just for fun

One of my favorite things is just getting my girls dressed up and taking lots and lots of cute pictures. These ones were for Valentine's Day, hence all the pink! Well....wait a sec, I guess I tend to use pink all the time anyways, right? Hee hee. Anyways, it was still fun and I got so many cute ones I couldn't narrow it down. Thank goodness Daddy was home to make everyone laugh...I am finding it harder and harder to photograph the three of them on my own! Busy, busy girls.




My intention was to get these photos done and make valentine's for our families and get them off in the mail, etc, etc, etc...but we only got as far as making them for the girls friends, so oh, well! This will have to do!




:)

another sneak...

I can't resist sharing little peeks of my recent photo sessions. See more from this one here. This family is just so dang cute!

I'm really hoping I can blog again soon...lots of things I want to share! But for now, I gotta run...it smells like my husband is painting upstairs, so I'm going to go see what he is up to. Haha!!

T:)

a little getaway and some scrapbookin'

This past weekend Gray and I took a much needed little trip to Montana, just the two of us. It was so awesome. I can't even remember the last time we went somewhere alone...maybe before we had Payton? So needless to say, it was long-overdue. We farmed the kids and the dog out to all the grandma's and great-grandma's and headed south. Our weekend was filled with eating, shopping, going to movies and SLEEPING. Oh, the un-interrupted, glorious sleep! It was fabulous. Thank you to everyone who helped with our kiddos, we love you!!!

(Oh, and on Valentine's day I even managed to get Gray to watch New Moon with me in the hotel room! What a trooper, hey?)



And moving right along...



I found some time last week-ish to do some scrapbookin'. I'm rusty, but I got some pages done nonetheless!







I wish I had more time to scrapbook, but man, life is busy. My room calls to me on a daily basis, but...so do my girly-girls. So for now, I need to be okay with only getting a little done here and there. It's okay. One day, I'll have that time again to scrapbook to my hearts content. One day.



T:)

P.S. I have some new pictures on my 365 blog, too!

some valentine loves...

It isn't Valentine's Day yet!! There's still some time to get busy makin' cute stuff for the ones you love. I've been super inspired by all that is going on over at House of Three, and the girls and I made similar valentine's from last year for them to give to all their friends...so so cute!



Just a quick post tonight, time to go watch all of my Thursday night TV! (wink)



T:)

(oh, and thanks so much for all the b-day well wishes! I'm actually a tad excited for my 30's...thanks everyone!!)

the big 3-0!

Yes, yes, today marked a milestone event in my lil' ol' life...my 30th birthday. Holy cow.



In some ways I was dreading this day...just feeling old, and it's weird to be out of my twenties! But at the same time, I am totally ready to embrace my 30's and all that life has to offer. I have been told by many that "30 is the 20" so that is the mantra I'm going with! My 20's were just so full...and in many ways I feel like they defined me as a person and truly made me who I am today. I worked professionally as a dancer, I travelled, I got married, I worked, we became home-owners, I had 3 children...it has been a busy decade! On top of that I feel like my faith and beliefs in the gospel have grown from simply a way of life to my true purpose and meaning in this life. When I think of who I was at 20, and who I am today, I just feel like I have learned so many life lessons.



Life is good.



I have a crazy awesome wonderful man who I am lucky to call my husband. He knows me inside and out, we been through thick and thin, and he loves and supports me no matter what. I love where we are today...just the best of friends, going through this crazy life together. Oh, and he bought me these awesome boots and flowers, too. (thanks, babe!)



I have 3 perfect little angels who I am lucky to call my daughters. They truly are my everything. I can't imagine my life without them...they have taught me what selflessness is, and what and who is important in this life. Couldn't. live. without. them. Actually, it was funny, today Payton asked me, "Mommy, do all girls have to be mommies when they grow up?" I replied, "Well, no sweetie, not all girls have to be mommies, but wouldn't life be boring without'cha?" To that, Payton giggled, but in all seriousness, my daughters have just enriched my life to such a degree...they have taught me so much and brought me so much happiness, I wouldn't trade them for the world.









I just feel like one lucky gal today. Thank you soooooo much to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday today! I never really think of my birthday as that big of a deal, but I was just so touched by all the phone messages, facebook messages, calls, and people who stopped by today...I just truly feel loved! One lady from church left me a message that had me in giggles and tears, it was so sweet. My BFF's took me for dinner on the weekend, my parents watched my kids tonight so Gray and I could go out, my friend dropped off a fabulous cupcake tonight, I'm going out with my sis tomorrow, my girls have been saying "Happy Birthday" since Friday...so...I have been spoiled. Thank you, thank you, thank you.




So bein' 30? Ah...I suppose it's not that bad. In fact, I plan on making this my best decade yet.




:)

another sneak peek!

I have another sneak peek over at Talia Audenart Photography...my brother-in-law and his little family. They're living in Australia for school right now and we miss them so much!



Enjoy.



T:)

happy birthday...cards

So, you know when it's someone's birthday and you need to give them a card, and you have none in your stash and no time to make one? Well, that's happened to me one time too many, so I cracked down the other day and made a handful of birthday cards. And I have to say...I had so much fun!

I went crazy with my glimmer mists and Heidi Swapp stamps and masks...it was fun to get my hands dirty again (or should I say "glimmery")!

So now, when a birthday comes...I am ready. I've already given a couple away!

Have a happy day!

T:)

wow.

i. want. this.

'nuff said.

:)

a little photo share...

Just a couple pics of this cute little guy! See more from his session here!

:)

DIY earrings

Okay, so a while back I was looking on my friend Jessica's blog, and I came across these cute earrings that she made using cabochons. I know, what the heck are cabochons, right? Well, they're cute little plastic charm/bead thingy's that you can use to make jewellery or embellish with, or whatever. Super cute!



So of course I had to get some and voila...I made all these earrings. All you gotta do is glue them to earring posts bought at the craft store. Super simple!










I just love them, and now I have a pair of earrings to go with every outfit. I got on etsy and just searched "cabochons" and tons of shops came up that sell them. Here are a couple:

MimiLolo

TomorrowsUnknown

Enjoy!



Tal:)

i'll be back

This has been a loooong week.
We've all had the flu, one by one...
It made it's way through each of us, slowly but surely.
I'm tired.
I want to get stuff done, but have no clue where to begin.
My house is a mess.
Hmmm.
So, this is the kind of week it's been for me.
I'll be back when things are lookin' up.

(and I'm hoping that will be really, really soon.)

T:)

obessesed

So every now and then I get obessed with something, and I get an idea in my head and I just have to give in. Yesterday, it was making these headbands. I decided that we needed some new ones so I got out my glue gun and went to town. Sooooo cute!! (And yes, I made alot...but I have 3 girls, plus I can use them as photo props...so it's all good!)

These were so easy to make and cost me nothing other than about $3 that I spent at the dollar store for some of the headbands. Everything else I had on hand. When I use silk flowers bought from the store, I totally take them apart and re-glue and only use the pieces that I want. Easy-peasy.

So then once I got going on all these headbands, I just couldn't stop...so I made this top. I love it!!

I bought this tank for $6 at Superstore and just pinned the flowers on...that way I can take them off when it's time to wash the shirt and there's no risk in wrecking my beautiful flowers in the wash. (hehe) I have another shirt that I'm going to embellish with some more handmade flowers...I can't wait! There's a little how-to here on making your own flowers, and besides that I just kind of experimented and did whatever I wanted to with glue, a needle and thread.

Hope you like!

T:)

impromptu party

So on Monday we had a little "impromptu birthday party" for Payton and her friend that was visiting from out of town, and I was pretty proud with what I was able to come up with if I do say so myself! Besides her friends gift, I managed to do everything from the simple decorations to the treat bags with stuff I had around the house. Add some princess dresses, and suddenly it's a princess party and everyone is happy. It was so much fun, and you know what...for how simple and totally "no frills" it was...the girls had so much fun and had no idea that it was whipped together in no time. Oh, I love having little kids. Not only do I love just how easy to please they can be, but I love the parties and all the things like this simple little afternoon that come with being young. Payton and I had talked about having a birthday party for her at the end of this month with friends, but I'm hoping this will be enough...we'll see!



I have had such good intentions of blogging more regularly and surprise, that hasn't been happening has it? I have lots of ideas and things I want to blog about, but my darn clock just ticks too quickly! I swear...if only I could have 4 or 5 more hours in the day. Wouldn't that be the best?



Anyways, if you haven't been checking, I do have a few more photos on my 365 blog. I am loving taking a photo everyday. It's still not a habit, but we'll get there. Be back soon!



T:)

just wanted to share...

...a few shots from my first high school senior session. This girl is such a beauty!



I have been meaning to blog, but we have a sick little baby at home this week. Two infected ears, coughing, runny nose, fever...she has it all. Gotta love this time of year. I'll be back next week!



T:)

project 365

So you may or may not have noticed my little "Project 365" button in my sidebar over there. I have decided to jump on the photo-a-day bandwagon for 2010. This was something that I wanted to do last year but didn't start in time, and me, being as OCD as I am, I didn't want to start part-way through the year. So I waited. And now it is 2010 and I am ready to take pictures.



For those of you who have no idea what "Project 365" is, it is a concept that was created by Becky Higgins to take a photo every day of the year. You can go here to see the kit that she has offered (this year she is calling it "Project Life") and just to learn more about it general. So how am I going to approach my Project 365? I am going to keep it simple. No kit. No scrapbooking the pictures (just yet). I am simply going to do my best at taking a photo every single day, and post it over on my cute little Project 365 blog. I'll wait until closer to the end of the year to decide on just what I want to DO with all of my photos...hmmmm. Maybe a Shutterfly or iPhoto book? Maybe at some point I'll get Becky's kit? Maybe photo collages of each month? Not quite sure yet. But I'm not worried. For me, the main focus will be on capturing all of the moments that are my family. What we do, where we go, our surroundings, what we eat, our home, ourselves...just all the little things that make us US. I am not going be beat myself up if I miss a day here and there. I'll simply just keep taking the pictures that tell our story. That is what it is all about. Our story.



So please take a look at my Project 365 blog. There are 2 whole pictures for your viewing pleasure! Haha! I'm sure I'll have no rhyme nor reason as to how/when I post my photos as well...sometimes I may be posting everyday, and sometimes I'll probably post in batches. Like I said, just keeping it simple and going with the flow.



Can't wait to see what this year holds for us.



Tal:)

(Oh, and I have a new sneak peek up over on my photography blog!)

happy happy new year

First things first. Happy New Year to everyone out there. Can you believe it is 2010? This past decade has flown by. I spent New Year's Eve 2000 on a boat in Tokyo eating sushi and it was awesome. I had no idea that 10 years later I would be married with 3 kids and just enjoying life as a stay-at-home mama. It was what I always wanted, and to see that things all worked out the way I always dreamed is pretty darn cool.



I had a quiet new year's at home at home and it was perfect. After we got the kiddos to bed Graham played his Tony Hawk PS3 game that I got him for Christmas and I just browsed through all of our family photos from 2009 (see collage above). I was totally caught up in the memories and everything that we did, learned and accomplished this past year. I am super sentimental and emotional and I found myself saying the same old things to myself...I want my kids to stop growing! Time is going by too fast! But you know what? It was a good year and I'm excited for a new one. I love new beginnings and a fresh start, so bring it on.



I have some goals in mind for this new year, but nothing set in stone yet. I plan on finding a few quiet moments this weekend to sit down and really think about what changes I need to make, what things I want to accomplish and what I need to improve on. The list is just too long of all the ways I could improve myself, so I'll have to narrow it down to just a few! But I am excited.



I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was so so good. I just love the magic of Christmas with little kids...they definately brought a spirit with them this year that was irreplaceable. I just love my little family.



I'm excited to get back on the blogging bandwagon for 2010...I'll see you soon!



T:)