We were rained out at the pool.
We had a family reunion and got the pleasure of spending an extra day with my cousin, Andrew's, beautiful family. We went hiking at Brandywine Falls and actually hiked barefoot upstream about a 1/2 mile and found this fun natural waterslide. We had no change of clothes for the kids but it was FUN.
Finn & Miles made the best of friends with our neighbors granddaughters who moved back here from FL in June. Aubrey & Addison are celebrities in our home now. : )
We went hiking a lot. And most times Miles would end up in the water if there was any...or in the mud. So he was often pantless, in his diaper, by the end.
This fall Finn started Kindergarten. That hit hard. I am having a hard time letting him go every day all day. I miss him. But he's thriving, doing well, enjoying it. Truly, he's ready...and a wise friend once told me....you never want to hold them back.
You can see more of Finn's first day on my photography blog here.
Then we visited Colorado. For the first time since we bought the land. With the kids. It was awesome.
We rented the land to a cattle rancher for the summer. These guys (or girls?!?) grazed our fields while we were there.
We did a lot of hiking. I can't even begin to tell you how awesome it was to see the kids on the property. Playing on the rocks, hiking to the top, imagining things were pirate ships, etc. I'm so excited to live here...raise them here. Yet we love where we are and have lots of saving/planning to do.
Daddy planted an Aspen grove while we were there. Our generous new neighbors bought their property with an existing nursery and gave us trees for free. Our wonderful and generous friends, Paul & Christina, who we stayed with...let us borrow their tractor and shared their time with us so we could get it done. We're so pumped to have some trees! Truly cannot thank everyone enough!
First one in! : ))
And we were able to hike this gorgeous canyon with Shane's cousin, Dave, and his fun family.
Shane and I even had a date night with Paul & Christina....we saw One Republic at Red Rocks.
Back home things kicked into full swing for me with photography. I feel like the last 6 weeks have been a blur. But we did manage to scout this location one weekend for my future mini-sessions. Again...no change of clothes. But there was WATER. I should know by now....
My friend Natalie and I are both photographers, so we swap talent and take each other's images. This first one is mine (taken at as Miles wouldn't cooperate that night lol), but the others are Nat's. Can't thank her enough.
Miles moved into a bunk bed this summer. And Finn & him have been sleeping together. I LOVE THIS. I go up every night and just look at them. But just this last week Finn decided it was time to go up top. I should be thankful for his courage. For his growth. For his independence. I am. I am also missing them being like this....it barely lasted 5 months. Time just goes too fast. *sniff*
The good news is....they're best buds. Practically joined at the hip. ; )
And sometimes remind me of little old men.
This one, just taken the other morning. They're growing so fast. I LOVE starting my day with the two of them sitting at the bar, eating breakfast and chatting away to me while I pack Finn's lunch.
My dear girlfriend just had a baby. I got to hold her. Take her pictures and swoon over her. Even tho I'm enjoying this phase of life....I'm still a bit in shock that the baby phase is over.
Fall is always crazy town for me. I managed to pull off 17 mini-sesions and 7 full session in September alone. And I realized it was over my limit. At least while I'm responsible for Shane's office work. He's the bread winner and his stuff has to come first. My stuff is FUN for me....so hard to keep that perspective. Mostly - I just want more time with these guys. And to cook yummy food for my family.
God has grown my business to the point where I am realizing I need balance. Praise Him for building it to this point. Praise Him for giving me the wisdom and peace to know when to find balance. Limiting my number of sessions a month. Planning full days off with family. Planning meals and allotting time to prepare them. Spending time in the Word and in fellowship.
I'm sorely missing balance. I have 9 more days of crazy...then my new 'schedule' kicks in. I cannot wait.