our big announcement

wow, ok, so i am really far behind in my blogging.
besides the annibirthary blog & the prayer request i posted, i am over a month behind.
a lot, a LOT has gone on in the stephens family in the last month or so, and i have SO much to blog about.
but right now i will give you the quick run-down of what has taken place since the family reunion:

*dathan & i helped at the church's vbs while sean attended the preschool one & nolan went to the nursery
*dathan & i got to speak & share our life story to the marriage matters sunday school class
*we went to a big summer party for my dad's work
*sean & i went on a date to paint a dream
*dathan surprised me with flowers & a night away in a hotel w/ no kids
*we went to manteca (5 hours north of here) for 5 days to visit friends
*there were big wildfires several miles from my parents house & i had to help a friend pack up & evacuate her family from their home
*dathan went to my cousin's to work for 4 days (the boys & i stayed here)
*my mom & i got our hair done
*my dad broke his toe (really badly)
*we went on a 5 day camping trip with the marriage matters class at the church here and had the time of our lives
*we had some great friends come and visit from a few hours north of here
*we threw sean a big toy story birthday party
*signed sean up for preschool (sniff sniff, he starts the day after labor day, just 2 days a week)
*i have done 5 photo shoots
*i had to look through my pictures to remember most of these because we have been so busy it's been hard to keep track of everything, let alone blog about it!

but most importantly, our big announcement for all who have read to the bottom to find it....



no, we are not pregnant (sorry to disappoint so many of you!)......



after much prayer & confirmation we are going to be living here, in (the antelope valley) california, permanently!!!!

such a hard decision to come to and it definitely didn't come without a lot of prayer, fasting, and seeking. we have realized that God has been setting us up in the last 6 months for just this... to move... and that we have so much we can do for Him here. we are still praying about the 'minor' details- things like work, a place to live, & getting all of our stuff from alabama to here ;) but we know that this is where God has called us & He is going to provide for our every need. i cannot wait to share with everyone our testimony of God's provision when all of our needs are met!!!

so for now i am going to leave it at that... i am sleepy. and i will catch up the blog on all of our fun family adventures. but for now i will leave you with something that is sure to brighten your day :)

heading down the highway...

the 101 to be exact!
as we were driving home from paso robles we decided to take the 101, which is the scenic route, home! we took our time and made a couple little stops. our first one was in solvang.

solvang is a little danish town that has a bunch of shops and places to eat. it's so cute! unfortunately for us, it is not the most kid-friendly area around. mainly because there is nothing all too fun for young children to do. the most exciting part of our stop was the balloon that nolan got in one of the shops. so, needless to say, we didn't stay very long.

heading back out to the highway we saw an ostrich farm so we pulled over to snap a couple photos and show the boys.

we drove a little further through so many beach towns i LOVE & we stopped in santa barbara. we parked right next to the sand and walked over towards the pier.

isn't it beautiful there? i love how the mountains meet the ocean!

there was this "homeless" man making statues out of sand. i use "homeless" loosely because i know there are a lot of people who pretend to be homeless because they earn more money that way (not saying he did, just saying...). anyways, this was so random i had to take a picture! the sign says "obama's not the only one who wants change" (well that's subtle... they had buckets for people to put money in all over the place!). then there is a seal sitting on a sandcastle with two sharks coming towards him... but the sharks have elmo heads? what the heck?? HA!

we found a little candy shop on the pier and sean was happy because we got some pez refills for the toy story pez dispensers uncle b gave him.

this was so sweet! they were all holding hands walking back to the car :)

i had to snap a picture while driving home... there's nothing like driving down the freeway and looking out of your window & seeing nothing but ocean! i love california! :)

family reunion: part IV

When we left Cambria a bunch of us drove about 15 minutes north on Hwy 1 to go view the elephant seals. Of course, on the way there Sean fell asleep so my dad stayed with him in the car while the rest of us got out to go see (it was my mom, younger brother Timmy, aunt Julie, cousin Korrie, Dathan, Nolan, & myself). Here is Nolan riding on "Uncle B's" shoulders heading out to see the elephant seals. Yes, my brother Timmy is "Uncle B," even though I have a brother whose name starts with B. Brian is not "Uncle B" but Timmy is. We just like to confuse everyone! Actually when Sean was learning to talk he would try to say "Uncle Timmy" but it would always come out "Uncle B" so it kinda stuck :)

Here they are... just laying out on the beach! There are a TON of them and (you can't really tell by the picture) they are HUGE. Some of them move... but not far, and not fast (it took one about 30 minutes to get from his spot in to the water). When they get hot they use their fins to fling sand on their backs. So funny!

My cousin Korrie on the boardwalk being a dork (in other words pretending to be Kate from Titanic)

Dathan & Timmy showing Korrie how it's really supposed to be done

Nolan had a blast!

Ok so these two random crows were sitting on this log, and my cousin Korrie & I somehow made up personalities & names for them, and then went on to have an entire crow conversation. Meet Russell and Cheryl... a married couple who were having communication problems. Russell also had wandering eyes and wanted to watch the seagulls but Cheryl wanted him to cuddle and pay attention to her. I know you all probably think I'm crazy now, but it was really funny at the time (I'm sure it's one of those "you had to be there" things).

So sweet!

While walking on the boardwalk looking at the elephant seals we ran into family! Ha! Some of the extended family from the reunion had also ventured to the same place and we just happened to meet up with them.

We left and went back to my aunt and uncle's house to just relax for a bit and say goodbye. Can you feel the love?

My cousin Mandi and her husband John (and boys) were about to leave so we had to get a shot of all 4 of the kids together. It's so fun that we both have 2 boys each and they are all close in age- Sean (almost 4), Jacob (3.5), Nolan (16 months), Aaron (15 months). How cute are they??

And a sweet shot of the "big boys." I should try to find the last photo I took of the two of them together- I think Sean was about 10 months and Jacob was about 4 months.

We were going to leave to drive home but then we got talked into going out to dinner with everyone and then staying the night at my cousin Josh & Dana's house that night... so we did :) We went out to a little Mexican place in downtown Paso (I am NOT a Mexican food fan) and we had a fun time just hanging out.

It was a long weekend, but a lot of fun. It was nice to meet family that I've never met before, and "re-meet" family that I hadn't seen since I was 14 (the last family reunion I was at) or 2 (which I think is the only other one I've been to?). I may be a dork, but I enjoy learning family history & how/why we're all related to each other.

family reunion: part III

The last day of the family reunion was a long, but very fun one. You can't start your day without a healthy breakfast!

We drove from Paso Robles to Cambria, which is a sweet & quiet little town on the coast (only about a 30 minute drive). Cambria is beautiful and so is the drive there! This photo was taken from the car on the way- isn't it beautiful how there are just mountains and then right on the other side is the ocean?

It was very cold at the beach, but we still had a great time! Sean was enjoying the view from the steps ;)

Family members walking along the beach. If you look almost directly in the middle of the photo (in the background) there was this random wedding on the beach that day... about 7 people there total and the ceremony lasted no more than 10 minutes! ha!

Not quite the white, sandy beaches of the Gulf

Our lovely attempt at a family picture. I've definitely seen worse, but this won't be getting framed any time soon ;)

My sister-in-law, Candace. She is so cute and had so much fun with Nolan! She's a great aunt!

Now this one is cute! We may have to get a frame for this photo ;)

Sisters! I'm so thankful my brother married such a great girl who is so much fun, gets along great with all of our family, and we just love!

My cousin Josh & his wife Dana walking along the coast... they are just too cute!

We found a PURPLE starfish! EEEK! So exciting!

Dathan, the rock climber

We spent several hours on the beach, having a picnic lunch, playing on the playground, walking along the water, and exploring the rocks (looking for starfish & crabs). It was really a great and relaxing time. Most of the family left from there, but those of us who decided to stay went to a couple other places.... (which you will have to wait to see. ha!)

family reunion: part II

We started day 2 of the family reunion doing what every kid loves to do in a hotel room- jumping on the bed! Ha! Actually I believe this shot is when Dathan threw Sean across the room onto the bed... fun times!

We headed out to Steinbeck Vineyards for a fun day outside. My aunt & uncle are good friends with the Steinbeck family and we have had many gatherings at this very place (my cousin's wedding reception, my aunt & uncle's 50th birthday party, etc). It was a beautiful day- not hot, and not chilly either... just perfect!

There was plenty of beer & wine (which Dathan & I didn't take advantage of because we don't drink LOL) as well as home brewed root beer (dathan loved it). The picture of the beverages in the bucket cracks me up because there is wine, water, soda, and juice boxes all in there! Something for everyone, I suppose ;)

My cousin Josh & his wife Dana grilled lunch for everyone. Dana was in charge of the corn on the cob and it was AMAZING. Oh. My. Goodness. She made some concoction of butter, garlic, & parsley (I think?), slathered it on the cobs, and then grilled them. Delicious!

Dathan also helped Josh grill the food. There was venison, and (my personal favorite) tri-tip! I especially appreciated the tri-tip because they DO NOT SELL IT IN ALABAMA. Nobody knows what I'm talking about when I talk about how my favorite cut of steak is tri-tip. (apparently they DO sell that cut in the south they just call it something else... but nobody buys it and they certainly don't grill it like we do in California). The food was soooo yummy!

This is the little "common area" where we hung out during the day. There were places you could go fish (we didn't), and there was a wine tasting room open (we didn't go there either) and then this open area with tables and people and food and kids running around :)

Someone brought a huge piece of poster board so we could try to figure out all the branches of the family tree. I worked on our part for awhile- Joyce & Troy are my grandparents (it was my grandma's side of the family that was having this reunion). Then they wrote down all of their kids (my mom, the 4th born, & her 2 brothers and 2 sisters). Then I went through and filled out the spouses, children, children's spouses, and our own children. Wow. That was just one little part of the tree!

While Nolan was taking a nap then Dathan, Sean, my brother Timmy, & myself decided to go take a walk around the vineyards. Timmy is a photographer too so we were loving all of the wonderful things we could capture around the vineyard.

Sean was trying to cut in the picture of me & Dathan ;) And I got a cute photo of myself w/ Sean (for once! ha!)

After we got done eating a bunch of the kids decided to play baseball. Sean has never played a "real" baseball game before and he sat and listened so well while Anthony (my mom's cousin's daughter's husband... got that? ha!) taught him how to hit the ball. For his first time playing without a tee he did REALLY well... he kept hitting the ball! He would get more and more excited and he finally hit a "home run" on their little field. As you can see in the last picture (which you may have seen on my photo blog already) that he got so excited he jumped in the air and threw the bat up above his head. The only problem was, well... gravity... the bat came right back down and hit him on the head! :( He was crying, I think more out of embarrassment than anything, but he got over it really quickly and went on playing with the kids!

We went back to the hotel and rested for awhile then my family all went to downtown Paso Robles to get some Cold Stone :) Yum! These pictures crack me up- me & my fam, my parents, Brian & his wife Candace, and then Timmy & his "this spot needs to be filled with a real person" pole ;)

family reunion: part I

In the middle of July there was a family reunion for my mom's mom's side of the family ;) It was in Paso Robles, which is near the central coast of California (in "wine country"). My aunt & uncle live there and hosted the reunion this year. It started on a Friday evening but we had gotten there on Thursday so we had all day on Friday to hang out. We ended up driving to Morro Bay, which is only about 30 mins from Paso. It was cold at the beach! The water was freezing, the air chilly, & the breeze was cool... yet there were still people swimming!

This is Morro Rock. Isn't it beautiful and different? This is a favorite place of mine, I just think it's beautiful here!

There were squirrels everywhere and they were FAT. I mean, honestly... they have gotten more than their fair share of human food! This one was eating an M&M.

If you look in front of Nolan here you can see a seagull- he LOVED them. He plopped himself down right here and was perfectly content watching & pointing at " da buuuuuwds" (as he would say)

I cannot believe it... a miracle took place while we were at the beach! BOTH of my boys sat near each other, sat still, and (sort of) looked at the camera for a picture. This a momentous occasion. You would think since I am a photographer my kids would be used to getting their picture taken & cooperate but that is not the case... they usually run the other way when I get my camera out & it takes me at least 20 tries before I get something decent. This was the 3rd picture I snapped and I am in love :)

Right after I snapped the above picture a squirrel ran right up to them (in fact if you look closely you can see it entering the frame above on the bottom right hand corner). I actually love this picture too, it's just adorable how they are both looking at the squirrel!

The boys wanted to put their feet in the water until they realized how cold it was. Sean had fun playing "chase" with the waves & running away from them whenever they would break on shore.

Don't they look thrilled to be taking a photo with their mommy? Yeah, they are more upset that I am making them stand still but in all honesty I believe I said (out of frustration) at some point that day "I give up! I will never have a cute picture of me & both boys and I am just going to have to get used to that!" Ha! I suppose there will be a day when they will be old enough to sit still & smile for a picture with me... but isn't that the same age that they become embarrassed of their moms?? Sigh. Maybe my boys will never be embarrassed of me (wishful thinking & a far-fetched idea, I know, but a girl can dream!)

Dathan, on the other hand, has about a gazillion great photos of himself with the boys (of course I'm not jealous!)

Nolan decided to see what sand tasted like. You can see how he felt about that...

Sean was being "crawly sand monster dude" or something like that. He's very creative with his super-hero names he comes up with ;)

We left Morro Bay and headed to my aunt & uncle's house for the family's meet & greet dinner. My cousin Mandi also has 2 sons who are very close in age to my boys (in fact these two are only 3 weeks apart) and it was fun to watch them play together. Here are the two water babies sharing Buzz Lightyear.

People. Talking & Eating. Very exciting ;)

I'm not sure how two very goofy people (aka myself & Dathan) could produce such a serious child, but I love it!

See? We were really excited to be there ;)

So was Sean!

Really all of my photos from that night are of my siblings & cousins. We were all sitting together eating and snapping goofy pictures of everyone or trying to photo bomb each other. My cousin Korrie (who is 18) LOVES the camera and so I have enough photos to do an entire post of just her ;) We all have a lot of fun when we get together. My (1st) cousins & my brothers & I are all really close in age (The oldest is 31 & the youngest is 18) so it's fun to be in the same place in life as each other, even though personality wise we are all so different (but like to be goofy & have fun).

Oh yeah, they had everyone wear name tags so we could try to put names with faces. We decided to write how we were related to the "matriarchs" of the family (my grandma & her aunt were the most mature family members there). We call my grandma "Big Hair" so all of us grandkids wrote something about "Big Hair" on ours (mine said "Erica: Big Hair's middle daughter's only daughter"). Then all the in-laws wrote something along the lines of "Dathan: Married into this mess." It was really funny... maybe you had to be there?