This week came in hot…
With pink tutus 🩰
And glitter.
And sparkles.
And, much to Jordan’s chagrin… stage makeup.
On our five-year-old 🤪
Our middle, Emily, had her end-of-year preschool dance recital at the local community center — and it was all the things you’d expect: adorable, chaotic, emotional and very sparkly.
(You know we found the most neutral wall possible for family photos afterward 👍)
Our wedding photographer brains never turn off 🙈
It’s a blessing and a curse 😂
Anyone else have this photographer brain problem?
“Okay, now the bride with just Mom…”
“And, now the bride with just Dad…”
There was one thing (and one thing only) Jordan liked about Emily wearing makeup…
Watching Amy and Emily sit on the bathroom counter to do it together 🥹
Ever since we started dating in high school…
AND FOR ALMOST SIXTEEN YEARS OF MARRIAGE…
Amy has sat on the bathroom counter every morning to do her makeup.
So even though Jordan is not a fan of stage makeup on his little girl, he is a fan of her growing up to be just like her mom.
(Also, yes, Amy is still a sit-on-the-counter girl. Anyone else? Or just her?!)
The day after recital, we switched gears completely, shed all the glitter and busted out the one single pair of cowboy boots in our house to go to our first ever authentic barn dance! 🧑🌾🌾
As two kids who grew up in the Scottsdale suburbs, this was like a Tennessee dream come true for us.
We got to dance outside.
On a farm.
In the middle of nowhere.
With a banjo (and a fiddle!)
IT WAS TENNESSEE MAGIC ✨
Jordan even wore a denim shirt.
(Might not seem like a big step, but it is 🤣)
We just kinda got lost in the moment.
It felt really good.
Like we got to travel to the past.
And experience life the “way it was” 😭
Ya know, before the internet and social media.
Kids running around barefoot, playing in the dirt, the smell of BBQ in the air, and lots of sweaty dancing in the summer heat — just for the fun of it.
It kinda gave steerage on the Titanic vibes.
(One of the best scenes in the movie if you ask us)
But instead of the frigid Atlantic Ocean, we had Tennessee humidity.
(When you think of it that way, a few mosquitoes and a little sweat suddenly doesn’t seem so bad)
The music was magic.
Our do-si-dos were amateur.
But we felt like true Tennesseans and had so much fun.
It was so sweet to share the night with some of our dearest friends (and two past AJ Brides!)
In 2015, we shot FORTY weddings, which means we have FORTY couples celebrating their ten year anniversary this year 🥂
Two of those couples are lifelong friends of ours, and it was wild taking this group pic and realizing that eleven of the people in this photo didn’t exist back when we shot their weddings 🤯
You know we had to get an updated “AJ Bride” group photo 😍
Shout out to the teenage girl who took this pic for us!
🔥 Hot tip…
If you’re ever in public and need someone to take a photo for you, use this cheat sheet:
✅ Find a Gen Z Girl
That’s it. That’s the whole tip! You’re welcome 🤗
And our last highlight of the week 👆
Becks and Em went to VBS and Jordan volunteered as a coachfrom 4-8pm each night.
Which meant EVEN MORE…
🎤 Singing
🙌 Dancing
🍭 Corralling large groups of wild children hopped up on sugar and up way past their bedtime
It was EXHAUSTING.
(Mostly for Jordan)
(Who is usually in BED at 8 p.m.)
(Not partying with 7-year-olds 🎉)
This was the GIF he sent Amy when she reached out last night to ask, “How’s it going?”
But in all seriousness, we’ve been talking a lot lately about how fast it’s all going –– and how much we’re going to miss this when it’s gone.
Recently, we saw something we haven’t been able to stop thinking about. Imagine…
“I’m 87 years old, lying in bed, barely able to move. I wake up one day, and I’m 37. I spring out of bed! My joints don’t hurt. There are toys scattered all over the floor. I get to kiss my toddler’s squishy cheeks! I get to make my kids breakfast in their jammies and pick them up and spin them around.”
Every time we feel tired…
We think about that.
A wise, experienced grandma told us her best parenting advice was “It goes so fast, so leave it all on the field.”
So that’s what we’re trying to do.
Seize every opportunity.
Soak up every moment.
Even the ones with multi-colored everything and sticky fingers.
Especially those 🥹
