momma ardis

For my first six years of teaching I worked under a principal who became like a second mother to me. Her name was Ardis Larson-Cole and she was undescribably amazing. She retired two years ago and it was so hard for me then when she left. It's difficult to explain how much I cared for this wonderful lady! In the years that I have known and loved her- every time she would email me should would always sign the end "Momma Ardis". Shortly after she retired she developed a type of Lou Gehrig's disease called ALS. A few weeks ago she asked me to sing at her funeral... she passed away this morning. As much as it hurts losing her, I'm happy knowing that Momma Ardis is home with Jesus now.

a night with the girls

So I've never been a huge follower of the TV show, but loved it whenever I happened to catch it on late at night. But I thought seeing the movie this weekend was a good excuse to go out with my gal pals. A group of us went out together Friday night for a little girl's night out of appetizers, appletinis and movie- I had such a great time! Of course the movie was uh-mazing- lots of laughter and tears like any great chic flick should (and made me want to go shopping and also tell Jamie how much I adore him...!). Thanks, girlies, for spending some time with me "getting carried away"! Let me know when you're ready to book our flights to NYC...

babies galore

It's crazy how life can change so fast in such a short time. Seems that every where I turn these days there are babies, babies and more babies. I absolutely love it! But it sure makes me reflect on how life has so many new and exciting chapters. I can't wait to see what God has planned next... but right now I'm loving the "New Baby" chapter of our life! Speaking of new babies... I went and visited my friend, Leigh, and her new tiny baby girl at the hospital today. I loved the chance to hold baby Kennedy and the chance to practice some photo taking. Their baby is SO adorable and has a beautiful head of hair! I could have held her all day... so cuddly!

I think this baby already knows how to strike a pose...
Thanks, Leigh, for letting me steal some baby hugs today. I can't wait for Kennedy and Audrie to be old enough to play together!

paparazzi

Seems like I'm the one who usually has my camera in everyone's face so it has been nice this past week to take a break from that and let our friend, Sam, be the camera addict. She loves taking pictures and caught some really cute photos of our weekend. Though we did joke with her that it felt like we were being hounded by the paparazzi at times. But we loved it! It's nice to be on the other side of the lens for a change. Thanks, Sam, for all the fun photos!

We really couldn't get enough of this hammock... so relaxing!

Trying to coach Audrie through her brave attempts to roll over...
Audrie and Ben meet for the first time...

Welcome to the Daddy Club (membership is priceless).

Not only does she take photos, but Sam also sews! She made some adorable baby clothes for Ben and Audrie and two amazing baby quilts for Emily and I!!

Thank you, Sam, for your generosity and friendship!

Audrie misses you already.

big day for our little girl

Audrie has been teasing everyone all weekend with her oh-so-close attempts to roll over, but today she finally did it! We all cheered for her and that scared her a little, but we were so proud of her! Here is a video clip of the big moment...

good times

Our college friends, Jason and Samanthe, are visiting from New York City and staying with us for a week. We are so excited they are here and have been enjoying such a wonderful weekend! Jamie, Audrie and I were laying in the hammock on Jim and Emily's back porch this evening and feeling so blessed to be surrounded by friends, food, wonderful weather, and relaxation.
Audrie has become instant buddies with "Uncle" Jason and cool "Aunt" Sam.
We've been spending alot of time with the adorable Baby Ben. And Jamie got a glimpse here of what his future could be like someday... (can you see the fear in his eyes?) ha!!
Audrie and I LOVE their hammock. I could spend a lot of happy hours right here.
The girls and I slipped away for a few hours on Saturday to get pedicures and sonic slushes.

Thanks ,"Mama Burrow", for babysitting so I could get a little pampering!

Hope all of you are enjoying your memorial day weekend, too!

party deck

In place of a back yard (aka ski slope) we are blessed to have a large porch where we love spending time. Last weekend Jamie decided to string some lights across the porch and now our friends have dubbed it the "party deck". We have several more gatherings planned this summer with different groups of friends, family and Jamie's co-workers so the lights help add a fun effect to our favorite summer hang out.

Audrie loves being out in the fresh air, too!


Here is where I will be all summer! (maybe if I close my eyes real tight I can pretend for a second I'm laying out on the Lido Deck...)

sweet baby boy

I don't want to steal Em's thunder... I know she'll post photos on her blog of their adorable baby boy in a few days, but I couldn't resist posting these two I snapped as a sneak peek...! He is so warm and cuddly... I could just hug him all day!!!!

three amigos

Before... ...after! Audrie (age 3 months), Ben (age 1 day) and Cole (age 4 months)... look out class of 2025!

Congratulations!

Yay!! Our dear friends, Jim and Emily, became the proud parents of their beautiful 7 lbs 4 oz baby boy, Benjamin James, yesterday! We are SO excited for them and can't wait to spend time getting to know and love their little bundle of joy.

Happy Anniversary!

My mom and dad celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary with a flight, too... a flight to the beach! (They spent this past weekend in Florida on a weekend getaway.) Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! I love you both so much.

Happy Anniversary!

Every year for our anniversary Jamie and I try to do something adventurous. In the past we've gone bungee jumping, para sailing, rappelling, etc. This year I surprised Jamie by taking him to the Springdale airport for a flight in a Cessna 182. (Jamie used to go flying with me when we were dating in high school and I had my pilot's license.) So this anniversary adventure was a perfect way for us to reminisce our "young love"...
Here we are getting ready to go up. I was really really excited...!
Jamie sat up front with the instructor so he could fly and I could take photos.Taxing onto the runway for takeoff...

One last check of the windsock... it was BEAUTIFUL weather.
I took this out the back window as we took off into the air.
The instructor pretty much let Jamie fly the whole time. He was a natural!
Here's a photo of I-540 over exit 78 looking north into Bentonville/Rogers.This is the Arvest building were Jamie works.

And our house...!

I thought these tiny cows were pretty cute.
We flew over my school and I snapped a quick photo.Another shot of I-540 looking south (Pinnacle on the right and the mall on the left).
Jamie seemed to get a quick understanding of the instrument panel.
We flew over the lake and here is a photo of the dam.And some sailboats on the lake...
We flew for a long time and I took tons more pictures of course (too many to post on here) but finally we headed back in for a smooth landing. We made it home safe and sound! Thanks Gloria for babysitting Audrie. We had a great time and will add this to our list of adventures. Happy 7th Anniversary, Jamie. I love you!!