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gamma + gampa




we spent a couple of days up in logan at the beginning of last week. i’ve always known that my parents are incredible people, but watching them become grandparents absolutely warms me to the core. the genuine love they have for my kids brings me to tears. i am still trying to wrap my mind around how my mom manages to keep a clean house no matter what is going on or how many people are in town. i feel like there is this little whirlwind tornado following right behind our car wherever we go. especially to grandma’s. {i maybe might probably be an overpacker, just maybe.} we fall asleep at night with our stuff shuffled throughout the whole house + it’s CLEAN by the time we wake up. we’re talking spotless clean. it’s like a magic trick. i’m sure i should be used to it by now, but i’m not. it blows my mind every single time. i hope that i’m lucky enough to inherit that trait one day. preferably soon 🙂 i love her so much! my parents just got a new playhouse for the grandkiddos. lots of memories waiting to be had in that darling abode. i melted in my chair just watching them build it together. if we turn out to be half the parents mine are, we’ve done something right!
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t h a n k f u l


– – – – – sami jo photography – – – –

  • i’m thankful that morgan is safe over in the philippines.
  • i’m thankful for a husband who lets me hold his hand in the car.
  • i’m thankful for my kids + the opportunity i have to be a mother.
  • i’m thankful for laughter + sisters who make it easy to come by.
  • i’m thankful to live in a world with incredible gamma + gampa’s.
  • i’m thankful for the amazing young women that i get to serve.
  • i’m thankful for prepackaged rice krispy treats + bottled water.
  • i’m thankful for fuzzy lined leggings from bella me boutique.
  • i’m thankful for my hardworking husband who loves being a dad more than anything else in life.
  • i’m thankful for sami jo, her genuine friendship + her ability to capture our love in photographs.
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slama-grama





















here are a few jumbled updates that don’t really have anything to do with these ^ ^ grams. 
 

jonah mastered the “backflip” {which is really a somersault}, riggins turned 3 months, we introduced the kids to the polar express via netflix {thanks hills}, i popped another tire on the stroller, jonboy bought me the 5 ft long iphone charger that i thought only existed in my dreams, we watched dan drain a 3 from our computer, the boys shoveled the driveway, we got our first library fine because we left our book at church, we dressed up as 3 different things for halloween + thanks to the sweetest instagram friends we discovered that jonah will brush the”bugs” off of his teeth until the light turns off. {a tag team effort with jon + i that is FINALLY working}. 

also, mom + kylee drove down to meet us at target in layton yesterday. they are so great. we fancied over the christmas decor + split a pack of fruit snacks. it made for one of my favorite thursdays ever. now, onto the weekend we go.
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while it’s hot

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

i’m such a sucker for clothes on sale.
especially nordstrom clothes on mega sale – – – BANGARANG.
get to counting up your piggy bank before the prices sky rocket tomorrow.

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my two cents on family photos


















family photos are easy to master if you follow these instructions.

 

  1.  MAKE SURE EVERYONE IS FED
  2.  HIRE SAMI JO

 

easy as pie. when sami jo approached me to take our family pictures i had no idea what to expect. like any other unseasoned family picture{er}, i turned into a 3 month preggo stress basket.
“what the crap do we wear? hair up, hair down? shirt can’t be too tight or people will know i’m pregnant, can’t be to lose or people will assume i’m pregnant. i just know jonah’s cowlick will be creased the wrong way. i put my mascara on in the car but crap i forgot my pin to separate my eyelashes. should jonah wear a red or blue belt? jon’s top button done up or left alone? are we too matchy matchy. . . .”
on + on it goes. once my mind starts going it doesn’t stop. BUT, somehow sami warped my mind from stereotyping all family pictures as stressful. her zest for photography coincides with her bubbly personality perfectly. it screams happiness to me. she embraced the chaos that comes along with our family + turned it into magic. she’s so so so so so so so so good with kids. i can still remember how amazed after our session when it only took 20 minutes. that’s it. jon was a happy camper, jonah was a happy camper + i left with the biggest smile on my face. trust me. she good you guys. real, real good.
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waking up in a snow globe








yesterday i went christmas crazy at target. my cousin recently taught me about the cartwheel target app + i was bound to try it out. have you given it a whirl?  as if target wasn’t already the bomb. go download it + thank me later. it’s a dangerous store, i cannot get enough. addicting + dangerous, not the safest combo but it is what it is. it’s november 5 + i’ve got the holiday itch. we’ve asked jonboy to put up the christmas tree 4 times. it just comes + goes so fast, i can’t help it. we had family night in the car last night. we drove around, listened to this talk again while we soaked up the last of the orange leaves. we had no idea when we went to bed what we’d be waking up to. a white washed balcony + jonah screeching NOOOOOOO. {snow in jonah terms} white + dreamy as dreamy can be. my bedheaded jammy wearing boys shoveled the driveway + i officially pressed play on the carrie underwood holiday pandora station – – – brace yourself, no turning back now.

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s e a t t l e

jonboy sent a sales team up to seattle last summer.
which meant that we got the chance to fall in love with that magical city.
n a t u r a l l y.










|| nose bleeds at the mariners game. jonah was in heaven. jon was in heaven. i was just nauseous. ||










it was one of our last little trips as a family of 3 before riggins arrived. i was 7 1/2 months pregnant + on a social media cleanse. for the record, i still took 90,000 pictures but we just kept them to ourself. {it’s leaving me a tad-bit overwhelmed in the editing department because i want to share every single one of them, but don’t exactly know where to start) i’m not sure what i imagined seattle to be, but i was very surprised when my expectations totally knocked me out of the park. i’d even go as far as to say that i liked it better than NYC. who am i? i L O V E the big apple. but seattle won me over before i even had time to think twice. i dig that slow pace lifestyle + those free spirited people. all of our cares went bye-bye for a week. we jam packed every thing we could possibly think of into our first trip. pike’s place has been on my bucket list for as long as i can remember. as well as the gum wall, Bainbridge, the space needle + buying fresh peonies from the corner market. i loved it all. the people, the smells, the shopping, the traffic, fresh flowers, my boys, the ferries, hand made ice cream + even the rain. every single bit of it!

 

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two strikes i’m out













we love weekends spent in logan. especially around holidays. it’s getting more difficult to get everyone together in the same place at the same time with how busy life is. but luckily, my mom makes every get together a very fun + very worth while priority. each occasion is better than the last + we hate when the weekends are over. i enjoy driving to logan with my mastermind-name-that-tune husband. i used to think i could hold my own with music, but you guys, he dominates me in every single category. last weekend our tire blew out on our way there. come to find out the prices for tires were TRIPLE the price in Logan for the size my car demands. aye carumba. a normal 2 hour drive turned 4 hour drive in a split second. luckily, it wasn’t worse + none of us were hurt. the kiddo’s slept for all 4 of those hours. we couldn’t exceed 50 mph so we got to explore all the backroads we would never have seen otherwise. it was a beautiful opportunity to slow down, catch our breath + enjoy a little alone time.
did you notice that these pics are from a year ago? today, before i could dump all of my phone pictures from the weekend, it broke. i have no idea why or how, but the screen is black + i can’t see anything. i was supposed to take family pictures for some friends tonight, but i don’t have a car + now i’m also without a cell phone. {insert 2 wide-eyed emoji’s here}  i think i’m trying to be told something- – – errrrr something. it’s about time to slow it down a notch or two. or three. probably even four.
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l e m o n l y

while jon + i were dating we called our rough times the “lemons”. you know, the on + off again scenario – – – that was us. naturally. when we finally came to our senses, looked passed the lemons + decided that we couldn’t live without eachother, we named the ending our “lemonade.” sounds a tad cheesy now, but it is what it is. i LOVE lemonade + so does he. after he proposed, i realized that i didn’t have a clue what i wanted for my wedding day.  i think most girls grow up planning + playing wedding with their girly’s, i played soccer. wedding prep = a deer in the headlight ginger. straight clueless. i knew i wanted a short wedding dress, but that’s about it. i remember sitting in jon’s black subaru outside of my aunt’s house in provo + he said to me “well, you know what you don’t want, but not what you do. so let’s start at the beginning. (as he gets out his permanent marker + skittles wrapper) what’s your favorite thing?” my answer: sour patch kids + lemonade. we ran with it. he built the lemonade stand, i picked out every yellow candy you can think of, my mom made yellow bridesmaids dresses + just like that, we were married.




fast forward 4 years. lemonade loving is still in full swing. we purchased a poop ice machine for our 3 year anniversary {sonic ice, poop ice, little ice, whatever you call it at your house is fine. please just tell me you know what it is? it’s the key to REAL good lemonade.} i enjoy our late night business-idea-shenanigans. after the littles are in bed, we go to town on the white board. i married one rad dude. he just gets it, ya know? the best part, jon’s a doer. he keeps reality in check + runs with his our ideas. i am more of a dreamer. there’s always something brewing in my mind, but not very often will i make it happen. my biggest + longest dream is to open my own clothing shop. if you haven’t clicked the lemonly tab on the top of our blog, you’re welcome to. one day it will link to my shop, but for now – – – you’ll find a little compilation of my latest faves for our family. looks a little something like it does below.

 

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o c t o b e r moments




















it’s blowing my mind that october is almost over. that means riggins is almost 3 months, christmas is just around the corner + i am way overdue for a pedicure. i feel like the very minute that i convince myself i’ve got this 2 kid thing under control something outrageous happens. like a gallon of spilled milk is on the floor + a full roll of toilet paper is completely unwound + inside of the toilet. or one child has ditched his undies + is streaking up the street trying to get bo to come back to gamma’s house while i’m nursing the other. it’s never ending. being a mother is definitely not the easiest thing i’ve ever tried to do, but i wouldn’t change it for anything else. i’m grateful that jon is such a hard working dedicated father so that i can stay home with these munchkins. we are getting into more of a routine + i really think i’m kinda maybe possibly getting the hang of it. {knock on wood}

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g r a m m i n again
























we have had lots of family time lately.
bet you couldn’t guess that’s my favorite, could you?
i’m glad technology allows me to keep our every day little moments documented.
they might not make it to the blog on time like they used to, but at least they are captured somewhere.
have a beautiful weekend!
Beautiful Day by Joshua Radin on Grooveshark

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our bucket list check-off plan









jon has waaaay more time on his hands now that he’s only handling one job. which means jam packed weekends + lots of family time! i consider it our reward for all the hours he spent working on weekends! wahoooo. writing out our bucket list was the best idea we’ve had so far. it’s starting to get colder + darker a whole lot earlier which means freezing mom mode is also in full swing.
freezing mom mode: mcshivers mcgee, bring me another blanket, i really really don’t want to move.
i would stay bundled up in the house under 6 blankets, my ski socks + watch reruns of revenge if i had it my way. but with our bucket list to conquer before the real cold arrives, we have loved checking off our adventures together. not to mention i have completely fallen in love with fall along the way. we decide in the morning which item we want to check off that night, then i get the car + the kids ready to rock before jon gets home from work. we normally fly by the seat of our pants, so this little bit of structure + scheduling is making me feel a bit more accomplished. cheers to fall, cheers to schedules, cheers to our bucketlist.

– – – you can read on for outfit details + ideas – – –

j:  chord skinny jeans | hoodie | kicks

me:  jeans | major sale sweater  {similar here, here + here} | shoes {similar} these are 25% off this week with code: inthefamily25 | bracelets + earrings 

personally, i love seeing different outfit color scheme ideas. so i’ve gathered a few options below to help create the same kind of look for you at different price points. now you just get to be creative!
i love shoes that pop + leopard print. you will learn that R E A L fast.