through {my} view finder

I had my backdrop set up the other day doing a favor for a friend and decided to have a quick play while it was set up. Someone recently had made a comment to me asking if my kids knew what their mother looked like since I seem to always have a camera in front of me taking pictures of them. This is what they see...

I like this self portrait much better than me giving myself a cheesy smile with my camera on a self timer :)



It's worth it if I can get cute shots like this one! (yes, both boys got shoved in front of the backdrop for the whole 2 seconds of cooperation they gave me)

Which came first...the baby chick or scrambled eggs?

Tonight at dinner somehow the topic of baby chickens came up and Ben wanted to know where baby chickens came from. The conversation went a little like this...

B: where do baby chickens come from?

Me: they are hatched from eggs

B: what kind of eggs?

Me: the kind that chickens lay

B: like at grandma's house?

Me: yes

B: (eyes get huge as he realizes what this means) but what about the eggs we eat?

Me: well, an egg has to be fertilized in order for a baby chicken to grow inside the egg. the eggs you get from grandma's house or the grocery store haven't been fertilized so we can eat them, like scrambled eggs.

B: oh......what does fertilized mean?

Me: um. uh. well, um, it means, uh......

Thank goodness for the short attention span of the 5 year old mind! By the time I had finished stumbling over my um's and uh's trying to figure the best way to explain fertilization he had moved onto another topic.

Another recent conversation we had was when I told him about Tara getting married. He asked what married was. I explained that people get married because they love each other and want to have a family together. He confirmed that he was not married, then declared himself to young to be married. I wholeheartedly agreed, he is far too young to be married. Imagine how I smiled when he then stated "maybe when I'm 6 I can get married". I ♥ his silly, sweet innocence!

Stargazing

The two biggest boys decided to take advantage of our beautiful weather and have a camp out on the back deck. Ben was so excited that he started claiming that he was sooooooo tired by 6 o'clock that evening just so he could go curl up in the sleeping bag and nearly drove us crazy until it was time.

It was a gorgeous clear night for star gazing and Ben was filled with wonder as he laid there looking up. We saw 3 shooting stars all within 5 minutes.



That really bright star (but blurry because I don't have a tripod) is Jupiter and the red and white dots going across is actually an airplane that flew by. I had my shutter open for 30 seconds so it caught the progression.



I love that Ben finds such joy and pleasure in the natural things. We are hoping to take a family camping trip soon weather permitting. It's been far too long since we've played in the woods.

Failed rescue attempt

As we were heading out the door the other day Tim noticed something struggling in clutches of Tweety's jaws. It was a Monarch butterfly, the only one I've seen this year. Tim was able to get her to release it.

I settled the butterfly on one the butterfly bush blooms and hoped for the best.



Sadly, we found it dead on the ground later that evening.

Not only that, but Tweety also decided to to dismember a Tufted Titmouse that same day. I know it's what kitties do, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Tricks and treats

I have to admit, this year was the most fun I've had on Halloween. I loved watching both boys in their excitement! And even though then rain threatened to cancel our plans, it stopped long enough to go out candy begging.

As you can see, Alex was really into his character!

Ben was too!


My little devil loved trick or treating! It's funny the difference in personality between Ben and Alex. While Ben is shy at first contact and still hesitant at the door to say trick or treat without prodding, Alex yelled it right out and proceeded to attempt to enter every one's home. He did in fact, make it inside one and plopped down in their living room chair just like he lived there.





There weren't too many houses giving out candy, seems to be less and less each year in our neighborhood, but I think Ben was pretty happy with his loot.



They've had candy for snack, candy for breakfast, candy for dinner, they've even had candy in the bathtub.



Thank goodness the candy is almost gone!!

I want to be a great big dinosaur

Hear me roar!


Yesterday was 'dress as you favorite book character' day at school. Ben chose a book about dinosaurs, his next best favorite thing besides Transformers. Since he wanted to be Optimus Prime for Halloween and I was not about to attempt to handmake that costume, I was excited that I would still get my chance to test my creative skills. I am pretty pleased with the results and most importantly Ben loved it! He had tons of fun running around and roaring in this field after school. Looking at these images make me smile as I recall his delight.

Here he is that morning with his teacher, the old little old lady who lived in a shoe. When we first walked into the classroom Ben froze. He wasn't sure what to think....what had happened to his pretty, young teacher?


Now we are closely watching the weather in hopes that the rain will be gone this evening in time for tricks and treats. Happy Halloween!

Trip to the apple orchard

This was the first time the boys and I have ever gone apple picking. And even though the day ended up costing just a wee bit more than the all inclusive $5 advertised and Alex had a meltdown of epic proportions, we had a great time with our new friends Kelley, Owen, and Chloe!

We started out in orchard. It was really neat that the trees were kept dwarf sized so that the little ones could reach the apples.

After picking apples we headed over to the ginormous slide. All of the kids really enjoyed this part!









After the slide, we headed over to the zip line....



and this is when things started going wrong.



Alex was getting tired and frustrated that we didn't stay on the slide all day.

And then it went really wrong on the tricycle path. Even though Ben tried to help his little brother out, he had already reached the point of no return.



It was at this point that I realized I had become "that mother". You know, the one everyone is staring at because their child is screaming at the top of his lungs and I can't control him. I was at a total loss as to what to do.......so I took his picture while he was having a throwdown in the gravel :)



Fortunately a hot dog, some water, and snuggles in my lap calmed him down enough to watch the pig races.



Ben and Chloe watching the piggies



As I said, overall it was a great time and we have plenty of apples for an apple pie, or two, and will likely go back next year.....maybe without Alex ;)

All American Boy

This past weekend we went an apple orchard for some Fall fun. I am still sorting and editing the pictures, but wanted to share this favorite real quick. This was taken on the tractor ride and I just love how the sign with the American flag showed up in the background. I ♥ him!

I'll be sharing the rest of the pictures in a day or so, so stay tuned.

The haunted cookie house

Grandma sent the boys a Halloween themed gingerbread house kit. Ben begged and pleaded for 3 days until we finally had the time to put it together.

Of course, what they really were most interested in was eating the icing and the candies.



Doesn't his nose look like a candy corn? And I know you're jealous of the hair ;)



Putting on the finishing touches, or stealing one last piece of candy...I'll let you guess



Ta-da!! All done. *note the chipmunk cheeks packed full of candy



Too bad it doesn't look like this anymore. Alex has perfected the art of sliding the kitchen chair over to the counter without making a sound to steal the candies. Half of the roof is now gone.

Udderly fun

Ben had his 1st Kindergarten field trip to a local dairy farm and I got to tag along. I didn't get very many good pictures because I really don't have the right lens for this sort of thing. It's difficult to back up in a crowd with a 50mm lens. But, it was still tons of fun and with each image I can recall exactly what was going on at the time.

We started out with a demonstration on how they milk the cows.

After the lecture each child got a chance to stick their finger in the machine to see what it felt like. Unfortunately my auto focus got bumped off and I didn't catch it until the moment was gone. Ben giggled like a girl when it started squeezing his finger.



Then we got to go on a hay ride and the cows came right up to the trailer to feed. Ben loved how close they got!



Did I mention it was freezing that day? He had on a shirt, sweatshirt, and fleece lined jacket and still chattered his teeth.



The kids also got a chance to feed the goats....



and pet the calves, which was my favorite part. Look at that adorable pink freckled nose!



But if you ask Ben what his favorite part of the field trip was, he will not hesitate when he tells you riding the bus since I'm a mean mom and won't let him ride the bus to and from school :)

Doodlebug

Give Ben some paper, pencils, crayons, and/or pens and he will entertain himself for hours on end.

He loves to draw and I love to watch him do it. His drawings usually evolve into a story telling process, so if you are not there for the beginning you may miss out. By the end it may look like a page of scribbles, but it started with a boy on the mountain looking down at his house smiling because the sun was shining....until the aliens invaded! Then there was war, chaos, and fire.

He also goes through phases of favorite subjects to draw. This week it is robots with only one antennae and eye.



But just so you don't think he is all serious business...



I think he's looking a lot more like his daddy these days ;)

11 years will get you....

-a marriage that is not perfect, but is constant and reliable

-a partner to face life with while being completely yourself, and that's okay

-a beautiful home

-2 precious children

-more love than ever thought possible

Ben and I where doodling on each other's hands today while goofing around. I thought it was pretty cute when he wrote 'I ♥ you' so I took a picture. Then I realized how appropriate that he chose the hand with my wedding band on Tim and I's 11th anniversary weekend.

I am loved.

I am blessed.

Just me

I don't show me very often because I'm usually the one behind the camera....and let's face it, my kids are way cuter than me!

But here I am. Not bad for using a stack of books, a self timer, and many dashes back and forth all while dodging a crazy kitten and a wild child that liked to get tangled under my feet.

It's not technically perfect, but hey, neither am I :)

A peek of Fall

Fall is just starting to peek out and show her true colors. I love the rich, earthy tones that Fall brings and can't wait to see it in all it's splendor.

My poor pumpkin doodle

My poor baby has had a rough month. He's had a cold for almost 4 weeks now. He got a case of nursemaid's elbow (dislocated elbow joint) 2 weeks ago when big brother tried to pull him over the chair. And now he is battling high fevers and an ear infection....with the same cold from 4 weeks ago. I keep finding him asleep all over the house. And I do not have the kind of children that just fall asleep anywhere, where ever they may be, so you know he's sick. Here's hoping a round of antibiotics and extra cuddles from mommy will finally chase away the sickies.