Newport Trip

A few weeks ago, the Marriott's were kind enough to invite us along on a family vacation out to Newport Beach with them. It was so nice to be able to get away for a whole week! We had a great time and did lots of fun things. One of which, was take a TON of pictures! Kelly, however, would not constitute this as "fun." What can I say ... with Marnee, a professional photographer on the trip, and me (someone who just really likes to take pictures) ... what were we supposed to do!?! In the end, I think we took well over 2,000 images. I think it's going to take me some time to actually go through them all, but as soon as I do, I will share more. Maybe I can see why Kelly was a bit annoyed, but we are bound to have a few good ones in there and that will be totally worth it. For now, here are a few from some of our beach pictures.

Thanks Marnee for our family photos. The kids may not have been too fond of the beach that first day we took pictures, but you would really never know. They definitely warmed up to it all by the end of the trip. Better late than never!

.. and yes, Grace is actually screaming like crazy in the above picture.

Happy Father's Day

We love you!

Cactus Mishaps

When we went out to take pictures with Casey he really wanted to get a few shots out in the desert. So, we made our way through the prickly patch and got to a great spot. Once he got us situated and where he wanted us, he started backing up. At this point, Kelly and I see what he is about to back into. See picture below. We do our best to try and warn him in time, but we were too late. He brushed right up against this cactus. We were concerned, but he said, "no worries, I'll just rip it out later." Uh, no! Kelly hurries over to help and before he could get there Casey backs into another one. Kelly rips the first one out and then Casey starts working on the one in his foot. As he is doing this, he notices that now Kelly is trying to get one out of his hand. While they are each working on their own messes, the kids and I are just standing there watching this whole comedy routine. Jackson then gets freaked out by a bee that is circling him and he runs closer to me. Grace is finally happy and although there are no pictures being taken, she is smiling. Casey is now helping Kelly get the one out of his hand and Kelly notices that Casey is about to step in the cactus he just got out of his leg ... again! He quickly (and without thinking) picks it up and throws it behind him ... right to where we were standing. It lands right on Jackson's foot! I can't put Grace down to help him and now Kelly and Casey have to run over to help Jackson. He is crying and Kelly is feeling awful. Jackson is screaming and kicking and freaking out, trying to get it off his foot. They end up picking him up and we notice it is all enter twined with his shoe and skin. We have no idea how to tackle all of these barbs that are stuck in his little feet. So, Kelly (without telling me) decides to just rip the shoe off. Poor guy! Needless, to say, it was an adventure to get a family picture in the desert. After the drama,
Jackson asked, "Dad, why would you throw that at my foot?"
Kelly: "I didn't mean to Jackson. It was an accident and I am so sorry!"
Jackson: "It's okay Dad, just don't do it again!"

The culprit!

How it all started ...

The end result.

The apology!

Family Pictures

Kelly's really good friends from college, Casey and Melanie, came to visit us a few weekends ago. We had a great time and even had the opportunity to get some family pictures taken by Casey. He did an amazing job and we had a very exciting time (but that will be explained in a separate post). The kids did a great job and it was especially easy when Casey is so entertaining when he is taking pictures. Thanks Casey for the great pictures, the fun memories, and all the help!!!!

Peek-a-Boo!

This Ones for you Courtney

Although, I have not gotten around to most of the ones that have been sent to me, I decided I would finally attempt one ... so here it goes! All about my Hubby

• What is your husbands name? Kelly Gene Richards (yes, this is his real name and no, he is not Irish and no, his mom did not name him after Gene Kelly)
  
• How long have you been together? We will be married for 8 years in May. We dated for almost 2 years (off and on) before that and we were friends for a couple months before that. So, a grand total of almost 10 years.
  
• Who said I love you first? He did, but not in a very traditional way. Think more like a 10 year old boy and that would be how Kelly said it.
  
• Who is smarter? Ummm... not sure on this one. He would say that I am and I would say that, Yes, I am usually right, but that does not mean that I am smarter.
  
• Who does the housework? I know you all must assume that since I am married to a wonderful OCD husband that it must be him ... and you are partially correct. We are both pretty much clean freaks. I am much more organized than he is and he is more of a deep cleaner (especially with random things). I can't complain in this department, he definitely helps on the cleaning days.
  
• Who sleeps on the right? He does. It really depends on where the bathroom is located. I will always sleep closest to the bathroom since I have the bladder the size of a peanut.
  
• Who pays the bills? The computer and bank do. Everything is on automatic bill pay thanks to Kelly, so I guess he gets the credit on this one.
  
• Who cooks dinner? I do, whenever that happens. Unless we have omelets .. he makes a mean omelet.
  
• Who drives when you are together? If you have ever been in the car with Kelly when he drives then you understand why I drive!
  
• Who is more stubborn? That's probably a tie.
  
• Who kissed who first? He did of course. However, we can't agree on where it took place! That's still up for debate.
  
• Who asked out who first? He did, but he did make a very BIG point of stating that it was not a date. This was all due to the fact that his roommate kept asking me out conveniently always on the same day (but slightly earlier) then Kelly. After 3 attempts, he said he would never ask me out on a date again. Thus, the "It's not a date!" Boy, that made me feel so special the whole night. Not so much!
  
• Who proposed? He did! He even dropped the ring! All for the making of a great memory.
  
• Who has more siblings? We actually have the same exact number. He has one brother and two sisters and so do I.
  
• Who wears the pants? That's funny! He says that I do ... and who am I to argue with him.
  

Our Sunday Bests

I love it when my family is all dressed up for church. I especially love it when Kelly gets them dressed while I am still getting ready. Mostly because, they always come running into my bathroom to show off how they look. Whether that's what they are really trying to do or not, I still love it! Gracie loves to wear her church shoes in my bathroom so she can hear them tap around when she dances and twirls. Jackson loves for me to tell him how handsome he looks and for him to tell me how he got dressed all by himself ... "except for my belt, because that is still too hard!"

Family Photos

I finally broke down and had family photos taken this year. It is on the TOP of my list of least favorite things to do. I love taking pictures of my kids or having pictures taken of my kids, but I never want to be in the action. I'm happier behind it! I guess all the peer pressure finally got to me. Here are a few of the best (a.k.a - most like our family). They truly capture what it is like to take our family pictures. Maybe this is another reason why I hate having them taken. I do have to admit, that they are pretty funny though!