Make my day (my week! my summer!) with *this* message

Ah, it's officially summer. Once I look past the sound of my kids fighting and the messes that pop up endlessly around the house, I am extremely grateful to be able to spend the long days of the season with my boys. After all, it's the only summer I'll have with their 8- and 4-year-old versions.

I feel especially excited to do the whole '90s summer thing. You know what I mean — playing outside until dinner, running through the sprinkler, bringing bagged lunches to the pool, playing with neighbors, cooling off at the library, eating way too many popsicles, and watching movies like it's our side hustle (my 8-year-old has E.T. and Jaws on his summer movie list — neither of which I've fully seen!). A simple, quintessential childhood summer. And a present mom.

The best part is, I get to document all of this and transform it into something tangible (on film, of course — this is a '90s summer, after all). My kids love looking back on our summer photographs. And I know these photos — of afternoons at the pool, throwing water balloons in the cul-de-sac, spraying each other with the hose, eating popsicles on the front porch — will come to mean even more as the years go by.

So, you can probably guess what kind of message would make my day, the one that's sure to incite a happy dance in my kitchen. it would go something like this:

"Hey, Laura!

We'd love to do a fun, laid-back session in our backyard this summer! Lots of playing, swinging, maybe some water balloons or the sprinkler, and definitely popsicles and watermelon. Oh, and we'd love for you to design an album with all the images we create, so we can return to these sweet summer memories every year. How soon can we make this happen??"

Cue happy dance.

Now who's going to make my day??

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Laura Richards is a family and newborn photographer in Charlottesville, Virginia. Inquire about your own session!