sisters – Catching Caterpillars

blueberry picking…

Kollene — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 16:11:00 +0000

Julien’s first family outing was something to remember…

we went blueberry picking.

What a fun adventure. It was just perfect. We set out one morning out east to a little farm. It was so quiet and still… peaceful! You could hear the bees buzzing… the breeze wooshing the trees. My parents met us out there to fill a basket as well. The berries were just delicious! I think we ate more than we plucked but according to the farmers, that was ok. haha.

That night Cecilia told me she was so glad that Julien’s first trip was to pick blueberries… it’s something we would always remember.

That night after we made a blueberry pie, we had a big backyard fire with hooded sweatshirts and chocolate s’mores. I sat in a cozy chair and held Julien with the most beautiful view…

Bubbles!

Kollene — Tue, 13 May 2014 17:23:00 +0000

Remember when you were little and had no cares… no cares but maybe if the bubbles would ever run out… watching children could possibly be one of the most lightest things… just beautiful!.. when they are your own and you feel that lightness for them it’s just the best…

that joy when you finally blew a really big bubble… how happy your heart feels… yep… I felt it.

when you finally catch one… then it burst! then you keep trying… and trying…

and the bubbles follow you all over… again and again…

some days it’s ok to just forget to brush your hair… go through an entire bottle of bubble juice… wear clothes that you found in the laundry basket… because you really wanted to wear that dirty shirt… it’s not too dirty… sometimes it’s ok to just be little…

more Christmas time snippets…..

Kollene — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 20:38:00 +0000

Christmas and all of it’s spun together web takes little bits here and little bits there to make a beautiful web… today… I finally feel caught up to date with my pictures…

I say that as I’m posting Christmas pictures… but being a Virgo… can drive one crazy but it’s ok.. hahaha…

it’s hard as a photographer… I try to only take one picture at a time… really feel the picture as I take it… and make sure it’s right… some people ask me how do I ever feel in the moment being a photographer… do you constantly take pictures and never really feel present… it’s completely opposite for me… I promise! I would have no pictures if I felt differently! being a photographer makes me constantly see things… a flour dusted table with dough cutouts… little girls reading a story to their elf that they believe in with all of their hearts… I see these things as beautiful moments… that I have to capture… or else my heart may explode… I have to freeze it so much for just a second longer… because it is… so beautiful. I see it… I smile.. I grab my camera… watching the moment through the lens feels so right and … really… seeing it… I snap… then put it away… that’s all… and now looking back today on almost 8 years of being a mamma… going through so many photo albums neatly organized and labeled to look at every day… and I am so damn happy I take these moments and document them all… because now I live it over and over and over again… I remember every day… clearly… in focus… and beautifully! and yes it is a pain in the ass organizing each season and backing up onto hard drives… but it’s part of me… and I wouldn’t want it any other way…

I know one day my girls will look back on images like these… in their underpants entangled in little girl magic of being sisters that love each other more than my heart can handle… I know they will love looking back at memories with me when they are grown…

this winnie the pooh jacket was mine when I was her age… every time she wears it it takes me back to being her age… I remember getting the zipper stuck in my hair… I remember the way it smelled like my parent’s old cedar chest… I think it still even does…

Jog-a-Thon

Kollene — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 18:02:00 +0000

magical forest hike…

Kollene — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 07:08:00 +0000

ahhh… there is nothing quite like a good forest… the thud you feel below your feet… making you wonder what’s happening below the mossy ground… The way the moss covers the big rocks like a big blanket of beauty. Our girls always become magical fairies… their curiosity makes our hearts so light. Letting children go explore a forest… something bigger than they can imagine… it’s fantastic! Every hollow tree become a place where possibly a fairy slept the night before… do you think she took her things with her and moved to another home. what’s that… a snail trail… could have been left over from the pixie dust… where do the trolls live… are trolls and fairies friends. can trolls fly… do the fairies help them… with the sparkly fairy dust… I want to be a fairy when I grow up… me too…

the braids are growin…

Kollene — Wed, 29 May 2013 19:59:00 +0000

these little braids are growing… I remember the day I could finally put little piggy tails in our girl’s hair and now they have braids… long braids…

these little girls are growing and so is my heart… our oldest is finishing 1st grade and reading books!

they still are little… and we will let them be as long as they want to…

we are looking forward to summer… trying to slow down is our main plan… enjoy this fun little life…

our oldest is doing many things like myself… it feels like I was little just a bit ago… I remember the things I would say… the dreams I would dream… and I am often finding her dreaming and thinking the same… it’s quite funny how that happens.
I was a pretty happy kid and still am :-)… but as I watch her grow more and more… gosh, finishing 1st grade oh my!… I see a lot of myself in her… and that makes me so happy.

a pretty little scene we see a lot of lately… little sisters being little friends… cozy nooks… being so close and tucked in that it’s hard to tell them apart…

our snowy trip earlier this year…

Kollene — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:00:00 +0000

It’s so fun looking back at pictures… remembering… smiling.

this was such a fun breakfast we had with our friends…
I just love making eating experiences special… it really doesn’t take much but a little bit of lovin…

I love table cloths… flowers picked from the garden… a bowl of berries… and friends that we care about very much!

Every year we try to get away for New Years! Leading up to Christmas with our business we get quite busy and we feel to actually “get away” helps us totally unwind and spend every bit of our time and fully be there with our children! Being away… unplugging.. nothing to do but play in the snow… tickle our girl’s bellies.. hike.. play cards… run, play… I love every ounce of vacation!

we rented a cabin north Georgia with our fingers crossed for snow… and thank you Mother Nature and the fairies for delivering a pretty blanket of fluffy sparkly snow…
The cabin was amazing! tucked away in a little village with just a few other homes…. mountains in the distance… chimneys puffing…

crinch crunch goes the snow and the frozen grass… there really is nothing like a peaceful quiet winter… is there? That feeling of fresh cold air as you walk outside… the way your cheeks get so cold and your eyes sparkle and tear up… you just can’t help but want to run and play… the winds pick up and your hair gets covered with snowy dew… then wack your children hit Pappa in the head with a snowball… awesome! nice shot!

we are water seekers… always have been… always will be… when we venture to the mountains, lakes and waterfalls are our absolute treasures… we always pull over whenever we see a look out… scenic route… why not… vacation… no hurry… stop… see the scenic routes! find a trail… walk it! get lost!

having Pappa Bear from Sweden we always take a picnic and coffee/hot chocolate with us… always!

you will always find us on the side of a mountain with our coffee thermos and some cookies…

this mountain is super high! Brasstown Bald! one of the highest peeks! and when Mattias and I were into mountain biking we biked this mountain… today… eh em… we take our minivan…
but yes, of course… one day we will come back with our bikes… minus the snow…

but wow, what a view! what a day!

Happy New Year time! So exciting! we lit a lantern and watched it fly up in the sky… a nice way to say good-bye to another year and hello to a new beginning… I always love New Years Eve! I love all of the traditions and I love mostly watching our children through our traditions…. they get as excited as I do…

so when we returned to Florida… we went to visit the mermaids! what a treat for our mermaid loving girls!

this spring was soooo beautiful! look at the color! we even spotted a bald eagle!

always time for a little sister snuggle… Isabelle is such a lover! she has so much love to give so many people but especially her sister… my gosh, she loves her … sometimes too much.
I am always reminded of the cartoon Pepe Le Pew… the way the one just malls the little skunk… it’s so Isabelle… always wants to hug on her sis…

Boston!!!

Kollene — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 20:55:00 +0000

This is Boston!

What an adventure we had!

I was so excited to be asked to photograph a BEAUTIFUL wedding in this amazing place! The couple was the sweetest ever so I just was over the moon!

It is SO VERY important to us to show our girls this world! whenever there is opportunity we go! we let the wind take us!

now one of our girl’s new favorite play times… street band play! ha! They get a few buckets turn them upside down… drum sticks are usually twigs… and then MOST important…….

a hat! (for change of course!)

hilarious!

Mike’s Pastries cannoli….. Enough said!

I think it’s great to let the kids explore a bit… sit back on a bench and let them feel out the city… climb… splash… laugh!

finding our way across to the USS Constitution! what an adventure! Now that Isabelle is older… a big 6 year old for crying out loud! we make her read maps! we let her tell us where to go! she figures out the airports… looks for the terminals… subways… working on time now… it’s so great for kids to not depend on us so much… and hey it’s a great letter and number work right?…

little sister tags right along… insisting on reading the map too… upside down of course!

what a beautiful vacation this was in so many ways…

the city was such a treat!

exploring around trying new things as a family is always my favorite!

These are the special memories that I know they will tote in their hearts forever… and we will too of course.

a little get-away…

Kollene — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:43:00 +0000

such a fun little get-away we had…

sometimes little tiny get-aways are just enough…

we only went an hour away and gosh, I don’t know if I ever felt more relaxed!

after a big giant busy season during the holidays and closely almost losing my mind a handful of times… enough was enough and we had to GET-AWAY!

I know the term stay-cation is great… I wish we could do that!

I mean we do live in paradise!

but something about being at home… we get fidgety and have to keep busy! dishes! vacum!

and then our business likes to over come us… we DO really love what we do… we love to be business owners… but once we start we get consumed by this or that… and before you know it we start a new website!

so for us to really relax and get-away… we NEED to get away!

so we hopped in the car and drove to Tampa!
they have the coolest Children’s Museum!!!

there’s a girl with no nap!!!

then we made it to our hotel room!

There is something so fun about staying at a hotel… I remember it quite well… When I was a kid we would drive to Canada every year and stop on the way… I would love our little stops! The curtains matching the bed spreads… the ice machine… and yes, even once the bed that you put a coin in and it vibrated… oh yes, those were the days!

so to see my girl just as joyed at I remember being takes me back

I love making memories for them to look back on their own lives as I do every day…

it’s what keeps things all together… the knowing that no matter what happens in a day… the memories are sweet and beautiful… and although there are and will be plenty… so many that I don’t know how they can remember each and every one of them… but a bit of a story and some pictures may just help a tad.

we found a grocery store and stocked this beautiful kitchen to the rim with goodies! another thing about being on vacation makes you not mind doing dishes… and makes you fall in love again and again with cooking… and each other!

little things make life much sweeter don’tcha think!?

we really love to cook!

during little sister’s nap Isabelle and I ventured out to go fishing… but sadly the rentable poles needed new string… so instead we looked at little tiny fishies and lost a flip flop!

fika time..

(for those of you that don’t know about fika… let me clue you in…

fika is a very good invention of the Swedes… Sweden consumes the MOST coffee in the WHOLE WORLD! it’s a fact! and everyday around 4ish… it’s fika time! you take a little break and rest and drink some coffee have some goodies and move on with the day… a nice break!)

i love this curl!

that was the salmon I accidently bought for $17 per lb… It was a moment I know you all have been there… when the kids are losing it by the time you make it to the fish counter… one is falling out of the grocery cart… the other is throwing chips in the cart and running further and further from you for the candy… all while the fish man is flustered with you as you have this look on your face that clearly reads… I NEED A GLASS OF WINE…

so you point to salmon and roll with it!

BUT… it was the best damn salmon I have ever had!!!

New Year’s Eve Night!!!

vacation card games… a must!

what a nice weekend get-away…

my favorite part…

Kollene — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:34:00 +0000

my most favorite part of Christmas this year… and maybe ever…
was…
just before bed…
The Excitement!
We set out milk and cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer… then put the magic key outside since we don’t have a chimney…
then we sat just the four of us on our driveway under the stars and moon… we hugged our children tight as can be… and Pappa and my eyes met and we were sparkling happy to be in this moment! I will always remember this moment…
Isabelle whispered quietly…
“Mamma, if you are really quiet and listen hard, you can hear the bells…”
it was so beautiful and sweet all at the same time!
we sat there for a bit and listened for the bells… and we heard them.

Santa Claus came!!!

Santa’s reindeer were quite messy this year!

Uma and Umpa made the coolest tent!

thank you Santa… but my darn foot can’t keep these sweet Toms on my foot… had to return them to the North Pole…

a surprise present for Pappa… he was so happy!

I love every bit of Christmas… my girls make it magical!!!