wedding day...

for two of our great friends, aaron and sabrina, included our olivia! aaron and sabrina asked olivia to be in there wedding several months ago over a yummy meal at amigos. they brought her flowers and a small gift and asked her the big question- "will you be the flower girl in our wedding?" she was thrilled to be in another wedding so she said, "YES!!" truth be told, i think she was most excited about getting another flower girl dress and getting to carry more flowers, but i was glad she was excited about it. :)
she did a great job when she was in ben and katie's wedding almost 2 years ago so part of me was confident she would be great this time as well. however, she is older and more opinionated, less likely to take a bribe, and more independent so i wasn't so sure how things would go on wedding day. she looked beautiful and really enjoyed every moment of getting ready. she picked out her pretty dress and shoes, loved getting a manicure and pedicure, was so thrilled to wear the pearl necklace and bracelet that sabrina picked out for her, and couldn't wait to put a real flower in her hair. once she was all set i left her with the bride and bridesmaids and she did a super job!!! she walked proudly down the aisle throwing the rose petals and even had a shy smile on her face the whole time!!
i can't lie, i was a nervous wreck. i didn't want her to ruin the day by pouting or to steal the show by doing something too memorable. but she was perfect! i was so proud!! since i was preoccupied most of the day with getting ready and my nerves i didn't take any pictures, but the groom's mom took the one at the top of this post and i love it!

the greatest show on earth...

came to dallas again this year and the kids and i went to see it! we had a great time with lots of our great friends watching the circus performers and the animals. part of the fun for the day was riding the dart train to the american airlines center.

o and j waiting for the dart train. their excited can you tell! :)

on the train and havin' fun!

we got there in time to be apart of the pre-show fun...

we were so close to one of the elephants and even watched her paint a picture.

and then the show started. jack loved all the animals especially the tigers and elephants. olivia liked the acrobats and the tight rope walkers. i just kept thinking how sad i was for the performers and the animals. :( i am sure they are happy with their lives in the circus, but it seems sad to me.

jack ended up sitting next to his friend caroline and loved watching the show with her.

the finale is always fun because of all the confetti that falls all over the arena.
it was a fun day and so glad that we were able to share it with so many of our friends. :)

i'm coming back to blogging soon...

but my computer is full!! that means no more room for more pictures. :( i just can't blog without pictures!! i have a solution, just have to find time to make it all work. don't give up. i'll be back to blogging about all the "juicy details" of our lives soon.

fourth on the farm...

my dad has his hobby farm just 2 minutes away from my parents lake house, so often when we spend the weekend at the lake with my family our time is divided between the lake and the farm. the kids LOVE it! the fourth of july weekend was no different. my dad decided that roasting an ENTIRE pig would be a fun way to celebrate the fourth of july, so that is exactly what he did!! :) he and my uncle mark constructed a rotisserie for the pig, built a fire, and carefully monitored it ALL day while it cooked away. jack was fascinated by the process and o was a little frightened by the sight of a whole pig spinning around over an open fire. (again, these pictures where lost in the uploading process! ugh, more picture drama!!:()

besides the pig roasting we spent the weekend playing on the farm. feeding rico the donkey...

looking cute in our red, white, and blue...
grillin' hot dogs for lunch...

uncle sean is always the chef!! he does make some tasty hot dogs and brauts.

taking rides on the tractor with uncle mark...

after the farm festivities were complete (the pig was very tasty!), we headed back down the road to the lake for some fireworks.
olivia FINALLY wanted to do a sparkler this year!!! jack loved it too!

then my dad, gramps bought a few fireworks himself to entertain us...

for those of you who might not be familiar with purchasing your own fireworks, this is TON of fireworks. my dad tends to go a little crazy at the fireworks stand. :)

uncle sean actually lit them all while we sat back and watched. o ended up inside with nana while jack and gramps ooooooed and awwwwed at the BIG show!!

look at the smile on jack's face! he LOVED every minute of the show.

it was a perfect way to celebrate. as we drove back home i thought about how thankful i am that my kids are getting to experience so many neat things like the farm all while being surrounded by the love of family.

happy birthday to you...

we celebrated mark's birthday at the lake this year. it was a rainy july 2, but the kids made the most of it and LOVED playing in the rain...
while i was busy making one of mark's favorites-- homemade ice cream. i made strawberry and peach. he thought it was good, so i was happy. :)


we celebrated with my family (the blanchettes) and had a really yummy steak dinner complete with decorations made by the kids and of course a few gifts. (i lost these pics while they unloaded to my computer, something crazy happened! so sad! :()

mark is the best husband and greatest daddy in the world so we were all so excited to have a day to celebrate him! happy birthday mark. we love you and are so thankful for everything that you are and all that you do for us!! :)