Is it just me....

or is Kate getting so tall all of the sudden? When did she turn into a big girl? Every single day, Kate will wake up and say, "Mom, look how much bigger I am today".

Our lives have been so busy lately- I got a new calling in our new ward- YW secretary and its kept me busier than I thought possible- a good busy. I've never worked in Young Women before and its been alot of fun so far. Brian has been busy at work as well as with his new photography business on the weekends. Its so fun to see how much he really LOVES photography.

My little brother, Jake, came into town last weekend and it was so much fun to have him around. Kate would not let him out of her sight and he was asked to do everything from play "house" with her, to catching her on the slide at the pool (at least 30 times), to sitting by her at dinner. We miss you Jake!

Taylor is entering a new [wonderful] stage of life- potty training! Mom could not be more excited to be done with diapers. I hope she keeps up her good work.

We spend most of our days at the pool lately- thanks to the 100 degree plus weather we've been having. You really cannot step outside unless you are in the pool. We've also been going to lots of birthday parties and lunches with the girls. We're so grateful to have so many good friends here. Life is good right now!

Reed Family Preview

2 kids, 2 dogs, and two hundred degrees ... kinda sums it up. Thanks to the Reeds for a fun morning--great family & adorable kids (twins).
Meet JR ... this guy is a natural in front of the camera

The Sweetest of Girls ...

Cryer Preview

Another great shoot ... thanks to the Cryer family for a fun morning.

The boys seemed much more interested in playing w sticks and bugs than posing for the camera--can you blame them?? I think we got some great pics ...

Joyner Preview

Here we go ... some highlights of my first session! A big thanks to the Joyners (thanks sis for being brave--hopefully it was worth the time & effort!!) Jacob, Sam, Luke, and Ben--you guys were the best ... very good sports.

I'll probably look back on this and smile ... for a couple reasons (1) I got everyone lost on the way to the park in Highland Park (kinda not my fault b/c there was tons of construction) ... I think we were lost for ~25 minutes, (2) Half my shots were blurry--probably b/c my mind wasn't on the shot I was shooting ... it was on the shot I was trying to come up with, and (3) it had to be the hottest day of the year--every time I would look down at the LCD, it was covered with sweat.

Also, thanks to my lovely assistant, Rachel ... hopefully this is the first of many sessions to come--it was a lot of fun!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY AMERICA!

4th of July ... has to be one of my favorite holidays. This year we stayed in town and kept it pretty simple. We were able to get in all the 4th's activities; a parade, hot dogs, playing in water, and of course, fireworks.

For the parade, we went to my parents' neighborhood. The town of Fairview Police & Fire department put on a great show--at the end of the parade, the fire truck extended out it's ladder and made it "rain"... and the kids loved it--it reminded me of New York where the firemen in Harlem would turn on all the fire hydrants to let the kids play & cool down. It was hot when we started the parade at 10:00, it had already reached 90. While the kids played in the water, we sat in the shade & enjoyed food & stuff.



Taylor opted to just watch the kids and keep dry ... although impossible in this humidity :)

Rachel & Taylor represented on the scooter ...



Kate and I watched the local fireworks from our house ... I set up my camera and tripod to try and get some good shots--I learned how to shoot fireworks at my latest photography class. I set it up, but Kate took all the pictures ... she had a ton of fun--she took dozens of shots, and after each one she would say, "oh dad, this is beautiful ..." Here are a couple that turned out pretty good.



Oh, question to the Jewkes family ... does this count as my "journal writing" for the week??

BC

GARY JEWKES FAMILY REUNION

Breckenridge, CO
To see more pics, CLICK HERE (Flickr Photostream)









This semi-annual Family Reunion brought all 42 of us to Breckenridge, Colorado for a few days this past week. My parents have eleven children and 19 grandchildren and we all stayed in one 10-bedroom house! Needless to say, there was ALWAYS something going on. We managed to squeeze in some structured activities- and this is no small thing when you are dealing with such a huge crowd- Whitewater Rafting, Family Bike Rides down Vail Summit, Family Olympics, Kickball, Breckenridge Shopping, Family Hikes, and tons of fishing (note the river about 10 feet from the cabin). The scenery was amazing and so was the company- especially after the kids went to bed! Thanks Mom and Dad for making it happen and giving us such a great reason to get together.

KATE TURNS FOUR ... GIDDY UP!

11 Girls, 2 Ponies, One Trampoline, Pizza and Cake always make for a fun 4th Birthday! Happy Birthday to our not-so-little LoveBUG!!







Kate turned 4 at the beginning of June and requested a Horsey Party...so, thanks to Nana and Papa, her wish was granted! We invited all of Kate's good friends as well as some pretty cute ponies- one of which was pulling a real carriage! The girls started by decorating a foam cowgirl boot with stickers, followed by a crazy time (imagine eleven 3 and 4 year olds) jumping on the tramp and then well, the best part- RIDING THE PONIES!! Once the horses arrived, the girls would not let them out of their sight. I gave each girl a bandana upon arrival so they were all cowgirled up and ready to ride. After the horses left, we had pizza and a cute horse-shaped cupcake cake. I just asked Kate what her favorite part of the day was and this was her list: 1. The Carriage 2. The Horsey 3. The Cupcakes 4. All of my friends 5. My presents. Yep, that pretty much sums it up. We Love You Kate!

P.S. more pictures to come ...

SUMMER IS HERE ...

We went boating this afternoon with Nana and Papa on their boat. I don't think Kate's smile faded the entire time, or at least not until she passed out on the way home. Papa let her drive the boat "all by herself" and she was in heaven. Taylor could not be found without her sunglasses- she had the rockstar personality to go with the look too. She was not intimidated one bit to hop on the tube with Daddy, even after Kate was too scared to go first. After the girls rode the tube, then Brian and I got to go together- a little alone time!! Looking forward to lots of boat trips this summer!