Daily Life: Beautiful Thursday Evening

I think that one of my greatest joys in life is the process of the everyday. When nothing in particular is happening and we can just live. Last week Abby and I had planned to do some scouting of locations for some pictures she's going to snap of Campbell and I; the night ended up being magic. It was so much fun just to run around taking pictures: discussing angles, lighting, background. Abby has so much vision! I feel ridiculous saying that, but this girl can see photos in her head that I would never dream of! It's awesome.

I also tricked her into letting me "test the light" on her a couple times...so I got to take some shots of her! I think she was on to me...

This is Abby. 

Hair envy. 

It was a gorgeous evening. Three cheers for fall!!!

>>On Our Walk Today>>

Proof that she can be trusted off her leash. It's been a long time coming folks.

Fall brush.

First fallen.

Bursting with color, look at these beauties!

I toted my camera along for our walk today and it was so fun to seek out the beauty of this season! I love living in a place that has seasons, but I rarely take the time to capture the beauty that comes with the change. It was fun to see what I could find just on our little walking loop. 

And because I cannot stop giggling when I look at this photo...

Wanted.
2'6'', 45 lbs.

Why I Didn't Love the Ocean

This is the story of why I don't love the beach, and why it's ok.

This fall Andrew and I found that I had a random, unplanned chunk of days off so we booked a trip to the ocean. I had been eyeing this golf resort that had popped up on Groupon several times and lo and behold as we decided to go, a deal popped up! I was hoping that the resort would be like our beloved Sunriver Resort but at the beach. The place we stayed was nice, but it was at the beach, and therein lies the problem.
Apparently, I am not a beach person.
We got there and I realized that there was not a whole lot of shopping to be had. Blast. Our room was tucked up in the trees of an OLD resort. The resort (I use the term resort loosely) was old, but nice enough. We could easily walk to a private beach. The golf course ran right through the resort grounds. This all sounds like a recipe for success. But we had planned to stay for 4 nights. After the first night I was literally going stir-crazy. Apparently the beach involves a lot of sitting and relaxing. Generally when Campbell and I find ourselves in said "sitting and relaxing" situations, we get bonky. He played golf, which was great, in that time I: checked out every book store in town (epic failure), went to the beach, attended the farmer's market (which was in fact pirate themed that week and made for some decent people watching) and worked out. At night we watched a fair amount of football. Now I enjoy watching football with Campbell, but I enjoy watching it while I am doing something else around the house: baking, making dinner, etc. Sitting and watching the game is hard. Until the man Campbell picked for his Fantasy Football team scores a touchdown and does this fantastic little salsa number, that is NOT hard.
Here's the thing. I wanted to go home. We have literally been on the run all summer and into the fall and I felt like we had had very little time together at home. I felt like a huge jerk for wanting to be home when I could be on vacation. Who am I? Oh yes, that's right, a giant homebody who likes nothing better than downtime at home with my husband. But for some reason, I really beat myself up over this. For days. In the end we only ended up leaving one day early and had a good time in the meantime but this trip made me crazy. Being a homebody is something that I always try and talk myself out of, but deep, deep down, in the longings of my soul, I am happiest, at home. Part of this trip was learning to accept every part of who I am. Sometimes, it's hard.
We laughed a lot and thankfully, (God bless this man!), Andrew had similar feelings about the beach as I did. Not our thing. Also, I have an incredibly laid back husband who just kept laughing and saying, "Well, we learned something about ourselves." I am so thankful that he always sees the good! I'm pretty sure people thought we were nuts for not liking the beach. Oh well. ;)

Welcoming Fall

Fall has come to the Pacific Northwest. Just the very beginning, first twinges of fall. The first crisp mornings, the first sweatshirt evenings, the first changes of color. Fall is by far my favorite season. This season is where my soul feels the most comfortable, and renewed. 

A few signs of fall around our home:

Everett napping on the couch which has nothing to do with fall. 

Hark! The return of the Ugg slippers. 

The neighbors tree starting to put on the beauty of the season.

The air conditioning is officially OFF.

Oxblood nails. Swoon!

Warm drinks.

Cheers to Fall!

This is also unrelated to fall but this quote resonated with me today.

"Our Christian hope is that we're going to live with Christ in a new earth, where there is not only no more death, but where life is what it was always meant to be."

Timothy Keller

//40 Years//

Today marks Mom and Dad's 40th Wedding Anniversary! I can honestly say that I have had front row seats to see what a great marriage really looks like. I don't think that any marriage is easy, but Mom and Dad sure have done a great job of making it work and enjoying the ride! I feel so blessed to say that I have two parents that genuinely love and respect one another and that honestly enjoy spending time together (still!!!! haha). They have done so much of life together and make a pretty rad team. Mom and Dad, here's to you! And to many more years! 

This is kind of a random picture, I think they were all really exhausted at this point, but I love this moment. This is Josh and them in the waiting room right before they met Lexi, their second granddaughter.

Magic Kingdom, happy kids. 

Ready to go play at the parks!

I crack up every time at the look on Kira's face in this one! But I think this picture shows how fruitful a marriage can be!

Party animals.

Both of them giving me away. The marriage that I have and celebrate with Campbell could not have been possible without the excellent examples we both have been given. What a gift!

Keep rocking Mom and Dad!

Love,

Caitlin and Campbell

Sunriver Anniversary Trip : Year 2

For our second anniversary we went to Sunriver, the same place that we spent our honeymoon. It was absolutely the best place to relax and we had the best time! We usually end up getting some kind of deal by calling the front desk. It seems like usually we get a night free for staying a few nights in a row.  If you're thinking of going I highly recommend calling to see if you can save some cash. We take our bikes and bike everywhere! It is such a nice break from the car. I also tried to be really mindful for forgetting my phone. I did a pretty good job of unplugging and just being present. It was so nice to be unhooked from my phone!
Andrew golfed, I sat by the pool and read. It was wonderful! Very rarely will I let myself sit down and read a book guilt free. It felt indulgent to sit and read for a couple of hours!! Heaven!

Cheers to two years!!

I have a picture with almost every boxer I have ever met. It's awkward and I'm pretty sure it embarrasses the heck out of Campbell, but, there's that.

This my friends, is The Tiki Room shirt. 

Hers and his.

Proof that Campbell was hanging out in a coffee shop with me. 

Only in Sunriver. 

On the course.

First real spa experience.

Cheers to our second anniversary!

True to form.

I honestly have no idea what I was doing at this point. Escaping?

Ta-da. 

Back porch conversations. 

This was fun. I think Andrew was in heaven. Wife/golf combo: for the win.

Because I am horribly inappropriate. 

Campbell.

Last loop before we left.

One of our favorite places in the whole world. 

The manager had chocolate covered strawberries waiting in our room for us when we arrived.

Treats.

Forgot a bottle opener, whoops.

Self-timer, haha.

My golfer babe.