BLOG

Ollie turned three years old on March 26! It was a cold, rainy day that we spent inside playing with his brand new train set and eating ice cream with sprinkles!

Soooo… his birthday photos were taken a little late, but still worth sharing. We went to the Evergreen Lake House to hike and have fun with some balloons.

Ollie is sweet and silly and crazy. Full of giggles. Likes to ask “why?” He knows his alphabet. He likes to read 2 books and sing ABCs and twinkle twinkle before bed. He loves to dance. He is TALL! He says yep and nope. He is stubborn and gets frustrated. He likes to be independent, but will ask for help when he needs it (mostly!). He is mischievous and loves to play. He loves trains, cars, garbage trucks, blocks, submarines, octopus, dinosaurs, Mickey Mouse, buzz lightyear, balloons, airplanes, spaceships and play doh.

 He loves fruit especially oranges, strawberries and grapes. He also loves ice cream, jelly beans, sprinkles, lollipops and chocolate. He does not like cake and just wants the frosting.

He melts my hearts when he tells me I’m his best friend (he tells daddy the same thing).

He makes us laugh when he says:
Alien = “Anenen”
Octopus = “opopus”
Elephant = “elfanent”
School = “skeeeew”
Banana = “baNAna”
Helicopter = “hepipopper”

We ended the shoot by asking Ollie to give his brother a hug. He is very excited to be a big brother! Life is about to change for him BIG TIME!

Happy birthday sweetie pie!

We’ve got BIG NEWS to share! I am due with our second child on June 19. It’s a boy! Ollie is super excited to be a big brother (but worried about sharing his toys). And we are over the moon!

I’m still busy working through the beginning of June and excited about some upcoming weddings at the end of August and into the fall in Colorado and in New York!

Stay tuned for a baby announcement coming soon! We are so excited for him to arrive!

Photos by my amazing husband, Eric Swartz.

The charming town of Golden, Colorado, is a former gold rush area at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Clear Creek runs through it and it is a special place to Kate and Bill, who actually live nearby! We walked along Clear Creek and through the preserved area of Golden History Park with buildings from a late 1800s mountain ranch.

Kate shares, “Bill and I had hung with the same friend group for a number of years. He and I always got along really well. One New Year’s Eve, we shared our first kiss. Bill and I began spending a lot more time together, away from the rest of the group. I started having a few girlfriends (and my mother) ask me how I felt about Yates, as he is known to our friends.

I was very nervous about coming between our well-established friendship and tried to ignore that he was doing his best to “woo” me for the better part of a year. I finally took the leap and everything else is history. We dove right in, moving in together almost immediately. We spent a lot of time talking about what a positive and happy relationship meant to us and were incredibly honest with each other. We have a huge amount of respect for each other as individuals and as a couple. I think that is what makes us so strong together. I only want the best for Bill and our future together and, because of that, he pushes me to be the best version of myself more than I ever thought was possible.”

Bill proposed on New Year’s Eve. Kate continues, “We decided to go out to eat as a break from packing boxes (we were in the process of moving). After some tasty Mexican and a couple margaritas, we headed home to continue the packing process. I was putting on pajamas when Bill called me into the kitchen. When I got to the kitchen, he pointed me towards this adorable little box on the counter and told me to open it. Still completely oblivious as to what was going on, I opened the box and I’m pretty sure I said something very profound like, “Um, this is a ring…” Bill asked me if I would be his wife. I said yes through lots of happy tears. Half-packed boxes, messy hair, pajamas, in the kitchen, completely unaware of his intentions…It couldn’t have been more perfect.

Bill and I couldn’t be happier. I consider him my best friend and am incredibly thankful for the unique and wonderful relationship we share.”

These two will be getting married in September of 2020. Happy engagement Kate and Bill!

Jen and Anthony love Evergreen and go there often to enjoy the lake and surrounding mountains. It is where Anthony proposed and where they held their wedding last winter. We enjoyed a beautiful day walking around the park.

Jen shares, “We met at church. Anthony ran into me after service and was persistent about grabbing a bite to eat until I finally agreed. It didn’t take long for us to fall head over boots for each other. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. Time flew by like we had known each other for ages.

Leading up to the proposal, Anthony had been working a lot and didn’t have much time for us. He had promised me a weekend getaway to Evergreen, our happy place, were it would just be the two of us. The morning came when we were supposed to leave for Evergreen and he broke the news that his best friend was tagging along. I was not happy at all about that fact. We got up to the lake and it was snowing. There was no one else there. We walked to the lake and as I was “posing” for a made up photo shoot I turned around and Anthony was on one knee. I didn’t know how to react so instinct made me want to turn back around. The proposal was perfect.

When it came to planning the wedding there was no discussion on where we would get married. Evergreen had been our special getaway spot while dating and played such a big role in our proposal that it fit perfectly. We got married on the morning of February 24th at Evergreen Red Barn with our closest family and friends.”

To celebrate their recent marriage we also took some photos in their wedding attire.

Congratulations Jen and Anthony!

Caitlin and Alex love the mountains and Alex actually proposed to Caitlin on top of a mountain! We enjoyed the beautiful snowy mountain scenery for their engagement session.

After college, I moved back home and was living with a mutual friend. Alex, living in Colorado for nearly a decade at that point, was home visiting for Christmas and came to visit our mutual friend.

They say to find true love you need to get out there and meet people. I was lucky enough to have it walk into my own living room.

We hit it off, but figured we lived too far apart to do anything about it. Six months later I asked if I could come visit – he didn’t need to entertain me, I just needed a couch to crash on. His response – “we’re going to have so much fun.” And we did!

He really stacked the deck – a Rockies game, a Red Rocks show, whitewater rafting, and some of the best restaurants in the area. By the time he took me to the airport to fly home, I was in love with more than just Colorado.

Six months later I moved across the country and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Driving home from the session we saw a super moon!

The couple will be getting married in November in Estes Park. Happy engagement Caitlin and Alex!