deep in the heart of texas.

ahhh, summer. the gift that just keeps on giving...when you're a teacher.

fortunately, i've never known a summer without a couple months off, and i hope and pray that i will never have to.

this summer i started off my travels with a trip with my friend kim to the great state of texas. we flew into austin, drove to san antonio, and ended the week in houston. in austin, we stayed with my wonderful friend jamie and her adorable family, spent most of our time on south congress ave., ate as much ice cream as possible, tried to keep hope alive in the midst of oppressive humidity, waited for hours to see millions of bats fly out from under a bridge, "learned" how to two step, and gave ourselves a tour of UT in the pouring rain. 

in san antonio we stayed with kim's cousins, ate (too much) delicious food, strolled along the beautiful river walk (just like the bachelorette), and remembered the alamo. 

we planned to head to the beach next, but our plans got interrupted by tropical storm bill and a whole lot of rain. never fear though! mathis, texas has a la quinta inn, complete with a gym and a continental breakfast! so it was pretty much the same as the beach. 

we ended our adventures in houston, where kim met up with one of her college friends and i spent the weekend with my wonderful family. it has been years since we had all been together, and i don't think words are adequate to describe how good it felt to be with them. the only way i can think to describe it is that it just felt like coming home. 

not only did i spend quality time with my aunts, uncles, and cousins in houston, but my sister and i got to visit our grandma who has advanced alzheimer's disease. although she couldn't talk and didn't know that we were her granddaughters, there was something so special about looking into her eyes, telling her we loved her, and giving her a kiss on the head to say goodbye. we played a song she love, gave her oreos, and filled her room with a lot of love and laughter.

i am so thankful for great friends, family, adventures, and the gift of time.

what a gift it is.

the williams: family.

tameka is one of those people you just love instantly. we've worked together for the past three years, and i love to stop by her office to chat whenever i get the chance. she is hilarious, thoughtful, and loves to talk about clothes, so clearly we were meant to be friends. 

this photo shoot was extra special because she wanted to take family photos to send to her husband who is currently deployed. she was able to put a care package together for him and send these along for father's day. 

it's clear her children are completely adorable and equally as hilarious. we had a horse drop by for part of the shoot, which they loved, and only a couple of them ended the evening with allergic reactions (whoops!) 

enjoy some of my favorites of these adorable kids and their amazing mamma! 

the rwubusisis: family.

you may remember sam and becki and their adorable twins, lila and noah from the photos of their first birthday party last year. well, now they are back and more adorable (if that's even possible) than ever.

sam and becki are good friends of ours, and we just adore their family. they are amazing people, who parent with a lot of humor and honesty, and i always love spending time with them.

our afternoon photo shoot last weekend was no different. lila and noah are masters of the poker face, and i couldn't help but laugh watching sam and becki pull out their most ridiculous antics to get them to smile.

and then they pulled out the sunglasses, and i just about died. 

enjoy some of my favorites from our afternoon in the park with this adorable family. you probably won't be able to handle it.

jonathan and kandyce: family.

when i think of world travels, and delicious baked goods, and refugees, and ridiculous levels of intelligence, and wooden shoes, i think of jonathan and kandyce. we have known the two of them for the past few years, and they are some of our favorites. kandyce works tirelessly with refugees and is so amazingly creative, and jonathan is working toward his doctorate (!) and loves to talk nerdy movies with nick. we are a couple match made in heaven. 

of course, when kandyce asked if i would take some pictures for them, i was all in. but i was especially all in when she proposed the idea of throwing powder colors at each other during the session (oh, did i mention they also lived in india and have made it their mission to bring the festivities of holi to denver- with a tremendous amount of help from their hindu friends of course. hence, the powder colors). 

we had an absolute blast (well, they clearly did and i loved watching them have a blast) and then we finished the evening with dinner and chats around the fire. it was perfect all around.

not only do these two know how to throw colors at each other, but it's pretty clear they are completely in love. enjoy my most colorful (and one of my favorite) sessions to date.

"love was a feeling completely bound up with color, like thousands of rainbows superimposed on top of the other." -paulo coelho