Little Black Dress

Several months ago I won a photoshoot over at

Funky Polkadot Giraffe with Sylvia Galloway Photography.

I was SOOOOO EXCITED!!!

We were in the middle of moving and then there was a rash of bad weather and sickness so our photoshoot kept getting postponed.

I really wanted Kelsey to wear a special dress I had bought her, and was afraid she would grow out of it before the photoshoot. Finally the day came! The dress fit, it was a good hair day, and I am in love with these pictures of my beautiful baby girl!!

    

Three Things Thursday - Be Thankful!

 I'm thankful that we live in a community with so many kids,

even if it means CRAZINESS at the egg hunt!!

We stopped at the Bass Pro Shop a few weeks ago.

The sheer amount of camouflage items was mind-boggling

and disturbing all at once. I was AMAZED.

I'm thankful that this chair will NEVER sit in my living room.

I'm thankful for a husband who shaves his face more often than he needs to just because I don't like to kiss a prickly face.

What are you thankful for this week??

Wee Bit Wednesdays

{one} how often do you do laundry?
Definitely on an as-needed basis. And I like to do it all at once and have piles of laundry to fold so I have an excuse to watch TV. :)

{two} what is your favorite type of cookie?
OREOS!!! I don't buy them often because I have no self-control when they're around. Especially when there's MILK. :)

{three} what would you do with an extra $2000 per month?
Hire a chef to make me all the deliciously healthy food I should be eating but don't because I can't make it taste good. And his name would be Sven and he would be my personal masseuse/trainer/bodyguard because if I had that much money I must be a rockstar!! Oh and his wife Olga would clean my house from top to bottom and potty-train my baby for me!!
Hey, I can dream.

{four} what was/is your favorite subject in school?
Ugh. I definitely am not a school-lovin' girl. Which makes it interesting that I should homeschool...

{five} have you ever ridden in a hot air balloon?
No, but I want to!! And skydive too!!

{six} what was your high school mascot?
I was homeschooled so I had no mascot, but whenever I see lame high school mascots I always think why do people choose things like armadillos and leprechauns? Choose something really fierce like lions or hippos! Haha, did I just offend anyone? :)

{seven} if you had the chance to go into space, would you?
That would be so amazing!! But I personally think we spend WAY too much money on the space program, so I'd only go into space on my own dime. When I'm a rockstar of course.

{eight} how often do you go dancing?
Sadly, only at weddings. I didn't properly interview my husband before we got married and missed the detail where he hates dancing. I strongly advise a pre-nup. ;)

{nine} would you rather drive or fly?
FLY!! I get soooo bored in the car since everything makes me carsick! There are just a few spots that are so pretty to see up close that I'd rather drive.

{ten} have you ever been caught re-gifting?
Not yet. :) But I make most of my gifts, so it's a pretty safe bet that the gift you receive from me was intended specifically for you.

Spring

The hills have exploded with these gorgeous purple flowers!

 They're so beautiful, so majestic, I'm in love.

The neighborhood is filled with bunnies hopping and hiding everywhere as well.  We hiked up the hill one night to feed them some lettuce that had passed its prime and enjoy the flowers.

 We spread the lettuce by the bushes and sat down to wait for the skittish bunnies to come out and take a nibble.

 They tried to wait...

 but the big green hill was too much for the kids to resist!

They ran...

and jumped...

 and snuggled.

 Finally the bunnies started to venture out for our leafy offering.

 The sun set.

 And we headed home.

I love the Spring.

Three Things Thursday - Be Thankful!

Today's thankful post is late in coming as I had a rough day and felt reluctant to express thanks. In the end I just need to have more confidence in my ability to handle the blessings Heavenly Father has entrusted in my care.

 1. This year I've been especially for our Southern California beachside weather. People can complain about having no seasons here, but I think our 90 degree heat last week and then hail and snow the next keeps me from being bored with the weather!

 2. I'm thankful for the wonderful FHE lessons my husband has been giving our family. I recently turned over that responsibility to him, as I teach all day. I would never have thought of teaching our children about tithing with granola bars, but it worked and made perfect sense to them!

3. Kelsey is the sassiest, most adorable girl. She makes demands on me that I never experienced with Jeremy, but I love her so much it brings tears to my eyes. I want to squeeze her all day and kiss her cheeks til she wiggles away to her next adventure.

What are YOU thankful for this week???

Sprinkles!

It's been a while since we went to get some FREE Sprinkles cupcakes. Every day they post a secret word on their Facebook page to whisper at the store for a free cupcake of their choosing. In the summer we get them every week when we go to Little Corona beach by the store, but with the current gas prices it's a little far to drive just for a cupcake. Boo.

Last week we were in Newport Beach just in time for

FREE dark chocolate cupcakes!!

Oh the joy!

Delicious!!

Thank you Sprinkles for such a happy day!!

Three Things Thursday - Be Thankful!

Ok, so there's a fun blog out there called Aubrey Plays.

Every Thursday she does a fun feature I love.

I told her I was totally copying her and she said, OK. Love her!!

1. I'm thankful for sisters who welcome us into their homes and bless my life in so many ways!

2. I'm thankful for much-too-hot days in early Spring that give us happy times at the pool long before the summer season arrives.

3. I'm thankful for free cupcakes from Sprinkles.
Oh the pure joy of chocolate, baked in someone else's oven, given to me in a little box with a sticker in a cute brown paper bag.

Your turn!!

What are you thankful for?!?

Oh my hotness!!

OK, so it's really not all that hot. But compared to all the rain we've gotten lately, it feels pretty toasty at 87 degrees!

So we headed to the beach!

 The kids were so excited to go!

Jeremy just flopped right down on the sand.

 It was pretty cool and foggy when we got there.

But soon it warmed up. I love those sun-kissed curls and rosy lips!

 Jeremy had fun being a beach dinosaur...

 and playing sand monsters! 

 Kelsey was all about the sticks...

 and collecting rocks.

We buried Jeremy, and Kelsey sprinkled sand on his face.

Whoops!

I'm so glad beach days are back!!