Weekend Warrior

With 3 little hooligans running around, I don't always have a lot of time to put into my photography business. When they are old enough to be a little more self-sufficient I will definitely have more time to invest, but for now I have to squeeze it in on the weekends. But it's always worth the time and I'm always glad I conned some poor soul into babysitting said hooligans for me.

The above were a few shots from a fantastically busy family session with 18 people. It was definitely the largest group (other than wedding parties) that I've ever worked with, and I was really impressed with how well all those good-looking kiddos did. It was a lot of fun, and I'm so glad they let me work with them!

It's no secret that I love sessions with this awesome family. I continue to be blessed to watch this little guy grow up in front of my camera. And now? He has another, equally handsome little brother joining him. This couple knows how to raise some handsome (and ridiculously photogenic) babies! ;)

Yesterday I got to work with another of my fav families. I've also watched this little lady growing up, and she just gets prettier all the time. She was so well behaved during our session...toughing it through several trip-and-falls and bloody elbows and still smiling. A tough cookie who still says 'cheese'? Amazing.

I'm always so grateful to the people who trust me with catching their family memories. I love doing it, and always love getting to know them and watching them make those memories. Thanks for the opportunity!

Personal Petting Zoo

Last weekend we had the chance to go and visit Billy's parents. It had been about two months (too long!) since we had seen them. The kiddos looove going to see Nannie and Pop, and always love roaming/running/climbing all over their farm. Nannie and Pop have several goats (they are working towards having a lot of goats) which provided some serious petting-zoo type entertainment.

I was a little concerned that the goats would bite them. But I'm not so good at animals...I hate dogs and honestly I'm a little terrified of horses. (Hello...they are huge, don't look where they are stepping, and they kick people.) But the hooligans didn't seem to have any trouble making friends. Tirzah was fearlessly feeding them all kinds of scraps she yanked out of the yard, and Merrick looked like he wanted to just climb right in the pen with them. (We also had a problem with him climbing into goat pens at the fair. He seems to have a kindred spirit with goats...probably mountain goats in particular since he's been climbing like one since before he could walk.)

I had one close encounter when I was leaned over the fence taking pictures and looked down to see this. She is probably thinking my iPhone would make a good snack. As far as goats go, these ladies were pretty good looking. I've seen goats before, and cute was not a word I would have used to describe them, but these guys kind of won me over. But don't expect to see me on any horses anytime soon.

Hooligans are Rad.

I'm sure you guys have heard of all the "color" runs and races popping up all over the place. People are running through everything from color to foam to mud to zombies. As a runner, I first turned my nose up at these races since (ohmuhgosh) they don't even have a time clock or mile markers. I realized I needed to get over myself though, and ran one last summer with my sisters and had a blast, gasp, even though I didn't know what my time was. ;)

It was so much fun, in fact, that I thought we would take the hooligans to a local Color Me Rad race. I figured there would be a lot of walking and piggy-backing, and there was, but they ran a good part of the way and had a great time. Merrick did a little of his signature questioning (my child who has to know the reasons and the whys and the schedule for everything) and pouted a little when he got sprayed (the powder they throw was fine) with the liquid color. He ran for at least 1.5 miles though! So proud of those skinny white legs of his. Tirzah didn't care about being sprayed, and her only concern was there was not nearly enough pink color flying around. She was also a bit perturbed that I did not get her a long, curly blond wig to wear like the girls in tutu's and fairy wings she saw run past us. I'll know better next time.

The kiddos didn't actually get race bibs, since they run for free with an adult, so we made them their own. They have seen me race enough to know, "hey...where is my bib?" No fooling these guys. I thought their bib "numbers" were appropriate. ;) Afterwards we took them out to IHOP for some recovery pancakes. Apparently racing gives them a monster appetite since we couldn't fill the bottomless pit that was Merrick. He stood up at one point in his seat and said: "I am HUUUNGRY! I need more pancakes!" We had to leave before he managed to get full...eating his food and part of mine and Billy's. 

I know it's bittersweet watching them get older, but it's also so much fun to do things like this with them. I'd like to think they will look back on their childhood, aside from remembering how deeply loved and treasured they are, and see lots of colorful memories and traditions that keep them steady enough to run free.

I Don't Cayuh.

We were riding in the van the other day and the hooligans just busted out singing this song I wasn't aware they'd even heard before. Complete with matching accents.

Life was crazy this weekend, (Color Me Rad, photo shoots, goats and chickens and children oh my) and there's lots of fun stuff to blog about. But I'm still trying to find which way is up and sort through all the wreckage of the good kind of chaos. So I figured this would do as a good start to the week...but stay tuned. There's always more crazy on this end of the Internet.

Mall Walkers

Around our house, there really isn't any great spot to take a walk with the kiddos. We kind of have to cross a busy road, and then the sidewalk we walk down is right next to said busy road. If you've met my children, you know why this would lead to the complete opposite of a relaxing stroll.

The other night we decided we'd be really smart, and take them for a "walk" at a nearby outdoor mall. Plenty of room and no chance of getting run over by anything other than a few fashionistas who don't quite appreciate shopping alongside the local wildlife.

As you can see, they took advantage of the extra "freedom" to not stay on a narrow sidewalk. I would have attempted to rein them in a bit, but since there weren't many people to bother, I decided to save my breath. (Billy and I kept asking ourselves what they had eaten to make them so wound up...but so far this remains a mystery.) Thankfully no one fell into the fountains, and contrary to one of the above pictures, no one found any snakes in the landscaping either. There may have even been a relay race on the escalator, but this can't be confirmed.

Tirzah is obsessed with flowers, as you know. She even found this flowered  "item" that she wanted to buy in Urban Outfitters. Sorry, kid. Not buying you a flask for at least another 18 years. ;) I'll leave you with this little clip, which will probably leave you wondering how no one ended our trip with a little swim.

Different Kinds of Awesome

It's never more obvious to me the differences in my kiddos, and just boys and girls in general, than when we are playing outside. Tizzy can usually be found twirling or picking and and all flowers within a mile radius. Merrick is climbing something or breaking something.

Tizzy is a girly girl who manages at the same time to be a bully. It's an admirable skill if you ask me. It's why I call her the warrior princess. ;) And Merrick, in all his wild and crazy, is such an inquisitive sweetheart. He will stomp on a bug if its bothering me, but the other day he "took care of" a tiny ant for a good hour.

I want to celebrate the differences in my kiddos, even when their differences lead them to rip each others hair (and mine) out. They are three pretty amazing individuals...and I'm glad that I was chosen to be their referee.

It Walks.

J-Hawk finally took his first real steps Sunday night. We were really excited for him, and as you can tell, he was pretty excited for himself.

Life probably just went to a whole different level of crazy. But it was bound to happen eventually! ;)

Skipping

We rarely skip church, we love going, but last Sunday -after a week of crazy- we kind of just decided we needed a break from doing anything. We slept in, I went running (not relaxing to some, but always chills me out), ate Cheez-its and sat outside on the porch. 

And while we were recharging and "skipping' some things, it seems the weather skipped Spring and went straight to Summer. Which is totally fine with me. I could have Summer all year and be ok. The kids are a little unadjusted though, but they will get the hang of it. (I'm sure we will have a little bit more of a cool down before it stays hot, too.)

It was good to just enjoy a relaxing day at home, especially in light of the fact that I now have the plague and have been a zombie during part of this wonderfully-weathered week. (I rarely get sick, thank God, but when I do? I do it with a bang. Fitting of my personality, I guess. Go big or go home.) I have dragged the kids outside though in spite of the hacking and sniffling...so maybe all the sunshine will fry it out of my system asap.

I think skipping things now and then is healthy, and I'm glad we had the chance to enjoy some quiet time and home with nowhere to go and nothing to do. I think, just like this awesome weather, it's been far too long since that happened.

Finish Line Party

Merrick has a very, ahem, competitive attitude. To the extent of being a sore loser. If he ever loses a game he will promptly accuse the winner of cheating, pout, or say he is never playing that game again...sometimes all of the above. I have no idea where he gets this attitude from. ;) Anyway...I've realized that he also loves to race. (I'm not even going to pretend I don't know where that comes from.) This has been something that has definitely come in handy. (Won't eat his dinner? I'll race you. *Dinner disappears* Won't clean his room? Race your sister to pick up the most toys. *Room gets clean.* I'm no idiot. I'll take what I can get.)

Lately I've been able to enjoy a lot more outside running. (I've logged many a mile on the treadmill just because the YMCA will watch my kids while I run. Heavenly.) A combination of the weather and Billy's weird schedule have just magically worked out for this border collie to hit the road. One of my favorite parts about this new development, aside from the fact that running in this weather is nothing short of a gift from God (I know, I know, not everyone sees it quite that way. Haha), is the welcome I get when I come home. After an hour of working hard and winding down, Hillsong in my ears and hills under my feet; to hear their little voices cheering as I come down our sidewalk, and often Merrick's "I'll race ya, Mom!", well I can't think of a better finish line party. :)

Sometimes I hate thinking of a title. So I won't.

There really is no purpose or theme on this blog post. I just had some funny pictures of the kids...it's a Monday...and you are gonna have to take what you can get. Maybe you are feeling a little angry this morning...I bet Tirzah can sympathize.

Or maybe you're enjoying the fabulously warm Spring weather? (Finally, Spring. Geez.) Chillin in your shades (or your mother's shades) like J-Hawk. Just be sure not to rub snot on your mama's shades like the aforementioned individual.

Maybe you ate too much this weekend, and are wearing your big brother's pants cuz nothing else fits, also like Jericho. It's ok...we get it. We ate Cheez-its and cookies all weekend. (And yes, Jericho is in fact wearing Merrick's pants from last summer.)

Or maybe you're just feeling the Monday blues, zoned out at work looking something like this baby. Get yourself some coffee, in that case. Just don't share with Merrick unless you plan on babysitting. He drank half of my coffee this morning. He will be outside until he runs that out of his system and he's passed out in the yard.

Whatever your Monday looks like...I hope that you enjoy it. If you are feeling like your Monday isn't quite exciting enough feel free to stop by. There is always something happening over here that should probably be on the evening news.

Saddest Man Alive

Jericho may seem like he deserves a lot of sympathy from watching this video. Be warned, this was him pitching one of his recently all-too-common tantrums.

I guess as the baby of the family, I should have expected it. With two older siblings you gotta stick up for yourself right? ;) In this case it just happened to be he was sticking up for his right to have some of his sister's Easter candy.

Parked

Every time we say we are going to the park the kiddos assume it will involve playgrounds and things of that nature. The few times I've dragged them to a nearby nature park (that does have a playground in another area) they've really, really, gotten mad at me. It's like they look at me and say, "Mom, how can we ever trust you again? This is no park." It takes hours of explaining every time to get them to understand what a park is.

They always have fun once they get there. Merrick ran and played and climbed on all kinds of things. He only almost knocked one person unconscious with a rock. Tirzah didn't fall once, despite her best efforts of walking on the edges of sidewalks and missing steps and getting as close to the edges of fishponds as possible without actual swimming.

There were lots of photo opportunities, and also lots of babies running away from photo opportunities.

I even got in a few of the pictures. That never happens. Yet another reason I need to invest in my own wide angle lens, (this one is my sister's) because one day my kids won't ask "was mom on any of these family outings?"

I guess it's too much to ask that we have great weather, family time at the park, and a picture where everyone is looking at the camera. I'm happy that everyone is at least in this one, and 4 out of 5 isn't bad I don't think. These customers don't pay very well anyway. ;) Hope you are enjoying the Spring weather like we are!