Juggling it all...

Samantha is taking piano lessons and words can't even begin to express how much this means to me! Now some parents might invest in earplugs during practice time, some would rather lock themselves in a padded room far away from the piano and some might even go so far as getting a keyboard w/ a good set of headphones so only the one playing the instrument actually hears the sound. BUT NOT ME! I will literally make everyone in the house stop what they are doing just to sit around the piano to listen as Sam so gracefully dances her fingers across those keys. It is music to my ears! I have always wanted to be good at playing an instrument; I went so far as to beg my mom to let me take up violin. But really, who was I kidding. Reading music notes was (and is) like looking as some crazy foreign language - my brain just couldn't wrap itself around the concept. Now I know we are only into the 3rd piano lesson, but she is so good and loves to play and by golly I'm making that g...

I saw these monogramed towels for $20 at a home store and instantly I thought, "pa-shaw, I can do that for like a $1". So, here is my version of a super cute, super quick, super easy monogramed towel. (one for each of the kiddos)

My ever-so genius mother-in-law put together a super fun, all girl party/sleepover (I say genius, but some would say insane) for all of her granddaughters. Us mom's tagged along to help with the games, to play lifeguard on duty during swim time and of course to help get all 9 girls tucked in and kissed goodnight. What a great tradition this will be for my girls (well, all of the girls) to have with their grandma. I'm so very grateful to have such a tremendous mother-in-law who among her own trials, struggles and afflictions can't help but think of others. She is such an example to me and I love her dearly. Here are just a few photos of some of the fun... This is Samantha with her 91 year old Great-grandma (Scott's grandma)... Best-est girl cousins ever!!! Brooke and Brinlee... Sam and her best-est girl cuz ever, Jacee... I'm not exactly sure why Sam has such a sour face, but none the less she was having lots of fun especially when the older teenage girls painted ...

Just because I'm not sure what cross over this blog gets with my photography blog, I just wanted to mention a little somethin'-somethin' here... I participated in a super fun photowalk (which is basically a bunch of lunatic photographers walking around downtown Tempe in 112 degrees taking pictures of ANY thing and EVERY thing just as a wild dust/monsoon storm blows through... all for fun)! It truly was a great learning experience!! Go check it out here ...

Not often do I hear my kids say at 9:30 at night that they NEED ice cream. But, when I do hear those words and I tell them NO this is the face that will follow...

Well, I don't have the answer, but I'm sure it's right around their 3rd birthday, which just so happen to be yesterday... July 7th! It's not like they grew overnight and just became "big kids" all of a sudden, I know this has been in the works for a long time - all eternity, to be exact. But somehow it still seems to catch me off guard. Thank goodness the twins' size keeps me in belief (as misleading as it is) that they are, in fact, my babies. So to mark this momentous occasion I just want to note - for journaling and posterity sake - a few things about my-so-called babies... Brody is a boy through and through! Rough and tough and teases his sisters so relentlessly. He is so willing and eager to be my helper boy - when you can catch him in the right mood. This time last year he hated swimming in the pool and now he's the biggest fish of all. He is incredibly smart but has the hardest time saying what he means. I know his speech will catch up, b...