New Hampshire
When everything began closing back in March, one of the things I was really upset and worried about was the possibility that I wouldn’t be able to spend any time with one of my best friends, Lauren. She’d recently moved from SoCal to New Hampshire last year.
It’s the closest I’ve lived by a someone near and dear to me in nearly ten years and it’s such a treat! The closest we lived to loved ones before this was when we lived in Metro Detroit and I had family in the suburbs of Chicago, more than a 5 hour drive.
I like to say Lauren’s only a Vegas drive away since it typically takes about 4 hours to drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. I’ve done the NY to NH drive solo with the kids multiple times already and I’m quite thankful that they do very well with longer car rides. I’ve come to realize in recent years that long drives aren’t typical for everyone though. It seems like all the SoCal folks I know don’t bat an eyelash at 3+ hour drives whereas it seems like our Midwest and East coast friends and family tend to avoid them.
This is basically a long winded way of saying, I was getting acclimated to having a loved one near me and was super distraught that I wouldn’t be able to see her, especially during a special time like her first pregnancy. Our third best friend, Victoria, and I decided to move forward and do a completely virtual baby shower for late July. We were going to celebrate our friend and her baby girl, come hell or high water. As COVID-19 cases went down drastically in NY and NH remained relatively quiet, I decided I’d fully quarantine with the kids for two weeks so that we could go in person for the baby shower. I’m especially thankful that we were able to make this trip happen after everything that’s happened these past few months.
Watching a fellow ortho wife take maternity pictures inspired me to attempt some as well. Lauren was super gracious and willing to be my guinea pig. These shots are from her backyard. I think they came out rather well despite the fact I still struggle to comprehend what the heck ISO, aperture, and shutter speed are and how they relate despite reading so many articles.
The shot above of Lauren and her husband, Scott, as well as the rest of the photos in this post were taken at Trombly Gardens. If you’re ever in the area, I highly suggest going for ice cream or sorbet. They are heavy handed with their scoops and the ice cream is creamy and tasty. Ava gave the sorbets two thumbs up. Our favorites were the campfire ice cream and strawberry lemonade sorbet flavors.
