This weekend, Shawn and I took a quick trip down to Great Falls Park and did some intense location scouting. We've heard of this amazing spot for years, but haven't been able to check it out. It wasn't until one of our couple's mentioned it that we decided to make the drive down to Virginia. There was no better time to visit, since it was the Centennial for The National Park Service. Not only was there free entry to the park, but they were also showing Wall*E in the evening. I don't think Shawn and I could have planned our impromptu date hike any better, haha! Walking around the park, I honestly could not believe how beautiful it was. Sure, the temperature in August isn't ideal for a hike, but as we reached the edge of the cliffs the view took our breath away. There was a slight breeze from the falls below that filled the air with a wonderful crispness that cooled the scorching heat. As a result, near the edge of the rocks, it was as if fall had already arrived. Shawn and I found this amazing secluded spot to hangout and dream about the e-sessions that we hope take place here. As the sun was setting we strolled around a little bit more. We found the Matildaville Ruins, which were incredibly interesting to see and learn about. Back in 1790, there was a town constructed whose economy relied on the Patowmack Canal. When the canal closed, the...

No, this post isn't covering every single off-season weekend in the Squire household. If I went over the entire winter we've had that would be an incredibly long post and mostly just talking about how staying up to play the video game The Witness messed up our sleep cycle after a few late nights working the different puzzles. I have to thank my friend, Marlayna, for the game recommendation and subsequent obsession that Shawn and I now have :P. When we weren't busy drawing puzzle solutions, we spent a good portion of our Saturday and Sunday outside running around with our Pony pup. Thank goodness for the amazing weather, because we had been wanting to take Pony hiking since we first started the process of adopting him. We chose to stay close to home for this first adventure and went to Patapsco Valley's Cascade Falls Trail. Since Sunday was basically a preview of Spring, the hike to the waterfall was fun, easy, and I was able to take photos! (Something that wasn't fun, though, was figuring out that our little angel needs leash training.) We also got to take Pony to his very first dog park for his BFF, Benny's, first birthday party. Happy belated birthday to that adorable little furbaby :D! While these relaxing weekends are nice to recharges our batteries, Shawn and I are looking forward to the 2016 weddings and engagement shoots. I've been reading up and attending a lot of educational webinars that I know...

I'm not sure if it was the bright leaves or the crisp fall air, but Samantha and Doug's engagement session at Patapsco Valley was fantastic! These two are such an adorable pair. Samantha and Doug were constantly laughing and having fun with each other. It was so cute to see them interactj every time I would tell them to look at one another their faces would light up with huge smiles. Shawn and I could easily see that they just enjoy being around one another. One of the many great things about this session was that it was at my favorite park. I know I've talked a lot about Patapsco in the past, so I won't waste too much time, but the amount of stuff that this location has is unmatched by anywhere else. For Samantha and Doug's engagement we got to check out a new spot, the Cascade Falls, and it was insanely beautiful! We definitely had a lot of adventures on this session, especially around the falls. Given that it was a new spot, I wanted to cover every nook and cranny around this area, so we attempted to safely climb a little bit up the side of the waterfall. I say attempt because Samantha and Doug had no problem getting into their spots, but I stumbled and almost rolled off the edge - typical Britney, haha! It's a much funnier story since I didn't fall and break anything :P. I cannot wait to photograph these two sweethearts...