The final countdown to summer

There I am. Basking in the glow of the sun on this beautiful spring evening in Gilbert's Agritopia community garden. I was there a couple of weeks ago taking maternity photos of my beautiful, friend, Brooke. (You can check out the photos I took for her over on her blog, here and here. ) Brooke agreed to snap a few photos of me during her session since I hadn't gotten a new headshot with my new, short haircut. Thanks, Brooke! 

That lovely evening reminded me that Arizona weather is not all bad. I think spring is my favorite season here in the Phoenix area. No way is it summer (for obvious reasons), fall is still too hot (and it's a little depressing seeing everyone else on social media with their beanies and hot beverages), and winter is just kinda ugly (but at least we can play outside without getting frostbite). Spring is where it's at! Seriously, there are so many flowers around here. I remember being absolutely smitten with all the flowers a couple of years ago when we first came to Arizona to find an apartment before our big move. Remember that I moved from southern New Mexico where flowers seemed to be few and far between. 

So yeah. I'll just be over here, wishing that spring will last forever. 

Easter Egg Hunt

We planned a little Easter egg hunt for Gwen before church on Sunday. We hid the eggs in plain sight and she loved it, just as I suspected. When she'd find a new egg, she would quickly open it to see what treat/toy/sticker was inside. Her first egg had a Cadbury chocolate egg inside, which I gladly helped her eat. It was just the cutest thing to watch her walking around our little "front yard" with her basket. I debated on whether to take a video or just photos. I'm glad I took these photos, but a little sad that I didn't take a video! I feel like sometimes you can catch emotions much better with a video, and it would have been neat to capture her calling the eggs "eggies", bending down to pick up the eggs, opening them immediately after finding each one, and all that cute stuff. Alas, I'll just have to keep those memories to myself, locked up in my brain. 

The babies in the pool go splash, splash, splash

Gwen finished up her first swim classes last week and she got a little certificate congratulating her on her new "skills": kicking, splashing, spitting out water (she never understood the blowing bubbles bit), and going under water for a couple of seconds. I hoped to enroll her in some real swimming classes, but I think they're very expensive! Maybe I'll look into that next summer. These classes were still fun! It felt silly singing all the baby songs during the first lesson, but I think Gwen was able to recognize the songs and motions by the end because I saw her smiling during it, so that made it seem less silly. Or maybe she was just in a good mood that day. I'd like to think that she recognized the songs :)

p.s. After class had already ended, I was scrolling through Instagram and came across an adorable baby photo that @freshlypicked reposted from another account. I thought to myself, "This baby looks a LOT like Nell from Gwen's swim class." So I followed the source's link, and sure enough, I was correct! I didn't even realize that I already follow @laurenbowyer, and we were in the same swim class for two weeks! I had only been following Lauren's account for about a month- when I first made my second insta account- so that's my excuse for not recognizing her :)
Let me tell you, that baby of hers is just as cute as all of her photos imply. And those lashes! 

This weather tho

We experienced super nice weather this weekend here in Arizona and everyone can't shut up about it. I don't blame them! We're all just thankful that we're not melting, or stuck indoors with our blinds shut and our air conditioners on full blast. I want to say that I'm used to terribly hot summers having lived in Southern California, Southern New Mexico, and now here, but it seems like we all forget just how hot it can get during the summer, and once it hits you hear others or yourself saying, "It's sooooo HOT" about twice a day. 

So let us rave about the cool winds, overcast skies, and rain showers! But also pray for us regarding our impending doom. 

Photos- Ashley Nielson, edits by me. 

Weekend Happenings

Sunshine and daisies and rainbows and pollen is in the air. Yay for spring! Sorry for all the phone photos. I think I've been getting annoyed with my DSLR... or just bored of it. I've been itching for a new camera for a couple of years now. I think once we get our tax return I might finally splurge. We've been looking into the Canon EOS 70D. I'll be excited to record some legit video with it. 

My sis-in-law came to town this weekend so we decided to go to the zoo. We realized when we arrived that the sun would probably fry Gwen and we didn't think to bring sunblock or her hat. Thank goodness for that dumb gift shop. It was my first time visiting a zoo in like 18 years. I didn't get too many photos of the animals because they were always too far away or I was too busy taking photos of Gwen, naturally. She was the cutest, hanging onto her dad's back all day. We haven't had this baby carrier for too long, but I already love it. My favorite part of our zoo visit was the big bird cage you can walk into. These birds got pretty close to us. 

Our plans to attend our Bradley birthing class reunion were foiled when I received a text message informing us it had to be rescheduled. Our class instructor was majorly sick. :( So we went to have dinner at a Peruvian restaurant, instead. Ryan wanted to relive his days as a missionary in Peru. I'm sure we'll be coming to this restaurant again. That Kola tastes like bubble gum, but not as much as Inca Kola. 

This evening, we went for a walk around our apartment complex. I love how cute and quaint these apartments are. Not to mention, pretty cheap. I kept eyeing the pool so we went to check how cold the water was- still too chilly to take a swim. I have a feeling Gwen is going to love swimming. Most babies like the water, right? I just looked up baby swim classes and it isn't too late to register! We are totally doing it. 

Blossoming Spring

So basically, today was gorgeous. These pink trees are blossoming all around town. I've noticed that they only stay pink for about two/three weeks at the beginning of spring, so I had to take action and snap some photos before they disappear. Anne actually helped me take these. I think taking photos with her is my new favorite hobby. 

(This entire outfit is thrifted!) 

I'll be sad to see these pink trees go. I'll be even more sad once the temperature begins to rise and being outside won't be as enjoyable as it was today. 

Also? Check out Annemal Soup.