Silly Girls

Now really,

does this face look guilty to you?

Catching the moon

I love the fact that I can pull over to the side of the road, say, "Come on." and know that someone will jump out of the car with me and not ask why. I love that I have a child that  is willing to humor me in all my silly ideas.
I've had this shot in mind forever but I just cant seem to capture it. This picture is two shots merged together (like you couldn't tell that) but this is my goal now. I'll get it right eventually. But in the meantime, don't you just love Photoshop?

Happy Summer

What we've been up to

Oh, not whole lot. We have been battling some sickies here and there. Joshua had croup again and that stopped us in our tracks a bit. But we have still managed to squeese in a few fun activities, like a ballgame with some friends. There isn't much available for us homeschooling families as far as organized sports go. So a couple of us decided that we should just set a date, meet, and play. We've only done it twice and we're a bit lacking in older kids, but it is still a lot of fun. And I am impressed with the older kids patience with the little ones. On this day, the "C" family was visiting (there are only here once a year for a short time) and eight of their children were able to join us.

I guess there were too many kids there because neither one of my boys wanted to play. Jacob kept asking to go back to the house so he could play board games. Is that a "twin thing" I wonder? They are kind of always in their own little world. We can be at a party, with kids running around everywhere, and there they would be, playing together, completely oblivious to everything going on around them. They are getting better as they get older, but I still see it often.

See, he has a mitt- he is just using it to catch bugs.I have been so enjoying the sunsets this summer. Have you? These have been the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. Courtney and I have spent lots of time at the barn these last few weeks. They moved Kandeaux to the new barn (which I LOVE) and the view out there is amazing. All you can see is field and sky. On one evening, I went to put Kandeaux back in his stall, then went to get Courtney to go home. I found her standing at the edge of the lane way, leaning up against the gate. On the other side of the gate was a hill that went down to a large pasture with about 10 horses that were getting excited that it time to come in and they were all running and playing. The sun was setting in the background, a gorgeous purple and red. And Courtney was just standing there, taking it all in. These are the times I wish a kept a point and shoot in my pocket. While we were gone, Paige snapped this picture from the yard. But I still think my view was way better.

And, and and... we have two new additions! Yeah, only two. I was expecting to struggle with trying to get rid of a whole litter. "What in the world am I going to do with all these kittens?" I worried. And then she only has two.

Introducing.... Shadow

and Midnight. (not the most origianal names) Aint they cute?

Learning to sing

As I listened to 4 young, very talented children get up and sing at church this week, I thought, "I really need to teach my kids how to sing." But where do I begin? I'm not much to listen to, myself. And maybe not one of them will ever be able to get up in front of an audience, or even enjoy it, but I must at least give them the opportunity. So I began to search for curriculum. A workbook, or lesson book, an online resource, something. But I came up with nothing.

Then we had ourbaseball game and invited this talented family, and while talking about it with their mother and my other friend with a few talented kids of her own, they told me that the kids learned to sing by just begining to sing. Plain and simple. They all gather around the piano, pick a song and sing their hearts out. Hey, I never tried that.

So that's what we're going to do. I'm sure there will be a few complaints at first. And we may have to shut the windows to be kind to the neighbors. ;)

Now, some of us already are wonderful singers...

(hit the pause button on the music first)

Pathways

Do you cherish your photos, or obsess over them?
As for me, I refuse to answer that question. But I have a story that will give me away. After our trip to the pathways, I set the camera on the shelf. The next day, I took it out again and snapped a few more shots. While reviewing the new ones, I began to delete the ones from the pathways, thinking I had already downloaded them to the computer. I trashed three before it dawned on me!

The first one was of a dragonfly. But it was so cool- very close and very clear. Award winning. (I'm being over dramatic, in case you couldn't tell.) That one made me sad.

The second was of Courtney helping Grace cross the rock path over the stream. Courtney had Grace's hand and had gotten herself tangled up and found herself backwards, her feet slipping into the stream. "Oh, Grace, I'm in a pickle." She straitened herself out and got Grace across, but with Grace's last step, her foot hit the water, too. "Oh, Coco, now I am in de pickle." When we got to the water, she pointed at a little pool of water at the side of the creek, "Mommy, is that one a pickle, too?"
It was a photo that told a story. So losing it made me sad.

The third is the worst. Because I cant remember what it was. I spent the rest of the day thinking "What was that a picture of? I'll betcha it was a great one."
Yeah, I'm an idiot. I know. Three out of 18,636. I think I can let them go.

But I still have these ones...

My favorite dragonfly was in abundance there. Jacob tried his hardest to catch me one. Finally, he found one caught in a spider web. He saved it, and released it. (Five miles from it's home, but hey, it's alive, right?)

 
 

Now, ya wanna see something really gross? 

Of course you do. I was trying to get a picture of my dragonfly, bent over this bush, with my feet half in the water, when I saw this thing...

The body was at least 2 inches. Don't let the leaf deceive you- it was a really big plant. I still don't know what it is, I looked it up, and was able to find one picture of the same spider but it was labeled "unknown."

Ok, I know, try to contain your excitement now.

As for us, we were all very much impressed.

Hmm, I'm just thinking out loud here, but should my blog have a disclaimer at the top?

"Warning- gross and buggy content. May cause heebie jeebies"

Did you know? ...

Identical twins have the same DNA. That means that if one commits a crime, and their DNA is found at the crime scene, they cannot use it against them because they can't be sure that it was theirs and not the twin's.

So I'm on my way to work this morning. And as I turn the corner, the sun shines in on my windshield and reveals numerous foot prints on the glass. Oh, my. Is that on the inside or the outside? I rub my finger across the glass. Nope, it's on the outside. I didn't even bother to hit the wipers and clean it off, I just admired the artwork for a while. Hmm, that looks like a size, oh, boys 12, I would guess.
Then I thought, there's no way to identify the culprit. It's doubtful I'm going to get a signed confession. "Is it not true, mam, that there are not one, but two persons in the house that wear a boys size 12 shoe? So can you say, without any doubt, that these foot prints in exhibit A do, in fact, belong to the defendant? Or could it be, that they just might belong to..." (dramatic pause) "... his twin brother?!"

Happy 4th of July... again.

Our postponed picnic was well worth it. You couldn't have asked for better weather, (almost) everyone was able to come, and we had a great time.

This is my new favorite picture of my dad. (Old men look good in black and white.  ;)

Take a ride with me.

Summer is filled with opportunities for family activities. There are only so many free hours, after work and daily responsibilities. One activity per day so usually all I can handle. But sometimes, many things just pile up on the same day. Like Saturday. The antique show started at 9oclock. So I loaded the boys in the car while Paige  and Court babysat (believe me, they would rather babysit than go to an antique show.) then came home, cleaned the house, made a veggie tray and headed over for a picnic, then a ballgame. I was exhausted. Hopefully, I don't appear to every one else that I'm exhausted. I really do enjoy any type of gathering. But with a one year old... and a two year old...
This is a difficult period. I felt the same way when the twins were this age. I felt the same way when the girls were this age. Comparatively, this is such a short moment. It will pass so quickly. Soon, Joshua will be old enough to go outside without constant supervision, he will stay within the boundaries of the yard, he will know enough to stay clear of cars. We can go to the park, and I can sit and relax. Soon enough, soon enough. Mind you, I am not wishing away these years. Oh, no, I just love this stage. I love the first words and the first steps, and the squeals of excitement over silly, simple things like a millipede.
But for now, well, I'm just tired. So after a day of chasin chillins, we drove home a half hour past bed time. Both Joshua and Grace fell asleep in the car. Filthy from head to toe, and knowing there would not be time to bathe them before church in the morning, I had to wake them up, and put two very unhappy babies in the tub, then put them back to bed, change sheets, lay out clothes for the morning, and cut up chicken for Sunday's dinner. Whew.  
Then  I collapsed on the couch, and just then, Tony pulled in the driveway.  Paige leaned over and whispered.... "Wanna go for a bike ride?"

...   "Yep."

Happy 4th of July

Really? Already? Is time moving faster, or am I just getting older?

...Don't answer that.

Our picnic was postponed this year because half of our party was unable to come. So we will have it this weekend. Instead, we went to Amy's for a "small" picnic, while a few of the insane ones worked on putting up siding. I stayed nice and cool in the living room. They also had a couple birthdays to celebrate, one of which was this cute little guy...

And Amy's sister was in town so there were a few new friends to play with.

(Caught this one at just the right time. Yes, she went down. And yes, she was fine.)

Red light, green light

Grace wasn't too good at the "red light" part.

Andrew and Gabrielle

Aren't weddings great? We were married at the town hall with a reception at pizza hut, so I'm not familiar with the ins and outs and the many, many details that need to be taken care of. But when you photograph a wedding, you are documenting every detail, and are made aware of just how many hands are at work, how many hours were put into, say, ironing napkins. When you are a guest, you toss that napkin on your lap with not much thought as to how it got there or who folded it. But in watching the prep work, you see the love of family members and friends dedicating their time to see to it that your day goes just right.

We spent a lot of time in learning, experimenting, and preparing. We wanted these photos to turn out just right. And the lighting in the church is less than desirable. I was very nervous. (More nervous about standing in the front of the church while they were coming down the isle.) I am so pleased at how the pictures turned out.

I am only sharing two of them here. Amy posted some of hers HERE. Go check them out. Then come back and check out the rest of mine. I have set up a new blog. Check it out HERE. But remember, it's brand new and still under construction.