The Brown Chicks Meet The Chicks!

I ran into a woman whom I've met since moving up here at soccer the other night. She happened to mention that she had 8 baby chickens at her house. I immediately invited ourselves over...the next morning we were there & the girls were just thrilled. Maeve was a little challenging because she just chased them around & wasn't the most gentle with them!!! {poor things!}

I can't even tell you how many times we had to say "Maeve, be nice to the chickens," and she'd look at me and say "nice!" She had no idea, but really loved them. She'd get so excited every time she'd actually catch one & touch it!

Margaux liked the chickens but was a little hesitant to touch or hold them. She definitely didn't enjoy the experience as much as the other two & that was fine. She enjoyed seeing them but didn't really get as close. It didn't help that while we were standing next to their little cage, one of the chicks flew up & landed on the back of her head {just above her ponytail}! She cried so hard, I felt terrible. It totally freaked her out!!!

And then there's Marin. She was OBSESSED with them & I wasn't surprised. She immediately found one little chick that she fell in love with. If it even tried to get up, she'd grab it & push it back down into a laying position in her lap. It was really cute. Eventually she had a few of them sleeping/resting around her.

Marin & her buddy chick...

And one close-up of Marin's friend little chick. I had to explain to her that they wouldn't stay this small forever and that eventually....

They would all grow into this...

Then she changed her mind & I think she was okay leaving that baby chick at our friend's house!! The one hour visit was quite enough & I'm quite certain there isn't a chicken coup in our future!! xoxo

Marin & her friend Keira {front left} had a joint birthday party together a week or so ago. We decided to do the party between their two birthdays. American Girl themed of course! Here are the five neighborhood girls with their dolls ready to start the party! I just love all their happy faces!

I made little matching hats for the girls dolls that turned out sooo cute. They had to pose for a photo!

From left- {Margaux's} Darby, Claire, Kaycee, {Marin's} Lanie & Alie

Here is Marin with Lanie...

and Marg with Darby...

We had a great time with the girls. Each doll had their own place setting at a small table complete with placemats, small plates & cups! My neighbor also frosted small Cheerios to look like tiny donuts for the dolls {the girls enjoyed them!}. AND... the party was a sleepover! This was the first sleepover with friends for our girls. {It included me sleeping on the floor with all of them in a sleeping bag as well.} We got all set up in our neighbors theatre room & watched Mirror Mirror together before it was time for bed. By the end of the night they were all exhausted & slept well once Margaux settled down & stopped throwing socks & giggling! Such a fun time with a bunch of cute little ladies. Can't wait to do it again! xoxo

We had a wonderful time {despite the 100+ temperatures} up north the past few days. It was hotter than I ever remember & for that reason, we spent the majority of our time in the lake tyring to stay cool. I think Maeve was in her diaper only 90% of the time. I felt so bad for her, but she really didn't seem to mind the heat. Here is myself, Maeve, my mom & my Aunt Amy on a boat ride on the evening of the 4th...

Maeve, Daddy & Grandpa...

I love this picture, her smile is just so flippin cute! {I cropped the rest of the family out!}

She spent so much time playing with the ice in the coolers & on this boat ride she played with my glass of ice water the entire time. Who needs toys when we've got ice?!

All 5 of us.

This picture is so our family, everyone doing their own thing with Gary & I smiling for the camera!

They are all so goofy!

Little M driving the boat...

Playing on the beach... Margaux is all about splashing everyone else but doesn't like to be splashed herself! Poor Maevey!

Marin didn't get into many photos. She rarely got out of the water, definitely our little fish. She was jumping off the dock, swimming from cottage to cottage & just loved the water. It was fun to see her swimming skills put to work. The little ones stayed on the beach with us.

Such a fun time, but we were happy to be home & into the air conditioning. Yesterday {July 5th} was 105 degrees! I really don't ever remember it being this hot, EVER! It's amazing how well we all slept last night. I think it will take a few days for us to catch up but it was worth it! xoxo

Hopefully everyone is used to me falling behind by now... I keep doing it! Nothing new, just busy with photography jobs & enjoying summer with the girls. Our friends are here for the next few weeks visiting from Australia as well, so we'll be spending lots of time with them. {Pictures promised!}

Here are a few from Maeve's birthday party. The owl cupcakes & pink candies...

"One" cookies...

A picture of us with the birthday girl...we love her so much! It was almost as if she knew it was her special day. She loved all the attention & fun.

Enjoying an  owl cupcake with her "1" hat...

We tried taking a picture of us {Gary & I} with her while she ate her cupcake & this is what happened to his face...

She smeared the frosting all over him & was so happy while doing it!

And here she is with her favorite gift, her Bitty Baby who we named Lily. {Her sister's actually named her. They thought the name went well with Lainey & Lana, two of their American Girl Dolls} She was SOOO happy when she unwrapped her. I couldn't believe how much she truly loved her. She was all smiles..hugging & kissing her while saying "baby" over & over. I will never forget that adorable moment. Here she is kissing Lily....

Such a fun day! xoxo

Our Graduate!

I love how happy & proud she looks in that photo. I'm a little behind on pictures/posting due to the CrAzY last week or so at our house. Two birthdays, a graduation, Father's Day, A Triathlon, etc. Needless to say, we've been busy! {As always, better late than never!}

Here is Marin with her classmates singing during their end of the year concert...

They sang about 8-10 songs {Marin's favorite...Country Road! Who would know our little hip-hop queen has some country in her!!} and then they each took a turn going up to the microphone to say what they wanted to be. Marin - "When I grow up I want to be a Teacher!" Mommy was so proud!!!

With her 1st diploma!!

And her favorite school friends, Olivia on the left & Emmy in the middle...

It's so odd to me that she's ready for Kindergarten! Makes her seem so old & I can't imagine what life will be like next year when she's gone the WHOLE day at school. Makes me sad, but she's is beyond excited to go to the "big school."

Once the ceremony was done the class went bowling. She bowled a bit & then we continued celebrating at Bay Beach. Such a fun day together! xoxo

Happy 1st Birthday {in two hours} to our sweet, happy baby!

We love her so much & can not imagine our lives without her. It's so hard to believe that she's one already. Although she's still our baby, all of the sudden she looks so big to me. It makes me sad & happy all at once. She's more fun than I can even begin to explain! I love how she jibbers all day long, having conversations with us about who knows what. It's the cutest thing & I will never forget those cute little sounds.

It's funny but I swear she knows her special day is coming. We've been celebrating her all week long & she's lovin' every minute of the attention. I can not wait to celebrate with her tomorrow & see her cute face while we sing Happy Birthday!

We had a little photo session this week while the big girls were outside. Gary & I had so much fun watching her together as she enjoyed her 1st sweet treat!

She followed right in her sisters foot steps...didn't want to dig in at all! She just kept patting the cupcake!

First taste...

Now we're having some fun!

Then she started to fling it ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!

Yummy!

Tomorrow we'll celebrate with an owl {bright pink & lime green} party! Photos to follow...

We Love You Maeve!!! xoxo

Sunday Fun Day at our friend Jon & Ashley Olson's house this past weekend. We had so much fun & couldn't have asked for a better day {90 degrees & sunny} The girls were in heaven...

 I swear Marin had this tube attached to her the entire day....

Margaux fising from the dock... isn't this the cutest picture?

Love this...

Marin jumped in like this for an hour straight. Jump in...get out & do it all over again! So much energy when you're having that much fun!

Maeve LOVED the beach...so much that she even ate the sand. It's crazy to me that she kept eating it even after the 1st taste. I would think she would have stopped after one bite. I had to keep stopping her. Gross!

Boat ride with Jon, Gary, the girls & Jon and Ashley's nephew Jake

Myself , my friend Ashley & Maeve. {She's a good college friend of mine that just recently moved up here as well. We're soooo happy they did!}

Such a fun day. We look forward to many more hot summer days at their house!

What a pretty 5 year old!

We had so much fun with this session. From start to finish it took about 20 minutes, she did sooooo well.

Right before this shot she was being extra silly and demanded that I take a photo of her butt. I never understood the fun in potty humor but it's definitely funny in our house! She loves this picture. It's a good thing she's got a cute fanny!

She may have been rewarded a bit for doing a good job, but so what! It definitely worked! I love all the photos so much. Sorry for the delay in posting again. For anyone reading, any time there is a lull in posting it should be assumed that I'm busy editing client photos! That always seems to be when I forget about updating the blog. My apologies. xoxo