Family picture time!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged. I've just kind of been out of it and not in the mood to blog. But I will try and get better about that.
So my amazing family got me a fabulous present for my birthday (yes, 5 months ago) and I finally cashed it in.
Family pictures by the amazingly talented, Marissa. I have been a huge fan of her work, I love the moments she captures, the lighting, everything. Jenny and Kyle get their pictures done by her and they are always amazing.
Anyway, a week ago we drove up to Washington and had our family session. It was suppose to be a mini session but it turned into a full session and Marissa never made me feel stressed or guilty. Quite the opposite, she was a calming presence and fabulous to work with.
The day started out fine despite the fact that the night before Reese succumbed to the cold that is going around and kept us up nearly all night. On the ride up she was fine, I should have realized it was the calm before the storm. For the first 10 minutes of the session she was fine, a little shy but not bad. And then she turned into a screaming, fit-throwing toddler. She was screaming at pitches Brian and I have never heard come out of her. And we were helpless. She was shy and emotional and we couldn't do anything to make her feel better.
I left feeling defeated and all the sudden I couldn't even remember if we did family pictures. It was like the whole thing was a blur. A toddler tantrum blur.
And then Marissa showed me these:

 I was in shock. How did she capture moments like that when I felt like they were all like this:

Because she is a magician/miracle worker. And I love her. And I forever will cherish them and the memories along with them.