happily I do...

I love weddings.  wedding shows.  wedding dresses.  wedding flowers.  all things weddings really.  so when two long-time friends say I-do you are ready to travel to the other side of the state to be part of each happy moment.

earlier this month we experienced the beautiful wedding of our friends colin & jayne.  everly got to be a flower girl for the very first time [something I joked she was just about to age out of, and something I always wanted to do, but just never had the chance].  the mr. was a groomsman, and I was the mother of the flower girl, and un-official videographer.

here's a glimpse into the beautiful details of that day...


music:
"we will become silhouettes" - the shins
"anything" - mae

dreaming of palm springs, and days off

right now I'm drowning in adulthood.  man, work is just too much sometimes.  when visiting with friends from out of town, they were asking how things were going.  I started talking about all of the new responsibilities I have at my school.  they shockingly looked at me and said, "what, you aren't teaching any more?"  to which I replied, no, I still do that too.  it is just crazy this season of my life.  I feel like I am balancing most things on most days. other days I know I could do better.

it is weird when I notice certain aspects about myself that have changed.  like, I don't have anything to say when I'm not at work.  I feel like I used to be able to talk all the time.  I would talk about school to anyone who would listen.  I would talk about anything really.  now, I am SO okay with silence.  or listening.  I feel like I'm now in the season of listening.  and I guess that is okay too.  my daughter has a lot to say, so as long as I'm listening, I don't think she notices.

but for now, it is only march, and I'm dreaming of days off.  summer was sure good to us last year.  we visited palm springs, a destination the mr. and I have wanted to see for some time.  it was a super quick trip, and it was july, so you can imagine we didn't get quite as much outdoor exploring done as we would have liked.  but, for now, here's looking back at the one time we drove into the desert in the dead of summer, and visited kitschy places, and swam in a heated pool, and looked at so many cacti, and pretended we weren't in the desert in the dead of summer.

Palm Springs 2018 from Lyndsay Lewis on Vimeo.

music: Portugal the Man

see photos from our trip to the botanical garden here
and the rest of our palm springs photos here

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"

happy st. patrick's day

last year ev learned the magic of the leprechauns at preschool, this year, since the holiday has fallen on the weekend, it was time to keep that magic alive at home.  we created a leprechaun trap with oh so much glitter, had our gold stolen from the trap only to find...no leprechaun this morning.  however, she's been chasing trails of glitter gold and the tiniest green footprints around our dining room and front porch [yes, my husband loves me, just in case you were wondering].

she has been trying to catch the 'delicate creatures' 

as she refers to them.  

apparently, the disguise helps.

today we made her day by getting my old tap shoes out of the hope chest - just the perfect size - she's been twirling around ever since.  to say she's caught the dance bug is an understatement.

we also spent part of our day making a green ombre cake, with pink frosting, because, she's five, at that's what she wanted.  our cake was a bit too crumbly to make our 'naked' cake dreams come to fruition, but it sure tasted good!

 here she is last year -

and our very first st. patrick's day together -

happy weekend & happy st. patty's day