why, hello!

well gosh that was a long blogging hiatus wasn't it? Life has been going at such a rapid pace lately and so much going on but in all its entity its all been good. Last month I turned 30 and I started to realize I am getting older and there is no stopping time. It was a strange and scary reality. I am no longer the youngest person at the social parties nor the youngest mom at play dates. I have a child going into kindergarten this year. I don't always get carded anymore for alcohol. Wow. But these last few nights I've been feeling so incredibly blessed to be a mom to TWO beautiful daughters. I look at my 30 year old self and realized this is my last decade of fertility and thats about it. I've got only got a couple more years left and this stage of my life will be over. The best years of my life, I am sure of it. I mean each stage of life has its blessings as well as its cross, but I definitely think these young years as a young family raising young children have got to be the very best. I can tell in the eyes of so many older people who always smile (or sometimes sympathize) with me when I am with my children in public. They always tell me to enjoy them because this time will fly. And I do enjoy it, every single bit. Every sleepless night, every tantrum dealt, every heartache is worth it. I don't know why I'm even getting so nostalgic about it really, but its a reality I recently realized and I wanted to note it.

If social media hasn't informed you, we are preparing for another big move next month to San Diego! Now the real question is, how does one stay sane moving twice in less than one year in practically what feels like 2 different states with 2 little children in tow? I'm still trying to figure that all out. Last night, I got desperate and typed in "making move easy" on pinterest to get ideas. Ha! So lame or so desperate? You decide. Well the worse part of that was that pinterest didn't teach me anything new. Therefore, I've decided I'm going to get rid of all my household goods and live with nothing so I don't have to pack it. Why do I have so much stuff?!! 

Well i'm planning one heck of a yard sale in a few weeks and the rest of it will be going to happy people shopping at the Goodwill.

Good riddance!

In the meantime, here are some pictures from our trip to Carmel over Easter weekend. I love that town so much! I mean, whitest sands to the greenest valleys, to the deepest shades of blues of the ocean. Its absolutely perfect! 

where the greenest of valleys meet the coast! 

we play in our jammies

The reality is, when my kids get up from naps in the afternoon i usually prepare a little snack and we all go outside to play in our yard in our jammies.

so here they are in their incredibly bright pink footies that contrasts with anything green and beautiful outside, but having the best time in the world. :)

So its officially birthday week in our home. We celebrate mine and Zaylee's birthday this week! I never really make a big deal about my birthday, but this year is different because I'm turning the big 3 0 ! I think Mike is rubbing off on me really with the whole birthday excitement thing. He LOVES to celebrate his birthday and I mean its like a celebration for the whole month kind of a thing. So this year he insists that he has my special day planned. I don't really know what's up his sleeve. He says its all my favorite things to do, whatever that means. 

Zaylee turns 2 the day after my birthday. Its amazing how that all worked out and she picked her own day to be born too, which happened to be a week before her due date. For weeks now I would say to her "how old are you going to be?" She always answers "five" (because Sophia is turning five). But today, today she finally said "two? two." We've been practicing singing happy birthday today and she knew just to blow out the candles at the end. I then got deja vu of last year when we sang happy birthday to her and she didn't know how to blow out the candle, so I had to for her. She saw that I bought birthday hats too and said "me! happy!" She knows they are for her and she knows we are having a birthday party just for her on her special day. I see her light up and it warms my heart. Yes baby girl, all these special things are for you because we love you so!  

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Sophia: She sings the soundtrack to the movie "Frozen" everyday, all day. 


Zaylee: She's got wild hair, always has since day one. Everyday it looks like this, a big ol' mop on her head. She still looks cute to me. 


"A portrait of my children once a week, every week in 2014."

lately

We've been spending all our free time after dinner and on the weekends riding our bikes along the most beautiful American River trail. Its been so good to just ride with the warm sun hitting your face and letting go all the worries and stresses of the day. Mike will pull the trailer with the girls and every single time they have fallen asleep after squealing with delight when he rides fast down some bumpy dirt hill. And then its just him and I riding side by side having the long conversations that we can't always have when the girls need our attention. Its been the best way to spend time lately. 

Its so hard to believe that I just moved up here only 6 months ago and having gone from not knowing this city at all and now to feel like home. I've been feeling so bittersweet lately about moving again in a few months and wonder what these feelings all mean. We have grown so much as a family, as a married couple, as husband, as wife, as children, and as individuals in the last 6 months. I see all the hidden blessings behind our trials now. I look back and reflect on every prayer, every desire in my heart and I am moved to tears each and every time at God's goodness. I look at how he has answered every prayer for me, even when I couldn't see it then. Once again my future looks blurred, but our time in Sacramento has shown me that through trusting Him, I will one day see. +AMDG 

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Sophia: she played in our yard with a new friend from across the street. He came over with bubbles to blow and she brought out her princess toys and they were singing to the Frozen soundtrack. 


Zaylee: she has been talking so much this week and forming little sentences. 

a new journey

I don't even really know where to begin. So as long as I can even remember, I have loved taking pictures. You can ask mike, we even got into a argument about it during our honeymoon because I was taking way to many pictures. He made a funny video about it, and one day I will have to share it in all humility.

Well, long story short...I have recently started my journey as a photographer. And well, i feel like a bunch of lights turned on in my head or a lot of puzzles in my life just kind of fell into the right place because I LOVE IT. Its like my passion and all this creative energy I have all came together. I feel so incredibly blessed to be doing what I love.

So there you have it. I'll be sharing more pictures from some of my photo shoots that I have been working on. I hope you enjoy them!

11/52

and so it happens...i'm behind on these weekly pictures again! 

Sophia: There were lady bugs everywhere and she was finding them on this field with friends.


Zaylee: She is so stubborn sometimes, but I can still distract her enough to crack a smile. 


"A portrait of my children once a week, every week in 2014."

mom life

I'm emptying my iphone pictures and find all these hidden gem photos among my day. I'm glad I remembered to snap these fleeting moments. Welcome to my mom life in a nutshell. 

We are busy busy busy from the moment our eyes open in the morning and until we close them at night. There are block building, dressing up and lots drawings around my house. But we also watch tv, take selfies and brush our teeth together too...come on, lets be real now.  

We try to leave the house at least once a day, most days. Sophia is such a little party animal and needs to socialize with other people besides me. We do stuff like get donuts in the rain and then I brave the grocery store with two littles who demand their own cart. Now that was fun. Just kidding...it really was, sort of. 

We play outside almost everyday after naps. 

^^^ These pictures are obviously not mom life pictures, seeing Mike is holding Zaylee's hand...but they had to be shared. Zaylee is a purse girl and a shoe girl. Here she is trying to keep her shoulder straps up using her cheeks and then realized the solution is to just walk with your one arm up. Girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.