Carlsbad in Pictures

So many memories to take back from this years trip.

Things we will remember fondly:

Watching Alexie take in the ocean, sand and sound of the waves crashing for the first time. She LOVED every minute on the beach!!

Remembering that it was this time last year we decided on the name Alexie Jane. How last year I was big and pregnant and now she's here. Adorable and healthy... PRAISE GOD!

Helping the kids learn to boogie board and see them go farther than any year prior into the ocean! SO FUN!

Having my husband around for TWO WEEKS!!

Trips to get frozen yogurt as a family.

Kids sleeping in to as late as 9am! Lexie too!

Due to their sleepign in... my early morning walks on the beach, listening to the new Matt Redman album, reading the word, sipping starbucks. Being alone :) Ah how I miss those mornings now that we are back home!

Playing cards with my parents and Ryan & Danae.

My nephew Owen saying, "B-EEEA-CH" to anyone that would take him out to the ocean.

Walks with my mom on the boardwalk and coffee with Danae. We FINALLY got that coffee date Danae.

Having my husband around TWO WEEKS!! (it's worth mentioning twice)

Seeing the kids play with their cousins AND second cousins.

Walking hand in hand with Taylor to get pedicures together on a mommy/daughter date.

Al's Cafe. Coconut Macadamia French Toast and Mickey Mouse Pancakes!

Taking walks through the town and watching the kids dance their heart out to live music being played.

Thanks to my friends at Radiant, my picture editing is finished up! Here's a video combining the photo's they took with the ones I have.

Carlsbad, Ca 2011 from tara daukas on Vimeo.

*the video may take a few minutes to upload

It's back to real life over here. We hit the ground running with Blackstone every morning this week. Have the closing banquet tonight. Now it's time to gear up for school and the fall church calendar. Lots to look forward to this fall.

Our Photo Session

Back in May I saw that some of my photographer friends were going to be living and working in CA for the summer. I have always dreamed of getting a session done of our family on the beach. This tradition of meeting up with family in Carlsbad extends to when my mom was a kid. So on a whim I contacted Radiant and they just happened to be near Carlsbad on one of the weekends we were there. I talked through the details with my Dad and Ryan and we booked the session! We surprised my mom for her birthday.

I have always admired Radiant's work. Their stuff is seriously amazing! It was quite interesting being on the other side of the camera. The stress of "what to wear" the getting the kids dressed, looking pretty, trying to quickly do the same to myself! AGH!! I will have much more compassion for my clients after this experience :)

I am SO, SO happy with how they turned out! You can see their blog post with our preview here on their blog.

Thank you Scottie & Bre for your friendship and sharing your gift of photography with us!