Wordless Wednesday ~ Notice Anything New?

My little "Queen of Accessories" talked Daddy into some brand new sparkle . . .

Found It!

This little sweet pea here . . .

. . . has found her thumb :)

And I'm sorry, but I think it is the.cutest.thing.ever!

Tribute to Summer

Anyone else going to be sad to see Summer go? 
Like, bawling your eyes out, sad?

You see, we don't have a lot of gorgeous, sunny, weather here in Oregon.  So when it comes around, I rejoice!  And when it goes away . . . well, I cry. 

Thank goodness for my beloved camera.  I can capture these brief, Summer moments, and cherish them all year long. 

My tribute to Summer 2011 in photos  . . .

Days of play



Of exploration



Of peacefulness



Of welcoming a new, precious blessing.



Days of change.



Of celebration,



and beauty.


Days of creating,



laughing,



of competition



and true enjoyment.



Days of sculpting,



Splashing,



Jumping,



and observing.



Of truly living life.

We had one of the best summers yet!  How 'bout y'all?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm linking up {FINALLY!} with Alicia's Crazy Days of Summer.  Something I've been meaning to do all Summer, but . . . you know, life just got in the way.

A Day at the Salon

It seems, recently, that Sierra has gotten to do a lot of things, spend a lot of time with friends, and make a lot of choices.  I know that this comes with maturity, and being the "oldest", but sometimes I think Kenners feels a little left behind.

So the other day I asked Makenna if there was something special she'd like to do with a friend.  I said, "Perhaps go to lunch, or go shopping?"  And she came back with "Or a trip to the salon?"  What can I say?  That girl knows what she wants.  And luckily, I had a gift certificate to the salon, just waiting to be used.  It was meant to be.

We called up her friend {actually, her friend's mama}, and I scheduled mini manicures for the girls.

We dropped Sierra and Kameryn off at my Mom's, next door.  And Kenners, Taylor, and I headed to the salon.

And Kenners had So.Much.Fun.

It doesn't happen all the time, but I'm so happy that we can do these little things to show each one of our girls how special they are to us.  And to be able to focus on each one individually.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Summer Fun

Okay, so I know this is supposed to be word*less*, but would y'all do me a favor, and hop on over to Kelli's?  I'm guest posting today.  A few simple tips to improve your everyday photographs.

Thanks so much!

Birthday Fun

We've had a busy summer.  We got about a week and a half of down time after Taylor was born, and then July hit, and WHEW!  We've been on the go ever since.  But it's been fun.  It's always better, for us, to keep the kiddos busy.  And I'd say we've done a good job of that.

So.  We can always tell that summer is winding down by the slew of birthdays.  Jeremy's birthday is toward the beginning of August, our niece, Sonoma and Sierra's birthdays {just one day apart} are toward the middle/end, then Jeremy's brother's.  Then his dad's.  It's a busy birthday season!

Last weekend we celebrated Sissy's birthday.  My MIL spent Friday night {we just love having her sleep over!}, and Saturday night she and Gramps came by for cake and ice cream and a few presents.  My parents were out of town celebrating another granddaughter's birthday.


Grandma and Grandpa got Sierra a pretty special birthday present.  One that will definitely aid in a memorable first hunting season for our girl.



And then Sunday we had a big family birthday party.  We are still in the middle of plans for our outside landscaping.  There was a lot of excavation that took place to build, move our mobile home, tear out our yard to improve our driveway, and so on.  So we did our partyin' inside the house this year.  But next year we look forward to a beautiful lawn, and lots of gatherings outside!



One of our favorite aunts, Nat.  She and Kam have a special bond.



Sierra's special, special friend was able to come.  She and her family are heading out to Kansas for 3 1/2 months, and we are going to miss them terribly.  Sierra loved the beautiful headband and nail polish that Kate picked out especially for her.



Apparently someone else also loved the headband. 
Kam LOVES to accessorize.



And that's where the headband stayed for the rest of the afternoon.  Luckily Nana and Gramps were able to find another one when they were out shopping the next day.  So, no worries.  Sierra's headband is back where it belongs.



And, oh yeah, I can't resist posting a pic of this little muffin.  She slept the whole party away so peacefully.  She's changing so much!!!

We had a busy birthday weekend around here, and I'm trying to play catch up.  Now that we finally have some nice weather, we've been packing our days full of fun!

Last week we went on our annual Oaks Park trip {we went last year too} with my MIL.  The girls always have so much fun, and the last couple of years we've taken the girls' cousin, Kolby. 


The first ride they saw, they just had to go on.  Kolby and Sierra were the only kiddos big enough to ride.  So, they anxiously stood in line . . .



At last, it was their turn . . .



Hmmm, I'm not sure.  This thing looks like it goes pretty high in the air . . .



Wheee!  This is SO.MUCH.FUN!



Woooohoooohooo!



Yeah, we are total rockstars! 



Next up was the little roller coaster.  Everyone got to go on that.  Well, not everyone.  Taylor and I sat it out and snapped photos.



But we got to go on this ride.  The carousel was a hit.  Kenners loved it, Taylor loved it,  


Kam loved it.  Even I loved it! ;)

It was a super fun day, that we look forward to every year!  Thanks so much Grandma :)