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! 

Outings // Deschutes County Fair

I'm trying to do a bit of blog catch up - a lot, actually. We made it to Austin and got our Internet connected yesterday afternoon and before I get too far behind, I want to try to catch up, before it becomes to overwhelming!

While the kids and I were in Oregon, we did lots of fun stuff. Did I mention that my brother, Dan, and his family now live in Bend? We got to play with cousins! They loved all their girl cousins! We also got to meet the newest cousin, baby Karlee, the day after she was born. We went to a movie with our cousins, and spent the day at the High Desert Museum with Grammie - the kids LOVED it there - they didn't want to leave after a full day! We of course had to stop by Goodies in Bend and run around a bit at Drake Park. We also spent plenty of time just chillin' in Grammie and Grandpa's great yard. The kids loved the kiddie pool (and loved streaking around the yard sans clothes). It was also a treat that the Olympics were on when we were visiting, because we don't have TV at our house - so we got to watch a bunch of Olympics in the evening with Grammie and Grandpa. I kind of threw schedules out the window and the kids missed a lot of naps and stayed up way too late - but we all had fun and rolled with it. I think it's good to teach kids to be flexible and adaptable (ha ha). I think the gymnastics was all of our favorite - and the kids started running around pretending to do a lot of different sports - especially gymnastics, but they also tried out volleyball and water polo. Sawyer got so excited about the gymnastics he just thought he could run and start flipping like they did. He gave it a good try, and to my surprise, he did a few pretty accurate front handsprings. Once, though, he over-rotated and hit his cheek on the hard wood floor and got a beautiful bruise. Maybe I should sign the kid up for a tumbling class?

Anyway, one evening, we went to the County Fair. I hadn't been in years, and figured it would probably be years before we went again, so why not enjoy? Grandpa, Grammie, and Aunt Tia came with us to enjoy some good fair food and a few fun rides. 

I didn't bring a stroller, so my mom pulled out the stroller she used with my youngest sister (now 21). We kept joking about our truly "vintage" stroller. Hey, it worked great and we even got both kids in so we wouldn't lose them in the crowds. They were super excited about the fair.

Sawyer trying out the big tractors.

I think Mr. Billy had a crush on Aunt Tia!

And the part I was most excited about...I let them try cotton candy for the first time! I remember loving it as a kid. Aunt Tia found some fresh cotton candy in all these flavors I hadn't heard of and she got them each their own. Aspen, surprisingly, didn't love it - but Sawyer thought it was. They shared some with me, which I enjoyed as well (I've had a sweet tooth lately and I really should watch it, but hey, how often do you get cotton candy at the fair?)

I bought a book of tickets for the kids, thinking that the kiddie rides would be less tickets so they would get more rides - but surprisingly, they were just about the same as the big rides! Oh yeah, that's one reason I don't go to the fair often - it's kind of a rip off! But oh well - we were having fun! So, we got some tickets and I was going to divide them between the kids...until we went to the first ride and we found out Aspen was too little to ride all but one ride. I kind of forgot about the height restrictions - and Sawyer barely made it himself (my kids are small). Aspen was kind of disappointed, but was a great sport about it. We let her ride the one ride she could a couple of times - and since hardly anyone else was on it, the operators let them go around several times more than usual. The canoes. Aspen was thrilled! They would wave everytime they came around, and Grandpa would give them high fives. Their excitement was contagious!

Sawyer, who is usually hesitant about jumping to try new things (he's a bit more cautious, in general, which has both it's advantages and disadvantages at times) surprised us all and was super excited to ride all the rides he could! He let me go on the roller coaster with him, and I was surprised he wasn't nervous, just so excited! It was really cute. I think he liked that Grandpa, Grammie, and Tia were watching him, too.

While Grammie and Tia snuck off to ride a "big kid" ride, I sat with my dad and the kids on a bench. The kids ran around, and I sat and was nursing Hazel. A nice lady (probably close to my age) sat down on the bench and we started talking. I am fairly certain she was eyeing my dad and thinking "wow, he robbed the cradle" until I explained how I was visiting my parents and that was my dad - not husband. It was kind of comical. Aspen really loved Grandpa - and I have to say I think she's a bit of twinkle in her Grandpa's eye, too. She's not only a cute girl, but her personality is so easy going and fun - who can help but love the girl? It was so much fun to spend some time with my parents, my twin sister, and my brother Dan and sister Jamie as well. I wish it happened more often. Of course, now that we live in Texas, it might not happen as often as we would like. Which is one reason I took the trip and we stayed almost ten days. We had a great time! AND I survived the long-ish drive solo with three kids. Having now driven all the way to Austin, 6-8 hours in the car seems like nothing. I'll post more about our looooong drive soon - and keep catching up little by little in the next few days.

Thanks again, Grammie and Grandpa - we sure had a great time with you, and at the fair. I guess next time we visit we'll have to make our visit coincide with the fair again because Sawyer has asked several times if when we visit next we can go to the fair again. It was a fun evening - thanks!

Oregon

A couple of weeks ago the kids and I went down to spend about 10 days visiting our family in Oregon. I wanted to get a visit in before we become Texans and don't make it up this way as often, and the timing was just right because I also wanted to get out of the house while the open house happened etc. Of course, who knew that the day after our arrival someone was already writing up an offer! Everything has worked out so well and we've been incredibly blessed - even though everything has been somewhat of a whirlwind. And really, I should be getting some sleep or packing another box tonight, but I just wanted to slip in a post, because it's something I enjoy - and I hate getting too far behind! So, Oregon...

My mom has two horses - Angel and Piper. They are sister and brother. They are her pride and joy :) The kids are always really excited when they talk about the horses, but when they get very close to them, they are quiet and a little overwhelmed by their size. Our first evening there, the kids rode their bikes over to help Grammie feed the horses their "dinner". 

Sawyer actually did end up helping feed them some hay, and Aspen just watched with her wide eyes :) Maybe next time. It's funny how they talk about the horses - so exciting! Yet they're too scared to sit on them. 

It was nice to have nice warm weather and a cool breeze in the evening, just sitting in the yard and letting the kids run wild. Made me excited for when we have a big yard in Texas (you know, everything is bigger there, they just can't help it!) Part of me still can't believe we are going to be Texans! Who ever would've guessed!?! Our girls are going to grow up as Southern Belles instead of Granola Girls :)

Well, just as we were getting back to the house, Grandpa showed up. He had been gone several days on a "Pioneer Trek" with the youth from church. They pulled handcarts and walked and really got a feel for what some of their ancestors had gone through as they walked across the plains years ago. Grandpa sure looked the part! He's a regular Indiana Jones, too! The kids almost didn't know what to think - he was dirtier and more dusty than they were! 

One thing is for certain: we love our Grammie and Grandpa and we are going to miss them! Thanks so much for letting us come visit and spend some leisurely summer days with you! It is always a treat to visit, and our trips always feel short (although since I was flying solo on this trip, it didn't feel as short - we were all missing Daddy by the end!) I must give huge props, too, to my  three little kiddos - they were amazing travelers on our 6 hour drive (which of course was more like 8 because we had to stop and nurse the baby and eat lunch) They didn't have a DVD player, or the iPad, all they had was a little magnetic doodle pad and some little superhero figurines. Somehow that kept them busy for the lengthy drive. Hazel did great too, except for the last 2 hours on the way home when we got stuck in traffic and she was hungry. That wasn't fun for any of us! But overall, it gave me hope that our 5 days of driving 8 hours a day to Austin will be okay. And I caved and bought a DVD player for the long journey - and am going to download some games onto our iPad. One day traveling is one thing - but 5 long days in the car seems like it calls for more extreme measures :) 

On an unrelated note - we gave away our TV today (free items offered on Craigslist are HOT!) I'm glad it's going to a nice family. As Jacob helped the woman carry it down the stairs to her car, Sawyer suddenly looked at me and tried really hard to hold back a big sob and said "it's kind of sad that we won't have a tv in Austin". I told him it was okay to cry if he felt sad about it :( I told him that we can have family movie night and watch a movie on our computer (which is bigger than our tv was anyway!) and that perhaps one day we'll get a new tv, maybe even a BIG tv (because...you know the answer). He was still a little sad, so I let him test out the little travel sized dvd player. He felt a little better. And he didn't seem to mind at all when someone came for the rug under our feet :) Which is good. Things are so hectic, sometimes I forget that we are turning our kids world upside down just as much (probably more) than our own. Deep breath, take it slow.

I suppose this is my chance to say that things are pretty crazy busy in these whirlwind days of prepping to move across the country, wrap things up with the sale of our home, research and find all sorts of new insurance policies, research and find new physicians and dentists, pack things up, sell some stuff, say goodbye to friends, etc. Yes, crazy times. Oh, yeah, and shoot some senior pics and also a WEDDING, before we drive off into the sunset. Crazy times are good times and good memories, ya'll. So please excuse me if I'm absent for a bit. Or maybe I'll sneak in a few more posts - it's kind of a de-stresser for me. We'll see! Either way, though - we're ready to be Texans! 

Bend Pet Parade

Here is my youngest sister, Jamie, with her little dog, Peanut. They marched in the pet parade...

me, Grammie, and the kids watched - it was a hit for sure!

A quick stop by Goodies for ice-cream was also a hit.

The only miss was that I forgot our cell phone and missed out on seeing a long-time friend who was also in town (Tirza! Sooo sorry we missed you - we will have to try again very soon to catch up!)

(Daddy, Granpa, Uncle Taylor and their crew opted out of the parade for a 30 mile bike ride that morning ;)

People got all decked out and found things to ride in the parade, and then also showed off their pets. There were LOTS of dogs, but a few others, too. I was SUPER impressed at this guys custom long-board. I am a big fan of long boards, but have never seen one this LONG! He could've fit his whole family on that thing - I want one!

I was told to look for the flying dog at the end of the parade.

what? a flying dog?

Yup. Check him out! And don't worry about cruelty to animals, this little dude was happily wagging his tail having a blast flying high! Can you blame him? Looks like fun - and I love his little aviator glasses!

Yes, we finally made the Pet Parade in Bend - something I never did when I lived there, but very glad we took the kids, it was a hoot!

The Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend while in Portland, we went to Sauvie Island and this wonderful Pumpkin Patch with my parents. The traffic out to the farm was incredible - you would think we were headed to Woodstock or something :) Just kiddin'. But really, it was bad traffic - but it was an amazing farm and Pumpkin Patch! I truly wish we could've spent all day there, it was just perfect. And the weather was great, to top it off.

I can't get over the look on Sawyer's face as he watched the tractors going around the fields giving hayrides. That, and him trying to roll the huge pumpkins around. We have been reading/singing "Five Little Pumpkins" at bedtime to the glow of our little pumpkins and he loves the part when they "roll out of sight". Anyway...

Halloween costumes for the kidlets are simple (but cute, too) this year, and almost finished. I already know what they're going to be next year, too, though that will take more planning and sewing. Am I a dork or what? OH, the Thrills and Chills of the Halloween Season!

Long live The Great Pumpkin!