What Summer Looks Like This Year

As if Summer needed any extra stuff to make it awesome (I mean, SUNSHINE!), we are blessed to have extra-lots to look forward to this time around. We are excited! Here's what we're expecting from Summer 2014:

-Darren doesn't have to work landscaping this summer! He will be able to focus on shooting/editing weddings, and building his photography business for this last push before he graduates this year (eek!)

-Darren has also started a leather goods company called Odessa Goods. He sells camera straps and wallets of full grain, hand-stitched leather...all of excellent quality, ifIdosaysomyself.

-With a flexible schedule, we have lots of family time together this summer! We are so excited. Summers for us have usually been Darren working 12-hour landscaping days, coming home to edit pictures all evening, and being gone most Saturdays shooting weddings. We might kill each other with all this "togetherness" this year, but still: worth it.

-We had our good friends from BC come out and visit recently and we got to do the Royal Tyrrell Museum (Dinosaurs!) and the Calgary Zoo (Awesome!). They spoiled us with their love and company. We are so lucky.

-I know this isn't news to most of you Facebookers...but, I started a blog! Like, a for-real blog (www.essaieblog.com). I'm calling it a "lifestyle" blog for now (what is that, even?), until it takes on a life of its own. I want it to "go" somewhere (wherever blogs "go"), just not sure where yet.  It just feels like the right thing to do right now, and so I plan to keep taking it one step at a time.

-We get to go to a reunion with a bunch of friends from high school that all hung out together. It's going to be so fun to see everyone again, and watch our kids all run around and play together. Darren shoots a wedding in Kelowna the weekend before the reunion, so we are taking the whole week in between for an a killer BC family vacay. Woohoo!

-Darren and I are shooting a wedding together on Vancouver Island for a weekend! I love shooting weddings with him (even if he is a little bossy...love you, sweetie! Haha!), and it's the perfect excuse for a few days away together. We think that kind of thing is important.

-We live close to the most amazing wading pool/spray park. Come visit! We will probably be there on a daily basis.

-Darren may be booked on weekends, but it doesn't mean that we won't get some serious camping in this year. Weekday camping, here we come!

-We have a LEGITIMATE veggie garden this year in the backyard. I am so excited for garden veggies...if the dang squirrels don't dig up all the seeds, that is...

-The end of summer will bring the beginning of Darren's LAST year as a student. I kind of said that one already...but...EEK!

The pose she suddenly struck for the camera...(?) Haha!

We wish you an awesome Summer!!! I have to say that now...because at this rate, I won't be blogging on this blog again for a few months anyways...haha...*chagrin*...