Monday, November 24, 2008

little brother, big uncle

2006 you & Josie, Anna, Bethany


2002 you & Katie, Josie, Anna


1998 you & Katie


1982 you & me


HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVER!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

pretty portraits

I will say, I think this is one of the best school pics of Katie so far. They do a Fall and a Spring, and they do re-takes each time. I've never been 100% satisfied, especially for what you pay! not too bad, not tood bad...


I was not as thrilled with Anna's pic - they tried to put her in a pose she wasn't comfortable with, AND her hair was in her eyes. However, she came home from school and said, "Mom, I look so beautiful!". How could I resist that?





Now, for Bethany. I actually had an appointment at Target (because I had a coupon), but when we got there, not only was the photographer unattentive, she had her schedule all mixed up. After about 30 minutes, we got up and left. I just wanted to get it done, so we called Wal-Mart and got in a few days later. When she asked what the occasion was, I was embarrassed to say that I had not ever had her 2-year old portrait done (her b-day is Feb.). I found some adorable rose jammies (her middle name is Rose), so we decided to go with a bedtime portrait. They turned out very cute!


Take a close look at this one. There is a black dot a little more than half-way up on the left. I couldn't tell what it was until I pulled out the 10x13... it was a flying insect, and you could actually see it's wings and body in motion! So weird!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

few more punkin pics

I just had to share these last few Halloween-ish photos of Bethany...




There was a pumpkin patch at the church where we go to music class. We went a few minutes early one day so she could explore.









Instead of Halloween at preschool, they do an "orange" party. I wasn't able to attend that day because I had some obligations at the elementary school. Shayne went, and I think they both had a fun time!
















No more Halloween pics until next year, I promise!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

book report

I was as passionate about books when I was a kid as Katie is now. I love it when I recommend something I read years ago, and she falls in love with it too.

Katie's book report theme for October was "mystery". She chose Trixie Belden and The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell. The teachers have given them a variety of ways to present their information... this time, Katie chose a diorama. A classic, right? Well, the problem is, you have to have a shoebox. Ugh! I just threw a bunch out - doesn't it always happen that way. Well, in the process of brainstorming, we realized that we had this little wooden dollhouse that wasn't much bigger than a shoebox (and we decided to use some of the furniture too). The whole thing turned out quite cute, if I do say so myself.


(yes, she purposely placed the sticker on her forehead prior to the picture being taken... it was way past her bedtime the night before the project was due, so she was a bit delirious)

Here is the description she attached:
Trixie & Honey came into the Miser's Mansion to find a strange redhead boy sleeping on a dirty mattress with a shiny cup and a shotgun next to him. There was trash and debris all over the place & the upstairs was boarded up... The upstairs had an old fancy bed, rug, chair & wardrobe full of old fancy clothes. Next to the bed was an old ible with Mr. Frayne's will in it.

I really enjoy working on projects like this with the girls. I offer plenty of suggestions, but let them take the lead. I've noticed there are 3 basics groups of families... those who just do the work for the child; those that work with the child; and those (unfortunately) that just don't care. I hope we always fall in the middle somewhere.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

happy belated blog-iversary?

...is that what it's called? Regardless, I missed my own. We started our blog on Halloween 2007 with "an oink oin here and an oink oink there", so I'll note our anniversary with our 2008 Halloween pics...

can you guess what our "theme" was this year?
















the littlest hunter...





















our church hosted a "trunk of treats" - everybody lined their vehicles up in the parking lot and the kiddos went from trunk to trunk collecting goodies