christmas lights

Last night, Scott & I called some of our friends up to go look at Christmas lights for Family Home Evening. We started at our house where we had some hot chocolate, & then we drove to a neighborhood that is completely decked out for the holidays. We bundled up nice & warm & strolled around looking at all the fun displays.

(me w/ Will, the Taylor's, the Fisher's, & Ruby in her carseat)

racquetball tournament

Yesterday, the kids & I jumped in the car to drive down to San Ramon, so we could watch Scott play in a racquetball tournament. (His dad & he arrived there earlier in the day after Scott got off of work at the station.) It had been such a long time since he'd competed, & Will & I had a blast watching him. Will already idolizes his dad & wants to do everything he does.

Although Scott & his partner, Kevin, didn't win, they still played hard & had a great time!

We can't wait to watch him compete again!

just another day

There is something infinitely beautiful about everyday life. It's the small & simple things that make us who we are . . . the small & simple choices that add up, one on top of the other, until our values & priorities are defined. Slowing down & capturing our lives as they are instead of just showing the "pretty" or idealized moments, gives us a glimpse of what is truly important to us. It offers the opportunity to see beauty all around us, even in the seemingly mundane moments.

This 10 on 10 project gives me the chance to capture life as it really is. Time moves so quickly, & before we know it, it has disappeared with so many intimate & precious moments lost with it.

Here's the gist:

10 photographers take

10+ photographs spaced over

10 hours of a single day

posted on the 10th of each month

I decided to post an extended version of the project on this blog b/c I'm too sentimental & want to share more pictures than is necessary for the actual project on my photo blog.

8:00 am - Will was throwing a tantrum & wouldn't stop crying while in the shower & after getting out.

9:00 am - Will watched neighbors outside the bathroom window while I got ready (& took pics). He saw a woman walking by & got super excited yelling out "Grandma!" (she wasn't even the same ethnicity - haha).

Will then played with his monster truck in the bathtub while Ruby started to get fussy.

I took a self-portrait (kind of embarassing, but hey, whatever).



10:00 am - Will helped me give Ruby a bath, & then I got her fixed up right nice, so she wouldn't "spill" (as Will calls it) all over the floor.

11:00 am - play time: the "Keep Calm and Carry On" sign says it all.


12:00 pm - cuddling with Ruby after she's finished her lunch.

1:00 pm - met up with Scott & some friends at Chic-fil-A

2:00 pm - stopped at the grocery store, apparently for chocolate milk. Will kept finding random goodies to throw in the cart.

3:00 pm - Our Christmas Elf came to visit our home for the holidays. Will named him "Elfie." I know, you wish your kid was this creative, but not everyone's so blessed. ;)

4:00 - Will & I made Jam Thumbprints.

5:00 - Enjoying our yummy cookies! 

What a roadtrip to Tehachapi looks like

This last week, we braved a fairly long roadtrip down to Tehachapi. While looking through some photography blogs earlier in the week, I was inspired by a project that many of them were participating in: "What _________ looks like." I decided to give it a try & document our roadtrip down to visit Scott's hometown. As it turns out, these ended up being my favorite pictures that I took of the entire trip. It was such a fun project to work on!

We started out with a stop to McDonald's to get Will a "cheese-booger," in other words, a cheeseburger with nothing on it but a bun & cheese - no condiments, & definitely no meat. This kid is seriously the pickiest eater ever!

After a couple of hours of being on the road, we hit a traffic jam. It took us about an hour to drive 7 miles. Thank goodness the kids were asleep, or it would have been Hell.

Every time we drive down Highway 99 or Highway 5, we always pass a bunch of stinky cows. If you don't turn the air on recycle, you will pass out &/or gag for a good 5 minutes. The stench is disgusting.

The sky & landscape were beautiful as we drove past (minus the cows). The vineyards looked like they were glowing in the sun. I just couldn't get over how pretty they were.

After driving about five hours, Ruby finally woke up & wanted a snack. By this point, we were 30 minutes from our destination, so we made it a quick stop & then hurried on our way. 

It's always such a peaceful & relaxing feeling to arrive in Tehachapi. It's so secluded from everything else, & we have many fond memories of the place. We had a dream roadtrip, apart from the earlier traffic jam, & continued to have a wonderful stay with Scott's family throughout the Thanksgiving holiday.

it's already been seven years?

On Saturday, Scott & I celebrated our 7th Anniversary.

We started out the day by meeting up with my mom, so Will could go spend the weekend with Nana & Papa. On our way home, Scott proposed we walk around Old Town Sacramento for a bit. As it turned out, he had really bought us some tickets to take a ride on the "Capitol Hornblower" (nice name, right?). When we got on board, we looked around, & one of the first things out of Scott's mouth was, "Nothing's too good for my woman" while trying to hold in a laugh. Let's just say the boat wasn't the most appealing thing. While the boat was a bit on the cheeseball side, it was still fun to actually go on the river together for the first time since living here. 

After our little river-faring adventure, we went for a walk through Old Town & drooled over all the beautiful architecture, old brick, vines climbing up the buildings . . . It was beautiful. Of course having Ruby along with us made it even more fun. She just sat in her carseat & smiled & cooed a good part of the time. She's seriously the happiest baby.

I wish I would have actually gotten some cool pictures of our walk, but I was too enthralled by everything to even attempt. I just wanted to soak it all up.

When we finished our walk, Scott surprised me with dinner reservations to Ruths Chris Steakhouse. And man is there food delish! It was only made better by Ruby needing to nurse through practically the entire dinner. Talk about romantic! Not only that, but the waiters kept coming over to see how we were doing & kept trying to ignore what I was doing even though it was awkwardly obvious. I can't imagine they see that too often in such a fancy restaurant. It was awesome.

And wouldn't you know this is the only picture of us together on our anniversary. That's what I get for relying on my phone.

Thanks for the fun babe! It's been an incredible seven years, & I hope to have many, many more with you.