happy Independence day

We had a very happy 4th of July.

Hope you all did too!

father's day

There is no way to be a perfect Father, 

but a million ways to be a good one. 

Happy Father's day to my amazing dad. 

You have always been there for us, and you've given more than every dad I know.
We love you.

random january thankfulness

There are so many little and big things to be thankful for. Things that are often overlooked, but have made my life so happy.

So I thought I would write this first post in the new year to share with you some of the happy moments I've been enjoying recently. 

waking up to sunshine

holiday dish-washers

a brother who reads better than i do 

spilling hot chocolate...and realizing it made a heart

making dinner...and not ruining it :)

holiday baking

pink 

lazy mornings playing games

simple yet amazing lunches

stories on my bed

(we love The Magic School Bus)

onions doing what no one else can...(making me cry)

the most exquisite christmas gift 

(from a certain someone)

self-portrait buddies

having so much to write about...

making jello

last week...making the jello was my job. 

But I had two helpers, and they ended up doing all the work for me :)

this christmas

i didn't take pictures, except for these from my phone. I was too busy enjoying the holiday to bother with a camera.

and it was probably the happiest christmas i can remember.

hanging out with your family, your brother's girlfriend, and your boyfriend...stuffing yourself full of amazing food, opening presents, and then playing a big game of apples to apples until you're too tired to stay awake...

it's a christmas eve I will always remember. 

christmas wrapping

wrapping presents the other night...

with carrot cake and ice-cream...

while listening to christmas music. And talking about everything girls talk about. 

i'm so excited! christmas is almost here!

1:33 p.m.

Some people get paid to take pictures...I have to pay to get a certain little boy to pose for me.

The price for these 4th of July shots?

Twenty minutes of rollerblading with him...

Even though I didn't get the shots I had envisioned, it was worth it.

2:25 p.m.

We're having fun tonight!!!

Egg Days

This past weekend was our small town's annual celebration...called "The Egg Days". Everyone in town goes all out...they have a coronation ceremony for the new "Egg Queen", a parade in town, a pet show, and a carnival sets up on the school field.

It's all a big deal over nothing, and it's pretty funny. Who wants to celebrate eggs anyway? But besides otherwise ignoring everyone's craziness, on Saturday some of us took advantage of the carnival and spent the afternoon having fun.

The huge slide was pretty exciting...

Then John rode one of those sit-on-a-motorcycle-while-it goes-in-a-circle rides...sometimes I think I could have invented these things...

Then there's darts...

And the Ring Toss...

And the "Fun House", which looked like I could have built it myself. Not very impressive.

Andrew was sweet as usual...the whole thing was more at John's level, but he played along and made it fun for his bro.

(taken by Andrew)

John's first roller-coaster ever. His face says it all.

(taken by Andrew)

You gotta love those baby roller-coasters...they're the only kind I can ride and not basically die from fright on.

Then the three of us went on the Ferris Wheel. It was so much fun...I loved being so high up and being able to see so far!

I had wanted to go on a Ferris Wheel for a long time...and despite being a small one, it was still really fun.

(taken by Dad)

Then one more time down the slide...

And we were ready to go home...

(taken by Dad)

It was alot of fun, the three of us and Dad...

And on the way home Dad got a treat some little guys had been asking for...Root Beer Floats. Now that is the best way to celebrate something, if you ask me.