Amber Waves of Grain

School has started!  (*insert happy dance*) Keegan started 2nd grade last week.... Here is is outside his new classroom: He was told to pick his own desk ( unassigned seats... every student's dream, right!? ) but he was so intimidated he kept asking me to do it. Lots of new faces.  He finally chose this desk in the back. Getting some last minute words of encouragement from his Daddy here.  Kennedy started Pre-K (preschool year right before Kindergarten) today. She'll just go in the mornings. She loves school and was excited to go.     She has the same teacher as last year who we love! Here's Kennedy being dropped off.  Savannah grabbed the teacher's hand to go inside too. Savannah looked back and said, "Bye, Mommy!".  Not so soon, Savannah!!!     Another year and more blessings.  Looking forward to this great school year!

We just got back from Disney World ! Let me start by saying it was MAGICAL ( that sounds cheesy but I mean it! ). We stayed an the Art of Animation hotel in the Finding Nemo themed family suites.  Disney thought of every detail and made our stay so nice ( except for the cheap 1-ply toilet paper, of course ).  Our living area had a table by day..... Which came down into a murphy bed at night: The couch turned into a bed too for Kennedy: We had lots of space (with our own master bedroom) and 2 bathrooms.  And, the hotel pool was Finding Nemo themed too.  So fun. We went to the Magic Kingdom two days, Animal Kingdom one day, and spent 4 days on the road (and I still have a *little* of my sanity left).      My favorite part was seeing the kids with such BIG SMILES . Happy, happy, happy. I didn't think Savannah would be old enough to appreciate things and I was SO WRONG (mark this day on your calendar).   She LOVED ...

For the past 12 years, we've used the 'standard' deck that came with our house.  It was just big enough for a grill..... and that's about it. About a month ago we had it ripped out. It happened so fast that we weren't ready to replace it.  So, we had a redneck backyard for about a month.  I'm sure the neighborhood association loves us. Watch your step .... as you plunge a few feet down when you step out the back door.  We finally got it replaced this weekend.  It took one random man from Craigslist ( hopefully not the Craigslist killer ) only about 5 hours to build this entirely by himself. While it's not our 'dream patio', we got a huge area for a fraction of the price.  And, it's just big enough for the kids to ride their bikes in circles.  Score . We just need some landscaping around it and we're all decked out!

Merry Christmas in July!! Santa has 6 months to make my dreams come true.  Here is my grown-up list for the North Pole, assuming I made the nice list this year..... and assuming Santa is rich. We can dream, right? Here are my top 5 requests for Santa: 1.  Ring True Shell blouse from Anthropologie ( LINK ) with their Saturated Hollyhock Cardigan ( LINK ).     2.   This Canon telephoto (zoom) lens ( LINK ).  This will make stalking you easier.   3.  A day at the spa being massaged and pampered..... without the kids. 4. Professional pictures of my family 5. Tickets to Go Ape- Zip Line & Treetop Adventure ( LINK ).  It's a 2-3 hour experience at a local park where you can navigate through the forest using ziplines, obstacles, and tarzan swings!  Fun, right!? There you have it, Santa. You have 6 months to win the lottery and shop for me!!

Tootsie was born in December 2001 and we adopted her from an animal shelter the following spring.  She was always very skittish and was often bullied by our other cat, Oliver.   She finally started coming out of her shell when Oliver was put down a few years ago. She was known for her very loud meows and purrs.  She recently started letting the kids pet her if they'd give her a can of treats.   She was getting brave in her old age .   She was also a good hunter and took care of most of our spiders & bugs... and an occasional mouse .  She'll be remembered for the mouse incident of 2010 where she forgot to kill the mouse before bringing it to me ( LINK to that embarrassing story).   Unfortunately, we had to put Tootsie down yesterday.  It was a sad day at our house, especially for Keegan.   She brought a lot of fun and joy to our family! On the bright side, we are enjoying a new pet-free home and looking forward to fi...

I get asked if the girls are twins a lot even though they're two years apart.  I thought I'd do a fun comparison today. Kennedy at age 2 (2011): Savannah, age 2:   That's a lot of sweet. Now...... who's seeing double!?

I had the amazing honor & privilege of being THE wedding photographer for Tyler & Mindy's beautiful wedding .  Mindy is Nathan's cousin and we took the whole family up to Michigan to enjoy the event and celebrate with family. Mindy's family is so creative and put so much time and love into all the decorations and details.  It also helped that the bride was gorgeous; she is so photogenic!  I took nearly 1300 photos but have narrowed it down to these today to share with you! Congratulations, Tyler & Mindy!!!