2010 Christmas Card!

THIS is our first-ever Christmas card! :) Cole really wanted the dogs to be dressed up in outfits, but I just didn't have the energy for that... maybe next year! :) Merry Christmas, blogging friends!

Picture Perfect

Last month my friend Stacey sent me a text asking if I would be willing to take some family pictures for her. Of course I wanted to!  They  have the cutest little girl who is just about two, and I was dying to take some shots of her gorgeous blue eyes!!!  I was sooo excited for another chance to play with my camera...

Until I learned that "family pictures" included:

• THREE kiddos under two years of age (Stacey's daughter AND her sister's super cute twins)
• SEVEN adults (plus two baby bumps!)

My friendly little photo session jumped from a manageable group of three to TEN! (12 if you count the bumps.)

GULP! Going in, I was extremely nervous. I think overall, we had a fun time and wound up with some adorable pictures, not hard to do when you're shooting such cute kids! The group shots were the toughest... As you can imagine, it was pretty challenging to get all of the kiddos looking at the camera. I did my best! :) Some of my favorite moments from the day wound up being candids of the kids in the leaves. 

They are so precious...

Phoenix

FINALLY - posting about our trip to Phoenix! YIKES - I'm behind on this blog!!

Last month In September, Mom and I were (finally) able to travel to Phoenix and visit Jess... We had a wonderful trip, although it went by way too fast. During our short stay we spent some quality time with Jess, watched her get her white coat, helped her pick out a new couch and chair, saw the sights with Uncle Jeff and had a fun dinner with Uncle Phil and our cousin, Chase.

The last time I was in Arizona I was only five or six years old. My only memories include:

1) Laying on the floor of our mini-van (seat belts? nah.) and always knowing what direction we were going. Seriously, my parents would randomly ask and I always knew. Too bad I don't still have those skills; now I'm pretty directionally challenged.

2) Visiting my Aunt Ruth. She lived in a tee pee at the time, making her our "coolest" aunt, by far. We even got to sleep with her in the tee pee. Mom and Dad opted for the camper. You may think this is weird. We thought it was AWESOME, and still do. We're not talking about a tent. It was a full-size tee pee, loft included! Still today she is loved for her, um, "quirky" lifestyle... although she is now a homeowner.

We flew out of Wichita on a Thursday and Uncle Jeff picked us up at the airport. It was HOT in Arizona, still in the 100's, which was a little higher than normal for them. At the time, Jess was struggling to adjust to the temperatures... I'm sure now that it's December she has changed her tune a bit! :)

Here are some photos from the trip:

After the white-coat ceremony with mom.

Uncle Jeff took us to the south end of Phoenix to look out over the city. The view was awesome, and he was able to teach us so much about Phoenix. For example, there are only sky scrapers in a small portion of downtown because a city ordinance limits building height... and prevents the awesome views from being blocked by giganto buildings!

Towards the end of our trip, we ate at "Chino Bandito's" in Phoenix, which has been featured on "Diners, Dives & Drive-Ins" on The Food Network... It was a cross between Chinese and Mexican... an interesting place! Definitely a "dive," but fun to check out!

Can't wait to go back and visit again soon. I was hoping K-State's bowl game would be in AZ, but no such luck.  Last week Jess made it home for Thanksgiving and we're so excited that she can be back for Christmas, too!!! Speaking of which... Can you believe Christmas is just a few weeks away?!