The first weekend of December, I met up with a family from the Bay Area at Little Bear Tree Farm in Alta. I’ve known mom Shannon for many years — her uncle married my aunt back in the mid-80s— and thanks to Facebook, we’ve been able to stay connected.

Shannon asked me to join her family at Little Bear Tree Farm to document their tree hunt and snap some family photos. A great idea, right?!

And she dressed her family in the CUTEST red and black buffalo plaid shirts! So appropriate for a tree farm photo session.

Have you been to Little Bear Tree Farm? It’s such a charming place. Shannon nailed it when she said it could easily be the set for a Hallmark Christmas movie!

We arrived a few minutes before the farm opened, parked, and then bundled up in warm jackets. There was snow on the ground — an unexpected, but welcome, surprise!

We all rode up the mountain in the back of an old Jeep, and then I followed Shannon and her family around the farm as they picked out their “perfect” Christmas tree. It was snowy and rainy at times, but the plastic bag I had wrapped around my lens kept my gear dry.

The more sessions I do, the more I realize that my favorite time is when I get to capture moms playing with their kiddos or dads having fun with their daughters and sons. It’s when they are chasing each other or tickling one another or telling a knock knock joke or whispering “The thing I love most about you is…” that I find myself most in love with my job.

I know it’s April, but if you want to do a photo shoot at the Little Bear Tree Farm, let’s chat! Getting a date on the books soon (before your December weekends fill up) will ensure that it happens!