camping!!!!!

three weekends ago bryan's ultimate team went up to flagstaff for a training of sorts & finn said "mom, i'd really like to get the f.... out of this heat." i have no idea where he learned that word, but he seemed pretty passionate about going. so we went too.

a few months ago we bought a new tent for our family, it's hugemongus. we're calling it our mansion. we were going to attempt camping... we left friday afternoon & headed for jerome. a cool, old mining town.

our car is a bit small for all 5 of us to be in it at the same time. i sat in the back with finn & skye, while bryan & kylie had the front all to themselves.

so happy.

the view from jerome of sedona. oh la la.

see our mansion...! we set up shop in our friend's backyard. the first night there was a bed open & we thought it would be silly to pass it up- but it was very warm & a little uncomfortable, so the next night we for real camped out. it was much cooler outside. finn loved being bundled up & sleeping on my chest to the sound of leaves whistling in the breeze.
finn was fascinated by the trees.

at the fields watching papa show off his skills & captaining'

the boys.
finn & owen, his best buddy!

hammocking...

on sunday before we headed home we decided to play in flagstaff. we seeked shelter while watching a decent little rain shower.


on the drive home the skies were beautiful. does anyone else see an angel flying low in these clouds?

god light. so purty.

purtier.


we actually just got back tonight from another trip to flagstaff. we love that town. bryan's ultimate team had a tournament there & they won!!! yeah sprawl :)

craziness starts this tuesday. finn & i fly to atlanta & bryan follows on friday. we will be out of town 8 out of the next 10 weekends. we're NUTS, i know!!!

2 months.

it has been two months since this angel child of ours entered the world. what i don't understand is how that can feel like forever. i know i had a life before him, but it wasn't nearly this full of laughter or happiness...

i'm so very lucky & grateful for this little man.

i wanted to post some cute pics of him- but we worked at the gallery today & didn't do a photo session... so instead i'll post a funny picture. on finn's due date mom & i went with bryan to his ultimate practice. we both needed to get out of the house & i thought i'd walk around the field a bit to see if i couldn't get things stirring.

one of bryan's teammates gathered all the guys for a photo with me & they all

"pushed the eject button"

this is what finally encouraged finn to come out. i'm convinced. not the acupuntcure or the eggplant parmesean or the massage or the pedicure or the miles & miles & miles of walking or me pleading pathetically or my mom giving him her pep talks. all we needed to do was hit the eject button. why hadn't i thought of that before?

hope you're having a great tuesday!

miller's

my mom's youngest brother david was out here on business with his family so they stopped by to meet finn. they bought him his first wooden train set :)

i use to babysit for these kiddos when they were tots & now they're holding my tot. life is weird.

michael, kate & ryanne

the "i think you're alright" test from skye. if she ends up between your legs, you're golden.

finn can't wait to meet the rest of you crazy miller's, resch's, meyer's & paris' in two weeks!!!!

on a serious note.
today is the anniversary of my grandmother's passing. i love & miss you grandma.
on that same day, four years ago bryan moved us out here with our uhaul...

grandparent paris visit...

finn got to meet bryan's parents at the end of june... they were very excited to meet their third grandchild. christmas is going to be fun this year at their house :)

unfortunately timing worked out that they arrived before we got home from new york... so they hung around our house, made it to a diamondbacks game & played with our crazy pups.

i think grandma dee held him the whole time she was here. she'd only hand him over to papa ron when he was getting a little fussy :)~

i love this one with both of their hands on him.

almost naked time with grandma & grandpa.

i have a thing for hands. i think they're so beautiful & symbolic.

mama got to hold him occasionally ;)
so sweet.

he's such a strong little guy. he's been holding his head up since the first week.

he's also getting quite chunky. at our last dr. appt he was 11lbs 13 ounces... yummy cheeks.

fan. ohhhhhhhh. fan.

3 generations of handsome paris men.

but, this guy is the handsomest. and so modest... "yes, mom. i'm aware of that."

& just because i thought this was a cute face... nana talks to finn on a regular basis.

we're leaving soon for my cousin erin's wedding in atlanta. it's going to be sooo overwhelmingly fun -i can't wait. my mom's side of the family will meet him there & then we're driving home to louisville so everyone else can meet our little man. it's going to be a crazy 2 weeks.

here is a cute video...

that we got of finn smiling :)

silver bay

so. you may wonder why in the hell i would risk taking my 14 day old son on a place cross country. he was ironically, or luckily exactly old enough to fly on southwest.

well. let me tell you why.

i grew up at this camp. sort of. every summer during highschool, my best friend, cat & i would go with her father to her grandmother's cabin in the adirondacks. i've always loved nature, but cat & her father really introduced me to it. we'd go hiking, kayaking, we'd rock in the chairs on the inn porch enjoying the view of the mountains, breathing fresh air & swimming in the second cleanest lake in the country.


this place is magical. it's my safe haven & every time i visit, i'm completely restored back to a healthy, happier version of myself. there's no t.v.'s or cell phone coverage & until recently you couldn't really get access to a computer- so you're cut off from the world. it is fabulous.

cat & i worked at the camp every summer during college. i've made some amazing friendships over the years. i dream of spending every summer with my children there. i'd love for them to grow up in that environment, running wild at night -safely, spending their allowance on ice cream at the shop, learning to swim in that lake.

so. that's part one. i go every chance i get. i need this place.

part two. the camp was nice enough to put me on the preferred vendors list. ideally- i'll book 4 or 5 weddings there during the summer to allow that dream of mine to come true. i booked anna & rob's wedding last july. once we found out i was pregnant & more than likely going to be recovering during it i came up with some back up plans. my dear friend lauren was "on call" for me if i couldn't make it & if i could, another friend, brent from vermont was going to drive down & help me shoot it.

here's a few pictures from the wedding... it was awesome!




i was pretty determined the babe was gonna come early & there would be no problems at all. as you know he came two days late & that made it a pretty tough decision. such a tiny lil person... could he handle the adventure? i think we honestly were most concerned about getting pissy with each other while going through security. about 5 days before we were to leave i decided i felt well enough that i should at least attempt it. the midwives were all for it & the pediatrician was hesitant but agreed it would be fine. plus, i knew i'd feel great once there.

it went so perfectly. all of it. traveling: finn slept through most of it & never cried. & it was a looooong day. 2 legs on one plane, waiting at another airport, another leg & then 2 hours of driving. & that's how i spent my 28th birthday. heading to my favorite place on this planet with my babe nestled in the moby on my chest & my man next to me.

steph picked us up at the airport & we headed into saratoga, a cute little town, for my birthday dinner. we stayed with carolyn, "the" boss at silver bay, who is now a very good friend of mine.

the wedding went really well too. stephani brought him to me right before the wedding so i could breastfeed & then bryan brought him to me during the dinner. i think they had to feed him a bottle or two, but it was all very smooth. i didn't have to go longer than 3.5 hours without him.
i was fairly sore afterwards, i even cried. but. i am one tough cookie & if i've learned anything in the past 2 months it's that pain passes. my new mantra: this too shall pass.

so now... the pictures!

aunt snefani & finn snuggling.



"i will not wake up."

mama lovin.

steph took some cute pics of us as a fam.


you've all seen the poop picture with bryan, but i'm not sure if we've informed our curious readers that finn sharts. that's right, he sharts. not just a lil baby fart or toot. a loud, image provoking shit/fart. steph caught our reaction to one said shart.

the water was a little chilly, but we wanted him to experience it, just his toesies.


bryan worked some from carolyn's house. he looks mad here but he kept saying "why can't i work like this everyday?" she had a beautiful view of the mountains & the weather was awesome, all the doors were open letting in a nice breeze.
we even got some stormy skies. us desert folk like that kinda thing.

and last but not least, we stopped by to say good bye to carolyn before we headed to the airport. thanks carolyn, you're the best :)

little finn will get the pleasure of visting silver bay new york 2 more times, once in september & once in october, both weddings of friends of mine that i get to shoot :) let me know if i've convinced anyone that this is the best place on the earth & you want to come with!