summer visitors!

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my mom and littlest sister came and visited us in colorado! i'm usually the worst at documenting these types of occasions but since my mom is the best at it, i was able to grab a couple family photos! we were having lunch at a nice little restaurant on the river and it had a great little photo-op spot outside. then it started raining and my sister and i both one after the other accidentally jumped into someone else's car that was gray like mine... oops! i sure miss these ladies and can't wait for their next visit!

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of course my mom insisted that aaron take some solo photos of me...

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one that my sister grabbed of us on my backup camera that i let her use while she was here.
she got some great photos! :)

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happy monday, friends!

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pictures of cows.

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we were driving around the reservoir over the weekend, looking for new spots. and first of all, let me just say that i was so dang happy to get a picture of those cows. i have been thinking about taking pictures of cows for years. no really, i'm not just saying that.
many times as i drove home to our house in indiana, i would look at all of the cows that i passed and think about taking photos of them. indiana is full of so much pretty scenery: old barns, endless soybean and corn fields, pretty hazy sunsets and wildflowers. and there are so many cows. they truly became my favorite animal when we lived out there.
but i never took the moment to get the pictures that i wanted. i'm really bad about that; just stopping and getting out of the car to take a photograph. i'm too lazy i suppose.
and frankly, it never seems worth it.
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but this day. the other day, when i saw these black cows grazing in the hills like this, i finally had aaron pull over the car and i rolled down the window and i got it. it was just too, too perfect. because if there is anything better than cows grazing in the fields of indiana, it is certainly cows in the mountains. hands down.
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asher was stressing out in the backseat and roman was yelling at me and i had one of those mother-fail moments where i snapped for a moment.
and i just told everyone in the family to get used to it.
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sometimes i'm going to hang out the window when it's 20 degrees out to take a picture of the creek by the mountains. and sometimes i'm going to ask aaron to turn the car around so that i can get a picture of the orange and aqua sunset even though everyone is tired and wants to get home. in times like these, little boys are sure to squeal at me from the backseat.
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but gosh darn it, sometimes i'm going to pull over the car and take a picture of some cows.

and it's going to make me very happy.

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oh, and my family is cute too. they forgave me and then i snuck in some pictures of them as well ;)

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lucky enough.

"if you're lucky enough to be in the mountains, you're lucky enough."

<3

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happy thoughts.

some happy thoughts of late:

the sweet things about this little boy:

when he plays "baby",

when he acts all dramatically adorable during the times when he actually lets me photograph him,

early mornings when he is all sticky sweet and rolls all over me squeaking, "hi mama"s at me.

when he is sad in his car seat and all he wants is to "cuggle" (cuddle) and kiss and hug.
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finding old mama/baby photos like these.

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photo shoots that turn out all dreamy and wonderful.

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freshly washed baby hair and finally fitting into a thrifted treasure that i bought for him when i still couldn't imagine him ever growing this big.

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many mountain adventures with these guys. :)
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an early morning starbucks and cloudy park date with my littles.
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soft skin, natural light, his favorite shirt.
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roman taking to heart and showing off to us after i keep telling him how adventurous he is.
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and these brothers, of course. always trying to make me grow as a person, even when i don't feel up for it. :)

life right now / july update.

wow, i can't believe that we are already halfway through august! sheesh.

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just a little recap on life right now for us since my last little update of our roadtrip here!

we found a condo super quickly and were miraculously able to move in right away since the property was vacant and the previous owner let us rent from her until the closing.

so basically, we left ohio on the 4th of july and we were in our new home on july 15th!

i actually really did not expect, obviously, to find something so fast. the plan was to stay with my grandparents while we looked for a place which i figured would at least take a month. however, we were very thankful and relieved to find a place of our own so quickly and start settling down!

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here are some photos to share a little bit of what happened around here to finish up our crazy-fun-getting rid of most of our belongings-moving across the country-and finding a new home july!

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aaron + roman on the rock climbing structure at the park near our house. ( i know, i know you thought it was a real mountain, right? ) we love this park and have spent a lot of time there! // love this guy who i met 13 years ago in july at church camp! // the boys at the trail near the foothills by our house // asher sleeping after a fun time swimming at my grandparents' country club

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i adore this photo of asher.
i'm also loving all the sunflowers around here.

my view of the mountains + lake on a drive near our house // foothill hikes // more playground fun // asher loves carrying his own backpack now, and it's simply adorable of course

little ash on his birthday morning. what a darling little sunshine he is // coffee everyday in my "new" thrifted mug // clothes drying from the splash park ( also at the park near our house! ) // new wonderful colorful pottery barn mugs - FREE from craigslist!

and while i'm on the topic of criagslist... let me just profess my love.

have you checked out the free section? it is amazing! we used to check the free section on craigslist in our old town but there was hardly anything ever posted. here however, the free section is crazy full of all kinds of things! who knew so many people were getting rid of so much stuff and are willing to give it away to anyone who might be able to use it? we pretty much outfitted our kitchen as you can see. we also got a really nice, perfectly clean toaster oven. a printer. a bike.

and... a mattress and boxspring! i am seriously totally into thrifting and buying second hand but have claimed that i would never get a second hand mattress or couch. however, i now own both. and it feels great. we bought a really fantastic brand new looking microfiber loveseat from a thrift store and we got a twin mattress/boxspring from craigslist. the thing is with mattresses is that you of course have to be careful and very picky. the mattress we got came from a very clean house and the man we met was super nice! it is seriously such a thrill for aaron and i to find creative ways to find things for our life + home. it is such a good feeling to put things to good use while also saving landfills and not adding to consumerism.
also, we found our condo on craigslist! so, i'm just saying - it's awesome.

so handsome with his new haircut // playing at the library

more hiking at the foothills!

i have seen SO many rainbows here since we moved // my littlest + me :)

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also, thanks for your votes on top baby blogs! happy wednesday!

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seven years.

 (march 17, 2006 on the way to our wedding reception)

i'm so proud of my husband.
i'm proud that as a teenager he showed me what it meant to love and to be loved. i'm proud that he furthered my heart's desire to live a Godly life and that he taught me how to pray out loud.

i'm proud that at 18, he worked at a bagel shop to save up for our future and bought me a pretty old fashioned engagement ring. i'm proud that he drove an hour to and from work to support me through a horribly difficult pregnancy that brought us to our first son roman. i'm proud that he remembered all the instructions from the lactation consultant when i was too extremely exhausted to hear or follow directions after roman’s birth. i'm proud that he has diligently worked at jobs he doesn't love to support our family. i'm proud that he fixed the birthing pool and encouraged and loved me through the childbirth of my dreams to bring us asher. i'm proud that he is a sensitive and compassionate husband to our boys. i'm proud that he has reached for dreams of a better future for us all and that he hasn't given up even though it’s been hard.

there are so many things that i love about aaron. i am teary and full thinking what God has given me. there are many things that are not perfect and not wonderful about my life. but aaron is such a blessing. to think that amidst every barrier in my life, God gave me what my heart wanted more than anything - to get married young, to be a mother, to love Jesus - it just blows me away. sometimes i feel so different than everyone around me, like i am doing things so alternatively and following such a different path, but aaron always gets me. he always has. maybe nothing i am saying makes any sense, but i have to get a little bit of it out anyway while it's on my mind.
seven years ago today i married my best friend. i love you aaron, thank you for loving me always, for your endless prayers and endless back rubs, for sharing all things simple and wonderful with me. forever and always ;)

grilling out + roman photos.

just some photos i took a couple weeks ago when we were waiting at the park to grill out with aaron's parents...
asher growing big and tall,

 baby bed hair

and asher and daddy hanging out. i always love how those two look together :)

roman didn't make an appearance in my photos that day, but he did agree to take some photos of asher and i in front of the silos that are across the street from our house.

we always try to keep roman awake on our way home by saying, "whoever sees the silos first wins!." i don't even know how many times we've said that phrase along with, "do you see the silos?" keeping roman awake is always a challenge and if he naps - it's a nightmare at night. it's so sweet because now he always pretends that he doesn't see the silos to give us a chance to "win" or he says, "the whole family wins!" love that little voice in the backseat. i still always think of the house we lived in when he turned two and how his teeny little 2 year old voice sounded when he said, "we're home!" from the backseat  as we pulled in. :) these little memories are some of the best for sure.