I have recently received a variety of comments about how I am never in the pictures on my blog. Well this one is all me! What can I say, its a perk of being the photographer. So here it is. A self portrait. We spent most of yesterday and today at Laurie Jackson's pool. Thanks for the hospitality Laurie! Summer is officially here.
We were graced with a visit last week from Natalie. She flew in from LA and we had 6 days of fun. Makes me wish she lived in the midwest! Nat is Morgan's godmother and they were inseparable most of the week. Thanks for the fun, the laughs, and the memories Nat! Come back soon!
These are my four favorite people in the whole world. How amazingly blessed I am. The baby blonde boy ( I know he's not much of a baby anymore), the snuggly and cuddly and radiant red head, the smart and sensitive brunette with curly hair, and the tall one with no hair ( I like him an awful lot). God has placed these blessings in my life and I will be eternally grateful. Life is so full of wonder and light with a family. I don't know if I could ever be happier than I am right now.
Nothing better on a hot day than a sprinkler, a slide, and your imagination. Hours of fun and it waters our grass. I love summer!
The past few weeks the girls have been taking 3 hours of ballet 5 days a week. Pretty intense...that's what I thought. But the girls wanted to go so bad everyday, I thought they must be having fun. Yesterday was parent watch day and the last day of camp. I was stunned. After 4 years of ballet I think they learned more in the past 2 weeks than they had in a semester last year! The teachers were amazing. They did ballet (an hour and a half), jazz, nutrition, and ballet history. The joy of dancing was in their eyes. That is something priceless.
Morgan watches me blog quite a bit and wanted to add her two cents. These are pictures she took of our little flower garden (notice the finger over the lens in the top pic). The bananan tree (on the right) was a birthday gift she received from a gardener friend of ours. It was just a baby at the beinning of the summer. Below is the stepping stone she made last week. This was our first try, and mom didn't get the cement at quite the right thickness. Perfect mosaic placement though Morgan! 
We were graced with the company of the eddys this weekend...however short the stay. No matter how long they visit, the time seems to fly by. This was a quick reunion trip however. The girls can't seem to get enough of aunt kerry. Come to think of it, they never have been able to get enough kerry time. I remember driving to Manhattan to see her with Abby as a toddler. She would scream with joy when she saw her aunt. I dare say that toddler will be taller than her aunt in a year or two.
Uncle Clark was a godsend with Parker. I think Clark may be the only person I know who has enough energy to keep up with the three year old boy. They jumped on the trampoline for almost 45 minutes (not as easy as it may sound...jumping like that makes the legs feel like jello). I wouldn't have put down a bet as to who would get tired first. I think they ended up with mutual exhaustion. Thanks for everything Eddys. We sure loved having you and can't wait till you're closer.
We love Iwig Milk! This is hormone free milk that is from a dairy between Topeka and Lawrence. It comes in the old glass bottles and the taste is unbelievable! We get the skim, but it tastes better than most 2% and is a ton fresher. We even get $1.50 (half the price) back when we return the bottle. Our family goes through about 3 gallons of milk a week. The hormones and preservatives my family was taking in gave me the creeps. Especially my little girls. This was a great chance to support local commerce and give my family better nutrition at the same time. Just for fun they have chocolate milk, root beer flavored milk (tastes just like a root beer float), and strawberry milk. The even have a milk called cream top that is pasteurized but not homogenized. I haven't gotten up the guts to try that one yet. This is definitely a benefit of living in Kansas!
These pics were taken at a friend's wedding a weeks ago. Morgan and Parker were looking at the camera like they had never seen one before...and we all know they have seen plenty of cameras. I can't get enough of pictures outside. The light can't be beat. No real pressing news today, just thought I would share some pictures.
I'm not quite sure how it happened, but Abby seems all grown up now. What happened to the baby with so much hair and the toddler that kept us in stitches? She's such a great kid now. Still entertaining, she's growing into her own sense of humor. She is still sensitive and loving. It makes me so proud to be her mom. I don't feel like I'm old enough to be the mom of such a young lady. I'm entering a whole new season of being her mom. The pre-teen years. She's a little more independent and difficult, but she is also funny, helpful, and a great person to talk with about the little things. I loved the baby stage, the toddler stage, and the little girl stage thinking nothing could be better than this. I have to think that relating to her on a different level may make this my new favorite stage.
Yes!!!!!!!! We survived another dance recital. 3 and a 1/2 hours of costumes and music and adorable 3 year olds spinning around when they should be dancing. The girls love performing, so they were really in their glory. Abby had 4 dances (and costume changes) and Morgan had 2. The stairs were a bit of a challenge for a still mending mom. They work so hard every year and this is their moment. Parker even got them both flowers (ps - ipods come in handy when you are trying to keep a 3 year old boy quiet during a 3+ hour ballet performance). Hope you all had a great weekend too!
I usually don't post more than once a day, but Morgan lost her second front tooth this morning and asked me to put this up. Is there anything cuter in this world than a red head with freckles and no front teeth?
The Clematis finally bloomed! The purple blossoms are amazing! What a great suprise. A friend of mine has light purple and white bushes. I was suprised by the deep royal purple that cascaded down the side of the house. I am a huge fan now. The snap dragons continue to bloom. The one below is my favorite. I love the orange, pink, and yellow exploding from the same flower! The kids have had fun helping me water and watching each stalk to guess what color it will be.
