Aww, you guys. Last time I photographed Lindsay and Rishi was in 2019 when they were pregnant with their first daughter. Now they have two insanely cute daughters and are back in the area after several moves in the last decade, one of which was abroad. Lindsay and I kept in touch during those times because I became quite internet-attached to Bogart, her cat, who I had never met in real life but felt like I knew in my soul. And while I unfortunately never got the opportunity to meet Bogart, I now have finally met Roxie, their dachshund, who was just as impressive in person as she is online. In fact, even more so, because this is the very first dog in my entire 38 years of life who I’ve ever seen truly beg. Like, sit on her hind legs, stand up, put her paws together and move her hands back and forth beg. Like a little circus dog. The best part? Lindsay and Rishi never taught her how to do that – she just came that way. And now, all these years later (Roxie is a dignified senior), she still does it. And it’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen. It was so much fun to photograph this crew in their home and looking for treasures on a walk (their daughters collect these treasures in a treasure box in the garage, which is a beautiful group of perfectly preserved deceased butterflies, cicadas, feathers, leaves, pinecones, grasshoppers, etc). And another Familiar Dolls cat doll may have made an appearance towards the end…#shamelessselfpromotion.

These guys go way, way back with us. Travis was one of Geoff’s very first friends in North Carolina when they met as coworkers, and then played on the same baseball team. Claire and I would go to the games and kind of watch but mostly talk or read or paint our nails (this makes us sound really girly but actually we’re not). Eventually Claire, a vet pharmacist, accepted a job up in Boston and they left us for the snowy north. Travis, from Michigan, was used to the snow, but we always suspected that Claire, a North Carolina born and raised woman, would come crawling back to us just simply for the weather. So we sat back and waited for them to return and now we’re excited to announce that they are back! With a two-year old!!! This delightful little lady’s name is Makenna, and we met her up in Massachusetts when she was still an infant. Now she’s a squealing, excitable toddler who likes to refer to me as “that one” (obviously we haven’t been around her a lot yet) and enjoys holding my business cards for me (free advertising). It’s a lot of fun seeing Claire and Travis so happy as parents, and little Makenna hit the parental jackpot with two loving, hilarious people to care for her. We’re glad you’re all back.