with warm weather comes...baseball

noah played spring and a bit of summer ball this year. and in keeping with the past few years, stephan coached again.

noah was played in catcher position more times than he wanted, but he learned a lot.

dad first, coach second...

ash did really well on the side lines this year. he had dirt and fingers to dig in the dirt. happy boy.

and a little post-game refreshment is always in order...that was noah's favorite part of baseball. we'll see if he wants to give it a go again next year....

pool time, goose poop beach & wedding crashers

bucket list cont...

POOL TIME:

oh how i wish we had a pool to go to all the time. that would sure make summer more worth while for me.
alas, i have to wait for someone to invite us....
and someone did!

ash and i were the only ones from our family to go....the rest of my family was scattered here and there. summer.

more water time for ashton=one SUPER happy three year old.
and see that adorable girl behind him rocking that fantastic bathing cap?? that's his buddy, liv.

GO TO THE RESERVOIR:

we have a few to choose from here in aurora. one has a slightly better "beach" than the other. drawback: it is littered with more goose poop than a landmine battlefield. not that ashton cared. oh well, it was a fun day despite the unwelcome piles.

he can't swim. he has no fear. thank goodness for inflatable arm bands!! but don't worry, i didn't let him go out too far.
(note to self: put that boy in swim lessons!)

this photo is one of my faves. ash is rocking his yellow diamond-studded sunnies with his buddy kole.

and then we have this moment. one of ashtons favorite friends "busybelle" (isabelle) is walking with determined purpose back to the car while ash is checking on a piece of licorice placed in his pocket for safe keeping. 

ok, so we didn't exactly crash this wedding. but it felt that way since the only people we knew were the parents of the bride. we sat at a table with strangers, danced our booties off amidst strangers, toasted the happy couple with strangers. and had a total blast! best date night so far.

the summer of the bucket list...

i am not a lover of summer.
gasp!
it's true.
so to bring some level (any level) of excitement for the sweaty season i have decided to do a bucket list. i've never done a bucket list before. i'm loving it. usually with these things the novelty wears off for me quickly (ahem...like my blog...). but this.. i'm super motivated to do each and every activity. i've made them fairly simple, but 100% summer.  so in keeping with the list item that says to document the bucket list as i do each activity, i will do that in part here.

to keep some kind of order, i will go back to some of the june activities.
ready? let's go.....


FIND THE PERFECT ICE CREAM:

  

 bonnie brae ice cream is in denver. it was good. delicious, even. but i am still on the hunt for the "perfect" ice cream.

PLAY TENNIS WITH STEPH:

this was the only picture i took. but don't worry...this activity will be ongoing. i LOVE tennis.


BACKYARD WATER FUN:

 pure joy. serious joy. and let me tell you, this water was COLD. and there was a cool breeze. the boy loves water and will not be stopped when it is there for the taking.

the slip-n-slide is a bit confusing to ash. he laid down, put his arms out, and waited...and waited. i tried to show him what to do from the sidelines, but he still wasn't getting the concept. i will have to strap on my suit, and take one for the team by slamming my body down the ice cold plastic runway. depending on how brave i am feeling there may or may not be pictures of this.

senior portrait session

shameless plug time!!! it's time to start thinking about senior pictures! i know ... already?? crazy but true. just so happens that i am a photographer and i love doing senior portraits. and my fee is pretty darn reasonable.
here is a sampling of the latest shoot i have done, and you can visit kim cherry photography for more details.

a mini album i will hold dear to my heart

i have been doing quite a lot of scrapping these days, just not a lot of sharing. it all comes down to laziness, really. taking the pictures, writing the details, all that...
but this is one mini album i want to share with you all. the story of my temple sealing to my love, stephan.

it's hard to tell from the photos below, but i inserted a mini-mini book inside.

i am a huge hidden-pocket journaler. i love to have little places in my albums to tuck the story, details, and all other precious memories for later enjoyment.
behind the photo below i tucked a list of all our friends and family who were at the temple that day.

now on to my project life stuff! hope to share some of that soon...

the mormon prom

 as you may, or may not (probably not since i am a bad blogger) this is my oldest son, ben. he is just a great kid. really. i learn so much about how to treat others from his brilliant example. he is 17. yikes! it's all going by so quickly. i can't believe i only have a few more years of him at home, but that's the cold hard truth. so i cherish every single opportunity to capture him in his monumental moments of youth. prom is certainly no exception. the mormon prom.
what is a mormon prom you ask... exactly as it sounds. a prom just like any other. there is music, dancing, and dressing up. it's held in a great venue, filled with great kids. it's for everyone (you don't have to be mormon to go) here's the "mormon" part:  there are standards. a modest dress code, clean music, and chaperoned by adults.
this year ben was asked by a friend of his from his seminary class.

here is the dapper guy himself:

 in that cute little box is a corsage i made:

 the thing about having 4 boys and zero girls is there are certain things i will never do. braid hair - never. paint nails - never. shop for a prom/dance dress - sadly, never. so i made the most of the ONE thing i could shop for, this fantastic pocket square (in a color that will match his dates dress)

and here is the lovely couple....

they had a lot of fun. complete with dinner at olive garden and an after-prom get together at his friends house.
i would say his first official prom was a success.
let me just savor this moment before i blink and he is graduating!!!

making me better, my friends....

i have always been careful, guarded even, when it comes to who i spend my time with. i feel that if i am going to be with people, and take the time to cultivate a friendship, i want it to be worth my time. as a result, i don't have tons of friends. that's just fine with me because the friends i do have are amazing!

"be with those who help your being." Rumi

jandi, andrea, lori, kristen, audra, me

"you become like the 5 people you spend the most time with. chose carefully."

i have been blessed with some amazing women in my life, i tell ya. women who make me laugh, make me think, make me ponder on spiritual things, make me BE better!

in no particular order, i would like to highlight a few of those...















chelsey.
she has burst into my life like a brilliant unicorn spreading beautiful rainbow smiles, hugs and love everywhere she goes. i truly have never met anyone like her. i love this woman. you would too if you met her. i mean it.  she has a following of fans, and it's easy to see why. she makes you feel like you are the only person in her universe. that you are beautiful, worthy, funny, important, loved. she has gorgeous energy, and you feel it.
simply put...she has made me better.

erin.
here is another woman with beautiful energy. i feel like we have been friends forEVER. there is a deep connection, and yet i don't see her all that often. we have only truly hung out a handful of times (her job keeps her quite busy). despite this, i can easily bare my soul to her and know it is in safe hands. this is an important characteristic in a friend. i often wear my heart on my sleeve and it's nice to know it's cared for.
she is a jewel and i love her.

lori.
here is a girl after my own heart! art, fashion, design...all things fabulous are things we deeply enjoy together. she is a wonderful example of generosity, service and love. and this girl is funny. like, really funny. quick witted funny. humor is a HUGE bonus in a friend.
i admire her greatly and love her so.

terri.
i can't put into words our connection. there is a little bit of all of the previous mentioned things in our friendship. we laugh, we talk, we connect over random things. let me put it to you this way, when i asked her to be one of my maids of honor, she quickly said yes. never mind that she had to drive with us from UT to PA in a weekend (to and from) in order to do it. she was there! she is like a sister to me and i love her.

natalie.
when natalie moved into our ward i admired her from afar. we were acquaintances for about a year before our friendship hit the ground running. she took my appreciation of the arts from an 8 to a solid 10. i loved having someone to have deep, meaningful conversations about movies, books, art, fashion, literary characters....and so much more. she has style, oh does she have style! and she puts her signature on every single thing she does. there is nothing thoughtless about her. at. all.
i am desperate to fly out to VA and visit her...i have had serious natalie withdraws these past two years!! but distance has done nothing to diminish my love for her.

jandi.
from the moment i met jandi i knew i wanted to be around her. she is so much fun. but more than that this girl is ALL heart! she is so generous with all that she has, material, spiritual, mental, and physical. she is the first to volunteer for any service opportunity, but usually she serves in silence and anonymously. i look up to her in so many ways, and yet there is an easy comfort with our friendship. i have born my soul to her probably more times than she wants...but that's the thing, it's easy with her. she makes it all look so effortless too. the word perfect comes to mind (which i know makes her uncomfortable) but she seriously never misses a beat! i absolutely ADORE her!

there are many other women that have touched my life, whom i have been close with and grown with, that i have not mentioned. i could go on and on. how blessed am i??

i will end with these words of wisdom:

"friends become our chosen family."