- Sunflower Sesh -

I'm not one to pull the trigger for professional family photos; I'm more of "that mom" that dabbles in amateur photography and just wants to set up the tripod + remote every now and then to snag a new family shot!  However!  Past experiences would prove that I'm notorious for pissing off all family members in the process of snagging said photo, AND the photos don't even turn out all that great anyway.....

...so when Paige opened up these sunflower sessions, I signed us up without hesitation!  It's been a hot minute since we've been in front of her lens, but it's always a guaranteed great time! ;) :) After showing up to the WRONG sunflower field [1 state and 54 minutes away from the real destination, holy stupid mistake on my part!!!] and pulling a few sunflowers out of Paige's booty, we cheesed real hard and smiled real big and 'da rest is historyyyy!  

Oh, and one more thing!  I've always loved this quote from Helen Keller, and I can't think of a better place to paste it than right hurr: 

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"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It's what sunflowers do." 

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Thank you soooo much for working with us, friend! We love the way you capture our crazy, and you know dang well that I will treasure these photos forever! <3

- Woo-hoo ZOO! -

Q:  Why don't cheetahs play hide and seek? 
A:  ...Because they're always spotted! 

LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, oh myyyyy! 

After a few months of being closed for COVID, the zoo finally reopened [by reservation only and masks required for everyone aged 9+!].  The animals are calling, and we must goooo!

Despite the "panda"emic, the kids were so excited to be there and see all the animals, and we definitely enjoyed a much needed girls' day out!  Thanks, Grammy, for tagging along and sweating it out with us!  :D

- Fun on the Fourth -

I came home from work on July 2 to find Brian + our girls + the neighbor boy blowing stuff up in the back yard...

...and at that very moment, I knew that COVID could NOT rain on any type of parade that Brian had lined up in regards to the 4th of July!  [I don't even know why I questioned it to begin with; last year, the guy started watching YouTube videos of firework shows during Christmas break in anticipation of his 2020 festivities.....soooo, I digress.]

HAPPY 4TH!!!

 

But *shout screamed* ...'cause baaaaby you're a FIIIIIREwork!  Rahhh, despite my husband's total over-the-top-ness, I really do love 4th of July and all the fun that comes along with it!  The holiday fell on a Saturday this year, so it was a jam-packed weekend full of food and fireworks and ALL THINGS AMERICA!  We kicked the holiday off on Friday night at a subdivision party! 

 One of these things is NOT like the others... ;) :)

Saturday was the annual family party, which was a BLAST!  Brian's parents always host a blow-out event at their house, but this year they scaled it back to just the immediate family due to COVID.  All of the cousins had such a great time together, and I really think this year was the best one yet! 

The girls really enjoyed watching Daddy's fireworks...

 ...and then giving him hugs and high fives after the show!  #nerdalert

Happy bert-dayyyy, 'Merica!!! :D

- Father's Day -

Painting/crafting to the max...do I see another Father's Day on the horizon?!  

...YES!  The kids picked out these wood crafts at Michael's this year and couldn't wait to get to work creating some special frames and artwork for their wonderful daddy and all their papas!

On the big day, Brian was surprised with breakfast in bed [and luckily only had to share a couple of his powdered donuts...]!

We also hosted a brunch to celebrate Papa Mark...

...and had dinner with Brian's family to celebrate Papa Ron!  Somehow the men of Brian's family escaped my camera, but here's a pic Aunt Laura + some of the grandkids enjoying the new tree swing Papa Ron hung up for them!

Cheers to the "dads" in our lives!  You are all such strong, loving fathers; your examples are more valuable to us and our marriage and our kids than you know!  We love you all so much!