Tea for Two

The little guy had a playdate with miss LP the other day. He was so excited to have her come over he must have asked 100 times that morning when she was going to get there. When she finally did arrive they went to his room to play. LP's mom is my good friend so she stayed and we visited (she also has a baby the same age as the little miss). Anyway we're in the living room and he comes out and goes straight to the kitchen and I hear the chair slide over to the sink and the faucet comes on. I walked into the kitchen and he was filling up his mickey mouse pitcher and two little cups of water. He said LP needed a drink. He was being quite the host. So I go to his room and the entire table is set - utensils and all and he tells me they are having a tea party. So being who I am I run to get the camera and after about 3 minutes of me taking photos he gives me this look as says - "that's enough mom - you can go." He is growing up way too fast. We took the kids to the park to take some photos and it was finally cool enough to wear long sleeves. So I'll leave you with our first shot of fall....

1 down...

This is the first layout I have had time to get done since we came home. It will probably be the first of a very long cacation album. This was one of my favorite memories from the trip. N loved the Shamu show and Shamu. He fell in love with the whales and it was so fun to watch him enjoy it. He didn't take his eyes off them the entire time. They "call" Shamu at one point in the show with these arm actions and he didn't skip a beat. These are the photos of him calling Shamu. It was way too cute and so much fun. He still talks about it and we found a "shamu cam" on Sea Worlds website that you can see Shamu. He thinks that is pretty neat!!

Happy Birthday

Hope your day is wonderful!! Wish we could be there to celebrate with you!!! Happy 4th!

Holy teeth Batman!!!

Our little girl LOVES to be upside down. I call her my little possum because if she can get her head flipped over she will - whether you're ready or not! So she was hanging upside down on my lap and she gave me a huge smile and I counted FOUR teeth coming in on top all about to break through!! After bringing her back upright I spotted one coming in on the bottom. Poor thing is a little cranky but that will sure make our transition from the bottle a whole lot easier. And I have to share a conversation I had with the little guy a month or so ago - I kept meaning to blog it so I could scrapbook it later and still remember but never got around to it so if you've heard this you can now skip to the next paragraph - We were at the gas station and we were getting a treat - I picked up some Ding Dongs - and the conversation went like this...
N: What are those mommy?
me: They are Ding Dongs - they are little chocolate cakes
N: oh (we leave the store and get to the car - he gets buckled in and says to me:
Mommy - I'm ready for my doorbell now.
Me and D still laugh about that. He was so matter of fact about and it was adorable!
Ok now for my photo of the week:


This is the FIRST I repeat the FIRST photo I have of the kids together. We were getting ready for church and they just started playing - thankfully my camera was close by cause it didn't last long. I like to look at this photo and pretend that he is lovingly giving her a hug but the next few shots that followed would tell a different story....think I'll delelte those!!!

Stroller Bandit

I was going through our vacation photos and I ran across these pictures. We were walking through Sea World and past a "show" where a bunch of strollers were parked. This little guy was literally hopping from stroller to stroller. He finally landed on this one and tore a hole right through the mesh in the pocket, through the baggie and was eating whatever it was that was in there. It was pretty funny. Here we were at "Sea World" and I'm taking photos of a squirrel!! Anyway thought it deserved some space on the blog!! So without further ado - The Stroller Bandit......

four and counting...

It hardly seems four years have past since we said "I Do". It has been a wonderful adventure and I couldn't have asked for a better companion to share it. This was one of my most favorite photos from that day. Between family, church, work and life in general quiet moments like these are rare. I love having this memory to remind me how special those moments are. Over these past four years we have gone from individuals to a couple and most importantly a family. I love you babe - happy anniversary!!!

But Why???

But why? I must get asked that question 45 times a day! Don't get me wrong - I love that the little guy is curious and I love that he wants to "know" everything but EVERYTHING???? We spent 45 minutes discussing why they have the little ledges on big trucks that go up and down automatically - every explanation I gave was followed by - "but why not just jump off the truck?" It's crazy and fun. He is also into everything and everyone has to have a name - I am constantly making up names for complete strangers because he is always asking - "what's his name?". We have been going non stop for most of August and the better part of September. I had the opportunity to shoot a wedding in Nauvoo which was just amazing. The temple there is so beautiful I can't hardly imagine how hard it was to leave behind. As you leave Nauvoo you can see it from far away - it sits up on a hill overlooking the river and I just kept thinking about the saints watching the temple getting smaller and smaller as they were leaving and thinking how heavy their hearts must have been. I had the chance to walk around the town that has been restored and Parley street--the street where the saints walked down to cross the river and leave Nauvoo. The feeling and spirit were so strong there I can't even describe it - it was very humbling and left me very grateful for their faithfulness and for the sacrifices they made to preserve this precious gospel we live and enjoy today. It was an experience I won't soon forget. I hope to return with my family and spend some more time there. Here are some photos from my short 36 hour stay there.....


Just one day after coming home from Nauvoo we boarded a plane for our first official family vacation. I don't think it was possible for us to have more fun than we did. We just played and played and 7 days and 700+ pictures later we came home. I think the kids favorite was Shamu but Micky ran a close second. The little guy finally got to meet the "real" Lightening McQueen and I have to admit it was pretty cool. Disney is indeed a "magical" place!! Thanks dad for a great trip!! We can't wait to do it again! So I couldn't pick just a few pics to share so if you really want to see pics from our trip check the bar at the right for all the fun stuff we did! Hope everyone is well and hopefully I'll stay back on track from now on!!