Something happened while we were gone...

Bella got rid of the paci!

The child has been in big girl panties for a few weeks and now I know she is a big girl... She was so tired at night she didn't even ask for it when she went to bed. I figured she would, being in a new place and all...but she didn't! So when we came home, I was sure she would... Nope! (now she did when on the airplane, but I told her no. I didn't even have one with me then.)

I know these pictures are from last winter, but I just LOVE them. This kid has LOVED her paci! But I'll be honest, I'm glad it is gone...at least until she starts crying! :)

Visit with Gran'da -- Part 2

We had an EARLY flight out of here last Friday morning. But it was great because we still had the entire day once we got to Phoenix. We even got breakfast burritos on the way to my dad's house (since Carlos O'Brien's wasn't open yet--our traditional home-from-the-airport stop). But Brian didn't have to worry, because we went there for our mid-day meal. My dad and Yvonne have a pool so of course my girls were ready to get in. That is how we spent the rest of our evening and then called it an early night.

Here's VonVon with her two Bella's





On Saturday we took a drive up to Flagstaff. My dad and I both have a fascination of Route 66, but because of modern developments there isn't much of it left where we could get to in a day's drive (with two small children no less). So, we had lunch at the Galaxy diner on Route 66. Brian drove on the motorcycle with my dad. He loves this picture because he thinks he looks like the guys on Chips.





Then we made our way toward Sunset Crater. It was incredible learning about the volcano and seeing how it still affects the land today. We stopped by the visitor center and Olivia finished the task to be sworn in as a Junior Officer.


There was two incredible parts to the trip to the crater though...
1. The ancient ruins. My kids really liked this part.






2. Seeing the Painted Desert. I was blown away by the size of that thing...and we only saw it from a distance! As the sun set, it was shining across the desert and it was amazing! (even though it was a partly cloudy day and we didn't get to see it as colorful as it normally is)





On Sunday, we went to church with VonVon and once again saw 'the other' Isabella and her sister Sienna (Daniel and Elena's daughters). My girls love them! We had lunch at Papadeaux and then Brian and I got a FANTASTIC gift... Are you ready for this?

THEY WATCHED THE KIDS WHILE WE WENT TO IKEA----ALONE!!! HA!

I am in LOVE with Ikea! We had such a blast and seriously, if we had lived closer, I would have bought a TON more!

On Monday, Brian and my dad golfed while I met up with an old friend from high school, Tammy. We went to her house for lunch while our girls played. It was so nice to see her again. Then, she and her husband, Ian (also from my old youth group), and daughter, Faith, came over to my dad's house for a cook out. There were several people there (Yvonne's family is very large)...and at one time there were 4 2 year olds! And get this part...3 of them were named Isabella! Here is a cute picture of the 3 Isabella's (my Bella, Daniel and Elena's Bella, and Yvonne's niece's Iza). Aren't they cute?



Well, of course, the evening couldn't end without a dip in the pool and ice cream cones! Yum!



(Here's my Bella swimming with floaties...finally. Isn't peer pressure great?)



Tuesday we went to Arizona Mills Mall and found some great deals (I LOVE a bargain!). The girls also rode on the carousel and for once, they BOTH loved it!



Then that evening we went to Pipe Organ Pizza in Mesa. I had been there once when I was in junior high and was excited about going again (especially with my family). Yvonne came with Elena and the two girls as well. We sat on the upper floor which was nice because it was basically empty for almost an hour and our girls could dance and play.





We almost didn't go to bed that night. Our alarm was set for 2 am to get ready for our trip home...yes, you heard me, TWO A.M.!! I was up at 1:30 waiting on the alarm to go off. But we made it, safe and sound... We all took a 4 hour nap that afternoon in our own beds.

Thanks for the trip, we had so much fun!

Visit with Gran'da--Part 1

My dad came out for a motorcycle rally in NW Arkansas and then came down for a visit the last weekend in July. We spent a few days with him here, and then he drove home--only a day before we were scheduled to fly out to Arizona to visit him and Yvonne.

We had a good time while he was here. Company try-outs were coming to a close and Justin was gone to Romania on a mission trip so we all (Emily and Cooper included) just hung out with my dad in town. Here are a few highlights from his visit.

I surprised my family and rode on his motorcycle to the grocery store (not sure why that surprised everyone so much though...).





Then on Sunday evening we went to walk the Big Dam Bridge over the Arkansas River. Luckily, it had rained a little and was much cooler.






On Monday, my dad requested to eat at the Flying Fish restaurant in the River Market. A new park had opened up for kids in that area so after dinner we went to see it. It was awesome. My girls were surprised that I let them play in the fountain... We had made plans for it and made sure to bring towels for the car ride home. Brian and Olivia left early, so Bella and Cooper got to stay and play. It was a BLAST! We will defintely be doing THAT again!












By the way, have I mentioned lately that my youngest child is very expressive? Ha!

It's official!

Olivia made Company again this year!

While we had a pretty good idea she would, I was still a nervous wreck! She had two hours of dance practice for 7 days in a row. They learned a new dance tap, jazz, and ballet (lyrical). That is a lot for a kid in one week!

On Sunday, the actual day of try outs, we showed up to the studio (in make up and hair done...most were 'glittered' up) and I was very nervous. Then they called her name and pinned a number on her left hip and I was literally about to throw up. It seemed so official. They were called in 3 at a time and performed in front of a panel of judges. Then they would come out, change shoes, and go back for another dance. It was over in about 45 minutes.

Apparently, she did great, because we went by the studio today to see her name on the list! Yea! She will be in a tap, jazz, and lyrical dance this next year as well as a small group pull out and possibly a hip-hop and a line dance (not a country line dance, but one with every member of the studio). Are you thinking what I'm thinking...$$$! ha! It is worth it though. We absolutely LOVE this whole thing--the competitions, the music. Man, what a rush! Seriously, it is pathetic!



I am going in the morning to try to find Bella some ballet and tap shoes. Can't find anywhere that makes them in tiny sizes.

Thank you Lord for the shower of blessings...(but I'm drowning here!)

Overwhelmed...

That explains it exactly.

Overwhelmed with everything right now. I know I am behind on blog posts (I have SO much to share...)! I know I am behind on work...sessions to proof, orders to upload, papers to file... I am getting ready for school to start. My baby had dance try outs all last week (I'll post on that next), my dad was in town, had a reading conference for a week and a photography one last Thursday until almost midnight! We are staying up late and barely sleeping in. Nationals...strep (TWICE)... No fun.

Don't get me wrong, I love a fast-paced life. If we aren't moving, I don't know how to act. So this summer I was really looking forward to running my business full-time. I was thinking of it as a 'try-out' of sorts to see if 1) I had enough business to go full time, and 2) how an average day would be for me. Well, after several weeks of NON STOP WORK I realized that I HATE IT! I would work from the second I woke until the second I went to bed... I got to the point I dreaded the phone ringing with new prospects. I was loosing creativity behind the camera and I realized even when teaching, I had time to sit down to eat lunch.

So a decision was made...for the time being, I will cut back and continue my business as part-time. I am so thankful I was able to try it out before actually quitting my job and realizing it after it was too late. Yeah, I made a lot of money, but it was absolutely NOT worth it. So, I have pulled my kid's directory ad (which I really don't need during the busy season anyway), and I will only work every other weekend. Olivia's dance is going to cost us about triple what it did last year (and Bella will be joining her at the studio) so I'll work enough to cover my over head and that...but I don't want to stress out more than necessary. That isn't why I got into photography to begin with.

I know several of you have never seen my studio so I thought I'd show a few shots of it. I do love it, and by no means does this mean I am closing up shop! I will continue just as I have in the past (probably busier), but with the mindset that 'I' control my own schedule and I need to slow it down some...ok, LOTS!





That shot didn't show the custom lighting Justin put in for me... I need to update my picture of it, but the one below shows my wall lit with them...

The baby bug...

I don't know if it is because Isabella is getting close to 3 and no longer a REAL baby...or if it is because we are going through getting rid of baby clothes, the crib, etc...or if it is because I have had almost a dozen pregnant mommies as clients in the past two months that have almost all had their newborn shoots recently...but I am getting the baby bug once again.

Now, knowing that I CAN'T have more childen may be a factor as well, but can't help but feel like I am going to miss the 'baby' part of our family. I have no newborn pictures of my girls...so giving that to others help make up for it. Then there is Cooper..my oh MY! I can't WAIT to see that little stinker again. :) And I do get my baby fix from him from time to time.

Is this normal? I mean, always before when I got 'the baby bug' we were ready for another baby. But now that that isn't an option it makes me wonder, if I had a dozen kids, would I still feel like I needed that 'baby-nurturing'? Is there ever a 'finished' number to your family?

Now, I will say that God knew what he was doing when he gave us our two girls. I love having girls. I always 'thought' I wanted more, but seriously, after my pregnancies and deliveries two was honestly enough (for those of you that know my delivery story with Liv, you probably thought ONE was enough!). And you know, I can't honestly imagine my life with another little one. Isabella equals about 3 little ones right now. I'm working 2 jobs and I am spread so thin as it is, and Isabella is potty training so would I REALLY want to do all of that again? Ummm...I don't think so.

I had a friend in Texarkana that told me that when she had her daughter, and that baby was out of diapers...she never wanted to go back. When she was done carrying a diaper bag...she didn't want to go back to that stage. When she could entertain herself, she didn't want to go back to having to chasing a toddler around. I think of that right now and think that there is no way I'd actually want to go back to sleepless nights right now. And yeah, once Bella is out of pull-ups, I am thinking my budget will look a lot better... Although I did love maternity clothes. But then there was baby food... And pumping at work... And carrying around that big ole' carrier...And baby toys all over my living room...yeah, what was I thinking?

We've talked about being foster parents some day. We may pursue that when the time is right. But, we are about to give Liv her own room again (bye, bye playroom), and she has chosen a more mature bedding design (snif!). Bella will have a toddler room for now... We'll see how it goes.

So I guess the crib will go out in the donate pile after all... I think I would probably always want another baby. But seriously, I don't want to be the Dugger's... LOL.

So here is a picture of my last baby... I'm ok. Really, I am.

National Champions!

We just got back from National Finals, and let me just say...WOW!! We are the proud parents of a National Champion!! We have had quite a year with Company this year... I figure most of you haven't been to a competition before (my mom came to one, but other than that, I don't figure anyone else has...) so I'll try to explain how it all happens. Talk about HIGH energy! It is awesome. :) And this is so much bigger than a regular competition....

Our kids danced to Boogie Shoes on Thursday night--and did AWESOME. Then on Friday morning, they danced to Walk the Dinosaur. We stayed around a little bit to watch others, and to wait for the dance-off announcement.

Ok, if you guys are not familiar with dance competitions, a dance off is HUGE (actually, it is only done at national finals). The judges take the top 5 or 6 scoring out of all types of dances out of their age category. So, for ours it was ages 8 and under small groups (which is a little confusing because later I'll talk about 6 and under...). We did not expect our little ones to be called because you can only have one dance per studio in each dance off and our 7-8 hip hop rocks. Well, when it was time for the announcement, they actually called Boogie Shoes!! Our babies were IN! They were the only 5-6 aged dance in the dance off (so at that point, we KNEW that we had won the 5-6 category over all). Even Ms. Karen (their tap teacher) was shocked. She said that she knew that they had done a good job, but she didn't know it was THAT good. :)

Since the dance off was later that evening, we went to Branson Landing for lunch and shopping. We then went back to the condo to rest, and in a few hours started all over again with make up and curling her hair. We showed up in time to have them run the dance a few times. Ms. Karen kept telling them to 'do it big'. So my child keeps yelling "Whoo!" and "Go girls" all through the middle. I asked if it was ok that she did that and Karen just laughed saying, if it moves her...go for it!

The purpose of a dance-off is to determine the TOP winner of it all. We knew other dances in it were VERY good, and just were excited to have made it that far (other kids in our studio have never made a dance-off...and they have been doing this for years). Our kids did awesome in the dance off, but we knew that they really were not the top competitors.

Then after the dance-off, we had awards. First was the judges' awards. These are just cute, fun awards the judges make on things that strike them. For instance, Dinosaur got 'most adorable boys', and Boogie Shoes got 'best use of shoes on hands'... But still, we've never before gotten a judges award for BOTH of our dances. :) Then came the Category Cup awards. Boogie Shoes got top tapping OVER ALL the others!! Then they gave out adjudicated trophies (how each dance scored...not against each other, but against a rubric based on age). Boogie Shoes got an Elite Top First (the highest you can get), and Dinosaur got a Top First (basically, a second place). Then after those awards, they called out the TOP Ten by age divisions (TOP stands for Talent On Parade--the name of the competition). For the 6 and under age division, they started calling names...and again, we were fairly sure we had won this, but since it hadn't been announced, we didn't want to assume... So, when Dinosaur got SECOND, we knew we had it. Then, Boogie Shoes was called first and everyone went crazy. :) They got a trophy bigger than they are and $400! We still can't believe our kids placed first AND second out of the top 10!!!




Ms. Karen had told them if they won the money, she'd take them on a Chuck E Cheese party. So, I guess, we are going to Chuck E Cheese!!

We all had SO much fun this weekend... I can't believe how much team spirit I had. If any of our groups were performing, I wanted to be there. I can't wait till next year!!

And oh yeah, we get one week off until they start learning dances to try out for next year. One week! Next Monday night, we'll be at the studio for 2 hours a night... Not much of a break, huh? LOL!

Here I am with our champion...sporting my DanceMom shirt. Ignore the bags under my eyes...it was VERY late when we were finally done with awards. :)



And yes, Olivia is missing her FOURTH tooth. Most of our dancers had big holes in their mouths from missing teeth... Guess it is that time, huh?

GO LIVIE!!!

As I write this I am loading up the car for Nationals. I am SO excited about this and so proud that my baby is going. :) Brian will be leaving later on today and meet us up in Branson (hopefully) in time to see her first dance. She finishes up tomorrow morning.

Love you, baby! You are going to do AWESOME! You have worked so hard and have such a great attitude towards the other dancers... We are so proud of you!

If you read this today, please leave a 'good luck' comment for Liv!

Holiday Cookout

We had our family cookout tonight because it was the only night over the holiday weekend we could all get together. (Don't you just love children's holiday decorations?) Olivia kept asking for everyone to come jump with her on the trampoline...Uncle JJ caved...and brought Cooper. That baby laughed and laughed! Then Auntie joined in.




And this shot is for my mother in law...who wanted to see her son do something on the trampoline other than sit! :)