Summatime...

OK so I decided that we really need a Christmas for the summer. Because over the past few Christmases I have bought and received a ton of cute sweaters (which I love), but I have realized that I somewhat lack in the summer clothes department - not ideal for the SoCal resident. I mean, you have to buy all of those for yourself, which just isn't quite as fun sometimes. So, in honor of the warm weather that is so quickly approaching, here are some things from my summer wishlist which has already begun to accumulate:

This dress and this top from Old Navy. Please go on sale soon!

  

This top that I actually just bought at Target on clearance (I guess I'm into the ruffly thing)! I got it in black and a purple-ish color along with this cardigan which was $5! Love it!

I also love these sandals Target just brought in. So cute!

On my summer wishlist is also: more jewelry (rings and necklaces), a new pair of rite-aid shoes, more colorful tank tops and short-sleeves, more skinny jeans, and a good pair of sunglasses. Ah summer, please come fast!

Albums

I am so inspired!

Today, Ashley Ann posted a blog about the annual album she prints of all of her photos. I think this is one of the smartest decisions ever. Not only does she take the most amazing pictures - documenting the everyday life of her family - but she takes the time to print them in a book for them all to enjoy. (Actually 2 books, one for kids to enjoy now, and one to store away safely). I also have a good friend, Jenna, who is also a photographer and has been doing this for the last few years too. You should see her books, they are ginormous! I find that so often I take pictures that might someday get organized in files on my computer or maybe even put on a cd, but I rarely take the time to print them or make them easily accessible for future viewing. Fail.

She posted a link to this super cute scrapbooking album kit called Curated. The following pictures we retrieved from Paisley Press:

This is totally going on my wishlist! It seems like a kit that you can download and use to easily place your pictures in, and then you can upload the spreads to any type of book-printing site like Blurb, Shutterfly, MyPublisher, etc.

My goals for as soon as possible: Organize my pictures from this last year, make a book documenting our 2010 adventures of wedding preparation and marriage, and take more pictures with us in them this next year! (I find it is so much easier to take pictures of other people - like the middle school kids - than pictures of ourselves, especially together). My long-term goal is to make a book for every year from now on until my kids are old enough to do it for me =).

Go be inspired.

Soccer & Outreach

This last Saturday, the Middle School had an event called "Soccer & Outreach". We met at church, made a banner for the Middle School kids at Escuela Integrada, wrote letters to our missionaries, and then headed over to the park for some fun games and pizza!

Polo

Recently, Jasmine Star (one of the best photographers out there) posted the cutest picture of her dog, Polo. It totally made my day, so I thought I should share it with you. You can see the original post here. She prefaced the picture by saying:

"Polo turned five years old last week... Even as a puppy, our dog had the appearance of an old soul, so it's common to call him Gramps. This morning I photographed him and the following photo proves Polo is ready for the retirement home. I worry his modeling days are over."

Cutest thing ever! Throw together any sort of sentence using the words "gramps" and "puppy" and I'll melt. She never ceases to amaze me.

The Zoo!

So, over Christmas vacation, my family took a trip to San Diego. While we were there, we got to go to the zoo! It was so fun! Here are some pictures from our day there:

Waiting in line for the first half of the morning to take a very unproductive tour. We were so naive.

The elephants!

Giraffes. They used to be Ashley's favorite animal. But Ronnie looks alot like one.

Flamingos. Not much to say.

Gorillas. One of the best parts of the day. The baby was so cute!

From the sky tram thing.

Polar bear, another cool sight. Did you know their fur is clear, not white?

Lions. The pictures were kind of bad because the fence was in the way, but I guess I'm thankful for that.

Meercats. They are sooo intriguing and entertaining.

And finally, Koala Bears. I hear they have mushy butts. So cute.

We had a great time! I would love to go back sometime and not waste time on the tour so I would have more energy to see more animals.