Monday, August 30, 2010

Working...

Working hard on photos today.


Yes. Your eyes do not deceive you. I have three coffees going right now.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

A Little Peek

My friend Amanda has a baby girl who just turned one. We did a little photoshoot with her and I just wanted to share this photo. Cute, yes but...



You can totally see me in her eyeballs!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Week One

The first week of school is over.

Jordan seems to be enjoying kindergarten immensely (for the most part) and has already started learning to write the cursive letter "i" (sort of). Very exciting stuff!

Jake really likes his first grade class and after sucking up for the first three days, he managed to get in trouble on Thursday and Friday. Just the usual stuff, the not listening being the most notable.

After a fantabulous week of weather perfection, the rain has hit hardcore just in time for the weekend. We found indoor things to do...



I have been "attending" an online, virtual, live photography workshop that is blowing me away. Learning a ton, getting excited about new and unusual things and generally annoying my poor, neglected husband in the process.

On a completely unrelated note, I took this picture of the moon the other night because it was cool. Well, it was cool in person.

Monday, August 23, 2010

The First Day of School

We made it through!



Everyone woke up bright-eyed and bushy-haired and ready to go this morning. Well, everyone except for me, who stayed awake all night tossing and turning after indulging in a caffeine saturated cherry coke the night before. Jake also had a hard time waking up, insisting that he had only slept for one whole minute (which may be true, his face certainly doesn't appear well rested here).

The breakfast of champions included cereal, pop tarts, bananas and other random breakfasty foods. Clothes were donned, hair was combed and pig-tailed (will I ever figure out how to do girly hair? And what is with the giant noggin in the photo? Is her head really that gynormous?), backpacks were packed and out the door we went.



Two minutes later we pulled into the school parking lot to unload. I do not recommend walking backward through a parking lot to take pictures of your kids walking into school. You never know when you might walk smack into a parked car. I'm just saying.


We headed to the gym, found our teachers and waited for school to start. I walked with Jordan to her class and helped her find her seat, her coat hook and together we unloaded and organized her supplies. Then I smooched her and left her smiling sweet self to go find Jake's class.

A hug for Doobie


"See Mom? I got this."


Her nametag! So exciting!


Jake and Doobie

Jake was already seated in his class (right near some friends) and I observed as he followed the teacher's instructions for putting his things away. Then I left with all my other mom friends to go to Starbucks and cry in our coffee. BUT I DIDN'T CRY! I know, I'm shocked too. But both kids were so great and so excited and SO READY for school.

Darrin checked on them a couple of times throughout the day and everyone was trooping right along. I laid in bed with Jordan for twenty minutes tonight listening to her talk all about the things she did and the people she saw. Jake didn't really want to talk about his day other than to so say he really liked his class. Isn't that just like a punk? I mean boy?

So, the school year has begun and it's just the Doobie and me at home now. We are going to have SO much fun without everyone. So there.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

It's Happening AGAIN!


For the 2nd year in a row...my baby is starting kindergarten.

It's not the same baby. It's a different baby.

Jake has moved on to first grade and tomorrow Jordy-Roo Bugamuffin is starting kindergarten. I think I'm having a harder time letting her go than I did when my very first baby started kindergarten last year. It's because she's my BUG and she's so sensitive and she's a girl and needs me! Doesn't she?

I know she'll be fine, she knows her teacher very well (the same teacher Jake had last year) and we know a friend or two in her class. Jake will be a couple of doors down so they'll run into each other in the halls, and daddy works down the hall as well and happens to have a free hour the same time she'll be at lunch. So there will be someone there when she can't open her applesauce or get her straw into her juice box. Sniff.

Also my boys got haircuts.

The Doobs had his official first "non-crying" buzz cut.


Jake is all ready for first grade with his regulation do. He's a pro. I hope he's not offended that I can't take him to his class tomorrow because I'll be busy dealing with Jordy and all the tears (mine not hers).

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Happy Birthday!



My Sweetie Pie Head celebrated his 34th birthday last week. We celebrated in the usual fashion...relaxing! We had dinner with the family and a couple of friends at Lonestar steakhouse, home for pumpkin pie and then off to the movies!


D is not a cake fan so our tradition is to have pumpkin pie for his birthday. I didn't have 34 candles so instead I used every candle in the house. It got the point across well enough I think. :)


It is impossible to get this a guy a decent gift. So instead of dropping a big pile of money on something he won't even pretend to like, we assembled a gift bag of all his favorite treats. Later he and I went on a movie date with a stop at Best Buy first so he could pick something super cool for himself.


The kids spent some time making him birthday art.




There was a to-do involving me and my inability to find canned pumpkin anywhere in town. In the end I tracked down some organic pumpkin with a really weird recipe on it. I made it anyway and as it was cooling I opened my pantry and a can of good ol' Libby's pumpkin fell of the shelf into my hand. Left over from last Thanksgiving. DOESN'T IT JUST FIGURE!?

The pie was edible though. I'll make the Libby's for Thanksgiving this year.

Rain, Rain, WHAT THE HECK?

Today marks the 31st day of perpetual rain in Anchorage this summer. We broke the record on day 25. Everything is dismal and soggy. On the bright side, my lawn has never been so lush and green.

Also, my mushrooms are thriving.

First Lost Tooth for Jake



Bubba lost his first tooth last week. It was dangling by a thread for weeks but he wouldn't let us pull it out. It hung on so long that the new tooth was almost completely in place behind it!

Jake took great enjoyment in wiggling it and showing it to people. We endured days and days of, "My tooth is gone!...PSYCH!" Which got old until I introduced my own version. "Your tooth is gone!...PSYCH!" He fell for it way more often than I did.

Then, last week, he was nibbling on some corn and his tooth finally fell out.

Then he swallowed it.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

When photoshoot season ramps up, the first things to go are laundry and blogging. I still have to get pics up of Darrin's birthday and Jake's first lost tooth! Instead, here's why I've been neglecting the updates.



These were taken during a wedding we shot last weekend out at Big Lake. It was wonderful and amazing and so much fun to do. We brought along an apprentice to help us out and document some things. She was such a help and such a trooper.

Monday, August 02, 2010

Arctic Thunder Airshow


Um, wow.

I've never attended an airshow before. Now I wish I could go every day. Sometimes in life you just stumble upon something that just impresses the heck out of you. F-22s do that to me. I could watch and listen to them all day. I know my mother-in-law agrees with me since she went two days in a row.

Are you ready for photo overload? I took a few hundred pictures but I narrowed it down a little bit for you. It wasn't easy.


When we first arrived, we picked a spot to camp out then went exploring through all the display planes. Jake showed me where all the guns were on all the planes. Sometimes there was a rivet on a plane and Jake would claim it was a bullet ready to shoot out.


Looking for more guns.


Jordy holding up the tail of a fighter jet.


We found where they parked the Blue Angels!


I don't care who you are, that's awesome right there.


Seriously. That's cool.

The wing walker. See that chick standing on the plane as it gets ready to flip upside down? She's cooler than you.

Blue Angles F-18 Hornet


Touring some planes.


Snack time.


The Canadian Snowbirds.


The best way to view an airshow.


The AV-8B Harrier. This plane hovers. It was like a spaceship. It just sat there and parked in the air. Sometimes it would spin in a circle or slide from side to side. It was LOUD. And also awesome.


More Canadian Snowbirds.



Jake loved his toy Blue Angel.


Jordy loved the popcorn.


The Harrier again. Still hovering.


Really loud.


This is how Doobie rolls. I totally just punned unintentionally.


The best seat in the house. Plus he had a telephoto lens. Me = JEALOUS.



F-22. The most amazing, loudest, impressive thing ever. So fast. Did I mention loud? Josh called them "scare planes."


A little pyro during the joint forces capabilities demonstration.



Running around crazy because we are so excited for the Blue Angels!



And then falling down and crying!



The Blue Angels C-17 did a couple of fly-bys before the big event.


Jake, getting things started.



Not even I realized at the time, how AWESOME this shot would be. I should be a professional photographer.


One upside down, one right side up, just cruisin'...at 400 miles per hour.


Showing off their 18 inch spacing. EIGHTEEN INCHES!




Flew right over our heads.


Water bottle missles.


Perfection.


The end!



I'm already excited for next year! WOOHOO!