These pics are actually from last fall… they crack me up. She’d been looking at a fashion magazine and laughing at the awkward poses of the models. She grabbed a yoga mat, her big plastic belt (you know, the kind that come free with the jeans but isn’t quality at all) and a pair of my shoes (it kills me that they fit her now… how can she be almost my size already?) and asked me to take pictures of her in her fancy high-fashion ensemble. One result from our 5-minute photoshoot:

Love this girl. Gosh, she’s beautiful. But more importantly, she’s just a really wonderful, delightful person. Lucky me.

I made a goal last week to blog every other day (at least weekdays). Didn’t quite make it, but I’m going to be gentle on myself and just keep going rather than beating myself up about it. More important than blogging every other day, I wanted to have every other post be a personal one. About something I like, or something I’ve done, or something I’ve discovered. It will make my blog feel more like me. Because as much as I love my job, there ARE other parts to me, and they sometimes feel like they get swallowed up in all the other things in life (including my job), and I lose motivation to blog because I’m kind of tired of just talking about that one side of me.

So. Unfortunately, since I’ve been either working or at the pool or at the beach with my kids this week (it IS summer after all!), I haven’t spent any time proofing my own photos. But I did proof this one from a recent wedding (to be featured soon!).

My test subject, my dear Davey. My assistant at weddings (I’m always VERY careful to point out that he’s my assistant, because it’s the only time when I’m his boss and I rather enjoy that feeling). My mule, as I call him when he’s got all my gear (or when he’s showing his stubborn streak). My partner in crime, the love of my life.

I like that I wrote love, and he’s MY love. I wasn’t taking this to take a pic of Dave, per se, but  it just happened with our experimenting. I love shooting weddings with him. I sometimes have to shoot with other people, and that’s fine, but he just GETS me more than anyone else. He knows how to make me laugh or calm me down or help me focus. And his work is really good!

He also doesn’t respect me like I’m his boss, which he really needs to work on.  We toy with the idea of bringing him on full-time, but he’s also a really good accountant, and those are really hard to find these days. Besides, I don’t think he likes me to be his boss. He likes being a boss, and neither of us like being an employee, so we’re at an impasse. He’ll be my employee at weddings and my tech-guy and accountant for free, but I can’t afford his fees.

He’s a really good man. I  really love this guy. I’m the luckiest girl alive.

p.s. Here’s a shot of “the mule” in action… full service, carrying cameras AND wedding bouquets! All with a smile…

These images mark a piece of Andrea’s history. Not only because they were the fleeting first days of a newborn baby, but because they were the fleeting last days of  living on the lake. Last week, she moved to Carson City, Nevada. I’m so excited to have her back on my side of the country for the first time in a decade! (before Kentucky, they lived in Philadelphia… hard to get much farther away than CA to PA) Since the move, she and I have delighted ourselves by calling each other IN THE SAME TIMEZONE! No more telling myself that while 4pm is great for me to talk, she’s probably eating dinner or getting the kids to bed, or thinking of something I need to tell her at 7 and knowing she’s already in bed. This same-timezone thing is really great.

Anyway… on to the pics!

Can you see why I found him so irresistible?

My brother-in-law is into making furniture by hand. This beautiful bench holds one of his greatest masterpieces.

Their “diving rock” reminds me of the rock on the lion king that they hold the baby out on… we had to do a small re-creation:

(by the way… the rock slopes downward, my sister was laying next to him and holding him… you just can’t see her hands in the shot. I would never plop a baby on a rock over water without proper precautions!)

This pic shows it all for me. The lake, the rock, Leah completely loving on Bryce (the girl was a kissing machine!), the special relationship between Keith and Bennett… I love it all.

A few more faves:

Bennett refusing his dinner.

Leah giving kisses.

My Earth-Mama sister:

Keith enjoying one of the best things about their life in Kentucky:

Just for the record… that lake is incredible. That picture makes me want to jump in again. The water isarmer than my California swimming pool. I don’t know how but it really is. Something in that water cleans away stress and makes you instantly happy, even if swimming in lakes seems a little scary at first. I wish they could’ve brought it with them, or that I could buy it as a vacation home. (which reminds me… if you’re on that side of the country, it’s still available for the time being! Snatch up this little piece of heaven!)

I gather all the leftovers and whatever I can find around the house (raisins, pretzel mix, a bag of peanuts) and assign it a weird name, make up a menu, and have the family order from the menu. Here’s the file: Montez Family Annual April Fools Gala Dinner, if you want to try it next year. It’s really no more work than a regular dinner, except for putting together the menu, which makes me giggle and is kind of fun. A celebration without more work? That’s the best!

Anyway, I was nice this year. The only non-edible thing on the menu was grass (springfling, and almost everyone ordered it!). Other than that, it was orange chicken (from Costco) if they chose right, or cereal, leftovers or dog food if they chose wrong (with the name of  “dinnypup” everyone figured it out). Sophie was disappointed that her dessert was ice (while others got ice cream), but other than that, everyone had fun with it. Good times.

In another, completely unrelated event… Please go vote for Shannon and Jason, an SMP bride and groom, who are up for Best Bouquet on The Knot’s Real Wedding Awards!

The flowers were done by the wonderful Lani and Elizabeth at Lani Elizabeth. They really were amazing.

In the spirit of trying to get you to go vote, here are more of the amazing flowers!

They were amazing. Even on the hottest day of the year!

NOW GO VOTE.

And now, it’s time for a big first for my Last. Friday afternoon, he learned to ride a bike!

Take a look:

I’m taking credit. I was the one that taught him how to ride. But when Dave got home from work and pulled around the corner to see Franklin in a ball in the gutter after just crashing (his first crash), Dave decided he needed to be watched a little more closely and I was happy to turn over the duties of coach and take the duties of photographer/videographer. The video quality may be a little iffy, but actually, I love it! I shot it with my 5D… I had to manually focus my lens (thus the periods of blurriness in the video), but it feels kind of artsy to me! Maybe I’ll learn to edit video and dub it with music someday. Maybe.

It makes me so happy and just a tiny bit sad to see this, knowing that we’re nearly out of the really big firsts as a little kid. We’ve been through four first baths, first smiles, first steps, first words, first teeth, first days of school. I guess his first lost tooth is the next one… but there really aren’t many left (of the little kid ones, anyway… we’ve still got first love, first date, first heartbreak, first day of college, etc… to look forward to!) But I’m trying to enjoy each day as it comes. I love my bigger kids. We are having so much fun!

A few stills of the little man’s happy accomplishment:

I love that he can make a diagram and plant a garden. We spent the day yesterday clearing it out to make room. We’re totally going to be urban farmers this summer. We’re even thinking about getting chickens. Maybe. Wouldn’t it be cool?

It was a big cool weekend for the family, with much to share. But it will have to wait until tomorrow (when I have access to my computer!)

As hard as it is, their family has settled into the everyday. Heather has turned bandage changes into a science and can do it in a fraction of the time it used to take. Michael started preschool. The boy already knows all his letters and numbers and is starting to read, not sure what they can teach mr. mini-genius, but he’s making friends and loving it anyway! Heather got a part-time job. Ryan got a new job. It’s nice to see that besides the bandages, they are doing well! His third birthday was last fall… here are the images from his birthday session.

(some have been touched up a bit, so the focus is on his beautiful face rather than what blisters might have been on his face at the time)

The paper doll family was left over from his grandparents’ visit a couple days earlier. When Michael first saw it, he said it was a “a party!”

He’s a happy, delightful boy.

Headed out to his first day of preschool… a big moment!

(source)

I could pretend I live in Amsterdam and ride everywhere… put a basket on the front and make sure there is always a baguette in it or something. Or maybe Piper! That would be fun. Anyway… I’m loving this weather lately. Perfect. I’ve been taking my bike out almost every day, but my bike is just not this cute, I have to bend over to ride, and that big fat seat sounds heavenly.

I think it’s time to run another blog a day run! How about… if I miss a day before April 15 (tax day, right?), the first person to catch me gets a Panera gift card? It motivated me last time!

Thanks for your prayers.

Teddy is doing well. The surgery went as well as can possibly be expected. They were able to remove the entire tumor, and the doctor is confident that it’s benign (lab tests will confirm, but it takes a couple weeks). He was able to come home on Sunday after only a few days in the hospital. He had a rough couple of days because the anitbiotic they gave him made him sick and loopy, but once they figured that out, he did great. He’s sore, but so happy to be home. His parents are relieved and happy to have that experience behind them!

(a word about the image: it’s not mine. I found it online months ago, and didn’t save the location. I’m sorry! But I really love how it feels… reverent)

The brought him a hat, a toy firetruck, and a t-shirt. We were all delighted with their generosity, but didn’t expect more. But these guys went way above and beyond a simple little visit.

They took him for a ride in the truck. They brought three trucks! If I was paying better attention, I could tell you which ones… a ladder, an engine, and a small one, not sure what it was called.

They even let him drive it.

Just kidding. That would be stupid.

But they did let him raise the ladder.

Sophie and Franklin went up while he raised the ladder too… they felt like rockstars.

They showed all the kids how everything works, all the gauges and gears and tools…

Each neighborhood kid was delighted to get a chance to spray the hose. Our lawn got a nice watering.

They let everyone try on the gear.

I love this shot of Teddy and his Dad.

And these shots of my own cuties.

Notice the missing teeth. *love*

Here are a couple shots of the cool guys that not only protect our homes and serve our community, but uplift and bring joy. I have so much respect for them.

At this point one of them jokingly asked if I could photoshop double-chins, etc. And I jokingly replied that I’d have to charge extra. To which he replied: “what’s your address?”

Getting his point, I offered to do all photoshopping free of charge. Thanks, guys, for having my house’s back! And for that, I have your double-chin’s back. (Did that even make sense?)

Thanks so much for everything, guys!

p.s. if you want to see more, I put a slideshow together of our fun afternoon.