Nintendo Swim Team

Swim Team is a pretty good excuse to play Nintendo DS for an entire Saturday with the better excuse of getting in a total of 3 minutes of exercise per kid. They also hold very still while playing DS allowing mommy to create Sharpie mascot art to boost team spirit, even though none of them are watching races while they watch their little screens. They do take a little break from it when they win a ribbon. Needless to say, swim meets are very popular with our kids. Swim practice? Not so much.

Wolf Badge Pack Meeting

They make the mom stand up with the cub when being awarded his wolf badge, and since asking someone to use my monstrosity of a camera set to manual requiring a tutorial to use would just be awkward while everyone waits for me to hurry to the front, I only have photos of the kids doing their fun activities. Jumping up and down with some oddly creative scout cheer, and of course as usual Levi has to follow up all active fun with some wrestling that none of the other kids seemed to appreciate albeit a room full of boys. Now, I realize that I could have just asked someone to put my camera card into their small camera and take a few shots of the ceremony for me, but then that would just be mom and son standing there doing nothing, and frankly boring. Look how much more fun they seem to be having. Plus, I wasn't wearing any makeup anyway.

May Day

Happy Texas May Day, y'all. Just wanted to say thank you to Angie and Brae for the invite to such a fun family party. None of us had ever seen a real May Pole before, and the over-under weaving challenged their spatial reasoning like an engineering class. My ADD son had some tactile therapy as he was compelled to use his hands rather than his eyes to "see" the finished product. Half the guests played instruments in a hoe-down jam, except Troy faking it on the gourd banjo. The best part was my homeschooled daughter's square dancing lesson that was fun, that she and her friends actually wanted to participate in, instead of some stinky 6th-grade gym class imitation. Strike that, I do believe hanging out with friends and eating potluck in such a gorgeous country home setting was the best part! Mmmmmm....especially the potluck.

3G Ranch Campout

Troy has been bugging some friends of ours to have us out to camp at their ranch, and he finally waxed annoying enough to wear them down for an "invitation." Nevertheless, we had a blast! Our hosts and their other guests seemed like they sorta enjoyed our muscled in company. It was a lovely location, freshly mowed meadow in springtime surrounded by wildflowers. And instead of playing with all those girls in the stinkin' flowers, Levi even had someone to wrestle with for 27 hours straight. And no one was bitten by nor saw nor heard any rattlesnakes.

Texas State Flower

Look at us having fun learning about Texas State History in the state flower meadow. This is how we really are all the time, except less well groomed, and a lot less skipping in the wildflowers.

75 and short sleeves on Sunday to snow on Tuesday, welcome to Texas! It's that time of year again when you have to stand on the porch in your pajamas every morning to figure out what to wear the rest of the day. Shorts? Parka? Who knows?! I'm sure the weatherman might, but the pj's on the porch is a lot more fun to make fun of. Unless the weather changes halfway through the day, which it is wont to do, and you sent your kids to school in flip-flops and tanks only to run their cold-weather gear down when the freezing rain kicks in while their teachers wonder what kind of mother you are anyway. Not nearly as much fun, but a good story for CPS nonetheless.

Piano kids

My kids take piano with a wonderful teacher in the beautiful Parker Piano Studio. Recently I had the chance to photograph them for promotional photos for her blogsite. It is a joy to watch my children learn to love creating music and learning all of the other wonderful lessons that come with time spent at a piano.

Happy Chinese New Year

Seems for a bunch of white Americans, we have a lot of Chinese ties going on. Maybe it's just a sign of the times: half our possessions lived there before they lived with us. Troy and I visited Tianjin, China about 8 years ago, and visited the Great Wall, Beijing and Red Square, the Summer Palace, Forbidden City, all that first-time tourist stuff. I bought this red vest during that visit. Then my sister's husband lived in Beijing several years for business. Troy's parents moved to Tianjin for 2 years and bought this little girl's red dress as the one I had bought was worn out by my numerous other daughters. On the opening day of the Beijing Olympics, 08/08/08, my daughter Zoey was born! It was fun to get photo updates of the Olympics from my brother-in-law, and hear how my in-laws' students praised their luck for having a grandchild on such an auspicious day.

We went to Austin's "Chinatown" for their new year celebration yesterday, and I was motivated to go red for church today! Troy is getting pretty handy with my big camera, and obliged a photo op for us as requested by my friend Brae. Here you go!

Austin Nature Center demo

My kids loved Science Day at a local elementary school where they were invited by Steve Wolf of the Wolf Stunt Ranch to come to his Science in the Movies presentation while I took photos. I pulled them out of school to go to school, oddly enough, but any opportunity for an educational field trip is welcome! After the show, they went to the Austin Nature and Science Center demo for some close encounters with other little creatures.

Anything for Mom

A few years ago my mom said my sister had put some "kidisms" on her blog and asked if I would send her an email with all the cute and funny things my kids said. She wanted to collect them for her grandkids and put them in a notebook. So I dutifully started writing things down in an email, saving up a list to send to her. I never sent it before she died, and it's still a draft in my inbox, still receiving additions when every so often my kids say one of the darndest things! So there it is over there, on the sidebar, so others can enjoy it with her. I'll add new ones to the top when my kids are clever or, as is more often the case with kidisms, not so clever.

A Joyous Christmas

Happy holidays, happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, peace on earth, good will t'ward all men, season's greetings, and fill in your politcally and religiously correct blank here! I wish blessings on all of you to have as joyous a Christmas as we will have counting our blessings, starting with these 5 lovely little blessings. I'm in the full swing of holiday family portrait sessions and designing cards for them, and it just didn't seem right for my own family not to have one! It's amazing how impatient I am with my own darlings during a session in comparison to anyone else! And I apologize publicly to them for losing my temper, cursing the sun as I'm sure it set faster than normal tonight, and blaming my husband for his typical male sour, "I hate photos," attitude for infecting the rest of us, and wanting go home after just a few shots. And not just because this little jewel came out of my camera when we got home, but because I truly love and appreciate all you do for me, dearest family!

Can't wait to be 8!

Levi, my son, my only son, turned 8 on September 28 and was baptized today. He has that big, gap-toothed grin that kids have at this age, and tugged at his collar and kept untucking his shirt all during his photo op!
He seemed so nervous to get baptized, even though he has attended several as a spectator. So we spent a lot of time explaining that it was a first step, a commitment, albeit a necessary one to regain God's presence, and that every Sunday when he repents and takes the Sacrament it's just like getting baptized all over again. But he was still so nervous that he wanted his friend to go first. He said it was easier than he expected, probably because Dad has to do all the work!
Afterward we went to a party at his friend's house to congratulate the boys on their decisions. They spent most of the evening playing Wii while the adults visited. It was a lot of fun, but we should have made more of a ceremony or some sort of toast at the cake cutting.
Levi, I hope you continue to grow as you have been into a caring, sensitive, and affectionate young man who has faith in Christ and always strives to do what is right. Continue to be brave, yet learn to turn the other cheek. Seek out the similarities in your fellow man, yet appreciate, tolerate, and even accommodate the differences that make us all unique. Always inquire of the Lord to have His spirit to guide you in your decisions and bridle your actions and passion, turning your boundless energy to serving Him. We love you, and God loves you. We are all proud of you for this step you have taken.

My New Photo Art business

Pal Photo Art is now open for business! Over the past 2 years I've been busily working away to improve my skills in both photography and business, and after a name change and logo redesign I'm excitedly opening my first "season." My site is currently undergoing a branding makeover, and I'm really excited about the new look!

http://palphotoart.com

November is family photo update time for all those holiday cards! For new clients who book before the end of the year, the sitting fee is waived, and for established clients, the sitting fee is waived when you purchase 25 custom-designed greeting cards.

Happy holidays, everyone, and happy photos!

Paint on your Face

I have a friend who is a face and body paint artist (www.onthespotbodyart.com) with whom I'm working on portfolio building and event photography. Following is her rendition of my children adorned. Of course, as much as my children are enjoying their newfound "modeling" status, this new venture has not come without the absolute, undying, requisite, profound need to buy more photography stuff!

Imagine Zoey posing here at the bottom. Baby face paint is lovelier in the mind than on the hands. Or in her eye.

Happy Father's Day!

In honor of all our dads out there, here's a fun crafty card to make for him. Gift not included, but I'm sure he'd prefer the card to adorn the gift rather than to just BE the gift!

Click on the image, zoom out if needed, and print.

One of my best memories of my father while I was growing up was sitting at the dining table with him, our origami books and piles of colorful papers spread about us, folding, folding, folding. The day my husband arrived home with a stack of origami books and papers made me so nostalgic, watching him repeat the folding, folding, folding with our own little ones.
Since I started doing the church bulletin, the back always has some fun children's activities on it: usually an origami design courtesy of his suggestion. I draw the line at flying objects or noise-making clickers, but it's so fun to see all the paper sculpture everyone carries around after the meeting. Lately I've been trying to tie it in to a scripture or gospel concept just to justify it remaining on the program!

Biodegradable Seed Pot

These paper seed/cuttings pots are designed to be transplanted right to the garden and then biodegrade like peat pots to eliminate transplant shock.

After coming across some online, I wanted to try making some that didn't need tape or staples to hold the folded box together when opened out. Neither stainless steel nor cellophane are on the list of vital nutrients for my garden soil. The newspaper pots still need some tape or staples, but since copy paper is more stable it can do without.

I finally found a plan that used the flaps formed at the top of the pot folded down to secure the box and prevent it unfolding, but since I don't take the newspaper, (and let's face it, all our news comes with a .com at the end of it now anyway,) I needed a pot that was made from standard copy paper.
(If using a half sheet of newspaper, just fold in half again after Step 2 and proceed as usual.)

These stand up to normal watering as long as you don't move the paper pot while the soil is wet, or the bottom will fall out. Allow the bottom to dry, and then transplant outdoors.

To print, just click on the image to enlarge, (zoom out if needed), and choose File>Print, or right-click on the enlarged image and choose Save As, then print from your image viewer.

Who needs brothers?

Levi seems to think all his problems in life would be solved if he only had a brother. Which makes me want to sing, If He Only Had a Brain. Let's face it, his sisters build forts, wrestle, play trains and dinosaurs, do karate, and Taya built him this bow and arrow. Granted, they do spend a lot of time playing princess and Barbie, dancing around in frilly skirts, and painting their nails, but honestly: I don't think brother lack is a major concern around here. He should be more concerned about that missing elbow that needs Photoshopped back on!