw a Wyoming sunset.

Jay and I got to go to a Broncos game.

It was amazing.

I like to hang out with family and friends…

this is my mom and grandma

cousin and niece

friend Lydia

I like to coupon.

And celebrate holidays with family.

And finally, I LOVE living in COLORADO!

Colorado from an iPhone… (this is Pikes Peak which we see every day)

This is me. This is my life.

This post is special to our family as we welcome the newest addition, Chloe Kenna Williams! She is my brother-in-law’s first baby and she’s a beauty! Her sisters, Abbey and Alley just adore her. Aren’t they the cutest sisters?

I’ll end with my favorite (well, one of my favorites!)

This post is long overdue. But as I counted the weeks until my brother’s wedding, I realized there are only 6 weeks left! My little brother is getting married. in. 6. weeks! As we draw nearer each day to the day Amanda and Keith tie the knot, and as I look through these engagement photos I took for them in the fall, I see each photo, each look, each day that they love each other. Love that endures distance (Keith has been in another state working for a while now). Love that laughs together.

As I sit here and think about my little brother taking this big step in his life, I am reminded of a story. It’s one of those you hear your whole life, so often that it becomes imprinted in your memory. The story goes: after he came home from the hospital they put Keith in my little arms and as I showered him with kisses, mom and everyone said, no more kisses now. So as I sat their holding my baby brother, I would say, “No more kisses, baby,” then promptly kiss him again.

It makes me proud as a big sister to such a great little brother to see him marry his love, his life, his world – Amanda.

I just couldn’t decide which way I liked this photo most – color, black and white…they settled on this one. <3Love laughs together.Love brings two independent people together.I had to share this in a story. It’s such a true representation of Keith and Amanda’s love.

Mostly because Amanda loves Keith even when he’s silly, when he’s a little crazy. And maybe even loves him more for that crazy silliness.Congratulations to my little brother Keith and his soon to be wife, Amanda. I can’t wait to witness the beginning of your life together.

It was a winter wonderland the day Emily and Kyle married. Thankfully, the storm had passed a couple days before, leaving behind it a beautiful white snow scape for their winter wedding. Not only was Willow Ridge Manor the perfect place to to get married, it provided a beautiful back drop to their whole day. Beauty in their nervous anticipation as they got ready. Beauty in their very first look before their ceremony. Beauty all the way to the end when they exited their wedding in Rolls Royce style. In case you haven’t yet gotten the picture I’m painting, Emily and Kyle had a beautiful winter wonderland wedding. Congratulations, you two!

waiting to see his bride for the first time…

on her way…

I love all their portraits so I had such a hard time picking just a few to share. :)

I think we have both James Bond and Tom Cruise in this photo. lol!

have to say, this is my favorite cake ever! so fun

father/daughter dance

One of the favors at Justine and Ryan’s wedding was tea bags with the slogan: the perfect blend. I would have to agree wholeheartedly with that! Justine and Ryan compliment each other perfectly. His yin to her yang. They have a confident, deep rooted love that showed all day. Their families and friends from near and far were just as committed to their love. They not only showed up for the wedding but participated in the events all day. From helping them prepare for the wedding to having a very fun filled reception at the Sundance Mountain Lodge.

Lydia Myers’ photos are tagged below. She is a great second shooter!

Another great mention is Angel Andres, Justine and Ryan’s videographer.

Justine made these cute hangers for her bridesmaids! (Lydia’s photo)

Lydia’s photo

Lydia’s photo

Lydia’s photo – just love the light!

it was so windy and cold, but you can hardly tell with these pros!

here’s the one you were waiting on, Ryan!

and sometimes the wind helped perfectly! *love*

my perspective and…

Lydia’s perspective

Congratulations, Justine and Ryan!

Taking Amy and Zach’s engagement photos was such a pleasure. These two are so adorable together – so comfortable. They made my “job” easy! Amy is working toward being a teacher, which, as you can tell – is a job perfectly suited to her. Zach has his own company, Colorado Circus. We took advantage of Zach’s very talented skills at the end of the session to have a little fun. He made a balloon engagement ring and proposed again! :) Did I mention how much I love my job? I can’t wait to photograph Amy and Zach’s October 2012 wedding!

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