barefoot and beautiful

Happy Halloween!

The girls had a fun Halloween! Both girls wanted to be WonderWoman but since WonderWoman stuff is hard to come by we had to settle for "amazing girl" with WonderWoman hair clips. They were totally cool with that ;)

They had a party at school (even though it wasn't a day they normally go to school), we carved pumpkins together, ate a BIG healthy dinner and then headed out trick or treating when Royce got home from work. Adia got scared when it got dark out and decided she wasn't going to go but I talked her into it and two houses in was running down the street screaming, "THIS IS GREAT!!!!" They had a lot of fun and we let them go up to the houses themselves this year while we stood back and reminded them (over and over and over) to say thank you.

After getting their fill of candy they both agreed to trade their stash in for a barbie at the end of the night and that was that.

a day at the orchard

The girls week in prek is all about apples so I decided it would be an excellent day to take them to an apple orchard just south of us here. It was a beautiful day, sunny and almost 80! We really had a great time together.



Unfortunately our day was cut short when I received phone calls and text messages alerting me that my Mother-in-law, Debi, was diagnosed with cancer and hospitalized. We are just starting to find out whats going on with her but prayers and good thoughts are definitely appreciated.

coolest kids in school!

first day of pre-k Bright Prospects style :)

part of me wants to jump up and down and the other part of me thinks "did I seriously just ship my kids off into south minneapolis to fend for themselves!" ok that might be a little dramatic but it did cross my mind.

the girls woke up very excited to start at their new school. they're going to rock it!

and THIS is why I'm so in love with little houses!

Our first home wasn't big by any means but it was super tall and we were all spread out. The lofted area was where the girls playroom was while the kitchen, dinning room and living room where I worked were on the main level. The bedrooms were upstairs together but not facing each other so even though the girls were in the room next to us we were never connected.

The first thing I noticed after a week of being in this house was how connected my family felt. We have two levels again but the basement is the basement, mostly storage even though technically there's bedroom and bathroom down there, laundry too. We all spend all of our time upstairs and in the yard. The girls bedroom is right across the hall from us and when I finally go to bed I see them, sleeping in their beds. We have conversations with each other at night from our beds. It's amazing. When they play, they bring their toys from room to room but it's all cozy and connected. When I work (from my dinning room table) I'm right in the living room too, I can see the kitchen and hear the girls playing, even if they're a back room.

Something about little houses. Everything I always wanted in a small simple space. This is all I ever want.

urban camping!

happy 4th of july!!!!

We have had an awesome 4th of july! We went to Richfield's parade (seriously the girls first parade) and they LOVED it......filled backpacks with candy, I had no idea they gave out so much! It was hot but fun.


The girls and Royce and I played in the sprinkler and snugged inside the house. We had a busy 3rd of july!

Amy, Uncle Chad, Amelia, Haley and one of their friends came with us to the bloomington fireworks on the 3rd. We had a fire and bbq before hand. It was a blast!! We are all planning on a new tradition of this every year. Amy snapped a few pictures (below). Rasa thought the fireworks were "magic" and Adia loved Mimi's smore's snack mix and mini donuts and of course the show. The girls insisted on wearing their princess dresses and they danced in the park almost the entire time. It was SO.MUCH.FUN.

Summer Solstice 2013

back in action!

Rasa was in the ER with croup on Sunday night/Monday morning. Adia was in urgent care Monday night and diagnosed with pneumonia (again).

Two days later they are back in action with more energy than they had before! Nana came down today to get them out of my hair so I could get some work done and rest (summer cold) and even with a trip to the pool couldn't wear them out!

my goofs!

After the girls go to bed (around 8:30 every night now) they stay up in their room, each of them facing each other at the end of their beds) and they talk, sing and goof around for about 45 minutes before they fall asleep. Royce and I finally get some time to relax and enjoy each others company before we go to sleep at night and I love it, I really do. Every single night, even though it's always unplanned, we talk about the girls. They are so cool. I tell him things they said and did that day while he was at work and he tells me things they said and did while he was playing with them after dinner. It's funny because the newness of having children has sort of worn off. We feel like even though half the time we still don't always know what we're doing, we know THEM well. We don't have that hard time fathoming that we are parents and they are actually our own kids like we did in the early days. It's cool. Even cooler is that feeling of being overwhelmed with love for them remains the same, and I'm sure it always will.

Knowing who they are now it's even more exciting as we wonder, what will they "be". What things will excite them. What will they do.

"summer"

Last year at this time we were roasting in the sun hanging out at the community pool everyday....enjoying and loving every minute of it. This spring has SUCKED weather wise! Today I was bound and determined to spend the day outside because it's the first day in a long time that it has been dry. Even though it was 59 degrees we decided to walk Richfield's finest Penn Ave and take in a couple playgrounds before heading to Cone Brothers for some homemade ice cream. The girls and I have fun and you know what? It did actually feel like summer.
Happy Weekend!

R&A

lots going on!

I realize I've seriously neglected this blog and I really have a lot I want to get in here because the girls have been busy, busy, busy!

We had our last ECFE class last week. The girls gained so much from this class and I did too. They loved their teachers and made a lot of friends that we have really gotten to know. We had lots and lots of playdates outside of school during the session and we're so happy we've got so many new and wonderful friends all within Richfield and Bloomington! The girls just blossomed in school and have really enjoyed having friends over to our home and going to their houses too. What an incredible blessing to all of us!

Here's a picture of the girls class that Daddy took when he brought them to school a couple weeks ago so I could work.


So a group of us decided we should put the kids in summer preschool! It's through the school district in the same school ecfe was in (only 3 miles away), two days a week for 2.5 hours......yeah, that's right, two and half hours alone twice a week!!! Woohoo!!
The girls best friend, Amelia, is in class, their friend, Adam and another friend Hayden. They LOVE it!! Rasa wakes up on school days before Royce even gets up and is dressed and ready to go before 7 am! I couldn't be happier with the teachers and what they spend their time doing. Its wonderful!

We are still getting together Wednesday's with the old class because we all got so close we want to see each other all summer. This morning we spent the morning with them at a really fantastic park in Bloomington and took the kids for a nature walk to a wading stream. The kids loved it. They loved finding snails and throwing rocks in the water. We're excited to go back again with Daddy.

Amelia's Mom, Kaitlin and I have become friends (after all between ecfe, preschool and playdates we were seeing each other four plus times a week!). They live super close and we all love hanging out together during the day. Kaitlin has a one year old boy who Rasa is in love with and everyone gets together so well it's almost like a break spending the days together. We plan on seeing each other a lot all summer!

Along with Kaitlin, Hayden and Adam's Mom's, Shelly and Amy and all are all having girls night out next week. We all have a lot of fun together and it's nice to have their friendships. We really couldn't be happier in this place right now. It was an adjustment, for sure, but things have really been one blessing after another this past year and the best part is being able to watch the girls build new relationships with new kids and their parents and have a community of people they enjoy to be around.

We've really gotten to know our neighbors as well and both sides love their visits from the girls. It feels like home....FINALLY!

On a business note: I landed a commercial photography gig for a company called Gibout Toy's. I had a lot of fun shooting this project and while it was a ton of work it was amazing to work with the girls in the studio and wrap this thing up. I love that they can watch me work and run my business and part of me hopes it will plant a seed for them to know that they can make what they want out of their lives and do whatever feels good to them. It doesn't have to be a cookie cutter job or something that isn't fufilling to them. It's always going to be tons of work but it is possible to balance it all.
Here's one of the final images this company used to do an 8x8 foot banner of for the 2013 hollywood celebrity and vip only toy fair!

everyday things.....

best mother's day presents ever!!

luckiest mom in the world right here!