Sea Of Leaves

Princess A has a sweet little fall sweater that I just love. All three of the girls have worn it, and I was so glad it ended up being the right size in the right season for her. When I was at work on Tuesday, I was admiring the gorgeous orange leaves alongside the house pasture and got a wild hair to run home and grab Princess A (and her sweater) and try to get a few fall pictures of her before all the leaves are gone.

I wasn't sure how she would do so close to nap time. But as it turned out, she thought
playing in the leaves was tons of fun!

As was playing with the cat...which she did not attempt to lick again after that initial furry slurp. Natural consequences (apparently cats don't taste very good...and they're hairy) have a way of driving a lesson home. :)

When the reality of nap time finally set in, we wrapped it up.

But not before getting a couple of pictures of my handsome assistant.
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Younger Brother had come along to help distract Princess A.

He's good at that.

And he's so darned handsome too!

It ended up being the perfect morning for our little spur of the moment tangent.

And just a few hours later, a storm blew in that produced a confirmed tornado about 5 miles from the farm.

So I guess it's a good thing we got to enjoy the leaves when we did!

:)

"No No, Princess A..."

"Joey can take his own bath!!!"

Mom & Dad

Two dear friends of ours got married today! They are so obviously in love, and so perfect for each other, it made for quite a joyous occasion. J was the Best Man, and I know he was honored to get to be a part of their special day. Congratulations A and A!!! We are so happy for you guys!

And another reason to be excited about today...

The occasion warranted that J and I actually got to have time out together to dance and eat and enjoy being a couple ourselves!

(Thanks Grandma and Grandpa M for babysitting all day!)

I personally think the Chuck Taylor's with the tux is a good combination, don't you think?!

I never said we were good at dancing.

:)

Aww, and thanks to our friends, three rare photos of the two of us together
to commemorate the occasion!

In A Fog

This post got preempted by Princess A's jeggings debut, obviously. :) But I loved all of the images too much not to post them.

I had never seen a blanket of fog as thick as the one that hung in the air as Biggest Brother and I left for school on Tuesday morning. By the time I dropped him off and drove to work at the farm, it had begun to lift a little, but was still a sight to see as I reached the top of the gravel drive.

I called J and had him send Younger Brother (who just learned about the water cycle in homeschool) outside to feel all of the moisture in the air!

There was condensation on everything!

Far more than the typical morning dew I'm used to seeing at feeding time.
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As fog does, it burned off all too quickly.
But it sure made for a beautiful morning to photograph my magnificent equine charges.

...Oh, and one devlishly handsome cat too!

Ooh La La!

Look who has jeggings!!!

Yes, jeggings!

They're the perfect jeans/leggings hybrid.

And incidentally, they're also the perfect solution when your physique (not to name any names or anything) lends itself to typically ill fitting denim.

And really, with a figure like this, wouldn't it be a shame to wear anything else?!

:)

Oh, and one more...

I was just informed by my husband that he was sorely disappointed his photo did not make the, "Group Photastrophy" post cut.

:)

Group Photastrophy

So, remember my mention in the last post of those lovely fall family photos I was hoping to take?? Ah yes, well, here is just a minute snippet of what I was actually able to obtain. Minute, literally, because I think I took over 200 photos just of our family. I sooo wanted a group photo of all of the kids together! Behold, a prime example of why it benefits a mother of many small children to learn to operate a camera. Why?...

...Because there is absolutely no way I could take my five (albeit wonderful) children to a department store studio...

...and in six shots manage to get a good picture of everybody looking at the camera and smiling, simultaneously!
And no one bumping into anyone else, crying, or scowling.

...Therefore, I will do it myself.

For free.

And try my best to be thankful for the fact that the Lord must clearly be working on my propensity toward perfectionism.

Because, in all of those 200+ attempts to get the perfect picture of my dear smiling children, politely snuggled together in the golden autumn leaves...

This is what I got!

;)

Cheeky Monkey

I took pictures of this sweet baby boy when he was 3 months old, and this weekend it was time for his 6 month pics. He is not quite sitting up yet, but his Mama wanted to have some outdoor pictures of him in his Halloween costume. I was inspired by Princess A's Bumbo Seat when brainstorming how exactly to pull off photographing him upright. My solution, a "Bumbo Seat" of sorts made out of straw bales and pumpkins! It worked perfectly! And how cute is he?!

On a related note: I thought I would take advantage of this peak fall foliage weekend to schedule pictures for my own kids. I petitioned J to help me, and two of his sisters ended up joining us.

Nevertheless, my high hopes of getting an adorable group photo of all of my smiling children together in the beautiful orange and yellow leaves flopped...royally!

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Stay tuned for the not-so-picture-perfect results!

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p.s. I have been having trouble with certain websites zapping the life out of my photos (color especially) when they are uploaded. If any of you computer savvy individuals out there knows the best way around this problem, please message me!

Stupendous SIX

Well yes, I realize it's about time! Younger Brother has been six for nearly a week now, and I'm just getting these posted. But here they are at last!

Brother had a great birthday weekend!

He's always one to find any occasion to celebrate, so that makes birthday time even better!

His collection of birthday gifts cracks me up...and so accurately describes him!

You'll see most of them here in a minute.

This one is something I found in the "survival" section.

Click once and it's a flashlight, twice and the handle lights up too, three times and the handle flashes. Oh, and the end is a whistle.

It had his name written all over it!

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And an even bigger hit,

a real genuine lock box to store all of his stuff where no one can touch it!

(This is a sure bet kind of gift for any kid with little siblings!)
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After special breakfast and presents at home, we headed up to Grandpa G's for the official celebration.
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This is the typically requested destination for all things birthday!

This time it was only family, except for Younger Brother's best buddy M.

They used to carpool to school last year, but M switched schools and YB is homeschooling, so they don't get to see each other nearly as much.

It's always good times when they do!
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I accidentally overexposed this picture, but it was so cute I had to post it.

Action figures and silly bandz are cause for great celebration apparently!
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One of the most random, and absolutely perfect gifts, was one that Brother received came from Grandpa G.

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Yes, my friends.

That is a ladder!

Man I love this kid! He's just so, well, Younger Brother! :)

He has, of course, found all sorts of uses for his handy dandy new gear.

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Also, perhaps not at the top of the, "typical gifts for a 6yo" list...

another super surprise courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa M!

Lookout folks, that is in fact a real bow and arrow!

But Grandpa M schools for skill, and safety.

Big Sis got to try her hand at it as well.

In daddy's own words, "I'm making this petite flower lethal."

Oh, and mom too!

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After a good hour or so of arrows flying and bike soccer (think polo, on a bike, with a soccer ball), it was time for the balloon drop.

This has become a tradition for birthdays at Grandpa's house.

First, the birthday boy/girl gets to pull the string and make all the balloons fall.

Next, there is lots of rolling around in, jumping on, and throwing of balloons.

And finally, the favorite part, the kids get to go around with forks and pop them all!
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See?

A use for the ladder already!

And he was still wearing his helmet from bike soccer, so that was convenient I suppose.

Thank you Grandpas and Grandmas, and everyone who participated in the birthday weekend festivities!

He had a fantastic day!

And

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOUNGER BROTHER!