to tell you the honest truth

halloween '09

This year my kids really did look pretty cool, but some of my pictures totally stink.  I wanted them to all stand nicely together, but would they?  of course not.  My boys are the "fiercely independent" type and for surely not the "stand around and take cute pictures for mom" type.  They run their own race on Halloween....the bigger ones, not Austin YET.  Caleb, Taylor and Isaac were equipped with pillowcases, 2 pairs of rollerblades and a skateboard and they were off!  They unloaded once at home and then took off again for round two.  The end result was A LOT of candy! 

We also greatly enjoyed our company on Halloween!  Pete's sister, Katrina, (just moved up from Arizona) her husband, Miah and their darling little boy, Adin along with Pete's other sister, Maria and her husband, Sheldon, were all able to join us for some pizza, "spider cider" and trick-or-treating.  (I know that was a long sentence).  I invited my brother Jeff and his family also, but they had a grandparent visiting town and no car big enough to transport them all to my house!  :(  I talked to Julie and it sounded like they had some fun plans though. 

I have to say, I totally loved dressing up my little girlie for Halloween!  It's a different experience than dressing the boys.  Thankfully, she had a darling hand-me-down mermaid costume, from her cousins, that fit perfectly.  I bought some ribbons and made a big bow to match.  It was my first and it ended up a little big, but I think it was okay for Halloween.  She was adorable, if I do say so myself!  :)

 

Caleb happily posed with her, and I thought the ones of them turned out great.  Caleb absolutely adores Ava!  As you can see, Caleb was a "freak" for Halloween, and he LOVED his look.  Is that good or bad?

 

 

Taylor was Elvis again and my pictures are terrible, but really, he looked awesome.  Especially with his rollerblades on.  He has such a great sense of humor and somehow this costume just works for Taylor. 

 

 

Isaac was Prince Caspian.....and oh, a handsome Prince he was!!  He was DARLING and I am angry with myself that all I have of him is this: (a neighbor friend joined the picture too)

Austin was a red Power Ranger.  Hey, honestly, it was $10 and I just really didn't care that much.  He DOES NOT watch Power Rangers!  He just happens to know what they are because his friends have the action figures and therefore, we have purchased a Power Ranger action figure before.  (He does like his action figures!)  Anyway, after we sprayed his hair, we actually loved his little look!  Again, not a terrific picture.  :(

 

Hope you all had a fun Halloween!

discovery

ava was so cute yesterday playing in the grass and discovering the little yellow flower there.  basically she wanted to eat it and i did have to take it out of her mouth a few times between taking the pictures.

i love her little hair sprout she has....see, it's growing!  yay! 

the new do

So, I finally came to terms with the fact that my child usually looked like an orphan with his fluffy mop and that it needed to be tamed.  I really do like the long hair look, so it was difficult to start the chopping process.  Pete really had gone crazy looking at his wild do, so he had no reservations about it what.so.EVER.  Anyway, I'm glad I went through with it because he looks so handsome and I love getting out the gel for styling like I used to when Caleb and Taylor had their short cuts.  Here's the new kid at our house!

C-ya!

posies and pictures

I had fun making a couple head accessories (not really hair accessories yet) for Ava.  She needed some bigger headbands and I saw the cutest shabby posies on Cluck Cluck Sew.  It's a cute crafty quilty blog that's in my sidebar that I am too lazy to do a link for.  She used hers for broaches, but I thought it would be a cute idea for adorning Ava's head!  They were really fun and easy to make.  I just use a bobby pin on the underside of the posie to attach to the headbands and the hat.  That way everything is interchangeable! 

These first pictures are featuring the pink posie attached to a crocheted hat!  They also feature some brotherly love.  ;)  She's so lucky. 

Yes, this is Austin below with a haircut!  That will be another post! 

These next few pictures feature the red posie attached to a headband made from baby tights.  They also feature her latest favorite activity....sucking on her fingers.  Oh, and her chubby legs.  She's so squishable and kissable!

This photo was taken at a park on Memorial Day.

Here's me and Ava.  She's my sweetie pie and I can't help but kiss her a LOT every day!

Bye!

cousins at the beach

We were so happy to see some sunshine finally, so we didn't let it go by without a pleasant outing to a nearby beach with the cousins.  I didn't get pictures of everyone and I really didn't plan on taking anything more than simple snapshots, but some of them ended up turning out super cute.  Mostly they are of Kerri's kids, my big kids weren't as cooperative for pictures.  Here are my favorites!

Savannah, Caleb, Maya, Taylor

Which one do you you like best out of these above?  Color?  Fade?  Black and White?

Ethan

Xander

Austin

Jacob and Isaac

Maya

....and of course I couldn't resist putting in a picture of Ava even though this is just at home in her swing.  I love her new little spring outfit from Gymboree!  And she is giving us some cutie little smiles lately!  :)

Enjoy the sunshine!  :)

more of ava.....(surprise, surprise!)

ava was making her cute little "ooh face", as we call it around here...

and more sleeping pictures....

snug as a bug.

well, off i go to stare at my baby.  :)

c-ya!

a wedding!

Pete's littlest sister is getting married on Friday, Dec. 12th....that's tomorrow!  Sheldon is a super nice guy and we couldn't be more excited for them.  YAY!  Maria asked me to take the picture for their invitation and I was thrilled to do it.  They are such a cute couple so it was easy as pie getting a good shot.  They wanted black and white, so this is what I came up with.

I was asked if I would be "photographer" at the wedding too, but I just am not in the physical condition to be on my feet for hours, so I had to say no. :(  Some days I do pretty well getting around, but other days I just waddle around and sit as much as possible.  No guarantees there. 

Anyway, it should be a fun event and we are excited to see Isaac in a suit for the part of "Ring Boy".   My adorable niece, Savannah, will be "Flower Girl".  How cute are they going to be?  Well, pretty much to die for!  :) 

Ben's Sneak Peek

Here are a few pictures I took of my very handsome brother-in-law, Ben, for his Senior Pictures.  I warned them that I am NOT a professional and I am still learning and experimenting with my camera and different editing techniques.  With these, I experimented with burning the edges in Photoshop, thanks to Karina.  They are my first ones, so if you have constructive criticism, that is fine.  :)   I am hoping to learn a couple more things for my sister-in-law Maria's Engagement Pictures.

Thoughts?  Advice?

pumpkin patch '08

Last week we had a great time at Sholtz Pumpkin Patch in Orting.  The kids love the corn maze there because it is just a kid one and they run all over.  Pete chased them and they had fun hiding.  There were only a couple other small groups in there for a few minutes, so mostly we had the maze to ourselves.  We looked at the animals and Austin played in the kiddie area for a bit, then we focused on picking pumpkins.  The big boys gave the little boys rides in the wheelbarrows and had fun playing on the big tractor.  Definitely a fun time. 

my boys like to climb trees. big ones.

poor isaac and austin wanted to go higher.  :( 

for your info. this tree is at bradley lake park when you walk on the path around the lake.