Amanda & Levi | Western Engagement Pictures

I was 9 years and 9 months old when she was born.

I wasn’t even home at the time. I’d been away at camp or visiting family members, or something along those lines. And I’d been gone for a good stretch – I can’t remember how long, but certainly long enough that almost 10 year old me expected some sort of fanfare when I returned home.

Instead, when I paraded in through the backdoor of our dusty old farm house and announced cheerfully at the top of my lungs, “I’m home!” all I was met with were bug-eyed looks, loud shushes and whispered screams that “THE BABY IS SLEEPING!”

I soon found out the baby’s name was Amanda…my new sister.  And when no one asked me how my trip was, I decided right then and there that I was going to hate her.

That lasted about 2 or 3 days, or maybe a week, or maybe 5 minutes.

Oh how quickly and unequivocally she became more than my baby sister – she was my baby!

My baby.

Mine to take care of. Feed, burp, rock, and sing to sleep. Mine to wake up in the morning, get ready for school, tame her cowlick, and get on the school bus. Kiss her boo-boos, talk her down from her Irish temper, tell her which slouchy socks best matched her tight-rolled pants, and insist we practice her flash cards. She was my very first baby girl. Mine to nurture, love, and protect.

Fast forward 26 years that feel like the blink of an eye, and my very first baby girl is getting married.  Her choice is a wonderful man named Levi, and as much as I’d love to keep her little, they are now each other’s to nurture, love, and protect.

My sweet baby sister asked me to take her engagement portraits and I was overjoyed to accept. We grew up on a farm, and she’s been a horse enthusiast her entire life. From riding to training, barrel racing and showing, she’s done it all. Amanda and Levi both have farm, animal, and agriculture backgrounds and current careers, so it was only fitting that they chose to have a western engagement pictures session.  Here are some of my favorites of the happy couple!

 

Amanda’s horse Nolan getting in on the action…

Later when we were taking pictures of just Amanda and Levi in the field Nolan couldn’t resist joining. I was trying to get an up close picture of just Amanda and Levi, but Nolan kept inching closer and closer to his beloved Amanda, working his way into the frame!

Here’s what we were going for:

And here’s what kept happening:

We rolled with it and got one of my favorite shots of the day:

Nolan might’ve been a ham for the previous pictures, but he was such a good boy for these shots of the happy couple through the stirrups of his saddle. He stood still and was patient as could be!

These next two were taken in front of a silo. I love that iron ladder.

Wishing my beloved baby sister and Levi a lifetime of happiness!