Barefoot and ...

...PREGNANT, of course! It feels so good to finally be able to announce this to everyone. The 1st 12 weeks of hiding it and keeping it a secret is so not fun. Although, if you know me at all, I did tell a select few. ;)

The morning sickness is over (and boy oh boy was I ever SICK! Think the flu, except it lasts for WEEKS!) and I am finally starting to feel more like myself. Still exhausted, but I hear that will even go away for a few months as well.

This is definitely the craziest adventure we have ever been on and I will do my best to update those of you who live far away as much as possible.

Seth's newborn pics

What a trooper this little guy was! He let us put him in all sorts of props and basically slept through the entire shoot! Congrats, Melinda and Steve! Seth is adorable!!

Declan's 1st birthday party

Talk about a perfect day! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and allowed us to spend most of the day outside on the deck. It was great to get together with old friends and spend the day celebrating Declan's 1st birthday. Happy Birthday, Declan!!

San Francisco and Napa Valley

What a fabulous trip! Doug has family that lives in San Jose (about 1 hour South of San Fran) and they were kind enough to invite us out to stay with them. So, we decided to try and fit in as much as possible. The first night that we flew in, we drove to San Francisco and had dinner at Gary Danko's What an amazing restaurant! After we ate more than 2 people should ever eat, we drove an hour north to Napa Valley. We stayed at this adorable little hotel and then woke up the next morning at 5:00 am for a balloon ride. One of my dreams has always been to go up in a hot air balloon. And what better place to do it than over Napa Valley?! We arrived at one of the wineries and were told that we had to go to an alternate location for the balloon because there was some fog at the 1st location. So, we drove about an hour west to the 2nd location. The balloon was being blown up when we arrived. We all got pictures and were so excited to go up. About 20 minutes after we had been waiting, the pilot told us that more fog was moving in and he had to cancel the flight. Talk about MAJOR disappointment! It took everything I had not to cry (I know, total baby!). Doug promised that we would do it some day.
So, after that crazy morning, we were ready to tour the vineyards. And boy did we ever. We went to some amazing places and got to sit outside on the most beautiful day and sip some of the best wine I have ever tasted! It was straight out of a movie!
The next day we spent exploring San Fran. We did all of the touristy things: Cable cars, Ghiradelli Square, Golden Gate Bridge...
It was so much fun and such a gorgeous city.
Saturday was spent exploring Sausalito and Muir Woods. As we were walking through the woods, we saw a trail that said "Ocean View Trail." Doug had on dress shoes and I had on my uggs. Neither of us were intending to take a long hike. After about 2 hours and a couple of foot blisters, we finally reached the top. The view was breathtaking and so worth the long hike! And the smell! Oh my! The entire forest smelled so sweet! It was like nothing I have ever smelled before. Pure and unpolluted. Absolutely divine! It is what I would imagine heaven smells like!
Next to our day in Napa, Sunday was probably my favorite day of the trip. After Church, we drove down the coast to Carmel and did the 17 mile drive. Talk about beautiful! I could totally see myself living here....if only I had more money! ;) Carmel was so adorable! Tiny little cottages right on the rocky beach. It might just have been the most romantic place I have ever been! If you have never done this drive or visited Carmel, it is definitely a must! You will not be disappointed! We finished our beautiful day in Carmel by eating at this quaint little restaurant called Casanova
We had such a great time and felt so blessed to be able to enjoy loving family, amazing food and some of God's most beautiful creation all in one trip.

Sipping wine, killing time, trying to solve life's mysteries

2 years being married to my best friend and no better way to celebrate than on the beach. This year we spent a week in beautiful Barbados and had a fabulous time! But who wouldn't in Barbados? Most days were spent lounging on our quiet beach reading a book and soaking up the sun. No worries, no plans...just pure relaxation. I read through the entire twilight series (awesome beach read, by the way!) and two other mindless books. Our resort was not all-inclusive so we went out every night and hung out with the locals. It was certainly an experience! Our last night in Barbados, we rented a catamaran with a few other couples and went on a sunset dinner cruise. They took us to a remote location and we were able to swim with the turtles before watching the most beautiful sunset ever. Such a great night!! Our anniversary dinner was at Pisces, which was amazing. Imagine sitting at an intimate, candlelit table listening to the waves crash onto the shore, sipping expensive wine and eating the kind of food that they write about in magazines. Yup...it was that good!

Miss Morgan's fall shoot

What a fun day hanging out with one of my closest friends and her adorable daughter. We got some fabulous shots and are already brainstorming ideas for baby #2's photo shoot in February.

Hillary's Graduation Photo Shoot

My baby sister is a SENIOR! I can hardly believe it! She asked me to do her senior pictures for her so we set out to do so on Sunday. We had planned to shoot them earlier in the summer when we were down the shore, but every time we planned on shooting them, the weather would not cooperate. We picked a park close to home that had a lot of interesting details. Not to mention, I had an amazingly gorgeous subject to shoot. We both had a lot of fun and below are just a few of my favorites (from the several hundred pictures!!!) of the day.