introducing mr. and mrs. lagden-shepherd

it's been a hot minute since i've taken any photos - and here we are with family portraits and a wedding in less than two weeks. yesterday i had the absolute privilege of taking photos at the wedding of jack and kayla lagden-shepherd. my friend kelly knows them well and when asked to photograph their wedding, asked me to come and help as a second shooter, and i was only too happy to.

it was very warm and sunny, but it was the most beautiful day and we worked so well together. we've really managed to get some beautiful shots and i am loving them more and more as i go through them.

the wedding was held at brookleigh estate on great northern highway in the swan valley and oh was it beautiful. so many gorgeous buildings, tree lined drives and the most stunning courtyard for the reception, plus the sweetest lake side ceremony. it's actually the first time i have ever been into the estate, which is incredible, considering how close we live!

the most special moment of the day for me, was watching the bride, her mother and the bridesmaids quickly stop and have a prayer before walking down the aisle. what a beautiful thing to enter into a marriage, knowing god will guide your path. it was so meaningful to me.

kayla and jack were just so much fun! they giggled along with us and our directions as they snuck kisses and enjoyed every moment of newlywed bliss. i just loved them.

kayla and her ladies 

and the newly pronounced husband and wife... they really just couldn't get enough of each other

and were so happy to go along with all our suggestions for photos.

my favourite parts of the buildings were absolutely these gorgeous entrance doors, i had them over there quick smart for a shot and i am so glad i did. look at that!!

and i still can't stop giggling at this shot. i called out to a bunch of the guests for a shot and it's honestly like a shot from vogue. what a cracker.

we had the best day together and i felt so lucky to be included in such a fun day. i will second shoot for you any time kelly mandin. congratulations to jack and kayla! ❤

 

doug's 40th party

what an awesome night at the swans restaurant and function house in henley brook. covid-19 may have ruined a lot of things this year (including the family trip we had planned to celebrate with dougs best friend james who turns 40 the same week as doug...) but it didn't ruin our ability to have a party at a great local restaurant. the swans is pretty special to us, my best friend jennifer and her husband got married there 10 years ago and dougs sister and her husband a few years back - so we kind of love the place. it's had a few owners since then and the current ones seem to be nailing it! the food was excellent, as was the service and we really enjoyed our evening.

i got there a little early and set up a few things of my own, including the big 40 made out of photos that was in our hallway earlier this week...

and a stack of gold jars with electric candles around the place. they looked so gorgeous flickering away throughout the night.

star of the show was definitely this amazing cake made by my best friend jennifer, it tasted just as good as it looked. forever grateful to have such a talented bestie.

doug very kindly shared his birthday song with his bonus little sister darrio because he had his birthday party on her actual birthday. we felt bad, but she assured him there was nowhere she would rather be.

we had so many friends and family turn up and it was lovely to see him so loved. this year has been hard for everyone, but especially for him losing his dad, who was truly his best mate. he has really risen to the occasion, helping his mum out and doing what he can to step in when she has needed him. i am so proud of him and loved being able to celebrate him today.

happy birthday to the one i love the most. ❤

 

daily walks

we've been walking nearly every day in the past few weeks while we are obediently staying home (other than this!) and social distancing. we have walked past this park over and over, but had no idea what was there! from the road it just looks like bushland...

then the other day madeline said again to me, "mum what's down there?" so we went down the very uneven path and found ourselves a little oasis. at the end of a wooden boardwalk style path there is a roman bath style lake, with a few steps around the edge going down into the water - and even a waterfall! it is just gorgeous, other than the colour of the water haha and they have started calling it the secret garden.

the kids were loving the bunch of ducks swimming about and promised they'd be back to feed them soon...

which we have every day since! they must be loving life. bread, cereal... you name it, my kids have fed it to those poor ducks. maddie has even named one of them deanna, but says she doesn't have any duck friends cause she is always off far away from the others.

we also explored this incredibly gorgeous lane way that we have often spied from the car, but have never had the chance to walk through. it is so beautifully cared for with such gorgeous bushes and flowers growing down both sides - which clearly has not been done by our local council...

apparently it's done by the people that live either side and i love them for it! what a gorgeous thing to do.

the kids love it and want to walk through there all the time now and i can't say i blame them... i am rather partial to it myself.

i am loving our walks - this time with the kids each day chatting is the best! 

all saints anglican church

a few weeks ago we were in the bank, opening another account when some photographs on the office wall caught my eye. they were of a beautiful old church and anyone that knows me would know that i am a sucker for an old church. upon asking a few more questions, i found out it was a local one and i made a mental note to make sure i went and had a look one day.

today was the day... as per the guidelines of social distancing, we don't want t be anywhere that anyone else is... so i took the kids for a drive and found said church.

it's in henry street in henley brook at the end of the road - which is at the end of gnangara road over west swan road (going east) and super easy to find, as it's actually the only thing on that road!

although the church is closed under current government restrictions the outside is still amazingly cute as you wander around in the small yard containing old graves. i love cemeteries too of course... so double bonus. i'll be super keen to come and have a look once the church is open again!

according to the information board out front, it is the oldest church in western australia...

another hidden gem, right on our doorstep!

bennett brook railway

can you believe that i have lived ten minutes away from whiteman park for 4 years and had absolutely no idea that they had a miniature railway in there?! it's been a long few weeks for the kids even before their grandfather passed away last week  (between going to and from the hospital, even over christmas and new year and now organising a funeral) and my lovely mother wanted to take them somewhere for a bit of time. after a bit of googling we found the railway line and the hours it operates which were perfect for us... so off we went.

we had the best time! i had to keep alex in his carrier so he wouldn't try to run around in the open edged carriage, or dive off the edge. i don't think the chains they use to close them off would have kept him in - eep, but it was still good.

you pay a one off entry fee for the train and receive a ticket, then you can ride its loop as many times as you like. the train runs through some of the parks bushland in the park over a six kilometre track. we did two and it was just right.

it was such a good time to relax and just enjoy the bushland around us. anyone who thinks that the australian bushland isn't beautiful is delusional.

so grateful to have mum around to cheer us up!

these kids loved every minute of it, pointing out the little signs everywhere along the track - the artwork at the stations... the little scarecrows... there are heaps of things placed around about for the kids to look at!

i just love where we live!

and sharing times like these with these cute kids ❤

this kid wiggled and giggled the whole time, but i know he loved it too.

relax day - complete

if you want some time out, i highly recommend it. fun for the kids and adults too - as well as super relaxing.

done for another day - and back to real life.

❤

swan settlers market

today we finally checked out the swan settlers market off great northern highway in herne hill, (124 lennard st, turn at lamonts) and oh is it cute! it's built in the old produce building in the historic woodbridge estate and is so gorgeous inside. i loved it so much, as did my kids who excitedly told me all about the time they had been there before. i was so confused, until they said that nanna took them there... apparently while doug and i were in melbourne for letitia's wedding last year.

mine and madeline's favourite thing was the petting zoo. the lovely man that owned it sat and chatted with the two of us while we held rabbits and guinea pigs for quite some time, she was in heaven! she has been asking doug and i non-stop for either one for months... so i hoping it's out of her system now, because we are notttt getting one.

seriously though, look how happy it made her!

they were pretty fun to cuddle though, not going to lie!

there was some amazing food places there... including a fairy floss place, which the kids managed to convince poppy to buy them and a kiwi food store that we hit up for lunch, which happens to be owned by one of the girls i know from maddie's school. we've become quite friendly over the last couple of years and it was great to see her there... and the boys loved their lunch.

the markets are still small at this stage, but there is already a lot to look at... with crystal, crafts, produce and vintage finds. we'll definitely be back! 

heyyyyyyy joseph is five!

today we celebrated joseph's fifth birthday with a loosely themed (it was more just rainbow everything than anything else haha) hey duggee birthday party at the local water park. 

it was a great day for it, nice and hot, with great company!

aunty jenny made our cake as usual and presented us with this gorgeous rainbow, drippy, lollipopped number. joseph loved it and it tasted amazing, 

it even had bubble gum flavoured icing!

see, so chuffed! isn't he the cutest? ♥

we could not have chosen a better day for it either, there was a food truck evening being held in the water park playground beginning later that afternoon and going on through the evening and the local lions club had their community train there.

mum paid for all the kids to go on and have a ride around the park area and it was a hit. we were so thrilled, couldn't have been better if we'd planned it,

the train was even rainbow

and he was the happiest little boy in ellenbrook!

♥

we'd brought along our own gazebo, thinking that we would never get the area we wanted, but as we arrived to the park, there was barely anyone there, and the actually party area near the barbeques was empty. i could not believe my luck!

joseph's favourite gift of the day was this epic water gun from our friends hayden and julia. hayden only has girls, so it's like he makes up for it buying the most over the top boys toys he can for our joseph. it's hilarious. it was filled and being blasted around the place within minutes and wasn't put down the whole afternoon!

hanging out with my love. we made a pretty cool kid!

grandma was on alex duty as usual and he was passed about and kept happy for the afternoon. everyone seemed to have a good time, even "grumpy old poppy"

i made the party favours by simply getting a 24 pack of rainbow lollipops from our local big w and printing a cute "thanks" label featuring hey duggee using the canva app. they were cute as! 

it was an excellent day... and if i may, if you haven't seen the show "hey duggee" yet, then you seriously need to check it out. it is hilarious and well worth the watch. you can watch it here.

duggee hug!