Insta-Copycat

I've seen so many people post friday photo "dumps", often consisting of instagrams. I take SO many shots with my iPhone during the week...that typically don't make it onto the blog. It's so much easier to pull out the ever-present iPhone when someone is doing something cute (ok, ridiculous?) than to run get the DSLR. (Which admittedly is my 4th child, but it isn't allowed to run errands with me.) I may have to start making this a tradition, since I really have enjoyed seeing this on friends' blogs.

1. Jericho's Monday hair
2. The Barron Bandits
3. Jericho finally interested in crawling
4. Love coming home to Christmas lights!

1. The hooligans watching "Whammy the Poo", which was actually Kung-Fu Panda, at the Doctor's office
2. Some homeschooligan action
3. The hooligans helping make peppermint bark

1. "Ninja Ale" (yes, that's a #Merrickism)
2. All of us waiting, and waiting, and waiting, at the Doctor's office
3. Our Christmas tre
4. Just typical decor in my bathroom ;)

Hope that everyone is having a great Friday so far, and it leads to a relaxing weekend! We have a Christmas parade (alone with 3 kids...since Billy is working) on the agenda. We will see how that one goes. Stay tuned.

Capitol Idea

Had the chance to do another session for a sweet family the other day. Have I said how much I love doing this...being part of people's holiday traditions? It just adds a little something special, and makes me see the holidays in a whole different light and from a different perspective. Everyone's holidays are so different and unique, and it's fun to see how they celebrate.

I love catching up with this family. They have a gorgeous little girl with a sassy personality that makes photo shoots fun. Since I have my own sassy little girl at home, I think we understand each other.

We have hopped around to all different locations in our hometown in the name of a good photo shoot, and this time we decided to head down to the state's capitol. It ended up being an absolutely gorgeous, if not a little chilly, day. We just wandered around, followed little miss while she pranced around in the leaves, and happened to take some family shots in the process.

I love the sessions where it just feels like hanging out with friends. It's been fun getting to know this family, and I always look forward to the time we spend hanging out, even if the paparazzi is tagging along. ;)

Christmas Twitcherating

When it comes to things around the house, I'm pretty picky. I like all things to be in their "homes" and put away neatly. I start to get a little twitchy when all of the kids toys are out at one time...which happens a lot. They like all their toys where they can see them: all over the living room.

When it came time to decorate the tree Saturday night, I thought it would be fun for the kids to help. Well, some of them. Some of them just spent a solid hour staring into the light.

Merrick did a pretty good job of putting the decorations evenly around the tree. Tirzah hung them all in one spot, and all from the wire of the Christmas lights instead of on the actual tree. I tried to keep my twitching to a minimum...because I'm so picky about the tree decorations being even. (I know I know, get over it lady. You have three kids.)

I did move them when she wasn't looking, but since she didn't even notice I figure I didn't do any psychological damage in the process. The only damage that's been done so far is the multiple times they've managed to trip and fall into the Christmas tree since we put it up. So far they haven't knocked it over, but I'm not placing any bets on that being true for the rest of the season.

And what's Christmas without the obligatory cliche ornament-reflection shot? (Ours are plastic...so the reflection isn't so great, but you can see everyone at least!) This year I decided to go all out and try to get all five of us in it. I will not disclose how many shots it took to make it happen, but it happened. That's what counts. I have photographic proof.

That last shot cracks me up, and proves that fun can happen even when your decorations are crooked and your eye is twitching. The Christmas spirit is a powerful thing...makes OCD mommies chill out, makes daddies get on ladders to put up lights, is responsible for gum stuck in the Christmas tree (Merrick), and nearly ingested Christmas decor (Jericho).

I'm looking forward to enjoying this Christmas season with the hooligans. The older two are getting to an age where they are much more fun. More greedy, but fun. (We will work on the greedy, and totally take advantage of the fun.) This will be Jericho's first Christmas, since he barely missed it last year. I know he won't remember it, but we will definitely remember how many Christmas lights he tried to ingest. ;)

Frosty and the Pest.

Now that Thanksgiving is officially over, we've commenced the Christmas-show watching. I love this time of year just as much as the kids do I think. Tonight's feature? Frosty the Snowman, and Frosty Returns.

The kids sat still, on the couch, for an entire hour. (Well, not J-Hawk...he went to bed about halfway through the Frosty marathon.) That in itself is worth waiting a year for. They had their popcorn (which I've learned Merrick can't handle...he freaks out every time it gets stuck in his teeth) and thankfully didn't share any with their baby brother. He was a little offended as you can tell.

I think he decided if they weren't going to share, he was going to do whatever was in his power to interrupt their movie time. He hit them with that glow stick, pulled their hair, tried to steal their popcorn when they weren't looking, etc.

I think he finally resigned himself to just eating the glow-stick (is that even healthy???) and getting in whatever jabs he could at the older two. It's funny how little siblings seem to innately know just what to do to pester those older siblings. As the oldest of 6 I have no bitter feelings about this. Ahem.

If one must be a pest, though, at least he's a cute pest.

It's the silly things...

When people are talking about what they are thankful for, often you hear someone say, "It's the little things." For me, while I am thankful for little things, I'm especially thankful for the silly things. The things that come with raising three small children, and spending enough time with people who are little things, that it all starts to be a bit hilarious. Not sure if that's the exhaustion talking or I'm just learning to truly apprecaite life as it is. Either way, as we approach this delicious holiday and I plan on being in a carb coma and not communicating here for a day or so, thought I'd share a few of the "silly things" I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful for the hilarious ways that I find my children sleeping. It makes me laugh, and never ceases to give me something to update facebook with. (Tirzah had fallen asleep in the van, and I brought her in and put her in the floor and she literally never flinched. Jericho even scooted over to pull on her hair...still nothing.)

I'm thankful for Merrick's goofy way of doing things. We roasted marshmallows at my mom's the other night, and while everyone was getting theirs lightly toasted, Merrick immediately set his completely on fire. He then proceeded to freak out and wave it around nearly lighting several aunties on fire. We did put it out successfully, no worries.

I also love how my kids (and my husband...if you can find him in this shot) love to wrestle each other. And I mean they seriously get into it. There are bodies flying all over the house. I also love their facial expressions, and the opportunities to photograph them for future blackmail. Tirzah was definitely out for blood as she kicked her brother in the head.

 I'm also thankful for silly interruptions when I'm trying to take a bath. (Left picture. They were supposed to be downstairs playing with their daddy and busted into the bathroom with swords. Bathing is dangerous business in this house.) And I'm thankful for Jericho's ridiculously cute "gap teefers" as we call them. I mean, I could pretty much eat him for thanksgiving dinner. But then again, I do have my pick of turkeys around here. Pretty thankful for the silliness they add to the everyday. Happy thanksgiving to you and yours!

Baby Sandwich

I don't really like sandwiches...but this one is hard to resist. ;)

I don't often try to get a picture involving the three of them, but it's kind of addicting to see all those yummy faces in one shot. Each of them are so different, but at the same time I see the similarities between siblings.

Funny how that also applies to the way each of them fill a specific spot in my heart, as well, one that's just their own, but so close to the others. Didn't mean to get sappy, not sure where that came from. ;) So I'm just gonna go clean something now. Because as cute as those faces are, they are usually dirty.

Surrounded.

360 degrees (well, almost) of hooligans. Nothing too out of the ordinary happening this week, but I always feel weird not updating. (Can you spot all 3 of the hooligans in this shot? I know they'd be easier to spot if noise was included.)

And in typical ordinary-day fashion, please ignore the dirty dishes in the sink. ;) Hope everyone is having a great week! I promise to try to be more interesting when I get five minutes to brush my teeth. Priorities, ya know?

What?

Raisins don't make you scream? ;)

Marathoner.

Back when I started this crazy journey in June, on my 30th birthday to be exact, I wasn't entirely sure I could do it. Run a marathon? I know people have done much crazier, tougher things...but for me this was always the thing I wanted so badly to do but was scared to commit to. Mostly because I was afraid I couldn't get it done. Thankfully, with lots of help and an amazing amount of support from so many people who understand I'm a crazy person who can't stop running, get it done I did...in about 4:14. :)

My fellow crazy-person runner sister ran it right alongside me. We both followed about the same 23 week training plan that went from June through race day (November 10th). We both had a few bumps and aches and pains during the course of the training. My IT band hurt, her achilles hurt, we were tired, we though we weren't gonna make it, we weren't sure we wanted to make it, etc. We both learned a lot about stretching, icing, pacing, fueling, resting, tapering, bagel-eating, carb-loading, hydrating, gu eating, chafing and long-running.

The day of the race I woke up looking calm on the outside, but was totally fuh-reaking out on the inside. I was certain I forgot everything I needed on the way out the door, but managed to at least have my legs and shoes. Necessities for a race, I believe. The weather turned out to be fantastic. The crowds along the course were so awesome with their high-fives and funny signs. The course was relatively non-hilly (which I appreciate since I'm generally found on the treadmill...which is generally flat) and through the fall-foliage of the capitol city. We really couldn't have asked for better conditions.

Amanda and I's husbands both were running support team for us. (Along with my awesome training team coaches -Amanda lives in another state, and trained on her own. I trained with a local team.- who showed up at various points along the course to check on us and tell me us we were awesome. I didn't feel awesome after about mile 18, but I appreciated it anyway.) Our mom, sisters, and my kids were all waiting for us with signs and cowbells at the finish line. Speaking of miles...I felt like Usain Bolt up until said mile 18...then I started to feel kind of like I was dying. I became familiar with what is known as "the wall" at about mile 20. It's an ugly place to be, and running into it hurts. Thankfully there are things called Clif Bloks, and people who hand you cups of yummy blue Powerade, and husbands who meet you at mile 21 and run with you until the finish line.

The last 5 miles were pretty brutal. I never thought I wouldn't finish at that point, but I was terrified that I would finish in a very ugly manner. As in crying and crawling very slowly. But as you can see from that last picture, Amanda and I did cross the finish line on our feet, with what appear to be smiles (but are possibly grimaces of pain from the cramps in our leg muscles...haha) The fact that it was down a huge hill definitely helped. I totally could have curled up in the fetal position (kind of where I wanted to be at mile 24) and rolled down it. But that's not cute for pictures. I did do a little boo-hooing once I crossed the finish line, also not cute for pictures. But at that point I was less concerned with what I looked like and more concerned with getting to the grass so I could lay down for the rest of my life. I've been doing what's known as the "marathon shuffle" today, and trying not to wear my medal out to do things like go to Walmart or to church, or stand in the parking lot admiring my new 26.2 sticker on my van.

The race was tough. Honestly tougher than I was expecting. But I'm so blessed to have been able to do it, and blessed by the people who helped me do it. My legs are looking forward to a little recovery, and I'm sure my husband is looking forward to me not talking about my training every .5 seconds. I'll also try to stop referring to myself as a "marathoner" at every chance. Maybe. ;)

"It was a carnival of pain, but he loved each stride because running distilled him to his essence." - Tabor

It's that Time.

Christmas card-shooting time. I can't believe it's gotten here so fast. This time last year I was waddling around with a huge belly that doubled as a camera stand. Thankfully this year I'm a little more mobile. ;)

I was so glad to see THIS guy again, as well. It's no secret he's my favorite client. I've been shooting him since he was a tiny wittle baby and he somehow manages to get cuter with every session. His parents aren't too bad looking either. ;) Such a great family. Wish we lived closer to each other!

And they're now expecting another handsome little guy! So looking forward to some double trouble next Spring. I'm sure baby brother will be every bit as handsome, and favorite will now have to be "favorites". ;) Definitely a good problem to have!

I'm always glad to be a part of people's holiday traditions, and hope that these shots turn into lots of Christmas card cheer!

Just Add Water

Three weirdos in a tub.

This was the first time I've put all 3 of them in the tub at the same time. For once the older two's splashing skills were put to shame. They were appalled at Jericho's nerve, splashing water in THEIR eyes.

After all the times they've drenched me AND the entire second floor of the house I had a hard time feeling sorry for them. After J-Hawk calmed down and found something to do (stealing Merrick's toys) besides create tidal waves, they had a great time playing together.

It would appear that just adding water covers over a multitude of sibling disagreements. Even the unpardonable sin of stealing Buzz Lightyear.