There’s this weird little ache that comes with military life. It’s the “I can’t wait to go” and the “I’m not ready to leave” happening at the same time. If I could bottle that feeling, it’d probably taste like coffee, tears, and a little bit of desert dust. We’re heading back to Minot soon. A place I lived for seven years. A place where I taught. A place where I became a mom. A place that built my foundation long before I ever knew I’d become a photographer or a doula.
And yet… leaving Las Vegas is hitting me harder than I expected. I’ve loved this place more than I ever imagined I would. Somewhere between the fast pace, the competitive creative scene, and the wild range of people I’ve met, Vegas reshaped pieces of me. It pushed me to grow. It challenged me. It elevated my work. It gave me a massive birth community that taught me more about strength, diversity, and support than I ever learned anywhere else.
Vegas didn’t just change me as a professional. It changed me as a mother, a friend, and a human.
And now we’re going back to Minot with a fuller heart and a whole lot more lived experience.
The “Sweet” Side of Going Back
There’s so much I’m genuinely excited for. Minot is where my kids will get a school system that feels stable and familiar again. It’s where community comes naturally. It’s small-town warmth and familiar faces and people who look you in the eye at the grocery store. It’s hockey with the Tauros and parks and cozy winters and a slower rhythm. It’s neighborhoods where your kids can actually play outside without your heart rate spiking.
And selfishly? I cannot wait to photograph families again in the places that shaped my early work.
Oak Park, the Souris River bridges, Woodland Trails, Scandinavian Heritage Park, the little pockets of prairie grass, the long summer sunsets… all those spots that will forever feel like “home” in my portfolio. Returning as a Minot family photographer, Minot newborn photographer, and Minot maternity photographer feels like stepping back into a space I already know deeply — but with years of growth behind me.
I’m excited to connect with Minot’s creative community again too. There’s a growing circle of photographers up there who are doing beautiful work, and I’m looking forward to bringing what I learned in Vegas back with me. My hope is to help nurture the same kind of collaborative, uplifting, “community over competition” energy that I’ve loved so much here.
It’s like revisiting a childhood home after becoming an adult. Familiar, but not the same. Comforting, but in a new way.
And honestly? I’m excited for that.
The Bitter Side of Leaving
But leaving here? Ugh. That’s the part that’s going to break me a little.
I’ve built a community of moms, photographers and friends here in Las Vegas that I didn’t even know I needed. The women who sit with you, cheer for you, text you about milestones, chaos, life stuff. The clients who become friends and the friends who become your “we’re raising babies together” people.
This place also gave me photographers who feel like family. The kind of people who loan gear, share locations, give honest critique, get excited about your wins, and refer clients not because they have to but because they genuinely want to see you thrive. Being part of a city where photographers truly choose collaboration over competition has changed me. I’m so grateful for every late-night editing chat, every styled shoot, every workshop, and every friend who became part of my creative circle.
Las Vegas is where I grew into the photographer I always hoped I’d be, and where I found my doula voice.
It feels like leaving behind a version of myself who grew up here.
Heartbrokenly Excited
Can my photographer and doula heart handle it?
That’s the phrase that keeps coming up for me.
Heartbrokenly excited.
Because I’m carrying Vegas with me.
Every lesson, every client who believed in me, every mom who trusted her story in my hands, every birth room that shifted something in my soul. Every photographer who lifted me up and reminded me there’s room for all of us.
I’m not going back to Minot as the woman who left.
I’m going back as the woman Vegas helped shape.
A little stronger.
A lot clearer on my purpose.
More confident in my work.
More grounded as a doula.
And with three wild kids and a husband who’s been through every season with me.
Minot built my roots.
Vegas grew my branches.
Now I get to see what blooms when I bring those two worlds together.
And my biggest hope?
That the community of moms and photographers I built in Vegas can be rebuilt in Minot. That I’ll find the same warmth, support, and connection there. And that the families who trust me with their stories will feel just as at home with me as they do here.
If you’re in Minot and planning a birth, newborn, or family session this year, I’d love to reconnect, meet you, or help tell your story as life shifts into its next chapter.
