Maddison and Dallas's Wedding

My nephew got married!  That is so weird to say.  I was pretty young when he was born (I was an aunt in middle school), but it still makes me feel a little old.  I took about a thousand photos at the wedding, literally, and when I went to sort them my Mom was here with me.  We totally disagreed over every photo. She loved the ones I was about to delete, and I didn't like the ones she liked.  So, it got me thinking...I probably shouldn't cull these like I normally do.  I ended up keeping almost 400 of them!   I'll post my favs here.  This is my blog after all!  ;)

I wasn't excited to use my flash and be blinding everyone all evening, but I think people are just ready for that to happen when they go to a wedding.  No one complained or even gave me strange looks.  :)  

Congratulations guys!  Here's to many happy years together!  :)

Meredith's Photo Shoot

For Meredith's second birthday I decided to do another photo shoot.  Since I've been pining over the purple paper for a year now, I went ahead and bought it.  :)   On a side note, all of the kids had a blast playing on the purple paper when we were finished.  I taped it to the floor and it was almost like a play mat for an hour.  They just congregated on top of it and tossed balloons everywhere.

I wasn't quite as prepared this year, so I ended up driving to Hobby Lobby about 15 minutes before it closed in a hail storm (didn't know it was going to hail when I left the house...I'm not that crazy) to buy the flowers and butterflies for the background the night before we did this.  I got a deal on them though, and now I can hang them in her bedroom, which is fairly sparsely decorated.  I'm getting there girlie.  By the time you're 3 your room might look a little more put together.

So you know what's challenging?....Getting a 2 year old to cooperate for a photo shoot!  She was in a good mood and all, but she moved around so much and then she rarely looked at the camera.  This girl needs more training!  ;)  

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This is one of maybe 3 photos where she was actually looking at me.  And probably the only one where she looks like she's posing.

Once we pulled the balloons out, it was all "Wow!" and tossing balloons into the air and turning away from the camera.  :)  I didn't manage to do a wardrobe change to the adorable fairy outfit Jen got her, and I forgot to put the unicorn horn that Brittney sent on her.  "/

Rachael was my baby wrangler again, so her littles got in on the action.  :)

James helped me take some test shots.

Meredith got so excited when we started singing the birthday song to her!  :)  And she blew out the candle all by herself!

Happy birthday Little Miss Meredith.  Apparently all you ever wanted for your birthday was some purple paper and balloons.  :)

The Activity Board

About a month ago or so, I saw a photo that was making it's way around Facebook of a little kid playing at a homemade activity board.  I thought it looked super fun, so I sent the pic to Josh and asked him if we could make it for Meredith's birthday.  I got no response...  But I saved the pic in my phone, so I'd come across it every now and then when I was scrolling through my pictures.  I did a lot of that while I was in Park City, and I made the decision while I was there that I was going to make a replica of that board for Meredith for her birthday with or without Josh's help!

:)

I'm very proud of myself.  Although the construction of the board was fairly simple, this was no easy feat.  There was no list of supplies to buy at Home Depot, so I went in with that Facebook photo last Saturday evening with Anna.  We walked up and down the aisles looking for all the different items.  I ended up asking for help finding a few things and when I showed the guy the photo, he was like "I just saw this!"  Ha!  This picture is really getting around!  I told him they should sell a kit!  

I realized that I wasn't going to find everything at Home Depot, but the only things I thought I was lacking when I left were the cookie sheet, telephone, and magnets.  So after a trip to WalMart the next day I was $50 poorer and still lacking a phone and the magnets.  "/  I never go to WalMart, and that is why.  It's almost as bad as Target when it comes to impulse buys!  So, I ordered the rest of it online, and on Sunday Anna and I started putting it together.

She was so helpful!  But this was when I realized I was still short supplies....screws and liquid nails.  Ugh...another trip to Home Depot!  I took all three kids this time, and it was a comical mess.  I think all three were crying at one point.  People were literally laughing at us, I was too.  It was funny.  I thought I might lose my sanity, but we ended up only losing a pacifier.  Not bad for me and the kids.

She was already showing interest!  She loves door stops.   We have none left in the house.

Sunday night I got almost everything on the board.  I was still waiting on the phone to be delivered since I ended up having to get it on Amazon.  So, the glue was left to dry.  And on Tuesday when the phone arrived I took the littles out with me and finished it off leaving the glue for the phone to dry.  I looked up when I finished and both of the kids had run off, but they were right around the side of the garage.  Meredith was eating dirt, as usual, but she was sitting in the perfect spot with the sun going down!  

So pretty!

On our way home that afternoon I'd taken the kids to the store with the intention of getting a small cake for Meredith since it was her actual birthday, and I was so busy with the board that I wasn't going to make a cake (plus I'm planning a small thing for this Saturday anyway).  Wallace ended up picking out the cake.  

Haha!  He was so excited about all the icing!

"yep...I'm just going take that rainbow ring...yes..."   Ha!  that's all she wanted.  She kept asking me as we walked through the store "can I have the rainbow ring?"  She's a little obsessed with rainbows.  

Meredith had icing everywhere.

But I'm certain that no one loved this cake as much as Wallace!

So, tonight I got home and the board was done, all the glue is dry.  Nothing left but to hang it.  

Josh wasn't thrilled with me for screwing holes into the wall, but the board is a little heavy, and I don't want it falling on one of them.  Meredith loves it by the way!  :)  Worth the effort!  Happy birthday Little Miss Meredith!

Bestie Vacay and a Little T-Ball

I can't believe it's over already.  My week-long bestie trip with Jen that we've been planning since last July has come and left.  It was kind of like Christmas.  Took forever to get here and ended very quickly.  Glad she took so many pics, since I was pretty lame-o.  In my defense, I really suck at snowboarding and wasn't about to chance carrying either of our cameras on my person as I tumbled down the mountain.  "/  Poor Jen, I got like 5 photos of her, and I'm pretty sure half of them were out of focus.  

*sigh*  I have yet to figure this out.

Jen seemed thoroughly impressed by my determination!  I read somewhere that the best snowboarders are the ones having the most fun.  I beg to differ, although I was having a great time, I looked like a grandma trying to get down the mountain.

I think this was on our last day, and I'm pretty sure I'd just told Jen I was icing my ass (which I finally confirmed this evening is pretty bruised up).  

I know I'm from Texas and all, and I realize this was only my 3rd trip to snowboard in 5 years, but good grief...when does it get easier?  On the second day I finally got to the point that I could make my turns and get down a green run without falling (for the most part), but it was very s-l-o-w.  Fortunately, Jen was patient.  I think the next time I go snowboarding, I will finally invest in some private lessons, and I think I will also wear body armor.  I have bruises everywhere.  And not little dinky bruises either.  How do all of these people of all ages make snowboarding look so easy???  I am very determined to be one of those people!  And once I am I will only shout positive and supportive things from the lift when I see other snowboarders learning!  Ha!  People on the lifts are so smug.  I preferred the runs that didn't cross paths with lifts...fortunately there are a few to choose from in Park City.

Park City, the prettiest little ski town ever...a land where the only people who are learning to ski and snowboard are the children of professional skiers and snowboarders.  Ha!  No seriously...that's really how it is!  :-0

Anyway, my flight home landed around 1:00, and the kids had their first t-ball game at 5:00!  We decided to sign Wallace up this year, and he and Anna are on the same team.  Anna has suddenly become a force to be reckoned with on the t-ball field!  She's really starting to figure out the game!

yep. 

It was very windy and dusty.

For how great Anna is, Wallace...might have been a bit young to start this year.  "/  He has yet to go up to bat.  Did you know they can just skip them?  Ha!  For half the game he came out and stood with me.  And the other half...he stood with Josh.

Ha!  T-ball=5 kids fighting over every ball that is hit.  ;)

I will say this....Hommie LOVES to play in the dirt!  We went back to take team pictures the next day, and as soon as I put him in his uniform he went to grab his tractors.  No way was he going back up to the park unprepared when there is so much awesome dirt!  Unfortunately for every other parent on our team, his tractor made an appearance front and center in the team photo.  "/  I apologized profusely, and they assured me it was adorable and fine.  Really praying they were being honest with me.  

Look at Miss Thang!  Leading the pack for high fives!  :)

And where is Meredith during all this fun?  

Why running around like a crazy person who occasionally sits down and snacks on dirt.  This girl is something else.  

She's also a helpful little packer!  :)

Meredith (my little monster)

I think Little Miss Meredith has hit her terrible 2's early.  At least I'm praying that's what this is anyway.  She's almost 2 going on 13.  Fits are unbelievable and typically include throwing stuff.  But she's so cute, and she's my youngest, so it doesn't bother me nearly as much as it probably would have if Anna or Wallace would have done the same things.  They gave us fantastic 2's and terrible 3's.  Maybe she's hitting it early because I haven't brought home a new baby on her.  She's also an avid climber.  She scales just about everything in the house.  I frequently find her playing in the kitchen sink (like standing in it and grabbing dishes) or dancing on the dining room table.  

Homegirl is a mess.  So, tonight when she lost it over apparently nothing, it wasn't too surprising.  I took her to a different room to calm her down without distractions and after singing one song to her she calmed down and then she saw Wallace's tractor and left me for it.  

I haven't pulled the camera out in a couple of weeks, and she was in a decent mood, so I got some of pics of her just doing her thing.  Meredith has spent many days in a diaper.  She's my third....why bother dressing her.   ;)  I'm just kidding...she's usually at least got a shirt on.  Or maybe pants.  But rarely both unless we are going out in public.  :)  And we had spaghetti for dinner, so there's still some on her face.