A few of my favorite things....

I spent the vast majority of my day on Thursday (Ty's birthday) enjoying a few of my most favorite things! As I was walking out the door to take Luke to preschool, I suddenly remembered that I had promised him that we would stop to visit the horses in the canyon on the way home, so I quickly grabbed my camera and a half-empty bag of baby carrots as I hurried out the door. I surely did not have grand plans for the morning...just a few errands to grab some last minute things for Ty's birthday dinner. And quite honestly, I was hurried and a bit haggard this particular morning.

But as I began the drive through the canyon, I couldn't help but be awestruck by the beauty all around as spring is beginning to unfold ever so gingerly on the hills! Everything...and I do mean EVERYTHING...is green and vibrant! (Feel free to burst into your own rendition of "The Hills are Alive" from the Sound of Music!) It was b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l!!! My heart swelled and the kids must've been feeling it too, because every little nuance....the ripening oranges on the trees, the horses grazing in the fields, the flowers that are beginning to burst forth from the grasses....ALL of it caught Luke's attention on the ride to school! We marveled in it together as we drove!

After seeing Luke off at school, and with my camera unexpectedly by my side, Ellie and I set out to find a little more beauty to fill our morning. Here is my first image of one of my most favorite springtime treats...home grown, juicy, sweet oranges! Mmmmm! Nothing quite compares to these local babies!

After I successfully dodged some crazy looks from passersby as I traipsed through the outskirts of an orange grove to get this shot, Ellie and I followed a photographer-friend's lead to an amazing little park tucked away in the hills. A photographers dream! On this particular morning, this place was magical! The weather was cool and crisp and the sun danced elusively in and out behind puffy white clouds. The landscape was covered in a blanket of tall grass...waist high on Ellie...and huge oak trees towered over head! The stillness was so profound...so inviting...and I imagined that Ellie and I were walking right into The Secret Garden! A favorite moment that I will not soon forget with my sweet little girl...walking hand in hand down the sandy path in this most beautiful of places!

Having dressed Ellie in Ty's favorite outfit of hers as a little birthday treat for him, it was the perfect opportunity to take some photographs for him as a keepsake. After all, this day was his birthday and my day's goal was to celebrate how special he is to us! Ellie was pleased to oblige and I found myself on several occasions breathless from the simple beauty of what I was seeing through my camera lens as I watched her play. She delighted me!

It was about this time, when we walked over to this humongous oak tree that Ellie tugged off her hat and gave me the biggest laugh of the day! We had been eating a few carrots in the car on the way and somehow ( I have no idea how!) one of them must've fallen into her hat because no sooner did I look down at my camera and back up again only to find her hat in one hand and that sneaky little carrot gracing her lips! It had apparently hitchhiked its way into the park with us via her hat! :) I cracked up laughing...my roars of laughter echoing on the hills and this is the image I caught of her just then...

It wasn't soon after that we mosied out of the park and left our little magical outing behind. We instead wrapped up the grocery shopping for that night's special dinner and dessert, and headed over to get Luke from school. On the way home, I fulfilled my promise to Luke and we stopped to feed the horses! Ellie took a little catnap in the car while we did so! We've stopped at this spot before to pet the horses, but this was the first time Luke ever fed them! He was thrilled! And I was again delighted by the beauty that resided in that place! The canyon brimming with greenery...the sleek, dark horses trotting toward us through the green pasture, surrounded by a white fence and big, weeping pepper trees! It was awesome!

I gave Luke a quick lesson on how to properly feed a horse and he quickly made friends with one very hungry guy! Luke ADORED him!

Having run out of carrots, the horse searched a little more intensely for a snack.... :)

And then it was time to go. Luke bid the stunning creatures farewell....

The rest of our day was equally as wonderful..filled with some of my most favorite things...sweet moments with the ones I love the most! Ty came home to his favorite meal of homemade enchiladas and all the fixings, and we spent the evening celebrating his special day! Luke even serendaded him that morning with a guitar-solo rendition of "Happy Birthday"! Too cute! Wish I could have caught that one on video!