Florida Family Photoshoot

Right before Thanksgiving, my siblings, signifiant others, niece, nephew and parents all took a trip to Naples, Florida.  We decided ahead of time that we would surprise my mom with a family photo session with a local Naples photographer, Kimberly Joy Photography.

Anyways, we just got the photos back over Christmas break and they are AMAZING.  Kimberly is AMAZING and our family looked AMAZING.  I thought I would share with you her beautiful work. 

Enjoy! 

10 on 10: September

late late late... oh well.  These photos are technically nothing fancy, but were taken one day while visiting Dallas which makes them a great memory to hold on to.

Our trip was kind of a last minute plan.  Tickets were dirt cheap and I needed some home time.  I abducted Jonathan for a almost full week.  It is not something we can usually get away with, but somehow it was pulled off seamlessly.

Most of you know how much Jonathan and I LOVE food... we are self-proclaimed foodies.   When we visit Dallas (or any other city) we usually go food crazy.  I had been raving about the restaurant in Dallas called SMOKE for nearly a year and FINALLY, this trip I was able to take Jonathan there for dinner.  He loved it and even bought the book written by the owner.

Well... after lots of gawking and page-turning in that book, Jonathan got the grand idea to dig his own bbq pit (yes, you read that correctly... I wrote DIG and throw a dinner party for my family.  We decided the dinner party should be at my parents house because it was more centrally located than at Jonathan's parents barn in Commerce, but the issue at my parents house was where on earth would be a good spot for digging a bbq pit.  It just so happened that my parents back deck is kind of under construction and there was a nice big patch of dirt right near the back of the house.  This was perfect so that Jonathan could come and go from the house without leaving the fire unattended for too long.

My parents, Noah and I left for Austin on Saturday for my nephew's birthday party, but Jonathan and his parents stayed behind and started the big pit project.  It was a 3 foot deep hole in the ground, lined with fire bricks.  The pit was lined with Maguey leaves, a giant cast iron pot and then topped off with a cast iron lid.

Jonathan woke up at 7:30am to start the actual bbq, but he was up late late late the night before preparing all of the spices, meat and fixings.  He was seriously on cloud nine.  Jonathan loves a good ol big project, but even more than that he loves a good ol big project surrounding cooking so this was a perfect activity for him.  My aunts, uncles, in-laws, grandparents and a few friends and cousins came for the big dinner.  Everyone pitched in a hand to make sure that all the rest of the food made its way on to the table so that Jonathan could keep his attention focused on the pit so it was really a family affair... hopefully we will get to play around with the pit some more when we visit for the Holidays.  

walking towards "the pit"

what looks like a small camp fire is actually a deep pit filled with 15lbs of meat and a giant cauldron full of juices and spices.  

Jonathan spent most of this day keeping the fire going.

my brother, Jason, came by early to lay his eyes upon "the pit"

Chain saws and axes were involved in keeping that fire going.  I think Jonathan will think twice about this type of food project next time after all of this hard labor.    

The unveiling.   

Notice in the next series of photos how NONE of the men are wearing the appropriate gear to deal with fire.  Jonathan is wearing Birkenstocks and leather gloves, my uncles are wearing Sperries and Crocs.  It was actually amazing that no one was injured during this time. 

Pulling the meat from the pit.  It was in the hole for 8ish hours and still ended up needing to be finished in the oven.  Jonathan decided that next time he would probably cook it for 10 or more hours to get the meat texture he was actually going for.

Here comes the hot cauldron with spices and such.

Here is a mid-dinner shot.  We were all stuffed to the gills and pretty happy to get to take part in one of Jonathan's projects with minimal effort.  

We are home...

My doctor let me go home early Saturday evening.  I can hardly believe that I am sitting here in my home with my milk-drunk baby slung across my chest! Never in a million thoughts and dreams did I have any idea how wonderful this would feel.  God is so good and I just want to live in these moments forever.

Noah is just the sweetest little baby and a total cuddle bug.  I can't get enough of him.  I don't have much to tell right now, but I think that's because I am still trying to get the hang of things and we have been having time with our family and friends while they are in town.

Anyways, here are a ton of photos from the past few days... hope you enjoy!

It still happens

Sometimes ( a lot of times really) I want to go home.  Not my home... not the place where me and my husband are living together, but to my place of birth, the home where I grew up.  When things "suck", I will find myself repeating the same phrase with tears in my eyes, "I want to go home".  It happens at least once a week.  haha.

I am a terrible mama's girl and just as much of a family person.  My grandparents lived just down the street from where I grew up and my aunts and uncles were pretty close by as well.  It's hard being states away.

Today, my car wouldn't start.  I must admit that I have been fortunate enough to have the same car since high school.  My dad bought it fairly new and barely used from my grandparents.  I drove it in college with rarely a problem.  It's seen me through numerous fender benders.  It's made it through countless ikea shopping events, road trips and it made the move to California.  Up until I moved to to the West coast, I have hardly had a mechanical care in the world because my dad, Andy, always took care of everything for me.  Anyways, for the first time in my life... my little Honda baby failed me.  She sputtered and died.  The only thing I could think of in my desperation is how if I were home I could call on my dad and he would whip it into shape for me.

I miss having the luxury and convenience of a family to help you out when times are sticky.  I know I can just pop over to an auto shop and have a guy check it out, but sometimes it's just nice to be able to rely on what you know.  That comfort and familiarity.  I miss it.

Dallas Trip - September 2011

I have been so very fortunate to have a loving family who supports my husband and I no matter what.  Since we moved to California almost 3 years ago, I have made numerous trips back home.  Unfortunately, even with all those trips, I still have managed to miss many exciting family events.