do what you love (a picture post)

So since quitting Nordstrom, I've been focusing on photography a lot more. It's great and I'm really stoked to be back in the swing of things. I've done two engagement, a family, a newborn and a maternity session this month. I also traveled to ABQ to see my brother, his wife and their two little boys for a week. Michelle had their second little guy on May 7th and he's pretty perfect. I loved being there to cuddle him and to play with his big brother. Carter is such a fun kid... and super smart, too. I had a pretty great time with them. Now I'm editing up all the photos I took there and of the other sessions that I had the pleasure of shooting. Pretty fun, I must say.

We have our orientation with a lady from LDSFS on Thursday. The whole adoption process is taking too long already, but I'm probably one of the most impatient people I know. So, ya... there's that. I'm doing my best, though, and am super excited to finally get to talk to someone one on one... I just can't wait to have baby Casto here with us. I've felt like our life has had a missing piece in it for far too long now.. and I'm ready to fill our apartment with the sounds, smells and love of a babe.

Anyway, I just popped in here to post a few pics of the happenings over the last few months. My mom and sister visited in March and then Jake's parents came the end of April. We can't get enough of family visits... it's what keeps us going being so far away from everyone. I'm going home (to Vegas) in July.. leaving my handsome man behind.. and I'm seriously looking forward to spending as much time as possible with the family. Oh, and getting some photo shoots in as well, of course. :)

Ooh-blah-dee... Ooh-blah-dah...

Some days (most days) I wish I were on an episode of House Hunters International... 

We had a wonderful visit home last week. Oh my.. we are so flippin far away! What were we thinking?! JK.. I'm glad we moved to Austin. It's been a really great experience for us. BUT.. it IS far away. We just had to go home, spend a week with family and BFFs, then say goodbye again to realize it.

It was fabulous, though.. to just relax and hang out with our favorite people. I even made a trip up to my beloved Zion's National Park with my family and enjoyed a day of hiking in my absolute favorite place in this world. Oh man, it was perfect.

Well, we're back to every day life again and hoping to make some big decisions soon.. perhaps moving back out west? Who knows what life will bring.. it's so rarely something you can control anymore. You need to go where the jobs are, ya know? It's sort of depressing if you really start to think about it... so I try not to that often. 

I have a really adorkable cat, though. Have I told you about her? Many times, you say?? So what.. maybe if you had a cat as cool as mine, you'd wanna brag about her all the time. 

I'm feeling very random this eve and should probably go rest up and read a book or something. Pretty sure I won't be getting a suitable blog post out of myself tonight. Oh well.. here are a couple photos to make it worth your while perhaps. 

what i miss most:

there are a few things. in no particular order...

cafe rio- oh. so. bad. my memory can almost taste it.. but not quite. and it kills me most days. never thought i'd miss it this bad!

fried pickles from lucille's- they were the first, therefore they are the best fried pickles eva. and i'm living in the "south" (sorta)! so this says a lot about lucille's!

lunch dates with the sisters & mum- i just miss our girl time together. so much.

mountains- MOUNTAINS!!! i miss thee so terribly much. they don't believe in mountains here. just hills.. and they're pretty gorgeous, too.. but i miss the smell of higher elevation and the majestic, jagged horizon. {sigh...}

speaking of mountains.. ZIONS- my favorite place on earth. if you haven't visited.. you're missing out on a whole different kind of WOW factor. giant cliffs of red rock. they're just... amazing.

friends- sure, we have a few friends here... but we also have incredible friends back on the western side of the states.

sunday dinner- every sunday we'd gather with the casto family and eat a wonderful meal. the best meal of the week, usually. jake's mum is a wonderful cook.. and his family is fabulous company.

family- this is numero uno on the missing list. why is transportation so costly?? i wish we could visit with our most favorite humans in the world more often. i'm realizing more now than ever just how important family is. i'm so grateful that we have such amazing families.. both in-laws and out-laws alike.. to miss. very blessed indeed.

there are more things, but not a whole lot more. i do love austin and all the many wonders it has to offer. it's greeeen... and full of amazing fooood... you've heard me list them before. i'm sure i'll have a laundry list of things i miss about this place, too, once we leave it one day.

cheers to you!

enjoy your FRIDAY THE 13TH! {we'll be watching nightmare on elm street to celebrate}

from our going away fiesta back in october. taken with disposables!:

...hello? is this thing on?

{cricket}

{cricket}

...{cricket}

i know. it's a common sound around these parts.

remember when i was like, "hey, i have this really awesome blog, you should ch-ch-check it out."
then you were like, "hells yes, you're super interesting, i love following your blog entries about your insanely interesting life."
then i was like, ".........."

ya, that was about how it went down. sorry folks. i'll give you a few details on the happenings. let's just say that austin is still amazing. we sorta love it. there are these hidden communities right off the highways that have trees all around them, and cute ranch houses with huge yards...
there's incredible food and i feel like i've successfully gained ten pounds since moving here. texas bbq is truly spectacular.
the people are kind... genuine. they mean it when they ask you how your day is going.
bug seems happier here. there are 7 cats that live downstairs... bug isn't allowed to go outside to hang out with their flea-ridden selves, but she watches happily from our windows. she's also made friends with the bluejays and squirrels that frequent the branches just outside our door.
i'm working at nordstrom... some days i love it, somedays i wish i could remember what it was like to look forward to a friday.
we're both still looking forward to hearing back from the airforce soon. it's been a long process... budget debates aren't helping matters either. {get it together, gov't.}
we.miss.our.family. we're far away. texas is far away. airfare isn't cheap. asking for time off is close to impossible between the both of us. one day we'll get home to at least say hi for a day to those we love most. one day!
it is beautiful here, though. so many rivers and lakes... and downtown is so clean and interesting. we're wondering what the future holds. if we're meant to stay here for a while or move along. just waiting it out and enjoying life along the way, i guess.

i promise i'll try harder at blogging. although most of you follow my life on fb, so at least i don't suck at all realms of social networking.

for now, i'll leave you with a few photos... hoping i can make up for the "lost time".