Happy Halloween 2018 - Edmonton Family Photographer

Happy Halloween - October 31, 2018 - Edmonton Family Photographer

Happy Halloween to you all! It’s my favourite holiday and I am more than ready for trick-or-treats, ghosts, goblins, and zombies, pumpkins and black cats. As always, I ventured out with my boys in their costumes and we went on some pre-Halloween adventures so they could test out their awesome knight Halloween costumes.

Knight Halloween Costumes - Treelines Photography - Edmonton Family Photographer

The kids had been going on about dressing up like Knights since last Halloween. In August, they changed their mind during a trip to Costco when their costumes were just new in stock. Luckily they have an easy return policy, as when I found these knight costumes at another store, I just couldn’t leave them behind. Only two on the rack, and in the boys’ sizes - it was a meant to be! The kids were stoked, and although they TRIED to get me to let them keep both costumes, in the end they decided knights it was.

Knight adventure. Edmonton lifestyle photographer.

Our adventure began on a beautiful fall evening. The kids had a blast exploring through the grass and trees with their armour on, swords and shields in tow. They had so much fun getting into character.

They didn’t stay in one place for long. Off they went running down the path looking for a battle.

Being knights was serious business. They were sure they heard something rustling in the trees.

They had to make sure to practice their battle stance. T had to find a new way to hold his sword as the handle broke about 15 minutes into the evening after he decided to wack it on the ground. Pretty sure I told him not to do that before we left, and when we got there, and shortly before it happened. Three-year-olds, amirite? >.<

And then again, just like that, they were off to another battle.

The helmets of these costumes were my fave! I loved how fluffy and bright they were!

Their favourite was obviously the sword and shield, but they also loved the capes because they would float and fly through the air when they spun around.

As the sun began to set, our little knights were beginning to get tired, so we ventured back to the car through a beautifully lit pat. You just can’t beat that lovely autumn light this time of year.

Fast forward to the next evening. The kids wanted to head back to one of our other favourite spots - where we shot their Halloween photos last year - because, hay bales. haha. Since we were having such a beautiful week weather wise, I couldn’t say no. Here are a few from then:

All day the kids talked non-stop about going to the “field with the hay bales”. They were super excited. It’s one of our favourite spots, and this year the bales were close enough together they could run along the tops. Made my heart skip a beat a bit since these are city kids, but they managed just fine. hahaha.

Finished the evening off at an attempt at radial blur. He thought I was nuts spinning my camera, but when I showed him the photo after he thought it was pretty neat and wanted to try himself. I love it that my kids are showing an interest in photography themselves lately.

Thanks so much for following along on our Halloween adventures once again. It’s my favourite time of year, and I love seeing how much fun my kids have with dressing up and participating in all of the fun activities. I feel very lucky they still let me drag my camera along to do these little sessions with them.

If you want to take a peek at our Pirate session from last year, you can here.

I’d love to know what you and your kiddos dressed up as this year, as well as your favourite Halloween activities. You can let me know in the comments below. :)

Pumpkin Picking at Somerset Farms - Edmonton Family Photographer Lifestyle Photography

We went U-Pick Pumpkin Picking at Somerset Farms!

In September we headed out on a pumpkin picking adventure to the U-Pick Pumpkin Patch at Somerset Farms in Parkland County, just outside of Edmonton, Alberta. The kids had a blast exploring through the huge pumpkin patch picking their own pumpkins for this year’s Halloween Jack-o-lanterns.

This was our second year picking our own pumpkins, and I have to admit, it’s pretty much my favourite autumn activity. There’s just something about being outside, among all of the huge pumpkins that grew there from just a tiny seed.

We made it just in time, too, as the night we went was the last evening they were open, as it was our season’s first frost (which felt so early).

When we got there, it was raining a bit and it looked like a big rain storm was about to hit. We kept on anyways, and brought a couple of umbrellas with us. Luckily, the storm passed and not long after we arrived the rain stopped. The kids loved looking at all of the different pumpkins and were so excited to pick a few for our carving this year.

It was so hard not to pick them all, there were so many beautiful ones. The kids made their way through the patch, and didn’t think lightly about the ones they chose to bring home with us. Pumpkin picking is serious business, haha.

Somerset Farms was beautiful. They had the huge pumpkin patch of course, but also a gorgeous row of sunflowers dividing the patch from a field of cows that were happy just grazing on the grass. The kids loved peeking through the flowers to spot them, and loved how close they were.

A little dirt never hurt anyone - just a sign of a well spent evening outside.

In addition to the pumpkin patch, there were also a couple of little games set up and a hay bale playground. The kids had just as much fun there as in the actual pumpkin patch. haha.

Thank you to Somerset Farms for the wonderful evening. Your staff were all so helpful and informative and your farm was the perfect pumpkin patch. We hope to be back next year!

I’d love to know your favourite autumn activity to do with your family! Let me know in the comments below. :)

Lake Adventures - Edmonton Family Lifestyle Photographer

A few weeks ago we were bogged down by the every day. Stressed, tired, and in need of some good ol' fresh air. We decided to take the kiddos out after their bedtime for some lake adventures and we discovered it was exactly what we all needed. I think it's so important to allow ourselves time to refresh, even if it means breaking the "rules" every now and again. 

We headed west to a spot I'd been wanting to check out for a while, and it was beautiful. We couldn't have asked for a better night. The kids had a blast running around, collecting rocks, watching snakes, hearing their echos bounce across the lake. We saw beavers, muskrats, snakes, squirrels, geese, loons, and even a mouse.

Here is a selection of my favourites from that night. I also created a video of our adventures and I will be sharing the full version later this week.  I hope you enjoy.
 

Blossoms Amongst the Green - Edmonton Family Lifestyle Photographer

Of course I couldn't resist taking my own kids out during blossom week.  I'm not going to lie, prior to this year's "Blossom Watch 2016" I didn't always jump at the opportunity to photograph these pretty pink flowers. I'm not sure why, because I had a lot of fun with them this year. I also fell in love with the amazing white blossoms in some of the photos below. We even decided to bring our pups along for the adventure.
 

Easter 2016 - Edmonton Family Lifestyle Photographer

We had a pretty eventful Easter weekend.  It's always nice to have a long weekend together, especially after the last few busy months.  Our every day life is pretty hectic, with trying to keep up with the kids, and the house, so I like to try to schedule in different activities for us to do when we can. Keeps things interesting, and is a little refresher for us. 

We started the weekend off out at Prairie Gardens Adventure Farm.  We have annual passes, so we like to get out a few times every season. There's so much to do there, so the kids don't get bored.

Elliot got to hold a little chick for the first time. It was pretty much the sweetest thing ever. The chick snuggled up in his hands and fell asleep, and Elliot was SO careful not to move. I took a turn afterwards, because who can resist holding one. They are the sweetest.

He also went on a little Easter egg hunt, and we saw some farm animals and had pancakes. All in all a good day.  Here are a few of my favourites from that afternoon.

On Saturday we painted our eggs. 

I've been trying to learn more about video, when I find some spare time.  I decided to try my hand at a little stop motion video from our Easter egg painting:

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend as well!