Rachel Ludwig Photography | Abbotsford Portrait and Wedding Photographer

We love camping. Love love love it. This summer we are so lucky that we are doing a lot of camping! In just a few days we are going to be heading out for a month long trip through BC, and I can’t wait. Growing up some of my favorite memories were from camping, and I hope for my kids that they will remember these times fondly as well. It truly is amazing time together as a family, and we do lots of reading, walks, biking and visiting the beach. We hope to try some geo-caching on our next trip, and we’re looking forward to the Fraser Canyon, checking out some of the gold rush trail, and in particular, Barkerville. We are also planning on hitting some of the big national parks that we always drive through but have never stopped to explore…Jasper and Banff.

So, I will be out of the office for most of August, and possibly the first few days of September. I will have some access to email, but my response may be delayed depending on if we have network access. If you are interested in booking a fall session for Christmas cards, please email me as soon as possible to reserve a date as this time of year fills up fast.

I wanted to share some pictures from our second camping trip of the year in Shuswap.

My kids can play together *so* nicely, and hockey is a current fave. Arden loves doing the face-offs!

Yes, she has killer hair. Wish I could have hair like hers

Hudson is a huge hockey nut. In his world, the bigger the stick, the better.

Ethan is loving reading. It’s still not his first choice for activities, but once he starts he can’t put a book down and he’s been reading a ton of chapter books and comic books this year.

I love my Keens. Best camping sandals ever….great for hiking, biking and the beach. And the resulting sandal tan is hot. haha

The cutest boots ever!

Arden had three mosquito bites right around her eye, and it was almost swollen shut. It was so freaky to look at, she looked like a completely different girl. Fortunately it didn’t bother her.

She is finally starting to master her bike. Her bike is pink (her favorite color) and girly. Of course.

We did a lot of biking here. The provincial park campground at Shuswap is nice and flat and perfect for biking.

We do a lot of reading. I’m so glad Tim and I are both readers, it’s the perfect way to spend a cloudy day in the campsite.

The bike trailer is always a big hit. Pulling it with 50+ pounds of kids is a super workout.

Hudson and his push car were pretty much inseparable. With it he can run. fast. He loved 4×4′ing the trails with it.

Everything was so green and luscious here. We live in such an incredibly beautiful area of the world.

A few weeks ago I, with my trusty travelin’ side-kick Hudson in tow, had the chance to go to Seattle and meet up with my great friend Traci. She’s a fabulous portrait and wedding photographer friend of mine who was in town from Colorado Springs. We decided to meet at the tulip Festival in Skagit Valley, which due to the late arrival of spring this year, turned out to be a daffodil festival instead.

The best part about meeting up with photographer friends is getting to be in front of the camera… check out the awesome shots she got! (and no…I didn’t plan to match quite so perfectly, but I do love how it looked.) Thank you Traci for a fabulous time together and for the awesome pictures!

Here’s a few of my shots:

Check out the air she got!

Traci in action with her new D3:

Isn’t she gorgeous?

And in between picture taking, lots of chatting of course.

(and this gives you a chance to see that mofo lens/camera combo Traci has going on!)

Meanwhile, the boys were happily sitting in their strollers and hanging out.

Or so we thought! Until Will decided to be a turtle and walk/crawl with his stroller on his back.

In between watching movies on Traci’s iPhone that is (talk about genius idea…I so need to load up a few movies onto mine for the kids!)

And to finish it off…a few Traci & Will shots.

Because every mama needs a picture like this….my favorite of the day.

More to come in the next few weeks here on this blog…(nephew) Liam’s newborn pictures, (another) Liam’s 6 week pictures, Jeremy & Julie’s engagement session and Katy & Anthony’s wedding! Stay tuned…

So I haven’t shared any personal pictures here before, but when I looked through the images I took when we went to a local fair (the NorthWest Washington Fair in Lynden…if you haven’t been before, I highly recommend it!) recently, I couldn’t resist…and I figured it was good warm up for the new baby pictures that I’m sure I also won’t be able to resist posting when the time comes.

Ethan, our six year old, loves this local fair. We went for the first time last year, and I can’t even count how many times since then he has asked when we were going back. The week of the fair finally arrived, and fortunately we had a free evening to go. We had a great time, the kids loved the rides, I loved the fair food, and Tim enjoyed seeing us have fun.

The ferris wheel…it was almost dark when this was taken, but the sky was a lovely shade of blue. I took a ton of pictures during our very very long wait in line:

My little buddy. I’m so sad he’s going off to grade one next week. He’s such a great help with Arden, and I’m sure he’ll be with the new baby as well. He’s so fun to have a conversation with, and I know I’m going to miss his chatter. He’s quite worried about school and a new grade/teacher/class, etc so today we went out on a Mom/Ethan outing where he was thoroughly spoiled rotten with ice-cream for lunch, a few new things for school and time with just the two of us.

Anyways, this is from the fair as we waited and waited and waited some more in line for the ferris wheel. He was getting tired and cold so he cozied up to my belly (aka the furnace!). I love that he’s still snuggly. :

Ethan remembered this stuff from last year, but it was all new for Arden…and she went totally crazy for all the rides/games/activities. She loved it just as much as Ethan, and they thought their resulting small stuffed animal prizes were just perfect.

And these were the pictures I couldn’t resist posting. Arden in all her 2 1/2 year old spazziness. Ahhh, this girl keeps us on our toes I tell ya. She is a real firecracker and she sure lets that side of her personality show on a regular basis. These are as we had a little drink/snack break, and she wanted me to pick her up (which at this point in my pregnancy, is getting rather difficult and uncomfortable). So instead, I tormented her by snapping some pics…as the pictures show, she was less than impressed! Haha, these pictures totally crack me up, and they sure do perfectly portray this side of her personality!

“up, upppp, UPPPP!!!” Notice her signing please?

She’s progressed to full on screeching here (she has a speech delay, which definitely increases her frustration. She thinks we don’t understand her, but she’s able to make herself perfectly clear!!). “UUUUUUPPPPPPPPPP!!!!” (notice her tongue is shaped like a heart here?)

And then the maniacal side comes out. “Mom, mom, mom, mom, MOOOOOMMMMMM! UUUUUPPPPP!!!” (this one is my favorite….man do I love this girl, even with her temper tantrums and spazziness!!)

And lest you think I’m a horribly cruel mother, I did pick her up after this, and she snuggled right in and gave me hugs and kisses. I don’t think two-year-olds know how to hold a grudge, fortunately

Anyways, please pardon this little foray into the land of my personal family pictures. I will have some more client photos coming up soon…including Tricia & Bryan’s sneak peek from their wedding, some family pictures and some wall galleries. Stay tuned!