Well 2017 was definitely one for the books. We had so many great moments and some really hard trying times. I wanted to summarize what 2017 brought me in one post.
I rang in 2017 in Spokane with some of my favorite people & then ran home to get to work!
I spent the first three months preparing to move to North Carolina and planning our wedding! All while working and hanging out with some of my favorite people! Work included my first ride EVER on a snowmobile – thanks Kinsey đ
 
I also photographed my first 2017 wedding in January! You can see Mitch and Renessa’s wedding day right here!
I was thrown the most amazing bridal shower & felt way too lucky to have all these people in my life.
I celebrated my sweet friend, Lisa’s, bachelorette party in Canada – we rode the waterslides and danced our booties off!
On March 4th, 2017 Evan and I got married!! We celebrated with all of our closest friends and family & had the time of our lives! You can see that whole blog post here!
Evan was only given one day of leave, so he was back on a plane to North Carolina the day after our wedding, so my sister, Kate, planned an epic cross-country trip for the both of us to get me to North Carolina!
I spent three months in North Carolina getting settled into our house and spending time with Evan as a married couple before the next big adventures.
I got to second shoot with Two Chicks who Click in North Carolina and it was amazing!
At the end of May Evan left for the biggest job opportunity and his dream and I went back to Montana for the summer.
….But first a pit stop in Oregon to photograph my best friend, Morgan and her honey Gary’s engagement photos! See more of their session right here and here!
And then another quick pit stop in Spokane to see Devann & Jasey and celebrate Devann at her bridal shower!
Then finally back to Montana. I spent the first part of my summer at Fort Peck Summer Theatre performing in Arsenic and Old Lace and making a million new memories!
After Fort Peck I had a full photography schedule packed with super fun high school seniors and all my amazing couples and their love stories!
Evan got to come to Montana for the Fourth of July and to be the best man in his cousin’s wedding (which I was lucky enough to photograph)!
In the middle of July, I got to celebrate with my good friend & bride, Jenna at her epic bachelorette party in Idaho!
I then went back to the busy summer of photos and photographed 5 more weddings with my amazing friend, Bri!!
And just because this is for me and I want to remember what I photographed…..
Melody and Jeff McCormick – Blog Post here!
Jenna and Matthew Upham – Blog Post here!
Melissa and John – Blog Post here!
Cassi and Zach – Blog Post here!
Lindsay and Nathan – Blog Post here!
At the end of July we got the biggest surprise of our lives – WE’RE PREGNANT!! And we couldn’t of been more excited!
In August I was a bridesmaid in my best friend, Devann’s wedding at the most incredible venue! I spent a week with them and it was heavenly.
In September I played bridesmaid and photographer at my best friend, Lisa’s wedding! See their wedding here! And the down-low on being a bridesmaid AND the photographer, here!
I drove the next day to Bozeman to photograph a very sweet and intimate elopement for my good friend, Jillian (and slept in the car….pregnancy probs)! Their beautiful blog post can be found right here!
In the middle of September, between napping and crying and eating ALL the things, I flew to Cabo San Lucas to photograph one hell of an amazing wedding and then directly flew to Aruba to photograph ANOTHER fabulous wedding! Two of the most exhausting and WONDERFUL weeks of my life! See those blog posts (& trust me, you want to!!) here and here!
 
When I returned home, I decided to hire an associate photographer and by the grace of God, Holly fell into my lap that same very week I made the decision. We started her training immediately! Meet her right here!
I went back into photographing seniors and a handful more weddings. Evan visited Montana in-between trainings and we got to plan our baby announcement for the world!
I closed out my wedding season with two amazing and beautiful weddings, including Evan’s cousin, Lynsey’s in October….and you guessed it…you can find their whole blog post right here!
The beginning of November I photographed my last 2017 wedding in Jacksonville, Florida and was totally in love with the whole experience!And if you’re curious, their blog post link can be found right here!
We also welcomed a sweet new addition to our family on November 3rd, my first niece, Emma Collins Howell! I’m so in love with her!
I flew from the wedding in Jacksonville to Orlando to spend some time at the most magical place on Earth…Disney World with my friend Molly!
Then off to Spokane to celebrate my favorite three year old’s birthday!! And see Garth Brooks, one of my first real concerts EVER!
I then was home for 5 days to work a little before driving with my dad to Las Vegas to finally meet my new niece and snuggle her to pieces.
I turned 26 on Thanksgiving and got a TON of baby snuggles!
I spent an extra week in Las Vegas helping my sister and brother-in-law out, but mostly just held and kissed sweet Emma.
Holly started working alone the beginning of December – and she is a rockstar!! I am so lucky she is a part of the Merry Character Photography team.
I spent most of December, editing and packing up the rest of my belongings for my long awaited move back to North Carolina.
My friends threw me an amazing baby shower in December – I am so grateful for how loved our sweet babe is already!
Evan finished a training a little early and got to be home for 8 days before we started our drive back to North Carolina.
We drove straight through, taking turns sleeping and driving! It was a slow but quick trip, with many bathroom breaks for pregnant me and our cute dog, Finnigan who moved with us!
We took the first few days to settle in and I started a nice honey-do list for my honey đ
Evan didn’t have to return to work until the new year, so I was able to meet some of his buddies & their wives and reconnect with a few faces I met earlier in the year.
I had told Evan earlier in the week this was the first out of three New Years Eve we would be together & I was so excited. But alas, we spent New Years Eve with me on the couch snoring like an old lady and Evan watching a comedian on the floor by himself…hahaha…thankfully my sweet husband woke me on 11:59 to kiss me into the New Year and then ushered me off to bed.
I am SO grateful for the experiences, people, places, and laughter I had this past year. Living apart from Evan for seven months was definitely trying at times but looking back it really made the year an adventure. I was able to serve and do what I love while he was pursing his life long dream.
2018 holds a lot of unknowns for us as a family and for Merry Character Photography. Thankfully Holly is holding down the photography business in Montana as my fabulous Associate Photographer as I am transitioning and learning about restarting a business in a new place here in North Carolina. In 2018 we will be welcoming a little human into the world, Evan will continue pushing towards his dream with a lot of incredibly challenging trainings, Baby and I will travel back to Montana in June for weddings and for a little work, we will also be making the biggest trip of baby’s and my life when we fly to Ireland in August to photograph a wedding, and possibly making big moves for our family near the end of the year.
As much as I am nervous for all the unknowns, I am incredibly excited that I have the opportunity to live and adventure for another year.
Hugs to all of you. Have the best 2018!
