Take Two!

Well let's just say that the first round wasn't as good as we had hoped for.  For many reasons...there were disagreements, lost balloons, tears, messed up camera settings, just to name a few.  So I volunteered to redo Holly's family photos.  At first she declined, saying she was sure there was at least one good one.  She finally accepted and decided to plop her family in front of a building and let me take just ONE picture.  Her girls are so spunky...I just love them.  Ellie shared with me that the rule is when you are having your picture taken you have to smile.  I wonder where she heard that?!?!

It was Kate's idea to hold flowers.  She is our nature-loving girl!

The whole family is so dag-gone cute...

Love you guys!

Expect the Unexpected

You know my friend Holly over at Seriously, Though...  She is a great photographer.  She practices and plays and worries.  And then practices some more!  Then she calls me to take her family pictures.  Now I've dappled in the photography area, but not nearly as much as Holly.  But I took the challenge and met her at a local apple orchard.  Let's just say that everyone was not happy about it...

They were ready to walk away...

I had to talk them into staying around and stepping out of their box...

They sure are suckers for a camera...

Holly, every time we are together we create memories.  I am glad that I captured these memories! 

Girls just wanna have fun...

Do you remember those plastic bead necklaces?  You know...the ones with big plastic beads that you could snap together to make a bright necklace or bracelet?  For years, little fashionistas everywhere have been creating their own style and making fashion statements.  As those little girls grow, their need to create does not dissolve.  If anything, their appreciation for jewelry only increases with time. And who needs to wait on Prince Charming when all things shiny are right around the corner?

A few weeks ago Holly, Kate, Jenny (Holly's niece) and I made a trip to a local jewelry creation store.  There we were able to create unique pieces of wearable art.  The hardest part was choosing the beads.  There were literally thousands to choose from!

I watched as the others began their creations.  Meanwhile, I walked around with my tray just as empty as when I started.  I knew I wanted a bracelet, but that was the only thing I knew.  Many different beads made it to my tray only to be disappointed as I tossed them back.  After what seemed like hours in an extremely hot store (their air conditioning was not working and it was like 110 degrees outside!)  I finally made my selection.

I did not get a picture of the finished products...just be assured that they were all unique!  It was fun and I would like to do it again. Thanks girls for an enjoyable time!

Just another day on the lake

There was a little boy who lived by a lake (2 hours away actually).  The thing he loved best was to take his boat to the lake.  One day he put his boat in the lake, and watched it bob up and down on the water.  He was very proud of his boat.  But suddenly his wife and her friends showed up.

The wife came bearing her new pole, chanting "What should I do?  What should I do?"

The wee small children wanted to see fish, feed fish, catch fish, touch fish and finally let them go.

The big boys on the boat wanted more adventure.  They wanted to go fast and jump off cliffs.

The only thing the boy wanted was to make his boat go fast, so he told everyone on the boat to "Sit down and be quiet!" The boy drove his boat around the lake as fast as he could.  Everyone held on with all their might and didn't dare ask him to slow down.  When the day was over, everyone climbed off the boat and went home and lived happily ever after.

True story...parts of it anyway!  It was actually a wonderful day on the lake.  Very relaxing!

 If you missed our first boating trip check out this post.

Holly and Steve, thank you so much for allowing us to be a part of your adventures!  We love your boat and will go any time!

Sink or Swim?

Holly and Steve finally got their boat!  We made a deal that Rodney and I would buy a camper and they would buy a boat...we bought our camper 5 years ago and have been on many exciting camping trips together.  None of them involved a boat!  This week they got their boat and we couldn't wait to take it out.  Holly, being the Nervous Nellie that she is, said several times that she hopes the boat actually floats. 

 She couldn't even watch as Steve and Rodney backed it into the lake.  And once we were on the boat she worried about everything...getting to close to the dock, strange noises, going too fast, were the anchors big enough... 

And if you think that is bad, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

Ellie is a worrier just like her mom.  After we were on the boat for about 10 minutes she told her daddy it was time to take the boat back and go home.

We actually spent about 5 hours on the lake and we all had a great time.

Steve was a great captain and even though we were all on the lake I think he was on Cloud 9!

 Rodney had to make a few work related calls, but at least he was with us and not at work! 

 Shawn and his friend Andrew couldn't wait to try Big Bertha.  Steve made sure they had fun and only lost them once!  It's good to have a big kid behind the wheel.

 And talk about the need for speed...Do you see Kate's thumb up?  For those of you who don't know boating terms, thumbs up means faster.  At one point when I was on Big Bertha with her, Steve was going really fast (so fast I thought I was going to lose her) and Kate turned to me and said "This is Super fun!  My dad knows how to have fun, doesn't he?" 

Holly & Steve, thanks for sharing your boat with us.  We had a blast!  Can't wait to go again.