{it's my life}

i probably shouldn't describe how we were singing every

song at the top of our lungs and dancing like we were 14 

again... one of my favorite nights with some of my 

favorite girls. thanks ladies.

happy 5th birthday to carson!

i took this last week after he was stung by a 

wasp in our yard. because of the sting AND

his clumsiness on the playground, missy & i 

joked that wearing a helmet could have saved

him a lot of trouble that day. when i relayed 

the story to andy that night, he said "ouch!

getting stung by a wasp is like getting hit in

the head with a baseball bat!!" poor kid...

the next day, he got hit in the head with a 

baseball bat. 

happy, happy birthday tough guy! xoxo, t

when i married him, i knew that andy would be a great dad

someday... when hayden was born and for every moment 

since, i have adored the dad he has become. lucky, lucky me

to share parenthood with him. 

this is one of my favorite pictures of me with my dad...

(especially since it's one of the few shots of my childhood

without my coke bottle glasses!) yes, i know that 

court could have been my twin...

as much as i dislike this picture of me, it's my

dad's all time favorite picture of my childhood...

happy father's day, dad! 

i feel lucky to have this picture of andy

with his dad... most of his childhood is 

archived in slide format, so actual prints 

are a precious few. thank you, ken... for

setting such a wonderful example for your

own son to follow. happy father's day!!

andy was thrilled to take hayden on his first big fishing

trip on lake michigan! poor kid got a little green (there

is a picture, but i'll spare him that embarrassment this 

time... ), but pulled it together long enough to catch a 

huge trout. i'm sure this experience is one they'll both

remember forever.

{quack quack}

hayden & some of his buddies were lucky

enough to attend a baseball clinic with the 

madison mallards last week.  (not to be 

confused with joining the actual team for 

the entire season... oops!) 

oh sweet greta! all smiles for me yesterday...

(when in rome)

court has a new obsession with her old fairy

princess costume and a brother with whom 

she now spends a great deal of time...

kind of a funny combination, but he's a good

sport. he chases after her, pretending to be

the "fairy catcher" and sometimes even 

amuses her by dressing up. i find this 

interaction so much more pleasant than some

of the other "interactions" they have. (aka

arguments!) ahhh, summer. 

andrea & chris

what an honor to photograph andrea & chris on

their wedding day... it was an amazing experience

for me in so many ways. (i'm certain that i had more

butterflies in my stomach than the bride or groom 

did!) as you can see, they made my job pretty easy...

thanks so much to ken & mary for distracting the kids

for an entire weekend and to my new assistant/husband

for capturing some sweet balcony shots.

happy summertime.

last day, last year. (so little)

last day, today.  (so grown up)

"i love jj hardy."

"yeah, baby, yeah!"

"let's go brewers, let's go! (clap. clap.)"

summer 2009. baseball fever. 

we celebrated the end of first grade this afternoon with 

a few of hayden's buddies. baseball, burgers & brats, 

lemonade, sunshine, basketball & bikes. i love summer.

and spending more time with him. 

hilarious journal entries of a first grader...

we've been enjoying the stacks (and stacks) of 

writing journals and artwork that have been 

coming home this last week of first grade. 

i found these two entries particularly funny

at the breakfast table this morning and wanted 

to share...

success.

"in this episode of icarly...."

side effect of hanging out with a ten

year old girl. luckily melissa was here

to explain that they were just playing

a joke on carly and that cell phones 

really do work in tokyo. (i think, 

i mean, i don't really know....)

so glad i got to photograph owen once more before he 

moves far, far away with his parents... we'll miss you, mel!

court makes an excellent assistant as long as there is a 

promise made to visit her favorite red slide on the way 

home.... i love the fact that she is still so easily bribed!

shenanigans.

i was getting dinner ready, when andy

said "check this out"... (i had just been

thinking she was awfully quiet out there

with her playdoh). sitting on the table, 

raising and lowering the umbrella over

and over and over again.

constantly trying to prove that she is a big kid too, 

court came running downstairs declaring "mom! come

look! I cleaned my room, too!!" i was so proud of her

effort, despite the fact that she would have no place

to sleep...

eyelash heaven.

who is this kid with the funky hair? ever since the day 

hayden realized that he had hair, he has insisted that it

be "smooth, not funky!" upon tamela's suggestion and

much to our surprise, he is sporting a new "funky" look.

i had better not forget to buy him gel again today.

here we go...

three. (carefree)

born only ten days apart, tyler & court absolutely 

adore each other... holding hands, arms around each 

other, running and playing with out a care in the world.

it was priceless.

i think she was whispering to riley,

"we girls have to stick together...."