I LOVE Crazy Unpredictable Weather!

I might be alone in this statement. I am absolutely loving this weather lately! I love lighting and thunderstorms! I love the smell of wet cement and just rain in general! I love that this morning was stormy and then we had beautiful blue skies mid to late afternoon and then more awesome storms. It's so great! And just look at how beautiful today was!

Also don't miss the other two new posts below!

P.S. I Love This Face!

Don't miss the post below!

Arrivederci

Shortly before our dear friend Shelly got home we had to say goodbye to our dear friend Marisa. We decided to make it a joint goodbye party for the Ririe family as well, but they aren't moving until the end of July so we don't really have to say goodbye just yet. Thank goodness! I started out planning it to be huge, weeks and weeks before. However, I've been so busy that invitations weren't extended until just days before. It ended up being really small. Just closest friends which was nice. We were still missing some but it was really fun to just have a BBQ and spend time together before Marisa left.

Most amazing sign made by Erin Q.

Katie and Marisa

We took a picture with the three littles. We actually took a lot but this one was my fav because you can see Kade's amazing face that he pulls 24/7.

I thought this one was cute too because it looks like Kade is showing them cools stuff out the window.

We told them there were dogs outside so they'd all look out the window....

She's Home!

Shelly is home! She was gone for the longest year and a half EVER! A lot happened while she was gone and we're glad she's finally home. She's missed babies being born, weddings being wed-ed? and oh so much more! We all wore Shelly shirts that said "Oh hey!" since she says that always! We love you Shelly and we're so glad you're home!


All the kiddos that were born while she was gone. There are more but they couldn't come to the airport because they live far far away!

Cute Ryan!

I Just Don't Get It....

This is how I found Kade this morning. I had to wake him up because we were leaving around 10 to go to the airport to see Shelly! (She came home from her mission today! I will post on that next.) Anyway, he normally wakes up around 9. Today 930 rolls around and still no sound from his room. So I went in to wake him up. There he was laying there sleeping....with no diaper. (Sorry if anyone is offended by the naked bum.) He has a new thing where he loves to take his diaper off in the night which leaves an amazing wet mess in the morning for mom to clean up!

And this is how awesome he thinks he is for doing his own diaper changes....

I have to admit I love his tired smile.

Sunrise... Sunset...

I love sunsets. The other night we walked out of the grocery store and saw this...

Vegas

This last Wednesday we headed to Vegas to take some pictures for Aaron's cousin. We made a little mini-vaca out of it. Well Aaron and Kade did, I still had loads of work to do. Aaron's cousin Holly has a little boy named Carter. Kade adores him! He followed him around constantly. If he wasn't following Carter he was following Wyatt their cat. He had so much fun playing with all of Carter's toys too. Thanks for letting him play Carter! We took pictures on Thursday night and then left Friday. Thursday night more family came into town! Aaron's Grandma, Great-Aunt Barbara, Aunt Karen and Uncle Rick came over to Holly and Justin's house so we got to see them for a little bit. I didn't take pictures because I was busy taking pictures of the little one. We went and visited Aunt Joan and Uncle Don and Robert, Aaron's cousin. It was so fun to get to see so much family!

There was a lot of Wii playing. Kade thinks he's playing.

We stayed up so late playing Mario Party. It was fun. I still had to work but we laughed a ton! We were delirious by the end. It was so late. I was wasting everyone most of the time and then all of the sudden Holly came from last place and won the whole thing.

Kade has taken off. He is walking more than crawling now and we can't stop it from happening.

Waiting for Carter to come home.

This is Kelsey. She's such a sweet baby. She reminds me a lot of Kade because she is just there. She hardly crys and sleeps a ton!

He's Going Back.

A little back story. A few weeks ago Aaron was called into his bosses office with three other guys. His boss then broke the news that the company had lost some jobs that they really needed. Due to this, he had to let them all go. They were the least experienced in the field and therefore not needed as much as the rest of them. He didn't say it in so many words but basically that's what he was saying. He then said, if I get more work in and need the help again, you will be the first ones I call.

Aaron is usually gone in the morning before I wake up. Friday morning two weeks ago, I wake up to Aaron walking into our room. It's light outside and he's holding Kade so I know it isn't so early that he just hasn't left for work yet.

He came and sat on the bed and then told me he had been laid off. I thought he was kidding. We had just been through this last year. It lasted 6 months. We made it but it was a struggle. This also meant we were losing benefits. That was the real kicker. During the summers we make enough with my photography stuff that I wasn't too worried about the income. The benefits are much needed though because of my thyroid medicines and lab work that I am constantly getting.

We prayed for Aaron to find another job, however, I had an overwhelming feeling it wouldn't be another job. It would be the same job and we just had to be patient for his boss to call him back in. I even told Aaron, "I bet he calls you back in a couple weeks!" Aaron had a harder time with this than I did. He worries more.

Fast forward to this past Wednesday....

We drove down to Las Vegas to take some newborn pictures for Aaron's cousin Holly. They just had a baby a few weeks ago and so we made the trip down there. We had been there for maybe an hour or so on Wednesday night when Aaron got a call from a number he didn't recognize, so he didn't answer it. After the phone call there was a voice mail, he listened to it and it was a message from his very eager boss to hire him back. He walked outside to call him back and as he was doing so his boss called him again. They spoke on the phone for a while and he had wanted Aaron to start back as early as that next morning (Thursday) but since we were in Vegas, they decided on him starting back on Monday. (Let me mention that that is one business day over 2 weeks from the day he got let go!)

Unfortunately it isn't all happy, two guys had been fired for a job that got messed up. I definitely feel for them and their families. The job market is so tough right now.

So he's going back. I am so glad! I was wanting to spend a lot of time with Kade this summer since we will soon be trying to add to our family. Now I get to spend that time with Kade, we have benefits again and I have a blissfully happy husband!

It Was My Hubs Birthday....

He's 29. Yesterday was Aaron's birthday. We had all sorts of plans to go to the zoo, play tennis etc. Well the nice morning weather decided to bail on us and it ended up raining. It has pretty much every night lately. I don't mind I love rain. However, it did foil our plans a bit. So in the morning we worked in the yard for a while. Aaron then played the Wii for a good couple hours while I cleaned and did laundry (two things I have not had much time for lately)! We then went out shopping. We got a new highchair for Kade because the tray on his other one is broken beyond repair. I was very sad because I loved that highchair. Anyway we got a much smaller one so that's good. We also got a superyard? I think that's what it's called. With Kade walking everywhere now, he is getting into way more. Therefore, we are containing him in a smaller area now. Don't worry he isn't in there all day, just when he's playing with toys. From there we went to Goodwood for dinner. I hadn't ever been there before. It was so good! There you have it. Aaron had a birthday which created the perfect opportunity to take far too many pictures. Enjoy.

He loves drinking out of a straw. I love watching him drink out of a straw.

The birthday boy. P.S. if you want to avoid being sung to in a restaurant for your birthday, go to Goodwood. They don't do it.

I was so glad he was finally in a good mood. He has all his back teeth coming in now. All at the same time. Awesome huh. Well he basically hates us at this time in his life. He is so grouchy all the time, he hasn't been taking naps etc. It's awful. Hopefully this will pass soon.

Aaron requested an ice-cream cake from Cold Stone so that's what he got. It was so yummy. It said Happy Birthday Daddy on it. Though Kade just calls him Dad now. It's so cute.

He got a rice-cooker and a Wii game De Blob. It's so fun you could cry. And though I felt a little weird getting my husband a present for the kitchen, he has been asking for one forever so I gave in.After the present opening, we had some delicious ice-cream cake. Aaron got to have his on the special day plate because, duh, it was his special day!

Best Friends

Once again we had a fun girls night. Unfortunately I missed some of it because I had pictures to take but I made it for the last little bit. It was so fun as always to get together with some of my besties. Shelly comes home from her mission so soon but we couldn't wait to do this because we will be "losing" Marisa in a few short weeks. Well like 1 to be more like it. She is moving with her little family to Michigan while her husband attends DO school. I am going to miss her like crazy. We have been friends since like 6th or 7th grade.

So we all got together at Kathleen's in-laws home. There was dinner and watch making, and watch making watching. That's what I did, I watched. It was good fun. I love them all and I am so glad I am still friends with all of them and that no matter how long it is in between seeing each other, every time we get together, it's like we were never apart! Sometimes I still think we are all still in high school.