i have to give myself a little pat on the back for making my kid’s birthday photo book in the same year that they celebrated their birthday!  eliza turned 8 in may and ryder turned 3 in may.  the last birthday book i made was when eliza turned 1.  : (

it is really challenging for any parent to keep up with their kids photo albums, but i think it is even more challenging for a professional photographer.  the sheer number of photos i have of my kids is astronomical.  plus, i admit it, i am a bit (understatement) of a perfectionist.  for years i have photographed my kids as if their life was an editorial spread for a magazine.  i have tons of images from their milestones that i never printed because i wanted to go back and photoshop them and “make them perfect”.  guess what?  life is not perfect.  in fact, the life of a self employed mom of two is pretty darn crazy at times.  one of my resolutions for the new year was to “let it go”.  i wanted to stop trying to make the perfect life and just live the life that i love.  this year there might be a few more dust bunnies rolling around the floor, a lot more weeds in the garden and whole lot of photos taken with instagram instead of my mark II, but i am ok with that.  i am happy.

here are a few instagram collages and a few snapshots that i took during the camping birthday extravaganza of 2012.  birthdays seem to last for weeks around our house.  part one of the camping birthday party extravaganza was also our first trip in our winnebago.  we went to carolina beach to celebrate the big 08 and 03 for the kids.

part two of the camping birthday extravaganza was at our lake house, which is called “hobcaw”.  welcome to “camp hobcaw”!

i know it might seem like i did not “let it go” when it came to planning this birthday party, but eliza and i had a great time painting all of the signs and thinking of fun campy things to do.  my overachieving side is a plus when it comes to having good parties.  ; )  i must also credit pinterest for making the camping party such a hit!