A Little Life Update

I used to do these often and then just kinda fell off of it when my life got insane. Last year I decided to coach cheer at my old high school. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and it ended up taking over my life, ha. In a good way... most of the time! Blogging is truly one of my passions and something I love doing, but there just weren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. Sooo blogging ended up getting cut from the lineup. Sad. I'm really hoping to make more time for it now though because I love and miss it! I've been getting quite a few messages on Instagram asking how we're doing and if something happened to make me stop sharing and posting as much. The answer is that nothing happened but life just got a lot busier. So, here's a little catch up post to hopefully answer my most asked questions as well as share just what we're up to!

Hunter

-Working at GA still and excelling. I never doubted or worried about him but he just keeps getting incredible performance reviews. Good job Hunter!

-Working from home during this quarantine and being so good being patient with the little ones running around crazy all the time, haha. 

-Teaches Sunday school to the 12 and 13 year olds at church. I've had the opportunity to sit in during a few lessons and he is a wonderful teacher. I'm so grateful he's the one helping me teach our children!

-Coached the JV basketball team at our old high school last season. I didn't get to go to many of his games since I was coaching at the varsity games but from the few I did get to see and the practices I got to see him in action at, I can tell that's yet another thing he's a rockstar at. 

-Wakes up around 6am even when he doesn't set an alarm. Ha, he gets most everything done before I even wake up!

Aleigh
-Finished up my first year coaching varsity and competition cheer. We actually got cut short due to the quarantine. I was sad to have things end so abruptly but still made lots of wonderful memories over the year. Yes, year. Cheer is completely year round which makes it much different than other sports. We started in May and would've gone til April if the quarantine didn't happen. Tryouts are ion the Spring. We practice over the summer, start competition practice in the Fall. Cheer for football in the Fall. Work on halftime routines and pep rally routines in the Fall. Compete in the Winter. Cheer for basketball in the Winter. Finish with any school performances in the Spring.
-Got called to being an advisor in Young Women's at church. I was really enjoying getting to know the girls and spending time with them. Hoping we can return to that soon!
-Doing little homeschool lessons with Oaks to fill our time up now that preschool is done.
-Remembering how much I love cooking now that I have time to again!

Oaklyn

-Finished up her second year of preschool. It obviously ended sooner than we thought it would but we're looking forward to her starting Kindergarten in the Fall. She made some really awesome little friends and learned SO much!

-Taking hip hop classes and honestly... not totally loving it, ha! I thought she would since it's faster paced but she just keeps saying she wants to be a cheerleader. I can't blame her since she was surrounded by it constantly for the past year. She's currently doing her classes virtually and we are really hoping the recital will still happen this June. 

-Turned 5 in February. (WHAT)

-In CTR 4 at church and we are LOVING seeing her in Primary Programs. 

-Acts like a teenager and is definitely giving us a run for our money. But, she is also very thoughtful and kind when she wants to be... ha. 

Cambria

-2.5! She will be turning 3 in August and I literally cannot believe it. These last 2.5 years have actually flown by.

-Grows an inch of hair each day, I swear. Her hair is gorgeous!

-Such an active little squirt but also such a snuggle bug. She loves to be held and snuggled in a blanket next to anyone she loves.

-Working on potty training. She's doing amazing with pee! Poop however has been quite a struggle...

-Still taking a nap but figured out how to climb out of the crib. And how to open doors... I may or may not have found her in the backyard during nap time. Don't worry, we figured out how to contain her 😓 

-She's still an easy, happy go lucky child with a hint of sass now. She's such a funny little stinker and her vocabulary is becoming hilarious. 

As for a family update... we are still living in San Diego but are planning on moving next summer! Where? Not totally sure yet. We're pretty sure we know where but nothing is set in stone. We'll definitely share more during the process of moving and are getting really excited for a change! As for now, we're enjoying where we're at and are trying to take things day by day rather than wishing time would speed up. There's a lot to be grateful for right now so we're trying hard not to be too anxious! I feel like the most asked question I get is, when will there be Baby Moore #3? Haha! The answer is, we absolutely want more kids! We're very excited to have more kids but it just hasn't felt like the right timing. We definitely don't feel done at two, but we're also not in a rush for three. I guess time will tell... ha! Sorry there isn't more exciting news there. 😉 

Here's to hoping this isn't the last post for a while... I'm going to work on posting more, yay! Let me know anything you guys want to see more of!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

Dresses were found at my local Marshalls. They have the best and most reasonably priced dresses!

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A Cozy Christmas

This post is sponsored by Sleepyheads. However, all opinions are mine alone

Today marks only ONE MONTH until Christmas! Can you believe how fast that came?? Maybe it doesn't seem fast for the rest of you, but for me this entire year flew by! We're pretty busy planning our move to San Diego so I've been trying to get things ready for Christmas as fast as possible. One of the first things I thought of is one of my favorite family traditions; matching family jammies for Christmas Eve! Generally, I don't post about our jammies until Christmas Eve but this year I wanted to share the cute and cozy ones I found so you can snag some too! 

I found our jammies at Sleepyheads.com and we love them so much! They had so many options to chose from and they are seriously the comfiest jammies any of us own! Oaklyn thinks it is so fun that she gets to match mommy and daddy and cam looks so adorable in hers! I love this red snowflake collection because they had them in every size we needed! I was so nervous that I wouldn't be able to find identical jammies for all of us this year but was so happy when I saw these! I love that they are footed jammies because I know the girls will be cozy sleeping in them. Hunter and I have the feet on ours as well, except ours zip off! This feature was so perfect for Hunter who is really tall. Hunter and I also have a little hood on ours.

So how does this tradition work? Well every year on Christmas eve I wrap up our jammies as one present. I let Oaklyn open it (now Cambria too!) and then we put them on right away! Then we read a Christmas book and get ready for bed. We wake up Christmas morning in our matching jammies and it just feels so festive and fun! We open our presents in our matching jammies and continue to wear them year round because they are just that cozy! I really love this tradition and plan to continue it until our kids find it embarrassing to match their parents, haha!

Because I love Sleepyheads SO much, I can just guarantee that you all will too! So, I have teamed up with them to giveaway up to 4 pairs of these same jammies! This is a quick giveaway so be sure to enter pronto! Comment here with what your favorite gift of all time was! Then head over to my instagram for more entires!

Giveaway will run for 48 hours!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

8

Floating Photo Frame DIY

When we moved into our current apartment, I knew it was incredibly temporary,  but it just didn't feel like a home without decorating the way I wanted.

For the first time ever in our marriage, we walked in to a completely blank slate and it was SO refreshing!

White walls in every room made the possibilities endless.

I basically went through everything I had and got rid of a crazy amount of stuff because it was never really my style to begin with, it just worked in our previous places.

I've always loved light and bright when it comes to decor so i knew I wanted a lot of white.

 I also absolutely love displaying our family's memories so I wanted something that held a lot of photos without looking cluttered. 

I had two blank walls that needed some love but none of my old stuff was working.

I shared what I did with one of the walls here, but was torn for a while with the other wall.

I kept resorting to a gallery wall since I wanted a way to display a bunch of photos but ultimately decided against it because I really didn't want it to look cluttered.

Everything I was finding at my usual stores just wasn't cutting it so I decided to make something myself!

I am in love with the way these frames turned out.

They are exactly what I was envisioning.

Ultimately I wanted this DIY to be cheap!

While I am planning on bringing them with us wherever it is we go, I just knew there was a way to make them without breaking the bank. 

I went to Lowes and Hobby Lobby and weighed out all my options several different times and finally figured out how to make all three for around $10.

YUP! You heard that right ;)

So here's what you need and how to do it...

Sorry guys, I totally spaced step by step directions.

What you'll need:

-Wood!  I can't remember the exact name of the wood I used but it was very similar to this one. I believe the ones I got were just under $2 though. I had them cut the pieces into 32 inch pieces and and 12 inch pieces. I needed 6 of each to make three frames. 

-Paint. Use whatever color you want but I just used white acrylic from Hobby Lobby

-Wood Glue. 

-Twine

-Black and white photos. Of course you can do color... but black and white looks much more uniform!

-Hot Glue

-Something to hang it. You can get the cool things like the sawtooth hangers to nail in or a wire but since we're renting I just attached command strips on the back.

How to make them:

1) Cut your pieces into the dimensions I stated above. You may need to sand the edges a little bit.

2) Assemble two 32 inch pieces and two 12 inch pieces to make a frame shape. Then add a little wood glue and apply pressure. This is where I went the cheapest route. Most frames have a 45 degree angle but I didn't have a saw to do that or correct tools to attach the pieces. If you do, then go ahead and go that route!

3) Once the wood glue has dried your frames are done! Haha so easy. I then painted my frames and let them dry but spray paint would've also been super easy.

4) Wrap twine a few times around the top. I wrapped it around the top pieces of the frame twice then strung it down and did the same to the bottom. I then Just took a smaller piece and wrapped it twice around the other side of the middle piece of twine that's used to hang the photos. I used hot glue to make the twine stay in place. I also cut out the backside of the twine since I used command strips and the twine made the back side too bulky.

5) Attach your photos using good ol tape! I got mine printed in 5X5 at Costco and arranged them to my liking before placing the tape. It has held great and will make changing them out super easy!

That's all!

You guys, these frames were so so easy to make and are one of my favorite decorations.

Not only do each of the sweet memories bring a little tear to my eye each time I look, but I love how clean it looks in our hallway. 

I also think it would look great with four or even five frames in a bigger space!

I hope you guys enjoyed this little DIY!

What are you currently working on in your home?

All my love,

Aleigh Joy 

7

A Little Easter Lady

I love having a little girl for several reasons, but being able to make her my little dress up dolly is definitely up there ;)

Before we knew Oaklyn's gender, I was convinced she was a girl. 

By the time we actually found out she was a girl, I had no clue what to think since I had just assumed she was a boy!

We listened to "All American Girl" by Carrie Underwood on the way to dinner that night and I thought my heart might burst.

Suddenly, I knew I was meant to be this little girly's mama and the thought of pretty holiday dresses, all the bows, and sparkly shoes had me beyond excited!

I've always loved everything about holidays but one thing I realllyy love is an excuse to dress Oaklyn up and take some fun photos ;)

We got together with some friends last week and had a picnic lunch in a local orchard and snapped some photos of our little Easter kiddos.

It was so dreamy being in the tunnel of trees that are so close to blossoming for spring.

Oaklyn and I were sitting alone one moment and she looked up at me and said, "I yov mama."

Those are the moments in motherhood that make all the hard ones beyond worth it!

I love remembering all these little moments and capturing them through photos so I never forget. 

This year we are going to be telling Oaklyn all about our Savior and the great sacrifice he made for all of us, but even more importantly, that He Lives! 

She may still be a little young to understand, but we'll be doing a little craft each year to show her :)

I'll be sharing that one with you guys soon!

For now, enjoy these pictures of my sweet little Easter Lady :)

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

Oaklyn's Top (similar) | Oaklyn's Skirt (Similar) (also similar) | Oaklyn's Shoes | Oaklyn's Hat (similar) | My Boots | Praline Rose Lipsense

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The Perfect Christmas Card + Our 2016 Family Photos

We take pictures of our little family often, but about once a year we actually get all dolled up with coordinating outfits and have a photographer take our photos rather than using a tripod ;)

Since living in Utah, our good friend Kiely has taken them and I love them all!

Kiely started her business not too long ago but it's super easy to tell she should've started a while ago!

She has such an eye for capturing perfect moments that you will want to remember years later.

Oaklyn was a complete stink this year while taking our family photos and Kiely still managed to capture pictures I love!

I remember getting in the car and thinking, "there has to be at least one I'll like... hopefully."

Turns out there were so many "favorites" I couldn't even decide which ones to put on here!

But here are a few that will definitely be framed :)

Check out more of Kiely's work (and her new little baby!!!) on her instagram and book a session with her by going to her website!

 Just had to include this one haha!

 We also love that family photos mean updated pictures of hunter and I!

When it came time to pick out a Christmas card, I knew it would have to fit a ton of our family photos since I seriously couldn't just choose one!

I've always made my own card because it's so fun for me to design... but as my days just get busier I realized it was time to let someone else do the work for me ;)

The choice of which company to choose was so easy for me!

I've always loved every card I've seen from Tiny Prints!

Their designs are always the cutest and there are so many options it's insane!

You can customize just about anything over at Tiny Prints and it made sending my Christmas cards this year an absolute breeze!

Seriously, with everything I already have going on, just thinking about addressing envelopes stressed me out.

I couldn't believe how easy the process was getting my cards from Tiny Prints.

I found my favorite card from their digital catalog within a matter of minutes.

It stood out to me the most and I knew it would be perfect with the color scheme of our photos this year.

Some of my other favorites included gold foil and glitter! 

I loved that this card had a ton of space to fit all of my photos I loved and the tri fold gave it so much dimension and personality. 

We have gotten so many compliments on this card, but all credit goes to Tiny Prints for making it a breeze on me!

We also opted to have all addresses and return addresses printed on the envelope which saved me SO much time!

Not only that, but we even got personalized stamps!

You guys, how awesome is that?

We chose these stamps and they turned out sooo cute!

Our order came so quickly and I was able to get our cards out in record time! 

Seriously, I cannot say enough good things about Tiny Prints.

We will definitely be using them in years to come and I just can't wait to design another card :)

If you still need to order you have til Sunday to get THIRTY percent off your entire order with the code HOLLYJOLLY so RUN, don't walk ;)

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

1

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

One of the best parts about growing up in a vacation spot is all the exploring we get to do when we go home!

If you follow me on snapchat (aleighjoy) you probably saw we took a little vacation to San Diego a week and a half ago!

Hunter and I are high school sweethearts and my parents just moved, so our parents now live literally 3 minutes away.

It is so perfect because we get to see both families in just one trip!

Even though we grew up in San Diego, it is even more fun going back to visit because we get to act like tourists and explore places we didn't all the time while living there.

Before moving to Utah, I had a full time job which hardly left any time to explore like I would have wanted to.

We have made it more of a goal to do fun things while there now and one of the super fun activities we did this time around was go to a Padres game!

Hunter loves baseball and the whole atmosphere so he was super excited to go.

We knew it would be a little difficult with our busy body toddler so we brought grandma and grandpa along too ;)

I had forgotten how beautiful the ballpark is!

It is literally right in the heart of San Diego.

It is right downtown and you can see the San Diego Bay, all the sky scrapers downtown, the Coronado Bridge, and Coronado island.

Is that not the coolest location?

The park also has a grass field where you can sit and have your kids run around.

There is also "the beach" where there is sand to play in. So cool!

You will also find mini fields for children to play on during the game!

Petco Park is both family friendly and adult friendly, I just love that there is something for everyone. 

Now let's talk about food!

I couldn't believe all the different food options!

When I think of a baseball game I think of hotdogs, popcorn, peanuts, and you know... cracker jack ;)

However, there was literally something for every single tastebud.

I still stuck with my (yummy) hot dog but the street tacos, ice cream sandwiches, and philly cheesesteaks were all super tempting!

Oaklyn stuck with popcorn and water and seemed to really enjoy it ;)

It was so fun to be there as a family and to meet up with one of Hunter's best friends while there!

Oaklyn and I did a whole lot of walking around the park and I loved exploring all of it... as did she ;)

Hunter and his dad were also super excited to see a home run from the Padres!

Baseball games are such a fun family activity, we will definitely be headed back another time!

Thank you San Diego Padres for an awesome afternoon!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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