Happy 18th Kim!!

Last weekend was Kim's 18th birthday and we all got together in Yelm to celebrate. It's hard to believe Kim has grown from the onry little girls she was to the beautiful young woman she has become. I made her a scrapbook that starts at birth and goes until this year, ending with her Senior picture. She seemed really happy to get it and said she plans on showing all her friends. Of course no get together is complete without Jim and Deja hanging out together, there is a bond between those two that started when she was tiny. Morgans friend Danielle came along and every time I took a picture she made some kind of face so I figured I'd go ahead and post one. Happy birthday Kim!!

Some days there are rainbows

We were all amazed by this beautiful rainbow that occurred on Saturday afternoon. Morgans friend Danielle pointed out that it looked really cool outside, it was kind of "goldy" looking. So we all went out to look and the beauty of the colors and the rainbow inspired us to take a few pictures. I thought it was cool take pictures of the girls taking pictures of the rainbow with their phones, it ended up being Morgans favorite picture. The pictures don't really do justice to how cool the colors looked, nor do they show how bright the rainbow really was.

Lattins Cider Mill

Last weekend, after our attempt at family pictures, we took the kids to Lattins Cider Mill to hang out for the morning and get pumpkins. I had never been there before so I didn't know what to expect. We had a great time, there were goats and sheep to feed, fresh, hot apple fritters to eat and of course fresh made apple cider. The funnest part of the morning was the apple bungee shoot. You could have three tries to shoot an apple across a pasture with a bungee cord and try to hit a sign to win $25. We came close a few times but never actually hit the sign, it was much harder than it looked. I'm so glad the kids were up for making the trip there, as they get older we seem to less and less of this kind of thing. I guess they have to grow up sometime, I just don't have to like it.

October kid pictures

The morning started out good, I told Jim and the kids that I wanted to take some family pictures. I have been itching to try some portraits with my new camera and having all of the kids together doesn't happen too much anymore. Sounds good, right? Then we decided we would go to the cider mill up the road after the pictures to get pumpkins. Still sounds good.... It's almost like they couldn't wait to get to the cider mill, they were impatient at every pose, complained, made faces, wouldn't smile.... you name it. I finally gave up after the railroad tracks and the constant complaining about their pants getting dirty (I have to admit, I was just a bit worried about a train coming) I did end up getting a few shots that I liked and I was able to use the new camera a bit, so all in all the "shoot" wasn't a total loss. I think the next time I wont tell them anything except we're going to take some pictures and warn them they better behave or they'll be grounded. Who knows if that will work even, the older they get the harder it gets to get them to all cooperate. Then of course there's the other kid in our family, Jim, who's goofing around distracting them. Check out his picture if you need any proof of that!

Senior picture favorites

Julie took some amazing pictures of Rachel a few weekends ago in the Portland area, she is so sweet. The picture in the Abercrombie sweatshirt is Rachel's favorite shot, but I like the one in the striped sweater just because it has some interesting lighting, not necessarily for the yearbook but it is a nice shot of her. I also really like the bright pink t-shirt shot, her smile is adorable. I am totally loving the things I am learning through the process of taking her senior pictures. My friend, Seth, has helped edit the pictures posted here and has taught me some Photoshop basics that I will be using in the future. Julie gave me Photoshop 7 but it is so overwhelming I think I may just use the Elements program instead, it's super easy.The new Canon Rebel Xsi is scheduled to deliver today and I am so excited. I plan on spending the weekend learning how to use it and taking random pictures. Wish me luck!!

Good morning Sunday

This is what I was greeted with this morning when I went into the living room to watch the morning news and drink my coffee. Cameron was totally zonked out in the chair and had been there all night. He stayed asleep through then news and Lucy licking his face a few times. He finally woke up when Jim picked him up to move him. Good morning Cameron.

THS Homecoming 2007

Tonight is the Tenino High School homecoming dance. Rachel and her friends got ready at our house and happily posed for pictures on the porch. Taking pictures on the porch before every dance has become one of our traditions. This is Mike's first year at the high school but he decided not to go to the dance, maybe next time. I cant wait to get pictures of him and his dates too!! I'm sure he wont be nearly as willing or patient when it comes to posing for me.

Nancy pants

Here's a layout I did of Nancy and me from my birthday party in 2003. This is one of my favorite pictures and I'm glad I finally got a chance to scrap it. I bought this paper this weekend at a cool store in Utah called the Heartland Paper Company. While I was shopping I was lucky enough to run into the amazing Margie Romney-Aslett. I've been seeing her at conventions and taking classes from her forever, it was fun to see her out and about in the real world!

A few more favorites

Senior shots-take 2

Here are a few pictures form our Senior shoot today. We went to the Olympian Capitol Campus and down town Olympia too. Morgan came along and we had fun picking places to pose and taking shots from different angles. Probably the funniest thing was when we were in an alley trying to get the graffiti shot. A guy came walking up and said"pose that shit"- pretty sure he was high or drunk!! We all looked at each other and decided it was time to get out of there!! We stopped one more time, in the same alley, and took the shots with the orange chair and the graffiti. I think I like the crossed legged shot in the pink and white shirt the best. Hopefully she picks one of these, if not, we'll be back out again looking for new spots and trying again. Anyone have a favorite?

Weekend Wedding

This weekend we went to Port Orchard for Jim's brother Scott's wedding. Jim was the best man so he got to wear a tux. This is the first time I have ever seen him in one and my heart skipped a little beat when I first saw him, he looked so handsome. I took lots of pictures of everyone and I'm glad I did, it was a beautiful wedding. Thankfully the rain stayed away! The bride, Shawna, and her daughter, Kira, had dresses that almost matched. Kira stole the show when she announced, during the ceremony that she was hungry, wanted to take a nap or play with her soccer ball. She's so darn cute. Morgan lined up to try to catch the bouquet, after I offered her $50 if she caught it (thank goodness she missed). Mike tried for the garter ( after an offer of $20)but didn't have a shot against the one grown man that was up there after it. All in all it was a fun afternoon.