03/11/2025
Happy Birthday to our little family "empire", Candid Apple Collective! This little dream started as a way to make ends meet as a stay-at-home mom, all the way back to when our oldest boys were still pickin' boogers, climbing counters and making mud in the backyard with beer, while chasing their bare butts out of mud puddles. It was never imagined to be a lifelong endeavor, a pursuit of any sort of growth by any means. Just something I loved, that filled my bucket while paying the bills.
The day Brad jumped in full-time, was really the first moment I felt the possibility of growth. And that someone, other than me, believed it. From there, we welcomed our 3rd son, persevered through a cancer fight, then a pandemic, somehow coming out the other side stronger, and even more determined. Even at that point, I never once imagined that I was building something that would involve more than our team of two.
But it did. We grew from Candid Apple Photography, to Candid Apple Collective. Now a team of 6, not only includes our boys, but their partners. From photography only to expanding to include film and wedding planning. While our kids continue their education in business, film and planning, Brad and I have also invested in our own learning and growth to provide an even better experience to our clients, with a new goal in mind -- legacy. In all 20 years, a legacy is never something I thought about building, let alone something that was already well in the works.
Proud really isn't the right word. I don't know what is. But I'm proud of the fight to get here. I wouldn't value it the same without it. And I'm proud that my kids saw enough of that fight to know that easy isn't better. The highest reward comes from the hardest work. And while my biggest parenting goal (other than keeping 3 boys alive) was to provide them with more advantages than I had, while being decent humans, the connection to that goal and Candid Apple is a beautiful marvel.
Who knows what the future holds. While the stars are aligned now, I am in no way holding my breath that their careers will land and stay here. But for now, I'm in awe of what we are creating together. And we will continue to build a legacy for the just in case. 🥰
Kelowna, Okanagan, BC
