When we were in San Diego, Russ's super talented cousin Amanda took some family photos of Russ's side of the family. It was a fun, crazy photo shoot with lots of moving parts, but luckily we were able to get a handful of good shots. Thanks again Amanda!

She was obsessed with the ocean!

I love, love love this picture of Max. 

I love this shot of Max and his Grandpa Randal. He loves his grandpa so much!!

The whole group!

Russ and his siblings!

My babies! Love them more than words can express.

18 Months!

My sister-in-law is an amazing photographer. Sadly, her and my brother are moving to Seattle this summer, so I wanted to take advantage of her amazing skills before she is gone. Max and Clara are at such a fun age right now, we wanted to capture them at this 18 month stage. The photoshoot went about as one would expect with two 18-monthers, but Bella was still able to capture some great moments. 

All photos by Bella McLaws Photography

Such a good gem :)

Family Pictures!

I am quickly learning that family pictures are a total crapshoot. How will they go!? Who knows! The babies have good naps? Doesn't matter. They are happy 5 seconds before the shoot starts? Oh well. Somehow we have managed to always get one "decent" shot, but it's still totally hit or miss. 

This photo shoot went about as expected - Clara cried for a lot of the time, but like I mentioned, we still managed to get some good shots (to the credit of the photographer, no doubt! Katie Perkes did an awesome job). We did this photo shoot with my side of the family. When I look through these pictures I am reminded, once again, how incredibly blessed I am to not only have my own little family, but to come from an amazing family full of love and laughter. I love these people so much!!

And I must mention the cool location! This photo shoot was already a reschedule due to a crazy windstorm a few weeks prior. And then, wouldn't you know it, the day of our reschedule had bitter cold temperatures! Luckily my sister knew of this awesome abandoned warehouse in Spanish Fork. It had the best light!

Our family has grown!

My parents and their grandbabies (aka the reason they moved from Spokane to Utah this past summer :)). This was just as Clara brought some real tears. haha!

Must. Distract. Keep. Moving. 

Aaaaaand a smile! I love my curly-haired girl.

Max is Mr. Cheese. We can always count on him. :) He warms my heart.

Checking out the scene with Grandpa!

The fab 5. 

I feel so lucky to have the best siblings. I love these two people so much.

 Life sure is good!

National Twin Day?

Apparently yesterday was National Twin Day? I'm not sure who decided that, but to me everyday is twin day! These little babies seem to rule my life, and I'm okay with that. However, in honor of celebrating twins, here is my new favorite picture of these two little crazies.

We were fortunate enough to have the talented Arash Armin come out to our house and take a few pictures of our little family. This is behind our backyard (and our view daily). I love that we have our normal view in these pictures. I have a feeling Max and Clara will have a lot of pictures taken from that bench in their lives. :)

Here are a few of my other favorites.

This is on our back patio below our kitchen window

Clara had just figured out how to smack her lips and consequently looks like she is sucking her top lip in every. single. picture. Ha. Such is life. Either way, I love my family and am so grateful to be a mom to two babies - whether it's National Twin Day or not. :)

The Lewis Family

Today was a happy day! Not only did I see that mini Cadbury eggs are already in the stores, but I also was able to fit in a quick run, I met a new friend, and got the mail. Usually mail isn't that exciting, except when a CD you have been eagerly anticipating is included! Us Lewis kids decided to give my mother and father in-law a little different Christmas gift -- the gift of family pictures!

We had the lovely and talented Laura take our pictures. Laura took the photos of my bridal shower a while back, and she also did all the flowers for our wedding. Needless to say, I knew we could count on her. Laura is a good friend of my sisters, but I think I can call her a friend as well, especially since we got to meet up for a while in London. :)

Anyway, Utah was fridgidly cold that week... I'm talking single digit numbers... but somehow she managed to capture some really great shots, with runny and cold noses and all. Here are some of my favorites:

It was obviously a boot day for the girls.

I love this shot of Russ and his siblings. They obviously love each other. :)

Marcella with her new baby, Brigham. This picture captures motherly love perfectly. So sweet.

This is the whole group -- definitely a lot of bodies to keep happy in such balmy weather :) I was especially impressed with how Laura somehow got the little ones to cooperate.

It took a little bit for Benny to warm up, but once he did we were all good to go. He sure knows how to work the camera. :)

It's a miracle you can't see our red-tipped noses. It was so stinkin' cold... especially for a weak Texas resident like me.

Look at that face. I'm telling you, little Lucy melts my heart like butter.

The Lewis girls -- me, Natalie, Marcella, and Argelia. How come I'm always the one person not looking at the camera?

Anyway, thank you so much, Laura! I hope we can run into each other again sometime soon. Hey, if you want to make it somewhere out of the country, I really wouldn't mind one bit. :)