Larkin Family Vacay

i know this is LONG overdue, but more than anything this blog is for our family so i want to make sure to document our time in the states... 

Larkin Family Vacation to NC

soon after we got to america we headed to NC for a family vacation with the larkin family.  We stayed in a big house together, ate a lot of food, played a lot of games and managed to boat a few times too!  the weather was a little colder than expected but it was still a great time!

my funny neice, kate... poor dad just wanted a kiss.  :)

family dance party by the water.  we hope no one was watching... we tend to be a bit more gifted in the athletic department than the dance department!  

so thankful for my mom and dad who make our family vacation a priority!  some of my favorite memories growing up was our family vacation time together... i hope that one day my kids can say the same.  

2015 Photography

my twelve favorite photos from 2015.  

jetlag was conquered in one week!

we spent most of our first week at danny's parent's house… basically focusing on sleeping at night and trying to not sleep during the day.  jet lag was actually not near as bad as we have experienced before.  the kids did great and because of that we actually slept also!  

i have very few pictures to show for that week… we did a lot of shopping for the essentials and repacking our lives.  but, we did make it to the water one day and i got a few pictures of the kids with grandma and grandpa.  

reunited and it feels so good!!!

we've been in america almost 2 months and we've done A LOT!!!  we're on our 12th "move" as a family and i intend to document all of the wonderful family and friends we've spent time with.  it's been crazy and busy but we're so thankful for the deep relationships that we have been able to jump right back into.  we'll start with the carders… 

mary and lily were best of buds, not because their personalities clicked as 2 year olds (the opposite actually) but because lily's mama is one of my dear friends.  they haven't talked frequently but just enough to remember one another and i'm so thankful!  we met at the park our first day back in boston and the kids had so much fun together!  

mary taught lily the proper way to pose for a photo, of course.

the water was really cold… i guess "bum first" made it more bearable.  

so happy that they hit it off and had so much fun together.  so glad that mary and luke had a few friends that they could remember from before (or from FaceTime and pictures)… i think it made it just a touch easier to come into the great unknown of america.  :)  

we love you carders!

mary and luke, javanese style.

for a few months now i have wanted to take pictures of my kids in javanese clothes.  my kids are growing up on java and are obviously influenced by the culture and way of life here.  though people don't wear these kind of clothes on a daily basis they are often seen at significant events, historical photos, etc… and i love them.  

this is their classic javanese photo… in portraits javanese people often don't smile so they didn't.  can't you tell how truly javanese they are.  ;)

that girl and her poses… the way she tilts her head and moves her hips kills me.  

i love this picture because it perfectly captures the way that mary tells luke what to do and the way he listens to her.  i'm sure she was encouraging him to do something funny so they could get more m&ms and be done with the pictures.  yes, i bribed them.  

and i leave you with this behind the scenes photo… 

that is really how they both felt about the photos.  mary couldn't wait to get dolled up and tilt that head in an awkward manner for every 'pose' she has… and luke was hot, sweaty, itchy and mad.  i'm not sure how i caught the above photos of him looking happy… i was probably talking about star wars or toots, if i'm honest.  :)