Sally Surfton

Kaitlin went to a birthday/swimming pool party with a "murder mystery"theme. Each guest was asked to dress the part of a character that was given to them. They were to go to the party and solve a mystery based on clues that were given to them. Very fun idea, especially with a bunch of little actresses. Kaitlin was given the role of Sally Surfton, a girl who is obsessed with her skin and looking good. This was so perfect for her, because it is the opposite of her. She's my child who throws her hair in a ponytail every day and could care less about looking in a mirror. She had fun picking out a costume that matched the character's description. I thought it was such a cool idea for a birthday party and she had a lot of fun!

Question: Which photo do you like the best? I edited to 1st one to look more crisp and gave the 2nd one a softer look. Just curious. (FYI: My desktop is broken so I have no idea how these photos really look. They may be too bright, but I have no way of knowing because all I see is the laptop version.)

No More Kisses!

Layton, Camden, and Jack- being manly

Jack and I spent 20 minutes looking for his beloved blankie last night. Yes, he still has a blankie. And yes, I am that mother who does not care because I am in no hurry for him to grow up. Anyway- after finding the blanket we both broke into excited laughter and jumped into bed. Jack was happy because he found his beloved. I was happy because I knew I was going to get a quiet night's sleep. Of course, that didn't last long. He then began to panic because he couldn't locate his "special corner" in the dark. (His special corner is his favorite part....the part where he twiddles his fingers through to put himself to sleep.) He was claiming someone must have stolen his special corner. I guess that's what panic will do to your brain, right? I turned on the light and found it immediately. His panic turned back into giggles- and that my friends- is what I love the most about Jack. His giggles are so cute they instantly cause me to attack him with kisses.

So I did, and as I was smothering him with kisses he pushed me away and said, "Mom...NO MORE KISSES!" I told him too bad. I am his mom and if he wants me to stop smothering him with kisses he needs to learn to stop being so cute. He then said, "Mom, you can't kiss me anymore, I am not a baby anymore, I am a MAN!" (um- a man with a blankie?)

It took a second for me to let that comment soak in, but that second was followed by gut wrenching laughter. We BOTH laughed, hysterically.....for a long time. It was THE cutest thing I have ever heard in my life. Even he knew how cute he was. I layed there in bed with him as he fell asleep and got a little teary as I thanked God for my kids and for every second I have with them. It was such an emotional day for me for reasons I won't say here, and I was worn out. But that comment took me out of a dark place and brought me back into light. It's those moments as a parent that make the worry, the struggle, the exhaustion, and the pains of motherhood- totally worth it.

Mr. Cool

Today is a big day. Mr. Cool over here woke up a SWIMMER! He has been working on his fear of swimming for 3 years now. This summer I decided I was not going to put pressure on him about it. You know...like kindly pointing out that the toddler in diapers next to him is diving off the diving board into the deep-end. Nope, none of that. It doesn't work with Jack. He is only going to do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. That kind of independant spirit is something I can relate to on every level possible. So last night he just decided to swim. Yep, just out of nowhere he thought it would be a good idea. So he did it. He held his nose, went under water, and started kicking his legs. 10 minutes later, he was full on swimming. You should have seen his face! I must state (for the hundredth time) that Jack is the loudest human being on the planet. So you can only imagine the level of noise coming out of that giant mouth of his when he figured it out. It just so happened that I was on a little mini-date with him at the pool and was committed to not getting out of the pool the whole time we were there. Jack + mom + 100% of the time in the pool w/ him= front row seats to the "Jack is a Swimmer Show". It was quite a scene. He was yelling, "YES! YES! I can do it! I can swim!" It was straight from Rudy. He was a superstar....in his own world (and in mine).

Aunt Suzy

Camden, Carsyn, and Layton

I love this photo so much! My sister and I take turns with our 5 kids throughout the summer so we can each get quiet breaks and let them spend time together. I had all of the kids last week for "my turn" and got this photo on our little trip to a local creek. It's CRAZY to have all 5 of them, but I always end up with great stories. It never gets old listening to Camden and Jack share wisdom about life. And I love the way Layton is so fiercly protective of his siblings....just like his mama! Carsyn is just plain me. Watching her is like looking into a mirror of my childhood. She never sits down. If she does, she gets right back up and goes off to do something else. I have that same energy. I really only stop to eat, sleep, play with photoshop, or write on this blog. I envy people who know how to relax. That word is not in my vocabulary.

I know my kids don't realize how lucky they are to have so much family close by, but I do! It's something I am thankful for everyday.

KK

Kaitlin

6-19-09

The Mill

let the rain fall down...

It rained HARD today, for quite some time, and that makes me happy. I love a good hard rain in the summer time. I made sure my kids watched it and appreciated it. I love this picture. Simple, but sweet. I love Jack's reflection and how focused he is on the rain. It was truly a downpour...straight from God. I also love reflections. It's my new thing.

i ♥ faces (week 24-Let's Hear It For The Boys!)

This week's photo challenge is all about boys! I thought this was the perfect photo to enter. I am not sure that there is a more perfect photo to describe Mr. Jack...and many other boys on this planet! Oh, how I love them though....little boys just melt my heart. Especially this one....trouble and all!

Check out i ♥ faces this week to see many more precious photos of boys!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Eric!

We love you!

Thank you for tirelessly cooking for your family all the time, for taking care of all the dad stuff around the house, for coaching our kids' teams and never missing a game, disciplining them because you know I stink at it, and for loving them for exactly who they are.

And Happy Father's Dad to my dad, Nick, Paul, and Cliff!

I love all my dads and am thankful for all of you. You each bring something unique and precious to my life and I respect and admire each one of you to the depths of my heart.

i ♥ faces -Top 10

So I am not biased after all....this child is beautiful. Congratualtions Carsyn! Your photo placed 8th out of hundreds of photos in the i ♥ faces sepia photo contest! You are a rock star... a very beautiful, spicy, spunky, sweet, crazy, energetic, tiny little rock star!

Flashback Saturday Morning

Kaitlin~Fall 2004~first day with *no training wheels*

I have this picture framed in my room and I look at it every night and every morning. I love it so much. I wish I had a better scanner or at least knew how to remove the grainy look from my scanned-in pictures so you could really see how beautiful this photo is. I guess I just love her smile, and seeing my children happy is the best feeling in the world.

question for you-

I have been working on my laptop all summer and editing everything on it as well. I just hopped onto my cdesktop omputer to post Flashback Friday and was horrified at how bleached out all of my pictures are! Is this what you are seeing? I don't know which computers' colors to trust....my laptop or my desktop. PLEASE give me some feedback. If my pictures look over-exposed (too bright) then I need to change my settings on my laptop. THANK YOU for your honest input.

Ms. M.I.A.

Remember this girl? Do you want to know what she has been up to? Well, for starters she has been avoiding my Nikon like the plague. Aside from that....she's just busy being 10, which is about 15 in old school years. When she is not checking her email, talking on the phone with her friends, or arranging to hang out with her friends, she's pretty much.....

just bein' cute and sweet and helpful and precious....

......with a few Jack fights in between (no...not this sweet girl, right?)

I don't want this family blog to only show pictures of Jack, but I do realize that you all are family (and friends) and you want to see pictures. So- as I have mentioned- I have to force her to let me photograph her by bribing her. Today....I told her she could go over to Jenna's if she would just let me have 10 minutes of her time being Snap-Happy Nikon mom. She agreed. I didn't have time to plan what I was going to do, but the pictures turned out ok anyway. It's easy when your subject is so *pretty*.

Jack on God and Santa

conversations with jack

june 16, 2009

drivin' to the pool

Jack: Mom, I want lots of Star Wars toys for Christmas.

me: OK Jack.

Jack: Mom, I want a LOTS of Star Wars toys, like fifty million Star Wars toys.

me: OK Jack, you can ask Santa when it's Christmas time.

Jack: Mom, can God hear me right now?

me: Yes Jack, he is always with you, and he can hear everything you say.

Jack: Then if he can hear me, can he just tell Santa for me?

smart kid, eh?

(photo taken today.....my attempt at sun flare)

best buds

Camden and Jack

neighborhood pool

June 15, 2009

I need to take a moment to recognize a special relationship in my life. No...I am not talking about the one between me and my Nikon, I am talking about Camden (my precious nephew) and Jack's friendship. I'll make it short and sweet, or maybe not. Jack wants to BE Camden. Yesterday at the pool as we were packing up and leaving, Jack put his shirt on, and then ran up to me minutes later handing me the same shirt he had just put on. I said, "No Jack, put that on, we are leaving. And he said, "I don't want it on, I want to be like Camden." And he said this was these huge lit up eyes and this rediculous smile to follow....as if to say, isn't he AWESOME? Nothing makes Jack happier than going over to my sister's house to be with his cousin's. It's where Jack's inner "chi" lives....so he is never as at peace as when he is sitting in the giant chair with his boys watching them play video games and commentating the process through stories and sound effects. And have I mentioned that Jack is the loudest human on this earth? Camden shows no bother by this. He is the sweetest most patient child I have ever met and handles Jack like a very calm grown man. I love their bond, but more importantly, I love Camden and how he is with my Jack.

Can't you just see the sweeteness in Camden's eyes?.....and the mischief in Jacks?

i ♥ faces [week 23 - sepia toned]

So I have decided to jump on the bandwagon this summer and particiapte in a few i ♥ faces photo contests. I really do not feel worthy as a semi-beginner photographer wannabe to be entering anything, but I figure I can atleast say I tried! I LOVE this site, its authors, and the beautiful photos I get to look at weekly. This one of my neice is one of my favorite photos ever. I wasn't sure if I wanted to enter this one starting off (aren't you supposed to save the best for last?) but I am so in awe of her beauty that I figured I would do this one first...and because I have a habit of doing things backwards. I hope I did this right! I'm having fun already!!

And thank you Angie for inspiring me to not only start a blog, but to make my pictures the best they can be. You have taught me everything I know about editing so if I ever win one of these things...I owe it to you! Love you girl!

Head over to i ♥ faces to see many more beautiful sepia photos!

7 things I learned this week

Ten year olds should not wear fake nails.

Some of the best photos are the ones where the subjects are trying to hide from the camera.

When your kids are driving you crazy......

focus on what you love about them.

Stay in touch with reality. There is always someone else out there who has it worse than you.

Toddlers will wear you out!

A game of living room football is a great way to wear out your kids right before bedtime.

our little ray of sunshine

(Why do I love the D90? This shot is untouched by Photoshop, that's why.)

This is Jack. Actually, this is Jack about 90% of the time. He is a total grump, but a very cute one. If he wasn't this cute he would probobly spend 90% of his life in time out. His cuteness directly effects my level of patience....and he uses his cuteness as a weapon sometimes. Regardless, I must say that Jack's mood is our families compass. It is a direct indicator of the kind of day we will all have. When he wakes up, we all know within 1 minute the kind of day we will all have. If he wakes up happy, we are all happy. If he wakes up grumpy, we might as well call it a day. I guess that is what having a red head is all about, right?

friends

We had another great day with friends. Angie- thank you for hosting! Silas could not posssibly be any cuter or sweeter...and neither could the girls. Kaitlin could not get enough of the kids. I think it is pretty awesome how many people Angie and Joe have inspired to adopt but I think it is the most awesome that my 10 year old is one of them. Kaitlin was born with the heart to adopt, but now she wants to adopt from Africa someday, which is amazing. I found out in conversation that Angie has been saving to adopt since she was 18 years old. It made me want to start saving for Kaitlin, even if it is only $10.00 a month. There is no telling how expensive it will be in 15 years and I don't want money to ever be a barrier. And Angie was right about Silas.....he puts people in a trance. We went out in public to eat and people just stare at him and smile. Kaitlin is the one holding him in the picture below. She's in love! (so am I)

those eyes are angelic...

Kaitlin took this photo. She has the talent! That makes me very happy. She even knows how to get cool perspective pictures. How cute is Addie's pout?

big, beautiful eyes run in the family.....

I just had to get this photo of her tiny adorable feet.....

happy momma...happy baby (or the other way around)

the girls....

Jack was in no mood for photography. He was in his own world the whole day, playing with their toys and staying very quiet.

shake whatcha momma gave ya!

K's hip hop recital was a last night and she rocked it out on stage. A little apple bottom jeans...boots with the fur never hurt anybody, right? Jack was so cute in the audience. Her team was 29th out of 30 so he was ready for her to perform. When she came out on stage...he started whisper-yelling...."that's my sistow......that's my sistow.....that's Kaitwin!" After the show was over I was in conversation with a friend and I felt him tapping my side over and over. I finally stopped that conversation completely annoyed only to hear him say, "mom...Kaitwin is a weewee good dancow (dancer)."

Great dancing KK!

love the hair

bend.....and snap

proud grandparents

so happy to get a trophy

a story

I snapped this photo of Mr. Jack at the pool the other night. I just think it may be the cutest one I've taken in a loooong time. I love the expression on his face. Like, "Hey look at me, I'm all tough and cute with my water gun."

Now for the story behind the new header. You know, I just figured since I'm pretty much a regular blogger that in order to be in the "in crowd" of the blog world I needed a fancy schmancy blog header. Until this summer I just did not have the time to invest in such a chore....and let me tell you, it was a chore. It took 3 different websites, a video tutorial, and a professional web disgner to produce this baby! Appparently you have to have a degree in Photoshop and a Master's in Blogging to acheive a really fancy one. I dont have the patience to go beyond the "one picture" header. (a header is the rectangular advertisement portion at the top of a website.)

So I had a cute idea for a photo that I thought would jazz up this blog. After bribing my children with ice cream, we went outside for the impromptu shoot. 1,245 pictures later...I gave up. It seemed as if the stars were not aligned for a photo shoot with my lovely children. I spent 30 minutes watching them hit each other, call each other names, and then throw on a really fake, almost constipated looking smile when I would threaten them with groundation. It was rediclous. I almost decided yo change the name of my blog to fourever insanity.

So after putting on my own fake, constipated smile and kindly asking those lovely children to go inside before I scream at them in front of the neighbors, I decided I would take a look at the damage. Then I saw this photo....and all of the sudden I was glad I chose not to scream at them. In the midst of this rediculous and very much forced photo shoot came this adorable picture. They were both laughing at me at the time. I had asked them to open their eyes on 3 so I could snap this adorable and completely unspontaneous moment, and they both started laughing at me, almost as if to say..."Are you crazy lady? The sun is blaring in our eyes!" I took the picture anyway. Good thing it turned out cute. I don't know how we could have endured another attempt. Good times....and a very cute blog header.

summer time changes

Carsyn. Jack, Kaitlin, Camden

June 6, 2009

Welcome to my new but very much the same blog. I recently had an experience that made me decide to start a new blog without our last name in the site address. This is where I will post from now on so save this blog to your reader and/or "favorites" before you forget and I delete my old one.

I decided to start off the new blog with a very "summer-y" picture of the kiddos that I happily snapped the other day. I have a similar photo of me and my sister and cousin many years back that I wish I could find. Classic popsicle pose, I know, but a good one.

I was able to upgrade my camera to the D90 for almost nothing and am so excited to shoot some pics tomorrow. I really can't even believe the difference in one level of a Nikon upgrade. It may be that my super amazing 50mm lens finally works on the D90 and it did not on my other camera but regardless I am excited to have it for some upcoming shoots that my friends have asked me to do. I am going to be one snap happy girl this summer!

The Graduate

Off to Kindergraten we go!

May 30, 2009

School's out celebration

It's hard to believe, for some parents, that their child is going off to Kindergarten. But I think some parents feel differently when it's their baby. We are not asking ourselves, "Where did the time go?...... or telling ourselves, "I can't believe he is going to be in Kindergarten! Nope....not with the baby. We only ask ourselves..."what the heck took so long!" I feel as though time certainly flies at warp speed when you are raising children...but sending the baby off kindergarten is a wonferful experience for Eric and I. It is sad to think that there are no more babies, no more sippy cups, diapers, tantrums, nap times, or baby feet. But I'm slowly getting over that. I'm learning to live vicariously through my friends who have tiny ones. You know....love them and them give them back to their parents? I'm learning to embrace the concept of sleeping in and being able to pick up and go anywhere on a dime. And I am certainly NOT going to miss the $500.00 a month daycare fee.

I think if I was a stay at home mom I'd be flipping out right now. I'd probobly want to have another baby so I could hang on to these precious "little ones" days. I feel way too young to say goodbye to them for sure, but since I have to, I am choosing to love it. I will have both of my kids at work with me every day. I will no longer give 1/4th of my paycheck to daycare expenses. And I will no longer have to feel that crazy mommy guilt of making my child sit in after school everyday (albeit only for an hour....I still can't take it. I'm a stay at home mom at heart...working only because I have to...and resenting every moment that I am not with my kids after school)

To celebrate the end of another very short school year...we spent the day at the pool with Eric's friend Chad, his 2 kids Skylar and Nick, and my niece and nephew. I really wanted to relax at the pool and not be a photo stalker so I left the camera at home, but I should have brought it. There is no way to relax when you are in charge of 6 kids (the boys were in charge of the cooler and people watching :)). I followed the kids around anyway, and I missed some great photog moments. I did, however, get some cute shots of Jack with his graduation hat on...don't you think? Could this little stinker be any cuter?

SUMMER TIME!!!!!

you gotta laugh at his graduation attire....the boy HATES to dress up. 100% cotton...100% of the time, and I see no logical reason to fight it.

Nick, Skylar, and cutie pie

cutie pie...totally worn out from a long day in the sun

Flashback Friday

This is David and Christina last weekend at their wedding. I got very few pictures of them because I figured the photographer would take mostly pictures of them. Most of my pictures were of the family...ones I thought to photographer would miss. I was right! David and Christina had this precious moment on the dance floor where they all three came together and danced. I could not find the photographer so I snapped the shot myself. I couldn't bare to miss that moment. I had the very same moment almost 8 years ago with Eric and Kaitlin (see below). It was a very sweet moment when I finally felt like we were a real family. Although the picture is good...is scanned in horribly! I had to photoshop it and it still looks terrible, but who cares. It is still one of my very favorite photos from my wedding. By the way Beth- I FOUND MY WEDDING PHOTOS!!! No luck on my wedding ring or locket, but I'm still hopeful.