Georgia Aquarium

We went to Atlanta last weekend. It was so fun spending time in a big city. I guess I've spent too much time living in suburbia because I was amazed by all of the tall buildings and traffic and crazy drivers (all things that I grew up with back in California). The weekend really revolved around work and a wedding I was shooting but we had some down time to go sight-seeing and enjoy the city.

On Saturday we went to the Georgia Aquarium. It was really big (like, biggest aquarium in the US) but also really crowded. (Who's idea was it to go to the Aquarium on a Saturday afternoon???) I'll let you in on a little secret, I really, really don't like unorganized crowded places. So it took a few deep breaths when we first walked in but once we got into the individual exhibits where there was a little less chaos it was really neat. It is so amazing to think about the world that exists in our oceans and streams that we really only get a glimpse of in these aquariums. It is all so beautiful. The girls seemed to really enjoy it too. To Kylie everything was from Finding Nemo so she was really excited about the fish and sharks she was seeing and Emily just liked all of the pretty lights and colors.

Now that we are parents, we have the inherent duty to spoil our children by buying toys in gift shops everywhere we go. So we stopped in and let the girls pick out a little stuffy to take home. Ky actually picked out both, a little white beluga whale for Em Grace and a pink squeaky penguin for herself. (I couldn't pick just one picture of the girls and their stuffies because I thought the whole sequence of pictures told the story much better.)

P.S. How great is Emily's hair??? That's all natural baby!

Read more...

26 Years Young

Kylie learned how to sing "Happy Birthday" all by herself this year. About a month before my birthday I told her mommy's birthday was coming up and from then until my birthday, she sang me that special song at least a few times a day. She would ask me, "Mommy, what I get you for your birthday?" and I would say, "I don't know, Kylie. What are you going to get me for my birthday?" then she would shout, "Oh! Cake and candles, and you blow like this (and then she would blow) and ballooooooons! Oh, and I want that too!" We had that same conversation a number of times. She made me feel so special for that whole month leading up to my birthday!

You know who else made me feel so special? My amazing husband! When I woke up in the morning he played with the girls out in the living room while he finished getting ready for work so I could sleep in for an extra 20 minutes. Then, when I got up, I found a sweet card and two bags of yummy chocolates waiting for me on the counter. That's always a great way to start my day!

Later that afternoon he gave me the most wonderful gift ~ A Jo Totes camera bag!

Seriously, it is so amazingly cute and I have been drooling over these for a while (like facebook stalking and mindlessly browsing their website). And the best part? It was a complete and total surprise. I think he was just as excited to watch me open it as I was to receive it. I didn't even tell him that was what I wanted let alone the exact color I would have picked out myself. I don't know how he did it, but he scored some MAJOR points! I love it love it love it!

We spent my birthday evening in the car driving halfway to Atlanta for a wedding I was shooting that weekend (we drove the other half the next morning). We enjoyed a yummy McDonalds dinner (which tasted especially good since we hadn't eaten out in a few weeks after making a goal not to eat out as often), watched our favorite, "Tangled," and sang and made silly faces and even napped.

 The girls did so good on our trip. We really only had one melt down on the whole 24 hour round-trip drive, and it was during the last stretch of the 12 hour drive home. They were such little troopers. We had a blast in Atlanta too by the way and I have pictures coming soon of the fun we had there.

My birthday was so great! I have the greatest family that made me feel so special on my special day.

Read more...

Princess Parties

In our house we play dress-up every single day. That is not an exaggeration. It is mandatory that we all wear crowns, glass slippers and our finest jewelery especially when Kylie is wearing a dress, or in this case, her princess pajama dress. Emily was napping during this particular dress-up session, but don't worry, Kylie was quick to find a replacement to join our princess party.

Read more...

On the Move

Well, it's time to baby proof again. It's funny, having a toddler/preschooler running around would make you think that your house is pretty baby safe, but then baby sister becomes mobile and wants to grab and explore and climb and pull up and you realize, maybe letting Kylie eat her oranges on the floor within Emily's reach wasn't such a great idea. Emily is really getting around lately. She still doesn't like to crawl but she is all about scooting and pulling up and is even trying to cruise along furniture and walk with a push toy. I am always so amazed when I see her standing up and think about how someone so small can be getting ready to walk already. She's just so little!

She especially loves our living room storage bench that we keep our throw blankets in. It's the perfect size for her to pull up on and just hang out. We're still figuring out the whole getting-back-down-after-she-pulls-up thing. I think it's sweet when she gets frustrated because she can't figure out how to sit back down. Don't worry, baby, you'll get it.

Pay no attention to the onesie hanging out of Em's pants. I'm sure there was a diaper change in there somewhere and she went rolling off before I could get her put back together again. And that little scratch by her eye? Kylie tripped over her while she was playing on the ground and scratched her with her toe nail... maybe you didn't need to know that...

Read more...

Announcement...

We've been waiting and wishing and praying for this for a long time... It took a lot of hard work and a lot of patience, and finally, we are so thrilled to announce...

WE ARE GOING TO BYU!!!

Mike rocked that interview and got into the MBA program at Brigham Young University!!! He worked so hard and studied for that darn GMAT for so long and I am so proud of him! We are so excited for the new adventure that awaits us out in Provo, UT. Yep, that's right, we are moving to Utah. This summer to be exact. Orientation starts Mid-August so we will be heading out west in just a few short months! I still can't believe it. Just sitting here typing this I am blown away and then flooded with the overwhelming list of to-dos before we leave. I have a feeling these next few months are going to be very busy for us, but I'm sure it will all be well worth it! Great job, Babe! We are so proud of you!

Read more...

Our New Favorite Pastime

Some of you may know that I surprised Mike with a new bike for his birthday this year (well, almost surprised... it's hard to really keep a secret with a two year old around.). To say he was excited would be a bit of an understatement. He loved his present and I was pretty proud that I picked a gift that he wasn't tempted to return (he does have a history of that after all...)Along with his bike we ended up buying a bike for me and a trailer for the girls so that we could go on family bike rides together. I can't even tell you how much fun we've been having! We go on bike rides just about every evening after dinner. It's been so fun!

The first weekend after getting our bikes we decided to go out for our first ride. We planned on just riding around the neighborhood but once we got out there and realized how fun it was enjoying the beautiful day and the fresh air, we decided to head to the park for a picnic. There was just one problem, we didn't bring a lunch for our picnic and neither of us had our wallets to even stop and buy lunch. But we also didn't want to go back home so we kept riding. Mike had the idea of stopping in at the bank (inside Walmart) and seeing if he could talk them into giving us some money. ("Yeah, right..." I thought) Remember how we didn't have wallets, that meant no bank cards and no IDs... So we stop, I wait outside with the bikes and the girls, and what do you know, 20 minutes later he comes walking out with a shopping bag full of lunch and goodies for our ride. (I told you he was a smooth talker, right?)

We applied some newly purchased sunscreen and kept on riding until we ended up at the park. We enjoyed some yummy deli subs, Kylie and Daddy got some energy out of the jungle gym and I played on the grass with our little Emmie Grace. Then we realized that the half-hour bike ride that we had planned on had turned into a four hour day-trip... so we decided to head home.

Now let's be honest here, the ride out there was so fun, the ride back, not so much... We had to stop a few times because my thighs were burning sooo bad! It's amazing how flat a road can seem until you are riding a bike up it. Oh, and another reason my legs were on fire, I learned toward the end of our ride that I was completely using my gears backward. Like when you are going uphill you should dial down to a low gear like "1," yeah, I was turning it to "7!" It's no wonder my legs would lock up when I was trying to pedal uphill. Lesson definitely learned!

Seriously though, we have been loving our bikes and can't wait until the next time we get to go out for a family ride!

Read more...

Little Models

I was asked by a little boutique children's clothing company out in California (Little Wellies) to do some product photography for a couple new outfits that they had coming out for their summer line. I took my adorable little models out last week and we had some fun in the middle of a dirt road. I take that back, I had fun, Kylie complained about the dirt and mud puddles and Emily was hungry... The neighbors were pretty confused when they saw us with our green couch out on their road and we even had a couple farmers come riding down on their tractors to check us out and make sure we weren't planning on leaving that couch there...

Read more...