Practice practice practice

Phew, have I been busy! I have so much on my plate to complete and so little time to do it in. 2 kids really takes it out of a person and as much as I want another now that Haley is out of the bed, I know my body, mind, and lady parts especially, need to rest.

Yesterday I had a practice photoshoot with my friend Brooke and her English Mastiff, Dually. It was definitley a challange and a change of pace, but something I wouldn't mind doing again.

I think dogs are so interesting to photograph. Their faces tell such a story if you look close enough and there is just so much character to be found in wrinkles and fur and big wet snouts. After awhile, all Dually's face could say was "Get that lense out of my way sister" but that is a dog for you! He must have thought I was some strange alien following him around with this big black contraption held up to my eye half the time.

My favorite shot of the day:

I still have several to sort through, but these are some of my favorites so far. I am working on my photography website and plan on opening up my services to the public in April. I am so excited for this new adventure and am so grateful for the support of friends and family along the way. I am getting more and more comfortable with my camera with every shoot and learning valuable lessons with each one as well.

It is one of the best feelings, I tell you...

Making your dreams come true ♥

gratitude tuesday: week six

Reclaiming our bed, a place to call their own

Nick and I have always co-slept with our girls, i love being able to kiss their cheeks and play with their toes in the middle of the night. Four bodies in a double is really toasty and a great birth control method, but it also causes a lot of backaches and grumpy mornings. We finally have moved Haley into her own bedroom and are in the process of finding the perfect beds to match the perfect quilts I found while off on one of our thrifting adventures. We went to the children's museum at winston salem today and I wanted to take these sweet bunks home with me. This just may have been the extra push I needed to get started on the girls room, I wish I could replicate this room in it's entirety. If it's good enough for goldilocks and the three bears, it is a storybook dream for us!

I haven't had a chance to post about our Up!-inspired Valentine's Day but I still wanted to pop in and wish everyone a happy week outside sans mittens, scarves, and snow boots. We are off grabbing this little blast of sunshine and warm weather by its toes and hoping to drag it home with us for keeps!

The girls are gone for the afternoon and I am left home alone to enjoy the sounds of the birds chirping amongst the silence of our house. They have found the little pine cone sunflower seed feeders we made them and are singing their happiest songs.

Days like this are so good for the soul

Love day, love day!

A little love day treat from our family to yours! :)

gratitude tuesday: week five

A little late for Tuesday, but I couldn't help but hold out for this sweet little addition to our extended family.

Welcome to the world,
Gracen Ruth Conner

It was so great to finally meet you! I am sure you are going to be the best of friends with my girls. We can't wait for play dates, sleepovers, ball games, birthday parties, proms and a million other sweet memories with you :)

We love you so very much already ♥

I need your help! BIG TIME!

So, the bad news is that Nick has to work on Valentine's day and we won't get to celebrate it until he is off on the 18th. But the good news is that this set back gives me a little more time to get things together and for this darlin' outfit I ordered from Etsy to arrive! I really hope it fits because I can't imagine a more perfect Wilderness Explorer outfit.

I have decided on doing an Up! inspired Valentine's day, except I am making a few changes to the whole shebang because it is the day of love afterall and pink, red, blue and white are a lot more appropriate than the traditional wildernesss explorer colors on a day like this.

To do:
+ Make 3 Badge Sashes
+ Make lots of little badges to earn as they complete tasks
+ Make Wilderness Explorer pennant flags to wave around
+ Make Wilderness Explorer Handbook filled with challenges
+ Make "My Adeventure Book" for Nick
+ Make little house with tons of balloons tied to it

Challenges:
+ Homemade Trail Mix
+ Learn a Hiking Song
+ Swimming (bathtime!)
+ Recycling Project
+ Tub Fishing
+ Build a Tent for a living room campout (bedtime!)

Please send along more toddler-friendly ideas that can be completed inside. It's a bit too cold and snowy to fly kites, go on a hike, collect rocks, build a fire, or complete any of the more fun (sad face, mad arms) camping tasks.