Guzza Comes to Town

Our buddy Guzza brought his family to Texas for their vacation.  We spent a couple days in Katy and then headed to the lake for the rest of the weekend.  It is nice to be able to spend some time with our friends who we don’t get to see very often.   We did a lot of cooking, fishing and swimming!  Their boys are super cute and they couldn’t get enough of the fishing!  They even wanted to take one home with them!  I think Alexis enjoyed having friends around for a while too!  She is just like her mommy and daddy; she loves to be around people! 



Snowcones are a must at the lake!

Alexis started "swimming" on her own while we were at the lake!  She actually just kicks around and holds her breath, but it is a great start!!

Fruit Popsicles!

The deck is really hot, so we hooked up a sprinkler too!  You can never have enough water toys while playing at the lake!

Boat rides!

Both James and Justin had fun tubing!  Alexis didn't like going with Daddy, so Mommy had to hop on.  She actually started to fall asleep while we were heading into the house!

Weekend of Celebrations

Father’s day weekend was super busy for the Mannions!  Friday night we went to my parents after dinner to hang out with Aunt Kim and Uncle Kenny.  We got some really cute pictures of Alexis and Kynlee with their Papas and Paw Paw. 

After breakfast on Saturday we headed to Conroe to do a quick photoshoot with the great grandkids!  Aunt Debbie planned the cutest shoot for Paw Paw.  We dressed the girls in Paw Paw’s favorite hobbies and let them work their magic!  The pictures turned out way better than I could have imagined!  Since we had all the great-grandkids together, we ran to the store for some poster boards to get this photo that I found on pinterest of all the kids in birth order!  Kynlee was upset that I had put her down so she wasn’t happy!  She is usually the one who is all smiles!  I forgot to mention that I kept her all weekend so she didn’t want to leave my side!  I was more than willing to get some one-on-one time with Kynlee so I could hoard all her loving!  

From the photoshoot, we booked it to Spring for Ryder’s second birthday party.  Deanna did an A-MAZING job on the decorations!  The party was Mickey Mouse themed, so I bought the girls matching Minnie shirts.  I could definitely have fun being a mom of two girls even though my bank account might just disagree!  I definitely enjoyed myself that weekend!  I think Alexis also enjoyed having Kynlee around.  She now calls her “Ne-Ne” and I’m pretty sure she was sad to see her car seat missing on Sunday when she went home!  I can’t wait to spend the whole week with these two girls on the beach in Florida!

Finally, we spent Father's day with all the family at Pappasitos for brunch!  Mommy enjoyed some oysters, which are my latest obsession!!  All in all it was a great family weekend!!

Annual Summer Play Date

This year Megan came into town the same time our friends from Louisiana came to visit so we set up our annual summer play date at our house.  The boys loved it because they got to show off and smoke a brisket while the women chatted and the kids played!  Brian has finally perfected his brisket and he was more than willing to share it!  Unfortunately the day was filled with thunderstorms which took out the electricity for a good four hours!  But the kids were finally able to get into the pool for a good hour at the end of the afternoon!  Carly even came into town for the visit!  As with any group our size, not everyone could make it.  Biegs had to work and Mel was out of town.  Joy couldn’t come home but at least Jaime was able to fly to Virginia to see her!  I’ve said it a hundred times but I can’t help but be thankful for the great friendships that I have!  My girls and I have been friends for over twenty years and I know the next twenty will be filled with just as many good times!  I love watching our kids play together.  We are truly blessed to have friendships as strong as ours!  Everyone should be as lucky! 



Playdate with Rya Rya

That’s what Alexis calls Ryder!  It is so cute!  We have been busy with play dates galore this summer!  I think we had a total of 3 days last month when we weren’t meeting up with friends! 

  

We’ve also spent a lot of time with Aunt Deanna and the boys this summer!  She has been helping me with the ins and outs of the photography business.  She is there for me anytime I have needed her or have had a question.  I can honestly say that I couldn’t have started this business without her!  She has been cheering me on for years and her confidence in me has led me down this road!  That is what best friends are for!  I’m so glad we could share in this together! 

Between lunches, swimming, swinging and photography the other half of our lives revolves around “Minnie Mouse,” aka, “The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.”  It is the only thing Alexis will watch and she wants to watch it every second of every day that we are in the house!  This doesn’t combine well with my 1 hour of TV rule a day!  Unfortunately Mommy isn’t winning this game!  Especially because she is smack dab in the middle of the terrible twos!  And boy, do they live up to every bit of the word terrible!  She throws herself on the floor, kicks and screams if she is told no!  I honestly don’t know who the terrible twos are worse for, moms or kids!  I know many times she is just frustrated that she can’t understand or express herself, other than screaming and crying!  But other times there is just no reasoning with her and I’m doing everything I can to control my temper, teach her or ignore them!  I could use any tips and tricks you mommies have!! 

Goddaughters are Heaven Sent

These beautiful girls were so sweet and all smiles for me even though it was really steamy outside.  And the eyes on the little one, well, they speak for them self!  They are dazzling!   



Cam Sisters

I’m one lucky girl to have such great friends who have so much faith in my work.  One of my oldest friends asked me to shoot her 3 month old who is every bit as gorgeous as her older sister, Makena!  Unfortunately Madison wasn’t in the mood to have her picture taken.  Little did she know I had a few tricks up my sleeve.  Lucky for me, Makena was more than willing to give me a few smiles!!  I love these two beautiful girls! 

Len and Christie Tie the Knot

Wow!!  What a busy June we have had!  Starting Mannion’s Memories and Summer has kept me on my toes!  I kicked off summer shooting a WEDDING!  It was more like family pictures with a ceremony in the middle!  The family was gorgeous, the kids were super cute and the setting was magical!  I’m so happy with how these turned out!