10- Double Digits Forever

10 years ago, my beautiful first born girl arrived! At a whopping 6lbs 14oz and 19 inches long- she stole our hearts.  What an amazing 10 years it has been already.  We look at her, still in astonishment that we are her parents- she is so special. We adore her and she is a wonderful daughter.  So helpful. So kind.  So loving.  So good in so many ways.  We could not imagine life without her.  I am grateful Heavenly Father sent her to us- we hope she never forgets how loved she is.
Today we did a lot.  We got out all the scrapbooks that are just Leah, and oohed and ahhed as we looked at them, reminiscing about those days and pictures.  It was so sweet- she was such a cute little girl- so full of spunk and life- not any different than now at 10.  Then, we got slushes at Sonic, had cake and ice cream, not once, but twice, and went shopping.  Perfect.  Tomorrow we are doing lunch and then dinner on Friday. I baked her a cherry chip cake with butter cream icing, and she decorated it- it is nearly gone, by the way!! She is having a friends party next month too- it just keeps going and going. 
Here are some shots of today: 23 July 12

She already got her gifts from us- we bought her a camera- she took it on vacation, so she didn't have much to open- but we did get her 3 rolls of duct tape, since it's the "in" thing to do - make things with it- she made Lanie a bow, that immediately came out of her hair- since she does not love having her head touched! Both Celeste and Alex gave her money- and they were very generous too! She got money in the mail from grandparents and phone calls like crazy today.  She even got 52 people to wish her a Happy Birthday on Facebook! She is quite the popular girl.  And for stats only- she got weighed and measured while we were at the DR. for Lanie's appointment.  She weighs 73 pounds and is 4'2".  She is in the 50% for weight and 5% for height.  But there is hope- I, too was short until High School.  She bought herself heels so she can feel taller when she starts 5th grade in the fall!
So, all in all- A great 10th birthday! We love you, Leah!!

July is Jumpin'

It is already half over, this month of summer...but it has been so busy, I have hardly noticed! Last weekend in the billion degree heat, Alex played a tournament in Cincy- that was fun...they lost all the games, but it was a great end to a very long season! So thankful it is over.  But, while we were there, I got to spend time with my  amazing friend Suzanne and her lovely family.  She just moved into this gorgeous house and I just loved every minute there- she is such a gracious host and friend, I am so blessed to have her.  She even watched the kids while Dana and I went to IKEA...
Probably not such a great idea- ha!  We fell in love. Instantly. Even Dana! We only had about an hour and a half, but we knew we were looking for an entertainment stand. We almost left the children so we could get it home! So...viola! What do you think?!

I LOVE it.  Honestly, we looked at so many, but not until we saw this piece did we know immediately that we wanted to bring it home.  It is so perfect...perfect size, it really defines the space there and holds all the movies and crap we need it to.  The shelves are all adjustable and the only compromise I had to make was I had to promise not to put a bunch of picture frames all on it. So, Dana suggested we just have grandparents on it, so that is what we did.  I LOVE it. Did I already say that??!! Well, I do, and it just fits perfectly. Only downside...Dana thinks he needs a bigger TV- yeah, I'll get right on that!

So, onto the next project...the kids' (girls) bathroom...it had never been painted...ever. and I hate unpainted walls.  So, I found this can of "oops" paint at Lowe's last week- it was a dark grey- called Evening Twilight.  Looked perfect.  The girls were not too thrilled that I was painting it grey, but I wanted yellow accents, so they conceded.  Then I started painting...it has a bit more purple in it than I thought....but turns out that we all love it.  I bought a new shower curtain, I found a shelf to hang (not pictured) and viola- here it is:

Then, I decided to change the accents in our master bath. It was chocolate brown and lime green.  Now instead of the green, we did blues, and hung all beach photos.  I LOVE it too.  We have yet to hang the big pictures, but you get the idea:

I have yet to frame the mirrors in both baths, but that is next on the list!

Onto outdoors...
Here is my first ever garden of my own:
4 tomato plants, 3 peppers and 1 cucumber bush- I am beyond excited that they are thriving even with the drought we have had!

 Our new table and umbrella from my parents- LOVE it- I had been watching this table for months- when it was clearanced, I snatched it up! Lucky me! The boy chose the blue umbrella and I am ecstatic to use it!

So, for now, that is all...I am tired now.  But I do love it all...can you tell?!

4th's Festivities

Well, the Fourth of July is always big in our family...
My brother was born on this glorious holiday! Lucky. So, he throws a big bash every year to celebrate this wonderful nation and himself! This year, the fireworks he set off at his house were nothing short of spectacular! My camera could not shoot fast enough, but they did capture a few great ones.

 We had a great cookout too, as usual.  Elaina had such fun with all the big girls. Man, she is fun to photograph!

I didn't get to take many pictures, it was super hot and I was trying to keep up with and keep track of Elaina.  I didn't even get a pic of Sean on his birthday :(
Hope he knows how much I love him and how lucky I am to be his sister.
Happy 4th of July!!

End of June

Since we got home from MB, life has been so busy! Shocking, right?
Alex left for Scout camp for a week, Leah had softball, and we just had to settle back into Summer.  It wasn't so bad...just a few minor issues, but after all was said and done, Alex returned and had had a wonderful time.  He earned 4 merit badges- archery was his hardest and to accomplish that badge at 12 is apparently not really common! So proud of him!
His baseball is nearly over, thank goodness! We have a tournament this weekend and then it is over.  I cannot say I won't be upset! It has been a long season- we have been playing since March!
I have not taken many pictures since we have been home, none, actually....we even went to the zoo and Dana was shocked that I didn't even bring it! I think after taking 900 in one week, I needed a break! So thankful I did take that many, though.  I blew this one up to a 20 X 24 and framed it for my bathroom. I also made a few other pieces for that space and when they are hung up, I will take a pic and show you then.  Or you could just come over!

I see this several times a day, and it takes me there- I am in love with the beach. When I was at the store last week, the girls had a sock fight- I found these pictures as I was about to reformat my SD card...good thing they didn't get deleted!
Would not want to lose these! ha!

And one day, it was "Hairstylist" day and here were Leah's creations:

So, it has been fun, right?! I will get my camera ready for tomorrow- July 4th! My brother will be 39, and I will take some shots of his party and fireworks.  I am looking forward to that!
On a side note- we were hit with one heck of a storm last Friday! It was something crazy! Out of literally no where, 90 mile an hour winds whipped through here and tore out trees and downed power lines to over 300K people! It was awful- many are still without today! We are so fortunate to not have been affected by this power outage- so thankful- it has been over 90 every single day! Even Target was out of power! Crazy!
So blessed, so blessed.