Spencer's thanksgiving fun

I was really excited because for the first time, the kids preschool-I guess now Spencer's preschool was going to do a little thanksgiving "play." It was really cute. Spencer was so excited tell me he was going to be a turkey. I actually volunteer one day a week and I cut out all the pieces for the little turkey hat they wore:)

So Landon and I got to go to the "Play" which was more like a little concert. They all sang little songs and one of the teachers was the narrator. Spencer was singing the songs and was excited when he saw me come in. He did all the hand motions and everything. It was really cute.

After the play, the served up a little "feast"-mashed potatoes, veggies, rolls, a turkey in the form of a rotisserie chicken (yeah-I thought that was funny, too) cookies. The tables were all decorated with cornicopias, etc and the kids had fun eating the "feast."

Here is Spencer in his hat.
The hat kept falling down. There was one little boy in Spencer's class who wore his upside down because he didn't like the legs in his face. So funny.
Spencer enjoying his feast. Nice Job on your hat, Spence:)
After the feast, all the classes went to the playground. Spencer's job that day was line leader, and his teacher told me he takes it very seriously. Landon would follow right behind Spence. He loves going to school and cries to stay with Spencer.
So sweet!
This is what I am most thankful for:

coloring with daddy

What do you do on a Saturday morning?

Color with daddy!!

Really small world

On Saturday I answered a Craig's list ad for a new lens for my camera-a 50mm 1.8 for anyone who would care. I got a response back and we discussed meeting this morning. I called the number and it was a cute lady voice. The first thing I thought to myself when I heard her voice mail was "this totally sounds like a mormon mommy-I bet she has her own photography business from home."

So we set up the time and met to make the exchange. I asked her some photography questions-and yes she has a business with a partner in Arizona-and I mentioned there were a couple photographers in my ward and one that moved away who I wished I had mentored with (Jill Thomas) She asked me what church I went to and it turns out my first instinct was right!!! She is in the Woodbridge Stake. It was funny because she totally knew who Jill is and loves her work follows her blog, too. She said she tried to mentor with her but it didn't work out. She also knows another friend who lives in Woodbridge. So we chatted for a few minutes and she was gracious enough to give me couple tips, and knocked the price of the lens down because she couldn't find the lens cap or the box:) We exchanged information and went on our merry ways.

Really, what small world!!

Great Day!!!

Wow, what a great day today has been. It started pretty early when Spencer crawled into our bed at 6:00 am. Then Landon followed a few minutes later. It was a pretty funny thing the next little while. Although I love the 3 men in my life, I value sleep as well. I had a headache and was already nervous enough about the photo shoot I was going to do at 8:00, so wanted to sleep as long as I could. I went to Landon's bed. He followed. I took him back to the bed with his dad and went back to his bed. Then Spencer came in and wanted to be right next to me...practically on top of me. I tried to slip back into my bed, both boys followed. Darin was laughing at me. We ended up having a tickle-fest with the boys and got out of bed around 6:45. A few minutes later Jordan woke up in a wet bed...yuck.

So I got ready and drove to Old Town to take pictures of a family in my ward. It was really fun. I took lots of different shots-family, individual, girls, boys, etc. I was just hoping I had all the settings right-trying to remember everything I learned in my class and hide my nervousness at the same time. Luckily the kids were older and very cooperative. It was really fun. I had to look at the pictures right when I got home. Some were really good, I was happy. I played around a little bit in photoshop elements to do some editing.

I took Jordan to a birthday party then stopped and got some yummy bread from Great Harvest. I was home only a few minutes-long enough to shower, feed me and the boys and put Landon down for a nap. So off I went to my last photography class. I was excited to have my laptop to show my pictures of this morning and get some tips. I was thrilled to have my teacher pull up elements and show me some stuff. I was worried about a couple faces being over exposed and he showed me some stuff. He said that elements does a lot more than he thought it would. There is a lot you can do. He even showed me how to move a face around...I will need tons of practice.

I ran ( this is kind of boring, but I wanted to document the day...) to the grocery store, which was a big mistake the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Then I was home again less than an hour then was off again to do a photo shoot for another family!! Woo Hoo...so fun. So I went this time to Huntley Meadows for a more outdoorsy setting. It was fun, again. The kids were smaller and I had to work a lot harder for some little smiles but we did well. The scenery was so pretty. I did forget to check the settings a couple times, but did get some really good shots.

We did the second shoot because an hour later we were doing a babysitting swap with the family I took pictures of. We had a fun time playing, making english muffin pizzas and having a picnic in the living room. I was pretty proud because it was the first time the parents have left the little boy-who is not quite 2-to go on a date. He did great! It was fun to see him do the things Landon did about a year ago.

So my day was pretty full. I am pretty glad my class is over so we can have Saturdays back to normal, but am excited to take a more extensive class next sememster. I am feeling more confident and know that I just need more practice and I can do this!! I was lacking the confidence I need and have been thinking that there are better photographers around here...not to mention 2 in my ward...but I am much more hopeful after today!!

Now to do some editing on 2 photo shoots....

getting dirty

As you can see by my 3rd post today that I have a lot to catch up on. We have such fun things that happen that I really want them to be in the book I am going to eventually do of my blog.

On Sunday we had a little outing. I was copycatting one of my friends and went to find a tunnel I knew was in a lot of pics of people in our ward. I wasn't sure exactly where I was going, but we found it. That will be another post in itself, but I had to highlight how dirty Spencer got and how much he absolutely loved it!

What's a little dirt on my pants, mom? It can wash out, right?
the shoulder too!
And the hands used for climbing on everything
more dirty shoulder

Here's one of the many times Spencer was on the ground.....
The result of spending so much time on the ground. But mom, it was such a fun game-especially in nice clothes.

Guess a little dirt is good for ya!

life is crazy.

Life is crazy, that just sums up my life in a nutshell. Some days I don't know if I am coming or going. Here is some of my craziness:

Saturday. Ugh, I seriously screwed up. We have known for a few weeks that Spencer had a birthday party at the Zoo. I recently got an evite for another birthday party for Jordan and read the date wrong so for a week. I even looked at it a second time to reply and didn't bother to double check the date. I was stressing that they were on the same day similar times and we would have to divide forces. I set up a carpool with another friend who was going.

So the day came. I had it all set up and thought I was on top of things. I reminded Darin how to get to both houses, told him the times, where to go and what to do. I went to the zoo with the boys. I ended up calling Darin, ashamedly in tears, to tell him I missed my exit, was there another way to get to the zoo. I was so worried about having to pay the $20 parking to go to a kids birthday party that I wanted to get there early to get street parking. (That didn't happen-I ended up joining FONZ to avoid parking costs-we will use it.)

So I am frantically running into the building for the party because my friend put on the invitation that the tour left promptly at 10:00. Well....not so. The family had just arrived as well, and they played some games and stuff before the tour. Yes, a little annoyed. Anyhow, I am on the zoo tour with the party and my phone rings. It was Darin....he was not happy....opps...major screw up. Party NEXT Saturday. I was sooooo embarrassed and felt really bad for Darin who went to homes with people still in their pajamas. I appologized profusely, needless to say, but still feel so stupid!!! He ended up taking the little girl home with us, so it worked out for Jordan to have a playdate. And the smart man left the presents there so we won't have to worry about them next week:)

I did go to my photography class on Saturday and like the lesson. I asked a bunch of questions and the teacher was really helpful. So that was great.

Different kind of crazy....going non stop

Monday: Crazy Busy. Here is my timeline:
8:25 take Jordan to school
8:40 ish, take Spencer to a friends house and stay with the kids so the mom can take her son to school.
9:30 ish:After talking to a friend for a while, go to WalMart to get light bulbs.
10:00 Music class at the church. Landon is so cute and totally loves it-especially the parachute
11:00 pick Spencer up and take him to school.
11:10-1:00 help out in Spencer's class. cut out turkeys for their little play, help with snack time.
1:00-pick up the little girl I watch on Mondays, get to Library to follow group to farm for Jordan's brownie meeting
2:00-3:3oish follow brownies around as they go on tour and have class of farm, and play on playground a while. Landon slept the whole time and Spencer had fun seeing all the animals.
4:00ish drive home
5:00-make dinner and eat
6:00 go to metro because we have tickets for a figure skating event and verizon center(more in another post)
7:00 sit down in seats to watch show-start shoving food in kids mouths to keep quiet.
7:15-8:00ish-try to take pictures of famous skaters and keep kid quiet while people keep looking at 2 very stupid people for thinking they can take 3 small children to a figure skating event.
8:15 is leave verizon center in a horrible mood. Made the mistake of parking at Van Dorn instead of Pentagon city mall to avoid dragging the kids through the mall to get to the metro. Wait and wait for our train. All the while fighting 3 children to behave. Oh, I also got so desperate because Spencer cried and cried that he had to go poopy, that I slipped a diaper under his underwear and told him to go. Turns out it was just gas because the diaper was empty. The things mothers do.

Darin and I realized that we made an completely foolish and stupid decision to think that we could pull the evening off. It was horrible-I cannot express my emotions about my failures as a mother-I felt so helpless and just embarassed that I have somehow failed to teach my children how to behave in public. ( I may be over dramatizing it a bit, emotions still running high over the whole thing.)

I was driving around yesterday and realized it was just the beginning of my many hours in the car as a mother. A good friend in the ward who had teenagers has told me of her time spent in the car taxing her children. Why do we think we need to do so much....crazy is what it really is....crazy.

How do you enjoy a cupcake?

Yesterday we went to Frying Pan Farm for Jordan's brownies. We lucked out with a gorgeous day. It was fun to walk with all the girls and see their excitement. Spencer loved it as well. Landon slept in the stroller and woke up just in time for snack!! I gave him a cupcake and couldn't resist taking some shots of his enjoyment!

I love his finger on his cheek. It is the finger he sucks, so he often holds it up when he is doing something. Funny boy.


Pure enjoyment!

What do you do with no school?

You go to a really fun garden and play!!!

Last week we had a couple of days off school and since we all had cabin fever from being sick, we had to get out of the house. We got a few friends together and met at River Farm Garden Park. It was just "what the doctor ordered." It was a beautiful fall day and we just had a wonderful time. The park is along the George Washington Parkway, so it is a pretty drive. The park is home to the National Horticulture Society and is right on the Potomac. The flowers were so pretty.

We quickly found the children's garden and much fun was had. The first place was the dirt pit to dig for worms. Of course, tons of fun-even with lots of mud:)

Digging for worms.
Spencer found a fun place to hang out on the little bridge.
digging for worms-so exciting when we found one.
Landon in his own world. He loved roaming around and finding things to do.

I introduced Alaina to "Pirate booty" and she loved it!!

While we were eating our lunch, there was a big wind that came through blowing a ton of leaves off the tree. Kaalie tried to catch some.
Jordan contemplating the meaning of life
I loved this shot-all the girls going to find the pond
silly Sarah...love this picture-beautiful girl, beautiful flowers. though
Here's my attempt at some artistic photography.
The colors were absolutely gorgeous
Sarah trying to get the leaves.
Here's what Alaina looks like when she crawls in the mud.

We had a fantastic time at the garden. We children did not want to go home. We could have stayed there all day. After we left, we did a drive down to Mt. Vernon and the leaves were pretty. I love that we live so close to so many beautiful things!

We have a brownie in the house

Here's just a couple goofy pictures of Jordan and I playing "princess"
My friend Carla has been a girl scout leader the last few years, so put me in touch with the new leader this year for Brownies at Jordan's school. I loved girl scouts as a little girl, so thought it would be something Jordan would love. There is one little girl from her class in the troop, as well as Sarah, Carla's daughter who Jordan adores.

So Saturday night was the "investiture" when they officially become a brownie. We had it at a local park with a big pond and lots of trails. We had the ceremony by the lake because the original story has the girl scouts seeing their reflection in the pond. Jordan was excited because Sarah was her helper in the ceremony. It was cute.

Here are some of the girls listening to the story of how brownies came to be.
Jordan right before she got her pin.
getting her pin. It was put on upside down, and she was told she had to do 3 good deeds to get it turned the right way. She has done her good deeds today, so tomorrow she can turn her pin before her meeting:)
Yeah, this is what Jordan and one of the other girls decide to wear to a night hike.....(Jordan is in the denim skirt)
girls listening to the guide teach about nocturnal animals.
Jordan really has fun with her little friends. I am so happy she is such an outgoing friendly little girl. We had lots of fun on the hike-Jordan loved carrying her own flashlight and said her favorite part was the hike in the woods. My favorite part was being with her!

Handsome boys!

Today was our primary program in our ward, so we decided Spencer could wear his little suit. I recently found him a couple new ties since he has outgrown the other ones. So of course, Lanny had to follow "suit":) I told Spencer to stand by the tree, so he had to pose for me. (the above pic)
Can you even stand the cuteness? I just love it! They were so proud to be wearing their suits. Oh, and they had on new church shoes as well. I could just eat them up they are so precious!! We are going to have girls going crazy when they are teenagers!!

Halloween fun...better late than never:)

Even though sickness was abound in our house during Halloween time, we did have some fun. We did our traditional pumpkin carving/decorating night. Mommy carves the pumpkin because she loves it and Daddy hates pumpkin guts, so everyone else either draws on a pumpkin or puts a little face on the pumpkin.

Spencer deep in thought...what the heck do I do with this thing?
Jordan tries to clean it out...realizes she doesn't like to get her hands dirty.
Landon doesn't really like the mushy stuff, either!
Daddy with the finished product on his white pumpkin.
Jordan with Mommy's finished product.
We also managed to squeeze in the ward trunk or treat. The kids had been fever free for about 24 hours, so we decided they could go. We got there late because we made a quick stop at Payless. We had a coupon for 50% off our whole purchase thanks to the Oprah show. I started to feel yucky before we left, and later that night I developed a fever and was down for the next few days.

Daddy with the kiddos at the trunk or treat. They really loved it and had a blast going from car to car. And people in our ward go all out decorating the trunks. Very cool.
Here we are right before trick or treating. I was so sad that I couldn't go. I just didn't have the energy, plus I had a fever. I put a note on the door telling people there was a sick person in the house so no candy. We turned all the lights out when Darin left, even though in past years we have still had people ring the door bell with the lights out!!

Anyhow, Jordan had a little friend from school come because she lives in a neighborhood where trick or treating isn't too feasible. They had a lot of fun. When they came home I wondered why Lanny's bucket was so full. Darin said it was because he would say "trick or treat" and just stand there holding up his bucket. Even after people put some candy in, he would just stand there holding his bucket up and people would load him up with candy. Of course, they couldn't resist the cute little dragon.

Here are our dragon, Spiderman and the Queen of Hearts.



All 3 of the kids have now worn the little dragon costume. I love it when they last through a lot of kids!!