She’s so lucky to have a older brother! If my friends had older brothers, I’d watch their relationships and think, “I wish I had an older brother!” How cool would it be to have a big brother to teach you the ropes of a new school or for him to drive you home from high school? How lucky would you be to have someone mom and dad would always get after first before repremanding you, the next child? & (I totally know I’m being completely neive when I say this…) but sometime, it might be kinda nice to even be teased by an older brother. (All of you middle children are now thinking…”You have no idea!!” And you’re right!) But still…I think it might be kinda nice sometimes to have an older brother.
Mia is one of those younger sisters who may not always agree with me, but I think she’s pretty lucky to have a big brother. Jack has taught her the ins-and-outs of Go Fish, until now I think she can beat everyone…except maybe Jack, of course 
(Don’t mention it to Jack, but I’ll bet that will happen soon enough.) Jack will sometimes periodically go bear hug his sister, in a protective, and yet on-the-verge-of-hurting-her kind of way that can only speak of a brotherly love. And the way Jack says Mia’s name in that high pitched voice? Cutest thing ever!
During their fall session last year, Mia was lucky enough to have Jack hold her hand and walk through the nursery with her, make her laugh with his hyper antics, and well…maybe even throw a few leaves on her. But hey, what says brotherly love like a few leaves in your hair?
Can’t wait to see this family again, Thanksgiving maybe? 
Ryan and I first met during during his mom & Kyle’s engagement session. He creeped through the tall grass, imitating a lion. He peeked around Kyle’s shoulder at me. He had me with his dimples…but he wasn’t so sure about me.
Then he was the ring-bearer at their wedding. I watched as he dragged his bear around behind him, as he looked up at his mom with his eyes huge with admiration at the beautiful bride. It was hard to tell who had more admiration for Katie, her son Ryan, or her husband-to-be, Kyle. The wedding was all about his parents and he perfected the triad of love…even placing himself in the middle of Katie & Kyle to stare up at their kiss that sealed his family.
Then it was fall, and finally their family fall session. & this time it was all about Ryan. He laughed a big belly laugh the entire time thanks to his connection with both Katie & Kyle…and also thanks to his funny cousin. & this was also the session that we connected…he thought I was pretty funny…& well…I’ve never gotten over his dimples.
Can’t wait to see you at the end of the month at your 2011 fall session, Ryan, Katie & Kyle!
Thursday, May 26, 2011 Posted in Events
Okay…I lie. I don’t have a blank canvas for you. But I know where you can get one! Monkey Dooz Salon-Spa & Boutique is partnering with the Richland Public Library for a children’s art show! Summer’s days away and this is the perfect activity to let your children let loose their creative side! Last year these canvases were gone in the blink of an eye…so get to Monkey Dooz early on June 16th to get your canvas!
She put us first. She stayed up late sewing my halloween ‘bear’ costume for kindergarden, then when my sister & I were older the late nights were spent watching us do the sewing and making sure we tore out and re-stitched any crooked seams on our dresses before entering them in the fair. She had horses growing up, so though my dad wasn’t fond of the idea at first, she convinced Dad it was okay to buy my first horse. Rayna was followed by bridles, saddles, grooming supplies, horse trailer, more saddles…the list continues with: riding lessons every week, horse shows, state fair…and a few more horses.
Then there were something like 500 piano lessons and about a trillion cover-you-ears mistakes on the piano…but she still was okay with driving me an hour to piano lessons every week. And in between all of the horse rides & songs on the piano there were hugs, kisses, home-cooked meals, tuck-me-in-to-beds, wipe-away-my-tears, and love-yous. And well, that’s just the beginning of a very long list of memories I have of my mom putting her children before herself.
So though this beginning of a list of selflessness is inadequate… Happy Day, Mom!
& I love you!
Last year on Mother’s Day I woke up and found my mom on the deck. I had to grab my camera to preserve one of the rare moments she takes for herself. And then I poured myself a cup of coffee and & joined her
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& check-out a few recent senior sessions here.
For me, Minnesota means family. & family means dinner at grandma’s house or at the lake. Once a year at Christmas that means lutafisk…but thankfully most of the time it just means grandma’s rolls, delicious home grown beef or pork. But the thing I equate my Mom’s side of the family with more than anything else…is being really loud. And I mean loud. Living, loving, teasing, laughing LOUD. Family time means my aunts teasing my cousins about their latest crush. It means the grandkids hiding things in grandma’s bird’snest hair-do and then getting a total kick out of themselves when she’s oblivious. It means someone saying something to grandpa who can’t hear them, but pretends he can, and answers with a off-the-wall response that you can’t help but chuckle at….and grandpa of course, believes your laughing with him. It means my uncle Corey chasing a niece around making big, scary, kissing noises… pure torture! When he moves in for kisses from his wife Cass, she blushes and says, “oh, Corey!” … but she’s smiling. It means the boys teasing Laurel that they’re going to sell her horse. It means telling stories of Tate, the youngest, and all of his escapades around the farm. And through it all there’s laughter. Big, LOUD, Life-filled laughter. My session with Uncle Corey, the family clown, and his wife, Cass and kids was filled with just that: teasing, smiles, a few blushes from Cass…and lots of laughter.
Thank you Corey and Cass for letting me share a beautiful summer evening with your family…yes, in the cow pasture! I adore you!
Yesterday I wore a red dress. & I went to the sea. By mexican legend this is a total faux pas. A mexican man once reprimanded me when I wore a red shirt to the beach: “¡el mar se va a enojar!” he told me. “The sea is going to get angry!” If anyone knows the source of this legend please share! But as for me…I love red and my red dress, so yesterday I challenged the sea. Red dress & all.
I drove the rental car north, north, north past La Paz in baja Mexico. I hit topes (speed bumps which litter the highways here) too fast & my friend Benjamin groaned and exclaimed in exasperation at my driving all day. It was exhausting for both of us. haha. But we made it to the beach just in time for sunset, and a much needed break from each other.
The sun fell. The waves hit me, sprayed onto my red hem…warm the water was! Then the tide dragged back across the pebbles and my ankles and returned to el mar. Walking, enjoying, the road anxiety fell away and I was just there in my red-dress moment.
& it was there that the sea challenged me: We enjoy moments like this. Moments like this make our heart happy. They make us quite, peaceful; they make us soft. In moments like this we understand the beauty of God a little better. So, why do we enjoy moments like this, but then go away, leave for too long and forget. Why don’t we make moments like these happen more often in our lives?
A red-dress moment could be a weekend get-away, a stop at a waterfall, a half-hour buried in a book, 10 minutes with your morning coffee, a sunset, a bike ride. What ever it may be…make time for a red-dress moment!
These pictures were taken on my iphone of another ‘red-dress moment’ while I was here in Los Cabos. Spent the afternoon on the beach. A few 17 year old marines were body boarding, sail boats followed the whales around…and I just watched!
A few weeks ago I had the lovely opportunity to make valentine cookies! & I had help!
This is why making cookies is the perfect valentine-expression:
elbows-deep in flour
sneaking tastes of cookie dough
pressing-out hearts & lips (& we blew a few kisses, too!)
pink-frosting. period. (I had no idea kids were such frosting fiends!)
kiss-able sugar sprinkles
taste-testing.
& friends and loved ones to share them with!
Thanks girls for helping me out! & thank you to Steve for sharing your kitchen with us for the day!!!
by admin
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