Lakeside Lavender Farm

Claire and I took our girls to a lavender farm yesterday. It smelled absolutely amazing and was such a gorgeous place to get some pictures of our girls!

There is just so much beauty in this world Heavenly Father created. It was wonderful to be able to capture some pictures of this small part of it. 

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I was originally going to end this post right at the sentence above but for the sake of journaling I wanted to write a little bit more about the details of this day/week. 

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I love how these pictures turned out and how peaceful they look. This week has been anything but peaceful. Race has had some bad back problems and because of that I feel like I have been running around like a crazy lady. Race has been to doctors, physical therapists, a spine specialist, and a chiropractor trying to figure out what is going on with his back and he has been on some pretty strong pain killers so the girls and I have been driving him around to all of these appointments all week. The girls have been such troopers through all of this. Irelyn sleeps tons and is pretty good in the car and Holland has been so sweet to Race. She keeps talking about how his back hurts and he has to go to the doctor. I'm sure Holland also hasn't minded eating out three times this week. Ketchup with a side of chicken nuggets might just be her favorite meal ever! 

Anyway, when Claire told me about these lavender farms earlier in the week I knew I wanted to go but wasn't sure how to fit it in with everything else. I am so glad we found the time to go though. I might have been way exhausted and a little stressed while we were there but there were a few little blessings about our afternoon at the lavender farm that I want to remember:

• Irelyn slept in her stroller while I got some photos of Holland and then she was so sweet when I woke her up take some pictures of her {I know, I'm crazy for getting her up to take pictures!}. 
• Holland was in a good mood and let me take lots and lots of photos of her {with some marshmallow bribes}. 
• Holland didn't have any accidents while we were out and about {We bring her toilet with us everywhere so she just goes on that in the car}!
• And finally, I was able to enjoy some of Heavenly Father's beautiful creations. 

I know that I will cherish these photos for years to come because someday my girls won't be little and things won't be this same kind of stressful and I'm sure that I will really miss this time in our lives. 

Anyway that's my spiel! Now here's to a relaxing weekend {hopefully}! Happy Saturday everyone! 

{Update #1 on the} 30 Day Fun Challenge

1. Make a cute hair accessory for myself.
2. Read a book outside.
3. Take a nap.
4. Read a book while taking a bubble bath.
5. Paint my nails/toenails.
6. Go on a walk around downtown Flagstaff.
7. Write Race a love note {make it cute}
8. Wear an outfit I feel SEXY in!
9. Stay up late to read in bed with Race.
10. Make and eat a delicious dessert.
11. Go see a romantic comedy in theaters.
12. Go to Zumba at the new Rec Center with a friend.
13. Finally use the wax lips Race and I bought on a date FOREVER ago.
14. Take pictures of everything I do in a day .
15. Do my hair super cute {curled, fancy up-do, just anything other than my typical high ponytail/bun}
16. Plan a "fancy date" with my husband.
17. Go star gazing.
18. Take "First Day of School" pictures with Race.
19. Stare at my gorgeous wedding ring and list {in my head or on paper} all the reasons I love Race.
20. Make a skirt.
21. Wear the skirt I made.
22. Plan and/or go on a group date with friends.
23. Play tennis/racquetball with Race.
24. Wear my new swimsuit {$6 at Old Navy!}
25. Go on a bike ride.
26. Get my hair trimmed or cut.
27. Have my sister-in-law/best friend pluck and shape my eyebrows.
28. Buy a new color of nailpolish.
29. Play Michael Jackson: The Experience with Race.
30. Make a smoothie.

Here are pictures of some of these activities:

1. Make a cute hair accessory for myself

I made this headband last week and I have worn it at some point every day since I made it. It's super cute and comfy and soon I'm going to make a skirt out of the same fabric! Cute, eh? Oh, and making a skirt will fulfill another one of my Fun Challenges!

5. Paint my toenails/fingernails













I painted my toenails and fingernails tonight and it was fun until I was heading to find my nail polish and stubbed three of my toes. :[ And then I messed up my fingernail polish by setting up Scrabble. {It was worth it though--I totally won!}

20./21. Make a skirt and then Wear the skirt I make. Check the skirt out in this post. Yeah, I totally made that and then I wore it. And it's so comfy that I might just end up wearing it every day. Or making five more like it in all different fabrics. We'll see. A knit one would be comfy...

22. Plan and/or go on a group date with friends









{I don't have pictures of the date but these are pictures of the gorgeous sunset on the way to the bonfire.}

We went on a group date with Kylie {who is also taking this challenge, with her own personal spin on it} and her husband TJ {I think they were the planners of the date--they are the ones who so kindly invited us :]}, and some other friends {Randon and Jerah, Aubree and Aaron, and Rachel}. Three of these girls were my roommates last year and it was a ton of fun to catch up and to get to know everyone even more. It's fun having other married couples to hang out with. On the group date we went to a bonfire out in the woods and made s'mores and enjoyed the wonderful weather and conversation. 

{The 30 Day Fun Challenge was inspired by Alexis of alexislaughs.com Check her out!}

Something I Love {Third Installment}

Beautiful is the way to describe Flagstaff. I am so grateful to be living here. Race and I would LOVE to settle here once Race finishes law school. {Have I told everyone that law school is Race's plan? I have such a smart, ambitious husband!} Today I went on a walk with the twin girls I am watching right now. They live in a beautiful neighborhood with a walkway going right through a foresty area. Walking through the trees and wildflowers was gorgeous. And the weather was perfect. It's so nice to have this time in Flagstaff right now even if we don't end up being able to settle here someday.

Beautiful trees and sky.

The view on our pathway.

Some pretty wildflowers.

A wildflower one of the girls took a picture of.

Biking Through Flagstaff

Last weekend Race, his sister Teal, his cousin Ellie and I went on a gorgeous bike ride. I had never gone on the urban trails they have all throughout Flagstaff so it was really fun for me to explore a whole part of Flagstaff that I never even knew existed. We biked for a couple of hours and enjoyed each others company, the beautiful weather and the breathtaking views. We will be doing this a lot more regularly now. :) Except I need to get a more comfortable bike seat before I spend that much time on my bike ever again. Here are some pictures from our day. The lighting wasn't great so you guys don't get to see quite how gorgeous it was.










This last one is of Race being my personal Vanilla Coke advertisement. :) {Race does this pose for pretty much every picture--especially when he's holding a drink.}

Something I Love {Second Installment}

For the past few days it has been raining in Flagstaff.

I love the fresh smell that lasts the whole day. 

I love the sound of the thunder and the pouring rain. 

I love having a gorgeous view out my windows.

I love standing outside my door and watching the ground soak up the rain.

Next time I'm not just going to watch. 

I am going to play in it. 

That's another thing I love: playing in the rain. 

Throw on my rainboots and I'll be set! 

Last Day in Oregon

For our last day in Oregon Race and I slept in late, drove around to places my parents grew up and houses I lived in and we drove out to see Mt. Bachelor. Near Mt. Bachelor there are tons of lakes. We stopped at Devil's Lake which is gorgeous and explored around it. There is still snow on the ground there and the lake is a gorgeous green color. And it's not nasty green as you are still able to see straight through the clear water. Also, my husband is so awesome that he went skinny dipping in the freezing cold water while I watched. :) I should have gone with him....next time! Anyway, it was a wonderful, relaxing last day and I am not at all ready to get back to real life in Arizona.





Race and I at Devil's Lake




My dad and I at Devil's Lake





Race skinny dipping at Devil's Lake...haha.


I almost forgot! We stopped by Petersen's Rock Garden before heading to the airport. I remember going to this garden as a young child and I remember it being absolutely gorgeous and enchanting. Last year my grandma and I went and it was dead. There were no gorgeous lily pads in the pond And it was just not at all what I remembered. Luckily it was exactly how I remembered it this time. I guess last year I just came during a bad season. It was gorgeous this time though. Everything is made out of rocks and there are little fairy houses and cute bridges and so many lily pads. And there were some gorgeous pure white ducks swimming in the pond. I was so glad that we were able to stop and see it.




Here are some of the bridges going out into the pond and there are some fairy houses in the middle. Also you can see some of the pretty lily pads.





Here's me on one of the pretty rock bridges with so many lily pads behind me.

Well, as of 4:30 this morning we are back in Flagstaff. It's so nice to be home but I do not feel ready to buckle down and find a job. I love not having a job but it is also stressful in the money department so I will start looking for one this week. Next week I am planning on going down to the valley for a few days to help my brother and sister-in-law with their cute babies while they get ready to move into a new home. I am excited to hang out with the babies and with my sister-in-law Nikki. Also, it will of course be fun to hang out with my brother. :)





Here's a cute picture of the babies I get to hang out with for a few days! This was from about a month ago and I can't remember who is who in this picture. I can't wait to go see them and see how much they've grown though!!

Beautiful Oregon

I could write a lot but this is my second time trying to start this post so I'm going to keep the writing to a minimum. I do have lots of pictures though!

We are loving our Oregon vacation and spending lots of time outside with family. The weather has been perfect!

Fourth of July in Las Vegas and at the airport:











Fourth of July sparklers in Oregon:






Hiking at Smith Rock with cute baby Jude and cute sandals. There were also cute cousins but I unfortunately do not have pictures of the cute cousins.












Spending time with family at Detroit Lake and admiring Oregon's beautiful mountains:
















What happens to Race when he doesn't put on enough sun screen at Detroit Lake:






And finally {for tonight} playing croquet ALL DAY in the backyard:















{Race has the best croquet stance ever. :) Notice the slightly raised heel for absolute precision in his hits.}

That's all for now but I have so much more to share. Today we spent the day playing Michael Jackson: The Experience on the PS3 Move, playing croquet again, meeting up with family at the park, exploring downtown, going to Applebee's with all the older cousins and my sister and I ended the evening by going to see Monte Carlo in theaters. {I know those movies are cheesy but I love them all and this was no exception. Helena liked it too! :) } It was a good day!