Two weeks ago at this time I was sitting in a session at the Winshape Retreat Center for the Connect Retreat no doubt listening to wise words from one of our wonderful speakers and sitting next to some of the greatest friends. In a few hours we’d be eating lunch in the dining hall and then having chickfila ice-cream with oreos on top for dessert. Oh it feels like a happy dream at this point. What I would give to go back to those moments! That week included a lot of driving for Ryan (he doesn’t like when I drive because I drive like a grandma), but it also included a lot of rest, growth for our relationship, and new friendships!

I didn’t get to take as many pictures of these pretty people as I would’ve liked, but I thought I would share the few that I did take! We met Alison and Mike last year when they came to Richmond for a shoot with Katelyn James. We had been “online friends” for a while and decided to get dinner together when they were in town! And we were so thankful for that opportunity because we clicked with each other right away! Mike is also an engineer like Ryan so they bonded over that along with the fact that they both help us run our businesses, and Alison and I are so similar personality wise! We also both have adorable little poodle mix puppies that we treat like they are our real children. It was a huge blessing to have them there with us at the retreat! They are some of the nicest, most genuine people you will ever meet!

And I connected with the adorable Maison and Caleb because they were the only engaged couple at the retreat! Ryan and I had gone to a different retreat at Winshape before we were married too, so I could relate to them a little bit! They will be getting married later this year and hope to join forces on Maison’s business…It was so fun hearing a little bit about their plans and I’m so excited for them and their future together! Looking back, I wish Ryan and I had some pictures of the two of us at the retreat that we had gone to, so I offered to snap a few for Maison and Caleb on the final morning of the retreat! I wish I had been able to spend more time with these guys, but hopefully next year we will all be back in this glorious place with each other again!