Goodbye Beaches, Hello Lakes

Though we LOVE the beach and it was a big part of our lives for 8 years, we have been excited to chart new waters on the 2 lakes near our new home!

While I was away shooting a wedding, Troy had a vision in his head of a family rowboat much like the one in the Notebook. His vision may or may not have included Rachel McAdams in the rain, but who knows?

At any rate, he searched Craigslist until he found the perfect (well almost perfect...rowboats are surprisingly hard to come by) rowboat for our own family "Notebook-esq" experience.

We took it out one evening for a spin.

We packed a picnic dinner.

We came totally underprepared with lifejackets.

Troy was envisioning his bicepts precisely operating the oars, gliding us smoothly across the water.

Then we got in the boat.

Whoa!

It was a little tipsy.

A little less smooth and romantic than the Notebook.

And we were basically confined to our seats in a frozen position so as not to tip the boat.

It was not exactly what we had in mind, but still fun.

We are enamored with the scenery in Sacramento. There are so many beautiful trees and waterways. On this particular lake, you can boat into little, bayou type passages and be treated to all kinds of wild life. We've seen turtles, beavers, deer, fish (of course), and all kinds of beautiful cranes and birds.

The bad news is, you might see this boat listed back on Craigslist.

The good news is, we LOVE where we live and we absolutely love being out on the water!

Yowzers.

I'm SWEATING!

Paul and Brittany's wedding just got PUBLISHED

over HERE!

Plus, I made myself a new photo blog. Go check it out!

moved.

I suppose if I'm going to jump back into this blogging business, I should rewind a bit to catch you up to date.

Most of you already know that we moved last month from Southern California back to our roots in Sacramento.

In a lot of ways it was a tough decision (friends, church callings, great neighborhood, beach, disneyland, etc.) but mostly it was a decision we were hoping to make if the opportunity presented itself. In 8 years of marriage, we've always talked about going back to Sacramento, but once you establish yourself at a job and all your connections are in one part of the state, it's really hard to move! But a transfer came up at Troy's same company and we jumped on it!

We are so happy to be back! Being close to family is irreplaceable! We love our new town of Folsom. All within a couple miles, we can be riding on bike trails that go for miles, we can be putting our kayak in the lake, fishing on a dock, having a family night on Temple grounds, shopping at a plethora of near-by stores, taking the public transit to old town for an ice cream, or meeting dad for lunch at his work only ONE mile away!

It's always nice when you have a decision that you've thought and prayed about that turns out exactly as you hoped.

paul + brittany

I had the great pleasure of photographing the wedding of my 2nd cousin, once removed (or something like that). As you might remember from my last wedding (which was also my first wedding) I tend to get a wee bit nervous when it comes to photographing someone's ONE special day. Me + a teensy bit of pressure = bundle of nerves. Luckily, this family was so calming and encouraging in the way they put their trust in me.

Honestly, with a couple this handsome, you could really just fling your camera around haphazardly and still get lovely photos. They are a stunning pair and gracious beyond belief!

This family is oozing with creativity. Every detail of the wedding was handmade, upcycled, recreated, or invented. Just wait until you see some photos from the reception! Until then, enjoy the faces of brittany and paul...the happy couple.

beach love

When Troy and I were first married, we had a choice to move to Northern California or Southern California after college. We chose Southern California to experience a bit of an adventure.

We started out in Aliso Viejo, CA. Every Monday night we'd get together with friends and head down to the beach. Main Beach in Laguna. Each would pitch in some snacks and come ready with boogie boards and bocce ball. It was bliss!

A couple years later, we moved to Dana Point, CA. We rented an apartment from my Grandpa. It was a 1/2 mile from Doheney State Beach. We'd walk there in the evenings and paddle out together on our surfboards and play until the sun went down. I'm positive there's no cooler feeling that being in the water at sunset.

Now we have kids and love to share the beach experience with them. Though we are an hour away, each drive feels so worth it. I now love to share with them things I remember from my childhood.

It's pretty routine that Troy digs a huge hole and fills it with water. I am the designated sand crab scavenger. (have you ever seen a sand crab?) Lately, the kids are loving being pulled on the boogie board and whipped around in every direction. Mostly I just love how we can go for 5 hours and be completely entertained the entire time!

I am trying to soak in every moment we have here!

Beans

She can be one tough egg to crack. I guess she IS two, and kinda stubborn.

But man I love this little girl!

She is so easy to have around. I admire her independent spirit because it's a trait I don't possess. She is loving. She is shy, but more observant than I give her credit for. She loves her brother even though sometimes "he bugging me". She totally has opinions. She insisted upon cramming her feet into her too-small-shoes for church yesterday. I had to remind Troy that sometimes in a girl's life it's Fashion over Function. She is a skilled climber...much better than her brother. She's potty trained. She can shake her "money maker" like nobody's business!

She still loves her dolls, and naps, and binkies. She eats everything in sight.

She's our one-of-a-kind Beanie Girl!

the livin' is easy

Isn't SUMMERTIME the BEST?!

Really...I don't think I could ever live anywhere too cold because I just love sunny weather!

We've been basking in these early summer days.

Dining outside.

swimming.

BBQing.

running around naked (kids only).

sprinklers.

corn on the cob.

beach days.

laying on the warm concrete.

enjoying the breeze through the screen door.

playing outside til sundown.

late bedtimes.

and it's only JUST BEGUN!

....and it was THIS big!!!!

Lately, we've been doing a lot of fishing.

We haven't had much luck with anything other than small bluegills, but the kids love it.

All we have to do is bait the pole, drop it in, and within seconds we get a bite!

Looks delicious!