Summer Fun!

I think the best part of summer is the vibrant color! I love how cheerful and happy pictures are in the summertime. :)

June has been a busy, crazy, fun month for us! July is proving to be just as awesome! Here's our summer so far...

This is me at 28 weeks pregnant. Tomorrow I'll be 31 weeks pregnant! Yikes! It's getting so close! So far with this pregnancy we've had some freaky scares but nothing ever turns out to be wrong so we are grateful for that! Last time we were told, Max should be here September 8th!

This picture was taken the day before Father's Day! We went to the mall and got Mike some cute stuff for Father's Day and, like the cute daddy he is, wanted to play with Milo at the treehouse for the better chunk of the day. Father's Day was wonderful! It was a long day full of eating yummy food we've never tried (thank you pinterest) and lots of much needed R&R!

We found our new favorite summer hang-out.. The Lindon pool! Its like a mini seven peaks (and much newer and cleaner)! We have been there several times already and now Milo is a little fish! He can't get enough of the water, which is absolutely huge for him. Last summer he barely tolerated swimming, and he definitely didn't play in the water on his own free will! This summer he is having a blast now with all the swimming we do. :) Plus I can't go tanning in a salon so this is the only way my poor pasty skin gets any color. lol

This was at Strawberry Days in Pleasant Grove! I love PG for its small town feeling and because my mom grew up here and she has so many stories of going to places that are still there today. It brings the all-american feel to life! Maybe someday I will do a photo journal of all the neat places here and any stories I know of.. Hmm.. :)

This is also at Strawberry Days. On a side note from the caption to the first picture, I have felt a little defeated in my efforts of seriously pursuing a career in photography lately. I hit the ground running really hard, but realized I needed to build a portfolio to show clients what I am capable of, etc. So going to the carnival was, in a way, a challenge to myself to get some photos I'd be proud of. Judging them based on what I saw on my camera (a 2 inch screen), I didn't think they were good enough and I never wanted to edit them or even look at them on the computer! This picture above is one that I pleasantly surprised myself with. I know its nothing new or terribly interesting, but its above what I thought my standards were, which was a great feeling. There's my ranting about that. :)

July 4th! My mom and I decided we would ditch the husbands and go to the balloon rising just us and Milo. I hadn't been since high school or probably junior high! Its a totally different experience when you have a toddler, but isn't everything though? This picture is so special to me because he has the sweetest, most genuine look of discovery on his face. Seeing a hot air balloon for the first time must be cool!

Milo's only word he says right now is "Whoa!" And everywhere he looked he was saying Whoa! haha He cracks me up!

I'm so happy my mom took my camera from me long enough to get a shot of Milo and I. Its so hard to remember to be present in moments and not miss them all by being behind the camera. I want beautiful pictures to remember the moments, but sometimes we forget to just enjoy them without worrying about capturing it in the perfect way.

Changing from JPEG to RAW format was the greatest thing to ever happen to my photos. I never could control the way my pictures turned out as much as I can now. So many times I would toss them aside or just switch to B&W because I would get so frustrated that the coloring wasn't right and I couldn't fix it. Even if you just shoot pictures casually and don't want a career, I would recommend making the switch! Beautiful pictures are the result!

My sweet little guy on the way home from the balloons.

He has all of his teeth now except the very back 2! He's showing all of them to you, see? :)

Fireworks at Thanksgiving Point! We didn't camp out a spot or even really think about watching fireworks until maybe an hour beforehand and we were still able to watch them with nobody in front or around us at all! Such a great way to end the night!

So many more fun things are coming up that I can't wait for! In 2 weeks is American Fork Steel Days, my friend Carlie is getting married next week, lots of OB appointments coming up, and did I mention we're going to VEGAS tomorrow! Totally kid-free may I add. :) Lots of pictures to come I'm sure!

xoxo, Alecia