I took a quick trip up to Michigan recently to shoot a wedding and while I was there, had a chance to visit with one of my all time favorite families, ever. We rescheduled our session on a whim and lucked out with some absolutely perfect weather for our Matthaei Botanical Gardens family session. If you’d a midwesterner, you know we’ve been drowning in rain for a while now, and if you live in southeast Michigan, you’ve been swimming in it for more than a month. So when we had the perfect skies, temperatures, and all around weather, we were practically giddy throughout the evening. Thankfully, though, we pushed our start time up to accommodate bedtimes because as I drove back home for the evening, the skies turned dark and by the time I walked in the door, it had started pouring again.

The McBubs, as we like to call them, are dear friends of mine and have been a part of my journey as a photographer every single step of the way, so when I get a chance to get them in front of my camera, it’s even more special and sentimental to me. I love these three dearly and to be able to document their changing family is such a treat, not to mention I’m blown away by how much Q changes every time I see him. We often shoot their session as an extended family session, but this time around I had them all to myself so we set out to explore and adventure and play in Ann Arbor for the evening. Full disclosure if you’re familiar with the grounds, we were not aware that dogs are not permitted on the trails at the botanical gardens until we were on our way back to the car. We must’ve gone backwards on a trail, so the sign noting this didn’t face us until we were returning from our journey. So sorry, Matthaei! We were very careful to leave no trace (only footprints!) on our journeys… and maybe a few bubbles. 😉

Thanks for spending the evening with me, Babinski family! Cannot wait to see you all again soon!