Matt and I live in a smaller neighborhood so whenever he works outside in the wood shop, he usually meets a neighbor or two. In fact, I’ve lived in this neighborhood for 5 years and he has met more people in the year he has lived here than I did all of those 5 years combined. It’s true. Some of those neighbors include Jane and Peyton Hray. Jane, Peyton and their son, Grady, ended up meeting Matt one day out in front of our house.

I can’t believe it took us so long to meet the Hray’s but the second we did, we immediately loved them. They are some of the friendliest people you will ever meet. On any given day driving home from work, you will probably see Jane strolling around the neighborhood with Grady and their guard dog, Jack. Matt and I always look forward to these moments and conversations, because this young family is so full of life and energy. You leave the conversation filled with much more than you initially expected and you can’t help but to love all of them.

They are the neighbors everyone hopes to have not only because of their conversation but because of their kindness (i.e. Jane once brought me rainbow chip icing because she knew I loved it). Even now going through their pictures months later after our session at Finlay Park, I can’t help but feel much more full of joy and life after getting the opportunity to photograph their family.