loving mr. noodle...and umbrellas

Kead's morning indulgence is sesame street. I love it, because we wake up slow and she learns a ton. Her favorite is Mr. Noodle. For those of you non-sesame people, Mr. Noodle is a mime that acts out silly scenarios on Elmo's World. She comes and finds me every morning to tell me the silly thing Mr. Noodle is doing (today it was pouring toothpaste on his head) but her FAVORITE Mr. Noodle skit is when he tries to use and umbrella and uses it upside down. She uses everything she can find as an umbrella and while we were in Albuquerque Brittany's mom had a real one (we live in a place where it rarely rains) and she let us use it. Kead thought it was the coolest thing and kept on saying "Silly Mr. Noodle" the whole time we played with it.

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!