A Family Reunion – Hilton Head Island, SC

It's been a few weeks now since we got back from Hilton Head Island, SC for a family reunion celebrating our grandparents 65th wedding anniversary! We had a great time bike riding, golfing, and relaxing by the pool and on the beach. Most of all, we were grateful to spend time with our family that we don't get to see as often as we'd like.

As I've said before, HHI is one of my favorite places and when you combine one of your favorite places with family, it always makes for a great week! We had 4 generations under one roof - cooking, eating, laughing, and simply enjoying time together!

Of all things, we were grateful to spend the week celebrating our amazing grandparents! It's rare these days to see marriages last 50+ years, let alone 65! It's been a blessing to watch my grandparents share life together - to be raised within a family that honors and celebrates commitment, love & loyalty. Our grandparents are a true example of what it means to love and laugh together - through the good and bad times. What a legacy they have left for all of us.

He's Here!

Welcome Home - Grant Alexander Wilkins! (Born: 7/3/14)

New Partner

Between Teran and I, life has been full, busy, exciting, busy, joy-filled and did I mention busy? As Teran and JJ continue to wait on little man who has officially declared his intentions of being fashionably late, I figured it would be a good time to update you on some other projects we have going on at Fifth of June. One of the most recent steps we have taken has been to join as a partner with the Lightstock Community. What is Lightstock? Well, as stated on their website...

Lightstock is a two-sided marketplace that aggregates, curates, and licenses stock content to the faith-based community.

For over a year, we have built up a stock portfolio with some other stock companies, but we are thrilled for the opportunity to work with Lightstock, as they are a smaller company with core values and beliefs that we align with. We are excited about the contribution they are making to the present day church-community and we are thrilled to be part!

Waiting Patiently

We had a great weekend these past few days. For those of you who don't know, after Teran and JJ sold their house rather quickly, they moved in with me for a few weeks until they were able to find their next home. Well a few weeks turned into a couple of months and while the plan was to be settled into a new place before baby brother arrived, things haven't worked out as planned. So as we continue to play out our modern day version of "Full House", it looks like little guy will be joining us here, along with our parents who are heading over today! That being said, just wanted to give you all a quick update as we continue to wait for Baby Wilkins #2 to make his arrival!

Looking Back at Year One

As we near the end of June we reflect on our first year of business and what an exciting time it was! We are beyond grateful for those who came along with us for the ride and allowed us the honor of taking their photos. It's always fun to take a walk down memory lane so here's just a few shots from our first year. Can't wait to see some of these faces again in the future!

iPhoneography - What We've Been Up To

Keep up with us on Instagram by following us @fifth_of_june

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my partner-in-crime and the brother-in-law of all brother-in-laws. JJ and Teran, glad to celebrate the covenant you both made five years ago and the beautiful family you two have grown since! Thank you for the relationship you have modeled before me, one of love, commitment, sacrifice and grace - and thank you for blessing me with a super cute nephew (and the second one who is on the way)! Love you both! - Paige  

Easter Sunday

Ever since I was a young girl, Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. I used to love getting to wear that special dress my mom bought for me, dying easter eggs, getting my easter basket, and doing an easter egg hunt at our house with all our friends and family. We always had a grand prize egg that would be hidden in with the other eggs and even at young ages, between the Rankin sisters, the competition was fierce to find that egg. Though I don't get to hunt for easter eggs anymore, I do love carrying on many of the traditions we have, even when we're not with family.

A Year in Review

A Year in Review from fifthofjune on Vimeo.

Thankful - Thanksgiving Family Photos - Franklin, NC

Every year, like a lot of families, we take our family photo for our Christmas cards. Luckily this year was warmer than last year and we weren't all shivering, red nosed, and blue lipped! Even though Aiden was fighting a double ear infection and had just fallen on the driveway (the fun part of learning to walk), it was a beautiful evening and the lighting was great. It's always interesting when you are the photographer and the photogetter, photo'ee, ya know....the one in the picture! Thankfully, with the help of technology and a tripod, Paige was still able to capture some great shots that will be landing on refrigerators and card holders everywhere in the next few weeks!

Oh, Christmas Tree - Western NC

Our family loves Christmas! Since we usually spend Thanksgiving in the mountains, it has become a family tradition to head out to a local tree farm, located miles off of an old country road, to pick out and cut down our Christmas trees for the season. This year was extra special because Aiden was able to help pick out the trees as well. It was a beautiful, cool, crisp day and the entire farm smelled of evergreen! How do I know the entire farm smelled of evergreen?...because we literally walked the entire farm! Between my mother, husband and Paige - picking out a tree can be.... challenging - "this one's too round," "this one's too skinny," "this one gives me a bad vibe" - you get the idea! Carrying a 26 pound, 1 year-old child up the side of the mountain, I would have been more than happy with any of the "good" trees we saw, but good isn't good enough and Aiden did have a great time seeing all the trees.  In the end, it was well worth it and we found three beautiful trees!

We hope all of you enjoy every moment of this wonderful season and have a very Merry Christmas!

Aiden's 1st Birthday!

We had such a great time celebrating Aiden's 1st birthday. Leading up to his birthday, I won't lie,  I was a bit emotional. The reality that my baby was turning one hit in full force. Through much prayer and the support of my loving husband, when the day came (and the weekend for that matter) there were no tears and all smiles! JJ took off of work for Aiden's actual birthday so we could all celebrate together. We started the day with one of his favorites - pancakes! Aunt Paige even came over before work to have breakfast with him. We spent the majority of the day at the North Carolina State Fair with our neighbors and their son. I'm not so sure the Fair was more for Aiden or mommy and daddy. The adult menu for the day included pulled pork, deep fried mac and cheese, deep fried Oreos, and deep fried girl scout cookies - we didn't leave hungry, that's for sure! Although he missed out on the food, Aiden enjoyed seeing the animals, the people, Smokey the Bear, and watching all the rides.

But that just kicked things off.....Saturday was the big day! Bachi and Gaddi (great-grandparents on mom's side), grandma (great-grandma on dad's side), Bachi D and Pop (Grandparents on mom's side), Ranger and Nana (Grandparents on dad's side) and Aunt Renee and Cousin Elizabeth all came to town for his birthday. Not to mention all his friends (and ours) that came over for the party! Unfortunately, he was a bit under the weather (go figure), but he still had a great day. He had so much fun opening presents and then really (and I mean really) enjoyed eating his cake! We were so blessed to have so many friends and family come together to celebrate our little man - it has been a great year and I am thankful to say the least! It's amazing to think that just a year ago he was this tiny little baby, brand new to this world. He has gone from this immobile, constantly sleeping, bundle of joy to the sweetest of boys that we can't imagine our lives without.  What a gift you have been to our lives, Happy Birthday, My Little Man!

Hello, it's nice to meet you!

Well we are officially official and now the fun begins! Life has been a bit hectic for Paige and I, respectively. We both decided that I will carry the bulk of blogging duties. I plan hope (life gets crazy with a 1 year old) to share many of the fun things happening in our lives through the blog, and want to hear what's happening in your life as well. To those who know us, it has always been an amusement how opposite Paige and I are as sisters. I'm the blonde, she's the brunette. I'm an extrovert, she's an introvert. I'm a bit more spontaneous and she is quite regimented. The list goes on and on. As the oldest, I have to admit growing up I enjoyed making use of my younger sister. It was easy enough to boss her around (much in part due to her extremely loyal personality) - but fortunately, as we have grown older, we grew from sisters to friends and have rubbed off on each other in the best of ways.

Paige is the smarter one, the more creative one, the detail-oriented, book worm - and passionate one. She has a heart for story telling, a love that led us to start Fifth of June. She is the proud mom of an awesome Golden Retriever named Owen and loves to read (hence the book worm), travel, spend time with friends and loved ones, and pursue all that the Lord has for her in life.

I'm married to my amazing husband, JJ, and we have a 1 year old son who has made our life full of fun and non-stop motion. We love it because JJ and I aren't the type to just sit around. Other than helping Paige with Fifth of June, I stay home full-time with Aiden. Through a lot of prayer and the Lord's leading, JJ and I decided back in the spring that I would leave my job in the corporate world and be at home with the little man. The Lord was so gracious to confirm that for us and to provide for a family of 3 on a police officer's salary. Aiden, my side-kick, and I love working-out, bargain-hunting, traveling, eating and seeing the Lord in each and every day.

So here we are... Besides keeping you up to date with our photography adventures, I look forward to sharing with you some of our day-to-day happenings, recipes, travel stories and so much more!

Teran

A Short Flight - New Hampshire

As I walked around the farm, my camera in hand, I paused every now and then to pull the viewfinder to my eye, framing and capturing the sights before me. A beautiful New Hampshire day, the afternoon sun offered a cozy warmth against the slight breeze. It was then that our gracious host, my mother's cousin, looked at me and said, "If you want to get some good shots, how about I take you up in my plane?" A few minutes later we were heading to the airport, an unexpected adventure added to our day. Despite my mild terror at the idea of small planes, it was one of the many opportunities we had on this trip that I knew would be foolish to turn down. So up we went, one by one, soaring above the rolling countryside. Circling the lookout mountain and coasting over the farmland we stood on just hours previously. All the while guided and piloted by our "tour guide" who exhibited the same genuine hospitality and kindness I have come to know as staple characteristics of my family.

Every now and then, it is well worth it to just say.. "Sure, I'd love to."

Hilton Head Island - An Instagram Take

Our good friend Ashley has lived on Hilton Head Island for a while now and it has become a favorite getaway for us. This year marked our 2nd annual girl's weekend. Once a year we get together to catch up, relax, and invest in friendships that have persevered over many seasons of life. Over the weekend we enjoyed a boat ride along the coast, some time down at the docks and some beautiful beach sunsets. Here's a few shots all taken with an iPhone5.

Strawberry Picking - Raleigh, NC

We are that family. You know, the ones that are always on the go. When the parentals come to town, Teran, typically has a day by day agenda planned out weeks in advance. On one of their recent trips that meant a trip to the Strawberry farm to pick fresh strawberries. We went out for the afternoon and Aiden got a taste of his first strawberries.

Memorial Day Weekend - Blowing Rock, NC

What a beautiful town. Our Memorial Day weekend in Blowing Rock was a nice retreat. We had the pleasure of staying in a lovely cottage off main street, of which, the owners have taken tremendous care in preserving and retelling the history of the home. Our early summer weekend was spent in jackets for the most part as the higher elevation brought even lower temperatures than we expected. Besides exploring the town itself, we also spent an afternoon hiking through Moses Cone Park, enjoying the views and chatting with the cows.