After doing Hayden’s senior pictures, this was a little mini family session that we squeezed in afterward.

We had the people. We had the place. We had a PLAN.

Billings, however, had a different plan than me, and it didn’t mind springing it on me last minute. HA!

Anyone who has had family photos taken knows that there is a lot of prep work. Get the kids ready, lay out clothes, make sure it all matches, make sure everyone is off of work and ready on time.

Is everyone where they need to be? Check. Does everyone know where to meet up? Check. Massive windstorm that has the ability to sandblast your skin and make you feel like you are chewing on rocks? Check…

After we had finished up with Hayden’s senior photos, we had the family meet us at a location on the rims to get some updated family photos.

Denton and I had checked out some spots earlier in the day, and we were so happy that it wasn’t windy, as that’s a touch and go issue here.

So, we had found a nice sheltered spot where, even if it got a bit windy later, there was still enough shelter to keep hair in place and shirts from billowing.

We got everyone down to the location, and were just setting up the first shot when a WALL, and I mean a WALL, of wind hit us.

It had dust and debris in it, and it was the kind of wind that you couldn’t even stand up to. Looking over the Yellowstone River Valley, we could see huge, billowing clouds of dust in the distance, sweeping across the town and we knew that it wasn’t going to let up anytime soon. So, with 50 minutes until sunset, we decided to rush downtown and find a spot that could possible be sheltered by the buildings and the trees of Billings.

Thankfully, we found this little oasis and were able to get some beautiful family pictures of one of our favorite families. 🙂

I want to give a huge thanks to everyone here for their flexibility and joyful spirit in the middle of a family photo re-organization! Everyone did fantastic and made my job so much easier and happier, and I hope that these photos bring back the fun memories of a great evening together!

We love you all- here are a few of my favorites!