08/09/2024
This weekend, I had to lower my expectations… and then lower them again, and again! 😂
As I drove home from our workshop on Tuesday, I knew I wanted to soak in as much of fall in the Tetons as possible. It’s so beautiful, but once it arrives, it’s gone before you know it, and I just love it! Cole had planned a hike in the Tetons on Friday with his sister, intending to do it all in one day. But I convinced them to camp, and I tagged along, driving up later in the day.
I felt like I was off to a great start, getting out the door by 8:15 and squeezing in a few photo sessions before heading out of town. We made it to the campground without too much trouble from the boys, set up camp, and had dinner ready in 45 minutes.
That’s when the fun began. My boys are not fans of eating—they have zero interest in food, so mealtime is always a challenge. Look at slide number two to see how that went! That’s when I lowered my first expectation. During the workshop, we photographed the cutest little boys, and I kept imagining my boys in the same spot, throwing rocks into the lake. I dreamed of getting one sweet, hugging photo, like in slide number one, and I even brought cute outfits for us. But after our car dinner, I adjusted my plan: no tripod, no cute clothes—just photos of the boys as they were.
We finally made it to the beach, camera gear, plus a product I needed to photograph for a local company. But within minutes, both boys were soaked up to their knees. Ten minutes in, and Oliver was drenched from head to toe. So, I thought, “Okay, if I can just get a few film shots, that’ll be enough.”
Well, with two energetic boys, I never even unzipped my camera bag. Oliver made friends with the family next to us and even smiled for their photos while they were photographing their kids! He later took off running around the beach with their goggles on—seriously, babies in goggles are the cutest! 😂 (See the last slide!)
After the beach, we returned to camp, snacked on Cheetos in the hammock, watched the stars appear, and made s’mores on the stove. Cole eventually made it back, and we finally got to bed.
Moral of the story: It’s okay to lower your expectations—sometimes, a lot!
