the fab 4 reunion!

so.. i got to see one of my very best friends in august when KP and i visited San Fran.  and then again in september when Erin came to Texas to visit for the first time in FOREVER!!!!  she was actually here again in november for a work trip.  i LOVE the time we got to spend together in 2013!!  when she lived in Dallas nicole, nikki, erin and i used to have SO much fun getting out for dinner and GNO as often as possible!  i really didnt realize how much i missed the time we spent together until we were reunited!  one of the guys snapped a pic for us.. i thought i would reminisce a little with pics from years gone by... ahh the fab 4. =)  

i love you guys!!  

i think this is the last pic we took together at EKs 'going away but we hope not forever dinner..' ;)

the next few are from our GNO weekend. it was a stay-cation of sorts but we had a blast!! 

a random night at fireside pies! yummmmm!

who knows where.. chaucers maybe?  LOVE IT!! 

Erin, im sure this is going to be an incredible year for you!  im counting the days til we can hang out again and i love LOVE love keeping in touch.  the random calls and texts over the last few years have turned into something that i look forward at least weekly nowadays.  =)  prayers for you friend!  thank you for spending so much time with me and my family over the last few months!  i wouldnt trade a minute of our crazy shenanigans for anything.  =)  

AND NIKKI!!  we are practically neighbors!  we HAVE to do better his year at getting together!  i cant wait to meet your precious Baby Taggert!  ...and im a pretty good babysitter, if you didnt know.  ;)

Nicole Minchey!  youre my bestie and you know it.  im so excited about living so close and enjoying this time in our lives  together!  =)

cheers to the fab 4! 

ps.. yes i could professionally repair the red eye but its a good inside joke for me & nikki.  ;)  and im not gonna lie.. some of the pics make me wanna be a blonde for a little while.  oh geezz.

2013 in Review..

i cant believe i didnt blog even once in 2013.  ugh.  the truth is that about a month before korbie lost that first tooth this mommy went 'back to work'.  ;)  ya know.. 'cause running a daycare and managing a photography business isnt really work..

anywho.. before moving back to texas in 2004 i worked as an outside sales rep for a military sales group for several years.  in 2012 i was invited to pretty much pick up where i left off.. 8 years later.  that doesnt happen every day.  thanks AD.  =)  i wasnt looking to leave my little at-home business but it turns out the timing was pretty much perfect since the little man was about to lose some teeth and start kinder and kenners was about to start middle school and grow up overnight.  it was hard to say goodbye to the babies and their mommys that i had seen every. single. day.  for YEARS.  but they understood.. and since june of 2012, well, our lives are pretty much unrecognizable from the the days when this little blog was alive.  some things still remain.. we still love our friends and the littles are following in our footsteps with their own.  we still love each other and thats a blessing in itself.  we still love texas country.  we still hangout in the garage.  we still do our best to get to worship on sunday mornings.  we still go too much and we still say that we will stay home more this year.  we still love mckinney, texas and call it home.  we still visit all of our parents along hwy 287, some east and some west, but not nearly often enough.  and we still find ourselves coming back to this blog time and time again to remember dates of milestones.  it has taken me more than a year to learn to manage the house, the travel, the job, the kiddos, the photog biz, the craziness of it all really.. but i think ive got it.  time to add this back.  =)

im cheating a bit and back dating a post for each month that i missed.  pictures mostly.. it was fun to look back so i know that it will be worth the time it took!  im sure i missed events along the way but i think i covered the biggest things each month.  =)

now on to the present!  

18 months and 3 teeth later... IM BACK!!

...and I AM going to blog in 2014.  i am.  I am.  I AM. 

i have 2013 in review almost ready to post.. AND i updated the blog header for the first time in yearsss.  im motivated.  im organized.  i have a plan.  ive said that before.  lol.  ..but this time is different.  i can feel it.  

december 2013

the first week of decemver old man winter spread a thick layer of ice over dallas and slowed things down for a bit.  trapped in the house for a few days with a well stocked freezer of frozen pizzas, a grotto full of wine, netflix (..and hulu and amazon and directv on demand) we had a pretty awesome weekend with family and close friends.  trying to get to the airport for work on monday morning proved to be quite difficult.  kp got up with me to drive me there..  we took his car.. mine still looked like this. 4 days later. 

it has been a few years since we've watched a sunrise together.. ugh.  from hwy 121 its not nearly as romantic as it is on a beach.  =(  he was a trooper tho.  we missed that first flight and had to book another later in the day.  he drove me to catch that one also.  we were able to squeeze in a little lunch date. 

5 days later i was saying goodbye to NYC and getting back to Texas for a weekend full of holiday parties!  

friday afternoon KP picked me up from the airport.  the roads in DFW werent too much different than when i left on monday and it took us FOREVER to get home from the airport.  we got dressed in 11 min and were out the door again for the party.  and we looked pretty!  ...but somehow we didnt take a single picture. =(  

on saturday we had lunch with the littles and spent a little family time together!  then we headed to Sherman, Tx to a graduation party for our good friend Ryan.  Congrats again, buddy!!  

that evening was the annual christmas sweater party. =) 

kennedy spent the holiday with her fathers family on a fantastic vacation to mexico.  we had family dinner with her on wednesday and then she left early on thursday morning (19th).  we were so sad to see her go, not to mention crazy jealous of a beach vacay.. but she was so excited and that makes it easier to let her go!  

thursday and friday were taken up by korbies holiday party and two of our favorite concerts of the year.  REK at HOB and PG at Billy Bobs.  we've been going to those same holiday shows as long as i can remember and really look forward to them!  

the rest of december was consumed by the holiday break.  and it was so nice to spend time with family! my parents were in town for a few days.  they got to spend lots of time with all the grandkids.  then we spent the afternoon & evening with my brother and his family.  a church service, so fajitas at dos charros, and then presents at our house!       

and then we spent Christmas day at KPs nana's house.  LOVE seeing his family that day.  its really the only time we see them all year so it feels like a family reunion!  unfortunately KP and i were pretty sick the entire week of Christmas. =(  i took my camera to Nana's but didnt take a single picture. =(  a visit to our dr's office on the day after revealed a nasty bug that had already progressed to bronchitis again.  another round of shots, steriods and antibiotics.. it was nice to start feeling better but it definitely took a few days!  

the last week of the december was spent with a visit from Lance and Baby G and it was WONDERFULLLL!!!  to spend time with them again.  we have missed them SO so SO much!  Grace and Korbie had so much fun getting to spend time together.  they have missed each other so much lately and fell right back into place with each other immediately.  warmed my heart!

we got to have a some grown up fun, too!  we went with friends to see Jason Boland at the Granada during their visit.  Lance & I had a BLAST together!  

unfortunately for kennedy's other mom she lost her grandmother over the holiday break.  they flew home from mexico on monday and then to montana for the funeral on wednesday.  so sad.  =(  

it sure was nice to see our baby girl a few days early tho.  and because she came home on the 1st she was able to spend a few hours with Lance & G before they had to get back to Lubbock.  the little kids were very happy to see sissy!  

LOVED snuggling with all three of these crazies and enjoying a long lunch! ( ..and i feel the need to blame my crazy fat face on the steriods.. ugh  but the pic makes me SO happy that i had to share it anyway!) 

and last but not least.. a random selfie of korb palmer that i found on the camera!  LOVE IT!!  love him.  love the rainbow loom bracelets.  love those blue eyes.  love that he's wearing a short sleeve underarmour tshirt and it could not have been more than 40° outside.. and thats being generous.  oh that boy.