After doing some of these ‘Everyday Moments’ posts in 2014, there was one thing I realized…not only do I value the chance to pause and look back at these moments (as time just moves too darn fast), but it was the nudge I needed to make sure that I get my personal photos out of “edit mode” and organized onto my computer. A challenge for sure – but so necessary. Sometimes I’ll download my personal photos, excitedly look at them on my computer, find one I love and edit it…likely send to someone I shared the moment with…and then leave the others behind. Or, I may simply move on to something else and forget! This post alone forced me to look back and make SURE that I didn’t leave some of my memories floating around in Lightroom. For 2015, not only did I want to continue these Everyday Moments posts, but I made a personal goal to not only organize, but find ways to print and get my photos off my computer!!! I know I’m not alone in this….we all do this – it’s the age of digital photography and iphone-ography – and it takes effort to have tangible images that we can flip through or enjoy on our walls. I have a couple of walls that have literally been blank for years (many tries – but never quite right) so I’ll share two spaces that I finally finished. I really can’t express how happy it makes me to look at the finished project & know they’re off of my computer! This was from our most recent family shoot: (photo credit to Bradie K. Photography) And this one was from a shoot from a few years back…I decided to put a few above our kitchen chalkboard! (again, photo credit to Bradie K. Photography :) Moving onto the beginning of 2015 for our family. After recovering from the holidays, we decided to take a “family adventure day” and head up to the Museum of Flight. One thing I realized…there were so many places that we used to visit before the girls were in school, and so many “first experiences” we wanted to give them. Now, since they’ve been in school for several years, we realized that they no longer even remembered some of these places…the Museum of Flight included. And when your dad is a pilot? Well…of course we had to re-visit! And the other highlight of January…the playoffs, and one memorable game in particular. This one literally cried at the end of this game with relief… And she wasn’t alone…both disbelief and crazy excitement…this was the view coming down our street! :) And then those long two weeks before the Superbowl. Beautiful, amazing weather and we were flying our flag proudly. Such anticipation…. And not the outcome we wanted, but it was one heck of an exciting ride. Cannot wait for next season! In February, I tried to focus on capturing more of the everyday things happening around our house….several dreamy, quiet weekends at home…where they just played, created, and did whatever they wanted. The story behind this moment…my youngest loves to read. Always has. When she was 4, we would find her trying to read this ‘big book’ (Harry Potter) to be just like her big sister. She’d pretend to read it night after night, and then tell me how many times she found the words “and” or “the”, because she only knew sight words at the time. Now, she can finally read this big book all on her own and she is so darn proud of herself. A sweet, full circle moment. :) Another thing our girls used to LOVE to do was play store. They would spend hours setting up stores, coffee shops, or my favorite, their drive-through coffee stands. They love to have their cash register, headset, and all sorts of treats ready for their customers. It doesn’t happen as much anymore, so I loved it when I came downstairs to find this :) We also kept busy at the pool…a couple of meets for our oldest & her synchro team: And one night at practice when she announced that, since the season started with her team in October, they had swam a total of 1,387 laps (or 34,675 yards!). I had no idea how much conditioning that this sport would involve…I love watching these girls! Another fun day…my youngest got to bring a doll or stuffed animal to school, and decided that she wanted to dress up her favorite doll and be twins. Their matching glasses kill me….love, love, love. And our oldest became a certified safe sitter…and is already taking babysitting jobs! Pictures and moments like this make me shake my head…I truly can’t believe how fast time goes. Some other fun random moments… And Valentines day loves notes I left on each of their doors… A wonderful boating trip to Poulsbo – when the weather was incredibly warm and beautiful for February. And the morning I woke up early, was drinking my coffee, and came outside to find this. It was amazing. My cell phone shot of this exact sky had no filter whatsoever. Amazing. And after a great trip, we came home to find this sunset in our beautiful Gig Harbor as well. My Aunts & cousin came to visit from frigid Minnesota and Wisconsin, and Seattle put on quite a show for them during those beautiful, sunny days. We even saw a few porpoises on our outing! And then spring started to arrive….I love this tree so much. Special meaning to our family, and I love watching the girls try to capture it every year right alongside me. Fun playdates… What I love about these next few – these sweet kids, despite their differences in ages (3 to 11 years old), are the sweetest of friends and will play for hours together. They are so creative & always work it out so everyone has a role…this was a fun interpretation of America’s Got Talent :) A sewing-obsessed 11-year old, creating things left and right… And the girls asking to make dinner for us….and this night, a relaxing dinner got a little louder when the headphones went on during the cooking process. Who knew we would be serenaded? Another huge highlight for us in March was visiting the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival for the very first time…but I’ve decided that I want that day to be a post all of its own. :) Here’s a favorite from our beautiful day: If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read and share in our everyday moments. Every year seemingly speeds up faster and faster, and while I can’t slow down that clock (oh how I wish I could), I’ll keep trying to preserve our memories in whatever way possible. Happy spring to all!!