balloon fiesta

a wonderful day at the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque started before the sunrise:


Lita was fabulous with the girls while the balloons were rising:


It was great going with friends:


and family:


and the balloons were amazing... hundreds of beautiful balloons rising all around us:


by 8:30 am Sayla was done with balloon festival. She was cold, tired and hungry; a bad combo...but isn't she still so cute? her cry is so humorous because it is so dramatic- that is why lita is laughing:


but despite our 4:30 wake up time Kead was all about the balloons and LOVED it:


her favorite was the shapes and counting before the balloons took off:


what a beautiful day, what a fun weekend, what a great memory

wills collide

I love this picture of Keadryn and Roman. We have known Roman since he was Kead's age and so much of her personality reminds me of his. I have often called his mom, Amy, and asked "what did you do when Roman use to...." and she reassures me that some kids are just a little more difficult than others.

Anyway- I love this picture becuase this is how Roman and Keadryn's relationships go- He tries to boss her and she tries to boss him right back. They love each other though, and Roman is mostly liking that she can interact these days...and, let's be honest, she needs a little bossing every now and then.

happy birthday tricia

I love my sister-in-law. There are so many great things about her. She is perfect for my brother, she is a fabulous addition to our family, she is a wonderful aunt and she is a great friend. Happy birthday, Tricia. We love you and hope it is great!

fight raiders fight

These days an outing to a football game is out of the question. A two and one year old sitting on a lap in an outside bleacher seat for 4 hours sounds like torture, not fun. However, this weekend a friend whose family has a box suite had some extra tickets and generously donated them to us! So we got to go to the game, but had the benefit of being indoors and having ample space for the kids to roam free! It was a lot of fun and Texas Tech won, which is an added bonus these days. Thanks Collin and Cassie for letting us have a fun time and making your peaceful box a little more crazy for one Saturday afternoon!

free shoes!

I know some of you follow "our" craft blog. I say "our" because kirst is way better at posting than I am. Think of me as a part time contributor, kirst is the real master mind behind it all... BUT every now and again I actually come up with an idea worthy of the blog.
let me set the stage- I was reading real simple magazine and saw that ballet flats with all sorts of embellishments are "so in" right now and thought to myself (as I often do while reading real simple) "that would be great if I had a $400+ a month clothing budget"...seriously, $198 for a pair of flats that only match one outfit!? *sigh*

Then through some brainstorming kirst and I came up with the idea of "charm shoes". Isn't that brilliant?! Basic ballet flats with interchangable charms AND we are giving a pair away this month- so head over to the kojo blog and enter to win!

my girls

some of my favortie pics of the girls these days

sayla vs. cake

we finally had a little party for our sweet baby girl. poor sayla, september is always so busy! granny and pops came up last weekend and we had a little family gathering...and yes, it is a store bought cake, which kills me...but again, september is crazy busy.

sayla loved the whole experience. she has never been the sole center of attention...and she didn't know what to do at first, but then she started hamming it up and loved it.

meet mr. frog:

sorry mr. frog...you didn't really stand a chance.

a good old fashion brainwash...

So- here in Lubbock there is a photographer named Lauren Clark. If you have ever browsed my side bar, you might have taken a stop at her website. She is amazing. I don't know her personally, but have been at some weddings she has shot and she was the one that originally inspired me to get into photography. Anyhow, she has these seminars called Brainwashes in which she basically tells her secrets of the trade. They are not open to people in Lubbock usually (for obvious reasons...) but she is holding one soon and even us Lubbockites can enter to win a free spot at the seminar...I feel a little silly putting a picture of myself on my blog, but I really want to win!

a beautiful day

My cousin's wedding was wonderful. I had such a fun time not being part of the wedding, or coordinating the wedding AND I only had Sayla with me (plus grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles all wanting to hold her...) so I felt free to roam and take pictures of fun detail stuff all day. SO much fun! I loved this wedding, I love my family, and I loved getting to be a part of it all! Congrats to Jake and Amy!







(yeah...there are a ton of pictures, I told you there would be. I just loved them all so I couldn't decide!)

mallory and jillian

I had such a fun time taking pics of these girls and am so honored that their mom waited for me to come to denver to take their pics. I am sure there are plenty of well able photographers in the state of colorado that could have done it, so it was a real compliment....and I love spending time with them so that was an added bonus. thanks for the fun time joy, mallory and jillian!

happy birthday mama

this time of year is full of birthdays! My dad, sayla, mom and brother-in-law all have their birthdays within a two week period. phew. I don't want to leave mom out though, since there are so many things I love about her so here it is.

things I love about my mom:

• the deer-in-headlights look she gets when someone cusses

• how gifted she is at drawing people out of their shell

• What a great hostess she is

• that for as long as I can remember she has always spent time with the Lord each morning

• how motivated and disciplined she is

• that she loves to be in crazy good shape...she is doing P90X right now.

• that she has always supported us in what we love to do. she probably wasn't that into cheerleading, but when I was into it- by golly- she was there 100%.

• the way she gives grace so freely...

• she refuses to let the bad things that happen in life be her crutch but instead looks to Christ for complete forgiveness and to allow her to forgive.

• how much she loves my dad

• her creativeness...I know she would tell you she is not creative, but she does have a creative spirit! It doesn't come out in making crafts, but instead in how she communicates, cares for her family and teaches.

• what a wonderful "lita" she is to her grand kids.

mom, I love you and am so thankful for another wonderful year! Happy happy birthday!

(also, I really love my brother-in-law but he doesn't read my blog...but happy birthday to you too, adam!)

sweet girls

Just a sneak peak of these adorable girls. I have known them since Mallory was 2 and Jillian was a new baby...and they just keep getting cuter! Get ready, it's gonna be good.

get ready...

for a picture overload of my cousin Jake's wedding!

LOTS more to come...

we're ready

...the grass is dying, the leaves are slowly turning, the wind is getting brisk and kead has her fabulous new boots. we are ready for the fall!

sweet sayla is one

Our precious baby girl turns one tomorrow. I know everyone says this, but man it goes by fast! here are some of my favorite things about her at one:

• her sweet demeanor.

• her wobbly walk

• the way she lays her head on anyone's shoulder

• her giggle when her and kead are rough housing

• she is one tough little girl

• ...but kind of emotionally fragile. want real tears? tell her no.

• how proud she is of herself when she does something Kead is doing

• her baby babble. only real words yet are mama and dada.
  

• her sweet two-tooth smile

• how easy she is with food! I have yet to find something she wont eat.

• what a joyful addition she is to our family! I often say she is God's gift of grace to us, because so far she has been so easy. I am so proud to be her mama.
  

happy birthday sweet la-la bug. We love you so much!