a PinkBlush Maternity review!

Posted on September 14, 2016 by tara

I was so excited when PinkBlush contacted me to ask if I’d like to review an item from their maternity clothes line. I had already been looking for a dress to use for our family photos (without much luck), so their offer came at the perfect time!

Honestly, I had a hard time choosing something, just because they have so many seriously gorgeous maternity dresses. After much debate, flipping through dress pictures, and asking Michael for his opinion about a hundred times, I chose this dress! This is my first-ever maxi dress, so I was a little worried about the fit, but the company’s measurement chart is true-to-size. This dress couldn’t be any more perfect!

It’s made of a soft, high-quality fabric that will stand up to a lot of wear- and let’s be honest here, I’m going to wear it as many times as I can before this baby comes (although I think it will work well as a nursing-friendly dress, too)!

The dress is lightweight and I never once felt hot wearing it, despite being outside when it was around 80 degrees.

I love the vibrant colors and how easy it was to coordinate my girls’ outfits with mine!

This dress is fancy enough for family pictures, yet still comfortable enough to wear to church. I love feeling good in what I’m wearing, especially with this (sometimes awkward) big pregnant belly!

Thanks PinkBlush!

labor day weekend 2016

Posted on September 7, 2016 by tara

Labor Day weekend- when we celebrate working by not working! Or, in our case, Michael didn’t have to go to work, but we accomplished a bunch of projects at home. Our house is not a fixer-upper by any means, but I’ve still been surprised by how many small things we need to fix or want to change. We are always doing something, and I suspect we will never truly be done.

We kicked off the weekend with some juicy watermelon from my Young Women president! Kaelyn can eat a couple slices in one sitting, and I was surprised that Kaya willingly tried some. Mmmm!

On Saturday morning, Michael started putting together the girls’ furniture, only to discover that their dresser came without instructions! Meanwhile, he built their bunk beds (and we’re still waiting to hear back from the manufacturer about the dresser)!

Kaya begged and begged to sleep in her new bed, so we were sure to have it all put together by bedtime. I LOVE how they both screamed “yay! yay!” as soon as they saw it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXEexQrnB4I

I’ve been telling Kaelyn she would be getting a big girl bed soon, but I couldn’t have predicted how truly happy she would be! This rocking chair is supposed to go in the baby’s room, but it’s actually been pretty nice to have it in their room for story time! We always read a book before nap and bed time.On Monday, we bought a few cans of paint (which was actually great timing, since Behr paint has a $10 rebate per gallon through today)! Michael painted over the yellow ceiling in the stairwell, and started going over the primer on the left wall. This week, we’ll fix the drywall downstairs, install new baseboards, and finish the painting. On Monday night, Michael spread some new mulch, while I took a few updated portraits of Kaya and Kaelyn. The lighting was dreamy, and they were both surprisingly cooperative! Kaelyn didn’t want to wear shoes, and I’m actually glad- I love seeing those tiny toes wiggling in the photos. We ended up with a few great shots that I can’t wait to put on the wall!

ben and brittany come to visit

Posted on July 28, 2016 by tara

We’ve been able to visit with several family members and friends in this past month! I’m grateful for being able to keep in touch with everyone through the amazing technology we have today, but there is nothing quite like an in-person visit. Ben and Brittany moved to Texas last summer, and they’ve come back to Virginia twice in this past year. They made another trip out to our neck of the woods to visit with us, and I’m so glad they did! The last time we saw them was around Christmas… our group just keeps growing in number! I loved seeing all of our girls together. They were instant friends who loved having “picnics”, going on pretend walks, and chasing each other around all day long. I got to take some family photos for them while they were here! Kaya worked really hard to help Caroline smile, and then would dole out marshmallows for her good efforts. She really is the perfect little helper!We really lucked out with good lighting. Guys, this is in my backyard! There was plenty of Wii Party and ice cream for the adults (and baby-Alice cuddles for me) once the kids were in bed asleep. Before they left, we had a bubble-blowing bonanza on the deck. I think these three girls were in heaven!
Watching so many friends move away in these past couple of years has been hard. Having them visit brings a refreshing, nostalgic taste of normalcy, and I am definitely grateful for that.

five on friday (07/22)

Posted on July 22, 2016 by tara

ONE. We’ve been soaking up our time at the pool this week (and unfortunately, my shoulders have soaked up a little too much sun… it’s hard to sunscreen your own back)! Humidity has ranged from 97-100% every day, so going swimming is a great break from the heat. These two sweeties love playing together and would stay at the pool all day long if I let them.

Kaya loves “swimming” in the big pool. Two-foot-deep water probably seems as vast as the ocean to her right now!

Kaelyn loves to practice “kicking” in the water while I hold her and spin her around, but she spends most of her time pouring water in and out of her buckets.

TWO. Suddenly, my baby seems so grown up. She finally figured out how to blow real bubbles (instead of just putting her mouth on the wand), and even insisted on using the big-kid swing instead of the baby one yesterday. As of these past couple of days, we’re also really close to being completely done with nursing. Seriously… all these milestones all at once!

THREE. We did the letter “i” for preschool this week, so we’ve enjoyed a lot of ice cream-themed crafts and some “ice science“. They absolutely loved this activity, and I really love seeing my kids learn.

FOUR. Photography business has been so good this summer. I’m feeling really blessed (especially with the upcoming expenses associated with having a new baby soon), and I’m excited to see where my business might be six months or a year from now. My priority in this stage of life is being the best mom I can be to my kids, but I do enjoy using my talents and being able to do something I really love on the side.

Michael also took an updated headshot for me. He’s getting pretty good with the camera, too!

FIVE. All this swimming, playing, learning, and working wears us out fast! Kaelyn had a hard time staying awake on the way home from the pool, and when I got her out of her seat, she rested her head on me and wrapped her little arm around my neck. I live for these small moments.

Hopefully, we all get some good rest this weekend, because this is what it’s been looking like around here! (Kaya is totally pretending, although she has been tired, but Kaelyn was legitimately asleep in this picture!)

Happy weekend!

Linking up here, here, and here today!

five on friday: my mini-photographer, flowers, and a date

Posted on May 1, 2015 by tara

Happy Friday!!!

ONE. I am apparently raising a mini-photographer! It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well, but I just can’t get over how Kaya wants to take pictures all the time. She totally plays peek-a-boo and waves to get Kaelyn to look at the camera and it’s hilarious. TWO. When flowers are on sale, it’s totally cool to buy them for yourself, right? For $2.50, I couldn’t pass these up. I figured they’d last a day or two (since they were already on “manager’s special”, a.k.a. predestined to die soon), but they are still going strong after 5 days! Mmmm, this is definitely one of my favorite scents!

THREE. Kaya and I had our first-ever mommy-daughter date this week! I took her to Sweet Frog, bought her way too much ice cream, and just enjoyed having one-on-one time with my first baby. She was so excited to put m&ms, Reese’s Pieces, chocolate chips, and this giant gummy frog on her froyo… until we sat down to eat and she decided that the frog was now super scary. More gummy frogs for me!FOUR. I need some book suggestions! It seems like every book I choose lately takes a turn for the worse and has inappropriate romantic-like stuff in it… and I don’t want to read any of that, so I just quit and have to keep finding something new. What are some squeaky-clean fiction novels you love?

FIVE. Love this quote from our most recent general conference:

Have a great weekend! 🙂

Linking up with April!

weekend band

Posted on April 14, 2015 by tara

Our weekend was jam-packed with activities. Busy, productive, and fun are the three words that seem to describe our lives pretty well right now!

We kicked off our Friday with a bang- literally, with Kaya “drumming” on her tray at lunchtime. Kaelyn thought it was the most hilarious thing ever, and I of course, had to take a video. I accidentally took a picture while I was recording, but I’m so glad I did, because their happy faces are just too adorable.

Kaya says “freeze!” to make the music stop!

https://youtu.be/faKZnozTm7E

Kaelyn had a hard time falling asleep for her nap on Friday, so I ended up holding her while she slept. She woke up so happy (which is not true for when she naps alone; she usually wakes up crying), and I didn’t mind the extra cuddles. Up until a couple months ago, this is what we did every afternoon. I knew I would miss it, and I was right.Saturday morning was a 5.22-mile run for me, and a 38-mile bike ride for Michael! We met up with Michael’s grandpa and two of his cousins for lunch, and then I headed off for an engagement photoshoot in the early evening. After a week of clouds and rain, we had gorgeous weather and some perfect lighting!Happy Tuesday!

five on friday: cabin fever, awesome runs, and a photography workshop

Posted on February 27, 2015 by tara

We’ve had a bit of cabin fever over here all week… even getting out to go to the grocery store this morning seemed like so much fun! So today, I’m counting all the small blessings we’ve had this week:

ONE. Lelia and Jeff got to spend most of Sunday with us! It’s been so cold that a pipe burst at our chapel, so there were no church meetings. We had a relaxing family day. Have I mentioned how much I love seeing my babies love their aunts and uncles?

TWO. I taught a (very basic) photography workshop for our Young Women on Tuesday night and had so much fun doing it! I am usually so nervous to stand up in front of a group and talk, but teaching about my passion comes so easily to me. I’m glad I was able share a little of what I love with our girls! At the end, I gave them a photo scavenger hunt to complete, which resulted in a whole lot of craziness and laughter. photoworkshopslide

THREE. We had a few more inches of snow Wednesday night into Thursday morning, so there was no rush to leave the house… which meant that I could snuggle my littlest cutie in bed and just enjoy her. I love our one-on-one time.

FOUR. I am so grateful for clear(er) roads and running paths this week! It was hard to not go out due to the weather last week, so I appreciated my runs even more this week. I also had a couple of fast (for me) runs, which made me feel great!

FIVE. Kaya’s had her big-girl bed for about a year now, and most nights, she still climbs out and sleeps by the baby gate. Her bed has to be more comfortable than the floor! Also, how cute is her little hand holding “Panda”? I love her love for her stuffed animals.

Linking up with Christina and friends today!

currently…

Posted on November 25, 2014 by tara

Feeling… physically so much better this week than last! I had either a stomach bug or food poisoning that brought on the worst abdominal pain I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime. I seriously wondered if one of my organs was about to explode… but all I could worry about was how I was going to feed my baby when I could hardly sit down! We ended up going to the urgent care office covered by our insurance to get checked out. Thankfully, it was nothing serious!

Kaya got to spend the morning with her BFF Mia while we were there! They had a pajama party and Katherine sent me all sorts of adorable pictures and videos of them together. 🙂

Getting ready… to visit with family for Thanksgiving in just two days!!! I seriously don’t even know how the holiday season is already upon us. I’m definitely looking forward to my mom’s home-cooked turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Mmmm.

Feeling (the good kind of) busy… with all the amazing family photoshoots I’ve done in the past month! I’ve had about one per week and it’s just the right amount of work to balance with family time. Fall is just so beautiful, and I’m glad I’m able to capture these memories for so many of my dear friends!

Dreaming… about Christmas morning! I know there’s still an entire month left to wait, and I don’t want to wish away all the festive family time we’re sure to enjoy between now and then… but Kaya’s “big” gift has been ordered and I just keep imagining her excitement!

Planning… my Christmas cookie delivery for this year! And by planning, I really mean that I’ve pinned about a million adorably delicious ideas on Pinterest and haven’t made any decisions yet. It’s one of my favorite traditions for sure!

Wishing… you a Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂

kaya’s 2-year photos

Posted on September 30, 2014 by tara

I love everything about these photos, and of course, everything about my girl! These pictures capture her personality so well. We took these on Friday night, and I’m actually amazed at how many great shots we ended up with (if you’ve tried to take pictures of a toddler, you know what I’m talking about…)! Michael was the best helper and I’m so glad Kaya thinks her Daddy is so entertaining. I talked to her ahead of time about how fun it’d be to put on a pretty dress and sit on a blanket and say “cheese”. Once I spread the blanket out on the grass, she excitedly ran over to it and waited for me to take her picture! I’m just surprised that our little prep talk worked so well. And to keep it real, she wasn’t just sitting and posing the entire time… there was a whole lot of running and jumping going on too!

weekend scenes

Posted on August 4, 2014 by tara

Our weekend started off with a dreary, rainy Friday. We didn’t even leave the house after Michael got home, but that didn’t mean that Kaya had to miss out on any fun…Kaya loves pretending that anything and everything is a slide, so Michael had the idea to take one of our folding tables out of the craft room and let her go down it. This might’ve been the best day of her life (minus any day she gets to share Daddy’s Reese’s)! I know we’re supposed to be responsible adults now that we’re parents… but hey, it’s so much more fun to stay a kid!We tried out these pepperoni rolls for dinner… Mmm!
Saturday afternoon, we went to visit Ben and Brittany and their sweet new baby, Caroline, at the hospital! I had the privilege of taking a few photos for them. Here’s one of my favorites:
Sunday morning was church, of course, and then we came home with the hope that we’d all nap.

I think Jax gets more sleep than anyone in the house right now. He’s also a nursing-pillow thief. I skipped napping and instead made homemade French bread. It was my first time doing it, and I have to say, it was super easy and turned out great!It was a fast, fun weekend. Happy Monday everyone!

Michael and Tara

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