Tilly called to give me a heads-up on this post

Grab the tissues before heading there yourself. Jody shares what happened the day she lost Teagan, eight years ago today. Her faith in Christ is a beautiful thing to behold. Click HERE to hop on over to her blog.

okay, first things first

Okay, now that THAT'S out of the way... we had our annual block party last weekend. If you've been following my blog for some time, you might remember last year's celebration. How could we ever top that? With more experiments, of course:

I bet our block party could blow up your block party.

Okay, maybe not.

A few more shots and a glimpse into the evening:

Suffice it to say there were real explosions... the pretty kind.

The End.

the perfect excuse to try something different

Tired of the same ol', same ol'? Here's your chance to break the mold. I am offering a limited number of discounted photography sessions (25 to be exact). Pay only $100 and receive:

• 1-2 hour session for up to five people at location of choice.
• 25-30 uploaded into an online gallery within 30-days of session.
• The complete gallery on disc with permission to print or post for personal use.

This discount only applies to new sessions. The session must be scheduled sometime in 2009 and booked by September 15th. Here are a few location and session ideas:

• family/kid session at the pumpkin patch
• day at the beach
• your child's birthday party
• Sever's Corn Maze
• coffee shop
• a family/kid/couple session at the Minnesota State Fair, Valley Fair, or county fair
• Uptown Art Fair
• family picnic or bonfire
• "1st birthday" session
• date night w/your hubby
• swimming pool/waterpark
• newborn session or "Birth Day" session at hospital
• an outdoor winter session - playing in snow, ice skating, or sledding
• Halloween costume session
• hanging out on Grand Avenue
• enjoying treats at a local ice cream shop
• biking around any of the Twin Cities lakes
• maternity session
• your favorite hangout as a family or couple
• downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul
• teen or senior session (group of friends or solo)
• Children's Museum
• hunting for the perfect Christmas tree
• shopping and lunch at the American Girl store

The possibilities are endless. In addition, I will create a customized card template featuring your images - be it for the holidays, baby or graduation announcements, birthday invitations, or simply all-purpose note cards. If you choose to place an order, you will pay only cost! Here are a few examples:

(This last one is a 4.5x5 folded note card.)

Again, the discounted sessions will be up for grabs until September 15th... unless they happen to fill before then. If you are interested in booking, you'll find my contact information HERE. Questions? Just let me know!

what every kid dreams of

Before meeting Pippy (Ren's BFF), the hubby and I thought we'd been gifted with the wittiest child ever. Spend any length of time with the boys and you'll quickly understand why they are such good friends. Here's the line of conversation that surrounded the gift-opening portion of the party. While Ren was opening gifts, the boys were oohing and aahing over all of the cool stuff. Regular kid conversation:

"Hey, cool gift card." (It looked like a puzzle.)

"We almost bought you that game."

The kids were talking excitedly about the gifts when Pippy said (in a low monotone that reminded me much of my own son), "My grandma always gives me clothes and savings bonds... just what every kid dreams of."

Hilarious!! The hubby and I were relieved to know Pippy hadn't suffered any permanent damage after being viciously attacked by a sugared-up partygoer's lightsaber.

After the slumber party sleepover on Friday (and the 6:00 am wake-up scream) and whooping it up with the neighbors last night (and waking at 6:30 am this morning to pack up my equipment), I am pooped. There wasn't a stitch of alcohol involved yet I feel like I was hit by a truck.

Go figure.

Today I'm on-call. And we're celebrating Mom's birthday. And Ren has football trials (his first year in tackle football... ouch). A busy day. I'd better go hit the coffee in preparation. Have a good one!

it was a sleepover, not a slumber party

Believe it or not, it was our first time hosting a sleepover. We ordered food from Raising Cane's (a first for a couple of the boys), watched the ClearPlay version of Mall Cop, engaged in a ginormous Nerf battle, played RockBand, opened presents, and had cake. THE cake. (Of course, cake first THEN presents.)

The ice cream cake was a huge hit. Next time, I'll be adding a layer of peanut butter. Not that it wasn't decadent enough already.

As promised, here's the recipe:

Ice Cream Pretzel Cake

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups crushed pretzels
6 tablespoons cold butter
3/4 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed
2 packages (7-1/2 ounces each) chocolate- or yogurt-covered miniature pretzels
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

Directions: Place crushed pretzels in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Cover and freeze for at least 30 minutes. Spread fudge topping over crust; cover and freeze. Set aside 16 chocolate-covered pretzels for garnish. Place remaining pretzels in a food processor; cover and process until crumbly. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in ice cream. Spread over fudge topping. Drizzle with caramel topping. Garnish with reserved pretzels. Cover and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight. Yield: 16 servings.

Worth every calorie.

our new addition

This is not exactly what I had in mind when going to the Leprechaun Days Fair. Not at all. But the boys are quite excited, and that's what really matters... right? (At least that's what I keep telling myself.) The fish is yet unnamed - we've tossed around Edna (Ren mumbles the phrase "I dunna" when trying to say "I don't know... it sounded like Edna to the rest of us), Rusty, Clipper II, or plain ole' Fishy. Votes?

Today we've been busy getting ready for Ren's birthday party. We'll be having a delicious homemade ice cream cake; I'll share the recipe once I've taken pictures. (After it's been unleashed from the springform pan.)

Eeek! It's almost time for the party... better go. Have a great evening!

G-Man | Minnesota Children's Portrait Session

Mellissa has been taunting me with pictures of her sweet little guy. While oohing and aahing over them on Facebook one day, she extended an invitation to me. After all, what are friends for if not to take pictures of sweet-little-chubby-baby-parts.

If you've been following her blog, all I can say is he is even cuter in person. The G-Man is all smiles and wiggles and baby talk.

Thanks again, Mellissa!