In a summer filled with busy weekend plans, I found myself decidedly not busy on this beautiful summer Saturday. Stella is spending a couple of nights with my in-laws, and Zack had work commitments, so it was just going to be Margot and me for dinner tonight.
My friend Ellen sent me a message earlier this afternoon to say that she had been thinking about checking out Picnic A Food Truck in Lansing, and wanted to see if we’d like to join her. It sounded like a great way to enjoy yummy food, fun company, and a beautiful summer night.
I feel like I’ve been seriously slacking with my blog posts the last few weeks. I can only attribute it to a busy summer month of enjoying time at home with the girls, as well as working on my freelance writing assignments whenever nap time comes around.
We’ve been lucky to spend a lot of time at my family’s lake home this summer, but the thing about Michigan is that there are so many gems around the state to experience.
This past week, I enjoyed a wonderful 48 hours up north at Lake Arrowhead with my in-laws. My husband’s mom and stepdad rented a home on Lake Arrowhead for the week with his aunt Julie and uncle Randy, and the girls and I were invited to spend a few weekdays with them.
Lake Arrowhead is a community of subdivisions that surround Buhl Lake in Gaylord, Michigan. From the Lansing area, the car ride is about three hours. While I was a little intimidated about driving such a long distance on my own with both girls, I was also excited about the potential for exploring different parts of the state on the way up and way back home.
Here’s a recap of our wonderful 48-hour trip around our home state.
This past weekend, our family did something that we haven’t done since Margot was about two weeks old: we had professional photos taken of the four of us. While the girls have had photos taken each year as they’ve grown, there’s something really special about having photos of us all together. To be honest, I don’t know why we waited so long!
Photo by Rachelle Welling
I have known Rachelle Welling dating back to my time at FOX 47, when she was the producer for Michigan’s Big Show. We’ve stayed in touch via social media, and I’ve enjoyed seeing her adventures in travel, marriage, and motherhood over the years. Rachelle is a beautiful photographer, and recently launched her photography business. It’s something she is clearly passionate about, and she has her own distinct style.
When she posted on Instagram last month that she had some June weekend dates open for photo sessions, I reached out to see if we could schedule a morning to have photos taken of our family. Her rate was very reasonable for the services she provides, and she was willing to drive to meet us. As we contemplated locations, I realized she didn’t live too far from my family’s cottage in Ortonville. We decided to have Rachelle meet us at the cottage for part of the session, and then we would head to adorable downtown Clarkston to capture photos in a different setting. Being able to take photos in an area personal to us as a family made it even more special.
We had our photo session this past Saturday. Despite some iffy weather predictions, it ended up being a sunny and warm morning. Rachelle came to the lake at 9:00 a.m. and took photos in several spots around the exterior of the house. Considering the girls’ attention spans were limited, Rachelle was so engaging with them and captured so many wonderful candid and posed moments in a short amount of time. She had ideas for poses, but also let us try anything we were hoping to capture.
From there, we drove the 10 minutes to downtown Clarkston and took more photos together in different spots around town. With it being an early Saturday morning, it wasn’t too busy. Some of my favorite photos from the session were taken in the alleyway behind The Fed. All in all, the session lasted a little over an hour. After Rachelle left, we ended up having a late second breakfast at The Fed to cap off a fun morning.
Later that day, Rachelle sent a few sneak peek photos. From this little taste, I couldn’t wait to see the rest of them! And last night, Rachelle sent us the completed photo gallery. I love how well she captured our family, especially how silly our girls are. Rachelle’s photography style is reminiscent of old Life magazines to me, with this warm and vintage quality to them. I can’t wait to have several of the photos printed for frames and on canvases for the house.
