Hit the road Jack...

It's been over two weeks since we came back from our beach trip - eek!  I'm behind.  I'll blame the 2ft person I take care of everyday.  Just kidding - he is a precious earth angel & the best part of my day is going in his room to see his smiling face.

Devin & I love road trips.  I think its fun to pack up & hit the road loaded down with snacks, a good playlist & some fun conversations.  Last year we took the same trip to Destin, Florida with his parents, sisters & their families.  Tips for a successful road trip according to me are: a fun scavenger hunt, lots of snacks & drinks (both healthy & junk...come on, it's vaca!) & a fun playlist.  For the scavenger hunt....look here.  I made a similar one up last year and just added to it this year.   You can play with any number of people.  Each person takes the same sheet, when you find the item yell it out & at least one other person has to verify.  Then, write your initials in the blank.  The person with the most initials when the hunt is filled up - wins!  Too bad I lost AND Devin drove the whole way.  #soreloser

Lots of snacks, & a fun playlist are next on the road trip essential list.  Last year we each made a list of our top 10 favorite songs and played them for each other.  Not that Devin doesn't love my choice of 90s rap, Britney Spears, or MJ...but I had to get creative for a new list idea this year.  So instead, we took about 10 different genres (rock, rap, country, power ballad, etc) and picked a favorite song for each to play.  This  year's playlist was way more exciting & fun to guess which song belonged to each genre!  Try it!

The week in Destin was great fun that included an amazing house on the beach, buckets of fresh seafood, oodles of family time & tons of "baby firsts" that I will tuck away in the scrapbook pages filling up in my brain.  Below are some of my favorites from the week.  I'm not much for posed pictures, but rather love snapping photos "in the moment."  Burying feet in the sand, reading by the pool, a sunscreen-lathered beach baby...you get the idea.

We celebrated our baby's 1st Easter this weekend & what a weekend it was.  A wonderful church service, Easter egg hunt & pastel colors galore.  Into the mental scrapbook it goes.  And this?  I promise I didn't pose him.  He just likes doing the 1990s 5th grade picture day pose.  Just missing - those classy lazer backgrounds.  Happy Spring, friends!

Details

Well wishes & big hugs from family & friends.
Mounds of tissue paper.
Buttery soft onesies & fuzzy blankets.
Frosted cupcakes & chocolate dipped Oreos.
Advice from seasoned mamas.
Smiles.  Love.
These details have filled my time the last two weekends.

My Step-Mom & future sister-in-law threw my first baby shower two weeks ago & it was perfect.  These amazing ladies went all out from trail mix-filled baby food jars, to a decorated diaper station.  The house was laced with baby pictures of my family growing up & included a very special of DC & I on the day we officially started the adoption process.  It's the little details that mean so much.  I came home with a car load of baby gifts & feelings of love for this little one who I haven't even met yet.

This past weekend I was once again blessed with another shower thrown by two of my closest college girlfriends.  Almost ten years since graduation (ugh, that is literally painful to type), and as we quoted through texts on Sunday, WE are each other's details.  Forget about fancy clothes, custom-made curtains or the newest electronic device....friendship trumps all of that.  I walked into a house & was surrounded with the smells of fresh coffee & blueberry muffins, gazed at brightly colored decor & peeked inside a Pack N' Play overflowing with gifts.  For my baby.  

Below are the highlights from these wonderful weekends of celebration.

Thank you to Tisha, Jenna, Jennifer & Blair for everything.  If I know anything, it is this.  

This baby is unbelievably loved by so many.  And, the rest...are the details.

Summer Snapshots

I was going to write a very thought-provoking post tonight, but then my hands started sweating while watching the man on the tight rope cross the Grand Canyon.  Um, wow.  Even Devin had to get up and walk away during it.  I think the riskiest thing I have ever done was go bungee jumping in Gatlinburg.  Followed by a trip to Dollywood.  Which might have been riskier.

Therefore...enter Summer Snapshots.

porch flowers

summer buddy

easy fudgesicles...recipe here

lunch for two

nap time 

humidity

maxi

special delivery

church softball & my favorite summer snapshot.

Happy last week of June.  Go do something risky.

highlite81

Dinner with friends this weekend sparked a fun conversation on college, cell phones, and social media. Two of which were not around much in my life between 2000-2004.  Which is a very good thing.  I can't imagine how my college experience would have been different if I had my iphone, facebook, twitter & whatever else is out there.  I would have done a lot less studying and way more stalking.  No...we just had good 'ol American AOL instant messenger "back then."  My screen name was abs402 & dev's highlite81.  Something to do with high school football, I think.  

Speaking of highlights...here are some from my weekend! 

1// my mini-marathon runner

2// cinco de mayo-ing

3// an Indiana county lesson.  Still couldn't tell you where we live.

4// wine & dine with my mama.

5// downtown brunch

6// encouragement from a friend.  I need to use the postal system more often.

7// libby sandwich 

8// renting a movie.  last people on earth to do this, I believe.

#8 ellaboration.  Devin wants to see the new Star Trek coming out this month.  We never saw the first one a few years ago so we thought we would Red Box it.  Except for there is not a Red Box in the galaxy in Indiana that had the flippin' movie.  Enter Family Video.  And a cute Captain Kirk.  

Beats William Shatner any day!  

What are some of your weekend highlights?

GUEST POST: What does this button do?!

Hey there! Happy Friday! :)

My name is Kelly, and I'm a wife, momma, and photographer. I blog over at Life at 319.

Abigail asked me to blog some tip for photographing your children, so that's exactly what I'm going to do!

A little background info: When I first got my "nice camera" I had absolutely no intention on turning my hobby into a business. I bought an DSLR camera just to learn how to take better photos, and had high hopes of figuring it out before I had kids. After all, what momma doesn't want to take a million photos of her kid?! Anyways, just a few months later I found out I was pregnant with my son. Once he was born, my love for photography took off. For the most part, I'm self taught. It was a lot of trial and error, and my son was always my subject, much to his dismay. I kept testing out different settings, and just figuring things out. After a while some friend started asking me to photograph their kids, and it just kind of snow balled from there. Now I'm the owner of Kelly Gibbs Photography, and am loving every minute of it!

Since my love for photography started with my own son, I wanted to offer you 5 tips for taking better photos of your children:

1. Treat yourself. Buy yourself a DSLR camera. I know they can be pricey, but if you have a point and shoot, you know that it doesn't move quick enough to capture your busy 2 year old. Most likely, you have a lot of blurry photos. A DSLR camera's shutter is so much faster, and will be perfect for photographing your busy kids!


2. Get OUT of automatic mode. This is not easy, but will make your photos so much better. There are lots of things you have to know for shooting in manual mode. White balance, aperture, ISO, the list goes on. But I promise you, making the jump from automatic to manual will save your life! Ok, maybe not save your life, but it will make your photos sharper, more vibrant, and just gorgeous. I would strongly recommend the book, Mamarazzi to help understand your camera better. That book was so helpful when I was starting out, and breaks down the different components of shooting in manual.


2.Go all natural, baby! That's right, turn off that flash and find yourself some natural light. I am 100% a natural light photographer. If I need to take a photo indoors, I find a window. If it's night time and there is no light, I bump up that ISO. Don't have much natural light in your home? That's ok! Go get yourself a prime lens. I recommend the 35mm f/1.8 to get started. This baby is great in low light, and is a steal at $200!


3. Search for the sun! When photographing your kids outdoors, make sure to look at where the sun is. If it's the middle of the day, and the sun is intense, don't take a photo of your child in direct sun. Trust me, no one wants blown out faces! Instead, find a shady spot. Under a tree and next to a building are great places. If you're lucky, and the sun is close to setting, by all means put your kids in the gorgeous, golden sun. You won't be sorry.


5. Make memories. A lot of parents I talk to really struggle with getting their kids in the "perfect pose" for a photo. Take the stress away, and pull out your camera during the most mundane part of your day. Photograph your little boy shooting a basketball. Grab your camera when your little girl is spinning in her princess dress. These are the memories you want to capture and the ones you'll want to remember when your children are grown!


Photography takes practice, but it's such a fun hobby! I hope these tips have helped you! Have a great day! :)

Sunday Snapshots

 This was supposed to be titled "Friday Faves" but....now it's 10pm on Sunday night.  Enter Sunday Snapshots.  Hey - flexibility is my middle name.  Here are my favorite, happiest, most fun pictures from the week!  If you follow me on instagram (@acarter402) then you have already seen them.  My apologies for your boredom, then.   Some things you can do to ease boredom: read a magazine, call a friend, come clean my house.

one// fun cupcake for my nephew.  with obnoxiously blue icing.  sorry, parents.

two// my sharp dressed man.

three// wine & cleaning party with my mama.  you can guess who did what.

four//  titanic pose while sleeping.  my heart will go on.

five//  good luck flowers.  I will never, ever, ever (times infinite) get tired of receiving flowers.

six//  date with my daddy to see OZ.  it was wicked.

seven// oh, just my baby's crib.  read this if you are highly confused.

eight// nosy little girl.

nine// treats for a special visitor.

Hooray for the start of Spring this week.  Do something "springy" for someone. 

Weekend happies.

I follow several other blogs for different reasons. Some are just because they are fun to read, some are inspiring, & a some give me good ideas on crafting, cooking & everything in between. I have mentioned my favorite blog, Enjoying The Small Things, before & this blog encompasses all of the above things and more. ETST's writer, Kelle Hampton, is the definition of happiness and her blog is nothing short of amazing (at least her 20,000+ followers think so). She always finds happiness in the smallest of things. I know that whenever I read her blog, I will log off feeling happy, inspired, and just have a general fuzzy feeling about life. She will be the first to tell you her life isn't all puppies & rainbows, & that is ok. But, she will be darned if she doesn't find happiness in something each day.

If you haven't checked her out, go NOW. You will be inspired too.

This weekend we didn't do much, which was perfectly fine & often needed at the right time. So, I decided to grab my camera and take pictures of things that made me happy.

A date night out, a date night in, my favorite boots, brunch with friends, candy hearts, a Valentine package in the mail, & a puppy who never can keep both of her bows in, all fell into the weekend happy list.

Happy President's Day. I'm honoring the presidents by still being in my pj's at noon.

Maybe I will add in singing the National Anthem while doing the dishes or something.

Hope you are enjoying the small things, too.

Instapost

Sometimes I worry about having a fire at my house. I worry about not being able to tie my bed sheets in knots fast enough to make a rope & throw it out the window.

(isn't that what you are supposed to do, make a sheet rope??)

I worry about getting this little girl out.
Even though at this particular time she was in time-out for being bossy.
She gets it from her mama.

But mostly, I worry about getting my prized possessions out safely (besides Dev, of course). My pictures. For this reason, I sometimes carry photo albums upstairs at night and put them under my bed. Just in case.

I am a picture person, always have been. Pictures remind you of fun times, happy memories, loved ones & everything in between. When instagram started getting popular earlier this year, I knew it was fate that we team up. I was right. I love taking pictures of random things that make me happy. And, I love seeing pictures of other people's random happiness even more.

Here are some of my recent instagram loves.

Follow my random happiness snapshots on instagram: acarter402 (402 being my dorm room# in college. Long live Donner Hall).

And, I want to follow your random happiness too!