addison june photography

just because I love her more than words.

Will this busyness ever die down! I feel like I’ve got 20 things going on at once! But I’m finally home, no more trips this year, and hopefully I’ll be able to catch back up on blogging. I’ve got lots of gorgeous new families to share with you. Some pretty adorable kiddos. And of course my little June Bug’s 8 month pictures will be up soon. So keep checking back often, I’ve got lots coming up! For now, I’ll share a little about my weekend.

Our camping trip was a lot of fun. Peaceful. Just what I needed. The drive up was actually enjoyable. Both girls sleeping in back, I celebrated my freedom to choose what I wanted to listen to! No Woody & Jessie, Robots, or Goofy. I put in Maroon 5, and just enjoyed doing nothing! Just as I was pulling into the camp, the sun was setting and it was gorgeous. I’ve never seen a sunset like that before. Absolutely beautiful. Wish I had my camera in the front seat!!

I hardly ever bring my camera with me when I’m not working. Sad, I know. It just seems like a chore to lug around that huge camera bag. But I have a new take on my life. I take pictures of other people’s families all year long. I try to catch those moments they want to always remember. I love it, it’s truly the greatest job……… but what about my family? What about my moments? They’re confined to the most convenient avenue available, a pitiful excuse for a camera, the iPhone. I decided not long ago, I needed to invest some time & effort into MY family. So I sucked it up and brought my 50 pound camera camping with us. I knew things were bound to happen that would desperately need to be documented…

Like, laughing with cousins.

Awesome faces!

Creepy spiders…. seriously, creepy.

Lessons from an Uncle on feeding grasshoppers to the creepy spider.

(Notice the iPhone… I guess Aaron thought we needed even more pictures of this thing. Ew.)

Sweet girls. And one amazing daddy.

Exploring… climbing trees… getting as filthy as possible… and of course more bugs!

I wish I could share a picture of us sitting around the campfire, talking… I was too busy rocking a sleepy baby girl. I don’t ever hold A when she sleeps, and I loved every second of it.

I wish I could share a picture of the baby freak out the 2 little ones had late that night. My mom, sister, and I couldn’t do anything but laugh at the situation. 4 kids crammed in a Winnebago. Enough said!

I wish I had a picture that depicted exactly how much love is in our little circle of family & amazing, life long friends. I’m so blessed.

5 years ago, my mom received a phone call that would forever change my family. My dad had been hunting in a remote area of Alaska. Not anything new, he had been on many trips like this before. If you think I’m exaggerating, guess again…

This is a chandelier made from my dad & my sister’s elk antlers…

October 16, 2005, my mom got a call at work from the hunting guide’s wife. It was a call no one ever wants to get. Something was wrong, and the guide’s wife was not certain of anything. We couldn’t get ahold of them through the satellite phone. A plane couldn’t fly in due to the awful weather. All we knew was something was wrong, and that’s all we knew for 2 full days. To this day, we still aren’t certain what happened. Tom the Taxidermist (that’s what we’ve always called him!) flew to meet with us. He told us the story of what happened. Dad was laughing and talking one minute, and he was gone the next. It still doesn’t make sense to me. It’s all a little surreal. It’s like my Dad went away for a ridiculously long hunting trip, and hasn’t come back yet.  This Saturday is the 5th anniversary of the day my dad died.

It still blows my mind it’s been 5 years. It seems like just yesterday my nephew was born… those 5 years flew by. But when I talk about my dad, 5 years seems a lot longer. So many things have changed, it’s hard to imagine how things would be if he were still here today. What gets me more than anything is my girls. (They both look just like him, by the way.) I’m sad they won’t ever know my amazing Dad. I know he would’ve been a great Granddaddy.

After having 2 girls of my own, I so wish I could tell him, I UNDERSTAND!! I gave him a lot of crap when I was a teenager. He never knew how much I appreciated his adamant stance on modesty & the way he scared the fool out of my boyfriends! I’m thankful to have had a daddy who took us to church and taught me good morals, how to work hard to get what you want out of life, how to have fun & laugh, to appreciate family vacations, and taught me how to balance my bank account. A dad who loved me no matter what, spoiled me rotten, and gave the best bear hugs.

Gah! This is a super sad blog post! I’m sorry guys, but I just wanted to pay tribute to my Dad this weekend. Tomorrow I’m leaving to go camping with my family & friends. We did it last year and we’re going again this year… looks like a new tradition has been made! I’m hoping we can remember the good times, tell some great stories, and remind ourselves everything happens for a reason… whether we like it or not!

So I’ll leave you with some pictures of the Gunn – Weeks Strength Center dedication a little over a year ago. And also some from my wedding day, only 7 months before his death.