I Fancy This Inn!

The town of Greeley has never conjured up images of class or elegance for me. When it comes to mind, I tend to think of the lovely people I know who live there and... well... the cow poop (I had to say it). But the Sod Buster Inn (website under construction by Acorn) has really turned me around! Now, when I think of Greeley, I think fond thoughts of one lovely couple from Britain who is changing my mind and bringing an uptown feel to one of Colorado's more blue collar towns. This couple is a TREAT to be around and their inn is beautiful - with 10 rooms to share! The shoot was a bit long – 11 hours – but I never got bored and never bruised myself :)

Here's what I wrote in my journal the day after the shoot:

I love this place! I love Derek & Stephanie; they're just lovely. This inn is beautiful, they are beautiful, and I had a beautiful time. I hope this one succeeds! They just moved here 12 weeks ago from England to start this inn, but they've lived all over – Japan, Nigeria, Greece, Indiana, and England. I've never been treated so graciously and like "part of the family" by any innkeeper before. Stephanie bought lunch for me yesterday, she helped me behind the scenes as my "flunkie," and after the shoot was over the poured a glass of wine for the 3 of us to sit down and toast to celebrate! Then, they insisted on me having dinner with them! So lovely...

And here's what I had to say in their guestbook upon checking out from my (11 hour!) photo shoot:

WOW. I have stayed in a lot of B&B's and taken lots of pictures. And I may take the pictures, but you, Derek & Stephanie, take the cake. Your hospitality was above and beyond. I can tell you really care about the people who come through the Sod Buster, and that makes me know that people really will leave as your friends. I know I am! Much love to you both. If kindness and hospitality make a business successful, this should be a Fortune 500 Company :)

Long story short: go visit these people. You won't be sorry!

Look Out For #4!

I don't even know where to begin with this precious family... they are wonderful and giving and hilarious and creative and inappropriate (in the best ways possibly) and snarky and share their food with me and let me stop by whenever I feel like it and just flat out A+ The scene begins with Clay, Krista, and their 3 beautiful children–Noah, Sadie, and Seth.

And then there was Piper.

I first found out about Piper when sitting down to watch 500 days of Summer with Krista near Christmas last year. "I hope I'm not pregnant," she said, as she took another sip of wine. "Could you be?" "Well, yeah..." (I only questioned it because I knew that her husband had gotten the old "snip-snip" just a few DAYS before) I told her to call him and tell him to pick up a pregnancy test on his way home. "No... I will just wait."

The next day I got a text from her that read "Ummm, can you say 4?" :) And she surprised everyone on Christmas by putting a note about little unborn Piper in Clay's stocking. Then came summer, and then came Piper. I am so excited for them to have a 4th because a) they are really special to me, b) the more Enochs in the world the better, and c) Krista really wanted another girl before they were done with the childbearing years! I'm so glad to see how God has blessed this wonderful family, and I'm so glad they got a baby so well behaved and CUUUUUUTE.

Shooting Babies Is Fun! :)

Sweet little Ella is the daughter of my good friend, Jayme Mac (as we called her), who was a fellow counselor with me at Eagle Lake Camp in 2003, '04, and '05! It's always a little weird when your friends start having their own offspring, but it really is a beautiful thing! It was a fun shoot because Jayme and I were able to hang out and catch up in between shots... especially when Ella felt like she needed to get some screams out :) There were definitely some funny outtakes that I'll have to include, because babies just make the most awesome faces when they're screaming bloody murder. But Ella did so great overall and was a really good sport, as we changed her outfits and locations multiple times, made her lay naked on the floor, and tried to stick wedding rings on her toes. Here's some of my faves.