Susan's 65th Birthday Party

Bradley's grandmother, Susan, turned 65 this year.  She had planned on having a big party, but decided to wait until she retires in May to throw a big shin-dig.  We couldn't let the milestone pass without a celebration though, so the family got together and planned a surprise party.

I thought that she was keen to the plan, but as it turns out, she was completely surprised.  It was a great day celebrating a wonderful woman.  We got to spend a lot of time as a family and meet some of Susan and Robert's friends.

Happy 65th Birthday Grandma Susan!!























While the party went on inside, there were some people having a bunch of fun outside.



She loved the bubble blower that Pappy Barnes brought her.



Later that night, when all of the guests had gone home, these two kicked back and enjoyed some Frozen.  It was perfect.

Krause Springs

While visiting the Austin area, we decided to head down to Krause Springs.  We first visited last year in January when I shot Daniel and Jessica's engagement photos.  In the dead of winter (or as much of a winter as we get in Texas), this place was still beautiful.  Fresh fed springs, waterfalls, and as much natural beauty as one person can take.  The big upside in my opinion is that it isn't that big of a place.  There is plenty of stuff to walk around and look at, but it isn't overwhelming in size.

One of my ulterior motives for visiting this time was that I wanted to shoot the photos for Emmarie's birthday party invitation.  I knew it would be the perfect backdrop for an Ariel birthday party.  That's a whole post all on its own though...

We had a lovely day shooting photos, hiking, playing in the water, picnicking, and just enjoying time as a family.  It couldn't have been a nicer day!

Bradley swam Emmy to a rock near the waterfall for some of the photos.  This water was around 68 degrees.  If this isn't love, I don't know what is!





There are some huge trees growing on the property!



This beautiful swimming pool is fed from a spring, so it is shockingly cold.  Still beautiful and refreshing though!



Emmy wanted to test it out, so we told her to go for it!





She laughed and giggled the whole time.  I am not sure how she stood the coldness on a mild day in May.






She kept wandering further and further toward the deep end, so eventually, I had to go in after her.





She was shivering and shaking by the time we fished her out, but she was begging to go back in.  I spy a July trip in the making.  This would probably feel like heaven when it is around 104 degrees outside.



A trip back is definitely on our summer bucket list!

WCYF & Carnival

For whatever reason, we have never been able to make it out to the fair with Emmy.  I think it rained the first year, and we went to Austin last year since I had the day off.  This year, still reeling from the high that was Disney World, I decided that taking her was a must. 

Since we already had plans for the weekend and Friday (Austin again), I decided that Wednesday evening was our only option.  I happened to mention to Bradley on my way out there that I was taking her to the carnival and much to my surprise, he said that he wanted to join us.  My mom had already expressed interest in attending because the WYCF is a tradition she holds close to her heart.  So me and my merry band of followers family made our way out to the fair.

As soon as she saw the Carousel, she was sold on the place.



Since Daddy hadn't arrived yet, I was on ride duty.  We lucked out and our ride bands were buy one get one free. That was good since there is no  way that I would have paid that much money for each of us to have a ride band.





When Daddy arrived, she had eyes for only him.



So luckily, I didn't have to ride this death trap.  He enjoyed it and encouraged her to spin the balloon as quickly as she could.



This car looks pretty familiar...copyright infringement much??





Mom did not want to ride anything, so she was happy to take some photos of us having all of this family fun.







When Brad and I decided to ride a "big kid ride" she was not impressed by the train.



She bounces back quickly though.




When she screamed said that she wanted to ride the fun slide, my heart dropped.  I am not a huge fan of carnival rides, and this giant slide that they assemble twice a week does not rate high on my list of things to send my toddler down.  Bradley volunteered to take her down the slide, and he was halfway up the slide before I had a chance to voice any resistance.



They found a few familiar faces to slide with.



This hot young thing stayed on solid ground with me.  ;)





Emmy loved the fun house, and it was the only ride that was blaring Christian music.  I approved.





We met up with a few friends at our second ride on the carousel.





Bradley wanted to take her to the petting zoo.  To say that Emmy was not impressed would be an understatement.



With a little help from Mommy to keep the bigger animals away, she warmed up a little.





"Emmy had a little Lamb..."  JK



Her first fair tractor photo--at my mom's request.





Because she was such a trooper, Nana bought her cotton candy.



She sure does love refined sugar.



...and the lady that buys it!



I left the fair to go to church to buy our SeaWorld tickets, but Mom and Brad continued the fun.  She liked the Cars ride a lot more the second time.



I think we may have a little daredevil on her hands.  I wonder where she could have gotten that from... ;)



We had a great time, and we will definitely have to make this an annual tradition.  Events like this remind me how thankful I should be every day for the great community that we live in.  Just another day in Smalltown, Texas!