Saturday, December 14, 2019

suncadia 2019 | photo every hour

.six.
.seven.
.eight.
.nine.
.ten.
.eleven.
.twelve.
.one.
.two.
.three.
.four.
.five.
.six.
.seven.
.eight.

..and then the kids each found their bunk bed (tatum his pack 'n play) and we hit the couch to relax + snack.

Xoxo
-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

our christmas-y weekend-ish

we had a fun, festive, full of christmas spirit weekend!
it's now wednesday, but i'm rolling it all together as our festivities continued on into tuesday evening.
it always seems, and as we all say, this time of year gets so busy. and it's so true. so many additional things added onto our calendars. but it's so good and so fun that we wouldn't have it any other way. we've also come to learn (with three young children especially) that it is not worth doing more beyond what we wish. and to not overcommit ourselves. we tend to lose our fun if it starts feeling more like tasks rather than fun events we are looking forward to.

we started friday night with an adult only outing to the festival of trees. brandon did some sponsorship this year through work and it was a great night out with great friends, for a great cause. supporting the children's hospital is always time and money well spent.
saturday brandon went out to meet up with a few friends so the kids and i held down the house. i was getting everyone ready for bed and put tatum in his crib for him to wait for me while i filled his diffuser. when i walked back into his room these other two little muchkins had climbed in to keep him a little company and were playing around in his bed together. jumping + singing.
PURE JOY.
one of those moments that makes you just stop in your tracks in love and appreciation for the blessings of your children and and all that they are. 
sunday it seems we hit the ground running from the moment we woke. breakfast for everyone, dressed and ready and off to church (only 20 minutes late), and then straight to see santa at the santa brunch at the country club. 
i loved seeing harper and tanner's anticipation to see santa and tell him what they were hoping for this christmas. they were both excited and ready for it when we got there! in years past no one will ever sit on santa's lap so it ends up being a family pic ;) 
harper brought along a letter she had written for santa. inside was written: "thank you for the presents last time" with about twenty hearts drawn out underneath. melt my heart. her sweet spirit. 
first time getting a picture with all the kids and santa (no mom+ dad) ;)
that lasted about half a second so it then became a family picture and i've gotta say, it's not the best we've ever taken haha. but we'll take it. i'm just SHOCKED that tanner of the three was the one to sit on santa's lap! as unhappy as they all may look, there spirts were much happier in reality haha!
that night hit us with a storm and we were hit with a stomach bug. not how any of us would've anticipated the end of our day! it hit us out of no where and was hard, but also short lived- thankfully.
we've had TOO much throwing up in this house this year and i am OVER IT. we're buckling down and getting ourselves back to being on top of taking vitamins and using essential oils on the daily. i swear it matters and makes such a difference- as we haven't ever had so much sickness and we also haven't ever been so relaxed with the use of oils and vitamins.
we were so thankful that the sickness came and went so quickly so that harper could be well beyond 24 hours of being free from symptoms so that we could make her christmas concert for school.
inside and out this girl is beauty and i am so proud at everything she does. i well up at it all. watching her so proudly sing in confidence makes my heart so happy. she is growing quicker than my eyes can even keep up with. but i am 100% her by her side to sit front and center cheering her on.
merry christmas friends + family!
in a couple days we're headed off to suncadia for our annual
 before-christmas family getaway and we are all so looking forward to it! 


Xoxo
-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Fall Family Pictures | 2019

it has been a big fat HOT minute since i've posted here. 
i want to get back to it cause i really do enjoy documenting here.. so we will see!
but this seems to be the greatest place to start :)
i've always posted our pictures from anytime we've had any sort of family pics taken. the last time i did was from when tatum was born (HERE). so nowww since then he has aged a whole year! it's nuts how quickly a year can seem to go by.
so here's our family fall 2019!
thankful for my beautiful people
----------------
Harper Monae
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Tanner Ross
----------------
Tatum Ross
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H+T+T
----------------
Just Us Hjelseths
there we have it. 
i am thankful for this year we've had together as we navigated and learned life as a family of five. 
how sweet it is.
how busy it is.
and how humbling it is.
there's no greater gift in the world i have been given than these people. 

::previous years' family pics::
2015 (HERE)
2016 (HERE)
2017 (HERE + HERE)
2018 (HERE + HERE)

all pictures by the amazingly, talented kristal

Xoxo
-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth