Blog - Page 9 of 12 - Natalie Bourn

Out With The Old, In With The New

August 4, 2015

I used to have a free blog over at WordPress.com, but I really wanted to have a custom logo, a better design, and link to my Instagram account. I also wanted to use my own domain name: nataliebourn.com. (My mom bought that for me when I was born – we’re total geeks!)

So I hired my parents!

Well kind of… I didn’t pay any money, but I was put into BaseCamp (their software to manage client projects) because my mom and dad worked with me like they would a real client.

They own their own design company called Bourn Creative and build really awesome sites. I wanted a cool one like the ones they make-I totally got one!

Most projects take a long time, but since I’m such an amazing client, it went really fast. *wink wink*

Here’s what we did!

Logo Design: I obviously needed something with elephants – That was a requirement. So my mom designed a few different concepts for me to review and I picked my favorite – the one with the biggest elephant and easiest to read type.

Life is like a camera.
Focus on what's important
Capture the good times
Develop the negatives
And if things don't work out
Just take another shot!

Word Swag

Move On Or Let It Go, It’s Your Choice

August 1, 2015

Sometimes things aren’t always perfect. Let’s say you’re playing with a sibling or friend and they make you mad, you can either:

Sit out, pout, be mad at them, and have no fun.

You can just move on, forget about it, and have fun.

Any time you feel like like you want to sit out and pout, first think to yourself, “Will I have the most fun doing this?” The answer will be NO!

6th Grade Sly Park Trip

September 7, 2014

Where to start! The 6th grade trip to Sly Park was amazing! My Sly Park buddy for the week was my friend Jayla — we had a blast!

When we got to Sly Park we had lunch and the food was awesome! Every night before bed we all got a cookie. One night it was chocolate chip, then snicker doodle, and finally, on the last night we had chocolate chip oatmeal cookies — YUM! It was way better than regular cafe food at school.

Each morning, Raven, our Sly Park teacher, met us to begin our adventures and beautiful hikes through the forest.

One hike featured an old wooden teepe. On another, we all got to pick blackberries, which were delicious, and were taught how to build shelters. The shelters took a lot of work, but when we were finished it turned out great. I could actually go in the shelter and lay down.
The Park Creek hike was kind of scary because we went down steep steps and hills, but it was a beautiful hike with amazing scenery. When we got to the creek, Raven taught us how to use rocks to make face paint (so cool)!
Another adventure was to the animal room, where my friends and I got to hold real snakes! They didn’t feel slimy or wet, but more smooth and silky. One snake was very active and one snake just stayed in one spot and sort of swung there. There was also a really cool lizard and a turtle that tried to escape!

Strike A Pose, A Photoshoot Birthday

September 1, 2014

This year for my 11th birthday I got to have an extra special party.

You see, last year when I turned 10, I had a super fun family swim party, but as life went on, things came up, and we got really busy. We kept trying to schedule my a party with my friends… Then it was November and we moved on with no party.

I was bummed at first, but I knew my mom and dad would make it up to me for my 11th birthday — and they totally did!

I got to have an amazing fashion and photo shoot birthday. #bestpartyever

Everyone first came to my house where we ate a bunch of candy, did our hair and makeup, and got ready for our photo shoots at Enchanted Images. The photographers were super nice and their studio was amazing. They had music pumping, makeup and hair stuff for us to use for touch-ups, and a whole room of accessories, hats, and fun props.

Pool Party Birthday!

August 29, 2014

My family birthday pool party was SO much fun! We were diving, swimming, jumping, playing, and just having fun! Uncle Matt threw Carter (my brother) into the pool so many times (great photos right?!). It was so much fun to hang out and play in the pool with my whole family!

After we went swimming, I got to have my favorite dessert… ICE CREAM AND DONUTS!

Everyone was super happy to see that treat! We wrapped up by opening my presents — my family gave me so many nice things to celebrate birthday! I am so happy everyone had fun at my party :)

Bourn To Be Wild

August 5, 2014

Welcome to the wild side.

On this vacation, my family and I got to experience the best zoo in the world… the San Diego Zoo. We went with my Aunt Julie, Uncle Dustin, and my cousins Riley and Chloe to have a fun time together. I thought that this zoo was beyond amazing. The animals were so interesting and fun to look at. We saw animals like different types of monkeys and apes, flamingos, kolas, giraffes, gazelles, polar bears, and my all time favorite, the elephants. If I told you about every animal they have, this post would never end. At every animal sanctuary, I learned something new about it.

At Elephant Odyssey (the elephant habitat) there were life-size statues of them that you could take pictures with. Of course we did, but I was waiting for the real thing. There was also a really cute shrub cut to look like an elephant. I even bought 2 elephant necklaces and a mini, beaded, elephant statue (because I have a collection)! I never wanted to leave the beautiful elephants, but eventually we had to make it to all of the other animals.

My ultimate goal is to end up being happy. Most of the time.

Taylor Swift

San Diego Beach House Vacation

July 22, 2014

This summer my family went on a really fun trip to San Diego with my Aunt Julie, Uncle Dustin, and my cousins Riley and Chloe.

One day of our vacation, everyone went on a bike adventure around Mission beach on a really nice trail. My whole family has bikes and we brought them with us, but because my cousins Riley and Chloe can’t ride a bike yet, so they rode in a cool trailer. We went under a really cool bridge and we were so hot we took a break in the shade. We played in the sand and I found some cool sea shells.

Before the trip, my aunt bought my cousins and I matching dresses to take some photos by the beach. Waves were crashing around us and eventually we just decided to get in the ocean with all of our clothes on! We got some really amazing photos all soaking wet!

On a few of the days, I went boogie boarding a lot with my brother because the vacation house we were staying at was so close to the beach. When I started boogie boarding, I didn’t get it the first time. I thought I was never going to be able to it, but I kept trying anyway and eventually I figured it out. A lot of those wipe outs, or mistakes, taught me things that I won’t do next time. As soon as I picked it up, I had so much fun riding waves. So if you give up, you will never know how much fun or amazing an experience could have been.

Funderland Is Still Fun

July 20, 2014

Even though most of the rides are for little kids, I still LOVE to go to Funderland at Williamland Park in Sacramento and ride rides!

This time my brother, my mom, and I went together and we had so much fun! We loved the going on the rides together and hanging out. The Log Ride and Backroads Buggies were Carter’s favorite, but mine was the spinning-in-a-circle like crazy Wild Stagecoach ride and the Flying Dragon Coaster!