[The Adventures of Ellis || The Cascades]
As many of you know, I am originally from the midwest- so that is where ALL of my family is besides my parents (they live in Raleigh, NC).
Having a baby and being far away has been so heavy on my heart as I've shared on this journal/blog before, so it makes times when family CAN come visit SO MUCH SWEETER.
I am so excited about this post and these photos because these memories are forever etched into my favorites.
My sister, brother-in-law, and nieces and nephew (+ nieces friend Bri) came to visit us for a weekend at the beginning of their vacation and we wanted to make the MOST of our short time together.
There were two requests:
1. They wanted to visit our local zoo (we had never been either!)
and
2. They wanted to go on a hike in the mountains (because they don't get to do that in Illinois!)
So although it was a jam-pack weekend, it was so incredibly fun for us and so sweet to have had this time together.
Those of you who are photographers know that sometimes it can be tempting to leave behind our professional gear when going on trips like these (I am so guilty of using my iPhone!) but I wanted to get some solid shots this trip, and my niece wanted some "professional photos" haha! So I brought my gear along and didn't regret it for a single second. (even lugging it up the mountain-- shoutout to my new camera strap for making that easy! Scroll to see)
This was Ellis' first official hike-- he even road in the hiking backpack on Clay's shoulders! They both did SO well, and had a blast. I am so excited to have these photos and be able to show him when he's older. He's our sweet little adventure buddy and it honestly just keeps getting more and more fun having him fit into and add so much to our lives.
Here are my favorite photos from the hike:
Nice Morganne, and her BFF Bri
Beautiful niece Rowan!
hubs. all the heart eyes for you, babe!
Obligatory chaco pics!
*iPhone shot
Obligatory chaco pics!
*iPhone shot
My new camera strap that has been a life saver on my back. It's a double harness, so it can hold two cameras! For the hike, I had a bag attached to opposite side that I carried my extra lenses in. I can't recommend this type of a system enough. I purchased mine from the Etsy shop RSVPhandcrafted (they even engraved my name there at the top! Highly highly recommend.)
My sister and brother-in-law!
Nephew Drake
He fell asleep the whole way back down the mountain. Seriously such a little baby champ!
