friendship

after turning 34 on thursday i had the opportunity to go spend the weekend in st. louis with a couple of life-long friends. two years ago i made that drive to welcome amanda's twins into the world and it was awesome to see how much the family has changed. we spent the whole weekend surrounded by 5 kids-loving the smiles and chaos (i took anneliese with me so she could join in the fun).

making the time to spend a weekend with friends is difficult-and it has been a long time since we were able to share so many hours together. i always come away wondering why we don't make it work more often-because it is such an energizing experience. amanda put up blue balloons and made blue cupcakes and they did a mini baby shower. it was very unexpected and made me feel special and loved in a way that doesn't happen very often. i was again reminded of how amazing it is to have good friends.
i knew i wanted to try and get some pictures of the twins for their birthday-and we hauled 3 cars to a nearby park to try and capture a family portrait. it was cold. anneliese was a wonderful assistant-handing out fruit snacks to try and keep everyone happy. i have very high hopes of compiling the pictures from the whole weekend-but here are a few to start.

anneliese the assistant

emily's dance performance

in the fall the piper high school cheerleaders sponsored a clinic for the younger girls in the district. emily was so excited to cheer at the football game. since then, she has been waiting for this week. the week the dance team sponsors their clinic. she attended practices all week, and on friday night she performed in between the girls and boys basketball games. i just can't get enough of her happiness. love this video!
watch it here

happy new year

i'm in the process of compiling my favorite pictures of 2011-
here are 2 from one of the last days of the year. a christmas break that feels more like a spring break-it has been awesome.