There’s nothing better than roaming around your backyard at dusk in the summer as kid. When you don’t have school the next day, every night is the weekend. And if you’re lucky, you have lightning bugs, s’mores, lemonade, two dogs, enormous trees, a giant river, and some friends who join you for a game of Ghost in the Graveyard. I could not have been happier to capture such an evening up in Roanoke Rapids with this beautiful family! It was the perfect night and I went home happily smelling of campfires and deet. I went up to photograph Sasha and Brandon, who have the most beautiful property overlooking a huge and beautiful river where Brandon likes to fish. Sometimes he’s joined by Cooper, who alternates between fishing and swinging in a hammock and goofing around with his younger sister Everly. Cooper and Everly are super great kids. They were a total joy to photograph – both camera hams, both friendly and fun, both SO sweet to me and welcoming. Everly loves doing cartwheels and running around. Both older kids love taking care of Isla, the youngest, who follows both of them like a hawk (well, maybe a little bit slower than a hawk because she likes to wear her older brother’s Crocs and then kind of carefully teeter through the yard). All three kids love hanging out at the river enjoying s’mores and time with their parents and dogs. While we didn’t catch any fish, we did catch some lightning bugs and some great memories on camera (okay that was kind of cheesy but it was a fun night).