First family photobook

I've been wanting to make a photo book for so long.

The inspiration for the style of this book came from a wonderful blog called Simple As That. Love.love.love the idea of a family yearbook.

I also loved Rebecca's idea to make a collage at the end of every month and then at the end of the year your photo book is essentially done, it just needs to be put together and beautified. I, of course, did things the hard way, did not make the collages monthly, and fell way behind. But when Christmas time came I was determined to get it done since I also wanted to give them to grandmothers as gifts. I sat in front of the computer from 11 one morning until 11 one night (only breaking for carpool) and got it done! And I'm thrilled with it. I want to go back and make one for each of the years I've missed so that my bookshelf is full of these lovely memories. It will take some time but I'll get it done. And again, kudos to Rebecca since I borrowed *lots* of her ideas (and quotes)!

I used Mixbook although I know there are other great sources like Blurb.  Mixbook won because they had the size I wanted and offered a 40% off coupon (I noticed they have one this month too so maybe they do that often). I ordered the 12 x 12 hardcover and added some pages for a total of 36.  I love how it turned out and will be using them again!

I also loved that Mixbook offered lots of layout/background/text options. And I LOVE that making this book forced me to choose my favorite photos, put them in one place, and print them.  So worth it! New Year's Resolution; print more photos!

I ended the book on a silly note. What a fun project this was!

A look at 2013

2013 was a great year for us! It is filled with memories that make me smile...

friends

family

running

good food

trying new restaurants

beach vacations

a trip to New York (first time flying for the boys)

trips to Virginia

a visit from our cousins

C starting Kindergarten

the boys learning to ride bikes

the boys learning to tie shoes

goals achieved

goals not achieved (Chicago, but hopefully in 2014!)

18 books read

around 600 miles run

2(ish) miles in the pool

lots of working

lots of playing

and lessons learned.

I feel so blessed and thankful and 2013 will be a year I refer back to for a long time. The best thing about the year of course is anything to do with these guys.

Thank you for reading. This is a place that I love, an outlet for me to create, to clear my head of the words that fill it, to share my teeny little humble experiences, photos, and ideas, and to be inspired by others.

I've learned many lessons this year, and among them what stands out is simply to show friends and family you love them. Say it often and don't be embarrassed. Give hugs and squeeze people tightly. Never look to the internet for medical advice. Have a good attitude.  Forgive easily (that includes yourself).  Lay down the camera sometimes and pick it up sometimes. Soak it all in. It goes by too fast.

2013 Memorable Moments from Courtney on Vimeo.
music by Mindy Gledhill

Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! And CHEERS!

Merry Christmas

Sweet Birdie's Nest designed our card and it's my favorite to date. Can't say enough good things about those gals! The picture of the boys at the beach was my favorite of the year and I knew when Beverly made a comment about it being the Christmas card, it was the one.

 Hoping you all have a peaceful, happy Christmas surrounded by those you love.

Christmas up in here

The hubs and I are addicted to Breaking Bad and I constantly have gangster talk running through my head. Hence the post title. I also have the strong urge to post an emoji every time I finish a sentence. Intervention!

I love seeing how other folks decorate and here's what we have going on. It is by no means up to other bloggers' standards but it is our little slice of Christmas posted here to look back on.

We get a live tree every year and I love the fresh smell. The boys did such a sweet little job decorating this year and were so excited about it.  It seems we are past the toddler years of them yanking ornaments off the branches (though that makes me sad!).  I love seeing all of our favorite little decorations that each have a sweet memory attached ("It's a boy!") Sigh... And I love making salt dough ornaments with the boys, a tradition carried over from my sweet Nana C. They are broken and beat up, but they are special:) The pine cones on the chairs in the dining room were inspired by Katie's inspiration post (on a smaller scale of course;).

There are lots of handmade goodies that my boys have made in school and I just cherish those. Love seeing my Christmas cards too--beautiful friends and families.

On another Christmas note, this little man performed in his little school Christmas musical. He informed me that he was not "stage frightened" and that he loved it.  Ha! And we're so blessed with amazing teachers.

Excited to share the Christmas card soon too!

Santa visit '13

Hey Santa!

We caught Santa at the library today and got to avoid the mall (happy dance!). Topping the list this year for both C's are Legos.  My 6 year old later casually mentioned that he wouldn't mind an iPad, a phone, small video game thing, and a wallet with money in it (ha!!). Don't think so!

They look so big. Can't believe it.

We had so much fun decorating the tree, they just think it's the greatest thing ever. It's funny that they both love to cluster ornaments. This tree is not small but they'll hang 6 ornaments on one branch until it droops to the floor.  They do the funniest things:)

Thanksgiving 2013

I've been a bad documenter again! Over Thanksgiving I realized I don't even pull out my camera anymore if the lighting isn't perfect or if I don't already have my favorite lens on the camera (boo on me). That nonsense is changing. A new year is on the way and I don't want to miss documenting these memories.

Our Thanksgiving was low key and fun. My parents drove in from Virginia, I cooked, and we played games and laughed a lot. On Friday, C took Papa and the boys to a car museum and Mom and I shopped until we dropped. I cherish these times, truly do.

When I was a kid I loved the card game Old Maid. So I bought it for the boys and it turns out they love it too--they were surprisingly competitive. You wouldn't believe how many times they stuck mom and I will the Old Maid. How'd they do that?  Games are becoming so fun--I think Santa has noticed and will be stocking us up.

Thanksgivings have changed a lot since I was little, when mom would cook everything and my uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents would come over for dinner (and Uncle Chris would have football blaring on TV). These days are a tad quieter, though as I write that I'm thinking, how can that be (with these little boys of mine!)? But it's just a different kind of noise... fewer people. I miss my extended family so much (the hardest part of living far from home) but I'm thankful for the giggles and laughs that fill these Thanksgivings and for my turn as the chef! And I'm so thankful my mom and dad came to spend it with us, thankful for every trip they make. We missed my brother and sister-in-law (and cousins!) and Mr. C's family too, but we'll see them soon:)

Now on to Christmas! I present to you the C Family tree, 2013. She's a beaut, right? That line always makes me laugh out loud.

Beach pics round 2

The beach is their happy place.

So happy it's hard not to dance at any given  moment.

I don't think they stopped smiling the whole time we were there. I'm thinking we should go back;)

Finally scored a family pic that I'm going to do a canvas of, yay!

We're silly.

Practicing panning...

My precious babies:)

Happy Tuesday friends!

Beach pics (part 1 of many:)

Hey friends! Popping in to share some beach pictures. We had a wonderful vacation! This is the third year we've rented the same little house in Miramar.  We have a routine that works for us: hit the beach at 9:30 with toys, drinks, and lots of yums, have lunch, then head to the pool after lunch for more fun.  In the evenings we drive into Seaside/Seagrove and have dinner and treats. Our favorite spot is George's in Alys Beach (Riffault Sancerre, yes please!), but we also love Great Southern Cafe, Pickles burgers, and Seagrove Market Cafe among so many others. I mean, anything there is great, you can't go wrong!

I was excited to actually use my camera again because I had a looong dry spell. I'm feeling inspired again though and I've really missed it.

These vacations to the Gulf are the highlight of my year. So blessed to have this time with all 3 of my boys:) Here come the pictures...

I not so secretly love this picture with my babies.

I take silhouette shots every year, I need to dig the old ones out and compare them! The boys are getting so tall.

The boys LOVE these angry bird kites. One ended up on someone's balcony, OOPS.

Have a great weekend!

A very Nashville weekend

We had an action packed weekend, y'all, so fun, and it ended with some serious excitement!

Friday night Mr. C's parents arrived and we headed out for our usual Friday night Italian. I think it's funny that when they come to visit (fresh off the plane from New York) the first place we always take them is to a New York pizzeria. We love our little spot though and we indulged in some yummy desserts too. No calorie counting on weekends:)

Saturday we had a day full of soccer with my favorite boys and then headed off to a great dinner followed by tickets to the Opry. Performing: Diamond Rio, Charlie Pride, Vince Gill, and Billy Ray Cyrus along with a few beginners. We love the Opry, it's always fun and I just looooove live music. This was the second time in one week we've seen Vince (*much* better seats this time).

I've been a fan of Vince for 20 years (really!) and in the spirit of laughing at oneself I have to show the first time I met him (holy sequins and big hair)...HA!

I was 17, had just won a local pageant (I entered it to make my daddy happy, first and last one I ever did), but I got to meet him. He was *so* kind to me and I never forgot it. He holds a special place in my heart! His voice is still like velvet too, he's so talented.

Sunday we headed off to Opryland Hotel to pretend we were tourists. We wandered around, looked in shops, and had a great lunch. Mr. C had a raspberry mocktail that really made an impression on me, it was so good I can't stop thinking about it. Club soda, a fresh raspberry simple syrup, and mint. Pretty and yummy.

I also squeezed in some shopping at Lululemon with a giftcard my mother in law surprised me with...how cute are buffalo checked shorts? Thank you L!!

Monday I dropped the fam off at the airport, only to receive this text...my mother-in-law hanging out with Billy Ray at the terminal! They got bumped from their flight and ended up on his, how about that! Check out his new do, I like it. I know he gets picked on a lot but he was fantastic live and very gracious. I'm a fan!

She even got me an autograph! Ha! I'm so easily starstruck.

It was a veeerrry Nashville weekend!