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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Old Pics

Past Halloweens...
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This was the day after Skyler broke and gashed her nose. :o( She was four and was a real trooper.
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Monday, September 28, 2009

Perfectly Titled "Bliss"

When the girls were supposed to be taking a shower they were in utter "glass doodle bliss" for as long as I would let them. :o)
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Skyler was in "Western Day Bliss" at school last week after putting together a last minute western outfit. (top left)
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This last week I had the privlage to video tape a friends daughter's "Blissfull Wedding and Reception" but I had to sneak in a few shots as well. hehe....we all know where my passion is. {grin}
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The bride did a great job helping the girls with the makeup, I think it help to keep her nerves down.
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All the girls were getting ready to help the bride with get her dress on.
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Finally she was able to touch up her own makeup. Isn't she beautiful?
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I think the pre-wedding giggles were starting to kick in. (adorable)
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At the reception Madison was stuck to the bride every where she went. She thought she was a real life "princess". In fact that was all she talked about the entire night...."see the princess?".... "Where is the princess?".... "I want to dance with the princess." ... "I want to be a princess like that" Daddy stopped her and said not for a long time!!! :o)
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Oh yes...Madison asked him to dance because he smiled at her....she is not shy!
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Me and my love!!!
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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Holiday Photos and Greeting Cards

I have been getting calls and bookings for Halloween and Holiday photo sessions. If are interested please take a look at my photography page www.stepsphoto.net There are also some examples of the greeting cards that I have created.


Shelley Steps Photography
www.stepsphoto.net

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Tumble, Tumble, Tumbling!

Skyler and Madison are both in a Tumbling/Gymnastics class and seem to really enjoy it. Skyler decided to take the fall season of softball off to try this out and still has a lot to learn if she wants to catch up to the other girls in her class. If she sticks with it I have no doubt that she can and will. Madison is still very young and seems to get distracted from time to time but for the most part is doing really well.

The update on Schuyler's grandmother is that she is still not doing as well as we were hoping but is hanging in there. We are praying that grand-dad has the strength to care for her during this time.

Madison has moved to the 4 year old class and is doing a lot better than I was expecting. She is only 3 1/2 and this is more like "pre-school" but she is starting to get the hang of it. She thinks she is a big girl and when you ask her how old she is she says "6 and a half". Not sure why she is aging herself other than to be like her big sister but I think it is sweet.

Skyler has settled into 2nd grade and seems to be doing well. Her teacher is nice but the babying and sweetness was left in 1st grade. They treat them a lot different in 2nd grade and are responsible for so much more stuff including having homework everyday.

Summer is officially over and we are back to the daily grind of life. So for now our lives are filled with school, work, and Tumble, Tumble, Tumbling! :o)

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Cooking...or shall I say licking??

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Play House Disney Live

Thanks to my awesome cousin Jennifer I was able to take the girls to Play House Disney Live. Oh boy did the girls have a blast!
Mickey Mouse
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Tigger and Poo

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The Little Einsteins

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Handy Manny

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Skyler made some friends

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Madison made a friend

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They both had love and happiness

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Mickey Mouse Club House
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The Hot Dog Dance
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The whole Gang
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Girls sad it was ending
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As soon as it was over Madison darted to the stage, got on it and started dancing. She was shortly removed by security. My little law breaker! :o)
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Labor Day 2009

Whew....this Labor Day was pretty eventful but full of memories. It started out with a last minute trip to Louisiana to see Schuyler's grandmother who is very ill. We are hoping for a good recovery for such a sweet and special lady. Below is a picture of her reading to the girls last year.

Then to rush home to pack and travel the other direction across Texas for a much needed vacation with family on beautiful Lake LBJ near Austin. We traveled with my sister Tammy, brother-n-law Mike, nephew Tyler, my mom and Walt. What does a family do on a vaca to the hill country you ask. Well....
The trip started out with a very nice trip to the Long Horn Caverns where the girls experienced somethings they have never experienced. They had some excitement, a lot of questions, and a smidgen of fear.
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Madison thought for sure that there were dragons in the caves and stayed pretty close to us. She had many "what is that" questions and tried taking it all in. While Skyler just wanted to stick to the tour guide getting to know him and his job. At one point he gave Skyler the flashlight and told her she could finish the tour. :o)
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It was said that there were no tool marks found on this dog resembling formation. Nothing other than the concrete in the middle that was placed there to hold the middle section together after it had been moved and dropped.IMG_8903

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Then we were off to Beautiful Lake LBJ for some fun in the sun and trying out a cabin on the lake. The cabin was in a great location but needed a little updating. You never know what you are going to get when you book something you have only seen online. :o)
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With a pretty good view from our cabin patio (where we spent a lot of time) and a great location on the lake, this little cabin did the trick for our family.
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The boating fun started shortly after we took a quick look around the cabin. We are such a boating family and the girls really enjoyed just walking down from the cabin and hoping into the boat. That was great!
Caution: Many pictures to follow :o)
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Look at me and my little knee boarding protege'. She loves knee boarding with mamma. When she sees me do 360's she about falls over with excitement. She sure wants to learn how to do them and I am sure it will happen as soon as I think she is ready.
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Madison sure wants to knee board. She looks up to Skyler so much and wants to do everything that she does.
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Just look at her face....she was so excited that we let her pretend to knee board.
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My mom and Walt got on the tube and it was all fun and games at first....
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Then it got serious for my mom once we sped up. :o)
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LOL!!! Look at my mom's face....she was scared out of her mind but Walt was still smiling. :o)
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Lets all take a moment and say....AWWWW...yup....this is a daddy who was getting some sweet lovin' from his baby girl. So sweet...I think.
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The new hair cut worked out well, it was a lot more easy on her and I. Not to mention I think it happens to look cute on her.
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While cooking dinner one evening Skyler played her DS and Madison watched. I snapped this cute photo of the two because I thought it was cute how they each had their legs. Sister Love!
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After looking through a book of the area we discovered that there was a great little area for swimming close by, in the Llano River. So we headed on over to check it out.
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There were some fun little rapids which he girls could not get enough of. They were a bit bruised and scraped up afterwards from the rocks but no one seemed to care. I guess it was well worth it.
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Aww...daddy found him a great little spot at the bottom of a small waterfall that was like a recliner in the water.
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The the way home we traveled through Austin and Skyler was excited to see the state capital, even if it was only from the car window. I was told that Mrs. Garcia got an ear full when she got back to school of all the adventures she had while on this trip. This vaca was the best way to end summer! We had a very nice relaxing get away from the normal daily grind that is life.