This is the first time I’ve brought my DSLR out to Montana de Oro. Such a beautiful day to be able to capture this beautiful coastline and share it with my family. Thanks for encouraging me to go photograph my beloved town, Brandon! (from Dec. 22, 2019)
Happy Photographing!
After spending two Christmases in Oregon, experiencing snow, tree farms, and a real need for boots, scarves, jackets and everything cozy, I couldn’t just settle for a Home Depot Christmas this year. I had heard rumors of a cute little tree farm just 30 minutes away in Atascadero, that served hot cider, popcorn, roasted chestnuts, and featured acres of happily planted trees to mosey through, and was really hoping to make this a new California tradition. Clearly this sounded much more ideal after the festive experiences I had the privilege of experiencing the past two years, but I also heard that the prices were steep considering they’re aren’t many Christmas tree farms in our neck of the woods (pun intended - obviously!). After finding out just how pricey the trees were, I decided I better promise David we would go just for the experience and hit up Home Depot afterward for the actual purchasing of a tree. I had also read though, that Hidden Springs had a small selection of “misfit” trees that were priced lower for their imperfections. I couldn’t help but secretly hope to find the perfect discount tree.
We walked all over the property listening to Christmas music and stuffing our faces with popcorn - with the majority being consumed by Gideon. The trees were beautiful, but definitely way out of our price range. I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was a moment where I kind of begged David to let us splurge this year, saying that “at least this was a better place for our money to go” (which I totally meant and still stand by) but in the end I just couldn’t justify spending $80 plus on a tree that would end up in the green waste bin in a month.
We were just about to leave when I stumbled upon a little row of misfits and there it was, our perfect Charlie Brown Christmas tree. And the best part is we SAVED money buying there! Our little imperfect/perfect tree was only fifteen dollars! Needless to say, we all went home extremely happy.
We will definitely be returning to Hidden Springs Christmas Tree Farm next year for another California Christmas.
Happy Tree Hunting!
When the results of our DNA blood test during my pregnancy with Gideon came in, we had the midwife call David and tell him the news. He wanted to surprise me. That night he took me on an extravagant (and might I say, AGGRAVATING) scavenger hunt leading me to the gender of our first baby – our boy, Gideon.
This time around, I thought it would be fun if we were both surprised in a special way together. We also both liked the idea of waiting till delivery to know the gender of any future babies, so if this was a girl, I wanted to make finding out extra special as we might not be finding out in my next pregnancies.
I created a master plan where not only we wouldn’t know, but none of our friends or family joining us for the reveal would know either. I purchased these confetti cannons which came with 2 blue and 2 pink cannons. I placed them in two identical paper bags and marked the bottoms “boy” and “girl”. Everyone I explained this plan to said it was risky and flawed and I needed to entrust one of my friends with the gender. “No, no, no!” I replied, “I don’t want anybody to know.” I then proceeded to them that I would also have our ultrasound technician write the gender of the baby on a card and place it in an envelope to mark the correct bag with. To go even further with keeping the news a secret, I brought along pieces of paper to tape on the bottoms of the bag so there would be no way we’d accidentally see which was which. As I write this out, I realize it sounds very complicated, but in the end it worked! And I was so delighted I went through with the plan of nobody knowing, because when we blasted off those confetti cannons it was so satisfying to hear the genuine surprise and excitement of all who were present!
I asked God for a girl months before I was pregnant. I love love love my boy, and of course I couldn’t wait to know what a daughter would be like too! Whenever people asked me what I thought the baby was, I would say “I asked for a girl, so I’m going with that”. I felt pretty confident God gave me my girl right up until the day of our ultrasound. I sat in the car with my bladder full to the brim (just as the doctor ordered haha) and anxiously chatted with David and Kasey about what was going through my mind. The unknown was starting to sink in. Then when I was laying on the ultrasound bed, it really started to hit me that we had a fifty-fifty chance here of it being a girl. The only person in the room who knew was the ultrasound tech and I was started to doubt my confidence.
But the next day while everyone was arriving to watch the cannons announce the news, I had this strong sense that I knew something that nobody else knew. She was a girl.
That didn’t stop the amazement in my eyes as I watched pink confetti float down onto us. Nor did it stop the classic Natalie happy dance that followed. David, on the other hand was genuinely shocked. He always errors on the side of what I’m not necessarily rooting for to cushion a possible fall. I love him dearly for this, but this time I was right!
We have a daughter!!!!!!!!!!!
Watch the video below to watch our reactions unfold!
Happy Revealing!
This type of news seems to get around quicker than you expect, but if you haven’t already heard, that’s the big news in our family. The extra big news will be found on the next blog post. ;)
I took a pregnancy test the morning of Gideon’s first birthday party (the day before he officially turned one). Two pink lines appeared and just like that, another baby was in our lives.
With our first baby growing up way too fast, I was so so happy to find out that morning that our newborn days were far from over! And what a special gift for Gideon to receive on his birthday – not that he had, or even has any clue what is coming in just four short months haha.
I am currently 21 weeks pregnant and we are expecting Baby Rans #2 in early April!
By our 5th anniversary (April 26th, 2019), we’ll have two babies to hold. I’d say that’s a pretty great accomplishment of our marriage and love.
Happy Baby Making! ;)
Photos by my best friend Kasey Truax – taken in Montaña de Oro State park in our home town of Los Osos, CA
