Breaking Dawn | The Party

First, let me get it out there:

I. {puffy} ♥. Pinterest.

Who knew I could get the extra color I've been dying to try without the commitment? So. much. fun.

***

This evening, my sisters hosted a Breaking Dawn party at BB's house. I've always been a little sad that I've missed some of their other parties {especially the Harry Potter one}, so I was excited and happy that I was able to attend this one. They really outdid themselves!

My favorite treat? Wolfpack Turds aka cake balls. YUM!

Photos from the photobooth:

"Alice and Jasper"

Jade and Lisa

Melissa and Mary

"Rosalie and Bella"

{and an expectant Bella - ha!}

Anthony and 'Riss

Can't wait to go see the movie with ya'll! ♥

The Bailey Family | Family Photos

This afternoon, I had the pleasure of shooting a full photo session for my friend and former RA from OBU, Cara, her husband Mike, and their way-to-cute little boys. I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous going into it, but by the end of it, we had some fantastic shots and a full compact flash to prove it!

Here's a few of my favorites:

And the last one, though probably not the best of family portraits, was possibly one of my most favorites of the day - Cara and Mike lost a good portion of their wedding photos, but one that they still have is of them leaving in a horse-drawn carriage with a sign just like the "Ten Years" sign that the oldest two boys are holding. So, we recreated the look and in this shot included the boys! Happy Ten Years, Cara and Mike! Thanks for the opportunity to photograph you and your handsome boys!

Mommy Craft Day

One of my goals while Ben is deployed is to dramatically shorten my "to make" list. And another is to spend time with friends that I haven't seen in ages {or in some cases, years!}. Today, thanks to my Mom and Sister {thank you, thank you!}, I got to do both!

This morning and afternoon I spent sewing and chatting with two good friends from college, Sonja and Faith. We met up over at Sonja's house and by the time I got there, both of them were already hard at work on their own projects. I didn't even pull my camera out until just as Faith was about to leave: partially because I'm a little intimidated - Faith has her own photography business! - but also because I was simply too busy working on the curtains and new pillowcases for the kids' room!

Friends, we MUST do this again. Soon. ♥

The basic little curtains and pillowcases I made for the kids' room turned out pretty nice. Daddy-Man hung up the curtain rod for me and we got them up just before the kids went to bed. It's amazing how it changes the way their room looks already. And it makes me anxious to get the rest of the decor finished and up on the walls.

A certain little one already loves hiding in them.

And, while we're on the subject of my Daddy-Man's handiness, look what he was up to while Nana and Aunt BB cared for the kiddos:

he's almost finished installing the brand-new backyard fence - in this 100+ degree weather!

Hannah's 2nd Birthday Party

As it goes with many other close-knit families, we have several families within our circles of friends whom we consider family friends. Ones that as kids, two or more sisters would come over to play {or go over to play} at a time, whose homes were always open for the kids and parents alike to come in and stay a while to catch up, or whom we spent lots of time with through various school and/or church functions, allowing for deeper relationships and friendships between all involved to grow. The Lee's are one of those families.

BB and Stephanie were close friends and so were Jessie and Stacy. Mom and Daddy-Man were in Sunday School with Toni and Gary and Toni even helped host my church wedding shower. Nick {Stephanie's husband} and I ran in some of the same circles in college at OBU. So when Stacy asked me if we were planning to come to Hannah's birthday party and if I'd be willing to take photos for them, I told her of course!

The birthday girl, Hannah.

She had a blast at her own birthday party, which is always a wonderful thing!

My kids had a great time too... and I have to say, I was SO very pleased with how they both behaved, but especially with Noah! He was so excited at first because he thought HE was getting the presents. Thankfully, he understood that it was Hannah's birthday and we were giving her the presents. I sat on the floor while taking photos of her opening her gifts and instead of trying to get in the middle of the present-opening {like he REALLY wanted to}, he sat, ever-so-still, next to me. Such a good boy.

He also loved the pinata.

He didn't break it, but he did hit it several times! Ellie didn't want to try.

Eventually, Nick just had to rip it open and dump the contents on the ground. The kids didn't mind one bit.

Both of mine loved that it was filled with suckers. Noah is already insisting that "I'm going to have a yada at my birfday. A Thomas yada. With candy and suckers and TOYS in it!"

Umm... we'll see about that Buddy.

And, what do you know? He still got his own little "presents" to take home.

Happy 2nd Birthday Hannah and glad we got to see you and your family!

{Thursday}

We didn't do very much today. It's just too blasted hot to do much of anything! We did stop by Aunt BB's house before naptime so we could check on the progress of the Tetris bookshelf...

and her fabulous new Corian countertop {swoon!}.

And, as a special treat, just for me {and her too!}, dinner with a Dear Friend that I haven't seen in years! Heather, I can't wait for our playdates with the kids!

Great-Grandparents and Old Friends

Two people that we haven't been able to see much this trip {partially due to weather and partially due to busy schedules} is my Grami and Papa Snow. Luckily, they were able to come over this morning and spend some time with us, see their great-grandbabies, and laugh with us at all the crazy antics of these silly little monkeys of mine.

Grami and Papa Snow, we love you, more than you will ever know!

***

We met up with one of my oldest friends for lunch. Shannon and I have known each other since fifth grade {at least} and I have so many memories with her of birthday parties, camps/retreats, Prom, OBU, and the list goes on. Shannon and her husband are currently living in India and have been stateside for about the past seven months with their three darling little girls. They leave tomorrow to head back home and I'm SO glad that they were able to take the time to see us today.

And Shannon, I apologize now - I haven't gotten after these photos yet with PhotoShop... and probably won't until I get back home.

Shannon and Ellie {and all the other kiddos in the background}

Us, with the kiddos.... and Ellie hidden behind Noah's balloon!

Until next time, we love ya'll and are praying for you!!