When we moved here in July, we've been SO happy that we live 15 minutes from the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah National Park.

Because of that, we went on a bunch of hikes before school started for the kiddos and D in August.

And, since we only have one year here, we are trying to soak in the goodness of the area as much as we can.

We really don't want to leave. It's just SO soul nourishing and it's truly the best place we've ever lived. But, we keep saying that if we do have to leave, we'll BE back after D gets out of the Coast Guard. It's a place we would LOVE to call our forever home.

Something that we've both been trying to figure out since we've been married.
We finally found it! Yay!

But, the coolest thing of all, I really thought the kiddos wouldn't do well on hikes. I thought for sure they'd be complaining and whining and not wanting to keep walking.

Boy, was I wrong! They are fabulous on hikes! WHOA!! I can't even believe it!!

But, once we get home, it's back to sibling fighting and whining and crying. Ha! So, yeah, nature truly does wonders!!

We took a little hike to a tiny waterfall the first week we were here. But this one was our very first REAL hike.

We drove out to the Shenandoah National Park and these were the views out on Skyline Drive . They were absolutely stunning! We had fun pulling over on the outlooks.

Oh, and please mind my pictures...this was the first time I had taken out my DSLR in over a year. So I'm a little rusty with it on this hike. But, gosh, I forgot how much I missed having her out.

Gorgeous, right? Oh my gosh! We can't get enough! The mountains truly make me (us!) smile BIG! Something I never thought I'd be saying. I grew up in West Palm Beach, FL...loving the beach. When my parents took me to North Carolina every single summer, I hated being in the mountains for two weeks and I couldn't wait to get back to flat land.

Now that I'm an adult, with my own kiddos, I'm a brand new person. I absolutely LOVE being surrounded by this beauty! I'm in awe! I still can't believe it! I still love the beach, but right now, being surrounded by the mountains is EXACTLY what my soul is in need of.

I kept asking the Universe to send us a place that will not only my nourish my soul, but also D and the kiddos souls, too! And, wow, the Universe delivered!!

We honestly didn't think we end up here in Charlottesville. We thought we were headed to Washington D.C., as D had been accepted to a school there, but the Coast Guard sent him to the Army JAG school here, instead.

When we found out we were STOKED!!

We had been here once for a concert while we were living in Williamsburg and we both loved it, but, Charlottesville isn't surrounded by water and is really nowhere near the Coast Guard's radar, so every day we talk about how grateful we are to be here.

And, get this! The entire three years we lived in Williamsburg, we never came out for hikes or a little vacation out in the Blue Ridge or the Shenandoah National Park. Say whaaaaat!?

Williamsburg is ONLY 2 hours away!! OMG!! I tell D all the time, "What were we thinking??? I can't believe we NEVER came out here!!" I guess law school and getting pregnant with our first kiddo does that to ya...you don't really know what's going on around you in the real world. Ha!

We made it to Stony Man! This was the perfect little hike to start with. We usually do the easy ones for the kiddos and this one didn't disappoint at all.

Seeing them surrounded by all the trees and their amazing green beauty had me smiling BIG and also had me stopping to snap and to just take it all in.

It was absolutely gorgeous and I was reminded of how much I miss being outside like this and being surrounded by nature in this way.

The more I stopped to take in the moments that were UPlifting me with JOY, the more my inner love for savoring life through the lens started to ignite again.

It's been WAY TOO LONG since I've truly snapped what's making me stop and smile. So not only was being out in nature in this way soul nourishing, so was choosing to bring my big DSLR camera, that I almost left in the car, but something deep within me told me not to.

Like always, it easily pulled me out of my head and helped me connect even more to all the LOVE and JOY I was feeling while being surrounded by nature on this hike.

I NEEDED THIS!! BIG TIME!!

And, it definitely helps when I have the best subjects ever to photograph, too! I sure do miss capturing them like this!

Always a favorite view of mine...his teeny-tiny-hiking-cuteness! Oh gosh! The best!

Nature is absolutely incredible!! (and huge!!)

Hi ho...hi ho..it's off to hiking we go!

I was having fun laying low in the back just capturing what was making my heart sing with JOY!

Then...I stumbled upon this beauty!!

A heart rock! Yaaaay!

Heart rocks are the best!!

I ended up taking this one home with us and I decided that each hike we go on, we need to look for one, bring it home and write the name of the hike it. We've been having so much fun looking for them when we hike. It's become our family hiking tradition!

We also found the best hiking sticks, too! :)

Checking out the map so we are staying on the right path. ;)

Looks good! Full speed ahead! :)

And all of a sudden she's really into posing for me. Ha!

A little break before reaching the top!

Best sibling moment ever! I was SO glad they were still SO happy! Because, yeah, I thought by this point they would be melt-downing like crazy. Ha!

Nature IS fun!!

He wasn't ready to keep going just yet, so him and I took a lit bit longer of break together.

We made it!!

It literally felt like we were on top of the world.

But the view...OH.MY.GOSH!!! It was stunning!!

I really wasn't expecting it to be like this when we got up there. I was in awe!

But, it also dropped right down. So it made me EXTREMELY nervous. I tried to snap the moment as fast as I could so I could watch Luca.

It was crazy hard. I'm feeling all this JOY and because of that I want to just stop and take in it while also snapping it, but at the same time, all I could think about was hold Luca's hand, keep him close, keep my eye on D and CeeCee, and then lets get out of here!! Ha!

Luckily there was a little spot right where the look-out starts that caught Luca's attention (and that felt safe), so while keeping an eye on him I was able to capture all the beauty and the LOVE I was seeing.

CeeCee joined him and then I felt even better! Ahhhhh! They're both safe now! :):)

And then I took it all in for a few seconds, because, as we all know, kids don't stay still long.

Ahhhhhh and just WOW!!! Absolutely beautiful!!

And then back down we go!!

She's loving this pose, too, lately!

And then the drive back home on Skyline Drive still had me FEELING all kinds of JOY! I couldn't get enough!

If only you could hear all the bees that were buzzing around these flowers. Summer at its finest!

As we came out of the national park I couldn't help but think how long it's been since I've been buzzing with JOY like that.

Williamsburg is where I started my DSLR photography journey and I've forgotten how much I love it.

So pulling her out again for this hike was truly the best thing I could have ever done for my mindset. Yes, the hike would have been absolutely amazing without it, but for me, my camera, especially my DSLR, really, truly, pulls me even more into MY joy.

The last few years I've felt pretty disconnected to my inner JOY. Especially last year with C's school. Her and I were very consumed by tests and homework and lots of pressure to pass and with very little support, and then with moving this summer and everything that comes with it, I felt even more disconnected to ME.

I wasn't sure if I'd ever pick up my camera again.

So being here in Virginia, where my photography passion started, 9 years ago and listening to the inner urge I had to bring my DSLR with me on this hike, ignited ME again.

Even though I was VERY rusty at first (I still remember the first day I got my DSLR and C was just a teeny tiny baby and all the pictures I took came out black...ha!), I knew that the more I snapped again, the more I'd be able to dive back in.

Especially with the reason WHY I snap in the first place.

I always say how it easy it is for me to walk by something really quick, smile, and then think to myself, that's awesome or that's beautiful, and then continue to walk on by and focusing on all the crazy thoughts in my head, like, "how long is this going to take...I gotta get home and do laundry, prep dinner, clean the floors, run to the grocery store, calm sibling fighting, take a shower, and so on and son!!"

But, my camera, when I see a moment that makes me STOP and has me smiling BIG and feeling happy, uplifting tingles, instead of just walking right by it, I grab it and then I focus even more on that moment.

All the to-dos and the stress of the day easily melt away and I'm there, 100%, in that moment that I love.

It's just too easy to let those moments pass me by. But my camera, it helps me to NOT let it!

My camera helps me FEEL the JOYous moment even more.

It helps me FOCUS even more that moment (s) that's bringing me JOY a lot longer than I would if I didn't have my camera in my hand.

And most of all, my thoughts are calm, happy and joyously energized. They're not thinking about my stress or all the mom to-dos I still have to do.

I'm focused on the present moment 100%!!

And, gosh, I've missed this!!

I've felt SO much gratitude for moving here and after this hike, I felt even more gratitude, because this place, this area, this hike, reconnected me back to myself and motivated me to pull out my camera again.

It showed me just how important it is for me to ALWAYS keep my big girl out and about, just like I used to, 8 years ago in Williamsburg, no matter what my crazy to-do list thoughts may think.

Because for me, not only do I absolutely LOVE taking pictures, but taking pictures is one of the easiest ways for me to stay connected to the FEELING of what truly brings me JOY...a feeling I can sometimes have a very hard time FEELING while being a very busy mom with lots and lots and lots and lots of adult responsibilities to fill.

And if I'm tingling with JOY because of it, it's a must that I never, EVER, let it go!

Until next time...

Why do I do take pictures? Because it's one of my favorite creative tools that easily pulls me out of my to-do list head and helps me to SAVOR (the feeling of) everything that makes me stop, smile and lights me UP with LOVE even more (something that's hard for me to do when my mind is running five miles ahead or behind the present moment)