The voice of Siri instructs us to turn. I’ve been here many times, but for some reason always get a little nervous that I won’t know the way. We pull in the parking lot and the I glance at my watch. We have about 45 minutes until sunset. This should be enough time if we get going. The entrance to the Desert Botanical Garden is just as beautiful as you’d imagine. I remember how much I used to hate desert landscape and how I thought that the big full trees with changing leaves was the only real definition of landscaping beauty. These days, I can’t get enough of this rough and southwest terrain. I think I just had to come into my own. This is the perfect backdrop for a family photoshoot.

As much as I like to plan most things out, a photoshoot tends to be the opposite. I like to see an idea and act on it. There’s a chance that it won’t work out, but there’s a chance it will.

Sneaking baby smiles, tickling tummies, and splashing in the water all made this afternoon special. Capturing memories and being a part of family’s story is such an honor. Every time I do this, I think… I should do this more. Maybe I will. Maybe I’ll own this part of myself and grant permission to be happy behind the lens.

Many thanks to the Nardone family for letting me follow them around for a bit and document their sweet family.

The winds have welcomed you with softness,
The sun has greeted you with it’s warm hands,
You have flown so high and so well,
That God has joined you in laughter,
And set you back gently into
The loving arms of Mother Earth.

— Anon, known as ‘The Baloonists Prayer,’ believed to have been adapted from an old Irish sailors’ prayer

The Mister and I opted for a hot air balloon ride this year instead of a staycation, which is how we typically celebrate our anniversary. I enjoy capturing moments in time through monuments and celebration. They help to solidify time periods and separate the years. For me it keeps the days and years from blending into one another. I can identify them easier and I love knowing I’ll be able to look back and remember this very specific day without any trouble. That’s comforting to me for some reason.

We set our alarm clocks for 3:30am and arrived at met up with Rainbow Ryders who then took us by bus to our launch site. The whole process was mystifying and magical, peaceful and calm. It was something special and I’m so happy we enacted our sense of adventure and celebrated this way.

This past Wednesday was my 9th wedding anniversary! I’m kinda a sentimental person and I really appreciate making memories and finding grand ways to celebrate. We don’t have enough of that, celebration that is. I think it’s easy to get caught up and forget how special it really is to have fought for your marriage and how special it is to really celebrate your time together and allow yourself to marvel at that gift. Pictures are my favorite way to celebrate anything. For obvious reasons of course. I love commemorating a certain moment in time with a few snaps to look back on for the rest of our lives. I imagine I’ll be a little old lady surrounded by photos of a life well lived. I love that idea.

So… we opted to get in front of the camera for a few short minutes and we walked away with some photos that I couldn’t love any more.

A special thank you to our friends at Denson Creative for capturing these special snaps for us. I’ve always wanted friends to trade photo shoots with and I’m so happy to have found that!