that time I took my best friend to disneyland...

and didn't post a single picture on my blog.

I must admit, the past few years I've felt bogged down by thousands of photos.  Editing, backing them up, emptying SD cards, so on and so on.  Instead, I jumped head first into making my little mini-films.  Turns out, that means that I've neglected to share many photos here that I would have most definitely shared before.  So, because I'm reminiscing and getting all to excited for another round in Disneyland, here are some photos from that time when we brought one of our favorite people to Disneyland last April.

see our mini-film for this trip here.

a birthday @ Dapper Day [mini-film]

Sometimes you just have to go to Disneyland on your birthday - especially when it falls on the same day as the Fall Dapper Day outing!  We were excited to attend our second Dapper Day, and getting to go with our friends made it even more fun, and celebrating Everly's fourth birthday - yes please!

Here's our little trip, and you almost can't tell that our baby girl is battling a crazy head cold here.

Dapper Day 2016 from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.


Shot on our Sony A6000
Music -
"Polly Wolly Doodle" -The Country Bear Soundtrack
"Married Life" - Up Sountrack

time with friends

these days, man, is it hard to be social.  any mom, and I would assume, working moms especially, have so little time to spend time with friends.  however, sometimes those stars align, and after a few weeks of texting, a date is set!

last week I met up with one of my first teaching friends for a dinner date with our littles.  we hadn't seen each other since the start of the school year, and getting to catch up with a friend who totally gets it, is just sometimes needed.  we are both managing being good moms and being good teachers, and really, it is just a balancing act we sometimes have to pretend we are mastering every day.  and that's ok.  because even on days when we feel like maybe something isn't just right, neither our birth kids or school kids are noticing, just us.

so we shared our stories, and kids shared theirs too, and food was eaten.  mostly by the moms at the table, because, seriously, our kids kind of struggle at the whole dinner concept.  just one more thing that keeps us mom-bonded!

here are a few pictures from our night together.  these girls are just too cute, even if they don't get to see each other often, they always play together so well.

Yosemite National Park [mini film]

Last weekend we attended a gorgeous wedding in Yosemite. My family had never been before, excluding my nature husband of course, so getting to spend the weekend in this beautiful park was really the icing on the cake for this special day.

A few notes:

Yes, we were some of the first to experience the massive name change currently happening in Yosemite. All I have to say is typically I'm on board with branding and trademarks, but this situation is ridiculous.

Yes, my child is technically 'swearing'. That's what happens when toddler parrots listen to every word spoken by the adults around her. Oops. She never said it again after that moment.

Yes, we saw Bridal Falls. And yes, there was a major drop off on the other side of that little stone ledge. And yes, I was pretty much panic ridden that entire experience, especially when it seemed I was the only mom there thinking that death was a plausible situation at that moment in time. Seriously. It was crazy. I was thankful to have some extra hands to keep hold of my little one.

Yes, the wedding was gorgeous. And no, I do not have any ceremony footage. Cranky barefoot exhausted toddler in the Tula stopped that. But the reception is always my favorite. I think the cake cutting was perfection.

Yes, there were tears in the early dances. I mean, come on. Tears.

Yes, we made it to the valley floor on the last day. And yes, Yosemite is the Disneyland of nature. And yes, I may have made several Disneyland references while we were there, including that the "inside the mountain drive-thru tunnel" smelled like a Disney attraction.  And that the Grand Californian Hotel killed the Ahwahnee for me.  Great.

Hope you enjoy...

Yosemite from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

disneyland [mini film] again

This past weekend we visited Disneyland one more time before our passes expired.  And the best part, we finally had the stars align to take one of my favorite people of all time with us.

Disneyland April 2016 from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

And, because we are crazy, we renewed our passes for another year.

So I guess this won't be the last Disneyland mini film for a while.

friends weekend

We just got back from a friends weekend, and man, was it pretty amazing.  We are so lucky to have such a supportive group of young adults that adore our daughter to pieces.  They are her friends too, and she sure doesn't seem to mind being the shortest one in the bunch.  I think when she grows up, Everly is not going to have a hard time thinking of some positive role models, and I'm so thankful for this.

Here's a glimpse into our weekend away.  I need another one soon.

Friends Weekend from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

this is currently Everly's favorite song - The Likes of Us - All Together Now