Arches National Park Family Session | Utah National Park Portrait Photographer

Dunn Family Photo Session

This sweet family made the drive from Bountiful to Moab, Utah to explore the spectacular landscape of Arches National Park with me in the early days of spring. The breezy weather was perfect for the desert area and kept us cool from the hot sun.

Greg and Myrinda along with their adorable kids Weston and Azure joined me at the sand dune arch turnout for their photo session. This trip I had my family along for the ride as well and we had a good time getting to know the Dunn family. Their kids were the cutest! Azure’s name was so fitting to her incredible blue eyes. And Weston was so full of fun energy, we talked about the adventure we were having and loved finding cool rocks and climbing on the big sandstone boulders.

Myrinda chose the cutest outfits for her family, the blue tulle contrasted perfectly against the red rock backdrop and the boys looked so dapper in their formal wear. I get asked often for tips on what to wear for family sessions. Honestly there are so many great options that it’s hard to give specific advice. However I do have a few ideas to help you decide what is best for your family. I actually wrote a blog post with my basic tips as a guide, so you can find that HERE.

As the sun set the temperature dropped, but this cute family just huddled close to keep warm and it created some really precious moments. I love capturing the real authentic reactions because the candid photos are what people end up loving the most. It’s always nice to have a photo with the whole family looking at the camera and smiling because thats what we want to frame for our home walls or put on the Christmas card. But the images that bring tears are the spontaneous intimate moments or the hilarious reactions to unplanned comments or events. I love catching those on camera for my clients. Those are the photographs they cherish forever!

Goat Backpacking | White Pine Lake, Logan Canyon

Yep, you heard that right. Goats! My husband and I took our 19 month old daughter on her first backpacking trip this summer with the help of our goat babies Ace and Millie. When making plans for this trip we got a lot of surprised comments from friends and family… Taking a toddler backpacking? You’re crazy! Taking goats with you? That’s so cool! … haha. It was quite amusing.

Why goats!?!

Goats have a strong herd instinct and will follow you without much coaching. They also can carry a pack which can help lighten your load or allow you to bring a bit more gear for added comfort. Plus, they are so fun to have around!

I grew up with lots of animals, including a goat or two. Our first goat, Joe was an Alpine breed, a medium sized goat that got pretty big in my 9 year old eyes. I liked him but his lopsided horns intimidated me. Goats are innately playful and head-butt for fun but for a little kid… not so fun. When I was around 12 yrs old I decided to sell Joe in order to buy two pygmy goats, without my father’s knowledge (maybe my mom knew… I can’t remember). I made my own sales flyer and posted it in our local grocery store. Within a few days we got an offer. My dad wasn’t too amused, but went along with the sale (aren’t dad’s the greatest?) Soon after, I had two baby pygmy goats and my love for goats grew and grew. I learned that they can be quite comparable to a dog, they can be cuddly and loyal too! In fact, my parents had a goat a few years ago that hung out with our dog, I’m not sure he realized he was a goat, he acted just like our dog and would try to do everything the dog did.

I highly recommend getting a goat or two, they just add so much to life!

Meet Ace & Millie

These two Nubian/Alpine siblings are 2 year old. Ace has the white face and Millie the dark brown face. They did a fantastic job on their first backpacking trip. Ace is the more dominate, playful one. He often head-butts Millie over and over without a rebuttal. Millie is the chill/ quiet one, so she just takes it or walks away.

Yes, we brought our toddler too.

Our first plan was to leave Jane home and make it a date, but as plans progressed we just couldn’t leave her behind. Not because we just couldn’t stand a night without her, but we really wanted Jane to have this experience. Personally, our biggest goal as parents is to provide our children with as many experiences as possible, we know the variety and difficulty will serve them well as they grow more and more independent. So we switched gears and started to prepare for our adventure to include little miss Jane.

What gear made it possible.

The goats packing some of the gear made it possible for us to bring our toddler and the gear necessary for comfortable sleeping (well, as comfortable as backpacking can be…haha). The first thing we got figured out were the packs for Ace and Millie, they took our pads, pillows and sleeping bags. Having them carry these lightweight bulky items allowed us to have more room in our packs.

My hubby carried Jane in this Osprey carrier that has lots of pockets and room for a water bladder. Jane loved riding in this carrier, it allowed her to sit comfortably and see where we were going. We have other carriers like the LilleBaby and Solly which we love for other purposes. The Osprey carrier was the perfect choice for backpacking.

I carried the rest of our gear in my Cotopaxi Nepal Pack. This has been my favorite backpacking pack. It’s super comfortable and has lots of pockets to fit all the gear you need. In my pack I had our JetBoil Stove, food, toiletries, warm jammies for all of us and our tent. This Kelty tent has been the best purchase. We love that it is made up of mainly screen so we can see all around us at night. It allows us to star gaze as well as quickly see what is making those strange noises at night. :)

Such a great trip!

We had such a good time. Backpacking always takes a lot of planning and work to make it happen, but it’s always worth it. The views were stunning this fall season and it’s always refreshing to get some fresh air.

Jane did spectacular! She loved riding in the pack, eating trail snacks, and drinking water from the camel back. It was all very exciting and new for her and we loved watching her enjoy the outdoors.

Ace and Millie were amazing. I don’t think we will be backpacking without them anymore!

This is an adventure that I would highly recommend for all to experience at least once in their lifetime!