The Best Family Pictures

There are two elements that make these pictures especially important to me, beyond the obvious fact that they are pictures of me with my two favorite people. The first is that this place is beautiful beyond words and I spent a good portion of my younger childhood here. It is the home of my friend Gretha, who I first met in her capacity as my nursery leader at church, and who I rekindled my friendship with when I came down to BYU for school.

Imagine as a child having a neighbor who had a pool, a pony and cart, a cottage filled with vintage toys and tea sets that you were ALLOWED TO TOUCH, a flower garden that rivals anything that Mary Lennox ever found, and the biggest hammock you've ever seen. Now imagine that that neighbor was like quintessential grandmother - making delicious things, taking the time to appreciate any specimen you wanted to show her, and letting you play dress up and have tea parties any old time you wanted.

That is who Gretha was, and who she still is, though Peppy the pony has since passed on. In the months before I left Utah, I went to her house almost weekly. We made applesauce, canned pears, picked blackberries, made fresh spearmint tea, watched Christmas movies, and sometimes we did nothing at all.

So that is the first thing. The second reason that these pictures are the best is the photographer. When I got married, I had arranged for a guy in my ward with a knack for photography to take my pictures. About a month before my wedding, he got a great job in New York and was no longer available. I was pretty worried about it, especially because my photography budget was pretty much set in stone by that point, and it was tiny. Then I remembered a guy my friends had recommended, and I wrote him an email a desperate plea for help. And guys. He saved the day. Not only did he take all of our temple and reception pictures for a mere pittance, he did an amazing job. And he's such a nice person and great to work with. So I instantly thought of him when I decided to get some family pictures taken before our move.

So, here are just a few of our favorites. For the setting, all the credit goes to a dear lady who loves to beautify her house and yard. For the shots, there is no one better than Chad Keyes.

This is the cottage, full of tiny, special things. Not the least of which is Ivy.

The entrance to the garden, which was sadly not in bloom, it being November and all.

These are from her pear orchard, where we picked pears and canned them last year.

This is by the stable where Peppy used to live. 

Camping on The Beach

In much the same way that Girl's Camp inspired me to write in my journal for that one week out of the year, trips inspire me to blog. I guess it's because I find it hard to believe that anyone wants to read about my normal life and would rather hear about my adventures and my great tan. The other day, I announced on Facebook that we are expecting again, somewhere around September 5th. I am really excited. I get to find out the gender next month.

It feels very different this time around, in every way. I am not nearly as sick, no gallstones, heartburn, less emotional. Which is why I was sure it had to be a boy this time. But a lady at story time at the library told me her second pregnancy was the same way and it was another girl. I would love another girl. Two little girls. But I still have this feeling like it's a boy, and so does Luke. We were right last time. So who knows.

We just got back from camping in Saint Joseph's Peninsula State Park in Florida. It was so much fun! I took Ivy to the beach for the first time and enjoyed the hot showers, real toilets, and electricity provided. I'm not a hardcore camper, and this vacation had all the essentials. I haven't been to Florida since I was little, living in Georgia, and it's beautiful. Nadine and I were brave and drove the 13+ hours by ourselves with 5 little kids, giving us a couple of extra days before the menfolk could come. It went pretty well, but all 7 of us were so ready to hit the beach by the end of that drive.

So Eric and Andy arrived Monday afternoon, Nadine and I on Tuesday, Kristen and Gavin on Wednesday, and Nick and Luke pulled in on Thursday morning. Tragedy struck on Thursday, though, when Eric and Andy's adorable little May (three years old) tripped and fell into the fire pit, badly burning her left palm. They rushed her to the nearest hospital, which wasn't far at all, but we were shocked to learn that they were not equipped to handle burns and recommended that she be taken as soon as possible to the nearest burn center in Augusta, GA - 7 hours away. We had just barely completed our numbers, and now it looked like Eric and Andy would have to leave. Eric decided to rent a car and take May to Augusta, giving Andy and the girls more time with us. It was so sad for May and for Eric, but I am so so glad thee rest of the girls stayed. Friday was the perfect beach day, the best by far, and we spent all day in the ocean.

Driving home, Luke and I couldn't stop talking about how much we loved taking a vacation just for vacations sake. Since we've been married, all our trips have been about weddings, holidays, reunions, or other things, but this was much more informal and unstructured and it also hit that sweet spot of being camping but not camping, appealing to both of us.

Ivy slept in her pack and play, but ended up with us most mornings. 

She loved to run into the waves and then back out again. She also loved to eat sand.

We walked down to the beach every night to see the sunset. It was incredible. Like a postcard, but way less lame. We want to go next year, but Eric and Andy will be moving to WA this spring. Who wants to come?!