daddy's day

My kids get so excited when it comes to any holiday...any reason to celebrate.  They went all out for fathers day! Kurtis was spoiled with cards, presents, pampering, food, you name it the kids thought of it!  Kurtis really enjoyed his day.  We are so lucky to have such a wonderful man in our lives.  We think that you are the greatest dad ever!  Love you!

Porter was being a little stinker and refused to let Kurtis hold him...or sit by him for that matter.  I think that he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. 

Pictures of Hannah from the same day.  She is always wanting her picture taken.  I don't mind too much. 

You make me want to dance

Hannah and I went to the Taylor Swift concert in St. Paul last week. It was SOOO fun!  She is truly amazing and very entertaining.  We sang at the top of our lungs, screamed high pitched screams and even bought a shirt to remember it all.  It was a pretty dang awesome girls trip! 

Thanks Hannah for coming with me!  I love you!

We had horrible seats, but sometimes it pays to have a really good zoom lens! That thing is like magic!! 

Well spent

I took a week off from shooting just to be with my kids.  It has been nice break.  I have been having a lot of fun taking pictures of them.  I realized that my poor kids don't really have many pictures of them just being kids. 

Here they are just being normal....no bribes or anything! 

I throw A LOT of Hannah's art work away. She comes home with her backpack bursting full of papers, Styrofoam, yarn, beads, ect.  I try to save some of it, but most gets tossed.  Sad but true.  If she ever knew she would not be happy.
  While walking though Hobby Lobby the other day I spotted these canvases on sale.  The idea popped into my head.  That very day she painted this masterpiece.  It is so her.  I {heart} it.  It is now hanging over her dresser in her room. 

Because I know that you have been dying to know what I eat for breakfast!  I love this cereal from Trader Joe's.  It makes the perfect "fill-you-up" meal. 
ps that is Greek yogurt. yum.

And while we are on the subject of things I love.  I just finished reading this book.
The Forgotten Garden
by: Kate Morton

It is like 500 pages but SO good!  You need to read it.

Simply beautiful

My Bedroom....

crisp

clean lines

white

peaceful

getaway

I have been dreaming of a new bedroom. 

These were my requirements. 

Life just gets so dang busy. 

I felt like I had no peaceful place to retreat to when I need it.  I wanted a room that was a breath of fresh air, a place where Kurtis and I could talk and laugh at the end of a long day, a place that I could go to feel peaceful.  Well, I think that I did it.  The price was well worth it. 

Pure Happiness.

What I did:  I bought a old book of watercolor paintings of wild flowers. Then framed the yellow flowers I liked. Bought the frames and mats from Micheals.  The frames were $7 for two!   I made my bedspread with A LOT of help from a friend. I never would have been able to do it with out her.  The idea came from a bedspread from Anthro.  Made it from 2 sets of king jersey nit sheets and a duvet. I bought the yellow flower pillow....the thing that started it all, and the blanket at Target.  My gray pillows were made from martial I bought from IKEA. I already had the brown squares on my wall from my last "creation".  :)

I have a huge room.... so why not put a couch in it?!  I feel really fancy with it in there.  I stole this from a friend that was getting rid of it. With only a few "take it to the dump" remarks and a lot of eye rolls from Kurtis, it make it to my room.  

The gray pillow is again made from material that I bought from IKEA. The material that I bought with the thought of using it as a backdrop.  I got one use out of it....now its on my bed!  I think that I like it better there anyway. 

I spray painted my dresser gray and painted my nobs with off white spray paint.  

My curtains have a very long story..... they were once red.  I spent a whole lot of money on them so I did not want to buy new ones.  Thankfully they were white on the back.  So I just flipped them around. My friend sewed on a gray stripe on the top and bottom to cover the red.  She also did the same to my bed skirt.  

If any of you know Angela, she told me she would never sew a bedspread like mine again. ;) A bribe may work..... don't tell her I said that.

While I was taking the pictures of my bed, I turned and saw this.  I actually got all misty eyed while editing these pictures!  They are just getting so big. 

There you have it!  I still have a few little things that I want to add and tweak but that is pretty much it! I love my room. 

First week of summer

I have sworn in the past that my kids are going to put me in my grave early.....but when I look at these kids, I feel so happy to just be their mom.  

This week was the first week since my kids got out of school.  I had lots of plans for playing, but we really just played at home and enjoyed each other. 

 Porter loves this car.  He say's "WEEE" when he rides it.  

 Porter just learned how to clime up the stairs and slide down all by himself.  He is very proud of that fact!

 It got up to 102 this day!! The perfect day for playing in the sprinklers all day.  The kids just ran from house to house playing in each water activity!  They were all smiles!  I thought Porter would not like it but he LOVED it. He absolutely loves playing with the older kids. 

The neighbors and my kids playing McDonald's.  :)
I can't tell you how good the sun feels.  I have a feeling this is going to be a good summer.  

buy Hannah

I absolutely love Hannah's sign she made.

  I did not help her at all. 

Love how she wrote buy Hannah.
 Love how she yelled at each car that drove by.
Love that Porter wanted to sit by her and "help"
Who would not want to buy some Kool-Aid from these two?
She made $3.50

 Porter wanted her money.  Her face cracks me up!