snoqualmie falls

this little northwest gem is only 20 minutes from our home. i feel like the only time we get out there is when we have company in town(remember the hour and a half detour on the way home, j?) but we should make the trip way more often. waterfalls are so amazing. tagg was bummed he forgot his swimsuit. he wanted to jump in.

my mom and dad. i love that we live close enough to my family that we can take sunday drives together.

bob and lisa

our good family friend, bob, proposed to lisa earlier this week and decided to get married today! luckily, a mutual friend has this amazing property on the lake and was gracious enough to let us use it. and seattle was gracious enough to be GORGEOUS.

we are so incredibly happy for these two that we didnt mind the time crunch!

the wedding was in the late morning so we decided to serve brunch. we had french toast kabobs, quiche, bacn, blackberry parfaits with greek yogurt, and donuts bites. oh, and fizzy oj. very yummy.

lisa's daughter, marie, was so adorable carrying her little bouquet around.

i am not a very big fan of purple but when we heard lisa had a purple dress we wanted the flowers to coordinate. and actually, i love how it turned out.

the little stands on the individual parfait cups were my favorite.

after brunch, everyone gathered around bob and lisa to watch them be married.

they make such a sweet couple. bob had a few tears in his eyes by the end of the ceremony. he seriously is the kindest man ever.

then it was cake time! luckily megan had kept this amazing armoire (she has a problem with throwing out legitimate stuff) because it made the perfect backdrop for the fantastic (SAFEWAY. its my family's absolute favorite cake) cake.

the happy couple.

lisa's gorgeous bouquet and ring.

it was a last minute rush but very exciting to throw a little wedding for bob and his new wife. congratulations and much love!

senior portrait time

as the end of summer comes along, i get to take portraits of the new seniors! could i be more jealous of alli's hair? nope.

sully's camping party

we celebrated sully's first birthday last saturday with a camping party.

the cutest little one year old ever. dont judge the white trash onsie. my mom bought him the perfect little flannel shirt for his party but it was the hottest day of the year so we had to strip him down.

anyone who knows me knows that i am not a big camper. but i figure that with 1 girl against 3 boys i am going to have to warm up to the idea at some point. and actually, camping wasnt that bad when i got to make a party out of it. and it was in my parents' living room. and it only lasted three hours.

jocelyn has said that she is over custom water bottle labels.... but they are so easy and i love making everything theme-y.

i got this super ka-duper cool indoor campfire on the internet for the party. it was a hit.

i found both of these little treasures at the antique store in sandpoint. i looooove the bear and i put all of sully's birthday cards in the old school camping photo album.

once everyone arrived, dinner was served. we had honey barbequed chicken, hot dogs, my mom's outrageous baked beans, watermelon, and kettle chips. aaaaand we had made a special trip to the root beer store for frosties. they are the best.

after dinner, it was present time. tagg helped out, of course. and then there was some wrestling.....

then tagg pushed sully around on his new mater.

and surprise! a bear playing the guitar led everyone over to the campfire to sing songs.

the bear (tucker) did a great job of getting everyone in the camping spirit. even the tone deaf losers.....

CAUTION. craig is forcing me to post this. if you have delicate ears or even ears at all.... you might want to press the mute button.

shut up. apparently i am very tone deaf.

the one year olds didnt really appreciate the bear but tagg sure loved him.

then it was birthday cake time.

the desserts.

i served a s'more cake. graham cracker cake (never made it before butverrrry yummy) with chocolate buttercream. topped with toasted homemade marshmallows.

campfire cupcakes and chocolate rice krispie treats.

megan pulled through with her usual delicious sugar cookies. this time, in the shape of little brown bears. i dipped the extra marshmallows in chocolate and sprinkled graham cracker dust on them. and for some reason, when i think of camping i think of licorice. so we had some.

i couldnt have done the party without craig. he made the fantastic tent (stained it even!) and even helped me hang all the stars.

we couldnt figure out why elliot wanted a marshmallow pop so badly. it was to roast on the "campfire", duh.

the cake.

then tagg took a turn as the bear.

i packaged up s'more bars for our friends to take as they left.

another birthday, another fun party. happy birthday, sully putty. we love you.

oh family portraits

yesterday, i photographed the gorgeous oh family. the grandparents are leaving for their mission to korea next week so they wanted a few family portraits to mark the occasion. and what would a family portrait be without the family dog? there is something about a little boy and his dog. love it.

the beautiful family.

denise and her little princess.

i loved watching the grandparents' eyes sparkle when they talked with their grandchildren.

the oh family.

the brave little missionaries! best of luck on your new adventure in korea.

sandpoint 2011

i just returned from another great visit to sandpoint, idaho. this time, craig wasnt able to come so i opted to find a nanny for my boys and enjoy a relaxing little vacation all by myself! last summer, i was pregnant with sully so i couldnt play on the water. so i was more than ready to hop on the tube (not sure my mom felt the same) and get tossed around.

i also tried to surf. but sucked at it. tucker, on the other hand, did pretty well.

so i just stuck to what i AM good at. laying out.

the kiddies in the hot tub.

if we arent in the water we are baking/cooking up something delicious. becky is such a fabulous cook and i learn something from her every time we get in the kitchen (this time it was AMAZING kettle corn).

holly and me.

megan forced herself to start reading "the help" but after awhile we couldnt pry her away from it. very annoying.

i tried to lure her away from her stupid book with my dirty jokes but nothing worked.

so we went on the boat without her. and we all were having a great time until.....

we came across a flipping TREE in the lake. we were worried that someone would run over it while jet-skiing so we made holly get in and try to move it.

after the tree situation was resolved, jessica tried to teach my mom how to surf.

later that nite, we got all dressed up and went into town for dinner. while we waited to be seated, grace and i walked up and down main street.

megan and me.

then the adults enjoyed a tasty dinner at spuds.

i was so happy that jessica and i finally made it to sandpoint at the same time. her family is so incredibly generous to let us come and play at their house each summer.

after dinner, holly and i had to be the family dogs and sit in the waaaay back. we decided holly is a golden retriever and i am a pug. ru-ude.

tucker and mackenzie stayed at the house and watched the kids so we could have a nice nite out.

my mom, holly, megan and becky. i look forward to my trips to sandpoint all year long. i feel so lucky to be able to spend time in such a fabulous place with the people i love.