weekend in the hill country

We had a great time down in the most beautiful part of Texas this weekend. Special stops at the Oasis on Lake Travis, the Austin Farmer's Market, Guero's Taco Bar, Fredericksburg, Enchanted Rock State Park, and the Llano River made the trip memorable to say the least. Case noticed the stars for the first time, and stayed still on Mommy's tummy for 30 minutes just observing this new phenomena. Those lifelong memories come along when you least expect them, a weekend to remember.

fun at the zoo

Tonight was our first "Boo at the Zoo" in Ft. Worth. What a great event! We hooked up with the Naterman Family and had a big time while the kids enjoyed looking at the animals in the pens, the adults had more fun looking at some of the crazy wildlife walking on the sidewalks! We did indeed have a great time, enjoy the pics.

more boo at the zoo

case & emmalie



you don't wanna run into this lion in the jungle...

nameframe

What do you think about the "nameframe" technique we just discovered? We think it looks pretty neat. It would probably only work with pictures that have a more casual look to them, although changing the font could really dress up the look.

Lollipop lollipop...Gee my lollipop is great!

Case's 1st Haircut

The big man received his first ever haircut today! Mr. Waylon Cisco of Mane Street Hair Co. was the man on the job. He was excellent, he knew just how to handle Case. I called beforehand and asked if he was man enough to give my child his first haircut, he said he was so he got ready to go...a few seconds later Mr. Cisco called back and said, "Joey, don't tell'm he's gittin' a haircut, tell'm he's gittin a hair trim, I wont'em to have a gud furst expernce!" And that he did...

new favorite pic!

That's a big statement! On the most recent file check there are 9,475 photos in our Case Andrew folder. Ridiculous, I know, but this is still my new favorite either way. In fairness to Allison and I, we do have a nice camera and love to take pictures...especially of Case.

As a mom sometimes you find yourself looking thru old pictures and getting a little nostalgic! ...Wondering where has the time gone? This morning, while my boys are still sleeping I decided that I wanted to do just that (things have been pretty hectic around the Richards house the last couple of weeks, er months... and I needed this for sanity) Anyway, I ran across one of my most favorite pictures of Case and realized it never made it to the blog. So, here it is... I can't believe how much he has changed, and yet how much is still the same

Playing at Earthly Possesions in Glen Rose

not our typical blog post...

Nope, this post doesn't have any cute pictures or funny stories. It does however contain a special request. We have gotten several prayer requests from people who are important to us this week. We are posting them here in hopes that you might stand in the gap in intercessory prayer on their behalf.

*Heather's (one of my best friends from college)Mom (health - stroke)
***UPDATE H's mom had a second stroke today and is in ICU
*Heather's Dad (health - recovering from cancer)
*Heather's mother-in-law (health - stage 4 Melanoma cancer)

*Julie's (another wonderful college friend) middle daughter, Mia
(health - they aren't sure exactly what is going on, but are running tests to find out) **UPDATE Mia is in the hospital and they expect her to be there for 5 or more days...she will have surgery on Friday 9/14

*A friend who is in the early stages of divorce - pray especially for their little girl

*Another friend who is in an abusive marriage

look at those baby blues

lovie boy

Case at Nanny and PawPaw's this weekend

left turn

Lexie and Case both apparently making a left turn.....

Giddyup

Well, not quite giddyup since Case is still apprehensive about actually getting on his new horse that Nana (great-grandmother Kiser...KK's mom) sent him But, he is certainly bringing new meaning to "bareback"

KK's birthday

Case and Mommy were able to get away this weekend to go to KK's 60th birthday dinner (poor Daddy didn't get to go due a Friday night scrimmage and a need to work on his final paper for grad school) KK's brother and sister-in-law (Jack and Kathy) hosted. We had a great time and a great meal and Case had fun as usual.

Here is a cute pic of KK with her mom ("nana") and brothers Jack and Jerry

My future's so BRIGHT....

KK & Papa Doc came to see me this weekend. Here are some pics of me practicing being COOL while they were here....I love Daddy's shades!

The Fort Worth Zoo

I snapped this shot of my two boys while we were at the Fort Worth Zoo...Case is a spittin' image of Joey in this one!

more mexico pics

I obviously took a lot of pictures on our trip to Mexico. Here are a few that I took with my holga (plastic toy camera) and some 35mm film. As you can see, it has a really cool effect when you shoot 35mm through a camera that is made for 120 film. It exposes the film all the way through the sprocket holes, I love the effect:

blinded by love...

Case hears music, he dances. Tonight at Craig Fisher's happy trails party he shared his first dance with someone outside of the family. Emmalie is his partner (Shane & Erin's daughter), and yes, he did get a kiss before the night was over.

Allison's new hairstyle

Allison took the leap today. She's been carrying a picture of the style she likes around for about 6 months (maybe longer) but I always told her I liked her hair longer. I love the way it turned out, she looks great with any hair (probably with no hair too) but I especially like the result. Here's the before and after:

trip follow-up

Well, our trip down south was all we hoped and more. A great time was had by all and we had no major problems. God was good to keep Montezuma at bay as we ate all we wanted and more without too many difficulties. What a beautiful place, we're already planning a return visit!

This first shot was taken with a lomographic frogeye camera, Allison and I found it for $40 at Urban Outfitters in Dallas, I was impressed:

finally...a break

Allison & I are taking off with the Naterman's down to Mexico. Our flight takes off at 7:00am and we will be on the beach by tomorrow afternoon. This will mark momma's first time away from Case and will be my longest time away from him since he was born. We are looking forward to time for relaxation, taking pictures for fun, eating, chasing turtles, and again...stress-free hangin' out. I will be experimenting with my Hogla plastic camera and am looking forward to having a chance at some great scenic shots. Here are a few I've taken recently:

Sweet!

We spent some time at Tawakoni this weekend with my parents, Kim, Ryan & Josh (Kody was at camp) and all of our animals. We had a great time, got to fish a little and spent a lot of time with Case and the family. One of the highlights of the weekend was Case and his Nanny having a moment while cooking Austrailian Cheesecake (no, there's no raw eggs). Case got his first opportunity to lick the spoon! It's one of those rites of passage that all young children need to experience, he thought it was heavenly. Just look at his face!



Fishin' in the rain...

father's day

We had a great family trip out to Arlington today to meet Mom, Dad, & Aunt Marcy for an early dinner at Abuelo's. We had a good time and got the opportunity to honor Dad for father's day. Case is growing up so quick, it is evident on the faces of people that have not seen him in a couple of weeks. He's walking around everywhere and is more fun than ever. Here's a pic or two from this evening:

He's on the move!

Yep, you guessed it - Case is now officially a 'toddler'. On several occasions over the last 2 days he has taken 10-12 strung together steps all by himself! What a sweet, lovey boy he is! Once we capture some pics we'll be sure to post!