Elizabeth + Family | Virginia Beach Family Portraits

Let me just start by saying:  go grab yourself a cup of coffee… spark (in my case)… or whatever your beverage of choice might be now that you are reading this.

There is soo soo much that I could say about this family!  There is also soo much that I could say about this session.  It’s so hard for me to narrow this down to one single blog post because I honestly think I could write a short novella!  We all know that I’m a wordy girl.  I’m wordy in my real life, I’m wordy when I leave voicemails (you know it’s true ya’ll) and I’m wordy on my blog.

When it comes to this family though… sometimes words just escape me.  OR they come way too much!

Let’s just see how this goes and if at some point you over my talking (or writing) just scroll and let the images do the talking!  There is enough joy and love in each image that speaks MORE than a thousand words!

Elizabeth is my sister when it comes to photography and life!  She is my go to girl for all things!  We talk or text at least once a day (if not more).  If we don’t hear from one another… we start to get worried.

When Tuck was deployed,  she knew the codes to get in to the house and often (thank goodness for this) would just come over and let herself in!  She has always been exactly what I needed!  We pick each other up, we boost each other up, and we cheer each other on in life and photography!

When she asked me if I would consider doing a BIG family session for her of everyone… I jumped at the chance!  Not only do I love and adore Elizabeth, but I also love her family.  I’ve known them pretty much all my life.  I went to school with Clay and our parents have worked together on countless things from school affairs and events to Bolts swim team meets and even just neighborhood get together!

Even when I didn’t think I was near a Friske, I absolutely was!  When I worked at the children’s hospital, Elizabeth’s sister in law (Parker’s better half, also named Elizabeth) was one of the big time in charge nurses on a unit our department worked really closely with!

To say this family has a big piece of my heart is an understatement!

If you talk to ANYONE that know’s the Friske family:  any single member, they will all tell you the same thing:  these guys are pretty amazing.

Mr. and Mrs. Friske instilled some incredible values and more than that… just passed on some really rare and incredibly compassionate and self-less character traits to their children.  I know it comes from watching and following their parents lead.  Mr. and Mrs. Friske are two of the most loving, generous, FUN and inspiring people in this world!

The love they have for everyone around them truly shows through not just in how they treat everyone, but you can actually physically see how much they care for people in the way they live their lives and speak to others.  It’s like kindness and happiness and joy radiates out of their being!  I know it sounds silly (I know that as I type this, if you haven’t met them you must think I”m just blowing smoke) but seriously… it’s the truth!  You can really see it in these images!

All of their children embody this as well!  Elizabeth is so amazingly self-less and kind that it’s almost to a fault!  She would absolutely give not only the shirt off her back but anything else in her hands, pockets or car to a stranger on the street!

Clay is quiet at first but don’t let it fool you!  He is funny and his laugh is infectious!  When he laughs or smiles, everyone laughs or smiles;  and I remember him never letting an awkward moment ruin anyone’s day!  He always made an attempt to make everyone feel comfortable and welcomed and liked!  He always said hello to everyone and gave that smile and maybe made a little joke to make them laugh!  He is the guy that always asks about your day and is genuinely interested in listening to you and interested in finding out more about your life!  These days it’s rare to find someone who is a great listener!

Parker was older than I was.  He was the “cool guy”!  The guy that everyone always looked up and wanted to be like!  I have to admit I was a bit nervous at first around him during our session!  I know.. so silly!  It’s true though!

Parker is the observer! During our session, he was the one that watched everyone and just made sure everyone was there, and Ok and relaxed and comfortable.  He takes care of everyone, protects everyone and watches over everyone!

Elizabeth (Parker’s wife!) is super fun!  She’s the one that adds the whimsy to her family!  Her boys are so fun and so funny!  I am dying to get Linc around them because I think he will be in awe of her “big guys” and totally look up to them in such a cute way!  Elizabeth kind of amazes me.  She is an amazing mom, she is a super hard worker (and a nurse too which is crazy hard and amazing in so many ways it deserves its own post) and she’s always still positive and laughing!  I think she balances out Parker perfectly and I can only imagine how much fun they have all together!

Katie, I just met!  Katie is Clay’s girlfriend and she is such a sweetheart!  She is bubbly and upbeat and I think we could sit down and talk for days about absolutely nothing.  In fact, I think Katie could sit and talk for days about anything with anyone.  She’s friendly and outgoing and the perfect mix of gorgeous and the girl next door!  Clay is one lucky guy!

After we took some big family photos, we did some singles and mixed it all up a bit!

I absolutely LOVE this picture of these two!  It’s probably one of my favorites of the entire session!  This is what I was talking about earlier… you can actually see all the love and kindness and joy!

Ok guys… stop being so cute!!!

RJ is Elizabeth’s hubby!  We joked at the session that he’s probably the MOST photographed man in Virginia Beach.  I think between Elizabeth and me and all the sessions we ask him to do… he just might be!  But seriously.. these guys are just soo cute together (and his blue eyes and her smile… that doesn’t hurt either!)

RJ is pretty amazing himself, and he would have to be in order to win Elizabeth’s heart!  During their wedding when he spoke his vows (his own vows, written on a cardboard box (amazing actually) they made us ALL ugly cry~  This is a man that jokes all the time.  He is super sarcastic (in the best way) and always cracking jokes, but when he speaks from the heart, please believe you are going to need an entire box of kleenex!  RJ is the type of guy that comes over to check on you when your home by yourself.  He takes a million pictures and selfies because he loves his wife and she’s a photographer.  He’s a good old boy who has a sentimental heart and is so loyal and trust worthy that you forgot people like that still existed!

We walked down a little ways and then I learned a new word!  HUG A BACK!!!  This was hysterical and I’ll just let the images do all the explaining!  Clay and Katie started… but soon everyone joined in!

 Love this family so much!  And love THIS girl so much!  Thank you Elizabeth for giving me the honor of taking these images and sharing a morning with your family!