Willms Family: Extended family shoot well worth the wait!

I had the pleasure of meeting Kristen at a 'mom and me' bootcamp through the rec centre when she and her family of three had just moved here from the island. Now they are a family of four and I was so excited to meet the rest of Kristen's family just a few Sundays' ago.

Kristen and her 2 brothers and sister had purchased this as a Christmas gift for her parents a few years back but, as I greatly understand, had a hard time finding the perfect time to get the whole group together and finally the stars aligned and I got to meet the rest of the Willms.

 I had such a wonderful time with this family exploring some different areas of Campbell Valley Park, including a tall grass area that I may have to return to for future shoots, and generally enjoying their company.

 As with a lot of extended family shoots, it was really hard to decide on which photos to post as there were so many fun interactions to capture and, with such a photogenic group, my list of 'favorite' shots needed to be paired down quite a bit. But, after a bit of hmm'ing and haa'ing, I've got it down to a manageable amount and am excited to share them with this family and all those who have already had the pleasure of knowing and being a part of the Willms' families lives.

Enjoy and thanks, Kristen, for allowing me to be a part of your family for a few hours!

Here are a few of the whole family to get started...
    

I can't believe how good the kids were for the whole shoot! Stuart, being just a day older than Benjamin, was awesome considering how hard it is for me to get Ben to look at the camera for a few shots and Heidi was a trooper too. The adults are always a treat to photograph because they listen so well ;)



The girls, the guys and the whole family!






And now for siblings as they truly are and a funny shot of the guys orchestrated by the ladies!



Stuart was really into these shots where he got to be in the center of attention and I love how they turned out. He's such a little ham!







Kristen's sister hadn't really had many photos of her and her husband since they were married and I think he endured the camera clicks quite nicely :)



A few of the Bylengas :)



You can just tell how much fun Grandma and Grandpa have with their little grandkids. So fun to see!



Next, off to the tall grass for some more fun! At this point, we were probably already an hour into the shoot and every one was up for having more fun so I tried to get every possible combination. I completely understand that it isn't very often that you get this many people in one place at one time!




Now for some of the couples... First off, Kristen and Eric!









And last but not least the two that it all started with. I love the way he still looks at her with such love. Family dynamics are wonderful to watch and it seems like the kids in this family have been given a great pair of role models to learn from.




Some more sibling shots! I've often wondered what it would be like to be from a family of four who are all close in age and hope that I can negotiate my husband into at least letting us have one more if not two more kids so we can find out. Though I sense that it would be crazy when they're all young, I love the idea of having a crew of best friends to grow old with. Looks like you have that, Kristen, and I can tell you appreciate it.



Dad & his boys and Mom and her girls...



Even though I already captured some of this couple, I had to put this photo up because this dog is too cute not too. He was such a great poser and I love the way his ears perk up!



A couple more of Mr.Stuart




Last but not least, one more shot of all the 'kids' and what's a family shoot without a fun jumping shot. These 7 took the jumping shot very seriously and I love how it turned out!



Thanks to everyone in this wonderful family for spending some time with me. I had so much fun getting to know you guys and take it that Willms family gatherings would be a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy and have a blessed year ahead.

Celebrating 41 Years of Marriage: The Forrester Family

Jon and I met Mike Olynyk right after we were married and had started attending Blue Mountain Baptist Church. We got involved with the youth group shortly after we started attending and enjoyed working with Mike and seeing his passion for youth.

It was so hard for us to leave Blue Mountain when we moved to Langley so we were thrilled when a little piece of Blue Mountain came to us and Mike and Kim started attending Jericho Ridge as it provided a chance to reconnect.

I was so excited when Kim asked me to do an extended family session for her side of the family in honor of her mom and dad's 41st wedding anniversary. Mike and Kim arrived first so here are a few shots of them to start things out.

I love this photo on the right - such a beautiful couple!



The next family to arrive was one of Kim's sisters and her brother in law and their 3 adorable kids. I love the boys matching shirts and we all had a good laugh at the men of the family who were apparantly sore from some recent adventures involving lazer tag :)

Kim's other sister and fiance arrived next and you could tell they are very much in love! I love extended family shoots because I get to meet so many new people but it turned out that I actually knew Kim's sister, Dawn, as our kids had the same daycare provider when we lived in our townhouse. Such a small world!

Kim's main request was to get a nice family shot of the whole bunch so we made sure to get group shots in a number of locations all around the Derby Reach Heritage Site. Looking through them after, I couldn't believe how many shots we got where everyone is looking at the camera and smiling. What a photogenic bunch!

Kim had wondered how well the kids would fare for the full hour and a half so she came prepared with goody bags to give them when the shoot was done but they were incredibly well behaved. They were even acting as my artistic directors, setting up all of the shots you see below so instead of just one 'cousins' shot, we have quite a few to choose from!

So much love! You can tell these cousins love hanging out :)

We couldn't go without getting some shots of the 'original family' so here are a few of the 'sisters,' Glen & Sharon and one of just Sharon and her girls!

Three generations of boys & three generations of girls!

Second most important on the list was a shot of Glen & Sharon with their beautiful grandkids. I couldn't have asked for more co-operative subjects and smiles on Glen & Sharon's faces say it all. They are definitely proud grandparents!

Some more shots of the original 'Forresters!'

We were approaching the hour+ mark and decided to add some fun jumping shots in.

Some sibling shots - gotta love the 'headlock' pose in the bottom right photo. I'm pretty sure half of the photos of me and my brother growing up display that pose.

The cousins!

We were almost at an hour and a half now but were able to squeeze a few more combinations in before the end of the shoot!

And now for the long-awaited goody bags! Kim, you are one smart aunty :)

And, last but not least, one of my favorite family shots!

A huge thanks to Kim for setting this up with your family and including me in this great celebration of love and commitment. Your parents are such an example to those of us early on in the marriage journey. You have a wonderful family and, Mike, it looks like you inherited a great family-in-law. Enjoy and God Bless!