splash down

This is the event that Paige looks forward to every year. She has been eyeing these monster water slides since she was 3. We still lived next to the school at that time and she could see them from our yard. She would plead with me to let her come to school early just so she could play on the slides. When it was time for her to start Pre-K last year, she was so excited that she would finally get to participate in water day!!





Here are the 5 amigos...the kinder girls!!

on the way to McDonalds

them, not us. We were on the way to school. For you city slickers, this is what a traffic jam looks like where I come from.

you're fired and the story of the woodpecker

A few days ago, P's teacher was talking to the kids about putting effort into their assignments. She went on to say that when they grew up and had jobs, their boss would expect them to do a good job and put effort into their work.

One little boy raised his hand and told the class if they didn't put effort into their work, their boss would fire them.

Paige promptly answered that that never happens to her dad. Her teacher asked her to clarify, and she said that her dad never gets fired, but her mom does sometimes.

Alright, Donald.


Yesterday P's class found a dead woodpecker on the playground. She said everyone was yelling and talking loudly when they found it. She said she had to talk EXTRA loudly to say a prayer to God to take the bird to heaven and fix him so he could fly again.

Then one of the teachers came and threw the woodpecker in the trash, so Paige laid 3 leaves where he was so the angels could find him (seriously, where does she come up with this???)

She waited and waited.

Nothing.

When she came home she asked me if I thought maybe angels just came at night.

Don't you just love her??

i'm so popular i got tagged twice

My friend Sarah (one of the many great people I can keep up with thanks to blogging) tagged me a few days ago, and then Margie piggy-backed and tagged me AGAIN. Okay, people. I get the message, you love looking at my pictures.

These are the Directions:

1) Choose the 4th Picture Folder on your Computer.

2) Choose the 4th Picture.

3) Explain the Picture.

4) Tag 4 More People to do the Same.



This is a picture of Paige when she was 3 and we took her to the circus. Wow, those are some big 'ole bows! I miss the pigtail days. I can't wait until Brooke grows some hair so she can use all the bows I made for Paige!

I'll admit I was scared to see what picture would come up when I followed the directions. What a relief!

I tag: Tessa, Colleen, Jeanne and Julie (once she's through having her baby!!!)

oh my this is funny!

he's baaaaaackkkkkkk!!!!

The Elf that is.



For those that don't have this tradition in their home I highly recommend it! Mr. Elf comes to your house around Thanksgiving and keeps a close eye on everyone during the day (he can even see you at school) then through special elf magic flies back to the N. Pole to report to the Big Man on your behavior during the day. By the time you wake up, he's back and sitting in a new spot.

Our dear friends gave him to us last year and he's an even bigger hit this year!

You can get your very own elf here. He even comes with a really neat book that explains everything.

big g little o

Our school held a kiddie cheer camp on Saturday morning. After 2 hours of instruction, they felt the girls were ready for the big leagues and let them cheer for the first half of the game that night.





Paige was in her element when she got a hold of that megaphone. The more she yelled, the more the audience "ahhed" over her, which only fed into her yelling more.


Check out the hip action!!

they say it's your birthday

It's my birthday, too!!

my life is a fairytale

You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

personal vaycay, part 2

What a day! Fabulous food, fabulous company and good times! We had a day full of learning and a night full of relaxing. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective) all is well on the homefront. Apparently, life goes on without me. Really, I'm glad the girls are having a great time. In addition to all the "work" tommorrow we have a fab trip to Sam Moon and the mall and an early morning workout. Whee!!!

i scream

One of the moms in Paige's class invited the kindergarten girls out for ice cream at our local soda fountain last week.

She is brave.

Paigie digging into the sprinkles.




Miss Em.


L&L with Brooke


Miss S


The whole gang


Thanks for the fun afternoon Miss Tessa!!!

this is what happily ever after looks like

Just when you start to take yourself too seriously... Seriously, so blessed! comes along to knock you off your pedestal. This is some pretty funny stuff.

Need the 411 on your fave political dudes/dudette? TAMN sums it up for you.

Think you have the best hubby? Can he compare to JJWT?

She even has her own clothing line!! We could totally be BFF!!!

red berry photography

As many of you know I have taken up photography in last year. I really wanted something more personal and reflective of my girls' personalities than the typical department store portraits. So, I invested in a quality camera and lenses, read lots of books, took a class, and found some very talented mentors to help me develop the technical and creative knowledge I needed. I am still learning and continuing to develop my skills, but have had several people ask me to photograph their children and families. I want to give them what I would want from a photographer so I have created Red Berry Photography which will allow me the opportunity to create and provide a professional experience to those that want more creative and personal photographs.

Please check out the website and let me know what you think. I am so excited to embark on this adventure and hope that you will join me when you have a chance. And if not, that's okay, too...but please pass this along to someone that you think might like it.

In the next few weeks I will have a Christmas card session special to help you get ready for the holidays. I'll post details on the Red Berry blog when they're available.

girls' night out

I got a chance to go out tonight and celebrate two of my very good friends' birthdays. They wanted to try out their AARP cards so we left the kids with the husbands and spent the evening chatting, getting pedicures, chatting, eating Mexican food at chatting. Fun stuff!!!! It was nice to get a break and have some girl time!

Toe show!


One of the birthday girls. Cute hat, huh? It came with a Happy Birthday song sung by the waiters.

today's funny

This is addicting. I dare you to watch it only once.

photo overload

love that curl!


that's so funny!


the big sister


this isn't going to end well....




one more!

we've got the fever

Olympic fever that is!!! Swimming, volleyball, diving and gymnastics, oh my!!

Paige has really taken an interest in learning the names of different countries, about the different sports and about China in general.

Does anyone else feel really sorry for the "other" male swimmers? These guys have trained their whole lives for this competition, and are winning medals and breaking world records and they keep getting referred to as that American swimmer or the other swimmers, or Michael Phelps' teammate. "You just swam the best race of your life, you must be so excited! How does it feel to swim with 11 time medal winner Micheal Phelps??"

He is the new American Idol.



Micheal Phelps and "those other guys"

esto es hilarante

Those 2 years of high school Spanish and 4 years of Dora the Explorer are really paying off for me now!

*you will need to pause my playlist at the bottom of the page so you can hear the video*



adiós, amigas!