Meet Amy!

I am proud to introduce you to my friend, Schmamy. Her legal name is Amy Lauren Marks, but you can call her Schmames. We all do.

Amy is a 26 year old, living in Dallas, TX.

She loves Jesus and has a heart for ministry. Whether that’s painting a classroom for inner city schools, being a counselor at Sky Ranch, or leading at Impact retreat, Schmamy has a servant’s heart. She dedicates her Sundays to volunteering at her local church either playing drums for the kid’s ministry or running the projection equipment for the service.

She is a natural born leader. She is the first to take the initiative and get things done. If no one has stepped up, Amy will step in and get the ball rolling. She is independent, a go-getter, and if she doesn’t know how to do something, she will in five minutes after a YouTube video. She is also fiercely loyal and refreshingly honest. This girl does not play games, but tells it like it is.

(On the right)

She is a proud Texas A&M alum and she loves her Aggies to a ridiculous degree. But then again, all Aggies love their school to a ridiculous degree, so she’s probably your average Aggie. After 5 years at A&M (completing both her undergrad and master’s degree) she left with a great appreciation for sports, fun, and tomfoolery.

(On the Left)

She has a fantastic sense of humor as is evident by the act that she allows her friends to call her “Schmamy.” She is funny and witty, with just the right touch of sarcasm. She also speaks Friends fluently, which, as we all know, is a necessity for life. She is always smiling and always laughing. This is one of my favorite things about Shames: her constant state of contagious laughter.

If you know of a Texas guy who you think would be a match for Amy, email me at allison.sangenito@gmail.com, or leave a comment on the blog!

Little Bowlers

We have been wanting to take Ashlynn bowling for a while, and finally got the chance to this week!

Mark was up first to show her how things were done:

Here she goes...ready for her first bowl!

She wanted to carry the ball and push it down the ramp all by herself. She loved counting how many pins she had left to hit!

Mark and I took turns helping her bowl.

Little sister sat and snacked on popcorn most of the time, but she did in on the action a few times!

In the end...Mama won! Ashlynn did pretty great for her first time, too!

Next up, was time to play a few games!

There was one "roller coaster/train ride" simulation. We thought she may be scared of it, but she LOVED it!

Bailey even thought it was fun!

Oh, July!

July was awesome. The weather was cooler, and we were in a great summer rhythm. I was a little worried that this summer would be hard, since Bailey is still small, but she proved me wrong. We have had a blast, and are so sad that the hot weather has interrupted some of our fun. Here is a peak at a few memories from July...

A nap at Grandma & Grandpa's while sister swam.

Nightly routine: Cuddle with daddy and watch Paw Patrol, and then bedtime!

We had a fun day sliding on the porch...

And we celebrated our friend Elliot's birthday in style!

Our sweet pup had a few rough/itchy weeks...

A was SO proud of her church dress on this Sunday...

And I think sister was too!

We even got to have lunch with a few of our favorite Dallasites!

Firestation Tour

A friend from church set up a Firestation tour for the kiddos today.  Ashlynn is still on the young side to fully appreciate it, but she is obsessed with firetrucks, so I knew that she would love it as much as any 2.5 year old can.

At first, Ashlynn was not so sure about it, but then she ran right up with the group. 

Every once in a while, she would get a little nervous and come stand with me and Bailey.

She wasn't going to go up in the truck, but then changed her mind at the last minute.

She loved the big tires, and kept drawing the outline of them.

We headed inside, and the kids got to see how the clothing and equipment is put on.  

Mandatory group picture with the firetruck:

Go Zoo? See Aminals?

Dear July, I owe you an apology...I neglected blogging about many things, including the 4th of July...someday soon I will have a marathon blog catchup day. 

We had a play date recently with friends at the zoo.  It was an unusually cool day (think highs in the 80s, in August!).  Ashlynn was so excited because "Going to the zoo and going to see aminals" rank up on the top of her favorite things to do list.