I am so excited to be sharing OUR family photos on the blog today!! Last year, Olivia shared about this little hidden spot for Gilbert Field Family Photos and we have been so excited to take our photos there all year!! The beautiful grassy field, with the mountains in the back, and the autumn colors are so beautiful!! We LOVE it! And yet, this one may be the craziest year of photos for us … and NOT because we have TWO under two this year OR because of the crazy weather.
Because of, well … the photographer. You know the expression, “The shoemaker’s children have no shoes”? The same is true here! The Type-A-overthinker-overplanner-photographer had NO communication plan for her own session!
When BG Moms send in sweet notes, one of the biggest things that gets mentioned is just how clear, timely, organized, and helpful the communication is. I credit it all to my Type-A mother—the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!
But boy, was this year different …
How our Gilbert Field Family Photos started:
What started out with me saying, “Oh my goodness, this may be the EASIEST year we’ve ever had!” after we lined up everyone’s schedules so easily and planned all NINE of our outfits in no time quickly took a turn. Everything was coming together so smoothly!
Every year, we go out on a separate day to take photos of just Adam & Aubrey and the kiddos, and we also take a few of just Caitee and Snowball. So we went out Friday night for their Gilbert Field Family Photos.
Clear skies, sunshine, happy babies … a perfect day!! One little hiccup: the field I normally take photos at, the one Olivia showed me, was flooded. But after walking around a bit, I found a whole second field! (Dare I say it, even better than the one before!)
Adam & Aubrey’s Gilbert Field Family Photos
And the photos turned out so dreamy! This was Bennett’s first time in our family photos!! (He was born in January. You can see his newborn photos, HERE.) He’s 9 months old now and did SO AMAZING! Honestly, as I was culling through the photos, I said, “I don’t think there’s a photo where he isn’t happy and smiling!!” Seriously too easy!!
And Everly turned 2 years old a few weeks after we took these photos! She did so good too … such a good listener and honestly is always happy!! She really was all smiles and giggles for these photos too! She is by far one of the most loving little girls … she gives everything hugs and love and kisses … it’s precious! I’m so glad we have photos that truly capture that … because it really is who she is in this season!
“Okay, great! That’s a wrap for today! We’ll meet at the same time & place Sunday!” I shot Olivia a quick text to let her know the plan. A few days passed without hearing from her. I sent a quick follow-up & it turned green … “Hmm … I wonder if my texts aren’t going through?”
A *little* communication mix up …
No big deal … I popped by Sunday morning to say hi to the family and double-check! And good thing I did! Turns out, pools & phones don’t get along well, and she had been without a phone for two weeks! Whew … crisis averted! She was still good for this afternoon!
In all the excitement of saying hi to the boys and holding her sweet little girl, Eve … it didn’t even cross our minds to swap contact info the old-school way with pen and paper!
We showed up at the field, photo-ready, the light was beautiful, everything was perfect! While we waited for Olivia, I started taking a few of the smaller groupings … I took Daniel’s photos, then Mom & Dad, added in the grandbabies … “Hmm, so odd. Olivia is never late … hope she’s okay.”
With no way to get ahold of her, we kept going. I photographed the WHOLE session running through the tall grass in heels and a long dress … I mean, my goodness, I think that earns a Girl Scout badge!
The next morning, I stopped by her house, and over pumpkin cookies, we were laughing because it turns out she was there the whole time … at the field we always shoot at (with no clue there was another field behind it!). And there I was, at the NEW field, thinking we were in the same place! That is what you call your classic miscommunication! How in the world did people ever get together before the iPhone was invented?!
The third time’s the charm!
Everything worked out for us to go back out for a THIRD time the following Sunday! Olivia got a new phone & everything went smoothly … and we ended up getting absolutely beautiful photos, even if they are a bit rainy & windblown!
This year was definitely one for the books! I cannot get over how much I love these photos … so beautiful and dreamy … so perfectly us!!
It really is never lost on me just how special it is to get to photograph families year after year as their families and kiddos grow and change. But it really is such an honor to get to do that for my own family … even if it means stomping through a field of knee-high grass in heels and a long dress to make it happen!!
Enjoy scrolling through our 2026 Gilbert Field Family Photos!!
Want to See Our Family Photos from Last Year?
Aww, memory lane … click the links below to see some of our favorites from last year!
