A Weekend at the Hunting Camp

I love this sweet and beautiful family! Brad and I met Kelly and KaiVan twenty years ago at the gym…before we were all married…and before kids. We’ve been close friends ever since. The guys share a love of hunting and the girls share a love of fitness and teaching group exercise classes. Our kids are close in ages with similar interests, so we have a lot of fun when we can get away together and we try to do it every fall. I look forward to it every time.

In November Kelly & KaiVan invited us to their family hunting camp, “Nelson’s Landing”, named after their son. My husband (and son) had been there many times and told me about it, however this was my first time. I love Fall, but it is always extremely busy for me; so I have to hold onto one full weekend for rest and relaxation with my family. This was that weekend. Beautiful fall weather, long dirt roads, swamps of flooded timber, riverbanks and barges, fall color in the spanish moss covered trees, fires in the firepit, kids doing smores and swinging in the tree swing, grilling out steaks, shooting practice, and a little bit of deer, squirrel and pig hunting for the boys. Most important of all, our families all together having fun with no wifi service! (I admit, no wifi is a challenge for me…but good for me!)

While there, we planned to photograph the Greiner family. Much to our surprise, Kelly grabbed my camera and took some shots of our family. Unfortunately we weren’t planning on getting photos of us, so we rolled out of bed and no one had showered. (Insert laugh and sigh.) Thankfully, at least what we all wore coordinated. Next time I’ll be a little more prepared! But, I loved our family shot so much I used it on our Christmas card! We rarely get family photos because I’m always behind the camera. Thanks Kelly!

The last day it was just our family there. It was fun for my daughter and me to be in the woods with our boys on their adventures, and with my camera in hand to capture them in their element. Of course it wasn’t serious hunting that way, but I loved permission to get a peek inside their world.

Here’s some of my favorite images from our weekend together…from portraits, to candid moments and everything in between…