This is Sophie’s first snow, so I thought I’d share a little with everybody.

I know, I haven’t posted here in forever. Well, tonight while Olivia was at Brownies, Sophie started singing, dancing and being silly on the landing of the stairs. I thought I better get my camera out. Jack jumped in and wanted to be part of the action and this is some of what we got…

Jack’s first attempt with my camera (well, technically the 2nd- the first shot of the two of us was a little blurry )

After we played for a while, it was time for a bath for the little one. I haven’t taken very many bath shots with her, so I thought today was as good a day as any…Here are my 3 favorites~

So, there you go. I’ll try not to take so long next time. Love you guys!

Hi guys!

I have posted Olivia’s session on my other blog. I figured out my color issues, so I just finished updating it. I haven’t had a chance to re-process everything, but will add the extra ones here once I get a chance. I miss you guys and look forward to seeing Mom & Dad at Christmas! Love you!

Here’s one for you though…

Me

I’m sure you have been wondering when I was going to post next.  Well, so was I.  I have been super swamped, but I guess that’s not a bad thing, really! 

I know I told you that I would be doing Sophie & Olivia’s fall pictures soon, but soon has yet to happen.  I did, however, get my camera out with some friends who came over with their kids for a quickie Halloween photo-op.  The results were these fun piccies in no particular order…

Whew!  That was a lot of pictures!  They were all so cute though and we had a lot of fun doing this!  I hope you all enjoy them and let me know if you’d like copies.  I’ll make sure you get them by Christmas!  Ha Ha! 

So here is my absolutely beautiful son, looking so grown up to me, even in the shots with the teeth missing!  So cute!  We went out this week to find some cool places downtown.  Jack’s favorite place was a spot with a bunch of old cars that were rusting out.  He kept telling me, “Mommy, it would be so cool if our backyard was like this.”  What a boy!  Anyhow, we had a good time and he is easy to work with.  Here are my favorites from the day…

He started the day in Granddaddy’s hat that he found over at Uncle Jay’s house.  He thinks he looks super cool!  (I can’t totally disagree here- he does look pretty adorable!)

a little something different~

I love this one~

and a little moodier…

So there you have it.  I won’t be done editing all of these until next week sometime.  I’ve had 3 photo shoots this week and I’m helping Jake with an 8-hour wedding tomorrow after church.

This week I took Sophie to the zoo (more about that in a minute) and then while Jack & Rob were gone helping Uncle Jay,  the light outside was too beautiful to resist.  I had to take some pictures of the girls while we were outside playing.  Sit back & get a cup of coffee cause this one’s got a lot. 

So, I’ll start with the zoo.

Sophie was enjoying watching the ducks and swans from the bridge in the petting zoo…

Then, there are some rocking chairs not far from there and Sophie really wanted to sit in one.  There was an older couple sitting next to the chair she chose that were doing their best to get her to interact with them.  So here is the series as Sophie tried to decide if she was going to look at them or not…

mmmm…..maybe

half a look…

I don’t think so…

Oh, okay…But I’m not going to smile at you, no matter how nice you are…

We have had the most beautiful clouds in the sky lately.  I wish the skies were so beautiful all year round.  It really gave us some nice soft light the other night and here are the results…

Olivia rockin’ the red barn…

But then, little sister can’t be left out of that one…

Man, that was funny!  Sophie walked up and decided she, too, knows how to model and should not be left out!  So cute!

Then it was time for some posin’ around the back yard a bit…

I got a little artsy on the finishing of this one…

aaahhh!  The love!

Time for some close ups!

And finally, we’ve learned how to climb on and off of the tricycle ourselves and we are sooooo proud!

So that’s it for now!  I will be doing a portrait session of Jack downtown very soon and then follow up with the girls’ fall portraits, so check back soon!  Ta Ta!

Sophie is almost 16 months old so I thought I would put up a few pictures to show you all how much she has grown!  She is talking more and more everyday, to a point where pretty much everywhere we go people think she is at least 2 already!  What a surprise that she’ll likely be a chatty one!  Ha Ha!  Hope you enjoy these pictures as much as we do!

On Friday, August 3rd, it was official!  Rob graduated with his Master of Arts in Education!!!!!!  Hurray!  After 3 long years of teaching and going to school, he is finished!  I’ve asked for at least one year before he starts on his EDS!  I am so proud of how hard he worked and the hours he put in to get this done.  He was a real trooper through many a tiresome day!  Congratulations, sweetheart!  We all love you!

Here are some pictures from the day~

And while I was watching through the window to be sure that I didn’t miss Rob’s turn, I glanced at the girls and saw them like this and had to grab it.  Maybe it’s cause I’m their mom, but I thought this was adorable!

After Rob received his diploma, I took the kids outside for a walk and some pictures.  As much as I wanted to stay and see all of Rob’s ceremony, it’s just not realistic to think that 1 adult and 3 little ones will be able to sit through it all!  (Okay, so the kids could’ve, it was just me!  Ha Ha!  Kidding! )

Here are some of the results of our walk~

So, as most of you know, we were in California for 10 days at the end of July for vacation and time with my family.  We had such a great time and wish we could do it more often!  While there, we went camping in Sequoia, one of the most beautiful forests in the world.  If you haven’t had the chance to see the giant trees, make plans for it.  You will not be disappointed.   Here are some fun shots from the trip~

We also had fun just hanging out at my mom & dad’s.  They have quite the population of hummingbirds that visit their backyard, so I thought I would give myself a challenge to shoot one.  Here’s the best shot I got~

Sophie decided that she just had to wear Olivia’s swim cap and I couldn’t resist grabbing a shot of it either!  She may hate me for it later, but it really was pretty cute!

Finally,  we went to my hometown of Claremont for a concert in the park with some great friends of ours and had an incredible time!  Here are some pictures of our family and their kids from the night.  I will also be posting some family images that I took of them real quick while we were there on my other blog, so be sure to check those out!  Here you go~

So, there you have it!  I miss California and wish we could spend more time there!  If only the housing market would become reasonable!  Ha Ha! 

We had to make a new rule recently for Jack & Olivia in the pool.  They must wear their goggles if they’re going to swim- and here’s why~

Olivia has hit the wall or the bottom of the pool 3 times in the past 2 weeks!  Both she and Jack have to keep their eyes closed under water because they spend so much time in the pool everyday or they will have red, burning eyes for several hours.  So, now to protect their eyes and their faces they must wear goggles!

Ah, what fun it is to be a kid!