the best of Silver Lining 2016

This is one of my favorite posts to write every year. It's so fun looking back on the last twelve months of Silver Lining to see everything I did, and what resonated with my readers the most.

I've arranged them into categories for you, and tried my hardest to only showcase the very most popular posts from each topic.

EXPLORING ARIZONA

a simple afternoon at the Mesa temple

the prettiest desert nursery (and free citrus tasting too)

remember when we discovered this gorgeous desert right in our backyard?

and of course - the pool!

THE TWINS

our fun video announcing I was pregnant with twins

twin gender reveal - with confetti poppers!

meeting the twins - still some of my favorite pictures

the first sponge bath for my tiny tiny babies

still can't believe how different my twins are: 2 months here and 4 months here

RECIPES

I love my easy weeknight dinner series - check out this jambalaya or this kielbasa potato bake

served a variation of my favorite mocktail at a baby shower this month

currently craving this easy chilled cheesecake

alllll the white chocolate popcorn (fall version here, winter version here)

PERSONAL ESSAYS

when you're up with babies in the middle of the night 

two different swimsuit companies offered to sponsor me after I wrote this one about the type of mom I want to be at the pool

vulnerability and a set of imperfect pictures

lots of honesty about how hard grad school is with a young family

TIPS AND TRICKS

all about podcasts! - for general listening, and for creatives / entrepreneurs / bloggers

easy ways to stay healthy during a hard pregnancy

6 fun Instagram accounts

still my most viral post ever - advice from 65 mothers for when you have a second baby

when you and your toddler need to take 5 minutes to get back on each other's good side: how to bond

FAMILY

sledding!

a crazy toddler running around ASU campus

out for ice cream

my favorite around-the-house pictures with the three kiddos - here and here

an evening at the park with my favorite people

annual family pictures

Narrowing down the pictures was way too hard, but I absolutely loved writing this post, like always. It's a great reminder for me that I really love this job. I mean, I get to document my family's life while working from home where I can be with my kiddos.

Thank you a million times for reading along with my family this year! Truly, each and every pageview and like and comment and share means so much.

Enjoy!