st. stephen family portrait session: the best family

tuesday morning i had the pleasure of photographing my good friends: Jon, Kristen, Madelaine and Eloise. it was a slow start, Eloise chose this one day to sleep in, and Maddie still had to locate her magic wand and tiara!

i have known Jon and Kristen for over 5 years, before they moved to St. Stephen, before they had children, before they were married, and i knew Jon before he knew Kristen! in fact, Kristen and were just reminiscing about the first time we met. Kristen had recently moved to BC (to be closer to Jon), and we were with a group of mutual friends at the theatre waiting to see the second Bridget Jones movie - she was wearing this awesome brown corduroy blazer, and i was sporting 1940's inspired black eyeglass frames, each one of us thinking the other has some seriously good style! we have been friends ever since, and I consider Jon, Kristen and their girls to be some of my closest friends.

Kristen can be credited with my knowledge of St. Stephen and the town's university, which is what initially brought me to this lovely part of Canada. i still remember sitting on the couch in their Langley (BC) townhouse, peppering Kristen with questions about this place and the university. and i remember the following year hanging out with her in her air conditioned bedroom, watching Gilmore Girls while she snuggled her new baby, Maddie and i adjusted to being home after one year at university and preparing for my first travel term. and i remember getting the news that they had bought a house in St. Stephen and were moving to the east coast, back to her "heart-home" and closer to where Jonny's family had moved in that previous year.

Jon and Kristen (and their extended family) have been a large part of my story these past five years and they have repeatedly welcomed me into their home and hearts. i was fortunate to live with them in my final year of university and still feel at home when i am there for a visit (or for a photo shoot). and though it is years since Gilmore Girls went off the air and many, many things have changed in each of our lives, Kristen and i still get together to watch Gilmore Girls... this time Kristen is folding mountains of laundry created by her expanded family, and i am relishing in the fact that i have no papers to write or deadlines for the books i am reading and i am dreaming about being a full-time photographer!!

there were many laughable moments during the photo session, many genuine wide-mouthed smiles were captured as a result. however my favorite and most memorable was when Maddie got her pout on and declared: "i don't want to be in the show anymore aunty shannie!" what a dolly... can't wait to do more family photo sessions for more adorable moments like this!