sleepin’ on the rooftop

Posted on June 12, 2015 by tara

Or, you know, the 21st floor. Same thing, right? We stayed on the 21st floor of the Oceans One Resort when we went down to Myrtle Beach! We had a spectacular view. Just don’t look directly down… you might start to get a bit of vertigo!Seriously… it was so wonderful to read a book out on the balcony and listen to the waves crashing below.
We enjoyed our own room (and bathroom)! Michael and I took the bed, Kaya camped out on the floor (and didn’t mind one bit, probably because she still chooses to sleep on the floor at home!), and Kaelyn had the pack ‘n play. It was a giant room!We enjoyed some cable TV (mostly HGTV) 🙂 … … lots of Apple Jacks cereal… … and cute matching outfits! Kaelyn enjoyed mostly just sitting around and taking lessons from Caroline on how to crawl. There were several pools and even a lazy river downstairs. Brittany and I got to enjoy some time there just by ourselves after the kids went to bed on the first night! Michael took Kaya through it the next afternoon. We all loved it! Our view at night was incredible- we could even see the SkyWheel! We enjoyed the city lights and ice cream on the balcony.

five on friday: cinnamon buns, sunhats and lemons

Posted on May 15, 2015 by tara

What a WEEK! We’ve been busy and had so many great moments these past few days. Here we go:

ONE. Monday was Michael’s last day of seminary! I am having a hard time believing that we already completed a whole school year. Seminary is a HUGE time commitment and definitely requires sacrifice, but Michael handled it so well. I know he’d do it again in a heartbeat (and hey, he most likely will be doing it again next year)! He loves his students and was sad to see them walk away for the last time as they caught the bus to school.

I made cinnamon buns for the first seminary breakfast, so I did it again for the final one. My mom-in-law’s recipe is the absolute best!

TWO. We did some shopping for our upcoming beach trip… which included getting some sunhats! Don’t be fooled by Kaelyn’s giant grin… she tries to rip this thing off every few seconds!

THREE. We had our playdate this week outside in the sunshine! It was much windier than any of us thought it would be, though, so we ended up running back home for some jackets. Katherine snapped this photo. I just love seeing these two little BFFs together!

FOUR. Two years ago, when my Maggie passed away, two of our dear friends brought me this little stuffed guinea pig. Now, this is the only stuffed animal Kaelyn will cuddle with! She holds her every night and it just melts my heart. (also, if you can’t tell, she loves to sleep up against the crib bars! she’s like this almost every time I check on her!)

FIVE. Kaya asked to try a lemon… so we let her, and it resulted in the cutest little sour face you ever did see. I think she changed her mind!

A video posted by Tara (@tarairwin) on May 11, 2015 at 5:52pm PDT

Happy Friday!!!

(linking up with April!)

run bike eat (weekend)

Posted on April 21, 2015 by tara

We had the most beautiful weather this past weekend, so we took advantage of it with plenty of exercising and cooking out. My favorite days are the ones we spend outside (and with friends)!

The morning was perfect, so I started running and just kept on going. Michael also put in 42 miles on his bike!

My running buddy definitely earned his right to lick the bottom of the peanut butter jar! 🙂

Later in the day, we had a cookout with Ben and Brittany! Hotdogs, grapes, and cookie bars were on the menu.

Also, it’s really hard to get three babies smiling (or even looking) at the camera all at once.

I love these two buddies! 🙂 It’s a good thing I took this when I did, because not long afterward, Kaya saw a bug and was so afraid that it ruined her whole evening. Every little speck of dirt turned into “a buggy!” and she was almost inconsolable. Poor baby.

Kaelyn was happy as a clam just sitting on a blanket with baby Caroline!

Until she started throwing punches (not really)! Haha.

On Sunday morning, I had a Young Women meeting to go to. I brought these muffins. They’re a lot different from my usual recipe, but if you like your muffins fluffy and looking like they came from a bakery (and who doesn’t?) you need to give these a try!Michael somehow ended up sleeping in Kaya’s bed, and this was the position they were in when I left for my meeting. I’m really not sure how Kaya could be comfortable, but I guess she was, since they slept in until 9:30!

Happy Tuesday! How was your weekend?

spaghetti and crepes

Posted on March 30, 2015 by tara

Usually, our weekends consist of a whole lot of nothing… but this weekend, we actually had PLANS! It really felt great to get out as a family and enjoy some time together.

We kicked off our Friday with our church institute class, a little dollar store shopping, and then a spaghetti dinner with Daddy! It was a fundraiser for Relay for Life, and a good excuse to get out of the house. Kaya probably ate her weight in pasta!

Nobody slept in on Saturday morning, but we had a lot to get done, so I was glad to be up early. We had one of our amazing young women, Alayna, over in the early afternoon for Michael to start teaching her a little bit of computer programming. Kaya sat on her lap the entire time and loved showing off all her little tricks to “Eena!”

Michael had to go practice singing/playing piano for the church Easter program, so we girls were left to our own devices for a few hours. We bundled up to take a walk, but we came home after maybe five minutes- it was waaaay too windy! Kaelyn had her sock off within a few seconds of walking through the door.

Michael came home, babies went to bed, and a couple of my friends came over for crepes and to watch the General Women’s Broadcast! I actually made a double batch of these crepes so that we could have some with Alayna while she was over for programming, and then share the rest with my friends during the broadcast. There were so many leftover that we ended up finishing them for dinner on Sunday night!

Sunday looked a lot like this. It’s so hard having church at 1 pm this year, since naptime on a normal day is at 1 pm. Is it 2016 yet so we can go back to 9 am church?

five on friday: little BFFs, fruit, and church stuff

Posted on March 27, 2015 by tara

Happy Friday! As usual, I can’t believe we’re here again. We do have some pretty fun things planned for this weekend though, so I’m excited!

ONE. My hands-down favorite moment of the week? Watching these two little buddies play together! Kaya and Mia just love each other, and I am so thankful for the days we get to spend with our friends. I think Mia asked Kaya “Want to come here with me?” and Kaya climbed right in the car with her. I’m kind of surprised they can both fit, but it was the cutest! TWO. As a teenage girl in our church, you get to complete a program known as “Personal Progress”. I didn’t join the church until later, so I never had the opportunity to do it. As the Young Women secretary for our congregation, I’m trying to do it now! One of our girls has this doodle journal, and I really liked the way it breaks down the program and gives you space to take notes, so I started using it, too. I’ve definitely felt more enlightened and more peace each day that I dedicate some time to real, meaningful scripture study. THREE. “More gwapes!” is what I keep hearing every day at every meal all week long. Kaya is obsessed, and I’m not complaining. We are loving the warmer weather and fresher-tasting fruit that spring has brought. FOUR. This may be the least important note, but I’m pretty excited about it- remember how my phone stopped working three weeks ago? We mailed it in for repair, and it’s finally coming back tomorrow! I’ve mostly just missed having a camera everywhere I go and being able to make a call if I need to. Not having updated technology for a little while definitely helps you appreciate it more!

FIVE. We’ll be watching the General Women’s Broadcast on Saturday night (8 pm EST)! There are always so many amazing, uplifting moments. Watch it if you’re curious to see what it’s all about! It’s free to stream here.(source)

Linking up with Christina and friends today!

mini cookie-decorating party

Posted on February 13, 2015 by tara

Valentine’s Day is a lot of my favorite things all rolled into one: sweets, treats, and PINK everywhere! So naturally, we had to put together a little play date for our friends. I made some sugar cookies and stocked up on all sorts of sprinkles and toppings! Kaya got really into decorating this time and didn’t even want to stop to go play. She was enthusiastic about the chocolate chips… … very enthusiastic. Everyone looked so cute in their little Valentine’s outfits! I just can’t get over how sweet Kaya and Mia are together. They really are such great buddies! Brittany took this one of Kaelyn and Caroline. Cuties! (until they grabbed each other’s faces…)The cookies turned out delicious… and adorable! I love doing things like this with my big girl.
And I just have to include a picture of this spunky monkey in one of her many festive outfits. You can’t go wrong with pink, puppies and hearts!
Happy Valentine’s Day!

christmas 2014

Posted on December 31, 2014 by tara

This is a super photo-heavy post, but there were just so many great moments from our Christmas day that I couldn’t leave out! I loved everything about our holiday at home together as a little family of FOUR, so every one of these photos is a favorite for me.

Michael and I stayed up late on Christmas Eve. I was so excited for morning because I knew Kaya’s reaction to her cozy coupe car would be priceless. We basically stayed awake until we couldn’t anymore (around 2 am). I kept wishing it was time to wake up!
We haven’t really told Kaya too much about Santa… but as soon as she saw the tree, she kept saying “a Santa!”

Kaya grabbed her gifts and was ready to start unwrapping right away. (Also, her expressions just crack me up sometimes!) She started reading this book to Baba (that’s Kaelyn’s main nickname if you don’t know… given to her by Kaya, of course)!Just keep watching Kaelyn in these next few photos… I was cracking up over her falling-backward/trying-to-eat-wrapping-paper antics.“My clock!”Kaya loves this little puppy that walks and does flips! He actually lands most of his jumps, so I’m pretty impressed. We hid the cozy coupe under a blanket, and she was pretty unsure of uncovering it. She kept saying, “a Santa!”, so we almost think that she expected a living, breathing Santa Claus to be hiding under there. She doesn’t love seeing Santa, so that would explain her uncertainty! She got in and started turning the steering wheel right away! And this is why I love Christmas morning.She decided she had to wear her coat to drive, obviously, since she always wears it in the real car!Two of the gifts I had for Michael weren’t here by Christmas morning, but he was excited for a new Hokie sweatshirt and some homemade chocolate peanut butter fudge under the tree! _MG_5924 My favorite gift this year was delivered 6 months ago 🙂 But Michael did surprise me with a TomTom Runner (GPS watch) that I am absolutely loving so far, and a new computer monitor… I’m one spoiled girl! _MG_5890 I stacked some mini donuts into snowman and reindeer shapes for a fun, festive breakfast!
I think she was counting them all here… (and this was the plate for all of us, not just her, haha!) I cooked some pot roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli, and homemade rolls for our Christmas dinner. My gingerbread obsession continued on, so I whipped up another half batch of cookies for us to enjoy (especially since we gave away almost all of the batch I made before)! I got crazy and dipped these in chocolate candy coating. Mmm.Our friends, Katherine, Matt, Mia, and brand-new Baby Luke came over to enjoy dinner with us! We had a great time (Kaya and Mia especially)!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Day! I’m always sad to see it end… let the countdown begin to next year!

friday favorites: christmas edition

Posted on December 19, 2014 by tara

These are a few of my favorite [Christmas-y] things…

… sitting by the Christmas tree at night (and of course, taking a bokeh picture. #photographynerdalert)!
… festive sprinkles on cupcakes for the church Christmas party! … how this little girl watched and waited all day long while I made the cupcakes. She was so happy when she finally got her treat at the party!… my two peas in a pod, enjoying some “Feliz Navidad”-themed dinner.
… the giant Christmas tree at the mall! … decorating gingerbread cookies! I am so completely obsessed with gingerbread this year and my sweet tooth has been making that extremely obvious. … gingerbread playdough! Seriously. It smells heavenly and was so much fun to play with! … two cute baby friends in matching polkadot reindeer pajamas!6 more days!

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! 🙂

that weekend we actually left the house

Posted on November 18, 2014 by tara

We actually got out of the house this weekend (our normal lately is just lounging around and trying to catch up on sleep)! I figured I’d write this down so that our kids reading this in the future will see that we did something fun every once in a while! 😉

We kicked the weekend off right with this amazing crumb cake I made for seminary’s Friday breakfast! No kidding, it was pretty much perfect as far as coffeecakes go.

Friday night, we had a family date to Red Robin, and then headed to Target for a couple of needed items. While we were there, I checked out the toddler girls’ clearance, and got super lucky- lots of 3T and 4T items, most at 70% off! Those sizes sound so big to me now… but I know Kaya will be wearing them before we know it. 70% off seems even better when you know you’ll get double the use out of them!

Saturday morning started out with the Mother Goose Club! We really only let Kaya watch shows on Saturdays lately, and it seems like she’s catching on… she asked for her favorite song almost as soon as she woke up!Later that afternoon, we went to a friend’s birthday party! Kaya had a ton of fun driving his Jeep around (except she couldn’t quite figure out how to push the gas pedal hard enough, so it was mostly a mommy-powered ride)!
She visited with puppies, horses, and chickens. She even enjoyed some lollipops, cupcakes, and wagon rides! It was a great time.

Sunday was church, of course, and an amazing 2.5-hour nap for me. I’m spoiled and so grateful for a husband who’s willing to watch Kaelyn so I can get some extra rest (even though I know he’s so tired, too)!

Michael and Tara

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