a birthday post, one year late

my baby girl is about to turn eight.

I'm going to let that sink in for a moment.

some days she still feels just like my little squishy baby, and other days, a full grown girl.

this fall has been extremely challenging for our family filled with many ups and downs.

I finally made a point to edit her birthday video and I share these bittersweet memories here now.

in just ten days we will celebrate everly's 8th birthday, without her grandma.  this is our first celebration since her passing, and I'm unsure how it will feel.  there will for sure be something missing in that day.

this year has just taken so much.  looking back at these memories keeps me hopeful for when the time begins to shift back to normal. it also has inspired me to get back into blogging.  I am so thankful for the memories I have preserved here on this little page, and hope that I can find my passion here once again.  warning, past memories may be shared here soon.

and now some photos from celebrating seven, and a little mini-film at the end...

here's our mini-film from the day spent with our closest family and friends:

music: "This is Halloween" by the Vitamin String Quartet

we went to hawaii!

this month we had a major family milestone, our first trip to hawaii as a family of three!  the mr. and I haven't been since our honeymoon, so getting to go for our 11th wedding anniversary with our everly was pretty amazing.

to be honest, the thought of a trip to hawaii just always seemed out of reach for our budget.  however, turns out that a costco membership can really come in handy and made our island vacation dreams become a reality.  we are already semi-planning our next vacation!

I've been working like a crazy person since taking on an additional role to my teaching position.  and the long hours do come with a better salary, so it was time to play a little harder with the benefits of the hard work I put in during the school year.

it just seemed like the perfect age to take everly for the first time.  she LOVES the water, is an extremely capable swimmer, and is really easy to travel with.  and it turned out our hopes for the trip really became reality.  hopefully I can put together some more detailed posts on our trip soon.  this was our first time visiting the big island of hawaii, and I have some memories and special spots I want to remember for the future.

but for now, I'm just going to share our mini-film of the week on the big island.  we watched it last night on the 'big tv' and it was so fun to know we always will have this to look back on to remember this milestone trip.


music: Vintage Hawaiian Music
shot on our Sony A6500 and GoPro Hero7 Black 

our day at the academy of sciences - san francisco [mini film]

last weekend we took a little time as a family in san francisco.  we were able to spend the day at the academy of sciences - it was everly's first time!  we spent the entire day exploring and when I asked everly what her favorite part of the day was, her reply was priceless: "everything."

here's a look into our day...

after a quick bite at the cafe, our first stop was the rainforest dome. 

 I think I could have spent all day there, 

and everly was most impressed by all the little creatures 

living in terrariums and aquariums throughout.  

I could have just stared at the butterflies all day.

once you make your way to the top of the rainforest,

you take the elevators down to the underground aquariums

even if everly didn't say this was her favorite part of the day

I would bet money that it was

and even though I was having some real 'finding dory' vibes

everly was excited to touch the starfish

the penguins were a hit too

and who doesn't love a white alligator?!?

the nets right on the other side of the railing

made me, well, nervous

and sure, I know they were there to make you feel better

but it didn't really cut it for this nervous mama

and no, she isn't running from the dinosaur

but instead the cold air that was pouring in from the front doors

and here's our mini-film from the day

  
CA Academy of Sciences from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

music: 'reaching for infinity' from epidemic sound

disneyland: minnie, blossoms, and snacks [mini-film]

this past trip to disneyland was really marked by one big momentous occasion, that kid of mine decided she was ready to see minnie mouse again.  I think it has been at least two years since she declared her nose was terrifying, and therefore, refused to see any characters.  this time, we eased our way into it, waited patiently for her to arrive, and had our big moment.  maybe next time we will see others too.  this trip also marked the first one we haven't seen any princesses, because as she told me, she's just too busy with the rides.  the only other time she has done this was when we were in disney world, again, for the same reason, too much to do, too little time. it is funny how each trip she has a different mode of operation, I guess to keep things interesting.

here's our mini-film:

shot on our sony a6000 & sony a6500
music:
'married life' from "up"
'fantasmic' from walt disney records the legacy collection: disneyland
'it's a small world' from walt disney records the legacy collection: disneyland
'something I want' by grace potter from "tangled"
'down in new orleans' by dr. john from "princess and the frog"