We have a new nephew!

Maggie and Kyle welcomed a sweet baby BOY into this world on July 14!  The sex was a surprise and everyone is excited to have a boy around again - it's been a long string of girls (5) in the last 3 years!  Brody Adam Zick weighed 8 lbs, 2 oz and was 22 inches long.  

Adam and the kids got to meet him and kiss his sweet cheeks last weekend while I was out of town for Stella & Dot conference.  I was pretty jealous and can't wait to meet him next week!!!!

 So sweet!

Congrats Mags and Kyle, we couldn't be happier for you!!!

Every Mother Counts

I blogged earlier this month about my faves from the new Stella & Dot collection and included our Enlighten bracelet.  Here's a reminder about it...Stella & Dot has teamed up with Christy Turlington and her organization,Every Mother Counts, which is dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother. 

Well, I've got a big goal to sell 20 Enlighten Bracelets by the end of the week…..8 sold, 12 left to go.  A huge thanks to you blog readers that have already supported!  They're gorgeous, stylish, great for every-day wear, & they make an amazing gift (inscribed with 'mother, sister, daughter' on the back). I'm covering the cost of tax & shipping if you support me....so just $39!  If you are interested, email me at ash4545@hotmail.com or leave a comment below!

Here's a short article about the partnership between Stella & Dot and Every Mother Counts, http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/stella-dot-re-launches-foundation-in-partnership-with-every-mother-counts-1931500.htm#.U9T6xa9KRU0.facebook .

Happy Kids

These pictures make me smile and after too many hours in a car this weekend with a not so cooperative almost 3 year old - it's what I needed to see tonight.  That being said - that almost 3 year old is snuggled up to me sound asleep and totally redeeming herself for all the frustration ;).

 Grandpa's cutest marketing campaign.  I mean, do you not want to just eat her cheeks off!!!!!!

 He saw me taking her picture and wanted one of himself doing a funny face and then,

 just a smile.  I bought these pjs over a year ago at a garage sale and I think he would wear them every night if I let him.

 He wanted to take pictures with my camera

 Sister saw the camera and wanted in on the action.

 Love x3!

 I realize this is border line inappropriate but I couldn't help myself.  She dresses herself…clearly, and she often puts her underwear on backwards leading to the above.  And the leg warmers - she loves them!

 He was pretty sad one night about Dad being out of town.  I let him sleep with me and he was over the moon.  In fact - I was working on the computer and the TV was on.  I told him he had to go to sleep, within 10 minutes he was out.  I worked for another hour and talked to Adam on the phone - he didn't budge.  

 We sent this to Dad the next morning.  All 3 of us girls were dressed and ready to roll by 8 - big brother didn't get out of bed until 10!  

 These two on the farm.

Hanging out on the farm with the donkey.

Father's Day

Only 6 weeks late posting about Father's Day - oops!  Even worse, I can't really remember what we did and Adam is asleep so I can't ask him!  I am pretty sure he went golfing with some of the guys in my family and we treated him well :).

 My dad got some Piper love on Father's Day.

 She happily hopped on her dad's lap for a picture.  Her brother…not so much.

 

Deanna Rose with Mama Kelly

A couple weeks back we had some unseasonably cool weather for summer.  So we (along with the rest of Johnson County) decided to hit up Deanna Rose.  The Souders and Galbraiths joined us for the morning and we had a special guest, Mama Kelly!  

 Mama cleaned out the bottom of her purse so the kids had lots of change to get food to feed the animals.  

 Mama and her 6 great grand babies!  Yes, I dressed my kids for winter…it was only in the 60's that morning.  Remember…we lived in Texas for several years.  No joke, I wearing a tank top, long sleeve shirt, scarf and my fleece north face jacket.

 I think the kids stopped at every swing to play on.

It was the perfect morning!   Wish I had taken more pics but there were so many stinkin' people, I was doing good to keep track of kids and not run over someone with my stroller!

A fun weekend, July 11-13

Going back almost a couple weekends ago…it was a fun one!

 Gunner turned 3 on Friday so we went bowling to celebrate!  

 We went to Pinstripes in Prairie Fire.  For you Kansas Citians…it's $5 all you can bowl M-F 10am-noon.  At one point Cooper was bowling for all 3 of the kids, Gunner and Laney were easily distracted.

 The 3 year old!!!

 Friday night Adam and I were headed to my BFFs wedding - this was my view as I was pumping her a bottle before I left.

 She was a beautiful bride!!!!

 I had just came off my 2 week sugar detox and was greeted by this.  I told Adam if he couldn't find me throughout the night, he should probably check the candy bar before the real bar ;).

 We had such a fun night celebrating this couple!

 Totally unplanned in their coordinated colors.

 My parents and sister had the kids.  I got this picture with the caption, "this isn't how our walk started out."  Take note of Laney squeezed in next to Henley and abandoned tricycle.

Coop had a tee ball game on Saturday.  Grandma and Grandpa were his biggest fans.

 Pippi joined me to get a pedicure.  She was very intrigued and wanted in the water,

 until she realized it was nap time.  Gosh I will be sad when she won't fall asleep in my arms anymore.

 We also went to the grocery store.  This was her first time riding in the cart as a big girl!  Still real wobbly but she did it.

 Cooper's final tee ball game was on Sunday.  Dad was a great assistant coach and Cooper was an awesome player this season. 

 We are so proud of our tee ball player!

I sat outside with her when we got home to eat a popsicle.

A fun weekend but I was tired on Sunday!!!

Stop the Presses!

A brief pause on catching you all up on our Summer fun to bring you some fashion!  I just spent last weekend in Orlando at our national conference, (which sounds so boring - opposite of boring!) and saw the new Fall 2014 line in person.  It.is.awesome.  And there are some things that I can't help but share!

 Every Mother Counts! Did you know that 287,000 women die every year from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. And of these deaths 98% are preventable!!! Stella and Dot has partnered with Christy Turlington Burns and her Every Mother Counts non-profit organization dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother. These gorgeous Enlighten Bracelets are insanely cute! You can make a difference with just one $39 bracelet - as it only takes one to pay for transportation to get a mother-to-be to the proper medical treatment where without this transportation she and/or her unborn child could die. You can buy the perfect bracelet to add to your stack all the while helping a wonderful cause. I have a HUGE goal as far as selling these so grab a gorgeous bracelet and you have helped one mother! Buy one for your mom, sister or friend...Think about that impact!:)  See it here.

 Engravables!  So fun to design something you can wear daily.  I will post mine when I get it in mail this week.  If you are KC local and interested, let's book it!  If you aren't local - we can always do an online show!

Besides this necklace, these 3 bracelets are my 3 fave pieces from the new collection.  I plan to wear them all together or alone.  They are so so pretty in person!  And all 3 for $79!  

The cady wrap is one of my faves and now it has a sister!  I don't wear silver often, but this baby will be in the silver bracelet line up - for sure!  See it here.

Ok - this post has taken so ridiculously long thanks to my not so awesome internet service :(.  I have some more favorite pieces but I will post them later.  You can see the digital copy of our new look book here, http://www.stelladot.com/shop/en_us/whats-new/look-book .  My faves are on p.25. 

Happy Browsing!!!

Blackberry Picking

First was blueberry picking, next blackberry picking.  We followed up on the advice of the Stilley girls and headed out to Edgerton.  It was a beautiful morning, a bit hot but there wasn't much of a crowd.  My kids don't like blackberries so they weren't as excited as picking the blueberries.

 Look how big they were!  I ate them plain and Adam used them to make blackberry infused vodka.  

 Laney collected her blackberries in her teacup.

 Grandma joined us for the morning.

 As usual, Pippi was a happy baby along for the ride.

 She looks 4 in this picture :(

Another fun Summer morning!