family pictures by katie

one of the great things about blogging is it allows you to meet people you would have never met any other way. I met katie through blogging years ago and she has become a dear friend to me. i like to call her my minnesota sister. she has come to mean so much to me and my family. she was here the week after brett died and I feel like she helped carry me through. i admire her faith and loyalty, and her good attitude. i love chatting with her and i am so grateful to have met her. we have some good laughs together.

she is an amazing photographer, and offered to take our family pictures for the year and of course I jumped at the chance. I am just in love with them and how they turned out. I feel like they really captured our lives here on little pioneer street. my kids are always a bit crazy when we take pictures (okay, really any time) and I am always grateful for a patient photographer to work with. please check out her blog (here) and photography site (here). She is offering a 10% discount to people who live in the Phoenix area next time she comes for readers of my blog! (stay tuned for more details.) I would highly recommend her!

This last one is my very favorite. I love everything about it- thank you so much Katie! I will treasure this forever.

no shrinking violet

 violet elizabeth allen turned 4 on april 15th, tax day. i have never met a little lady like this one. she truly is her own self and so full of spunk and personality and sweetness. for her birthday this year, she got to pick one friend- her bestie coco, and go to the carousel at the mall. she was so excited and soaked up every bit of extra attention. I love this girl. I can't wait to see what she does in life.

a few things about violet at 4:
she loves to fix hair and paint nails, also anything to do with make-up.
she loves watching the kratt brothers more than any other show on netflix.
her favorite colors are pink and purple and blue and black. and sometimes others.
she loves adventure and animals and going on bike rides.
her favorite phrase as of late is, "oh, nuts!"
she loves to snuggle still and gives me about 20 hugs a day. i love it.
she is very excited to start preschool this fall and takes ballet very seriously. she loves big girl things.
every night and nap time (which she still needs desperately- it's exhausting being a violet) she asks for her special kisses, which are butterfly kisses, eskimo kisses, cheek kisses, chin kisses, and a smooch. it is kind of our special thing.

everyday is better with you, violet.

 t

keep your face to the sunshine

a few weeks, er, months, ago we took a trip up to sedona with our dear friends the hardisons. it was so much fun, and so beautiful. arizona is beautiful, guys. i always talk about how healing nature is to me, and it's so true. i felt my spirits lift as soon as we got out of the car and breathed the canyon air. the colors, of course, were captivating, even without the bright green foilage that is there in other parts of the year. 

 of course the company was perfect too. jared and i have decided that we are the luckiest. we have such amazing friends and family to support us, especially during the past few months that have been rough. clint and angela have always been such good friends to us and i loved being able to share this day with them. i also admire the way they parent little margo, who is smart and sweet and so adorable.

 the last time we did this hike was before ames was born and violet was still a baby. i hope to come back at least a few more times as the kids grow. it will be fun to take their pictures in the same places and take note of the changes in them.

my greatest treasure- my family. sometimes i am really hard on myself and wish i were a better mother, wife, etc. but even if I'm not the best, how lucky am I that I get to raise these guys. they are amazing. i hope to go on a bazillion more hikes with them.