HoltFamilyVlog 09.23.2014: First Day of Fall!

If you didn't know, today was the first day of fall!!! For us Hawai'i kids... This changing of seasons is a big deal to us.  I've always loved the fall/holiday season, even when I lived in Hawai'i.  I just loved the atmosphere and spirit it brought.  One of the main reasons for why we left all the sunshine for more overcast skies, is because we prefer rain over heat.  Chloe's never really played out in the rain before, but she's always been eager to explore outside.  It was no surprise to us that she totally enjoyed this sweater weather!

This rain gutter was even more interesting with all the rain water gushing out of it...

I love seeing them walk together.

Please enjoy today's vlog!  We all agreed that we're pretty excited for what this holiday/fall season may/will bring!


Are you and your family excited for this upcoming fall/holiday season?  What are some family traditions that you look forward to?

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HoltFamilyVlog 09.17.2014: Crazy Christmas Lady!

Yesss... Crazy Christmas Lady strikes again!  To be honest, these sightings are probably just going to become more and more frequent.  I don't know how to explain how excited I am for this fall and holiday season!  Every time we leave the house I'm pointing out to Thomas all the trees that have leaves that are changing color on them. ^_^

Is anyone else this excited for the upcoming fall/winter season?! No?... Just me?... Give me sometime... I'll get you in the spirit! =]  Thanks for checking out today's vlog!

HoltFamilyVlog 09.16.2014: (The Beginning of) Autumn Leaves

Can you believe that summer officially ends in one week?! Also, Christmas is 100 days away (well technically 99 by the time this post/vlog is live).  But holy moly!!  Anywho... We spent today cleaning the entire apartment.  But we of course still managed to have a lot of fun with the Munchkin!  Please enjoy the vlog!

Good-Bye August 2014

When I first started to get back into blogging again... I was trying to figure out a monthly post that I could do at the beginning/end of each month to sort of recap things that we/I am currently into.  The main purpose of this blog is to document my growth as a mother and young woman... But also my family's journey through life.  We are at such an exciting point in our lives right now... And I want to be able to remember it years down the line.  One of my favorite blogs to read is Erica Castillo's To The Sea.  She does such a great job of documenting her family's adventures... She does an even better job at keeping up with an array of monthly posts that updates everyone on what's going on with her kids.  One of her latest posts is part of her "Currently..." series in which she answers a few prompts that quickly sums up what they're currently into.  I absolutely love this idea... It's something quick and easy enough to do but years down the road I can read it and transport myself back to that moment in time.

So!  Currently . . .

Looking Forward To: Winter/Fall!  Thomas and I have lived in {the ever beautiful} state of Hawai'i for our whole lives.  Every time we tell people where we moved from we're often met with confused looks, "Why would you leave paradise to come to... Washington?!"  But to tell you the truth... We're really looking forward to experiencing change (in so many other ways besides just the weather too).  Our family doesn't do too good in the heat:  Chloe will still sweat here in WA on an 80 degree day... and Thomas starts to feel claustrophobic if it gets too hot (which the occasional 90+ something day with humidity in Hawai'i can feel like)... and I love the rain a whole lot more than the heat.  Besides rain... I also love the feeling and atmosphere that the fall and winter brings!  Thomas is beyond excited to find a pumpkin patch for Halloween, and to cut down our own Christmas Tree!  Oh, and go google Leavenworth, WA Christmas (I'll wait while you click the link...).

But in case you didn't...

It's seriously something off of a postcard or out of a Christmas book.  Neither of us have seen snow before (up close at least) so we are very excited to go {safely} exploring this winter, well at least as much exploring a 9-months pregnant momma can handle.

Feeling: Blessed... Words can't explain how grateful I am that we have been able to have the opportunity to move to the mainland to really pursue our dreams (whatever they may be).  When we found out that we were expecting Chloe, Thomas and I realized that we had to grow up and start making decisions for ourselves and for our family.  Growing up in Hawai'i the importance of family is firmly engrained into all of us from a very young age.  We're taught to take care of one another, and to always help each other out.  An important lesson that Thomas and I have learned over the past year is that we will never truly be happy if we keep trying to think about what will make everyone else happy because "[ . . . ] those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind".  We had to stop putting our goals and what could truly make us happy off on the back burner.  A lot of hard decisions were made... and a lot of prayers were said... But at the end of all of it, we've learned that if you always follow your heart (with good intentions), and ask God for the guidance and strength to do what needs to be done (or the strength to turn away from a door that He closed...), you'll end up where you need to be.  The sky is the limit for us and we're young... There really is no better time for us to follow our dreams and make something of ourselves... for our family.

"We must take adventures in order to know where we truly belong."

Excited About: All the projects, plans, and goals I have for this blog!  Our babies are only going to be babies once... And after having Chloe, I totally understand why mother's always look at their husband's with those longing eyes whenever they hold a newborn/baby.  There's just something about holding a little baby (that you helped to make and bring into this world)... And I want to be able to capture those feelings and all the other precious moments for our family (but especially for me and Thomas).  I'm excited to meet and learn so much from other bloggers and vloggers who are equally as passionate about their work and family as I am.

Dreading: The huge pile of clothes (that keeps growing) that needs to be folded and put away...  I've been seeing a lot of "I guess that's a sign of growing up" posts from my friends lately on social media.  So I've been joking with a lot of them that "you know you're growing up when you just accept the fact that there will always be dishes to be washed, clothes that needs to be washed and put away, and a house to clean".  But, of course, with that... Comes so many other joys and blessings. =]

Needing: A nap... I'm not sure why but I woke up with a headache this morning (it happens every so often during this pregnancy...)  Food and naps seem to make them go away/feel better ^_^

I love when she falls asleep in our arms... She's so independent and full of energy now, she's always scooting off our laps.  So we always try to enjoy a few minutes of when she [rarely] falls asleep in arms...

Wanting: A good book to read!  I absolutely love to read.  I'm one of those people who can spend their whole day curled up on the couch with a really good book.  Another good thing about having Chloe is I can't finish a good book in one day anymore... (Yes, I'm also one of those people who gets sad when she reaches the end of a really good book/series).  I'm really willing to give anything a shot... maybe something non-fiction for now?

Watching:  Thomas and I love finding a good TV series to watch together on Netflix.  We just finished Fringe (if you like Criminal Minds/Heros/Lost/X-Files... you'll like this show.  In fact, I believe the people who worked on Lost and Heros also worked on this show?).  We're also watching Under The Dome.  Thomas has Amazon Prime so we get to watch the episodes for free a few days after it airs on TV!  We're also waiting for Supernatural and The Walking Dead to come back this fall (another reason to look forward to fall).

Working On:  Adding little personal touches around our home... and our YouTube channel and this blog. Oh... and a name for Peanut.  We're taking suggestions =]

Our baby yogi.

Simply Real: Our First Vlog is Live!

So... Thomas and I have been talking about trying to put together vlogs for quite sometime.  I have to admit... It's my fault that it's never really gotten done since I'm the one who really knows how to edit and all that jazz (hubs is the techie guy who supplies me with the hardware and tech support).  But like I said in my recap of VloggerFair (which you can read about here)... Being around all of those vloggers (especially the family vloggers)... It really gave me the final motivation I needed to get on top of it.  I mean honestly... I take enough pictures and videos of Chloe to put something up everyday, so why not give it a shot?  We're at a very interesting point in our lives... So why not take the chance to record the memories.

So!  Without further adieu... Here's our first vlog!

Simply Real: VloggerFair 2014

I started watching vlogs (video blogs... kind of like a video diary) about three or four years ago.  My sister had told me about a makeup guru, Judy Travis, who was just starting to get into daily vlogs with her (at that time) fiancé.  The two of them had just moved into their own place and Judy was in the middle of planning her wedding.  She recorded her journey to her wedding day in a mini Wedding series.  Through the years viewers have watched them bring their three beautiful daughters into the world, build their first home together, travel the world, and so much more.  I have to say... these YouTube vloggers are really going to give reality TV a run for their money.

I believe this was the line to meet Charles Trippy.  According to his Instagram, it took 3.5 hours to meet everyone!

This past Saturday, the second annual VloggerFair was held in Seattle.  Nearly 2,000 fans and vloggers packed the exhibition hall on Mercer Street to share tips, motivate, and meet each other.  The fair was held in a Q&A format where the vloggers took the time to answer questions from the audience.  The first group were the "Family Vloggers" (such as Shaytards and Sam & Jennika).

This was perfect time for us to be at the fair.  There were so many babies and kids everywhere!  It was very inspirational to hear the different vloggers talk about how it isn't always easy to vlog but that being able to look back at the videos really made all the work (and sometimes criticism) worth it all.

We took a little lunch break and decided to explore Queen Anne.  We stumbled upon the Metropolitan Market... and we fell in love.  I joked with Thomas that we could probably survive off of what we could find at Uwajimaya and the Metropolitan Market.  We explored the market and decided to take advantage of the awesome selection of hot items and sandwiches.  Thomas settled for a sandwich and some california rolls, and I opted for a salad.  Chloe and I also shared a bowl of tomato bisque.  Yum!

We headed back to VloggerFair, where we finally got to meet Judy and Julianna (we had run into Benji earlier in the day at Uwajimaya ^_^).  It wasn't as crowded so we really got to enjoy talking to everyone!

We had an awesome and fun-filled day.  I couldn't help but feel so blessed as I was falling asleep... and a lot of it was in large part due to Thomas.  I posted the following on my Facebook page that night:

Over a year ago, Thomas told me that I would have the chance to meet Judy & Benji.  From having the small, intimate dream wedding I never knew I truly wanted to moving our little growing family to the beautiful PNW.  Thomas never ceases to show me that he's not only the man of my dreams, but also the one who makes them come true.  I can't help but feel more and more blessed as each day goes by. ♥  

If you know me... My phone never has any memory in it because I'm constantly taking pictures and videos to capture all of life's precious moments.  Over the years, Thomas has bought me an array of cameras and even a laptop.  He has truly given me everything to pursue my dreams of recording and saving all of our family's memorable moments.  I think I can finally say that I have received the final push and motivation that I needed to actually sit down and get to work.  I want to make it a point to compile the pictures and videos that we've taken over the week... and put them together so that we can look back on them later down the road.  Maybe I'll post these videos along with my blog updates.  I already [try...] to make it a point to print my pictures and put them into my Erin Condren planner... So maybe I can share that as well.  I want to invite you all along on another journey with us, as I venture into the world of truly becoming our family's historian.

[PS] Any helpful hints and resources would be greatly appreciated. I have a MacBook Air and will probably be using iMovie to edit videos.  I've played around with Photoshop and I am thinking of also checking out LightRoom at the recommendation of my SIL. What are some of your creative ways of preserving your family's memories?

Photo Dump from VloggerFair 2014!


It was so nice to meet Shayt and Colette from Shaytards! Chloe juuuuust missed it but that's okay, they thought she was adorable even though she was asleep!


It was nice talking to Amy and Julian from AdenturesWithAJ.  Thanks for the road trip recommendations... we'll definitely keep an eye out on your vlogs for more tips!


We each got a hug from DearMamaSal! She's so sweet!


I hope Thomas and I have the chance to cook with you guys one day!  Checkout BenjiManTV for lots of food related videos!

And of course VloggerFair wouldn't have been complete without a picture with Judy!  Here entire family really is as down-to-earth as you could ever have imagined.  Julianna loved Chloe... She was trying to bring her a long.