busy, busy, busy... did i mention busy???

wow! what a whirlwind of a summer! we've taken the kids to oklahoma, arkansas, illinois, wisconsin, iowa, minnesota and i *think* there's one other state i'm forgetting.

we got to visit with my cousin (who is more like my sister than a cousin) and her hubby while in iowa.  we ate at this fab little restaurant called broccos that was right on the lake of this little resort town called okoboji.  

we were able to visit with j's family and all the boys got together... (there's 5 boys, 2 girls)

such a rare occasion to have them all in one place!  they span from wisconsin to missouri, to florida!  the family is crazy loaded with boys.  i can hardly wait till they all get married, and there's finally some girls around to talk with!

*photography*

we've also been in full swing with school and all that entails, and on top of that, my photography *hobby* has picked up considerably doing families and such, and i've just booked my 4th wedding. thanks to the busy-ness, i've been able to get more equipment for this obsession of mine (including a sweet little laptop i call *apple* wink, wink ;) * i've actually named it apricot, and if this seems weird to you, read my entry about my quirks... )



my bff is getting married in may, and as her matron of honor, i've been super busy ( and having TONS of fun) helping her plan her ultra gorgeous beach wedding! i'm so excited and humbled to be a part of her special day. she deserves to have found someone who makes her happy, because she is the sweetest, most giving person i know. it has been so fun helping her plan, and looking at everything available to brides these days. j and i just celebrated our 11th year of wedded bliss ( WOOHOO for US!) and not half of this stuff was around when we got married! i've been sending her stuff left and right, and i'm sure i've been completely overwhelming her with ideas, and pictures i've attached to emails. we've finally put deposits on all major things ( church, reception, photographer, videographer, makeup artsist, hair, flowers, etc) and in 8 short months, i'll be in socal with my bestie & my family for 3 weeks! yay!

as i mentioned above, j and i just had our 11 year wedding anniversary! i love that man so much more deeply today than i did 11 years ago. there are not words to describe how i feel about him, or about us. he is my better half. he is the one i want to hold hands with when i'm 90. i want to wake up with him next to me all the days of my life. he is incredible. he is the perfect one for me, and i could not possibly be any happier. okay, okay, i'll stop now, it's getting too gushy. but seriously. the guy is awesome! :)

we recently took the kids to the pbr bull rides! so fun! i'm a total city girl that lives in the sticks( and amazingly enough, loves it) because of my country boy, but when you mention bull rides, i'm SO THERE! :) we had a blast, and will definitely be going again next year!

i hate that i've been so neglectful on here, but between the wedding sites and flickr (my favorite website, ever) i haven't been perusing the internet like i normally do. facebook has lost it's "flavor" to me, i don't do the myspace thing, so it's mainly my blog and flickr... but something had to give way for "the knot" (dot) com... ;)

now that the main things are booked, a plan is in action, and it's the "sit and wait" time of planning, i'm back! :) alrighty. i'm done rattling on and on~

have a great day girls!

i desperately want...

aren't these just gorgeous? you can find these and more here.

nick & sashas photoshoot

last weekend i got to spend a few hours with this gorgeous family. if you'd like to see more pictures, go to my flickr! :)

~*I BeLiEvE iN*~

i believe in:



** less is more

**listening to my intuition

**honesty is the best policy

**saying "please" and "thank you"

**God

**that it's okay to be shy

**being myself

**making the best of a bad situation

**bad things happen to good people

**it's okay to be a homebody

**learning from mistakes~ mine or someone elses

**life is full of surprises

**confidence is sexy

**expressing your feelings

**true love

**laughing everyday

**miracles

**being polite

**no one is perfect

**being polite

**being a good listener

**love is all we need

**family

**money isn't everything

**modest is hottest

**forgiveness

**manners can give anyone class

**beauty comes from within

**being humble

**you teach others how to treat you

**a smile can make anyone beautiful

**prayer

**relationships are hard work

**children learn by example

**that a new dress can make you feel like a new woman

**bigger & better isn't always BEST.

**trying my best

**CrEaTiViTy

**dreaming

**thinking before i speak

**being able to take a joke

**a sincere compliment can make anyones day

**loving life

**friendship

**everyone should have a hobby or a passion

**the "classic" style is timeless

**holding grudges makes you weak

more on sis priss~

more of sis priss' pictures~ looking at these, it's hard to believe that we've had her 9 years already. she is such a joy, and just an all around great kid. i wish more people were like her in the world. :)

sis priss' 9 year pictures~

here's sis priss' 9 year pictures... these are the only two i've had time to work on so far, and i'm practicing with my new actions, so they aren't exactly the way i'd like them...yet. :) i'll post more later!

i'm still trying to think of cute ideas for the boy and his 8 year pictures... i wanted to get a huge toad as a prop, but if i do that he'll want to keep it, and i've already dealt with having a toad once when we bought him warts ( he named him). warts was fine and all, but i couldn't stand feeding him. yick. one baby mouse every week. it was too sad to see the poor little thing become dinner...

more later! :) have a fab day girls!

him. me. roadtrip.

i am so excited. in 2 weeks i will have that handsome man above in a car with me for a whole week! ha, ha! i will turn off his cell phone, turn down the radio and talk to him about anything that comes to mind. he will be trapped on the open road. he can't go piddle with anything, take a nap, or go to work. he will be MINE. all mine! (well, mine and the 2 monkeys that will be in the back seat).

we're going up to wisconsin to visit part of his family, then over to iowa for his grandfathers memorial, and THEN off to somewhere else to spend some quality time just the four of us. i'm beyond excited. i have visions of chicago museums and aquariums, walking around navy pier. or how about the mall of america? all those shops... the rainforest cafe, saks 5th ave, and tiffanys... i've got it all planned in my head... of course hubster bursts my la la land by phoning me and telling me HIS ideas of family time... 4 wheeling through the national parks and hiking... ummm, is it near saks???

moody wednesday is no longer...

since wednesday is no longer dreaded for me, i've decided to stop moody wednesday and rename it "favorite things". just lists of useless information on what i'm interested in at the moment... so, her ya go, my first "favorite things" polyvore! and i know it won't take any pointing out that i'm a simple dresser... fru fru clothes and patterns, especially large ones, tend to swallow me up since i'm so petite (5'2 1/2", and yes, the 1/2 counts!). these are all things i'm looking forward to buying this season. and again, yes, i usually stick with the same colors... i love color, but i'd rather stay with muted and use color on my shoes, handbags and jewlery...

moody wednesday by gigi24 featuring J Crew

my nephews and their "moves"!!!

i had to put this up. my little nephews dancing to some song ( i don't know what or who it is, it's not exactly my kind of music), and they are just so adorable! blake is the older one, and keaton is the younger. both are 2 of the sweetest little boys, EVER! i'll be catching up on my blogging tomorrow, but until then, here ya go!