the roof girls party like rock stars

Whew! I have two sleeping children (okay, one . . . the other is perfectly content in her crib, ga-ga-ga-ga-ing to herself and her stuffed animals, don't judge me, she's definitely due for a nap), a Corona with lime, and a few super cute photos to share with you all from Saturday. We first went to Miles' 3rd birthday party. Miles is a little buddy of Ava's, and the two went to day care together for about a year and a half. They seem to pick up right from where they left off everytime we get together! We have plans to force them to marry each other when they grow up :).

So this was THE party to be at because Miles' parents rented a bounce house for the kids. They were even smart enough to serve cake FIRST so that they could bounce their tiny little asses off into sugar-induced comas come 8:00 that night.

Here is the freakin' cutest birthday boy EVER!






Let's back up for a sec - when I got there, he wasn't fully cooperating with having his picture taken. I chased him around, tickled him, and he eventually found safety behind mom's legs, which ended up working out great for this photo :)


And here are some simple, handsome photos of the very sweet Miles Mark Renslow, soon to be a big brother!




And now, on with the guests . . .

Ava and Miles started off filling up some dump trucks with sand.


And quickly moved into the bounce house once it was inflated!


A few of the kids cooled off with a little skinny-dipping in the pool . . .


Stella just got her lifeguard certification so she was on standby.


And here is some other random cuteness from the party. Not a bad looking crew!

This is Halle.


When she got prompted by her mom for a real smile, she showed us her killer grin and pearly whites . . .


This is Happy Lou . . .


And this is Possessive Lou . . .


Ellis is Miles' neighbor, another soon-to-be older sibling! Poor little girl behind her didn't understand my camera and focusing set-up, look at her big, blurry grin! ;)


So here is the little doll. I think she looks like what Stella may look like in a couple years - those big cheeks and blonde hair and cowlick! So sweet.


Riley is pretty easy on the eyes, also. What a beautiful little girl!


This is Rylin, which struck a chord with me because my sister had that name picked out for a little girl forever, and it turns out she's having a boy in a few weeks, but it was fun to meet a Rylin anyway!


And of course, Ava . . .


Ava is exploring all kinds of new fun around the house. This weekend I found (so far) a Juicy Juice box in the toilet and a lemon in the toaster. She's so creative! ;)

After this party, we were on to party numero dos, the annual Solstice party at the Amsdens' home. They pulled it off again, this time with an amazing Irish band, Finnigan Ridge, playing in the evening. Ava was pretty enthralled, also . . .



Here she is with her bad-influence friends. She ran off to find Clara, the girl driving the car here, and before I knew it, I looked over, Ava hopped into the vehicle while it was moving, grabbed onto the Oh, Shit handle, and they sped off like lightening. I think this was completely a foreshadowing experience of my future with this little girl. Lord knows what the girls in the back are talking about - where to get the cheapest Marlboro Lights? Who knows!


Oh, it gets better. Ava got booted to the back of the Jeep, very El Camino-style. No seatbelts? Who cares! The world is ours! Speed it up, Clara!


At least I can always count on Stella, the good child, playing a good ol' fashioned game of Peek-A-Boo with our friend, Cam.


And I am leaving you with actually something very meaningful - this little guy is Fisher. I know his parents, Bob and Katie, from meeting them years ago at my first Solstice party. They were living in Fort Collins, Colorado, at that time, and Fisher was just a little baby. I immediately took a liking to them, and continued seeing them at these parties and at random events. I last saw Bob and Katie a few months back at a restaurant on my lunch break one day, and learned at that time that Katie had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She was undergoing chemotherapy and things were looking really good. At this party, it was announced that she had just received a 100% clean bill of health - and I can't even tell you how much this made my entire world. When I'd heard of Katie's illness, I was devastated. She was somebody's mother, somebody's daughter, somebody's wife . . . she was so healthy, so active, so strong. It just wasn't fair. But I imagine it brought this family a lesson they wouldn't have learned otherwise, and for that I am grateful for them. I do believe things happen for a reason. Fisher is a super lucky kid. And his parents will definitely need their ultimate strength to fight off the ladies, don't you think?


Whew! Lord knows what time I started this post, but it's officially 3:07 and I'm pooped. I'm about to venture into my very last week of workin'-for-the-man, I actually have an awesome week ahead of me with a private party to photograph on Wednesday, a rehearsal dinner on Friday, a wedding on Saturday, and then I get to wake up Monday morning to the hum of the birds rather than the wail of the alarm clock!

On a side note, I know a few of my photos on here are a little bigger than others. You may not even notice but this drives me crazy! I hate inconsistency! Anywho, my friend Nate is working on a custom blog for me, and my official website will be launched next week!! I'm so excited, it's pretty beautiful. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!