Photography

I used this quote the other day in an IG post and LOVE it. 

"Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them" ~ Elliott Erwitt

I love taking 'artsy' images as Derek calls them. Clients would never hire me to take them of their family and we generally don't print and frame these but they are honestly what makes me most happy. Light sources and warmth and layers are all just so magical to me. Here are a recent few..

Love Hard & Fight Hard

Our kids have seriously endured a ton throughout this pandemic and we all need to give them a great amount of credit for that. They have barely seen other humans outside of the household, let alone had all the play time they were used to with their buddies. With Texas fully back open we have decided to remain a bit cautious until there's more data to see how it's going. That being said we are letting them have socially distanced playdates with a few select friends. Ady has had chalk and back yard dates with some friends and Drew has played catch or gone on bike rides with others. We had a great Memorial Day street party with sparklers and fun without the kids being on top of each other. I'm so thankful for those at least because MAN they are so sick of their siblings. I explained it to a friend today that there is just no middle ground. They are hardcore snuggling and playing well one minute and then at each others throats the next! But who wouldn't be? For 10 weeks now they've only had us and each other. It will be so good once we can safely play with other friends and spend quality time at Gramma and Poppa's house!

Puddle Jumping

We've had some great puddle jumping weather a few days this spring and I love that I was able to snap some pictures of all 3 partaking in the fun!

Dump Trucks & Allergies

This one loooooooves seeing the trash and recycle trucks come by. He's always nervous to get any closer but will wait for them in the window until he sees them! :)

It's also so surreal to think we were just in the hospital for a week from an asthma attack considering how little Ady coughs now. The medicine her doc put her on has been working amazing and we are thankful for modern medicine and it's abilities!

"Little" Kindergarten Graduate!

We officially have a graduate of 'little kindergarten' as we've been calling it. Because she'll be doing 'big kindergarten' next year we really haven't made a big deal about it but I did snap a few pictures of our cute little graduate from TLA! :)

Mask Picture

We met Aunt Whitney a couple weeks ago to give her some puzzles and just say hi from 6' away. She snapped this pic of all of us in our masks to commemorate this time. It's so surreal to think this is our norm now and someday will hopefully look back at this picture and remember the good over the bad.

Exercise

In order to keep sane I immediately jumped on the 2-3 times a day train when this pandemic broke out. The endorphins keep me happy and it's SO great for the kids too. We are so lucky to have amazing trails and ponds around us also that we can get to. Each morning we go on a family run where the kids bike and we run and push Will for about 30-35 minutes. Then midday I go on a 'happy walk' as we call it with 2 of my neighbors/friends. It's nice to get out of the house with other people and chat it up for 30 more minutes. On top of that we bike ride every night after dinner and then Derek and I lift weights about 2-3 times a week. Sometimes we even through in a very slow walk in order to allow Will to walk with us and Bailey to come. :) It sounds like a lot but we are LOVING how healthy our bodies (down 11 lbs for me!) and minds are because of it. We also feel it's very important for the kiddos to be out of the house as much as possible once schoolwork is finished. Plus we live in Texas so our weather has been amazing!

Bailey Attention

This poor dog has gone from sleeping all day to constant attention from the kids! She takes it all like a champ though and is still such the best family dog ever. It's been a month since we applied to rescue a new puppy and because the rest of the world is adopting animals right now it could be months before we even get one. Thank goodness we still have this furbaby to love on and keep us company each day!

Mother's Day

Derek 100% nailed Mother's Day this year. Truth be told my expectations aren't always the highest because romanticism isn't one of Derek's strong traits. He is the BEST husband and father but I don't think anyone would ever consider him romantic! But this Mother's Day he blew me out of the water and I was SO impressed!

First I woke up to a sign saying that I would be participating in a Mother's Day 5K. They mapped out a route for me and this was my starting line...

Then the kids had the CUTEST finish line for me to run through!! 

 And even made a medal for me complete with their picture!

Derek made us TWO entrees for brunch and they were DELISH! 

And who doesn't want a delicious bloody mary with brunch?

Besides some gifts he also had the kids record answers to about 10-15 questions on video for me. Definitely made me tear up and made my year! What a wonderful gift to hear your kid say you'd be superwoman if you were a character and that they know I love them even when they are in trouble. I even got all 3 to be in a picture with me...

After Will's nap we took the golf cart up to Starbucks to get my first drink from there in 70 days! 

And then that evening we had Gramma and Poppa over for dinner and some fun games. I was SO thankful to be near my mom, even though we aren't touching or hugging just yet, for Mother's Day. 

 

Hiking

My favorite benefit to the quarantine (while there are still many things I absolutely despise) is family time and doing new things! We haven't hiked since we lived in DC and we've been twice so far during this pandemic. The first was in Grapevine and the second over in Dallas and both had wonderful sights and the kids did FAB. Will rode on daddy's back for both hikes and was a CHAMP! It was great getting back to nature and just enjoying each other without having to rush off to sports or other activities!