Best Buds

Kendall loves her cousin Ella. Not that she doesn't love her other cousins, but she seems to have a special bond with Ella. Many times the only way I can get her to put on a certain pair of shoes or a particular outfit is to tell her they were Ella's, or that Ella has a pair just like them. I thought after our full week away in Colorado she might have forgotten a bit, but as soon as we said we were going home she said "Going to Ella's home?"

She missed her best friend dearly.

It's hilarious to watch them in their toddler conversations. My sister caught them in such a moment on Saturday during Leah's birthday party. The rest of the crowd was outside in the pool, but not Ella and Kendall. They were playing dress-up in Ella's room. It was just too precious to listen to Kendall putting a necklace on Ella and vice versa, than the other stating how 'coot' they looked.

Kendall and Ella through the years...

Leah's First Year

Sweet Leah, who can believe you are already a year old today? It seems like just yesterday I was going in for a routine prenatal visit and was told that you were to be born the next day! How could we ever forget how our air conditioner broke on your birth day and your daddy had to run home to meet the repair man so the dogs wouldn't burn up.


You've come a long way from dipping under 6 pounds to your cuddly, chunky self today. You crawl when you want to, but find that most things are delivered to you by Ma and big sister Kendall, so why would you need to? You pull up on anything that sits still - and sometimes some things (aka people) that don't!


We get so many comments and compliments on your fabulously spiky auburn hair. You have so many nicknames that you may not even know your real first name. Big sister likes to call you 'sissy wendy' - a combination of what I call you both sometimes 'kendy wendy' and 'sissy wissy.' I've tried to correct her, but she adamantly tells me you are 'sissy wendy' not 'sissy wissy.'


No one makes you laugh or cry harder than your big sister and I love watching you two grow up together.


Love you, Love you, Love you

A Glimpse of Heaven

I've been to Colorado a time or two, but I must have forgotten how pretty it all is...from the aspen trees, with their small fan-shaped leaves that seem to sparkle in the wind, to the majestic mountains, covered in their earthy gray velour...

We spent this past fourth of July in Aspen, and what a beautiful place it was. Beyond the pricey shops and the fresh water streams that feed impossibly perfect flowers, there was a moment where I swear we all got a glimpse of heaven. In fact, if I could guess what God was saying, it was "Aspen, see if you can outdo this!"

We were rounding a street to watch fireworks when suddenly we saw the sunset on the neighboring mountains - it was just a brilliant gold in the near-evening sky. I tried to take a picture, but I'm sure my camera could not do it justice:

As with all good things, this one quickly came to an end. I walked a few yards back to get a better picture (minus the building) and it was gone...just as quickly as it appeared it was gone.