Pumpkin Patch

Wait, were there pumpkins there?  Hmmm...I almost forgot because there was this awesome old blue truck that stole my heart.  I could have spent the entire time photographing my kids on and around that thing...but apparently other people wanted to as well so I HAD to share.  I took turns...many turns...in one minute increments, I took as many pictures as my family would allow with my "dream car."  Someone once asked what my dream car was... it's a close call between an old rusty truck and an old Jeep Wagoneer with wood-paneled sides.

Okay, onto the rest of the pumpkin patch... can you believe the kids wanted to do other things besides take pictures with the truck?  Like get lost in a corn maze and play in the House o' Hay.  We picked out some awesome pumpkins too!

 Annabelle's killing it in this picture!

I can't even...

mommy & kid pics

I feel like a part of me is in every photo I take even if I'm not in the picture.  I mean, I was the one who saw the moment happening and appreciated it enough to get the camera and snap some pictures.  But I realize that my kids may one day wonder where I was all their lives.  Kids, I WAS THERE! I was loving you...and the moments...and cheering you on from the other side of my camera. It was me who wished she could freeze time and save the moment forever...and I did that the only way I know how...with my camera.

This week I set up a tripod and remote and get some pics with each of the kids with me in them. I had forgotten how well they do with this kind of setup.  Each of these impossible-to-photograph kids was so easy to work with and I only got one shot of a cross-eyed kid this time! As much as I'd rather be on the other side of the camera, I know that my kids will one day appreciate having some pictures of us together.

soccer girl

The other day I went on a hunt to find soccer shoes, socks and shorts to fit Annabelle because her first game was coming up.  Man, there is something about tiny little shoes that just get me...I love 'em! And I'm not the only one... Apparently the teenage guy working at the soccer store had a weakness for their cuteness too!  He came out smiling ear to ear holding them up, saying, "These are awesome! Tiny little soccer cleets for a tiny little soccer girl!"  Then during the game, I kept seeing Annabelle looking down at her feet while she was running.  When she came over for a break, I asked why she was looking down and reminded her she needed to be looking in the direction she was running.  She said, "I know, but I love my shoes with the pink lines."

She was awesome in her first soccer game...really went after the ball, ran fast, kicked it a few times...and every time she'd kick the ball, she'd look back at me and strike a little proud-but-coy pose. She fell down a lot, but every time she would bounce right back up smiling.

Another game -- Gigi, Grandma, and Papa came to watch along with the rest of us!

 What you are looking at in this picture is Annabelle scoring into the other team's goal!  She turned around with her arms raised in the air and a big victorious smile!  I didn't have the heart to tell her it was the wrong goal.

Cody's 40th birthday surprise

Cody will be 40 years old on Nov. 4th, so we decided to surprise him with a party...one month early.

Somehow, we managed to keep the event a surprise.  I lured Cody and the kids to the party location by telling him that the kids were invited to Davis McCarthy's cowboy-themed birthday party.  He walked in with a present for Davis and the kids were all wearing cowboy boots looking forward to a fun kids' party!  It took the kids a few minutes to realize that this wasn't a party for Davis.  Later that night we met up with a bunch of friends at The Rustic which is a backyard type restaurant with live music...Right up Cody's alley.