4th of july 2018 || suncadia

boy oh boy. 

the fourth was daysss ago. 

like  f i v e  days ago. 

but for us it feels like it has just ended.

the never ending holiday. but definitely NOT complaining! cause it was so so great :)

we made a getaway of the fourth. left tuesday morning and just got back home saturday afternoon. we’ve made this trip to suncadia over the 4th two years in a row now, along with some very best friends of ours. after we had so much fun vacationing together with our families last summer, we knew we had to try our best to make this summer happen too. there’s a high chance this could become an annual thing!

each of our families have two kiddos (making four) and we're both expecting our number threes this fall! so before we know it there are going to be six babes between us!

it's so fun to grow our families together. 

harper + aubrey are only two months apart.

tanner + adelynn, 8 months.

and these next tiny ones will be only a month apart!
we somehow didn't manage to take a whole group shot! ;( but the kids will do!

we looked around a little bit at houses to rent that would fit our families and ended up going with the exact house that we had stayed in the year before. 

we got to thinking- why change something that isn't broken.

it was so fun to reminisce on the memories we had had over the fourth of july last year. and to experience some of the same this year around too!

we turn the temp down on the hot tub and the kiddos use it as a pool all day every day.
last year harper + aubrey lived in here.
this year they had to make room for tanner boy to join too!

matching jams + all the festiveness we could manage!

besties from birth. and now til the end of time.

they lived on otterpops from morning til night. 

these colorless ones (i found at costco) were soooo great! mess/stain/stress free ;)

jacob giving the 'serious' low-down on the rules to the fireworks.

haha i can't even take him serious (at least they did!) ;)

the line up for their pop-its to throw.

so fun seeing tanner being a "big kid" right in the middle of the girls!

kids kept jumping into this picture, and it just kept getting cuter and cuter :)

P H O T O  D U M P
of all the others :)

 

 

  we all came back with our cups so full along with a handful of mosquito bites each ;)

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

summer lovin' in MARCH

oh how the last two days have just filled our spirits!

yesterday's high was 62 and today is 70! such an unexpected surprise that we were SOOO wiling to welcome. our typical this time of year is in the 50s mixed with some rain and some sun here and there. such a tease into summer that we were so happy to have!

with real estate, brandon almost always takes sundays off. it's our time as a family. not always an easy thing to do with the demands of being a realtor, but that's our day. where we can fit in going to church, spending quality time as a family, as well as some rest + relaxation.
so that being said, i was SO happy when this gorgeous day fell on a SUNDAY!

brandon had to work some today (monday) in the am and the afternoon, but was able to squeeze some time where he could be with the kids and I again. it was the best!
we filled both these 'summer-like' days down at point ruston on the waterfront. we brought the wagon along, walked, played on the playground, grabbed some lunch from the jewel box cafe to eat outside on the bench in the sun, ice cream, and followed up with long naps!

 we're anxious for you, summer!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Cannon Beach, OR || summer 2017

family getaways are getting better and better as our family grows and as we return back to the same places. the memories we make, and getting to repeat our destination makes for an extra special little place in our hearts. 

we went to Cannon Beach, OR for the first time as a family of THREE last year when I was pregnant with tanner. and to have gone back the following summer and tanner is actually there with us.. just warms my heart.

this trip was a last minute thing, but it was all just as fun had it been something we had planned for months. we knew we wanted to make the 3ish hour drive there again this summer, but we didn't anticipated it'd be in the plans only two days before going!

because of that (and it being the busiest weekend EVER-- labor day weekend!) we just barely found lodging. we stayed two nights, and each night was in a different room :) I think we literally got the last available rooms in the whole town.

we were honestly fine with it, because all that mattered was that we were THERE!

and harper actually got soooo excited with each room and exploring it. like the second we walked in the door, her three year old energy just EXPLODED!

honest to goodness, there is nothing more special to me than spending time with my little family. all four of us.
as much work that there is to come along with traveling with a one year old and three year old.. it is absolutely worth it.
these two do so well. we make sure our days are flexible with little to no big plans. if a nap needs to happen, we just spend a little time going for a drive. which brandon and I actually LOVE doing. it kinda becomes like a little bit of date haha! quiet time, just him + i :)

we took this same picture, in the same spot last summer.
last year's picture HERE!
we would've included tanner here, but he had fallen asleep in the stroller :)
salt water TAFFY!!

sunsets over the ocean are spectacular!
and pictures just never do them enough justice.

harper every time she found something she liked... "take a quick picture of me like this!"

the afternoon spent at the beach-- definitely everyone's most favorite part of the weekend!
both kiddos we in heaven.
tanner jumped right to playing in the sand as if it's a thing he's done a hundred times. pure boy ;)
and harper. poor girl, I forgot to pack her swimsuit along!! #MOMFAIL
she still had a great attitude about it though and thankfully it didn't ruin the moment. cause those moms of three year olds... you know how something like that can just ruin a moment, right?? ;)

this ocean water on the pacific northwest coast is anything but warm. SO COLD!
but harper could care less.
if we would've let her, she would have been out there swimming in it.
in her makeshift swimsuit and all ;)

we had pizza for dinner both nights and we would've had it again for a third if we'd stayed longer :)
it was that good.

CLEARLY tanner boy agrees with me on that! ;)

ice cream three times in the two and half days we were there.
birthday cake with sprinkles was harper's go-to. in a cone. of course.

until next summer cannon beach!!

I can't wait to see what changes come in the next year for our family and how much these littles grow and learn.

our next family getaway will be planned for Suncadia just before christmas. I'm already looking forward to it. it'll be our THIRD year making that trip.

--last christmas, suncadia HERE--

--and the photo every hour post of that trip HERE--

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth