The Twins baptism shoot

When Taylor was baptized we thought it would be cool to take her to her favorite Temple and have her photo taken in her baptism dress. The idea is that someday she will go back there to have her Bridals taken and she will be able to have the two photos side by side. The twins apparently thought that was a neat idea because they requested the same thing for when they were baptized. I honestly thought they would forget about it. But they didn't. For 2 years they kept reminding me that I had "promised" them that they could go to their favorite temple and have their baptism photos taken. My fear was that one of them would choose the Bountiful Temple and one of them would choose the Provo Temple. As fun as it would be to drive through 3 separate counties to do photo shoots at two different temples, I knew it would stress me out. I lucked out though when they not only agreed on the same temple but when they both chose the temple in our old neck of the woods, The Oqquirh Mountain Temple. Which is maybe a 15-20 minute drive away. I don't know why they like this temple so much. But I think it's sweet that they do since we lived just a 10 minute walk from it when they were born. I caught a glimpse of what these two might look like in just 11 short years when they are missionaries and I loved it, it brought tears to my eyes! I am grateful for these handsome boys and for their sweet spirits. They honestly do impress me on a regular basis.

After their photo shoot I took them by our old townhome. We only lived there for 1 year but it is the home where we survived having twin premature newborns. I had to get a picture of them in front of it 8 years later. After that we decided to go get a treat. I took them to the new HUGE Schmidt's pastry cottage in South Jordan. I used to love that place when I was little. I have such a weakness for sugar cookies. The twins each opted for a cinnamon roll bigger than their heads and a milk and I chose a pumpkin shaped frosted cookie. We laughed and laughed and had such a fun time. It was an awesome memory and I'm so grateful that these boys like hanging out with their mom...

I think their baptism announcement turned out so cute! Go check out nattysuedesigns on Etsy. My friend, Natalie is amazing!

Family photos 2014

My sister in law, Tiana is a budding photographer and has been taking photos of us off and on for the past 4 years. I try not to take advantage of her just because she's family but I do love her work and always feel so lucky when she takes our pictures for free. Her turn around time on these pictures was freaking phenomenal (that's the hardest part for me-the waiting). And it's cool because if you look back over the last few years of photo shoots she's done for us, you can see how amazing she has become, It's neat to see how different this photo shoot turned out: from the lighting, to the way she positioned us, to the angles she shot from. I am so in love with how these pictures turned out. She sent me more than 150 photos and I had to weed it down to less than 50 for this blog. Everything about this photo shoot was wonderful! Thank you so much Tiana! These are probably my favorite family pictures to date...

For those even remotely interested-ALL the clothes are from Old Navy and these pictures were taken up Millcreek Canyon.

28 Days of Gratitude Day 8

Day 8-

I am grateful for my sister in law, Tiana. Tiana is a doll. Like adorably cute and cheerful looking, so she reminds me of an actual doll. Tiana is the perfect fit for my brother. She keeps him grounded and balances his occasional bouts of arrogance with her sweetness. I am so glad Tiana joined our family when she did. My kids hardly remember back to the time before Tiana was a part of our family and I love that. I love that Tiana is such a cute and thoughtful aunt. I love that she is so humble. Tiana is very talented and I'm glad she is the crafty daughter my mom needs! It's fun that her and my mom get to bond over being creative. I have had some awesome talks with Tiana and I always walk away admiring her strength and the power of her testimony. Her testimony is unwavering and I love that about her. I am so glad you are my sister in law Tiana! I love you.