Photography: The Lefever Family

This woman is simply amazing.  Aimee is one of those people that pull me out of my shy shell, encourages me to do things I ordinarily would hem and haw about, can talk anyone into giving her the deal of a lifetime on any major appliance and simply put..she is beautiful.  She is also a great photographer (click here to see her work or book a session!) and so I was very nervous photographing a fellow photographer.  But of course she was so patient and her two daughters held up well under the humid and buggy conditions.  And her husband....so doting, so attentive to her.  And now she is expecting her third baby girl and I cannot be more excited for her.  So here is your little preview, Aimee...you are so blessed and I am blessed to know and love you. 

A girl I know does Awkward and Awesome Thursdays so I thought I would join in...

Awkward:

-running...because of my scoliosis, i run with a limp and add on the accompanying little hump on my back, just call me the humpback of notre dame.  parents, hide your kids...it is scary.

-again, running...tripping over people's dogs while running because a) unleashed, they run right into me, right in front of my ever flailing legs so i almost trip over them and just plain look an idiot and 2) even leashed, their owner STILL does not pull them away from me even if i run off the path!  newsflash: if you see a humpback woman running at you, you just may want to pull yourself, your dog and any other loved ones aside, even just in sheer fright.

-again going with the running theme...my toenail fell the heck off!  the second one in, always been an overachiever and longer than the big toe.  apparently this can happen when you run and your running shoes are too small.  so here i am too poor to afford $100 running shoes to support my scoliosis that are pure white and look like orthopedic shoes, so i run through the pain only to lose a toenail in the process.  i just may get a press on nail (remember those?!!) and glue it on there somehow...or maybe i can come up with some cool thing that happened to me that made me lose the nail...crocodile bite, saving the life of a stranger by using only my toe to stave off a wild beast...i can get creative, you just watch me.

-being scared to death to ride on an enclosed black water slide because you can't see a blessed thing... at a water park for kids under the age of 4!  evie, who just turned two was allowed on it and i was scared of it.  scared out of my mind and showing it by my face while my kids were loving it?  i have some deep rooted issues.

-talking on cell phones...i strongly dislike it.  there are so many pauses, talking over each other, talking loudly, being rude to the people around you...it is just not for me.  there is something just invented called email and something else called texting.  utilize it when it comes to communicating with me.  or, let's hang out!  :)

-my gray hair...some strands on one side of my head.  what do i do?  cover it up?  have gray pride?  it is all kinky and dry and since it is all in one place on the side of my head, i really couldn't pull off the salt and pepper gray look.  pluck them out?  dye my whole head?  these are tough decisions that are way more important than whether or not to sell our house or homeschool eli.  i need to start praying about this gray problem stat!

-this post....sometimes i don't know why i say things.

Awesome:

-Jesus....just that simple.  He loves my toenailess toe, He loves my curved spine, He loves my weirdness, He loves my awkward pause filled cell phone convos, He loves my gray hair.  that is all i need.  :)

feeling gloomy and need some cuteness?

Photography: The Walls Family

One of the benefits of having a hobby is that when you are strapped for cash, you can give it away as a gift.  :)  At Christmas, my bible study had a gift exchange and I gave a session away.  The Walls family were the recipient of this session.  Sarah and I went to high school together, two years apart and now we go to the same church.  Small world!  Sarah and Mike have three beautiful and fun loving children.  When kids beg you take photos of them the whole time, they become your new best friends.  It was nice afternoon of walking and catching up on life!  

...and we don't stop

This spring and summer have been BUSY!!!  And in case you doubt it, here is photographic evidence....  WARNING: my memory card just threw up on this blog.  Beware of obscene amount of photos.

This first set is from Messy Day at Eli's school.  Chad was a parent helper and after I threatened his life if he didn't, he took photos for me.



These are from my parents' house at their pool.  Eli is getting to be very brave when it comes to the water which is a big difference from last year.  Ever have your kid in swim lessons and there is this other kid crying, screaming, trying to climb out of the pool to the door to release him from his watery hell in earth?  Yeah, that was Eli last year.  Not so anymore. 

 Evie on the other hand....she leaps in the pool and goes completely under before we pull her up. She is our adventurer.

And Chad...well if it was ever in question whether he still had it...it being skills...he still does.

Here we are at our second home, Longwood Gardens. 

Those poor geese...never knew what hit them.  Eli the predator strikes again. 

Best way to end the day....eating a pink flower cookie that happens to be the size of your face.

Here we are at Dutch Wonderland...best place on earth!  Evie had a lot of firsts here....

First ride alone with her bro.... 

I think she is seriously crushing him.... 

 Eli's friends for 2 and a half years now.

 Evie's first log flume ride!

Hitting up the water park at DW. 

Someone cross off fish wrangling from Evie's bucket list.

Evie's first ice cream cone!  It took her FOREVER and a day to eat it, but she is cutest licker ever! 

Gotta love this ice cream grin!

Went to the Strawberry Festival today.   

So here is Eli on this super tall ride that takes you up slowly and then drops you fast!  He just made the height requirement, so when he begged to go on it....I of course did not want him to go, but relented when Chad said he could handle it.  Just so you know, the below picture is what it looked like from afar.... 

YIKES!  He did it and I videotaped it.  He cried a little at the end, but recovered quickly and was all smiles.  I guess we'll see if it scarred him when we go to our next ride excursion.  :)