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take a peek at the family behind Sweet Pea Photography...

Most of the time when I look through my viewfinder, I see someone else's family...  so this blog gives me a new reason/excuse/opportunity to pick up my camera and see the people I love most in this world... my family!  Thanks for joining me here - isn't the view beautiful?!

rainy day tea party

Last week, we had a fun day visiting Dayten and Addi for a tea party — thanks you guys!!

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April 2, 2010 - 5:50 pm jodi - o, those are just as sweet as those squishy marshmallows!! love them & all the kiddos in them! you seriously rock that camera of yours! and thanks for coming to our tea party! as addi would say "Bun, Bun!" (fun, fun) :)

soccer!!

Averhy had a great time at her first soccer practice yesterday, and I’m excited about officially being a soccer mom!  She was all decked out in her new pink cleats, pink shin guards, and pink soccer ball… This is going to be a fun spring!

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March 25, 2010 - 9:47 pm amanda - i'll have you know, i'm still rooting for ballet.

february family update

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Here’s a quick summary of what our family did during February (a little late, I know… now that it’s the middle of March…)

Both girls had fun birthdays in February, and Eden’s generous spirit really came out… on her birthday, she handed out all of her gifts to each of US, and asked us to open them!  She did help us, but still — wow!

Sky spent a few days in Arizona for work, and Eden missed him a LOT.

Averhy is still learning to play the piano (I’m teaching her), and is moving right along. She usually doesn’t mind practicing, and it’s encouraging to see her learn so quickly!

We had a couple fun weekend activities including an Illini basketball game and visits to some friends and family in Bloomington-Normal.

Averhy has been working hard on writing/reading/spelling at school, so we’ve been doing some “spelling bees” on the way to school each morning. Eden enjoys them too, and is really getting good at identifying letter sounds and naming the first letter of words!

March 15, 2010 - 9:44 pm mema - Thanks for the new pictures. What beautiful girls you make.

6 years old!

family_blog_022510family_blog_022510_2For Averhy’s birthday, we attempted a different type of rainbow cake… easier to make than the first one, but actually didn’t turn out as well in the end. (I think I didn’t bake it quite long enough… oh well!)  Averhy had fun making it with me – especially mixing all the colors of cake mix, and licking the frosting of course – and we enjoyed a low-key evening of presents and a movie.  Happy birthday Averhy!

March 1, 2010 - 12:28 pm jodi - ok, i love the rainbow birthday cakes allyson! darling! what a fun time and i can't believe she is 6 either!! btw...all these pics would make the most darling scrapbook page!! jodi

February 25, 2010 - 11:32 pm Neal Sanborn - What a beautiful, colorful cake. Happy 6, Averhy.

birthday girls

family_blog_021410The girls had a great time at their birthday party on Saturday – complete with balloons, friends, and a 6-layer cake that I worked on all Friday afternoon – whew, and yum!  They had fun making princess crowns, running around the house, and eating lunch with their wonderful friends.  Here we have in the back row: Lizzie, Averhy, Elizabeth; and in the front row: Maggie, Eden, Lili, and Addison.  Thanks for coming girls!!

February 15, 2010 - 11:48 am Nicole - Here's The Diehl - That cake looks amazing! Great job! And as always, cute pictures of the girls!

making valentines

family_blog020810When we have a full day of just the girls at home, I usually try to have some sort of crafty activity to keep up busy… so of course, this Saturday it was making Valentines!  The girls stuck with it longer than I expected, but we’re still not finished – Averhy has 24 kids in her class, and only finished 11 cards today – so I think that will be a Sunday (and Monday and maybe Tuesday) activity too…