I want to be honest. I've been feeling extremely anxious about the mass shootings. I woke up this morning at 3:30 with a heavy heart while my mind kept showing me violent images involving my family. I'm not being dramatic. I am having a hard time thinking about going in public places where there might be crowds or people who don't like "race mixing" like the guy in El Paso.

At the same time, I'm not going to stop living, but I am dealing with the stress of the absurdity of our nation.
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Are you feeling it too? If you're having a hard time, you're not alone. This is just a short discussion, but maybe this will help you, your friends or your family. 

The discussion continues on my Facebook page. Also, here's the link to the age-by-age guide from NBC.

I love taking pictures, but after a while, I stopped because... it was just Jim, me or the dogs. But now I'm wondering, how often do families do family pictures? Is this a yearly thing? Occasional? What is the norm here? 

We just had our pictures taken over the weekend with Melinda Burgess -- she is amazing! She was also our doula. When we picked her, she seemed like such a great advocate for us, and so it was quite a bonus when we found out she is a professional photographer!

Side note, Melinda took pictures of JJ's delivery. As a journalist, I thought, "why not?" And seriously, it was one of the best things I think I've ever done. Her first priority was helping us manage labor, but there were plenty of moments where she could snap a pic! I'll spare you some of the more graphic ones. 

We met Melinda on Saturday at Wellington Hills Park in Woodinville. We had originally thought about going to Discovery Park in Seattle, but I thought there would be too much traffic with Seafair. I'm so glad we did Woodinville!

Getting there was so hard -- I mean, getting ready. My husband gets more stressed about these things because I think he's more concerned he doesn't have enough picture-worthy clothing. Plus he had to shave and iron his clothes. When we were walking out the door, my hair and makeup weren't done. Life as a mom, right? 

You might think this is really vain or dumb, but one day I decided to keep a pair of fake eyelashes in my console (just an old pair), and I'm so glad I did! I needed those, and yet, I still had to run to the pharmacy to buy eyelash glue. 

I bought JJ's outfit at Goodwill, and so I started there and worked backwards. I found a skirt (also bought used on Poshmark a few years ago) so I decided to wear it with a Navy sweater. I haven't bought very many new clothes for JJ yet, and I like that as a trend to be a more environmentally aware and thrifty family.

Anyway, we got a sneak peek at some of our pictures, so I thought I'd share! What a beautiful park to take some pics. I think it looks very PNWish!