The taste of success in the face of failure

 
 
 
 
 
When I was 15 my High School Biology teacher talked me into becoming a Ski Instructor. I’ve skied since I was 3. I’ve been a member of this organization for 12 years. In comparison, there is nothing else in my life I have been doing as long. This past weekend, I finally earned my Level 3 Certification. For those not in the know, this is the highest level of certification, statistically less th[...]

Tallis turns 3!

 
 
 
 
 
I really can't believe our little April Fool's Baby turned 3 yesterday. Three years. That's kind of bending my mind trying to wrap it around the concept of how that time has passed. I don't get it. Tallis had a handful of requests for her Birthday yesterday, all of which we were glad to fulfill. First, Matt took her out on a Daddy Date to our local coffee shop, Tougo, where she had a pink dough[...]

Christmas Morn

 
 
 
 
 
Our girls were up before the sun on Christmas morning. The Ooo's and Aww's softly filtering into our room as we heard them under the tree surveying the neatly wrapped, carefully placed packages. Their pre-dawn excitement obviously contagious, as we immediately joined them so that anticipation of gifts awaiting opening could be torn into. Their eyes big with wonder as box after box, paper covering [...]

Christmas

 
 
 
 
 
Sitting at my keyboard, secluded away in the office (a.k.a. Sensory Deprivation room), in the dimly lit room I lift the steaming cup of tea, the heat radiating into my hands through the ceramic. From the living room I hear Araiya's sing-songy voice accompanied by Tallis' sniffly cough and the occasional "do-dooo" of Pia as the girls sit, gathered around their new art table deeply at work over thei[...]

Winter Solace

 
 
 
 
 
Every day from here on out is getting a little lighter and a little longer. I can't really say that we noticed the longest day of the year being any extra dark and dreary. Yet it marks a significant point in time, especially for us here in the North- the slow return of the Sun. Honestly, Winter thus far has felt dry. The past few days we've even seen a bit of that phantom yellow ball peek through.[...]

Turkey Bash

 
 
 
 
 
We traveled across the state for Thanksgiving. While it was a short trip, at least travel was easy and our time there restful. The highlight for the girls (oh, okay, the adults too) was the Turkey. Unfortunately, not the one we cooked and ate, but the paper and cardboard Turkey Pinata Matt's parents picked up for the girls. Somehow, Araiya became convinced there was Cash in the Pinata. Yea, I have[...]

Desert Heat

 
 
 
 
 
This is Part 2 of our trip to California last month. It has been slow in making it's way up onto the blog. This portion of the trip not only involved vacation for us, but included my BIL's wedding (the premise for a trip south in the first place) which I was given the honor (er, immense responsibility and pressure) to photograph. The 5 days we spent in Joshua Tree were me juggling a few different [...]

Halloween

 
 
 
 
 
We aren't super big into the celebration of Halloween. In fact, when you really look into it, much confusing conflict arises to the conscious as to the level of participation given the history of Halloween, as it is long, complex and somewhat uncertain. The Sugar-coated holiday of Halloween as our culture is often doesn't realize how inextricably tied to history, so the commercialized version[...]

Somebody's 4

 
 
 
 
 
Even crazier than the Baby turning 1 last week- Araiya's Fourth Birthday is today. How did the time fly? How can she possibly already be 4??! Exactly 4 years ago, exhausted from more than 2 days of labor, we were signing the paperwork to proceed with the C-section. I can still feel the waves of anxiety, fear, fighting, anger and resentment in making that decision, feeling like [...]

The difference a year makes

 
 
 
 
 
The previous post was all pic's of Pia as a newborn. Fresh out of the oven, so to speak. I will always remember her like that in those images. Baby Pia. But oh my, what a year does. Now she's Miss Hilarious Personality. 85% of the time, calm and serene, perpetually happy. The other 15% she is a little firecracker. Her facial expressions are so much like Araiya's. She wears whatever sh[...]