thanksgiving with the irwins 2017 (and family photos!)

Posted on January 9, 2018 by tara

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Michael’s side of the family a couple of days early! Tori made these beautiful place cards, and along with using special silverware, our dinner felt a little extra fancy.
Per Mom’s request, we went around the table and each said something that we felt grateful for this past year. There was laughter, some tears, and just general heartfelt goodness in the room as we all thoughtfully prepared our statements. That seemingly small exercise turned out to be the most memorable moment of the entire holiday.I’m grateful for each of these people around the table, and that I’m lucky enough to call them my family! I think Dad is most grateful for chocomint freeze!Nella slept through the meal, but these big kids had fun chowing down at the picnic table! I love that we have cousins now, and a need for a “kid table”.After the meal, we prepared for family photos. I’ll tell you, it isn’t always easy getting everyone ready and putting everything in place (especially because my kids hardly seem to nap when we’re away from home), but it is always worth it.

And, truth time: this photo is a composite of four separate shots! It must be against some natural law that all kids will look at the camera at the same time and not appear sad, because I didn’t have one single shot where they all looked reasonably happy. Hey, at least I’m honing my photoshop skills!We get a little crazy……and clearly, there’s more where that came from.Mom gets major points for putting up with Dad’s shenanigans… all the time!Love these two.This shot was a test for lighting, but I just love how natural and “grandmotherly” it feels. We have some lucky kids!More tests for lighting, but someone loves her Daddy! (Also, can we just mention how beautiful Virginia is in the fall?)And someone else loves creepy photobombing…Brothers!!!Love this one!Siblings! (Also, I think I should start a photo series called, “weird things I do with my hand while trying to hide the camera remote”. Ha!)Apparently, they dance while they’re waiting for me to set up the shot. I don’t even remember this happening!And I’m not sure when there was time for someone to steal my camera and do this……or this……or THIS! Hahaha. Honestly, I love finding these surprises on my memory card later.Meanwhile, Jeff was working on his “Flynn Rider” face. Disney, he’s ready for hire.These two are so natural in front of the camera together.
Melt my heart!Seriously, so cute you guys!I know I’m gushing, but again, seriously. I’m surrounded by beautiful families! Our kids were so done with photos by this point, and we had already taken some photos of just our little family a couple of weeks prior, but since we had the camera out, we snapped a few anyway. I kind of love Kaelyn’s funny face!We ended the evening with an early holiday gift exchange, since Kevin and Tori wouldn’t be flying out again for Christmas. Nella was clearly excited!Bryce snuggles!Kaya had to jump in and get some cuddles too! She just loves her baby cousin and her Auntie.

shenanigans with the irwins (bowling, cousins, and a puppy!)

Posted on January 4, 2018 by tara

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we headed down to my in-laws’ place for some family time! Nella was so excited to play with baby Bryce! And seriously, the only thing cuter than one baby is two babies… so of course, I had to take a bunch of photos of them together!This really old pretend phone was the most popular toy for this crowd. Sharing can be hard when you have no idea what sharing actually is.Kaya is a really great helper with the babies! My girls really loved having time with their cousins.And I just had to throw this one in here because Bryce looks like he’s dancing, and Nella isn’t so sure about his moves. Haha.Kevin, Tori, and Jack flew in from Utah to spend a week in Virginia! These “big kids” loved having little picnics at the table every chance they got.Bryce and Jack had a milk-bottle chugging contest…I enjoyed some baby Bryce cuddles too! We were totally twinning in our stripes so there had to be photo evidence. He’s just so smiley and happy. I love this little guy!Nella had some Grandpa Skip cuddles! It was so fun to see them playing together on this trip.We also got to visit with their neighbors’ new puppy (which my in-laws have adopted as their “grandpuppy”)! His name is Scooter, and of course, my girls just loved him. They kept saying, “He’s so soft!” Michael, Kevin, Jeff, and Dad did some shooting and frisbee throwing. They dubbed their activities, “The Brolympics”. I’m not sure if anyone officially won, but they had so much fun, and I’m grateful that Michael could have quality time with both his brothers.

Later that evening, we went bowling! This was a first for my girls, and I have to say, I was really impressed with how well they did! Kaya completely surprised me by picking up and throwing the ball all on her own.
Kaelyn needed some more guidance, but she was so good at rolling it! Grandpa Skip taught Jack how it’s done…Go Mom!Tori held Nella for most of the evening! They were little buddies by the end of it. I’m glad Nella is such a laid-back baby.My score started out really great… and then quickly plummeted. I may have bowled the worst I ever have in my life, and I don’t have an explanation for it. I still had so much fun though!Michael is always good at sports!We were very much ready for sleep by the end of the day’s activities. We share a big room with all the girls when we stay at my in-laws’, so of course, I can’t resist taking pictures of them sleeping like little angels.

lelia’s baby shower

Posted on March 29, 2017 by tara

Two weekends ago, we took a little road trip to attend Lelia’s baby shower. As a bonus surprise, my brother and sister-in-law, Kevin and Tori, flew to Virginia from Utah the night before the party. Kevin came out here for a job interview, but I’ll take any reason to spend time with my entire extended family.

I’m so glad that we could have all the sisters-in-law and our mom-in-law together at the shower! These are some truly amazing ladies. One of Lelia’s friends from church put this all together. The decorations were adorable and the games were truly fun. I even won the baby boy name race game (whoever can list a boy name for every letter of the alphabet the fastest wins… hello “Yusef!”, haha)! Everyone knows what Lelia likes pretty well: penguin jammies……a “this baby needs a pony” onesie in Hokie colors…
…and a lot of baby dinosaurs! (“Baby Dinosaur” was Lelia’s nickname when she lived with Michael and me for one semester of college, so it’s only appropriate that her little guy has some dinosaur outfits!) I’m so grateful that we could be there to celebrate Lelia and her sweet baby boy. I can’t wait to meet him in just about two months!

christmastown, cousins, and crazies

Posted on January 24, 2017 by tara

The Christmas posts just never seem to end around here, right? Thankfully, it’s because we had so many family members to visit and enjoy the season with this past holiday.

A few days after celebrating Christmas at home, we headed down to visit Michael’s side of the family! Kevin and Tori flew in from Utah- it had been about a year and a half since we last saw them! We had never met our nephew Jack before, so needless to say, we were pretty excited!

I instantly fell in love with Jack (sweet sweet baby boy!), and my girls really loved playing with him, too. It was so fun to finally see the cousins together! Of course, I also had to get pictures of everyone meeting Nella! 🙂
And yes, there were plenty of Grandma cuddles for her, too.Kaya enjoyed some snuggling with Auntie Lelia!There were some presents, of course… … including a rainbow hat made by Grandma!This was the first time the older girls have slept in the same bed. At first, we heard some complaints of “she’s touching me!” and “she’s taking my animals!”, but eventually, they settled down and slept soundly.On the second day of our visit, we headed to Busch Gardens Christmastown! The last time we were there, Kaya was just 3 months old! It’s crazy how quickly everything changes with kids.
We wore our new hats made by my mom-in-law!I always love admiring the decorations. It almost feels like a world away from this one, made entirely of glowing lights and Christmas spirit.Kaya was old enough to ride the mini roller coaster this year! She was so excited when they pulled out of the station, and I knew she’d return either completely petrified or absolutely elated. Thankfully, she had the time of her life and even asked to go on it again! Seeing her so happy was the highlight of the trip for me, although hearing Michael, Kevin, and Jeff screaming all through the ride was pretty fun, too.Kaelyn was too little to ride most of the attractions, so we let her walk around and explore the brightly-lit trees for a bit.She did get to join everyone on this mini Mach Tower ride! I wish I had a better photo, but it was so dark that I couldn’t get my camera to focus. Good picture or not, these kids had a blast.I feel like I haven’t been able to go on rides for forever (being pregnant with three babies in four years will do that to you!), so it was extra-fun for me to join Grandpa Skip and Kaya on the bumper cars and flying swings. When everyone else headed to the train, Dad and I went on my all-time favorite ride. Busch Gardens calls it “Le Catapult”, but I think it has other names at different parks.Of course, we went to the Festhaus to warm up, eat dinner, and nurse the baby. It’s always nice to get a little break from the cold.
The girls really enjoyed watching the performance inside!On our last afternoon together, we took a family picture. I love having everyone all together (and let’s face it, I really lucked out and got some amazing in-laws).When we got home, they wanted a brother picture…… which quickly turned into chaos…… and… sorority squats? What?!And apparently, it only takes one minute of me not paying attention for my relatives to steal my phone and fill it up with a million surprise photos before we left that evening. I love these crazies!

kevin and tori come to town

Posted on January 20, 2015 by tara

Kevin and Tori flew in from Utah last week! They spent the first half of their visit on the east coast, but they came to town on Thursday afternoon to spend a few days with us. We had a fantastic long weekend filled with family time, good food, and even a little sleeping in!

I was so super excited for them to meet Kaelyn for the first time! It’s safe to say that this baby just keeps stealing hearts. Grandpa snuck some cuddles in with his “petunia” (as he calls every baby) too! Thursday night, we ordered pizza and played “Blurt!” (which is really more like “YELL!” when I’m playing it… whoops)! Michael and Lelia had to work on Friday, but the rest of us enjoyed Xbox (Kevin and Jeff), a Mario Kart tournament (Dad and me), and just plain old relaxing.Dad and Jax had a couple of really intense wrestling matches. When he wasn’t playing, my lap dog was cuddling up to (and all over) everyone.
Grandma had a lot of great snuggles, but Kaelyn still refused to nap for most of the weekend. Oh well. Friday night, we went to Red Robin to celebrate Kevin’s birthday! Nothing like free dessert on your special day. Saturday was pretty relaxed. Grandma has some serious skills, balancing both babies on her lap while helping Kaya eat her yogurt!The final thing we did before everyone left was take a family picture! The last time we were all together was Thanksgiving of last year, so it was high time for a new one. It was a warm day compared to what we’ve endured lately, and luckily, the wind held off for a few moments. The light could not have been more perfect… and I think we all clean up pretty good! 🙂
Everyone left to go home just before dinner time, and all the festivities (and lack of napping) finally caught up with my babies. Kaya passed out in her seat during dinner!If that’s not a sign of a good time, I don’t know what is. Hopefully we can all do it again real soon!

the time michael (almost) singed off his eyebrows…

Posted on April 14, 2014 by tara

… because apparently, using lighter fluid can be trickier than it seems. Somehow, the fire just exploded from the grill and blew him backwards and onto the ground.

I’m so glad I didn’t actually see any of it happen.

His hair and eyelashes are a little shorter, but luckily that’s all (and we still had some pretty tasty food, so everything’s good, right?)
_MG_1990 We had some much-needed sibling time this weekend. Kevin and Tori were driving through on their way back from Utah, and they decided to spend a day with us! We hardly get to see them, so it was a real treat. The weather was perfect for a cookout, so that’s exactly what we did!I love seeing Kaya get to know her aunts and uncles better!We finished off the evening with some homemade cookie bars, which tasted a little extra-amazing after all our running and biking earlier in the day. Spring weather, family time, and good food make for some of the best weekends 🙂

kevin and tori’s wedding

Posted on October 31, 2013 by tara

So… you might as well wish Kevin and Tori a happy 3-month anniversary, because yes, these pictures are from August 2nd. I gave them their wedding DVD at the end of August, but honestly kind of forgot about the more personal photos I took that day. Better late than never, as they say! 🙂 (If you want to see the rest of the wedding go here!)

It was a perfect day for a wedding. The light was a photographer’s dream. Of course we all got a little crazy… Okay. A LOT crazy.Michael took the photos of the girls, so he took the opportunity to leave this on my camera, too.
Brothers 🙂 These next two crack me up: There’s nothing like a little girl and her grandpa. And yes, he let her stick her feet in the stream!

Love them. My best friends. Lelia and I’s corsages! Pals!

pumpkin pickin’ 2013

Posted on October 16, 2013 by tara

Saturday was our day to go pumpkin picking! I was sooo super excited, because when I was a kid, this was a yearly tradition. I couldn’t wait to take Kaya and have fun as a family. (We did go last year, but Kaya was tiny and slept through the whole event!)

We tried a new farm this year and loved it! It was perfectly located in the beautiful, rolling Virginia hills, and it wasn’t overpriced like most places we’ve been.

Kevin and Tori were passing through town on their cross-country drive, so we were happy to have them join us. It’s not every day that all the Irwin siblings are together!
We took a hayride to the pumpkin patch!Love these two with my whole heart (plus some…)
Of course, we got a little crazy (it wasn’t even a long ride… but apparently this is the only way we have fun!) They had a corn maze. We all split up in different directions and still made it out alive! The pumpkin patch was right up the trail, so a-pickin’ we went!Kaya’s excitement definitely didn’t disappoint. She LOVED the pumpkins and just couldn’t stop pointing at them, holding them, or trying to lift them.

There was a tractor made out of hay bales, so naturally, we had to “drive” it. Kaya was really unsure of it.We visited with some ewe lambs (chunky ones, at that).
Kevin and Tori chucked some pumpkins! And then I took waaaaay too many pictures of Kaya. But just look at that face! No mama could resist. Like I said, she loves pumpkins (I also wish I had a picture of what was going on behind me to get her to laugh… we have a crazy family!)We paid for our pumpkins and browsed their tiny shop of homemade goodies… including some amazing fudge! We might just have to go back sometime soon 🙂

Happy Fall!

Michael and Tara

It's Us!

Category Archives: tori