fall...sort of.

Back in October Gray and I took the kids out one Saturday morning to take some fall pictures...only fall was pretty much over! We had a hard time finding any pretty leaves after the weird, short fall we had. (Remember? The constant rain and then snow and then it was freezing and then warm again? Oh, and I think there was some crazy wind in there, too.) So we made do with the brown background and took some pictures anyways. It was fun...despite the lack of fall colors it was a beautiful day!

















I actually forgot about these pictures until a few days ago when I was playing around on my computer, so it was a fun surprise! I don't think any mom out there can ever have enough pictures of her kids, so these ones have been making me happy.



:)



And, is it just total craziness to anyone else out there that November is half over? What the heck. I am like, TOTALLY not ready for Christmas at all. I've heard people say they're almost done their Christmas shopping...again, what the heck. I've barely even started or even thought about it for that matter! I think I need to make a serious to-do list and start focusing on the upcoming holidays...aaahhh!





Anyways, that's all. My to-do list for this moment is to go upstairs and watch SYTYCD. Yay!!



Tal:)

Giveaway Time!

I'm doing a little giveaway over at my photography blog, so if you're local (or somewhat local!) you might want to check that out!

Thank you so much for all of the positive feedback on my photography stuff. I am excited to get going, and just excited to be doing something new and fun. Life is good!

And on another note, I made some super-cute beaded necklaces for my girls this weekend. I was totally inspired by these necklaces on Becky's blog, and these cute ones on Maggie's blog, that I just HAD to have some for my girls.

I don't know about any of you, the bead section in Michael's is the one aisle that I always look, but never buy. For me, it just comes down to "how many hobbies can 1 person have?" I'm just the kind of person that when I get going on something I become totally obsessed, so it's for this reason that I've always avoided beads. Because I know that they are just too fun and too cute and once I start I won't be able to stop! Haha! So anyways, I bought just enough to make a couple necklaces for my girls and that was it. We had fun making them, and they look so darn cute!!

I actually ended up getting my beads at Claire's...Michael's didn't have what I was looking for, so I bought these cheap, colorful bracelets for only $4 each, took 'em apart, and used the beads for their necklaces. It ended up being cheaper than if I would have bought just the beads on their own.

Okay, so there you go. A giveaway and beaded cuteness. Happy Monday!!

Talia:)

talia audenart photography

This is something that I've been keeping on the "down-low" for quite some time now. And I thought that it was finally time to share.




Introducing Talia Audenart Photography.




I know, I know. Me? A photographer? When did this happen? To be honest, it's been happening for quite awhile. As scrapbookers, I think we all have a natural love and appreciation for photography and for capturing those perfect little moments and perfect little people in our lives. Over the past year, my love and desire to learn more about photography has grown more and more every day. I have been studying. Learning. Practicing. Dreaming. Envisioning. And you know what? I am loving it. Nothing makes me happier than freezing that perfect laugh, or capturing a special moment between loved ones. It's just plain awesome. As I've been challenging myself and experimenting more with my photography skills recently, friends and family have been asking me to take pictures for them, too...so here we are!




I am excited and nervous. I have no idea if anyone out there will want me to take their pictures, but it all comes down to the fact that I am having fun, I am feeling inspired, and I'm excited to be doing something new that allows me to connect and share with others.



So I hope you will take a look around and join me on my new little adventure.



Thank you.

Tal xo

eeeeek!!!

Just a few pictures from our Halloween...









Pretty cute, hey?

The last few days has been jam-packed and fun with parties at school, dancing, church and friends houses, and yesterday we finished it all off with pumpkin-carving and trick-or-treating.

The kids are sad it's over, but mommy isn't! (wink)

Hope you all had a safe and happy halloween!

T:)

my "heidi" projects

So as I had mentioned before, Kim and I headed down to Montana this past weekend to take some classes from our good friend and amazing scrapbooker, Heidi Swapp. It was so much fun to just sit and scrapbook and visit. I totally needed this little getaway! I missed my family like crazy, but we were back in no time, and I actually have some projects to show for it! They are empty right now, mind you, but I just came home from Costco today with a bazillion pictures that I got developed, so I hope to fill these soon!



So this first project is entitled "Time & Season" and Heidi focused on the fact that we are all in different seasons of our lives, and those seasons inevitably change for each and every one of us. This project is supposed to highlight the "time and season" that we are in right now. For me, it is a time of diapers, driving, little sleep, sippy-cups, soothers, bottles, a messy house...but also a time of laughs and love and fleeting moments with my kids that I'll never get back. Really made me think about how lucky I am to have what I have right now, and to not take this time in my life as a young mother for granted.







This next cute project was one that we whipped up in no time. A little wall-hanging to countdown to any special event...birthdays, anniversary's, holidays, whatever! So cute! I already want to make one for Halloween and Christmas!







On Saturday morning we made this "Family Memories" album. I am so excited about it because it's designed to house just tons of photos and journaling. I'm planning on jam-pcking mine with pictures from this summer. I can't wait! (It was so much fun to paint the front and back covers...my hands haven't been dirty with paint in a while!!)






And last but not least was the "Once in a Lifetime" project. My favorite for sure. Everyone was in their element during this class. This was Heidi's project that she taught at Creative Escape this year so I am sooooo excited that I got the chance to do it! She totally designed all the pieces for it and had everything made in China, so these projects themselves are a "Once in a Lifetime" thing! Anyways, the premise behind this project was to recognize the fact that every experiance in our life, every trip, every milestone, every moment...is a once in a lifetime experience. I tend to take the little things in life for granted, so I was grateful to take a step a back and reflect upon my own personal "once in a lifetime" experiences. Not sure what photos I'll be putting in this pretty yet, but I'll come up with something!









So there you have it. Thank you Heidi and Kim for an awesome weekend! We went shopping to Target, sang to our ipods, ate, had facials from Heidi, scrapbooked, talked, talked and TALKED. It was so much fun. Till next time, right Kim?




Tal:)

okay, wow...

I realize it has been a while since I've updated the blog. Holy smokes. Time is flying by like crazy these days. Sheesh.

I promise to do a real blog post soon, but for now, a quick little update:

-this week is going to be all about Halloween around here. Lots of parties and activities. We're all getting excited.

-Just spent the whole evening uploading pictures to be developed. Man, that takes a long time. Watched SYTYCD and Dancing with the Stars in the meantime.

-Got back last night from my quick trip to Montana with Kim. We were so lame and didn't take any pictures, but Heidi twittered one of us in class here. Oh, and the weekend was awesome.

-Payton is suddenly getting so old. She's tall and skinny and smart and goes to school everyday. What the heck.

-Kherington is crawling around like crazy. It is just so funny. Nowhere is safe anymore!

-Gabby is keeping me busy, busy, busy. Age 3 is definately more challenging than 2!

Okay, I prooooooooomise that I'll be back soon. I want to share all the gorgeous projects we made this weekend!!

Tal xo

my little family

It's a quiet Friday afternoon and just thought I'd share some of our family pictures that we took in August. We took these before school started for Payton because she needed a family picture and I am so glad we did...we have had the weirdest weather lately and I was hoping to get some pretty fall pictures and it just never happened. So at least we got these!








Oh, I love all these little people. After going through all these photos I think a trip to the Costco photo center is in order! I love getting new pictures.



I'm so excited that it's the weekend. The weekly grind truly wears me out. Even though it's the middle of October I'm still adjusting to the waking up early, getting everyone ready, driving to school and lessons, etc, etc, etc. Life is good, but it sure is busy! Kim and I decided on a whim to go to Montana next weekend to take some classes with Heidi and I cannot wait...a couple days of scrapbooking and shopping at Target. Oh, yeah.


Back soon. Off to celebrate hubby's birthday tonight!



T:)