Seasons of Change

I love living in Utah. I love the gorgeous mountains. I love the change of the seasons. I love that there are four seasons that I get to enjoy. I like that flowers grow in the Spring. I love the unreal colors of the trees in the mountains in the Fall. I enjoy the snow falling on Christmas morning. The hot summers definitely feel like Summer--swimming in lakes and pools. 

But there is something difficult about seasons changing, for me, too. 

I tend to struggle emotionally with change of seasons. I know it sounds crazy but I truly believe that the tilt of the earth and the change of weather truly affects people. I saw it with my students when I was teaching. When there was any change of weather, a Full Moon, or a season change, they acted a different way--they were more lethargic, or, perhaps, more energetic, depending on those factors. 

I find my body doing the same thing.

I find that the hardest change is towards the end of October, when it is changing from Fall to winter. I think that my seasonal affective disorder is very triggered and those few weeks are the hardest. The cold days and the dark nights are just the worst. Ha! 

My life is in constant change. Having babies and kids means your life is in a everchanging--hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. My life is constantly in a state of "figuring things out" and then it changes again. I just feel like I have the baby thing down and now Georgia is becoming a toddler. Then, in the next couple years, I'll have another baby again. And the cycle continues. It's part of life and it's amazing and difficult and worth it. It's true what they say that the only constant is change. 

I am grateful that I have coping skills for when I feel like my Depression and/or Seasonal Affective Disorder kick in. I am grateful that I can see myself spiraling and just giving myself grace to slow down and be intuitive. I am grateful that I am able to see those things in myself so that I can still take care of myself so that I can be a good mother. 

And I am grateful that Halloween is over and we can enjoy the Holidays. ;) 

Mountains! Snow! Christmas Break!

...is heaven! Today I went to the gym, ran errands, and cleaned my house IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. It's seriously amazing what I can get done in the middle of the day when I don't have a full time job! Haha. Our christmas break ends on Tuesday (and we got out on the 22nd, don't even get me started). I am already dreading having to go back to teaching. I love my kiddos and my job, but this whole not-working thing is seriously amazing. And I can already feel that the break was not long enough!

Our Christmas was pretty low-key, but it was a great day spent with my in-laws. I tried really hard to focus on the "reason for the season" this year, so gifts were not over-the-top, but I was impressed with what I got T-Money with our budget. I am so grateful that I was able to sing in church on Christmas Sunday and to participate in so many fun, festive Christmas activities over the month of December so that I could focus on our Savior and his birth. I promised myself that is something that I would do and I stuck to it. The whole Christmas season seemed so much better! This whole week I have been catching up with my life: working out twice a day, cleaning, and running errands. It hasn't been super exciting, but it has been productive and slow-paced, which is so nice for a change. T has had to work all week so it's pretty much been me and Saylor, my sidekick, doing things. And I've loved it!!!

I have been up in the canyons hiking in the snow a few times this week to change my workouts around (so that I'm not always just as the gym! ha). Plus, watching Saylor run in the snow might be the cutest thing in the world. If you don't have a dog, you don't understand. I caught some absolutely gorgeous photos while on some of my hikes. It is freeeeezing up in the canyons, but I stayed bundled up and tried to enjoy the outdoors. I will show you those amazing sites and photos below. As always, please do not take without permission. 

Over the break, I:
-read three books. Man alive, am I nerd, or what?
-deep cleaned my house (like doors, baseboards, everything).
-Did about 7 loads of laundry. Yikes.
-hiked in the canyons multiple times. So gorgeous!
-went to the gym. A lot.
-slept. A lot.
-saw movies (my fav) and watched Netflix (also my fav).
-ran a gazillion errands.
-drank a lot of sodalicious (guilty).
-saw grandparents and cousins and family members all over Utah.
-Took down Christmas decor (and cried while doing it. Always makes me sad).
-Went to a New Years Eve Casino night.
-Caught up with friends.
-cuddled with Saylor. A lot.

If you follow me on Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter, you may have already known these things, but it's fine. Whatever. (@sierrasview for all).

Without further ado, here is WINTER IN NORTHERN UTAH. AS THE YOUTH WOULD SAY, "I JUST CAN'T EVEN." Also, just take a moment and look at that stinkin' adorable dog. I'm obsessed with her. I think we all knew that though. Note: these were all taken on different days, hence the different lighting.

DO YOU SEE THE PEOPLE?! Gah! 

The lighting on this day was ~perfect. 

Love the edit on this one, too. 

And the Saylor photo shoot starts NOW...

Mom. Stop. 

Had to edit this one a little different. Love the look of this. 

look at my cute house in the snow!!!! I'm obsessed. 

Utah. You are cold, but, MAN you're beautiful.
Wish all the teachers luck as they endeavor back to school this week. Gahhhhhhhh.

I like to pretend to do photography....

...especially in Nature in the Fall.
Like I stated yesterday, Fall in Utah is what I think Heaven will be like. I cannot stop hiking, driving, and taking pictures of this gorgeous season. I just want to leave these pictures here for you all to enjoy. These are all from multiple days and the many excursions and hikes that I go on (hence the different colors and clouds and skies in many of the pictures). Take a minute and go outside today. Go for a walk outside. Take time to take a deep breath OUTSIDE. Take some photos. It's good for the soul.

Also, I want to give you guys a little precursor to whats on my mind. I am planning on using these pictures that I take of my photography on cards for a little business. I need some feedback. Would you buy these cards?! What is the best online way to sell these? Just through my blog, etsy, etc?

*Please do not take these photos without permission.

What is your favorite season?