life lately // september

After all of our travels and being gone most the month of August, it was good to be home again, and to work on finding a new rhythm for the fall. I laugh. Fall? It's still in the 90s here. Which is awesome, mostly - but I do miss soup, scarf, and tall boots weather and occasionally wearing more than a swim suit. It's so odd to think that my favorite season used to be summer, and now it's fall-winter-spring. I am STOKED that fall is absolutely perfect camping weather! We've already got some camping planned...

Anyway. September. Fall. Wow. This month, I tried to finish up a few of my big painting projects - I've literally painted just about every ceiling and wall of our home over the summer. A few tricky parts to go (ie the stairway that is super high and I am going to need to rent a special ladder to do). It's coming together, though. Looking good. Feeling even better - my environment has such an impact on me. So, slowly, our walls will be painted, our carpets cleaned - and then we will pretty much have a mostly empty house (we don't have a lot of furniture), but at least the walls will be fresh! We joke - we will fill our house up with the laughter of children instead of furniture ;) What's better than the laughter of children, anyway? Certainly not furniture! ;) 

We love to be outdoors the most, anyway. Our adventures are many. And since the weather is "cooling off" we have been outside more and more. Hazel is an outdoors kind of gal. She's also an animal lover, we found out while visiting Oregon. She just can't get enough. Every time she sees an animal - she squeals with delight, and points and smiles. It's so fun to see, her happiness and pleasure at the simple things just spills over into our whole life. 

Many moments I sit rocking or nursing her and just look at her sweet baby face, kissing and cuddling every piece of her - and the next moment, she's running around looking like a full-blown toddler. She is a bundle of energy, smiles, giggles, and love. I don't know what we'd ever do without our Hazel Gracie.

Hazel has also really been into books these days. I love how her brother and sister will sit and read with her. We laugh that she almost always finds certain books (with animals, of course) to read. She can't seem to get enough of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm", and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear". She's absolutely thrilled with cute little "Courderoy". Oh melt my heart, little ones!

The other day, I was thinking about the kids, and of how to be more intentional with my time with them, and one-on-one time, and it suddenly occurred to me: Aspen is the middle child! I guess I had never thought of her that way, since we hope to have more children, so she hopefully won't be in the "middle" forever - but sometimes, she just is that middle child. She and Sawyer are such the best, inseparable best friends, that sometimes I think of them as kind of a unit. But she IS a year and a half younger than him. She's such an easy going little lady, so full of sweetness and love...just gotta squeeze her and appreciate her soft ways. 

Oh, boy. Sawyer! This month, he started playing soccer on a team at the YMCA! We hold off on signing our kids up for activities until they're a little older - and it really gives them something to look forward to! Sawyer has been thrilled to be a part of the "Red Dragons" team, and he has picked it right up (even though some of the kids have been playing for a couple of years already!) It is such a thrill for me, too. I have dreamed for years of having a little boy, and being a youth soccer coach! Because I've got two girls with me, one of whom is a super busy toddler, I couldn't commit to being the coach - but I am the assistant coach for the team, and it's so fun to jump in and help out! 

The games are so much fun to watch...5 year olds are at such a darling age, and are such a fun group!

We also used some of our time this month getting ready to start school! We are doing homeschool preschool and pre-k, and one of our "work together" projects is to turn half of our garage into an open-air art studio! Definitely a benefit to the climate we live in - we can just open the garage and use the space most of the year, minus the couple of scorching months during summer. The kids and I started the project by painting one whole wall with black chalkboard paint! It will take some more time to put it together, but we're having fun with this project and the fun will just keep coming!

Today was actually the very first day of our homeschool. The kids have been excited and looking forward to it for weeks. I have to admit, I've also been really excited! I am so happy we have one more year of Sawyer - and then I can hardly believe that next year he will be off to Kindergarten! And Aspen, the next year! Our homeschooling is inspired by Charlotte Mason and Waldorf ideas, with some Montessori thrown in :) Mostly, we are going to have lots of wonderful adventures and memory making this year. I snapped a few pics of the kids this morning before we went on our nature walk. These two...they are such goof balls sometimes! But soooo loving towards one another. I think you can see, quite plainly, that they love each other and are the very best of friends. Sometimes I wonder if I should do more play dates (we very rarely do playdates) but I just don't see that much of a need since they are the best little buddies. I really hope they stay close like this forever.

I guess that kinda sums up our September. Busy (as usual) and fun. Starting to slow the pace down a little bit, and just living each day the best we can, and enjoying it together. Enjoying the journey, and each other. I sure love my little family to pieces!

Happy fall, everyone!

Thoughts // My One Son

Tonight I was looking at some photographs that I took over the summer, and I happened upon my boy. This is from when we were in Utah. We were driving by the Saltaire, and I had begged Jacob to pull over so I could study this unique building on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. I wanted to photograph it, of course (and who will appreciate the photos? no idea. But my husband knows that part of what makes life grand for me are little adventures, a little straying from time to time, a little "stop! right now!" to get a closer look at something...usually with my camera in hand). So, I hopped out of the rental car, and since the girls were both asleep in their carseats, Jacob said he'd stay in the car while I had a look around and explored for a few minutes. To my great pleasure, Sawyer piped up "wait! I want to go with you!" So, barefoot and all, out he hopped out to explore with me. I wish we had hours instead of a few minutes to explore together. As I looked at the pictures tonight, I saw the interesting architecture of the Saltaire, but what really caught me - grabbed me - pulled my heart right out of my chest - was the few frames I snapped of my one and only son. My first born. He is growing up so fast and getting so big on me these days. He turned five over the summer, and he is at such a delightful age. I mean, I've always loved him at every age and stage, but lately, he just makes me stop and look at him. He asks the best questions. He is just smitten with the world around him. Always a rock, stick, or little bug in hand. Almost never any shoes on his feet. Hardly ever a shirt, for that matter. He likes to either run around half naked (it IS hot here, so that is understandable), OR his favorite thing in the world to wear is his pajamas. A few weeks back, he had a growth spurt and outgrew almost all of his pjs. So, I took him shopping and we came home with 5 pair of new pjs. And then his Grammie surprised him with a couple pairs (dinosaurs and skeletons!) when we went to visit, so he is in no need of pajamas these days. He would love if every day was pajama day. On days we don't have anywhere to go, I often let him wear pajamas most of the day - until it gets to about dinner time and he wants a fresh pair. Anyway, my boy. I've asked him before if he thinks it would be fun to have a little brother someday (I think it would be great!) and he always says "mmm...I guess maybe. But I really like my sisters!" He loves his sisters. He is Aspen's very best friend, and he can make Hazel laugh better than anyone else. He's a loving and wonderful brother. And he has a good heart. He is full of energy, as boys should be. He likes to get dirty, play in the mud, go hiking, jump down the stairs from the highest point from which he can make it, climb trees, and he has a most wonderful imagination. He has his moments of pushing my buttons, like all children do, but WOW he is overall just a great little guy. I love him to pieces. This is the last year I have him home full time and I'm both super excited for this year with him, and also a little sad, not wanting it to pass too quickly. My Mama heart often wants my babies to stay little forever, but at the same time, it is so amazing to watch them learn and grow into the people they will become, day by day. Next week, we will be starting "homeschool" pre-k (for Sawyer) and preschool (for Aspen). They are SO excited. I'm excited, as I've got some wonderful stuff planned. I will save the academics for when they get to "real" school - this year is all about working together to figure out a few fun projects, spending a ton of time in Nature, reading together, creating and doing art together. And maybe learning to tie shoes or something important like that. ;) Anyway, I just wanted to take a minute and say how much I love my Sawyer. I'm so proud of the wonderful boy he is, and the amazing man he will be one day. I can't believe I'm lucky enough to be his Mama. God is so good to have given me this amazing and sweet little son.

life lately // august

Oh, August. It came and left so quickly, it seems! But in between, there was MUCH fun to be had. We spent the majority of the month of August traveling. Which was heavenly. I love love love being on the road and exploring - and honestly, I had been aching to get up in the mountains, in some cool lakes, and in the salt water for some time, so the time we spent traveling was very healing for me. It was just what I needed. My favorite hash tag is #adventureisgoodforthesoul

and it is!

So, I selected a handful of photos from my phone to share about our adventures. I did take some pics with my "big" camera, too - but I have no idea when I will have time to look at them. Honestly, if you really like following along the adventures of our little family, just follow me on Instagram (tyshadenae) because you'll see a lot more of what's going on. I just committed to at least writing something down once a month here on our old family blog, because it's the only form of journaling I'm doing these days, so at least it's something, right?

Anyway...our first trip was to Utah. We went for a family reunion on Jacob's side, but we also got to see two of my siblings one day, and some of my really good friends. Thanks to Jacob's family for being flexible and letting those visits happen. And for the fun time together! I won't lie. My favorite thing we did in Utah was just BE in the mountains. We got to go hiking a couple of times - once just our own little family, and once with some of Jacob's extended family. It was heavenly!

I made sure ahead of time to pick a hike where we would run in to some Aspen trees. We really wanted to show Aspen her namesake trees. 

Here she is! Aspen in a grove of Aspen. Be still my heart! Really, it was a special moment. And it was even better when the wind blew gently through the leaves and Aspen looked up and said "look, Momma - the leaves are all SPARKLY!!!" 

That girl...we just love her so so much!

We were home for just a few short days before me and the kids took off for the Pacific Northwest. We really wish Jacob could've joined us, but someone has to make sure we pay the mortgage, so Jacob stayed home to work. Actually, the original purpose of the trip was for MY work. A friend/client wanted to fly me out to shoot her wedding, so I ended up adding a bunch of mini sessions for old and new Seattle clients and my mom talked me into bringing the kids along and extending our stay. So, we flew into Portland and went to my parents house in Bend. Then, I left for 3 days and went up to Seattle to take care of my photography business. It was the absolute weirded thing driving away from my babies, without my husband. I don't think I had been alone hardly once in the past 5 years since having children. It's a good thing my work kept me insanely busy and focused, because it was very difficult to be away from them all. Kudos to working moms who have to do it every day, or travel and be away from their families. Perhaps you get used to it after a while, but man oh man was it tough for me! 

Anyway, the kids were AMAZING little travelers. I had been pretty nervous about flying alone with all three - mostly because Hazel was to sit on my lap - and if you know Hazel, sitting is not something she really likes to do. I was amazed how awesome they did and thank my lucky stars for the secret super power that nursing has on airplanes. I'm also thankful that we sat by some super nice people - the last leg of our flight back to Austin (from Denver) was a smaller plane with two seats on each side of the aisle. Sawyer and Aspen sat together, and me and Hazel sat by a man - who thank goodness was like the nicest man in the world! Hazel loved him and would even let him hold her - and he amazingly didn't mind passing her back and forth or me nursing her to sleep. In fact, he even saw Jacob waiting for us in baggage claim and said "is your last name Carter? You have the sweetest family." What a blessing!

So...when you're a child, your Grandparents home can be a very magical place. I know going to my Grandparents homes was always special. It was so fun to see my own kids enjoy that special time with their Grandparents. 

We went hiking, shopping, helped Grammie in her greenhouse, watched Grandpa work on building his new shed (ahem, small house out back if you ask me - a small family could live there!), we saw a few old friends (Lori and Dan, our beloved neighbors, and two friends from high school - Sammie and Carrie), and got to play with Aunt Jamie and a bunch of fun girl cousins (my brother Dan's girls). We went to the High Desert Museum, rode Grammie's horses, played in the back yard. So many things, so much fun. And we learned the Hazel is a dog lover. Aunt Jamie would be so proud!

One morning I took the kids out to the old tire swing next to the forest next to my parents house. It may be time to replace the rope soon - but it was still good for a few swings. We also found the skeletal remains of a dear, which the kids thought to be fascinating. The rest of the day, they collected dry sticks which were pretend bones. Mostly dinosaur bones. Sawyer is thinking paleontology may be his future line of work, along with being a Daddy, of course. 

One afternoon Grammie took Aspen and Sawyer on a special date to the movies. They saw "Planes". And later that night, the fun continued as Grammie babysat my kids so my Dad could take me out on a Daddy-Daughter date. I wasn't sure if he did those anymore, but he does ;) He took me to a delicious Thai dinner, and then we saw the movie about Steve Jobs. I haven't been to the movies for EVER, honestly for a few years. We don't own a tv, so I really had to scramble to figure out what was playing. Not too much seemed very interesting to me, but Jobs was just geeky enough for me. And besides, the music was good, too. It was so fun to go and be able to chat with my dad, without interruptions. (thanks mom and dad!)

I snuck up on the girls "playing" the piano one morning. Cutest sisters - I just love these girls of ours! Made me want to get a piano off Craigslist or something just to let them sit there making "music" and being so cute together!

The kids love the High Desert Museum and the little homestead there. Here they are pretending to do some "school". Which reminds me...so we decided (after we had already paid some nonrefundable fees, sigh) to forego preschool indefinitely for our kids. Instead, I'm going to do "homeschool" pre-k and preschool with them. We're doing a blend of Charlotte Mason and Waldorf-inspired approaches. We're all excited. And since I'm the teacher, I decided not to start until October. It's mostly art and nature based. We've got some fun stuff to look forward to, but it will be pretty low key. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that a year from now our firstborn (and only) son, will head off to Kindergarten! How crazy and how fun! I am looking forward to making the most of this last year with him at home full time. It is a gift, for sure, to have him another year!

One afternoon, we went up to Scout Lake. It was HEAVENLY, so perfect! The kids had a blast! So did I ;)

We had many marvelous adventures in Oregon. Our last stop before heading back to Texas, was the Oregon Coast. We spent one of the most perfect days in history at Cannon Beach. It was so warm, so wonderful. The perfect ending to a most wonderful visit with my family. We missed Jacob and were ready to go home, but it was such a treat to be able to enjoy those two weeks in a place that is dear to me, with people I love so much. I'm so thankful my kids are so easy to travel with, and I know they're also grateful for the time we got to spend at Grammie and Grandpa's house. I must admit, family reunions are fun to see everyone - but having more one on one time is so special and important, too. I feel like the kids really get to know their grandparents when they get that one on one time. It definitely made an impression on Sawyer, who burst into tears as we were driving away from their house. He kept saying, through sweet little sobs, "I wish we could live closer to Grammie and Grandpa's house". I'm pretty sure Grammie had a tear or two, too. I'm glad my kids love their Grandparents.

And now we're back home in Texas. It's still hot. Like triple digits. I'm trying to finish painting out house - and also trying to work on all the sessions and wedding I did while in Seattle. SO BUSY. I want to get that off my plate, as well as the painting so everything is a bit more organized and settled before we start school in October. In the meantime, we get to enjoy more swimming, and the anticipation of more adventures. Because, don'tcha know...adventure is around every corner!

I hope everyone had a marvelous and magical summer!