An evening with friends...

Saturday evening Mike cooked up a delicious roast and we invited the Falciones and Molly over for dinner (and lots of beer and desserts!). Again, this post is picture heavy, as I was playing with both my camera and Molly's camera the entire evening. The kids probably thought they were celebrities with all the flashes going off! Anyway, these are in no particular order...just know that there was a dance party that happened and Izzy was in her ELEMENT. So much fun...thanks for a fun night guys! (The pictures are a combo of my camera and Molly's.)

 A little craft I made for Molly

 Izzy loves her Aunt Molly and it's quite evident the feeling is mutual



First week with the new camera...

Warning: this blog post has a TON of pictures.

I have taken 388 pictures in 6 days. I'm that obsessed with my new camera. Experimenting has been fun and a bit obsessive, but I've been having a lot of fun.

 Buggy on a snowy day

 Izzy posing (it's just what she does)

 Playroom time

 Super Izzy

 This is what bath time looks like during the week...painful

 Cowgirl Iz

 Costume change #23

And to imagine people confuse Laney for a boy. I mean, I put her in PINK under the overalls. Guess that bald head of hers doesn't help!

 Fighting to get past her sister

 Happy girl

 I always thought these were cool shots, so I had to try it out for myself

Izzy loves it when Laney goes to sleep, this means coloring time, play dough time, movie time.

This is with Molly's lens...it rocked my world. Natural daylight and my beauty queen.

She has her daddy's eyes. And her mommy's tiara from her 30th birthday. If you look closely you can see the glue marks from where the numbers 3 and 0 were. I had to take them off before I let her wear it :)

 Katie Monster

I cannot wait to make a silhouette of Laney Bug once she gets a little older and her profile becomes a little more pronounced.

 Snugging with daddy

 Climbing the stairs for bath time. And this is what a weekend bath looks like:

Happy, playful, enjoyable for all parties, no tears, and looong. Quite the contrary to weeknights, that's for sure!

 Excited face x2

 Daddy snug time

I have a TON of pictures to post from last night's dinner with our friends. Took way too many and don't have the energy to upload them all now. More to come!

Good night. Time to recharge my battery (and the camera's)!

Craft Night with Lori

Tonight Lori came over for a little crafting. She inspires me (and so does her beautifully decorated home) to create things. If I find something on a blog or online and show her - she'll tell me I can make it. And I believe her. And also require her guidance in each of my projects. I consult Lori on ALL projects. She knows the craft stores, what's on sale, what coupon I can use and what supplies I'll need for everything I want to create. Bottom line, Lori is very talented and I'm thankful to have her in my life.

She and I have been talking for a few years about starting a craft club, similar to a book club. Well, we finally pulled the trigger and planned our first Craft Club night in a few weeks. This being said, I had to plan a very simple and inexpensive first craft (so as to not scare the girls away and get people inspired to create). I sent out an email to interested girls and then realized I better know how to make the project before they shuffled into my house ready to create. That's how Lori came over tonight...to help me (verbally acknowledge and confirm my choices) make a trial run. She brought some of her own crafts with her to make while I attempted my own.

Lori making a funky felt ball

 

 Which turned out beautifully. Thinking I might make a few and put them atop some large candle holders.

 And this is the craft I'll be teaching in a few weeks, a Petal Pusher hair clip / pin. I completely snagged the idea from a blog and am surprised at how well this turned out.

I attached the Petal Pusher to my already-adorned headband...super cute. Can also be worn on a sweater, jacket, scarf, necklace, etc. I'll be making another one that will be smaller and maybe black. The possibilities are endless. If you'd like to make one too, we'll be meeting at my house in two weeks from tonight at 7pm. Email me if you're interested. The more the merrier! We're hoping this becomes a monthly event!

The other craft Lori made (I'll say finished, because she already had most of this done) tonight. Love it. Going to make one of my own this weekend for a gift. For a special someone.

And that's how I spend my Friday nights. Don't be jealous.

And then I snapped...

All I wanted for Christmas was a new, fancy, faster camera. And that, my friends, is what Santa (read: all my family) brought me. The talented Molly Connor assisted me with choosing the right camera and accessories and then calmed me down at the checkout lane (large purchase = sweaty armpits). We got home and this is what happened when we opened the box:

 Both of us reading the manual...setting the date and time was a bit challenging

 So we needed the help of some Miller Lite

 Molly's lens that she let me borrow (and it's phenom - and might just be "stuck" to my camera indefinitely)

Molly was testing out the camera...and ever since she has left I have been doing the same. I've taken 107 photos since Monday night. My girls must think they are rockstars with all the flashes going off in the house. Stay tuned for some fun pics of the girls!

I'm in love. Like, <3 love. Thanks for all your help, Mols!