Life Lately - Via Instagram

I am in love with Instagram.

Here's (some) of what life's been like lately - 

(according to my iPhone)

My Rock Star Jordan graduated from high school and started college.

(yep, I am now the momma of an adult!  what?)

My Cutie Caden is excelling in 9th grade - 

and making us laugh - every. day.

And boy did we ever love watching him play football!

(for the last time - his momma hopes!  Time to break out the bribes...)

I am a lucky Young Womens President -

with 24 new lovely ladies in my life.

I sure love these girls and our adventures together!

My dream of getting paid to travel and take photographs - 

came true!  I am loving my new job.  Isn't it amazing the things

you can create for yourself?  

San Diego in the early morning hours.  

Just another day at the office.

The whole crew (plus one) on the train to the big city!

One of the many holiday traditions we love.

Christmas came and went, and we soaked up the time together!

We said good-bye to 2011, and welcomed 2012 with open arms.

It's going to be an AMAZING year for the Tanners.

The girls with Frosty.  

(glad he finally showed up - we've been waiting!)

These two girlies make my heart sing with joy.

Love notes.  My favorite!

Being a mom is the best.

Hiking (love) in Sedona (love) all expenses paid (love)

Did I mention? - I love my job!

What is better than hiking in Sedona?

(Answer:  Hiking in Sedona with Superman!)

So there you have it.

A quick glimpse into my busy, beautiful life via Instagram.

What do your adventures look like lately?

Life Lately.

(My beauties at Seal Beach where we spent our summer holidays)

Life.  Mine has been nuts.  Exciting and exhausting all at the same time.  It is amazing to me how much I have grown in the past 6 months.  (Not physically... I am in the best shape of my life!)  Grown as a person, a career woman, a daughter, a mother, as a wife, as a spirit, as a photographer, as a friend.  If someone would have told me a year ago what my life would be like today, I wouldn't have believed it.  So much has changed.  New chapters have begun.  Milestones have been celebrated.  It's been a rocky road.  There have been hardships.  But with those hard times there are incredibly GOOD times.  And hidden blessings around every turn.  Its a beautiful thing that God knows us better than we know ourselves, and will always give us exactly what we need.  I am a blessed human being.  I am grateful for all He gives me, good and bad.  Life is an adventure.  I am living mine to the fullest.

Jordan's Senior Prom.

 

Jordan had his Senior Prom a few weeks ago.  Him and his friends asked if I would be the photographer for their group.  I am always excited when he asks me.  I love it!  I marvel all the time, about how much he has grown.  He is almost done with high school.  He is almost a grown man.  I am so happy and incredibly blessed with the man he is becoming.  It makes me a little sad, sometimes about how fast time went by.  It seems like in a blink of an eye, he went from my little boy to a Senior in High School.  Cherish every moment.  Every. Single. One.  My heart is so proud!

To see more of his Prom Shoot, Click Here! 

Under the Weather.

I have been under the weather.  It has not been fun.  Not at all.  It always seems to come at the worst time, too... but I suppose there is never a great time to be sick in bed, now is there?  I know there are blessings weaved into my hard trials.  I know I need to be better at finding them, seeing them and learning from them.  I suppose what doesn't kill you, really does make you stronger.  Sometimes, I wish there was a less painful way to learn and build character and gain experience, other than going through difficult times (like laying in bed sick.sick.sick for 8 days)!

 

I am so thankful to be up and out of my sick bed today.  Thankful for my amazing Superman husband who took over all my jobs while I was down and out, and for his endless patience and who always takes such good care of me!  Thankful to my parents who called me everyday and cooked dinner for me and my family and delivered it twice, my healer brother and his beautiful blessing he gave to me, my bff for letting me cry it out to her and calling me everyday to check on me, my sisters who are always there to cheer me up (even though one said I looked really bad when we were on face-time on our iPhones - hee hee)... I am so incredibly blessed.  How do people get through it without such a support system?  I am a lucky girl, for sure.  Now bring on springtime and feeling good!!  Our health is truly our greatest wealth.  I hope I don't ever take it for granted. 

A love letter.

Dear Chad,

(Whenever I hear this song, I can't help but think of us!)  So, in the words of Uncle Kracker and in honor of February (the month for lovers) and Valentines Day (my favorite holiday!):  

You're better than the best.

I'm lucky just to linger in your light.

  Cooler than the flip side of my pillow, that's right.

  Completely unaware.

Nothing can compare to where you send me, lets me know that it's okay!

 And the moments when my good times start to fade... you make me smile like the sun,

fall out of bed, sing like a bird, dizzy in my head,

spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night.

  You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe, shine like gold, buzz like a bee.

  Just the thought of you can drive me wild.

  I see the best of me inside your eyes... you make me smile!

I love you.  I love our life together.  19 years ago, we dreamed of getting married.  We dreamed of having a house full of children who would need kisses and tickles and talks.  We dreamed of traveling and new adventures.  We dreamed of creating new traditions and making amazing memories to last us a lifetime.  Those dreams have come true.  Thank you for your positive light and for always making me smile.          

(Me + Superman)

And now as our life together moves on, we have new dreams...

exciting, crazy, wonderful ones!

I. can't. wait.

xoxo

My Project 52. Week Four.

week four

SUPER GIRL SHAYE!

My Project 52. Week Three.

week three

A gorgeous January sunset.

My view out my kitchen window, almost every night. 

Pizza anyone?

(The biggest pizza we have ever seen!)

A few weeks ago, we met up with Grandpa Rich (Chad's Dad) for some pizza and a little Christmas celebration/lunch.  We ordered a pizza that was GINORMOUS ~ (see photo above...) and it made for a lot of laughs and a delicious lunch as well.  We are always happy to be able to spend time with Rich.  This man has survived colon cancer, major surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.  We feel lucky that he is still here with us today to tell the tale.

 (Christmas money from Grandpa!)

Life is too short for drama or petty things, so laugh hard, love truly and forgive quickly.  
Live while you are alive!  Forgive now those who made you cry.  
You might not get a second chance! 

We are always grateful for second chances around here!

More of the Tanner family holiday shenanigans coming up soon!

My Project 52. Week One.

week one

Happy New Year from California!

Its a brand new year!  And I am going to document this new year, in a new way.  Follow me on a journey of one photograph a week for a whole year - my project 52.  Its a project for me.  Shooting.just.for.me.  Wow.  I remember that.  barely.  I have neglected shooting my own personal work, but no more.  I am letting my creativity soar to new heights.  I am releasing the pressure to please anyone else.  I am staying true to myself and my own vision ~ expressing myself through my photographs.  I am following my passions.  I am documenting my beautiful life.  I am letting the inspiration flow freely and getting back to what moved me to become a photographer in the first place.  I am excited!

At the end of the year, I plan to create a book from my collection of photographs from this project.  I will share my project 52 weekly photograph with you every Friday.  Thanks for coming along on this journey with me!  What new ideas ~ traditions ~ projects are you taking on this year?

Happy New Year!

It's the new year already?  How did that happen?  Is your life flying by, as fast as mine seems to be?  Its just a roller-coaster ride and I am holding on tight and enjoying the ride!

Since getting home from my trip to Mississippi (yes, I still need to blog about that) I dove right back into work, family, and my calling as Young Women President.  Therefore, my blog has been a bit neglected, but something has to give, right?

In a perfect world, I would have time to blog about:  Me, Chad and the kids sitting 8th row at the Jazz game, our delicious Thanksgiving holiday - specifically my pumpkin pie and Chad's amazing turkey, Caden shooting his first Elk, Jordan's broken toe, saying good-bye to our cousin Logan who is a missionary now, our failed winter family photo shoot in the cold/rain/snow, Christmas countdowns all over the house made by my darling children, Jordan singing another solo with his guitar in the assembly at WHS - he rocked!, losing 10 pounds and buying my first pair of skinny jeans, spending time in the temple with my darling young women and my two boys!, a December full of parties and festivities spent with people we love, the biggest pizza you have ever seen, a beautiful and wonderful and delicious and quiet Christmas eve with my favorite people, a magical Christmas morning filled with wide eyes and surprises and yes, some happy tears.... , and our amazing trip to California where we spent our winter holidays.


As I reflect on this past year, I am filled with gratitude for all the blessings that fill up my life to overflowing.  We are filling every year with some pretty amazing memories and traditions.  After all, that's what its all about, right?  Living your life.  I am so truly blessed and I am thankful for every single bit of it.  I am so proud of what we have accomplished this past year!  I get so excited as I write my goals for the new year, and think of all the amazing possibilities that are waiting for us.  Happy New Year!!

  (our Happy New Year card that will be mailed out today!)

Today.

Reading with my little Shaye-Shaye.   Its a favorite part of my afternoon.   I watch her face.   She is beautiful.   She is smart.   You can almost see her brain learning.  She is my baby.   And my heart loves her so much.  Its a wonderful winter afternoon when I get to curl up with her and read a few good books on my big king size bed and let the afternoon sun pour in on us and warm us a bit. 

(Shaye reading to me - "If you give a Cat a Cupcake" - one of our favorites.)

Now off to finish the rest of my day, which includes:
~ cleaning up the house
~ picking up the children from various places around town
~ making dinner
~ listening to some of my favorite Christmas songs, while I work around the house
~ helping little Gabi with her science experiment
~ pondering on my upcoming talk in Sacrament meeting
~ bathing little girls and kissing them and tucking them in tight
~ starting another load of laundry, and thinking about the mounds to be folded and put away
~ doing another load of dishes
~ admiring my lovely Christmas tree glowing in the evening hours
~ and hopefully ~ curling up with Chad to watch Survivor from last night

How do you spend your afternoons?  Are you as blessed as me?

My Sis.

A few weeks ago, my sister Cindee brought her darling little Corey out for a photo shoot.  I can't tell you how much these 2 people mean to me!  I honestly can't imagine life without them.  She is always up for an adventure with me!

She has always supported me 100% in everything I do, and in fact, she was one of many who encouraged me to become a professional photographer... AND, true story, she and her husband designed my first website and surprised me with it one day when business cards showed up in my mailbox, with my name and info, and a website address - ( jennifer lynne photography, at the time) - and you can imagine how surprised I was when I clicked on there and found a website devoted to my photography.  "Jenny, you are so talented with that camera, you should be doing this professionally!" she said.  Well, that was about 4 or 5 years ago now, and the rest is history. 

We have a lot of laughs together and I love her to death.  Her little mister is a mini version of my Dad, and he is just about the cutest baby boy you'll ever meet with a personality to match. 

I hope everyone is lucky enough to have a sister or friend like Cindee in their lives!  You can see more of her and Corey's shoot over on The Shoot Shoppe Blog!

Feeling Creative.

I have been in such a creative mood lately!  My mind and body just want to create, create, create.  I have channeled some of that energy into redesigning and refreshing my blog!  I am loving my new look!  What do you think?  I am hoping to change up my flash header with new pics of my kids at every season.  Wouldn't that be lovely?

I also spent some of my weekend planting 300 spring bulbs into my front gardens.  Oh boy, I can't wait for spring!  My yard will be blooming with crocuses, tulips, daffodils and irises.

I am in such a nesting mood as well.  It must have something to do with the temperature dropping and the looming winter ahead.  The yard is almost winterized.  We have pulled out all the garden plants and put down our winter fertilizer.  The last few days, it has rained and rained.  This new cold weather has led me to:  turn on my heater, curl up in a blanket and watch some epic movies, make fall treats (so far we have devoured: chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, caramel apples and caramel popcorn - yum.), pull out my favorite sweaters and boots, and decorate my house for the holidays.

Yesterday was Sunday and it was FULL of inspiration.  I just love Sundays, don't you?

And here is a good example of why you should (or shouldn't) leave your camera out for your 13 year old son to find.  You never know what you will see when you download your pics...

 

Happy Monday!

The Dog Days of Summer.

Oh Summer. 

Glorious Summer.
I love you so.
Why do you come and go so fast?

We had SO MUCH FUN this summer.

My top ten twelve summer 2010 memories are:

1.  Birthday parties! Some of which included:  a cool party at Chick-fil-a, a sweet kickball game at the park and a jam session in the backyard.  The Tanner kids are all a year older.

2.  A major house remodel.  WE ARE LOVING OUR NEW LOOK!

3.  Camping - Amazing Flaming Gorge, Gorgeous Idaho and the Beautiful Uintahs.

4.  Fireworks with Friends.  ITS THE BEST.

5.  Spending ALL DAY at Boondocks - just me, Chad and the kids.  And laughing.  A LOT.

6.  Picking raspberries.  And eating them.  YUM.

7.  SWIMMING!  And lots of it.

8.  A weekend get-away to Las Vegas for our 18th wedding anniversary!  WHAT? 

9.  More swimming.

10.  A new adventure... Young Women's President!  WHAT? 

11.  Watching Jordan live his dream of front row Jack Johnson on his 17th birthday.

12.  Boating and playing at the Lake.

And here some pics of my sweet summer memories:

(Jordan wake boarding at Flaming Gorge)

(Shaye was finally talked into driving her own car on the race track at Boondocks!)

(Non-stop laughing at Boondocks - oh ya - and Cade had a mullet for about a week.  It was sweet.)

(Miss Gabrielle perfecting her high dive jump.)

(Me and Superman on our 18th Wedding Anniversary in Las Vegas)

(Our awesome house remodel - credit goes to Superman - isn't he amazing?)

(Jordan a.k.a. Jacks #1 fan, and Minden, FRONT ROW at the Jack Johnson concert on Jordan's 17th Birthday.  And yes, Jack wished him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY from the stage.  Needless to say, it was a very happy birthday and according to him - the best one yet.)

(Me and my cutie sis Cindee - enjoying Jack Johnson a little farther back.  Love my sisters.  LOVE.)

(One proud mama, with her A.MAZING Boy at the Jack Johnson show.  Man I love this kid.)

(Swimming.  Swimming.  And more Swimming.)

(Shaye and Luke - cousins - enjoying a soda and swimming at the Lake.)

(Caden skiing at the Lake.  LOVE this kid too.  What a smile!)

(Savana and Gabi - cousins and BEST FRIENDS - holding on for dear life.)

(Hot summer nights, jam sessions and songs around the fire, and don't forget the perfect s'more.)

Farewell Dog Days of Summer.
I will miss you.

Chad Rocks.

Yes. He. Does.

In all senses of the word.

He is cool, and does amazing things - (he is Superman, after all,)

but this summer - He rocked!  

Our house, that is.  

And he did an amazingly beautiful job.

This is our cute house BEFORE.

(the Tanner house BEFORE)

(The very beginning of construction)

(In the back - the start of construction and tar paper and wire)

Our house had siding before... we wanted to update it - give it a NEW look!

So off we went.  Are we crazy?

YES!

You haven't figured that out yet?

The first step was to repair all the siding, take off the wood borders 

and then cover the entire house with black tar backing paper and wire.  

We hired this part out - the guys who did our prep and Stucco did AMAZING WORK.

Seriously.  Amazing.

(Our black house - Caden wanted to keep it black!)

(Under Construction!  Let the mess and Chaos begin...)

Chad had the fun job of painting all our doors - 

as well as painting all of the soffit & fascia, all the trim and rain gutters.

(Me taking pictures and hoping I like what paint color I chose.  Chad is hoping, too!)

(Our Cement house!  One step closer!)

The next step was our stucco cement coat.  

It was funny to hear people ask if this is the color the house would be.  

Um, No.  

This is only the first coat!  

Again, the Stucco guys - AMAZING WORK.

Next comes the color coat!

And let me just tell you - it was HARD to pick a stucco color.

The color of your entire home!

Once you decide there is no going back.

I had a vision in my head - and I really wanted it to turn out perfect.

AND IT DID!

(See, I told you, Chad rocks!)

Now that the stucco is finished, its Chads turn.

Time to ROCK!

 

He spent many, many, many, many, many (you get the idea) hours rocking!

He also had A LOT of people (strangers and people we know)

stop their cars and rave over how good it was looking - 

tons of people asked for his business card!

(Um, I'm just the homeowner, he would say...)

We moved our lives outside, so we could spend time with him, while he rocked.

(The back of the house - FINISHED!)

And so, after 2 months (it seemed like 2 years), tons and tons of long hot days and late nights,

a million trips to The Home Depot, spending hours debating over colors, 

bugging and bugging friends and family for honest opinions, 

lots of sleepless nights, sore backs, broken tools, chaos, messes, blood, sweat and tears,

and pizza for dinner way too much...

Here it is:

 

OUR NEW HOUSE.

(the Tanner house - AFTER)

(Chad's rock work. - Amazing huh?)

Chad Rocks.

YES. HE. DOES.