I have known Anna and Burke Henderson for at least 4 years if not more! They are in my families ward and have grown their family to an adorable family of four in Layton, Utah! Their oldest, Derrick who is six years old just started first grade this year. John is the youngest at the age of three.
We decided to do the session at the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City Utah. The weather that day was BRUTALLY cold! Temperature around 40 degrees with a major wind chill and the wind whips around each crevice of the beautiful Capitol. The entire family did AMAZING and I could not even tell that they were cold in the session! Thankfully, the Capitol remains open for a large portion of events during the evening, which means that we were able to step inside the doors for a short time to warm up in between moving around the building.
The best part of this session was getting to know this family on a very personal level. I have known who they were from the ward but never got to truly meet and get to know them in person! I absolutely love seeing the amazing personalities that kids have during family sessions! The interactions between everyone in the family (all the good, sad, grumpy and even upset!) is what really brings a special feeling and makes every family session unique and perfect. Derrick and John are such great kids. I loved watching how they interact! Derrick is such a good older brother, is always willing to play hide and seek with John, or get him to laugh in some way! John seemed very shy and reserved mostly because he didn’t know who I was (I don’t blame him one bit!). Derrick kept trying to make him feel better, get him to giggle or smile! Anna had brought a little reward/ bribe knowing that both kids would behave much better knowing that there would be a reward at the end!
One of the silliest parts of the session was trying to get the boys to smile during their photos together. Johns reward for the end of the session was a crane truck. His dad Burke got it out so he could get his attention towards me. Burke lowered the crane, and I kept telling John to tell me if it was going to grab and snatch my beanie. He kept looking up, smiling and I’d ask “Is it going to get me!?” he would softly giggle and say “yes!”
That was a total WIN for me!!! He was able to look at me, smile and Derrick even joined in on the silliness! Sun was setting EXTREMELY fast (as it does in the winter here in Utah) and we were able to make this session happen in less than 30 minutes! A RECORD long time for a cold, mini family session!
I am so grateful for this family, and for their support in me! I am so extremely lucky to work with the families and individuals that I do!
