Personal Story: May

 It's time for a May instapoooooooooost! May was lovely... it took me from the mountains to the coast.  I got to hug lots of little ones that I adore and got to spend quality time with lots of family members.  Stuff started blooming in our yard and in the world... May is lovely like that.  Without further ado, let me tell you a little bit about our May!  (You can see other posts like this that highlight our top favorite Instagramable moments from the previous 2015 months here - January, February, March and April)Starting at the top, read each row from left to right…* Here's David and I with some sleepy eyes from our wedding hangover after a double header weekend in the mountains.  I still can't believe we booked two weddings back to back in the same weekend in the gorgeous NC mountains!  That Sunday morning before we left, we sat on this big rock by a stream watching a little waterfall, soaking in the good feeling of knowing we are doing what we are supposed to be doing in the world.  And to be able to do it together?  Beyond lucky/blessed/honored/etc.* My family is renting out the beach condo I grew up going to every summer.  It's hard to share something you love so much with strangers, but it's the only way my family can keep it.  Let me know if you want to rent it from us :)  I went down just to check on things before our first renters.  I'm a typical extreme extrovert and did not love taking this trip alone, but sometimes you just gotta have a quiet moment to yourself with your toes in the sand.* My Mom's birthday usually falls on Mother's Day, if not the day before or after.  Her three babies surprised her with a home cooked dinner when she got home from work.  We pulled it off!  It was delicious and everyone enjoyed celebrating her birth.* Whew.  I went on my first out of town field trip as a chaperone.  Thabiso's class went to Williamsburg for the day and let me tell you, it was tough.  Chaperones had to drive separately which was good and bad.  It was very hot and sunny, so the kids were getting sunburnt and stayed thirsty.  Thabiso is just not used to intensely scheduled days like this so it was a struggle for him.  The kids had to get to school at 5:30am that morning, so you better believe he fell asleep the second I got him in the car, slept through dinner and then woke up 30 minutes away from Raleigh.  It's no joke being a chaperone of 3rd grade boys!* When David and I were in the mountains shooting that wedding, we apparently took (almost) the same picture of our feet by the stream, Instagrammed it, and then saw later that we matched.  It reminds me of how when I was first starting the photography business and David was shooting video that we would get the same shots, mine were just stills and his were in motion.  That's when we decided that we should choose one or the other and do it well, together.* I am a huge sucker for a field of wild flowers.  When the NC DOT fields start to bloom on the side of the highways and interstates I have to stop myself from pulling over at every single one.  This field happened to have a little park beside of it, so I felt safe pulling the car over at this one.  I just want to put all the flowers in old glass jars and bottles and cover my house in them!* I happened to be the one to pick up Thabiso from after school care the day his neighborhood pool opened... so you know we were right there.  I always loved the pool growing up - still do - so I can appreciate how much he loves it too.* In life sometimes friends become family and we are lucky enough to have a few friends that have become just that.  Michael and I grew up together in the same church and high school... we even overlapped our time at Campbell.  He married the sweetest woman (who is a saint for putting up with all his silly antics) and they have created these two amazingly smart and fun children.  I LOVE being Aunt Ashley!* Speaking of loving being Aunt Ashley... I am a real aunt to this peanut (you've seen her on these instagram posts before) and I just love love love her.  She always has plans of things we are going to do together and I love it when she chooses me!