our first garden...

Well, it has been a while since I have blogged.  We had a fantastic trip in England and God really moved in all of our lives in so many different ways.   We have been home now for a few weeks, but between photo shoots, editing, cleaning, jet lag, Travis and the guys in the studio tracking the next album, warm weather, an amazing weekend retreat with the Saddleback pastors' wives and so much more... I just haven't gotten to posting all our pictures.  It feels like such a huge feat I must conquer because we have so many photos and so many stories to tell.

All that to say, I figured I would start small and share the joy of today.  The weather here in San Clemente was a beautiful 80 degrees!  It was like a sweet gift from the Lord.  This year especially, I have been so thankful that God created seasons and has allowed us to enjoy them.  And for some reason, this spring has brought so much joy and refreshment to me.  So, I decided this would be the spring I would finally plant a garden!

I have wanted to plant a garden for the last several years and I never think about it until we are right in the middle of summer which of course, is not the ideal time to plant a garden.  Travis even bought me a really cute "just because" gift last summer that was a box of cute little stakes with the different names of herbs on them to help mark your plants.  However, I still didn't get around to planting a garden and I must admit, most everything I plant dies... even succulent plants have died under my watch and care (or the lack there of my watch and care).

Anyway, Hudson is at an age where I think this will be a great activity for us.  Plus, thankfully my son loves vegetables... raw vegetables... any kind of vegetable... and I think it will be fun for him to get to pick the vegetable and eat it from our yard. With warm weather on the horizon, we headed out to make our purchases. Then after Hudson's nap, we had a wonderful afternoon planting our very first garden.  We planted strawberries, zucchini, green bell peppers, jalapenos, red bell peppers, early girl tomatoes, yellow tomoatoes, cilantro, basil, green onions, green beans, heirloom tomatoes, yellow squash and watermelon.  I am hoping we can keep these plants alive long enough to actually get to eat the fruit of our labor.

I took this with my phone on our way out to the store to buy everything we would need...  maybe he is a little nervous knowing that I don't have much of a green thumb :)

As I lined up all the plants, Hudson watered each and every plant... his love for water help accommodate for a fun task:

Then we got our supplies out and we were off... Hudson took a quick break to watch the kid across the street on his skateboard:

We did lots of digging:

And of course, we had to add extra soil.  Hudson loved this part... he would grab a few hand fulls and then put it on whatever plant he deemed appropriate:

He even added soil to the plants that weren't even planted yet:

Once we finished planting our garden, we headed to the backyard to rinse off.  And well, Hudson learned a new skill... a skill I know I will regret teaching him.  He now knows how to get the water from the hose to spray.  He spent the next hour or so, trying to spray me or Gunner which inevitably got him completely soaked:

He was quite pleased with this new skill :)

Thank you Lord for reminding us through Your creation of our need for You.  You are the only reason there can ever be fruit in our lives.  Thank you for your grace and love that abounds in our lives.   Let this garden be our garden to remind us of You throughout these next few months. 

Brandon's 30th Birthday

Travis' brother, Brandon just turned 30 a couple of weeks ago and we had a great time celebrating.  My mother-in-law flew out to surprise him at the surprise party we had planned for him.  And let me tell you, there were SEVERAL times where we all almost blew it.  Unfortunately, someone did blow it that Debbie was in town, so in order to throw Brandon off we had a "fake" surprise lunch with the fam and Debbie before the actually surprise party.  

Kim had planned a day with Brandon, so he wasn't really thrown off much by the fact that she had a shirt made for him and had him blind folded throughout the day.  Here they are heading in for the "fake" surprise lunch.  He had no idea we were all standing around him taking pictures:

the surprise face:

Entering the room for the real surprise party:

We didn't end up taking a group shot with everyone who came, but there were about 50 friends and family who all came out to celebrate Brandon's birthday.  We had such a great time!  Here is a picture of the family and a couple of the friends who helped pull off the party:

And then there is the video...

Our good friend from college, Brent plays cello for OneRepublic, he and Brandon had been working on a song.  At the time, Brandon didn't want anyone to hear the song, but Brent's intentions were to use the song for this video for his party.  

So, I give you "Party All The Time" sung by the one and only Brandon Collins and performed by the Collins' family and a few close friends:

Happy 30th Birthday Brandon!!! 

We love you!!!!

time spent with friends...

One of the greatest things about working at the Saddleback Orange campus is getting to spend more time with the Goley family!  We absolutely love their family and appreciate them so much!  They have been such a blessing in our lives.  We had them over for a BBQ and a walk down to the beach.  Hudson loved having friends over. 

We have also really enjoyed our friendship with Eric and Lina.  After we took them to the Getty to take a few photos, we went down to West Hollywood to grab dinner.  I am really looking forward to traveling with them to Denmark in June to shoot Lina's sister's wedding:

(sorry Eric and Chad that I didn't get a picture of you guys)

catching up with hudson...

This post is dedicated to Hudson... just the cute, fun and funny things he has been up to...

like always playing drums:

Stretching with Uncle B before he and daddy went for a run:

Singing in the "doo doo" while playing in the band.  He will instruct you to get an instrument and play with him:

Playing in the water outside:

Reading books:

Aww... this makes me laugh... sleeping with his drumsticks:

Walking around in his wingtip shoes and argyle socks:

And he LOVES ponies!  We were at CBU for homecoming and they had a big out door event before the game for "little Lancers".  Everything was free and Hudson only cared about the pony rides:

His buddy Logan wasn't too sure about the ponies:

A visit with the Brown's

After we got home from Ohio, we headed up to Sacramento to shoot a wedding.  Some of our best friends from college, the Brown family, live in Sacramento so we to stay with them while we were there. They just had a new addition to their family, baby Brayden.  He was as cute as can be and Hudson just loved him!  

Hudson and Brayden:

Brooke taught Hudson how to sing "Ring Around the Rosie"... it was a big hit:

They were so cute holding hands:

The morning before we left the Brown's took us out for an amazing breakfast... We had the best pancakes we have ever had!

It was sooo good to see them and get to spend a little time with them in their hometown.  We love you Brown's and we appreciate your friendship more than you even know!

Ohio in January

Travis' mom just left yesterday back for Ohio after spending a week with us.  She came to surprise Brandon for his 30th birthday.  We had a great time with her even though we stayed home most of the time due to Hudson being so sick.  It was nice that Hudson got to see her again after only a month since our last visit. 

Right before Christmas, Travis and I were talking about how we were both bummed we weren't going to be able to go back to Ohio to spend time with his family over the holidays.  We tried to figure out a way were we could work it into Travis' schedule, but it just wasn't going to work out.  So, we decided just for Hudson and I to go.  We wanted to be sure to get one more free flight with Hudson before he turns 2 at the end of April and we have to start paying for his ticket. 

Hudson and I had a great trip and he was great on all the flights.  I never posted pictures from our trip, so here they are...

Thanks to a sticker book Grandma sent for Christmas... it provide about an hour and a half of entertainment:

I didn't bring play clothes for the snow, so we used what we had:

Hudson fell and his hands went right into the snow.  I left his gloves in Cali, so after consoling a very upset child I put on the warmest pair of socks that I brought... worked like a charm:

Out to breakfast with Grandma and Aunt Amy:

Normally when we go to Ohio, Travis and the guys go out for a night while Hillary and I visit with the kids at home.  However, this time since it was just me and Hudson, I left Hudson home with Trav's parents, so Hillary and I could go out:

We went the the Contemporary Art Museum in downtown Cincinnati and then headed to Nada to eat some amazing Mexican food!  I have never had better guacamole... even now as I write about it I am craving some:

Then we took the coldest walk of my life.  We walked 2 blocks in the frigid air where the wind was blowing through all of our layers leaving us freezing!  It was all worth it though, because we got a scoop of Graters ice cream! It can only be bought in Ohio and it is a definite must while we are there. Hillary has become such a great friend over the years and I always look forward to seeing her when we visit:

Hudson got some quality time with Grandma:

We had such a wonderful visit and we are looking forward to our next visit:

On the plane heading home:

He looks so grown up sitting in his own seat, strapped in and asleep on his blanket... He was a great traveling companion:

We loved getting snowed in and eating soup, visiting with family, seeing friends at church and just relaxing for a week.