hello

hello. 

i'm tara. 

and i feel like i've been living under a rock for the past few months. :) 

i have been working my butt off. 

my photography has become our main source of income for the time being, and i am pushing everything i can to make that work. 

i love it. 

i want to do this more than just "on the side" 

i want to make it work. 

for my husband, 

for me family, 

for me. 

and watch me. i will make it work. 

bubba started preschool. 

he loves it. 

i cried when i first sent him off. 

but then, i suppose all mom's do, right? 

or maybe i'm just weird. 

he comes home from school every day, and tells me what he is learning. 

i love watching his mind expand. 

love it. 

he has started reading the short books. 

you know, the ones that go: 

"mat" "mat sat" etc. 

i believe he has that first book memorized. 

he is my life, and i love watching him learn. 

we went to sea world in san diego back in the beginning of august. 

that and the beach are my happy place. 

bubba's favorite part was shame, and the dolphins. 

he didn't like getting soaked by the pilot whales. 

holy cow those things drenched us. 

and then we tasted salt the.rest.of.the.day. 

but anyway, he liked the acrobatic show as well. the whole time during that, he kept saying he wanted to do that stuff. 

gymnastics anyone?

we also had the chance to go to the san diego zoo, and the beach, and old town san diego, and the redwood forests, and the beach, and the cheese factory, and the beach. 

loved every minute of that vacation. 

ok, that's a lie. i didn't so much like the afternoon driving through the middle of california (100+ degree temperature) in a vehicle with no air conditioning. 

i'm pretty sure i complained most of that hour. 

first world problems people. 

we also got to spend a few days in st. george with my sister tanielle. 

we went to zion's national park, which was my first time going. 

that place is GORGEOUS. i definitely want to go back, 

and not forget my memory cards so i can actually get pictures...

we had the chance to spend a couple of days with my friend melissa in elko, nevada. where we stopped along the way and attempted family photos. :) 

for my birthday this year, sam surprised me with a trip up to park city. 

he planned a sitter, hotel, everything! 

we got to stroll down park city main street (mind you, everything was basically closed at this point, but it was still fun. :)) 

we went to the olympic park and did the zip lines, the alpine slide, and the adventure courses, and the drop. 

it was a blast. 

i am SO thankful for the traveling that we have been able to do this year! 

in a few weeks, i will be traveling to new york with a friend. 

i am very excited for this trip, and can't WAIT for it to get here! i love being able to take photos in new places! 

and hopefully i will be posting photos on here again. 

we listened to conference a couple of weeks ago. and can i tell you how much better i feel? my soul feels happier, my burdens seem lifted, my heart seems to sing a little more. i know that the Lord will take care of me and my little family. i know that He knows what we are supposed to be doing right now. 

i just have to learn to listen. 

one of the harder things for me to do. 

but i'm trying. :) 

i am currently waiting for hubby to finish a game so i can drag him off to watch a movie with me. 

yes.

at 12:30 in the morning. :) 

because that's how we roll.