Crofts Family Blog

WE HAVE A NEW FAMILY BLOG!!

2011-08-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

We have created a new family blog- take a peek at croftsfamilyblog.com. We will be updating it more often...promise. :)

Little Lady Turns Two!

2011-01-07T13:38:00.001-08:00

Lauren here, with her gift from Aunt Rebecca, could not be happier. The Terrible Two's have not hit yet...we are crossing our fingers that they never appear.

We sure love this little one...she is the happiest and most easy-going 2-year-old we know! Happy Birthday Lauren!

It's the Most Wonderful {Busiest} Time of the Year!

2010-12-10T11:25:00.000-08:00

Brian took some pics of the girls a couple of weeks ago- we were having beautiful weather and the leaves had just fallen...it was perfect. If I was really on top of things, these would be my Christmas cards.

Life is so busy right now...getting ready for Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, school breaks (someone has to fill those hours that school used to take up, or every hour is drama hour at our house), getting presents shipped off, and remembering why we celebrate this season. If there is one thing that I know and that certainly keeps life in perspective at this crazy time, it is that my Savior lives, He was born in a lowly stable, lived a perfect life, and died so that our lives today may be made better. I'm grateful for that knowledge and for the awesome responsibility I have to be a mother- it is and always will be my greatest accomplishment.

Click here for a great Christmas message!

Soccer Is Over?

2010-11-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

No, not really. We are moving the game indoors! Both Kate and Taylor had such fun outdoor seasons...they loved playing and I loved watching. Kate has improved so much- its really exciting to watch her use her moves...she is turning into a great player. Because this was Taylor's first season, her games are more fun-ny to watch...8 little girls running around in a large group. Taylor would get so frustrated if she couldn't hear me cheering for her, so I would have to yell at the top of my lungs whenever she was in...crazy soccer mom. Speaking of soccer mom- our women's indoor team just started back up. Three games every week between us and I'm looking forward to all of it.

Happy Halloween '10

2010-11-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Alright, now I have time to write. Brian posted the pictures and now I get to tell you all about them. :)

Taylor dressed up 4 different times for different events, Kate and Lauren three. Each time there was a different costume used and all of them came from our very own dress-up box. I don't know if that speaks to how deep our costume box reaches, or how lazy I am. Most of them were/have been used at least three times. Ah, the perks of having three girls.

These pictures were taken at Nana and Papa's ward trunk-or-treat. For the record, Kate and Taylor think that the trunk of a car is actually called a trunker because of these "trunker treats"- you get treats from all of the trunkers.

Lauren was a lamb. Well, dressed as one at least. Obviously, she has the personality of a little lion these days- those terrible two's are looming nearer! Can't wait. Taylor was a soccer-playing unicorn. That was a last-minute "soccer" add when I arrived late after Kate's soccer game and realized that Brian had forgotten to bring shoes (shoes?!) for Taylor so she got to wear Kate's cleats. Kate, after dressing up for the 80's last week at school, decided she loved it so much that she wanted a re-peat. Is it sad that most of her outfit came from her own closet of everyday clothes? Hmmm.

Sea World Trippin'

2010-08-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

To see more pictures, click here: San Antonio

We took a quick trip to San Antonio last week with the Dardanos. We stayed at a really fun resort with a lazy river, slides, and a sandy beach. The kids had SO much fun. On Wednesday, we took our posse over to Sea World for the better half of the day- the weather was a little ominous (sprinkling with a few downpours mixed in) so we weren't too optimistic. But, it turned out to be a perfect day with temps near 75 degrees (in Texas, in July...I know, crazy.) It was my first time going to Sea World as well as the girls' first time. We loved the shows- Shamu and her three whale friends did not disappoint. We were soaking wet after it was all over, despite sitting about 12 rows up. We got to pet the dolphins and see alot of other sea creatures (obviously I don't remember what they were or I would write it out). Very fun.

We even stopped at the San Marcos outlets on the way home (AKA the 3rd best shopping place in the world!!) and made out with our three children still in one piece and a new bed from Restoration Hardware. Check, check.

Good trips + Good friends = Priceless.

Spring is Here ...

2010-04-14T17:57:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a lame poster lately and we've been so busy and had seriously so much happen in the last couple of months. I wish blogging was easier- no wait, I wish the days didn't pass so quickly so I had time (energy) to record whats been going on.

Anyhow, we've had a fun couple of weeks so I'll just start there. On Easter morning, we took the girls out on a morning Easter egg hunt in their pretty dresses. They loved chasing the eggs around and Daddy loved chasing them around with a camera...

Last weekend, we drove to Brenham, Texas for the Bluebonnet Festival. We stayed at a hotel in the teeny little town, which happened to be Kate and Taylor's favorite part- they were up until 10 PM watching Shrek...whats not to love? The bluebonnets were so gorgeous and driving through the country was beautiful. So glad that we took this last-minute trip.

To see more pictures, click here: briancrofts.com/blog

To see more pictures, click here: briancrofts.com/blog

To see more pictures, click here: Sessions | Easter Egg Hunt '10

You KNOW better, you DO better...

2010-03-23T19:48:00.001-07:00

Bear with me while I step on a soapbox for a minute...I watched Oprah today- it was on using cell phones while driving. This show was a total eye-opener... I cannot help but post this. If you have the time, please watch THIS. Its very well-done and definitely worth your time.

Then, take the pledge here.

Give, Give, Giveaway...

2010-03-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

If you are interested in the easiest giveaway in the blogosphere...click here. The girls in my family- there are 9 of us- started a cooking blog a few months ago where we share what we are cooking for our families, pretty much real-time. So, these recipes are tried-and-true and absolutely delicious. If you're struggling with what to cook for your family, check it out. Easy, peazy stuff. Whats better than that is that right now my sister is giving away a Demarle Silpat- very cool. Go check it out...for both reasons.

The 100th Day...

2010-02-07T20:03:00.000-08:00

Isn't that the cutest/ugliest shirt you've ever seen? :) We love our Kate and this past week in school, they celebrated the 100th day of school- it was a holiday of sorts. The students were asked to decorate a t-shirt with 100 items and we (Kate) chose an assortment of craft pieces that we had around the house...add a glue gun to the mix and this is what you get. She got up Wednesday with Christmas-morning-excitement, barely swallowed a few bites of cereal, and was off for the day.

She wore the shirt again today, after we got home from church. And, yes, I've explained to her the importance of not getting the shirt dirty- there is no way that thing would make it through the wash intact.

Lauren is One ...

2010-01-18T16:46:00.000-08:00

Our sweet little lady turned one on January 5th. And, she earned herself about 3 teeth during the week of her birthday. That morning we got Lauren's favorite for breakfast- doughnut holes. Obviously, she devoured them. She might be a petite little one, but she can hang with the best in a doughnut-hole-eating-contest, usually topping off around six. Impressive, I know.

That night we had pizza and cake with our family here at home. We tried to get her to dig into the huge piece of cake we put in front of her, but like her sisters at this age, her affinity for frosting hasn't developed quite yet- we'll give it another six months.

We sure love our little Lauren...she's started to super-crawl (crawling at a quicker pace than most people are able to walk) and standing up on her own, all the time. She even takes a few steps by herself here and there. But, she falls down when she starts to mimick everyone's congratulatory applause. We'll have to keep working on that. But, for now, I'm content with her staying a baby and quite possibly never growing up...please? This year has gone by way too fast.

Christmas 2009!

2010-01-04T18:55:00.000-08:00

To see more pictures, click HERE.

Where to start...we had such a busy, fun, awesome Christmas here.

Brian's sister, Nicole, and her family were in town from California so we all spent almost every night together during the week of Christmas. On Wednesday, Santa paid us a visit at Nana and Papa's and he even brought each of the kids a small gift...pre-Christmas spoiler! :) They all sat on his lap and told the big man what they wanted. It was really cute- the kids were so excited...except for Lauren, who gave her sweet little lungs a nice workout after being placed on Santa's knee.

I worked with the girls a little during the week to learn an easy (silly) dance to Feliz Navidad and Jingle Bells, which they wanted to perform for everyone that night so we sort of had an impromptu talent show before the night ended. It was really cute and the girls loved having all of the attention for a minute. Later, Brian and I (but mostly Brian!) spent 5 1/2 hours putting together the Ikea furniture we got for the girls craft room, their gift from Santa (see last picture).

On Christmas Eve we woke up to snow! It was so exciting because that just doesn't happen here. It was magical- a real "white Christmas". That night, the cousins re-enacted the Nativity story and sang some Christmas songs and then each of them received a pair of new pajamas for Christmas. We came back to our home later and the girls decorated sugar cookies for Santa, watched a Christmas movie, and ate popcorn and cookies. They stayed up way too late! Brian and I then wrapped their gifts and set everything up for the next morning. The kids woke up around 7:30 AM and were so excited to see if Santa had come. We took them upstairs first after leaving a note downstairs explaining that their gift was too big to fit under the tree (from Santa, of course!). They didn't really get it at first...Kate saw the craft room and said "Oh, my gosh its a new...kitchen?". So funny. Afterwards, they were so excited to open their presents...every gift they opened, they would say, "Its just what I wanted". Halfway through the gifts, they got all decked out in their snow gear and went outside to play in the snow. The all-time favorite gift might be their LeapFrog train (which was given to Lauren, mind you) which they spend no less than 6 of their waking hours on during the day. Lauren kept getting into the kids paint and biting/chewing/licking it- hence the green paint all over her face in the picture. Brian and I laughed so hard when we saw her covered in paint because she was acting all nonchalant and had no idea that she had been goobed. We ate dinner as a big family that night at the Crofts.

What a perfect Christmas...why can't it just last longer?? :)

Happy Holidays From the Crofts

2009-12-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

We wanted to get Christmas cards out this year. But, it looks like its not going to happen...we'll try again next year :) For now, here's what we pic'd out...We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! Love, The Crofts

Thanksgiving '09

2009-12-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving at my parent's house in Atlanta this year. And, yes, we did drive. (I know, I must be crazy). But, it was worth it. We left early Saturday morning and drove the 17 hours to Florida to stay at my parent's beach house near St. Augustine. We got there around 12 AM, which obviously means we spent the entire day in the car. We just relaxed on Sunday and mentally prepared ourselves for the trip we had planned to Disney World on Monday.

Disney World (see last picture) was SOOOO much fun. Kate and Taylor were in heaven the entire day. The park was ridiculously packed, but we still managed to ride a ton of rides and see all of the parades. Brian even took the girls on Splash Mountain after someone handed him their three fast passes, which helped avoid an 80-minute wait time. You might hear a different story from Kate and Taylor now (they claim it was their "favorite ride"), but they were so terrified. We even squeezed in a princess dinner at 1900 Park Fare where we dined with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the wicked stepmother and her two wicked step daughters. You can't go to Disney World without seeing the fireworks show at the end of the night, so we stuck it out until 10 PM to watch that...again, totally worth it. You could not fake their level of excitement. It might have been my favorite part of the day as well- totally magical.

On Wednesday morning, we drove seven hours to south Atlanta, where my parents live. We played some serious volleyball on Thursday morning and then had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner later that day. Most of these pictures are from Friday morning, when my Dad organized a surprisingly willing group of volunteers into raking part of his 52-acre spread. Because I have already gone above and beyond my quota of hours worked on Hickory Hill, I went on a run instead. My family always has a good time together and this was no exception, so I'm glad we were able to be there for the festivities.

To see more pictures from Atlanta, click HERE.

Lauren ... Growing up too fast!

2009-11-10T21:52:00.000-08:00

Lauren is 10 months old! It really does seem like just yesterday that she was born...I cannot believe how much faster time flies with each additional child. We could not enjoy Lauren anymore though...she is the happiest, most content child- always ready with a smile and a cuddle. Sometimes I wish I could just take a little nibble out of her cute cheeks- they're so irresistable to me.

While I am definitely Lauren's favorite person (I better be! :)), Taylor is her best friend and her #1 mode of transportation. At any given moment of Lauren's awake time, you will find her being carried to and fro around our house by none other than Taylor. Lauren will even attempt to pronounce her name, although it only goes as far as "Tay", but we're counting it anyway. They both get equally excited to see each other after naps- jumping up and down and screaming. So cute.

P.S.- We just loaded the last of our Spain pictures/stories HERE so if you're not sick of hearing about it yet, check out our day in Toledo and Cordoba/Madrid.

Halloween '09

2009-11-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

Kate and Taylor were both Madeline this year for Halloween. They've loved watching those movies and reading the books. They even knew some of the Madeline vernacular like saying "Poo poo" when you're not scared of something...and trust me, they use that one whenever possible.

Taylor had a costume parade at her preschool on Wednesday, we had our ward trunk-or-treat on Friday, and then we went to Nana & Papa's ward trunk-or-treat on Saturday night after which we met up with some good friends and went trick or treating in our neighborhood. The girls got a TON of candy and I might have even heard Brian giving them tips on how to get as much loot as possible (ie- if someone leaves a bowl of candy on their doorstep there are no rules as to how much you can take).

I froze all of the chocolate as suggested by my sister, Rebecca. So, we made candy-covered chocolate cookies this past weekend with that and then in a momentary feat of self-control, I threw the remaining candy away. I know, I know...I'm crazy. Or that's what I've been thinking every day around 4 pm since.

At the Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

A few days before Halloween, we took the family to the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm. The weather was great and the girls had so much fun. They rode the barrel ride, fed the goats, watched Mom feed the cows, rode the hayride, and picked out their very own pumpkin from the patch. The hayride was especially eventful due to the tractor getting stuck in the knee-deep mud. I love FALL!

Our Trip to Spain

2009-11-08T20:47:00.000-08:00

We are finally getting caught up on our blog! I wanted to start by writing a little bit about our recent trip to Spain. Keep checking back as we'll be adding more pictures (we still haven't put up any from our day in Madrid) and more posts about what we've been up to since we got home. These pictures are just a taste of what Brian was able to get, so if you want to see more, please visit this link. (Disclaimer: I did not choose to be front and center on some of these pictures and as you can see, I am more than happy to put on a cute smile at the beginning of our trip, but as the days progress, you'll notice less smiles and more crusties, and therefore less pictures of me!)

Day One: Toledo. After flying a 9.5 hour red-eye flight, we arrived in Madrid, rented a car, and drove straight to Toledo, about 2 hours away. This was a great first impression of Spain. It was literally a city set on a hill, if you will. We drove up to Toledo and walked from the bottom of the hill to the top, exploring as we went. It was so cool to see all of the outdoor cafes, city courtyards, shops, and beautiful buildings. This was a huge city once you got inside- and like most Spanish cities we saw, a very easy place to get lost. If you look closely at the first picture, this is taken from the bottom of the hill and its looking up at the main government building in Toledo...it looks so far away, right? I thought so too. But, you could walk there in what seemed like minutes. We loved it here, almost as much as the Alhambra. Such a gorgeous and amazing city.

Day Two- Granada. Definitely my favorite part of the entire trip. Here's how the day started...we drove in late the night before to Granada and stayed at the Hotel Saray in the business district. We got up early in the morning, went to church, and then set out to find the Alhambra. We walked right up and bought tickets for a tour that started two hours later. Later we learned that people wait months to get tickets so we felt really lucky to have been able to get in that day. The Alhambra and Generalife gardens made the long flight and endless driving all over Spain entirely worth it. You cannot grasp how beautiful (and massive) this place is with words, or even pictures for that matter. Even spending the entire day walking the grounds, you can barely take it all in. The landscaping, history, buildings, and sights were nothing short of breathtaking. I literally could have stared at the view (from St. Nicolas) all day long. Amazing. Some of the pictures are looking down from the Alhambra into the old city Granada, which is so charming and beautiful. After leaving, we drove to the St. Nicolas viewpoint in the Albayzin to watch the sunset over the Alhambra. Gorgeous. While the Albayzin is considered a more dangerous part of the city, I found it totally gorgeous and very quaint.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Spain, do not miss this.

Day Three- Ronda, the White Hill Town. We drove from Granada to Marbella, where our hotel for the week was located. The next morning we decided that we would drive two and a half hours through the mountains to Ronda. Most Spanish cities are made up of very old whitewashed homes so as you approach a mountain city, it's white homes are a beautiful contrast to the lush green mountains surrounding them (hence, White Hill Towns). Ronda was incredible- the New Bridge separates old Ronda from new Ronda. Homes, shops, and restaurants are perched along the cliff that separates these two parts of the city, now connected by the famous bridge. Brian and I walked the long hike down the cliff to get a great view and pictures of the bridge. We walked all over the city, ate gelato at an outdoor cafe overlooking the cobblestone city streets, saw the oldest bullring in Spain, and ate lunch at another outdoor cafe in the city center. We loved this charming city- everything about it was what you imagine about Spain...beautiful white homes with fancy wooden doors and beautiful inner courtyards, outdoor cafes, Spanish shops, a rich history, and old city charm. Ronda was time well-spent.

Day Four: Gibraltar. Not only is Gibraltar a rock, but its also a city on the Spanish coast that belongs to Britain. After spending three days in Spain, it was interesting to drive into Gibraltar and literally feel like you were in England- the architecture, streets, language, money, people, and even the weather were all very British. It was such a downer that the weather was overcast because you need to go to the top of the rock when you can see all around you. You cannot imagine how huge this rock is- its bigger than any picture can make it appear. We walked through the public gardens at the bottom of the rock and through the city, where we ate a traditional, and quite unpleasant, English lunch while we were waiting and hoping for the weather to clear up. No such luck. So, we decided to just ride the lift up anyway and check this site off our list. It was worth it. You could literally feel high how up you were- and it almost made it more creepy that you didn't know where the edge was and how far down you were looking. The Rock is as famous for its monkeys as it is for its height. The monkeys are believed to have been transported over from Morocco, a short ferry ride from Gibraltar. While they may appear docile at first, if they spy any food or even a plastic bag, they will jump on you and get it. We saw many tourists with monkeys on their backs. Brian even had a small plastic bag all crumpled up into a teeny pocket on his bag and a monkey saw it and grabbed it right out from under him. Crazy. After seeing the Rock, we drove over to the beach and I sat on the sand while Brian took more pictures.

Day Five: Malaga and Antequera. While Malaga may not be on most must-see lists, it was one of my favorite cities that we walked through. Every building was a different color- and I'm not talking shades of brown. Blue, Yellow, Red, Orange- every color of the rainbow. We walked through Malaga's Alcazaba and then past the city's cathedral and into the city square right off of the church. Sitting at an outdoor cafe and taking this in was my favorite part of the day- we were surrounded by buildings on every side- all of them were so old and colorful and amazing. Walking through the cities in Spain is unlike anything else I've ever done.

We then drove to the town of Antequera. What is interesting about Spain is not only does every city seem like its been there forever, but every little city is like a big city. No one commutes- you live where you work. Antequera was the perfect example of this. It appeared to be a small town on the map, but once you got inside, it was a big and sprawling city. We had our first experience with tapas here. First off, I have to say that the food in Spain was a major disappointment, in my opinion. Everything seemed to be preserved in vinegar, it was hard to find fresh fruits and vegetables at the restaurants, and the flavors and spices were not making my palate happy. Our tapas that day was the prime example. You see pig legs hanging from almost every grocery store and restaurant in Spain- skin, hair and hoof still attached. So, when you eat tapas, you eat ham and that ham comes straight from those vinegar-preserved pig legs. The smell and the taste were far less than satisfying. To make matters worse, Brian and I were walking all day long most days so when we would sit down to eat, we were starving. What a letdown! We stuck to the Italian restaurants as much as possible.

Day Six: Sevilla. Sevilla has a romantic history as the capitol and center of Spanish history, but as the Guadalquivir river dried up, so did the city's usefulness. Much of its size and history remain, but its lost its rich reputation. We did not hear great things about Sevilla up to this point of our trip. Most Spanish cities are immaculate- well-kept and extremely clean. Sevilla was the exception. Despite what we heard, both Brian and I really enjoyed our time here. There is so much to do in Sevilla. We toured the cathedral, the largest in Spain, and the Alcazar, the Moorish palace that still stands next to the famous church. We also saw the gorgeous Plaza de Espana and tried in vain to find the Flamenco Museum, which was so buried in the middle of a maze-like residential district that even locals didn't know where it was. But, I was glad we got lost here because we were able to get a really great taste of real life in Sevilla and the huge cultural role that flamenco plays. We walked by dress shops that had the most ornate and gorgeous flamenco dresses I've ever seen. As the sun set, we walked to Sevilla's bull ring for a tour. It was very interesting to see the inside of the ring and to learn a little more about the sport. I would have loved to have seen an actual bullfight, but they are only on Sundays this time of year, which we learned too late. We walked all over the city of Sevilla, until our feet hurt, probably logging at least 10 miles on our poor little hooves. Time for a day of rest!

Day Seven: Hotel R&R and Peurto Banus in Marbella. We spent most of the day getting some much-needed R&R at our hotel and then went out at night to see the famous port here in Marbella. This port is in no tourist book and so most don't even know it exists. After walking along the port and eating dinner overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, I must say that if you don't experience Banus, you are missing out! This is a stop for the filthy rich, and it shows. Every major designer that you've ever heard of had a store right here on the port. These stores were flanked by countless gourmet restaurants and gelato shops. These establishments must serve the owners of the incredible multi-million dollar yachts that were lucky enough to get a parking spot here. Wow- we saw some crazy boatage, and a little dingy too (as pictured). We ate at a delicious Italian restaurant that was literally sitting on the sea. We watched the sunset over the Mediterranean while we drank our $10 Diet Coke and ate our favorite meal of the trip. Perfect.

Our rental car, a little Fiat, broke down on the way home from Sevilla. We traded it out in Marbella for this...Yes, thats a BMW. Upgrade!

Proof that Brian did actually come on the trip with me...don't you love the guy in the background...wonder what he's thinking?

Day 8-9: Cordoba & Madrid. On our way back to Madrid, we stopped in the city of Cordoba, famous for the Mezquita. We only spent a couple of hours here, but we were able to see this amazing mosque/cathedral. The architecture was incredibly interesting inside, given that it started out as one of the biggest Islamic mosques of its time (circa 8th century) and is now sporting a huge Catholic cathedral literally in the middle of the mosque. The Catholics decided that the mosque was too beautiful to destroy, so they just built right in the middle of it. The top pictures are of the cathedral, obviously. We also stopped on the outside of the Alcazaba (Moorish palace) here and I thought it was so authentic...because of the red sand and palm trees all around it, as you looked at it, you could almost imagine the African Islams still living and walking around there.

After Cordoba, we drove the remaining 4 hours to Madrid and checked into the Hotel Intur Palacio San Martin right in old Madrid. We quickly got out to explore the beautiful city. We walked through the incredible and old Plaza Mayor, a local fish/farmer's market (more pig legs!), through the city streets, and eventually over to the Prado to see some of the most famous paintings ever completed. Since neither Brian nor I are huge museum people, we quickly went through this. Then, we walked across the street to Parque del Retiro- this was amazing. Because it was a Sunday, everyone in the city was out. There was a lake with rowers, street performers, vendors, and tons of families out. We spent a good hour here, waiting for the sun to set. After leaving, we went back to the Plaza Mayor to eat our last Spanish dinner. The next morning we flew home!

I loved Spain, but I really missed my kids and could barely stand the 11 hour flight (plus two additional hours on the tarmac) to get home to see them. It was all I could do not to run to them after we landed in Dallas.

I only had three casualties on the whole trip- my Sonicare toothbrush, my CHI, and my bangs (they were fried crispy on day one from my CHI). And, yes, I did have a converter. Word to the wise: Do not bring anything electrical on a European trip that you're not willing to lose.

Daily updates from Spain :)

2009-09-28T17:22:00.001-07:00

Brian will be doing daily posts (now that we have the internet) about our days in Spain. You can find his blog here.

One Word...Espana!

2009-09-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

Brian and I leave later today for a 9 day trip to Spain! We fly into Madrid, drive and stay our first night in Granada, and then stay 7 days in Marbella.

Don't worry, I won't be spending any time on a scooter...

Happy B-Day Taylor!

2009-09-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Taylor's birthday today! Both Kate and Taylor love doing crafts so Taylor and I decided on a "Crafts and Cupcakes" theme. When her party guests arrived, they painted and decorated their own bird house, then they each got messy while they slathered (or just ate) frosting on their own cupcakes. Pizza was served for lunch, followed by a cupcake "cake" and ice cream!

Taylor lives for birthday parties and she has been counting down the days until she turns four for quite some time now. In fact, she jumped out of bed at 6:45 AM this morning and said, "Is it morning yet?" when Brian went to wake Kate up for school...perky. Then, at 7:38 AM she says, "Mom, how much longer until my birthday party starts?" and I told her it was still 3 1/2 hours away. She waited about 3 seconds and then said, "Has it been 3 1/2 hours yet?" No, not yet.

Here are some pictures from our little shin-dig. We Love You Taylor-PO! Happy FOUR!

Wanna see last year's party? Go from this to this

Lake House Fun ...

2009-08-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mauricio for driving us around the Lake all day ...

Two hot mamas, two sweet babies, and three cute booties...

We had such a good time last weekend at Lake Cypress Springs with the Dardanos and Sullivans. We went boating right when we got there, stayed up late playing games and talking, and then got up early the next morning and went boating and swimming all day! We always have a ton of fun when we get together and this was no exception.

Kate and Taylor loved spending all day on the boat and in the water- I think it was a first for them. Kate went tubing with Brian, and mom and dad both wake-boarded (and we might have walked like our great-grandparents the next two days because of it :) ). Such a good time. Brian and Kate also swam the distance of the lake between the lake house and the opposite shore...come to think of it, I don't think Kate stopped the entire day and a half- she was like a kid in a candy store the whole weekend.

Thanks to the Dardanos for the invite and we can't wait to do it again...please?

Kindergarten Kate ...

2009-08-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

Where do I even begin? I have been asking myself all day long where the time has gone and how in the world I ended up with a child in kindergarten already. It seems like yesterday we were at the hospital with Kate, begging time to pass because of her crazy medical situation. Now, we cannot understand how it passed so quickly. It didn't hit me until I got home a couple of hours later and I realized how different your life becomes once you send a child to school. I know it sounds dramatic, but its so true.

Kate was so excited to get up this morning- even though it was 1 1/2 hours earlier than normal. Brian woke her up and I made some pancakes to get her going. Then, she picked out what she wanted to wear, helped me pack up her bags, and we all loaded into the car to drop her off. I took her inside and to her classroom. I could tell that it hit her then and she looked at me and said, "Mom, I'm really going to miss you today". Melt my heart, please.

I really could not wait until she got home so Taylor and I sat and waited by the window for her bus to come and it ended up being about 15 minutes late. When the bus finally arrived, she ran off and over to me, yelled my name, and gave me a hug. So cute.

I tried to grill her about everything she did but all I could get was that her favorite part of the day was sitting by Andrew on the bus. The worst part? Waiting too long for her teacher to pick them up after P.E...

Taylor and I made some "kindergarten cupcakes" for Kate and we ate those after dinner and then Brian gave each of the girls a father's blessing for the new school year. I'm looking forward to tomorrow...maybe I'll get a few more details!!

Sweet Lauren Mae ...

2009-08-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

Brian's parents had Kate and Taylor over for a spend-the-night tonight. So, we were home with little Lauren- who has become the most wiggly child ever. We took her out to dinner with us and she didn't stop moving for one second...she does not. sit. still. These pictures were taken after I fed her her last feeding- around 11 pm. She doesn't need this feeding anymore, but sometimes I just love waking her up because she's half asleep, eats great, and is so sweet and cuddly. She usually will fall asleep in my arms afterwards and there is nothing I enjoy more than holding a sleeping baby.

We had a very busy week this week. Kate is getting ready to start Kindergarten on Monday so we went school shopping. I took all three kids to the mall (brave, I know) and tried to find some non-wintery things...hello, its still 100 degrees every day in Texas. I would find something that was cute, hold it up, and ask Kate if she liked it and would wear it. Of course, she said she liked everything and would wear it all. My kids play favorites with their clothes- usually asking to wear the same 3 outfits over and over.

We had a Meet-the-Teacher night on Thursday and Kate was so excited to meet her new Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Coffey. In fact, she went right up to her and said, "Hi, my name is Kate Crofts, its nice to meet you". Fearless. She is so ready and beyond thrilled to start school. I might be more excited than she is...she's going to do great.

Taylor is starting preschool one week after Kate starts. She claims to be excited, but I'm not buying it. She is a momma's girl through-and-through and I know she's going to have a hard time in the beginning. She's become quite the mischevious one lately...I'm not quite sure how to handle that yet.

So, it will be just Lauren and I at home after school starts- at least two days a week. Wow, how nice will that be?

to africa & back in 24 hours ...

2009-08-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

The girls and I, with my dad, got in the motor home Friday evening and headed south of Ft. Worth (not quite Africa) to a wildlife preserve known as Fossil Rim. It ended up being a very cool place–although the main attraction (giraffes) just sniffed–no pictures eating from our hands. The Rim is recommended.

--Brian

Cabin Hopping 2009

2009-08-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

16 days, @ 3500 miles, 12 times loading/unloading car, 3 kids, one mommy, no daddy.

We just got back from a 2 1/2 week trip to Utah via Albuquerque (and the Bells). First of all, my mom, two sisters, and their 5 kids came to Dallas from Georgia and stayed for about 2 days and then we all drove together to our first stop in good ole' Albuquerque, New Mexico. We stayed there for about 2 days and then completed our trip to Utah. This is where the cabin-hopping begins (we never stayed more than three nights in one place).

First Stop: Brianhead Resort for the Gary Jewkes (last-minute) reunion. There were about 40 (22 grandkids and 14 adults) of us in a huge cabin...sounds crazy, but as always, it ended up being a great time. I had to cook on one of the three nights we stayed there. You cannot imagine how much food I had to prepare, with my mom's help, to feed that many hungry mouths. The cabin was literally right down the road from Cedar Breaks, which was so incredible and is the first picture we posted- with Kate looking out at it.

Stop #2: St. George, Utah for the extended Jewkes Family Reunion in Coral Canyon. By the time we got here, I was spent. I had slept with all three of my children in my room for the entirety of the trip thus far and had therefore gotten almost no sleep. If Brian would have miraculously showed up at this point, I might have cried. No such luck. But, my family helped me out a ton and we were able to do some really fun things. The girls got a lot of swimming in, we rode 4-wheelers at Sand Hollow Resort, rode in a golf cart for the tour of their amazing golf course, and spent quality time with cousins that we hardly ever see. We even managed a stop at Cafe Rio...mmm.

Stop #3: Cabin in Heber, UT. The trip moves on and up north to Heber. Only my mom, and sisters, Claire and Emily- and our kids- came on this leg of the trip. We loved driving around Heber, Midway and Park City- its so beautiful there this time of year. We hit up the outlet malls, went out to dinner in Park City, Dairy Keen in Heber for their famous shakes, Seven Peaks, Sweet Tooth Fairy Cupcakes (yum!), and went on a hike at Cascade Springs....such a beautiful place.

Stop #4: Cabin at Sundance, UT. We stayed in my parents' cabin here and it was by far our best stop. Sundance is such a gorgeous resort and the drive over the Alpine Loop was so cool. We only stayed here for two nights but we made the most of it. We had to go to Cafe Rio again, picnic at the Provo temple, the BYU bookstore, the Creamery, and Pizza Factory....to name a few. Julie stayed with us at the cabin and we met her current love interest, Seth. Claire, Emily, and I set up a panel discussion one night and grilled him for about 2 hours- he was one brave guy and won some sisters points that night for living through the 300 questions we asked.

Stop #5- Alburquerque, NM. My mom helped me drive home to Dallas and we stopped at the halfway point here and stayed with the Bells. Rebecca is always such a great host and its so fun to spend time in their home. My brother, Jacob, is living with them right now and he is the sweetest 20-something (sorry, Jake...can't remember your exact age!) guy you've ever met- he loves his little nieces and nephews and is going to make an amazing dad one day. He even admitted to having a boy-crush on Shia LeBouf after robbing my "Holes" DVD. Thanks. :)

We arrived home safe and sound and the kids were beyond excited to see the walls of our home again after driving 48 travel hours total. They were all sooo good on the way home- thanks to DVD players- a modern miracle. We loved our big trip...so much so that we don't ever want to do it again! :)

Cold Turkey

2009-08-08T11:20:00.001-07:00

Weaning a baby is not fun....

5 times/day to nothing...ouch. Without going into details...momma is in some serious pain and this is only DAY ONE.

On a lighter note, Brian took Kate and Taylor on a "camping" trip. (I use the word camping lightly because they were in Poppa's not-so-shabby motor home). They are spending the day at Fossil Rim today on a safari, looking for African wildlife. In my own sick mind, I really wanted to go. But, I decided that spending any more time in a motorized vehicle for extended periods might just kill me.

Did I mention that I just got back from a 2 1/2 week trip that logged approx. 3500 miles on my car? And Brian did NOT come with me. I'll be doing a post on that later.

** PS- Sorry for the lack of pictures...can you tell Brian is out of town?

The Great Harvest

2009-07-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

Brian planted a garden while I was away in Boston. The girls and his dad helped him and they did such an awesome job. We have "harvested" peppers, squash, and tomatoes so far. Oh, and there's some basil in there too...so nice.

Kate and Taylor love going outside to water the garden and to pick vegetables when they're ready. It looks like it was Taylor's turn to pick a pepper this time around.

Thanks, Dad...We love having our garden!

4th of July Fun ...

2009-07-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

We all went over to Nana and Papa's Saturday morning for their neighborhood's parade. They do a really good job of making it pretty legitimate and fun. The fire department comes with their trucks and horses and the parade is about a mile long. Nana and Papa provide the 4-wheelers and tractors for the cousins to decorate and ride on in the parade. Lauren and I sat this one out this year because of the crazy heat we've been having lately. But, the girls and their Joyner cousins had a lot of fun throwing candy to the bystanders and then running through the fire-truck hose at the end. Kate got completely soaked and loved every minute of it. Taylor was a little more tentative and may have gotten a few fingers and toes splashed. The first picture is of Sam...Kate has so much fun playing with Sam and was even lucky enough to be in his preschool class this past year.

We had a fun BBQ at the Nixons that night and watched the fireworks together afterwards. 4th of July FUN!!

The Robinson Family ...

2009-06-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

GO N.A.D.S. (North American Distance Sprinters)

2009-06-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

Here is some Hood to Coast footage from the latest race ... I finally got around to making this year's video while Rachel and the girls were in Atlanta/ Florida (a post on that to come). As of lately, I've traded the video camera for photography ... so that means I'm actually in some of the footage ... not sure if that's a good thing. I've added several of the still shots into the video--you might recognize some.

The video is both from the race in Portland, OR as well as here in Dallas ... White Rock lake to be exact. We did some promo shots in full gear (i.e. Texas short shorts) for this ... let me know what you think. Below the video are a couple of my favorite shots from the race.

Also seen on YouTube.

--Brian

Fun Weekend with Rebecca

2009-06-07T21:41:00.001-07:00

Rebecca came into town for the weekend and we had such a fun time. The usual happened...a trip to Potbelly's, Sprinkles, the mall, the gym, Saturday morning run, lunch with her old BYU roommate and my neighbor, Sheree, and eating some more yummy food at Paciugo and Grimaldi's. It was so fun to meet Amelia, who was born 10 weeks to the day after Lauren...such a cute baby.

Brian took Kate and Taylor to get their hair cut over the weekend as well- a summer chop! The girls love their new "do's" and it sure makes bathing them a lot easier.

Taylor woke up the morning Rebecca left and cried when she realized she had already gone home! I love having Rebecca around- she is my best friend and we can just sit around and talk all day long...thanks, Christian and Oliver for letting us borrow her and Amelia for a few days!

Happy Birthday Kate ... 5 Years Old!

2009-06-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

I have a FIVE year old...crazy. I cannot believe how quickly the past five years have gone by. Kate wanted a swimming party this year with a Hello Kitty cake. The party was scheduled for her actual birthday, June 2, but we woke up that morning to pouring rain, lightning and thunder. So, with Kate's help, we decided to cancel that day and reschedule for two days later. When June 4 rolled around, she insisted that she wasn't five yet and that this year she was going to have TWO June Seconds. You can't turn five without a host of friends to make it happen in true party style, right? What a fun two days!

Funny story: This Sunday, Kate wanted to get up in church and bear her testimony. We've been talking about it at home during FHE and even practicing a little. We told her she would have to get up there and do it herself...no mom or dad whispering in her ear! Well, she got Brian to take her up to the stand and she went first. All you could see was her cute little head over the podium and she just stood there, breathing SOOO hard into the mike. I waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity for her to say something. Finally, she turned right around and sat back down without a word. After she returned to where I was sitting...this was our conversation:

Kate: Mom, I'm just really shy up there.
Me: You were so brave to go up...I'm so proud of you
Kate: I think I'll be able to do it when I'm six.

UNTIL NEXT YEAR...

"Thatta girl!"

2009-05-31T15:09:00.000-07:00

Proud Mommy Moment: Kate was presented this certificate upon completion of her last year of preschool. I'm such a sucker, but you couldn't have wiped the smile off of my face when they announced this. I sure hope this one sticks...

These pictures were taken this past Friday night at her end-of-year preschool program. Her class performed a short play, "The Pied Piper of Hamlin" and Kate played the part of a RAT. I think it finally hit Kate yesterday that her preschool days were over. Sad day for her...she cried a little bit while asking me if she would ever go back to her preschool again or see her teacher, Mrs. Rosanne, anymore.

Memorial Day at the Park (or, "The Best Day EVER")

2009-05-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

The Best Day Ever....or, not. You be the judge. First of all, we met up with the Shumways at Jason's Deli before the game. Kate forgets that she's potty-trained and wets her pants...yes, she's five and no, she's never had an accident before. Of course, we don't have a change of underwear or clothes for her. We start to drive up to the Rangers field in Arlington and I decide that baby Lauren is definitely going to need a sun-hat because I can see the sun and the temperature climbing. I ask Brian to stop at the mall so I can run in and grab something. We happen to stop by the WORST mall ever (Grapevine Mills) and I attempt to rummage through the disorganization to find a hat and if I'm lucky, a change of clothes for Kate. 40 minutes later I finally found something that would work...thats how disorganized everything in the stores were. Plus, it might have been a busy shopping day (hello!) so I waited in a long line for a portion of that time. We hit the road again and get lost on the way to the game....I have a husband who NEVER gets lost...he could find his way home in a tornado. But, we're lost...another 40 minutes gone.

By the time we got to the field, its the 6th inning and people are starting to leave since the Yankees are killing us 8-0!! We find a parking spot and walk the mile to the ball field. We get there and realize our seats are in the shade...no sun-hat needed! It is 95 degrees outside and extremely humid though so we are all sweating our body weights....no kidding. Kate is screaming for water and Lauren is hungry and scared every time the announcers come on...oh, every 5 seconds. By this time, its the 8th inning and we're down 10-0. I leave to find a place to nurse Lauren- preferably somewhere private since I'm not putting a nursing shawl over my sweaty, hot self. I find someone who is helpful enough to get me a chair, which I take to the ladies' bathroom in a handicapped stall and I commence nursing. Hot, sweaty mom and baby...no A/C in a bathroom at the Rangers Stadium. You can imagine...I wanted to cry at this point. But, it gets better. As I was finishing up, the person next to me FLOODS their toilet. The smell, oh, the smell. I lift my feet up and balance them against the door so I'm not soaking myself in a stranger's excrement and continue to nurse. Why tears didn't flow at this point, I don't know...maybe its because I had sweated any extra moisture out already . Or, because it just became funny at this point. Who knows. I finish up, peel myself out of there and jump over the puddle to safety. I sit down at a picnic table in the shade and then 2 minutes later the game ends. People are shuffling out so I'm not heading back to my seat against the flow of traffic. The shortest game in MLB history, of course.

Brian leaves us at the entrance of the park to get the car so we don't have to sweat it out on the walk back only to discover that the roads are all blocked off and he has to park even further away to walk back to us and let us know we're walking after all. While he's away, Kate decides she needs to use the restroom. We try to get back in the park and are told we cannot come back in, so we have to have an escort take us to the bathroom, for security reasons. Kate finishes, I lift her up to wash her hands and she's screaming, "Mom, you're hurting me" because her thigh is against the counter. She then has a meltdown in front of our escort and everyone else left at the park while yelling, "Mom, you hurt me, you scratched me, that really hurt" etc. etc. I march all three of the kids back outside. Luckily, Brian hitches a ride on a valet's golf cart, picks us up, and we get a free ride back to our car (best part of the day).

Head home. Its now 4:45 (started the day at 11:30 AM) and we're just chatting in the car and lo and behold, we get lost again! What should have taken us 45 minutes to get home takes us 1 1/2 hours. We finally get home at 6 PM and let me tell you, home never looked so good.

Happy B-day Luke ... and Brandon

2009-05-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

Luke had his 3rd Birthday on Saturday...Swimming + Cupcakes + Kids = PERFECT. Nana and Papa heated the pool so none of us had an excuse not to get in, except for Lauren who slept the party away. Happy Birthday Luke!

That night we went to Benihana's to celebrate Brandon's 21st birthday. It was such a fun night because it was probably the first time we've all gotten together without our kids- and adult conversation is always a plus. Happy Birthday Brandon!

Bills Family Preview

2009-05-23T20:16:00.001-07:00

To read more and see preview, click here.

Up in the Air

2009-05-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

I could kiss this girl's squishy neck all day long...its so edible.

The weather was so amazing tonight (75 degrees) so we took a family stroll through the neighborhood. The girls rode their bike and scooter and we stayed outside and enjoyed the perfect climate for as long as we could. Hot Texas summers are just days away and the only time you can stand to be outside is on your walk to the pool....seriously, its uncomfortable.

So, these are the pics that Brian posted. In the last one, he thought he was so funny taking pics of me nursing Lauren...nice.

By the way, Lauren had her 4-month checkup this past week and she's in the 90th percentile for height and 20th for weight at a mere 11 lb. 14 oz. We need to get some meat on her bones! At the doctor's request, I started supplementing with baby food but she wants nothing to do with it...go figure. I swear the most stressful part of having a baby is teaching them to eat food...

Miss Bumbo 2009

2009-05-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

Although Lauren has been smiling for a while now, this is the first "official" one since Brian was finally able to capture it on camera.

Miss Sis loves her Bumbo- I'm sure its because she has an upright and front row seat to the world all around her... And, its usually put up in a high place (the kitchen counter) and away from the grasps of her well-meaning, but extremely overwhelming sisters. Can anyone tell me when the novelty of a new baby wears off on a three and 4 year old????

I think we need to get a cat.

The Angels ... Second Season

2009-05-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

Ryan ... Senior Session

2009-05-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

To read about Ryan's shoot and see more images, go to BRIAN CROFTS.COM and click on "Blog."

Goodbye, My Trusty Old Companion...

2009-05-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

Oh....Friday was a sad day. I had to say goodbye to this lovely thing after our wonderful 6 months together. Now, before you judge- I actually needed it for the first couple of months and thats how long I was supposed to have it. But, the city only issues these stickers in 6-month increments and so I got a few extra months of great parking and wonderful access to the most crowded shopping malls, grocery stores, restaurants, and well, any other venue with a parking lot. It didn't hurt that I was pregnant at the time and since January, I've been 3-deep in kids, which should be warrant enough for close parking anyway, right? On a lighter note...I actually had two people on two different occasions stop and ask me if I really had a sticker to park in handicapped spaces and that was when I was hobbling around!

You will be missed!

Wondering how I got one? Just click here

Happy 7!

2009-04-27T07:21:00.000-07:00

Boston

2009-04-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

Outside the Paramount Cafe in Beacon Hill

My sister, Claire, at the race

Emily, Jennefer and Jessica- notice the lovely shirts!

Boston Harbor from the balcony of our hotel...isn't it amazing??

Little Italy...we ate dinner here on Saturday night

Post-race at the hotel. Jim loved our signs...

Lauren and I just got back last night from Boston- it was such an amazing trip. I've never been to Boston before, and I absolutely loved the city. It reminded me of New York City, but with all of these beautiful historical sites sprinkled in between the skyscrapers.

We stayed at the Custom House Marriott, which is a Boston landmark and really was beautiful. On Saturday afternoon we picked up a quick lunch at Quincy Market, by Faneuil Hall. Then, we boarded a Boston Harbor Cruise. On Sunday, we went to church in Cambridge as well as toured the city by trolley....so cool.

Monday was race day...we got up early, made some signage for Jim, donned our matching shirts, got some breakfast by the harbor and then rode the MBTA to the 21-mile mark. Finally, we saw Jim running...he finished the race in 3:19- and roadkilled about 3000 people in front of him- no small feat for the Boston Marathon. Congrats to Jim...it was a great race and so fun to take in the energy on race day that was all over that city.

The final day of our stay, we walked all the way to Beacon Hill to get some breakfast at the famous Paramount Cafe...yum. It was such a cool walk- it was raining a little bit and the walk was long, but the neighborhoods and city sites we saw along the way were totally worth it. We had to hit up H&M while we were there so after b-fast we found our way to some shopping and then picked up a late lunch. Finally, we caught our flights back home.

It was so fun to see my sisters and to hang out. There's never a dull moment when the Jewkes girls are together- I'm sure Jim and London can attest to that! Thanks Jim for giving us a reason to get together and thanks Mom and Dad for making it all happen! So fun!

Miss Lauren...

2009-04-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

Lauren and I will be leaving bright and EARLY in the morning for our first vacation together...to Boston. My brother-in-law, Jim, qualified for the marathon this weekend and so my parents and the Taskers organized a quick trip to see him cross the finish line. Matching family T-shirts might be involved (pictures to ensue)...

Anywho...I'm so excited for a little deviation from the normal day-to-day and for a chance to see some of my family while spending time with my little Lauren- and I cannot tell you how nice the next 4 days will be. But, her daddy sure will miss her- he's got a big crush on this one...can't say I blame him. Miss Lauren will be missed!!

All the while, I will be missing my two little bug-a boos- Kate and Taylor. Here's an Easter picture of our sweet Kate...best of luck to daddy over the next 4 days!

Easter Fun

2009-04-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

We had an Easter Egg Hunt at Nana and Papa's house yesterday. The kids were unleashed on the massive back yard scattered with over one hundred eggs and they went wild. It was pretty funny to watch. They all stuck together, like a big horde, and followed each other around until all of the eggs were found and piled in their baskets. Brian and I have been able to spend a lot of time with his family this weekend because his sister, Nicole, and her family (see below) are in town. Its been so nice to get together and do so many fun things. We've been able to ride horses, go to the mall, had a family FHE (thanks Barbara, for the great lesson!), celebrated Hannah's 7th Birthday, went on an Easter egg hunt, and more! We LOVE it when family is in town!

Peterson Preview

2009-04-11T10:17:00.001-07:00

It's great to have Nicole & Casey in town this week from northern Cali. We were able to do a quick session in our neighborhood which turned out to be a lot of fun ... just a little chilly. Chilly? Yeah, it looks like a warm spring morning, but it was a little cold & windy--at least for little girls in spring dresses. Poor Sidney was pretty uncomfortable, but we managed ... and when we thought we were all done, it seemed to warm up and Sidney opened up a bit to finally get a family shot!

Easter at Star Creek

2009-04-04T15:35:00.001-07:00

Our neighborhood had their annual Easter Party/Spring Fling today. It was gorgeous outside and the girls (all three!) had fun. The party started with a barrel train ride- Kate is giving a "thumbs up" to this one- they had so much fun on this that they rode it twice! There was an Easter bunny on the premises which provided some entertainment for the kids. You'll notice the picture with Kate and Taylor sitting on the ground listening to some sort of funny story/magic show which ended in the unveiling of a real-live bunny. This was followed by an Easter egg hunt in the park nearby. The party organizers had placed a ton of eggs in the park and some very nice people were kind enough to empty all of the eggs when no one was watching and so when the kids had their turn to find some loot, they were met with empty eggs. Classy.

Lauren is 3 months old and we are having so much fun with her. Most of you will already know this, but I'll explain myself: Kate and Taylor are just under 16 months apart. That certainly made the first 3 years of parenthood crazy, to say the least. While we definitely enjoyed it, both Kate and Taylor were very difficult babies- I'll spare you the details. Then, you consider that Kate was born with two birth defects which required an incredible amount of extra care for the first year of her life and well, life was a bit of a blur for a few years there. Hence, the large span of time in between my first two and Lauren. Then, we were blessed (and maybe earned it just a little bit :) ) with a very easygoing baby who requires almost nothing besides the regular feedings, baths, and laying down for naps. Brian and I are loving every minute of it- we don't take one moment of her sweetness for granted. Life is good. (I guess I should point out that I don't even mind when I'm used as a spit rag- as noted in the last picture...good timing with the camera!)

So Cute...

2009-03-31T15:06:00.001-07:00

My cousin, Hillary, hand-makes these adorable clips and headbands for her Etsy shop. She sent me some for Lauren and they are so cute and so different from anything else I have seen out there. If you're looking for a fun gift, take a peek at her shop. You won't be disappointed! You can find her shop at billiebrand.etsy.com

Lil' Lo

2009-03-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

Things have been going good here in the Crofts' household lately...we are certainly adjusting to life with three children. This, in turn, has severely limited my ability to go pretty much anywhere during the day. But, thanks to my sweet in-laws who came and took Kate and Taylor a couple of times this week, I was able to resume some sort of normalcy for a few hours at a time...I went shopping, saw a movie, and went to dinner with Brian...ah, life with one child is is so kick-back! We do love being parents of three though- totally worth it.

Kate said something funny this morning while I was feeding Lauren...
"Mom, isn't it so exciting that we have a baby now and we get to keep her? Its just so exciting that we get to keep our baby all the time. If YOU don't have one, then ask your mom".
I love getting all the credit! ;)

Here are some pictures of Lauren at 2 1/2 months old- she is such a sweetheart. A good sleeper, good eater, and pretty easy when she is awake. She is "adding value" (as Brian puts it) by occasionally smiling...so cute. Love, love, love this girl.

Visit to Temple Square

2009-03-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

Temple Square ... such a beautiful place. We were excited to show the girls where mommy and daddy got married! Unfortunately, it was very cold and windy--we literally ran from one building to another only taking a few pictures.

We also got to visit the Draper Temple open house earlier that day and share with the girls what the inside of a temple looks like.

Sundance 2009

2009-03-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, brace yourselves ... here comes a ton of pictures ...

We had so much fun at Sundance this year. First of all, we drove twenty hours from Dallas to Utah so we were aptly motivated to make this trip worth every minute and I think we pulled it off. We stopped in Albuquerque (the halfway point) and squeezed in a very fun stop at the Bells' house there for two nights. I love seeing my sister, Rebecca, and her family. She is due to have baby #2 this week...so exciting. Rebecca whipped up some much-needed and amazing home-cooked food for us and in true Christian style, we had some thought-provoking conversations as well.

Off to Sundance- we arrived Monday night and stocked up for the week long stay. It was unusually warm when we arrived, so the snow was a bit icy around our cabin- not a good sign. But, before too long, we got a fresh new coat of powder and all of us hit the hills for some sledding. Brian built a small sledding hill right by our cabin and the girls (minus Lauren, of course!) sledded to their heart's content.

Of course we had to hit up some of our favorite Provo eateries while we we there. On Tuesday night, we met up with Julie and Beau and their "significant others" at the Pizza Factory for some yummy food. We had such a good time with my family and they were so sweet to put their busy school schedules aside to make time for our little family while we were there. Good times.

Later that week Brian and Kate squeezed in some skiing ... Kate went to ski school for a couple of hours in the "never, ever" group and learned some great stuff. Then, Brian picked her up and they went skiing together for the rest of the day. Brian was one proud daddy to see his little girl ski all by herself and in fact, Kate told Brian that next year she wanted to try "the board"- like the one he rides! Kate sure does know the way to her Daddy's heart!

That night, our good friends, the Dardanos arrived...perfect timing. They brought their three year old son, Pierce, for the festivities. The girls loved playing with him at the cabin and they all went straight to some sledding with their Daddies right after they got there. As promised, we all went out to Cafe Rio that night (this was only Brian and Rachel's third trip this vacation:) ). Afterwards, we played some hilarious Phase 10 with Beau and Amy up at the cabin. Then, we made some time for possibly the most fun part of the trip- snow tubing at Soldier Hollow. Everyone loved it, even the little kids. :) The tubes flew down the hill and we all held on to each other's ropes so we could stick together. Seriously, so much fun.

What's the cherry on top, you ask? Well, we asked Kate and Taylor what their favorite part of the trip was...Taylor said her favorite part was going to the mall and Kate said she most enjoyed the drive home! Thanks girls, we'll keep that in mind for next time.

A big thanks to my parents for letting us stay in the cabin- we would love to make this an annual trip! And, a big thanks to Julie for cutting some cute bangs for me and for watching all 4 kids while the parents went out to dinner. We can't wait to do it again!

This is our second annual trip ... I think we'll do this every year for sure! Here's a look back to last year's trip ... always good times:

Let's Go Bowling ...

2009-02-16T20:13:00.000-08:00

Can you see the fear?

The girls and I (Brian) went bowling on Saturday ... haven't been in years. My valentine dates and I went to Main Event while Rachel picked up her mother (in town for Lauren's baby blessing). We had a great time, but it's probably safe to say Kate & Taylor should stick to ballerinas and barbies. Form was good--especially Taylor's, but it seemed difficult for her to stay in our lane ... she'd walk up, get ready to throw, and then step side-ways to our neighbor's lane, then throw. Definitely some confusion going on. Then Kate--she'd get a foul for stepping over the line, lose a turn, then complain about Taylor getting "two throws." Again, lots of confusion. We also did a "movie roller-coaster ride" which freaked both of them out ... I guess it felt pretty real.

Love these girls!

Brian

Our Little One-Month-Old ...

2009-02-08T16:06:00.000-08:00

Lauren is one month old- boy, time has flown by in the last four weeks. Lauren has brought such a sweet spirit into our home and has really let us know how fresh from heaven these little ones come. Mommy is so much more relaxed with baby #3 and so is much more able to enjoy every single day with our little Lauren Mae. Despite being more tired than I ever remember being, we are loving our increasingly legitimate family! :)

Kate and Taylor are still loving their little sister- smothering her with kisses and plenty of baby talk. They help out as much as they can- bringing me diapers and wipes, letting me know immediately when Lauren has spit up or might be uncomfortable, and supplying lots of motherly advice. Thanks girls- we love you!

Tay Po

2009-02-07T18:52:00.000-08:00

We will post some more pictures of Lauren Mae as soon as we can! For now, enjoy some of our little Tay Po...

We spent the morning walking around Highland Park and then took the girls to lunch. Daddy was buying the sandwiches while Kate and Taylor kept asking what they were going to eat. I told them they were having a grilled cheese to which they replied, "and a boy cheese?".

Allred Kids

2009-01-22T07:04:00.001-08:00

My sister, Claire, and her two kids, Lincoln and Ella came to stay with us for a few days after Lauren was born. My mom and sister, Julie, came as well. It was so much fun to have them all around- I miss them already! Ella, Kate, and Taylor had a ton of fun playing- their favorite thing to do was wear their tutus all around the house at all times...so cute. I wish we could have gotten a picture of that.

We didn't do much while they were here because I was still recovering and well, I admit, there just isn't much to do in Dallas. So, the usual occurred...shopping and eating out....my two favorite things! :) Mostly, I enjoyed just sitting around, relaxing, and chatting with family that I don't get to see often enough. The only downside was that they didn't stay long enough! They drove (yes, DROVE the 13+ hours from Atlanta) all the way here and I know it was a big sacrifice, so thanks a ton and I hope its not too long before it happens again!

Sweet little Lauren ...

2009-01-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

[Brian Post]

It's half time, so I thought I'd post some pictures of Lauren that we took earlier today. Rachel and Lauren came home Wednesday afternoon and have been resting well. Kate, Taylor, and I have been playing and running errands.

These pictures are my first attempt at indoor lighting ... more to come for sure. Let me know what you think ... it's a totally different beast to outdoor photography.

Meet Lauren Mae ...

2009-01-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

I just signed the birth certificate...we can now officially introduce Lauren Mae Crofts!

Stats:
7 lbs. 3 oz.
18 inches long

I wanted to give a little more information from mommy's perspective of how everything went yesterday....

First of all, I had a feeling that this baby was coming on Sunday night so I did all of the last-minute preparations around the house (cleaning, organizing, etc.) and packed a bag for the hospital, just in case. At 2:30 AM, I woke up to more-intense-than-normal contractions. They weren't horribly painful, but I knew they were different. So, I told myself I would wait an hour to see if they were legitimate. I think I waited for about 3 contractions to pass and couldn't stand the anticipation any longer...I woke Brian up, we called his mom to come over and stay with Kate and Taylor, and headed to the hospital.

As soon as we arrived-around 4 AM, I was hooked up to the monitors and it was confirmed that I was indeed having regular contractions, but was still dilated to only a 3 and not really progressing. Brian teased me for pulling a false alarm, but I was pretty convinced this baby was coming...about an hour later my contractions really started picking up intensity and I was dilated to a 4 and had hit my threshold for pain. I requested an epidural and got it around 6:30 AM at which time I had dilated to a 5. But the epidural slowed things down so around 8:30 AM, I was given Pitocin. Lauren Mae was born about 2 1/2 hours later, at 11:06 AM. I think I had to push 2 times- which made for a really fast delivery.

Yesterday was such an amazing day- I did not want it to end. Lauren is such a sweet baby and pretty adorable (in mommy's eyes). I really could stare at her all day long. I'm so excited that she is finally here and cannot wait to take her home. Kate and Taylor were thrilled to meet her as well. Kate has been #1 mom lately, giving advice on how to do everything and how to best take care of a baby. I think she'll be ready to babysit when she's say....five. Taylor is such a mommy's girl that the transition has been a little more difficult. She cried tonight when she had to leave mommy at the hospital. So sad.

Thank you for all of your congrats and sweet comments. I'm feeling pretty good and am looking forward to getting home and figuring out what life is like with 3 kids! We'll keep you posted.....

a good week for updates ...

2008-12-28T21:38:00.001-08:00

We took the girls to Las Colinas so we could get some shots of them for Christmas presents. The weather was a little chilly, but we had fun checking out a new place. The scenery was really nice and I think the pictures turned out great.

We had such a fun Christmas this year...I don't think you completely understand the phrase "'tis better to give than to receive" until you have kids. They sure made it fun for us as they could barely contain their excitement for the things they got. I already can't wait until next year when we'll have three girls to "spoil".

Freezing in NYC ... some images from the weekend

2008-12-28T21:37:00.000-08:00

1000 ft Over Dallas

2008-12-28T21:35:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Rachel!

2008-12-14T21:39:00.000-08:00

"Dear Mom,

I love you

I hope you have a great birthday

From

Kate"

When the Dad's away, the GIRLS will play....

2008-12-12T15:08:00.001-08:00

Brian just left this morning for a quick trip to New York City. So, its official- GIRLS weekend! By girls, I'm referring to myself, Kate, Taylor, and the little girl bean in my tummy. That makes 4 of us, and thats quite a crowd!

So, we just got back from the grocery store and I bought for us all candy, chocolate milk, sugary Christmas cereal, E.L. Fudges (per Kate's request), Frosted Shortbread cookies (thanks to Taylor), and stuff to make peanut blossom cookies- you know, the stuff I never indulge in unless I'm completely without adult supervision. :) Ask me if I will feel guilty about the absolute gluttony I will indulge in for the next two days. Nope...after all, I am 8 months pregnant, without a husband, taking care of two toddlers solo for two days, and its the weekend of my birthday.

By the way, I'm being induced on January 12th- I thought I would mark this day as the one month mark. 4 1/2 weeks until I can breathe better, eat healthier, have an excuse to NOT wear jammies all day long, bend down far enough to put my shoes on, not worry about the people who stare at pregnant people everywhere I go, and hopefully being able to look at my backside in the mirror without shaking my head.

Santa is here ...

2008-12-06T16:30:00.000-08:00

Our neighborhood had a Christmas Party today and guess who was in attendance? SANTA!!

Taylor was too scared to sit on his lap- but hey, 1 out of 2 ain't bad. I'm glad Kate got to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas- we wouldn't want him delivering the wrong presents! :) Kate and Taylor also got to ride in an antique fire-truck around our neighborhood while listening to some festive tunes. It was such a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun celebrating this time of year...I love Christmas!

On a funnier note...I took the girls Christmas shopping this week and wanted them to buy the other one a Christmas gift. We ended up at Target and I had Kate help me pick out a scooter for Taylor. So, I briefed Kate on the importance of keeping this a secret so it will be a surprise on Christmas morning. So, what does she do? She marches right over to Taylor (who was keeping busy with the dolls a few aisles away) and blurted out, "Guess what Taylor? We got you a Dora scooter for Christmas!" The next morning Taylor came into the kitchen and was telling me all about her Dora scooter- I guess Kate went into further detail that night after they were put to bed.

Then, I took Taylor to pick out some crocs for Kate. That afternoon, Kate was talking about the pink crocs that she really wanted for Christmas and Taylor says, "No Kate, they aren't pink, we got you the green ones". Oh well, better luck next year!

Rubsamen Family ...

2008-12-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

This morning I had the chance to meet up with the Rubsamen family ... Dean and I go back a couple years and it was great to see his family and their new baby boy. Although the weather has been a little harsh lately, this morning ended up being pretty nice.

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Break

2008-12-02T21:27:00.001-08:00

We ate Thanksgiving dinner at Nana and Papa's house this year. The meal was delicious...Kate and Taylor helped me make a pumpkin pie, chocolate pie, and rolls (that was a fun one- they thought it was play-doh). But, before all of the gluttony, we indulged in some 4-wheeling and leaf-throwing. The four-wheeling, while it was fun, came at a cost- at least for Taylor. She put her poor, little hand on the hot engine after hopping off and walked away with a pretty yucky burn. Thank goodness for first-aid kits...we had her all bandaged up in no time. You can see how precarious she is with her injury...girls! There is certainly no shortage of drama in our house!

BIG PREVIEW: Robinsons, Taggarts, Richards, and Rice University

2008-11-24T19:13:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we drove down to Houston to visit the Robinsons ...

We also took some pictures. After a quick tour of the city, we decided to shoot at Rice University. We had a great time and met some really great families ... enjoy the long post of pictures.

the Angels ...

2008-11-15T21:36:00.001-08:00

Kate's last soccer game- it had all of us about freezing to death (our first sign of winter then and since). I guess the girls wanted to stay close together too- to keep warm...or is this some new strategy for scoring a goal? I guess positioning went out the door with the decent weather!

Can I have another one?

2008-11-08T07:09:00.001-08:00

On Fridays, Daddy will sometimes bring home leftover donuts from his seminary class and give them to his girls. Taylor loves donuts and she dug right in...literally.

She "ate" (nibbled) all FIVE of these donuts and then asked if there was another one... seriously. I had to get a picture because the way that she ate these was too funny.

Halloween Aftermath at the Arboretum

2008-11-02T10:13:00.001-08:00

This past Saturday we visited the Dallas Arboretum for their pumpkin festival. I highly recommend visiting the Arboretum- it was absolutely gorgeous. Kate and Taylor loved running through the hay maze, walking through the pumpkin house, and climbing on all of the pumpkin displays (which was allowed, I promise). :) It was fun to get out and see such a beautiful part of our city and it really wore the kids out- they both passed out on the way home. What a fun day!

Pre-Halloween Party(s)

2008-10-26T19:44:00.001-07:00

Halloween is so much more of a big deal now than I ever remember it being when I was little. I love Halloween, so I won't complain. Let's get started...This year Kate is a cowgirl and Taylor is Dorothy (after deciding that Tinkerbell's outfit was just too itchy).

Kate had a pony birthday party on Saturday morning, which we had to leave early in order to make it to her soccer game. Then, we went to our neighborhood Halloween party and the girls cashed in with pizza, cupcakes, and cookies while mommy and daddy began to turn a very blind eye to all the junk our kids will inevitably eat during this entire week (I don't know how many times already that cookies were served for mealtime). I digress...one hour later we headed on out to our favorite annual trunk or treat, where again, unchecked amounts of candy were eaten. All in all, a very fun Saturday was had and the girls slept in until 9:30 AM on Sunday- a result, I'm sure, from hitting a sugar low in the morning hours!

More festivities to come later this week...

[PH]ISHER PREVIEW ...

2008-10-25T12:41:00.001-07:00

My prediction ... the kid on the left (Calvin) will be a rock star someday--if he isn't already

If anyone knows the [Ph]ishers, they know what a fun, stylish family they are--we all had a great time--enjoyed another perfect weather fall morning!

Rachel's mother also got to join us at the end--glad she did ...

Here are a few shots ...

HAWKINS PREVIEW ...

2008-10-18T21:13:00.001-07:00

These kids were awesome ... definitely ready to get their pictures taken--I think they could have gone all night. We changed it up a bit--shot in a new location, in the early evening (vs. Highland Park, in the am).

We had a fun shoot--what a nice family!

Daddy and Taylor at the BYU Game

2008-10-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

Between mommy's recent injuries and Kate's virus that hit on the morning of game-day, Taylor was the lucky recipient of my ticket to the BYU v. TCU game in Ft. Worth on Thursday night.

She was SO excited to be able to go with Brian- literally, she was jumping up and down and couldn't wait to get on the road. Doesn't she look so cute in her BYU shirt? :)

The BYU fan section was so packed that Brian took Taylor to the TCU end zone, with all of the opposing fans. No worries, they thought Taylor was really cute- they didn't even get mad when she yelled, "BYU, BYU" and threw in a taunting face every once in a while. Despite her best efforts, BYU ended up with a disappointing loss...come to think of it, I think the last time they lost was when we all went to the last BYU game in Tulsa....

CHRISTENSEN PREVIEW ...

2008-10-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful morning ...

A great day for football! ... We battled the unusual Saturday morning traffic due to the Red River Shootout/ Texas State Fair but eventually arrived at the park.

What an awesome family. What a fun "job" it was to shoot these kids--dressed perfectly for the fall! It was difficult to select just a few, so I put up a bunch.

Enjoy!

TULUM, QUINTANA ROO & MAYAN MARKETPLACE

2008-10-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

guess I need to post this one--Rachel decided to stay back at the hotel and relax while Rob, Nora, and I ventured to Tulum (despite the rain). For a while it appeared we would get some heavy rain while touring Tulum--but we were lucky and dry for the couple hours we were there.

Tulum was epic to say the least ...

Quick trip to the very authentic "mayan marketplace" ...

TRIP TO MEXICO ...

2008-10-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

We really had a great time in Mexico ...

Thanks a million to the Robinsons for planning such a great trip and for being such great company. You know you're great friends when you can just sit around and play cards and tell embarrassing stories. They were so helpful, especially after my accident- pushing me in my wheelchair, getting food for me at all the buffets before they served themselves, not laughing at me as I hobbled around the room, and for Nora cutting and dying my hair.

I hope they can get back to a normal life of not always having to use the safety ramps and the long ways in order to find the elevators to accommodate wheelchair-bound me. Thanks again- we look forward to next time!

We were serenaded by our very own mariachi band at La Hacienda.

This is us before the fateful scooter ride, hanging out in Playa Del Carmen. They had tons of souvenir shops and some really colorful buildings that made for some pretty scenery and great pictures.

We did ALOT of this while we were in Mexico...chips, guac, salsa, cheese...yum!

We rode the ferry from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel Island, where we rented the scooters and drove around a bit. While we were waiting to leave, this policeman was hanging out looking for the illegally-parked owner of this scooter. Mr. Tough guy! I love the colorful paper banners hanging from this church- so Mexico! And, this last pic was me and my mode of transportation from the ferry to our taxi in Playa- sweet!

We had one full day of Mexico before I got hurt and we really had alot of fun. Brian and I got there a few hours before the Robinsons and we were so excited to be on vacation that we immediately put our suits on and went snorkeling and then swimming in the pool. It was perfect weather that day and we are so glad we were so anxious to get out in the beginning.

UPDATE

2008-10-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

Rachel here...Can I tell you how happy I was to be back in America??? We seriously are so lucky to live in a country where you can trust the medical care and feel so safe in their hands! :)

I went to two doctors on Thursday. It turns out that I have an infection on the road rash on my foot. Ugh. But, I'm on some antibiotics and I return on Monday to see how serious and exactly what type of infection it is. The obvious road block here is that I'm pregnant, which greatly affects the type of medicine that I am able to take. They took the stitches out in my knee, but because the damage is on a joint, it will take more time to heal as I'm moving it and bending it (albeit, very little) all the time.

Both my knee and ankle are very swollen and the skin is still so raw, making it extremely painful to walk right now. But, I know it will get better soon. The doctor told me that I would be able to walk normally in about 3 weeks. I appreciate all of your thoughts, well-wishes, and prayers, of course...Brian is going to post some great pics of Mexico soon so keep looking!

THE BAD KIND OF "BREAKFAST IN BED"

2008-09-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

"They just don't have the regulations in Mexico ..."

24 hours ago we had quite a scare on Cozumel island. The four of us rented scooters to tour the island. About 30 minutes into the ride the road got a little bumpy and Rachel went off a sweet jump ... not so sweet. I was in front and heard yelling--my heart sank as I turned around to see Rachel on the street--all messed up. Her knee was busted completely open and foot scraped up. I held her knee together while we waited for the ambulance. We had a long ride back to some small clinic where she received an unknown amount of stitches ...

The scare is Rachel being pregnant ... fortunately, we were able to hear the baby's heart beat--everything appears to be okay--Keep Rach in your prayers.

She is resting today ... we have to go back to the hospital tomorrow and go from there.

This Beach and I....

2008-09-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

Will become very good friends tomorrow. Brian and I are off to Mexico in the morning for 7 days and nights...my hubby surprised me with a little vacay...no kids. We are meeting up with our good friends, the Robinsons, for a week of sand, beach, pool, good food, spa packages, sleeping in, and some serious relaxation. You heard right...one last hurrah before baby #3! I cannot wait- Playa del Carmen, here we come! Seriously, what did I do to deserve this? :) Love ya, babe!

Taylor's Tea Party

2008-09-21T19:24:00.001-07:00

For Taylor's 3rd Birthday we had a girly, girly Tea Party (gosh, it seems like we were posting about her second birthday just yesterday)! It was alot of (crazy) fun. The girls each painted a piece from Taylor's Tea Set, played "Pin the Lid on the Teapot", ate sandwiches, ran around...a lot, and then had a teapot-shaped cupcake cake.

I will probably say this every year, but I cannot believe how fast time passes and how much older my little babies are getting! Taylor is just so sweet...well, most of the time. She's so cuddly, loveable, easy-going, and always armed with a smile. Seriously, I could look at this first picture all day long...I really cannot get enough of my buggity-boo. Happy 3rd Birthday Taylor-po!

Thank You....

2008-09-14T20:15:00.001-07:00

For all the help with girl names- I think we've narrowed down our list to at least....10! We appreciate your congrats and kind thoughts.

And, thanks to Hurricane Ike- for missing the north Dallas area almost completely. All of our Saturday plans were cancelled, leaving us with a less-than-eventful rainy day but with a gorgeous Sunday- as shown here. We took a walk in our neighborhood, on the trails, and found a turtle and some rolie-polies. The second picture is of Taylor "crawling like a turtle".

We're excited for a baby SISTER, but ...

2008-09-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

... we don't know what to call her ... any suggestions??

Kate & Taylor in Stop Motion ...

2008-09-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

Want to see what 80 pictures in 10 seconds looks like? The girls and I enjoying the day off together.

ANOTHER GREAT RACE ...

2008-08-30T14:57:00.001-07:00

I usually don't like to do color on black & whites (reminds me of those cheesy kid pictures acting grown up??) ... but I thought this was kinda cool. Sorry for the close up, Captain ...

A tribute ...

I'll write and give some details of the race later--as for now .. enjoy some pics.

BC

the Angels ...

2008-08-28T19:14:00.001-07:00

Kate started practices for her U-5 soccer league last week. She LOVES playing and actually begs to wear her cleats and for mommy to play soccer with her. I can't vouch for her coordination, but at least she's having a great time! :) Because she has seen me play before, she kind of knew what to expect and so when I asked her how you play soccer, she replied, "You kick the ball in the goal"- I guess she learns from the best! :) :)

OFF TO PORTLAND ... Hood to Coast 2008!

2008-08-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

Last week half the team got together to do more video work for the H2C documentary ... John Hammerley (a local news anchor) is a big part of the race and we have become friends with him over the years. Because he is local to Dallas, we were able to meet up for a run. John is a lot of fun--and crazy ... he runs marathons barefoot!

--Brian

Beckham Preview

2008-08-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

This morning we shot the Beckham family with their two-month old baby, Graydon. We were able to take our time and enjoy the cool weather (somewhere in the 70's!) and the quick smiles of a two-month-old. We kept taking pictures even after he fell asleep and got some sweet shots of the Beckham family ... good times :)

Graydon ... passed-out on the bench:

Daddy's Girls

2008-08-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Here's some shots of the girls at the pool with their Daddy. There is nothing they love more than swimming (unless you're talking about "treats"). Kate loves to "dive", as you'll see her attempting in the last picture. As long as she starts with her arms up, in the diving position, it qualifies as a dive in her mind. :)

My Mom came into town last week for a few days. Its always fun to have visitors, but when Grandma comes to stay...well, thats something extra special! And, she came bearing gifts! Kate and Taylor LOVED having her here (and so did Brian and I!)...we didn't do much, but we spent a lot of time at the pool and just chatting and eating yummy lunches. We miss Grandma already!

Kate trying to lay out like her Grandma Becky ...

Summer Photo Contest ...

2008-08-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

I randomly entered a "summer picture" into a Natalie Norton-sponsored photo contest. There really were no criteria--just that it was a summer picture.

There were 269 entries and 5 were chosen by local artists ... I was one of the 5, but I won't tell you which photo is mine. Check it out and vote for your favorite by adding a comment.

For those of you who are learning about photography, "Pics and Kicks" is a great source for information/ education--she does a much better job of explaining things than I could ever do.

N.A.D.S. in Training for H2C '08

2008-08-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

You might remember this post from a few months back. We are now getting some footage for the Hood to Coast documentary ... With less than two weeks away from H2C '08, the N.A.D.S are in full force training hard ... well, most of the team is.

I know, I know ... look at my shorts--yes, they are short, yes, they are the Texas flag. To me, it is a small price to be part of the North American Distance Sprinters.

Also, check out the production team for the documentary here. Cool stuff.

Brian

Komenda Preview

2008-08-09T10:29:00.001-07:00

It was so fun to photograph the Komendas ... great family; great style!

My model award this week goes to ... AVA! What a natural. I'm sure I took a disproportionate amount of shots of her, but can you blame me ... very photogenic little girl--she worked hard for her promised ice-cream from mom & dad. :)

Brian

The "Smallest" Announcement We've Ever Made...

2008-08-04T19:05:00.000-07:00

I know most of you already know this, but I thought I'd make it official and let you know that our little family will be growing by one in January (19th, to be exact). I'm still trying to wrap my head around having 3 kids!!! But, we are really looking forward to it. In 4 weeks, we can even find out whether it is a boy or girl- yep, we are NOT waiting on that one!

I wish I had a cute picture of it...but, I wanted to include the specs, just so you know how "small" it really is:

4 1/2 inches
3 1/2 ounces
and...cute as can be (coming from the mommy!)

Furness Preview

2008-08-02T10:50:00.001-07:00

Our Saturday morning fun continues ... we ventured back to Highland Park which, despite the heat, tends to feel pretty good--mostly because we are in the shade and because we end up in the creek.

If you ever want Megan to smile, talk to her about her favorite princess ... get Mason to smile, let him play with a ball (makes sense). Enjoy.

Local COLOR ...

2008-07-31T21:38:00.001-07:00

For some great custard with an old town feel, the girls recommend Double Dip Frozen Custard in Frisco ...

Today was a long one...it started out with me taking Kate to her ENT appointment up at Medical City. I walked away from there with an appointment for ANOTHER surgery for Kate- removal of her ear tubes, including cutting away at the the excess fat in her ear to patch up the hole left by the tubes (Sorry if thats TMI). Simple enough, compared to what we've seen, so I can't complain. It was hard for me to see her so nervous today though. She must have asked me a million times (as we waited for an hour and a half to be seen!), "Mommy, do you promise that I won't get a shot today?". She cried off and on once the doctor entered the room, still refusing to believe that a shot was not on the docket for today's appointment.

When Brian got home from work, we decided to take the girls out to lighten the mood. :) We ate a yummy dinner and then got some even yummier custard at a new place (as mentioned above). A fun night!

Is it just me....

2008-07-29T09:19:00.001-07:00

or is Kate getting so tall all of the sudden? When did she turn into a big girl? Every single day, Kate will wake up and say, "Mom, look how much bigger I am today".

Our lives have been so busy lately- I got a new calling in our new ward- YW secretary and its kept me busier than I thought possible- a good busy. I've never worked in Young Women before and its been alot of fun so far. Brian has been busy at work as well as with his new photography business on the weekends. Its so fun to see how much he really LOVES photography.

My little brother, Jake, came into town last weekend and it was so much fun to have him around. Kate would not let him out of her sight and he was asked to do everything from play "house" with her, to catching her on the slide at the pool (at least 30 times), to sitting by her at dinner. We miss you Jake!

Taylor is entering a new [wonderful] stage of life- potty training! Mom could not be more excited to be done with diapers. I hope she keeps up her good work.

We spend most of our days at the pool lately- thanks to the 100 degree plus weather we've been having. You really cannot step outside unless you are in the pool. We've also been going to lots of birthday parties and lunches with the girls. We're so grateful to have so many good friends here. Life is good right now!

Reed Family Preview

2008-07-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

2 kids, 2 dogs, and two hundred degrees ... kinda sums it up. Thanks to the Reeds for a fun morning--great family & adorable kids (twins).
Meet JR ... this guy is a natural in front of the camera

The Sweetest of Girls ...

2008-07-25T19:22:00.001-07:00

Cryer Preview

2008-07-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Another great shoot ... thanks to the Cryer family for a fun morning.

The boys seemed much more interested in playing w sticks and bugs than posing for the camera--can you blame them?? I think we got some great pics ...

Joyner Preview

2008-07-12T20:37:00.001-07:00

Here we go ... some highlights of my first session! A big thanks to the Joyners (thanks sis for being brave--hopefully it was worth the time & effort!!) Jacob, Sam, Luke, and Ben--you guys were the best ... very good sports.

I'll probably look back on this and smile ... for a couple reasons (1) I got everyone lost on the way to the park in Highland Park (kinda not my fault b/c there was tons of construction) ... I think we were lost for ~25 minutes, (2) Half my shots were blurry--probably b/c my mind wasn't on the shot I was shooting ... it was on the shot I was trying to come up with, and (3) it had to be the hottest day of the year--every time I would look down at the LCD, it was covered with sweat.

Also, thanks to my lovely assistant, Rachel ... hopefully this is the first of many sessions to come--it was a lot of fun!