Larsen Family Photos 2015

December was madness for us-  we were up to our necks in jewelry and markets and sponsored posts and teaching seventeen year olds.  The best kind of madness.  But still.  Total madness.  Somehow in the middle of all this- on a day right before a handmade market that we were preparing for and the afternoon before a teacher evaluation for me at the school- we managed to get out to take some family pictures.  I almost cancelled about 700 times because the timing turned out to be just horrible but I knew I'd regret it if we didn't get some good professional pictures taken of us already.  We realized half an hour before that we hadn't even thought about what we were going to wear or how we were going to coordinate. (We all just ended up keeping our coats on so all of that debate didn't matter at all.  Funny how those things work out.)  But I was determined!  I wouldn't give up!  The snow had just fallen and the backdrop couldn't be prettier.  We missed the exit and were about half an hour late and all three of us were a bag of stress and nerves.  Greg said "I don't think there's any way this will possibly be worth it after all this" and I hated to admit that I thought he was probably right.

But guess what?

IT WAS WORTH IT.  When we saw the pictures we both agreed right on the spot- it was worth all the craziness of getting ready for family pictures.  Brooke sent me a few peeks that evening and my eyes instantly filled with tears.  How had the pictures turned out that good in the middle of our stressful day in the 30 degree weather with June crying 90% of the time?  How had Brooke worked this voodoo picture magic on us?

The world will never know.  But she did it.  Also ours was a "mini session" because I knew we didn't have much picture-taking-in-the-snow stamina.  The whole session probably lasted 20-25 minutes and then we were out of there.  I really can't recommend Brooke highly enough for pictures.  She's based out of the Phoenix area but has family in Utah so she comes up here sometimes and you can nab her while she's here to do some of her picture magic.  Also Brooke is still fairly new so she doesn't charge an arm and a leg.  So nice!  (Brooke's photography site is here.)

And now, the pictures!

I spy... a blue sour patch kid...

Thanks Brooke for making our family look really good in twenty minutes of 30 degree weather.  The world will never know how you did it!

(Also- a quick word about my coat.  It came from my friend's instragram shop @theundergroundpearl and it cost $24.   TWENTY FOUR DOLLARS.  Bridgette finds great deals, scours thrift stores, resales clothes from 30 years ago, etc, etc, etc all at amazing deals.  She gets her clothes from all over the places- some used some brand new- and sells them at such reasonable prices.  I got a sweater from her that I absolutely love too that I'll share later.  Seriously, go follow her instagram because you'll never find so much cute stuff and such good deals.)

Brooke's blog
Brooke's photography site
Bridgette's blog
Bridgette's instagram