An Auntie's Bias

Last week I got to buzz over the mountains with mom and hang out with these two girls. They are seriously the best. Actually my brother is the best, and the fact that he has theses amazing sweet little bundles of goodness makes it 100 better. I've always loved my brother. A ton. But seeing him as a dad makes me weak in the knees. He is so sweet with his two girls and they absolutely adore him. When he walks in the room its so funny because Lexi will stare him down until he acknowledges her, then she can get back to the very serious business of getting into trouble! And Kira, whenever she suggested doing something she would say, "Daddy says this is ok" or when she was trying to convince me to hike through the woods near the playground with her, "Daddy says this is ok." Also, my brother is so hard working. He stays home with these two during the day and then goes to work in the evenings when his wife is home with the girls. I completely admire his dedication to be the dad that he is and am humbled by the fact that he never, ever complains. He's got to be a tired dude! 

Enough gushing about Josh. 

On to the girls!

Lexi Lou at the park (Actually her middle name is Jade, but what fun is being an auntie if not for fun nicknames???)

Kira doing my hair. Pure joy! For both of us. She is so girly and I couldn't be more thrilled!

Kira and my mom have the sweetest relationship. She love love loves her grandma!

 Lexi was napping when I took photos of Kira, so she gets a half naked debut: the life of a baby!

This is a little out of focus, but I still can't resist those big, blue eyes!

These two. Oh my. 

Grandma and Kira.

Swinging. 

It was so funny because Kira kept smelling the flowers and getting pollen on her nose. Melt this poor auntie's heart why don't ya? She would also say the cutest things. For instance, she got this serious look on her face so I asked her what was wrong. She replies, "nothing," and smiles, "I'm just really happy!". I think I'll keep 3 forever. 3 is the best! 

Processing.

I'm trying to learn to edit my photos in Aperture 3. I love the program and love that I can load my photos directly into the Aperture library. One thing that I struggle with is the process. I am the kind of lady that likes to rush right to the end, to be the best I can be without the growing pains. I get all wrapped up in making sure that I have the photo edited "perfectly" instead of just working with the photo, moving on, taking more photos, working with those photos, improving and practicing. I want to be PERFECT! I get hung up on the details. I never never never thought I would enjoy editing photos. I thought I just loved taking the photos, end of story. The more I edit the more excited I get about what can be done with the photos that I take.

So here's to the growing pains. 

Here's to looking back at these photos one day and laughing at how much I had to learn. 

Here's to how far I've already come. (Not all that far! ha ha!!!)

Here's to learning to enjoy the process!

This is true for all things in life, no?

Takes me so long to learn these things!

I'm working on this one here. I've decided that Andrew may be banned from wearing hats when I take photos of him. His face is always in the shadows! 

Horses on the golf course with Bachelor in the background!

Cheers to the process!

Summer Evening

We had the best time last night just bbq'ing in the backyard. It was great just to fire up the grills, throw the frisbee for the pup and talk about our day! Hope your Tuesday night was equally as lovely!

Old Man Campbell

All wet from running through the sprinkler.

Grilled zucchini is my favorite!

Cheers!!

Biking the Loop, Floating the River

Blue Bridge on a beautiful blue sky day

Annie beats the pants off of me in all things athletic = she pushes me!

Pre-float

My friend Annie has turned out to be the friend that will do just about any outdoor activity with me.
20 mile bike ride around the river? No sweat.
Float down a river with minimal instructions? Let's go!
Having weekdays off while Campbell is working has given me some really special time to develop relationships with the nurses in my life. It has been fun to fill a weekday with grand adventure and great fun! I love Annie's adventurous spirit that allows her to throw herself out there and have a whole lot of fun as a result. She said that her mom calls these somewhat jenky adventures are called "memory making opportunities". Perfect.
What's next?

Did you see this post about my summer reading list?

Or the one in anticipation of a trip to Sunriver, Oregon?

And this brain dump about taking technology for granted?

{Summer Reading List}

I buy books as a hobby. I love bookstores, used and new. Mostly used, I feel like those books have better history. I find it fun to enjoy a story that someone has traveled before me. Because I buy so many books I have a tendency to buy more instead of reading what I have on my shelf. I also tend to read several books at once. It really depends what I'm in the mood for. You too? This morning I picked a few out of my own library that I have been meaning to read but have not gotten to. The following made my summer reading list:

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.  I have heard good things about this book and since at one point in my life I worked at a fair I usually enjoy books that surround the curious events and people surrounding fairs of all kinds. I loved Night Circus for that reason. People say this one is a page turner.

Desiring God by John Piper. Stephanie and I are still working our way through this book. Not because it isn't amazing, but because it is rich. Reading this book quickly would feel like eating an entire cheesecake in one sitting. There is a lot to be digested. I have read several passages/sections more than once. I take notes, discuss it, break it down.

7: an experimental mutiny against excess by Jen Hatmaker. I bought this book a few months ago, and honestly, I'm terrified to start it. I love shopping. I'm afraid to combat the excess in my life. But I'm also excited to be challenged by this book.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. This was a book club book that I failed to read. I think this book interests me to see how someone goes about looking for happiness in the secular world. I keep thinking "she must find God", right? Down at the bottom of it all? We shall see. I'm guessing she doesn't find God, but starts a blog or pilates or something. I'll report back.

Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis. I picked this up months and months ago at Barnes and Noble. This gal goes to Uganda and adopts 13 children. (I'm going to go ahead and guess she already found Jesus, in case you were wondering.)

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I basically have no clue what this book is about but everyone who has read it swears it's ah-maze-zing.

So there you have it! What made your summer reading list? I'd love suggestions!