little gymnast!

ava had her "watch day" at gymnastics today. It was so cute to see those girls showing off all their moves! only 4 girls today, so they even got to have some extra turns! seriously, i adore watching ava with her little friends and interacting with other adults...so funny to hear the things she says and stories she tells...she has so much personality!

on the beam. she still loves to watch herself in the mirror, so her balancing skills are sort of off a bit! ha!

stretching it out...

and ava showing off her stellar forward rolls...love her comment at the end, silly girl!

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cutest.thing.ever.

ava loves to dance and loves her dance class. there is only one person i think might love it a little bit more...hollis!! today she had her "show off" day at dance. parents and family can come watch, see what the girls are learning...not a recital, but they do have a few cute dances ready for us! ava did so well and totally rocked "on the good ship lollypop", oh yes, she did! after the girls finished their show, their sweeter than sweet instructor gave them all cupcakes and cookies and they got to play and dance for a bit. like a little party! finally, hollis got the chance to let his inner dancer out and show off his moves...they are pretty fabulous, if i do say so myself...of course, he did learn from the best! {and ava's cousins sweetly came to watch ava dance, they are the girls dancing with him! i love watching these kiddos interact with each other. it's so cute!} i hope you're ready for the cutest thing ever to hit the web, oh yes, my boy, in his dancing glory!!

{please excuse all of my laughing, but i was totally shocked at his little free spirit...he is a bit outgoing, but i don't think i knew just how much until today. really, i coudln't believe my eyes...}

xo,

a

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bang, bang. choo choo train.

oh yes, i did it. i got my hair did!! and in a last minute decision, i had my stylist {& good friend...if you are in ft worth and need a great stylist/fun salon to go to, let me know!!} cut those bangs we had trimmed to my chin...oh yes, i went all the way, people! i haven't had bangs in over 10 years...i think they are still in shock {my bangs, that is}. they are being a little squirrely...who thought you have to "train" bangs...oh hair, you make me laugh! anyway, i am excited about my new look and wanted to share. i was just so bored with my long, straight, style...was needing a little something different, shake things up a bit...& i'm glad i did...now to train these bad boys ;)

isn't it amazing how wonderful a new hairstyle can make you feel? like a whole new person?! {and seriously, someone else washing your hair is the best feeling in the world...um.hm.}

xo,

a

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prop love {i heart faces}

oh, props! i just can't get enough! i love incorporating them into my work often, when it is appropriate! i searched for YEARS for a buggy like this one, but gosh, they were all so expensive...so happy to find one {well, my mom found it} at an estate sale at a price i could swallow. i loved using it during this sweet boy's session! gots to love those props!!

isn't he so cute! i had envisioned it out on their property under the trees...but lord, it was windy! so the porch had to work!!

xo,

a

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home.

well, my mom and i left for vacations the same day. She and Felix drove up to minnesota the same day i took off for kansas. we caravaned through kansas and it was really nice to have a little safety net in case i ran into any issues. i have never drove that distance alone before, so it was a new {and wonderful} experience. anyway, my mom just got back in town late tuesday night and we spent yesterday evening over at her place swimming, eating, watching movies, and running to target! FUN! i am so happy she is back. we spend so much time over there that i have decided her house is an extension of ours. when we are there it is like we are home. i love that feeling. anyway, just a few shots from yesterday morning on the "castle" and last night swimming!

this was too funny. ava kept calling sam in the pool. he would swim out to her and then she and sam would swim back to the steps together! ha! she really did turn into more of a fish while i was gone. she spent a lot of time swimming at her nonna's house with her older cousins and i think she learned a lot by watching them!

the princess in her castle.
swinging.

& more swinging...they love this big swing!

the kids are loving their swingset and i love that it was such a special gift from multiple sets of grandparents for both of their birthdays. we have some pretty amazing family around us!

xo,

a

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best.weekend.ever.

more to come from this amazing, wonderful, got younger, & needed it more than i knew weekend away with jen {aka: my bff since the first day of the first grade!...she's basically me, but with curly hair!!}

xo,

a

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lake love.

we spent sunday and monday out at lake weatherford. {bo's families lake house} we love it out there and it is a place where the whole family can just show up and everyone is welcome and has fun together. we planned to meet ricky, christina, and the girls out on sunday and we had the whole place to ourselves...it was so nice. Grammy and Grandaddy even stopped in for quick visit before we left.

maddy and ava walking in the water. ava loves being with maddy and i think she is learning so many wonderful things from maddy. she is just a sweetheart and i love that ava is looking up to her and sydney so much. they are amazing examples.

uncle ricky with maddy, sydney, and ava out on the jet ski.
a few people decided to ski right before a storm blew in...had to include this photo to show how L.O.W. the water is...seriously, two summers ago it was all the way up to the retaining wall several feet behind where i was standing to take this photo. it's crazy how every year the water is different. i prefer a lot more than we have this year. {when the beach is growing grass...we have a problem.}

the kiddos playing in the sand.

hollis playing on daddy's wakeboard. i bought this for bo for christmas probobly 8 years ago.

don't know why, just loved this shot.

by the time we got home, both kiddos were exhausted and sawing some logs in the back seat. it was such a fun day!

it means so much to me to have my children growing up out at lake weatherford. it is the cabin that their great grandpa {pawpaw} and their grandaddy built, the same beach that their grandaddy grew up on, the same water their daddy and uncle grew up swimming in, and now they are growing up in the same place. i love places that hold history, and the lake house holds a ton...so many stories; it is where i first met bo {that is another blog post all together}, where we fell in love under the sunshine.

now they get to make their own memories. {only we know about the skipping school and taking girls out there...so hollis better never try that one! ha!}

hope you all had a happy 4th!

a

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birthdays galore!

this week has been so wonderful! we have had so much fun family time celebrating birthdays and just having fun being together. today i turned 31 & i'm okay with that. however, i truly wish that "birthday food" was calorie free. that anything you consume on your birthday or the birthdays of your children would not land on your waistline. i have a feeling that after the past few days of "celebrating", the scale is not going to love me. i might let myself wiggle tomorrow, maybe eat a donut in the morning, but after that, it's back to the routine. no more junk. {and by junk, i mean ALL the things I LOVE!!!} it's so worth it though! i think marilyn monroe said, "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."..or was it kate moss?? ...i don't know if she is totally correct, i mean, birthday cake tastes pretty amazing, but it sure feels good to feel good!

so, happy birthday to me :) i spent the day with the kids, relaxing around the house and then of course, a quick errand to target & starbucks. when bo got off work we got ready for a date night. grans kept the kiddos for us and we had a tasty dinner at outback and then went to the movies. it was a perfect day!

hoping 31 is the best year yet!!

xo,

a

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