Be ok today.

I have two teenagers in my life, my sister and my cousin. Both of them love it when I take their picture. I have done more sessions with the two of them than I can count, they are lucky I love them. My cousin is finally on her summer break, so she was due for a visit. That means picture time! During this picture session we had some serious fun. Including making a video, which I am totally gushing over.

Let me tell you about this girl. Number one she's cool. I'm not. I try to use hip terms, and she just tells me that cool people don't say things like that. Somehow, she still likes me. Number two she's got such an awesome style and personality. She is her own person, which is hard to come by in teens.

Let me just say, that looking at the pictures is great, but watching the video is essential. If you are having a bad day, or not, watch this and you will immediately feel happy. Seriously. I love this video.

Enjoy!

Be ok today. from Simply Us on Vimeo.

p.s. Those are her real glasses. Yep, she's that cool.

Thanksgiving

I know its almost Christmas, and Thanksgiving feels like a thing of the past, but the holidays are crazy. I've been working on (ahm... procrastinating) sewing up some last minute Christmas gifts.  

Everyone knows its true and that means I haven't gotten around to this until now. On a good note, it does have a bit of a Christmas vibe. We put our tree up before Thanksgiving this year, because we're rebels like that.  Enjoy!

Thanksgiving from Simply Us on Vimeo.

Sure, our turkey got a little burnt, and it was far from fancy. 

Yes, Sadie changed clothes about a million times.

She didn't match, and half the time her outfit was backwards and inside out.

But I wouldn't trade this past Thanksgiving for anything.

And I most certainly wouldn't change a single thing about it.

Pumpkin Patch

A short and sweet video of the kids Patterson Farm field trip! 

I didn't get many good pictures so a video is all I've got! Enjoy! :)

Pumpkin Patch from Simply Us on Vimeo.

Apples

We went apple picking! It was so fun that we plan on making it a yearly tradition! We attempted going last year and waited to long in the season, leaving the farm with zero good apples. But this year was a total success! We went to J & A orchards in Taylorsville, NC. It was great! And they even had pears! The couple that owned it were so sweet. They genuinelly wanted everyone who came to have a good time and to pick the best apples they could find. Griffin didn't get bored the whole time we were there... and Sadie only flipped out once, when her shoes got dirty. Typical.

I even let Jeremy take control of the camera a bit so I could get in some! I'm not loving the way I look these days, post 3 babies, but I think my kids need to be able to remember me being around for things as well. My husband is the best sport and is always willing to let me take pictures of him, even when I know he really doesn't want me to. I've captured so many amazing moments with him and my kids. I have really felt that it was time to let them have some memories to look back on with me. I'm always waiting for the right moment, for me to lose all my baby weight. Sadly, its just not coming off as quick as I would hope. So... time to start living and stop waiting on every little thing. I know my kids will appreciate these memories, and I will to, even if I'm not loving it right this second.

 

 

 

One thing I really loved about the orchard was that we got to let the kids roam. I don't really let them do that often, and I really should more than I do. They got to go a little further by themselves than I usually let them, and I think it felt freeing to them. They were able to explore and really see things for themselves. I don't know for sure how Griffin felt, but watching him made me feel like he was on a little adventure of his own. He was out to find the perfect apple. He would squeal and jump for joy waiting for us to approve with each one he found. He inspected, pulled them off and then looked them over again like they were each a piece of treasure. I loved watching him. I loved watching Sadie wander around in a new territory all of her own. Going through and editing the pictures allowed me to notice it all again. Its so amazing how kids grow into little people without you even realizing it.

Drumroll... we made a video! It was a little more effort to record and snap pictures... but so very, very worth it! Me and Jeremy both want to make this a routine to make these videos of our kids. Its just so rewarding after its all put together. Here you go... take a peek into our life! 

Apples from Simply Us on Vimeo.

Documenting Our Real Life

Me and my husband have been big "Office" fans for years. We began watching the show in 2006, when we got married, and have been hooked ever since. The series finale last night left us feeling a little bit broken and empty inside. It sounds ridiculous, but its true. We grew to love and relate with the characters and we genuinely enjoyed and looked forward to Thursday nights. We went to bed feeling a little bit like our best friends had moved away to somewhere crazy, so distant that we wouldn't likely ever see them all together again. Somewhat like the end of high school, its the end of an era. That being said, we decided that it might be time to start documenting our life a little bit more. 

The documentary style of the Office was awesome. The interviews, the secret smiles and glances. A few quotes from last night left us thinking...

"Act fast, because life just isn't that long." 
- Pam

"Imagine going back and watching a tape of your life. You could see yourself change and grow up." 
-Jim

I don't want to miss the little moments. I want to cherish them and document our kids lives so they can look back fondly on how they grew up. At least I hope thats how they see it. I literally just got my camera and shot them playing on the bed. I didn't tell them to be still or to do this or that, I just shot them as they are. Its hot so they stripped down to just diapers, fine with me. They didn't sit still for more than a second, not my choice but I went with it. They didn't play together much. They ran away and came back over and over again, cool deal. I sat and watched, half smiling half holding back tears at how much I love my kids. This is our life.

Enjoy.

Life is Rosy from Simply Us on Vimeo.

I didn't use any special effects or edit the film other than chopping it up and removing sound. Nothing fancy happened. Its just plain and simple. But I kinda love it.

Shawna & Matt

This is, by far, not the best wedding video ever made, but I'm still learning and I hope to get better with lots of practice. This was shot at Castle Ladyhawk in Tuckaseegee, NC. It was the beautiful wedding of one of my closest friends! I was planning on taking pictures as well but the movie making ran away with me. Hope you enjoy it! 

Shawna & Matt from Simply Us on Vimeo.

Simply Us

i'm pretty excited to be typing this right now! i was inspired by olive us, an adorable family with 6 kids making their own little films. i made a short video of my kids just for fun after watching theirs and i was hooked. i had to make more as quickly as possible. so i made a plan...

i came up with all kinds of ideas that i could shoot throughout the year, then i did some research on super fun and quirky days. i found a few that i simply have to celebrate. most days i sit at home, we watch cartoons, snuggle and play. i want to do more. since i can't move away (like i wanted), or afford my dream house, i'm working with what i've got. i want my kids to remember their childhood as amazing and magical. so thats the plan. if have anything to do with it, thats what it will be. amazing and magical.check out our little preview... or pilot episode.

a short little library visit.

it was exactly that. stacks of old books with that library smell are beautiful in a weird way. they hold so much history. so many eyes have read the pages and hopefully many more will. we haven't fallen into the e-book craze. there is something about holding a book in your hand and flipping each page that we can't give up. i'm kind of addicted to the feeling. 

as much as i want an iPad, i won't be using it for that.

music: Sweet Darlin' by She & Him

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season one will last through february.follow along to watch all our fun adventures throughout fall and winter.