My Dreams, Memories and Reflections 2011

I loved doing this post for 2010 so I thought this is a great way to recap 2011! Thanks Ashley for doing it this year again!!  So without further ado here are my interpretations:

Me! 
Leo and I went on our yearly adult only vacation (May 2011) and this is one of my favorites of me from the trip to London. 

I Love You
This was our yearly family photo (Dec 2011).  The  3 loves of my life, Leo, Nicolas and Pebbles!

Still Laughing...
It was a hot sunny day (July 2011) and I was trying to get some pics and this is one of true happiness.  I was tickling him with my toes and he was loving it!! 

Winter Wonderland
 Florida doesn't have much of a winter so I don't have any true winter pictures but a Christmas tree reminds me of winter.

Birthday -

I have a twin brother and we celebrated the big 30 together.  It was extra special since we have not been in the same state on our birthdays for almost 7 years.

Friends
These are not just friends they are family.  Every year we get together on Christmas and have a yummy dinner and a gift exchange. We have been through a lot as a group and there is more craziness to come!

I Was Inspired...
We moved to FL late February and this was a morning a few weeks after we moved (March 2011). I love this picture and I felt inspired by the natural beauty in my backyard!!
 

Spring Fever -
This picture was technically taken June 2011 but I love how the open flower is OOF and the bud is opening.  

Travel or Vacation -I took 3 big vacations this year but I love this shot of the Golden Gate.  This was my 30th Birthday girls only vacation taken June 2011. It was awesome. 

Summer Days -
This was the last vacation with Leo and Nicolas.  We had a great time on the cruise, eating, sun bathing and enjoying the beach! (Sept. 2011)

A Day In My Life -
I don't take many pics anymore just for the heck of it but this night I was testing out my speedlite and got this silly picture of Nic.  (Nov 2011)

All Smiles -
On Mother's Day we went out for a nice lunch and after Nic found an awesome fountain.  How could we deny him? So we didn't he was soaked in his cute clothes with no spare clothes.  Oh well lesson learned, always have a spare outfit with a toddler. 

Autumn Harvest
Carving pumpkins (Oct 2011)

Family or Home -
This is the first picture of my siblings and my dad in a really long time.  We don't have many opportunities of all of us together so this one is extra special. (March 2011)

Celebrate! -
Noche Buena 2011 (Christmas Eve 2011).  We celebrated with my family, Leo's family, friends, girlfriends, fiances, etc.  It is always a fun night!

 

Let's Do It Again... -
My sister, Carolina is the best aunt.  She goes along with Nic's crazy ideas.  And this was one of them.  This was a cool December morning at the beach.  Nic decided he would strip to his undies and splash in very cold Miami waters.  They had a blast!!

I Miss You -
Raleigh oh how I miss you.  I miss the simplicity of life, I miss a home to call our own, I miss my Raleigh friends, I miss my short commute, I miss the beautiful fall, I miss...  This was a picture of our house the afternoon after the movers left.  Raleigh will always have a special place in my heart.  (Feb 2011)

Beautiful -
I love the picture from the sky as I was landing in London!  (May 2011)

Dress Up -
Since we are so close to Disney, we have now been 3 times this year.  This is the first time he "met" Mickey and Minnie.  He was in heaven! (March 2011)

Macro -
This is a terrible picture but I love it! (Sept 2012)

Holidays -
Not technically in 2011 but this was taken in the early hours of 2012. I showed my friend how to take the picture and after some trial and error we were able to come up with this!! Welcome 2012! 

My Favorite -
I can't pick one memory so I will pick vacations as my favorite things this year.  I had a great year of traveling.  (London-May 2011, Napa Valley/San Francisco-June 2011, Carribean Cruise-Sept. 2011)

Don't Ever Change -
I know this in inevitable b/c obviously he is going to change but I hope he stays the loving boy he is.  He is still the reason I pick up the camera and love capturing his life.  I want to keep documenting our family and can't wait to meet baby #2 in May 2012. (pic Sept. 2011)

Just Because...So There! -
Life in FL is more hectic, there is less "me" time, but I wanted to share this one picture b/c even though life is chaotic and exhausting I can still find beauty through my lens.  I'm so grateful for that. 

Hopes and Dreams - I don't even know where to begin.  So I will only say that I hope things settle down this year.

Ashley thanks again for hosting this!

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Leaving on a midnight train to FL

We left on a midnight train to FL.  I know it is supposed to Georgia, just play along :)

Our last day in Raleigh was Feb. 18th.  When the moving truck was packed and the house was empty that is when I lost it.  Our first house, the house where we brought Nicolas to from the hospital, our chapter in Raleigh was closing and we were embarking on our new life back in Florida.  I wanted a picture of Leo and me in front of our house so I asked the neighbor that was washing his car to please take our picture.  Unfortunately the whole family was not there (Nic was at daycare while the movers were loading).



I think even Pebbles knew that our lives were going to change.




We signed our lease and moved in Feb. 23.  Our new little house is great.  It is a little smaller than our house in Raleigh but it is just fine. 

Nicolas loves the house.  He loves it so much that he never wants to leave it.  It took him about 1.5 weeks to get adjusted to daycare. He loves the patio and you will find him sliding and playing w/ rocks on weekend mornings.



We are still adjusting.  The commute royally sucks but as the days pass they become more bearable. I was lucky to go from the field yesterday so I didn't have to wake up before sunrise and I was able to capture the sunrise.  This is the view from our backyard.






Have a great week!
N@

Goodbye Raleigh Part 2-Friends

We made so many wonderful friends during the 6.5 years we were in NC.  I'm a relationship person and love to have true friends.  I don't have a lot of friends but the ones I do have are real friends.

Candice was/is my best friend from NC for 4 years.  We had many ups and a few downs. And I know we will always be friends.  She wrote a beautiful blog post about our friendship, it made me cry.






My co-workers were more like family than just colleagues. My family could not make it for my graduation but my friends from work were there to support me.  Love them.





Then there are the boys and Ashley.  The boys were always there to party but they also had their soft sides.  They were so good with Nicolas and I saw them differently once Nic was born.







While in Raleigh I got my master's and I made a really great friend Megan.  She and I met the first day of orientation and then became instant friends.  We would study together, celebrate the end of the semester together and commiserated together after a horrible class.



Lastly, once Nicolas was born I became really involved with 2 local mommy group.  The girls were awesome and we had some great mom only events and baby events.  We saw our little ones grow from little babies to toddlers.  

This was the NC Bump group 2009 Christmas GTG.


And my Mom's In Motion friends. (back in April 2009)



So this blog post is to show my appreciation and love for all the friends we made in Raleigh.  I know we will still be friends even though we are far.

Love you guys!
N@

Goodbye Raleigh Part 1

Today was my last day at work!  The packers are packing our house today and seeing these boxes make it very real.  Maybe I was in denial or haven't really had the time to just sit and ponder but now I'm sad.

Leo and I moved here 6.5 years ago.  We were newlyweds 25 and 22 years old embarking in a new adventure, moving away from friends and family, becoming a family of our own and starting our careers.  We learned so much about each other the first year because all we had was each other.  The first year was hard but it made us who we are today.  Then the years starting flying by, we bought our first house, Leo found an amazing job, we adopted Pebbles, I got my master's from NC State and the biggest change of all Nicolas was born!

These 6.5 years have been amazing, I would not change anything.  We've grown up and now we are watching Nicolas grow up.  I am really going to miss Raleigh.  I know we'll always cherish the time we lived here, the friends we've made and the memories.  We are excited about what life is going to bring us in the next few years.   

This is a picture of Leo and me before Nic was born...(I hardly remember life without him)



Pebbles made me a runner.  She is such an active dog that I needed to find a way to tire her out.  We began to jog and now I use running as my quite time.  I look forward to my Saturday morning jogs.



Graduation Day (December 2008)



One of the first pictures of the new Sanchez family! I can't believe Nicolas is going to be 2 in a week. 




Stay tuned for part II dedicated to all our friends. 

So not goodbye just yet.

N@