happy birthday shiralita

happy 26th birthday to my dear cousin and friend shira!

 oh shira, 

you are such a beautiful person, inside and out. i am so grateful for our friendship. 

you are such a sweetheart & i am lucky to have you in my life. 

i hope you have an amazing birthday!

happy birthday kimberly

happy 28th birthday to the best big sister in the world!!! 

sweet kimberly, 

you are such a great sister and i love you. 

you are silly, funny, pretty, kind and exactly the kind of person i can be myself around. 

don't you change a thing.

father's day

we had a fun father's day visiting with our families. we got to spend time with both of our dads. we got to eat good food. we got to relax. we also got to see cute little brylee and give her lots of kisses.

my life in instagram

summer has officially arrived here in southern california. i packaged up our down comforter and safely stowed it under the bed until winter arrives. we run the fans and the a/c much more frequently around these parts. our electricity bill has already started to creep up. i feel like i have nothing to wear. is it just me or does anyone else have an issue dressing for summer? i feel naked without a cardigan! plus i kind of hate myself in shorts. 

hope your weekend is great. we're looking forward to some fun with friends & family and a much needed break from the hustle bustle.

p.s. did you catch the throwback thursday instagram of yours truly as a 1 year old?

25 years 25 things

as my 25th birthday approached i've thought a lot about my life and things i have accomplished in my 25 years of living. i decided to compile a list of 25 things to share, in no particular order of importance.

1. i chose to be baptized at the age of 8
2. got my driver's license
3. ran on the 5 freeway with shira
4. graduated high school
5. bought my first car
6. found the wedding dress
7.  had a last first kiss
8. gained a sure testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
9. received my temple recommend
10. graduated college with honors
11. fell in love
12. moved to byu idaho for a week
13. pursued (and still pursuing) my love of photography
14. got married in the newport beach california temple
15. read the book of mormon
16. became a wife & homemaker
17. completed two half marathons
18. witnessed a birth
19. i was a maid of honor... twice
20. moved out of my parents house and in with my hubby
21. went on my honeymoon
22. went to hawaii... twice
23. became an aunt
24. got my first job
25. fell in love with tyler over and over again

i feel very blessed to have had such a wonderful life. it's not perfect, its not easy, but it is my life and it is beautiful... a fact that i have overlooked as of late. i'm sure there are noteworthy things that i could add to this list. maybe there are things that i will do in the future that will make some of the items on this list seem forgettable or minute. there is one thing that i would say is my greatest accomplishment. the most amazing thing that i have ever done. the most life changing experience. the most challenging, the most miraculous, the most rewarding. 

falling in love with and marrying tyler brady rex is the best thing i could have ever done. life is tough. things don't turn out the way you plan. you lose. you win. you laugh. you cry. you fall. you get back up, hopefully stronger and smarter than before. what a blessing it is to experience this life with tyler by my side. with his hand in mine life just makes sense. life just feels right. i look at our life together, the moments that make up these past six years that we have loved each other, and i feel blissfully happy. 

having low points in life is normal. rough patches happen as we make our way through this life on earth. with my sure testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and my sweetheart by my side i know i can overcome anything. the beauty is, i am never alone. i don't even remember life before tyler. life before snuggle time. life before dancing in the living room. life before our king size bed. life before his kisses. life before his precious cheeks. life before his soft hands that hold mine as we pray together. life before the desire to have evidence of our love manifested in the life of a child. life before i was his forever and always.

thank you tyler for loving me. for making me the happiest i have ever been. for giving me your love. for blessing me with your dear heart. 

a beach day

while devon, whitney and reese were visiting we went down to balboa for a family beach day. it was perfect weather. colton found a sea slug. the babies let us take pictures of them. grams and gramps were as cute as ever. i mean look at those two! i hope tyler and i can be as happy and spunky when we're in our seventies.  

glassman family

happy tuesday to you! 

this past week i had the privilege of capturing the love of my cousin devon and his lovely wife whitney & their sweet baby reese.

if you want to see more glassman family goodness click here.

san diego part V: lefty's & pat's

tyler was done taking photos...

before we headed back to orange county we stopped in at lefty's for some pizza. then we headed to a little thrift store on the corner. we've driven by pat's many times and i have always wanted to go in. i scored this darling serving dish for a whopping $2... i almost passed it by, but luckily it caught my eye just before i was about to move on to another part of the store. when pat told me it was only 2 bucks i could hardly believe it. i was SO ecstatic! 

although it was a short trip it really was nice. i have really grown to love alone time with tyler. maybe it's because i know one day we will have kids & i hear so many of our friends with children talk about how rare time alone is. i'm just glad we have time together & that we can use this time before the kiddos come along to really strengthen our love for one another.