The Light in Photography.

After being sick in bed for almost 3 days, it felt as though I had been in hibernation. I arose with this this strong need to start getting some projects done, but also spend lots of time outside with the boys as it has been absolutely beautiful here this past week... sunny everyday and in the high 50's. That kind of weather needs to be taken advantage of!  One of these projects that I have been wanting to do involved my boys, the vineyard behind our house and my camera. 

As a complete newbie to photography, I pretty much have no idea what I am doing. I do know that light is ESSENTIAL in photography, but I was made very aware of this during this little photo shoot. The light was beautiful as I was getting the boys ready and packed up for our walk to this location. However, as we were walking, it was fading and fading fast. This is definitely shown in my pictures, which is bummer. We still had fun though and Jack was extremely cooperative and helpful with his brother!

There are rows and rows of these grape vines. Concord grapes to be exact. 

They taste pretty good, too!

 

There it goes...heart melting!

 

I don't dress the boys the same very often, but these vests were just too cute. And I am total sucker for hats, if you haven't noticed.

 

Darn fuzzy hand! He just gets so excited!

 

 

 

I need to give this a go again when the light is better. I feel this passion for photography, a passion that is sparked by these two lovies! I just want to learn more and more. Ah well, onto my next project! Let's clean out the garage!

Side note: It is quite difficult and quite hilarious photographing these two. Owen is more concerned with putting anything and everything in his mouth including leaves, weeds, grass and sand. While Jack is concerned with noises ( planes or cars) and what Owen is doing. So, Owen would be shoving a leaf in his mouth while Jack was cooperating and then Owen was cooperating while Jack was staring into the sky at a plane.

Magic Noodles.

I discovered these today in Jack's (so adorable) art class. These are super easy, mess free and simply perfect for your toddler or preschooler to be creative and CREATE!

Jack's "Magic Noodle" Masterpiece

They look just like little pieces of chalk, which is exactly what this Momma told her son they were. Oops! Magic Noodles feel and look (when up close) like package peanuts, however, when you get them wet they stick together. How cool! The buzz around the mom's in art class is that you can buy Magic Noodles at any teacher supply store. Jack seemed to really like this project and truly the possibilities of being creative are endless. Plus, mess free...BONUS! 

Enjoy!

Good News, Bad News and the Flu!

Good News!

Owen's tooth finally popped through making him one happy boy!

Bad News!

 

 

Jack ended up being really sick with what I think was the stomach flu. This is a picture of him laying on his "sick bed". Did your mom ever do this for you when you were a child? Mine did. A very comfortable bed made up on the couch with lots of movie time and big red bucket (just in case). This stomach flu came in waves which was very odd to me. Jack would complain of not feeling well one day and then the next he would "appear" totally fine. Well, it hit hard last Wednesday night into Thursday and by Friday Jack was back to running circles around the house so I knew he was all better. No signs yet in O....pray for us!!!

Good News!

 

Keefe and Holly came for a visit this weekend. Keefe is an absolute die-hard University of Michigan Wolverine football fan. Actually, more like fanatic. He talks about the team in the "we" as if he is actually on the team. He knows all the facts, statistics, players, and checks U of M football blogs constantly. So, we felt it was very much appropriate to give them tickets to a game. On Saturday morning, we all headed over to Ann Arbor to take in the pregame fun and check out the city.

 

 

Of course, we all had to get the appropriate garb so we "fit in"!

Love this!

The boys could not get enough of Uncle Keefer's beard, they loved touching it!

That picture gave me a flashback......

Uncle Keefer and Jack when he was about 8 or 9 months. I'm pretty sure that hat is a U of M hat.

And 3 years later. Seriously, where has this time gone?

 

Going to Ann Arbor, especially with Keefe and Holly was so much fun. It is very much like the University of WI-Madison-State Street Area. Holly decided to hang with me and the boys and Pat and Keefe went to the game.We shopped and played with the boys and then headed home. Although, the Wolverines lost on Saturday I know the experience was all well worth it for the guys.

 

We had such a wonderful time with Keefer and Holly. We truly wish we would have had a few more days to spend with them. Our boys adore their Aunt and Uncle! Thanks guys for a great visit!

 

And of course..more Bad News!

Pretty sure, I came down with some form of influenza. It hit me on Sunday and I basically have been in bed ever since. I am starting to feel better today, which is why I am able to blog. Being sick is hard on anyone, but being a mother and being sick is pretty darn near impossible. Thank goodness I have a wonderful husband who has completely taken over all of my mommy duties and is taking really good care of me. I love you, babe!

Fresh Air!

There may be sickness a brew'n amongst my boys. I am not sure what it is exactly. I have seen it mostly in Jack. There have been some signs. No eating. Complaining of "tummy and head hurting" (which is not the most accurate b/c that can change within seconds). Glossy eyes. Lethargic...Jack went up to his bed today for nap time practically all on his own and fell asleep within minutes.  Cuddly, very cuddly (which this Momma loves). Fever, which Jack never gets.

I am not sure if this will develop into something more or if it is just a little "icky bug" he is experiencing!? Who knows...who ever knows? However, we called off date night to give Jack extra TLC, just in case.

Before dinner, I thought it might help some to get outside for some fresh air! A good 20 minutes of playing in the leaves.

My attempt at a sequence of Jack throwing leaves in the air. Jack = cute. Picture quality = lame.

 

 

 Jack did not like laying in the leaves.

 

I love how the boys are looking at each other. They are probably thinking, "Here we go again...seriously, Mom..enough!"

 

One word: Classic

Notice the scratch. We had a little incident this morning involving two brothers and one toy train.

Pretty sure O is eating a leaf.

 

As a momma of two, it is very difficult to push your one baby on the swing and play pretend picnic with your toddler. See next picture.

 

I guess we better go in.

Halloween Weekend.

We had visitors this weekend...Yippee! Pat's sister Tami and her husband Ray and their three girls came all the way from Green Bay, WI to spend a few days with us. Having five kiddos ranging in ages 10 years to 10 months makes for a busy, BUSY 3 days..so I don't have a lot of pictures (bummer!). But, we had such a great time made up of lots of playing, shopping, cooking and of course, "Trick or Treating".

The Girls

Annie

 

Ellie

Lauren

We got blasted with rain the entire day on Friday. What to do? I know, I know...let's play Wii!

Let's see how many silly faces we can make on Photo Booth.

 

A couple of examples:

Let's teach Nicole how to make applesauce.

 

 

Tami brought along her applesauce maker..how great is that thing (not sure of it's technical name?). It makes the whole process super easy and so much fun for Jack. If you know where I can get one of these, let me know!

Let's pray to the Tooth Fairy God that Owen's teeth will break through in the next couple of days. My O is in an incredible amount pain and I have tried everything!

Thank goodness, the rain stopped some time on Saturday. The girls were able to get outside and show off their moves ripstiking (I had no clue what this was!) And of course, all the kids were able to go "trick or treating" around our neighborhood.Tami, O and I stayed back and handed out the candy while the dads took the kids.

 

 

Annie is Hermione, Ellie is a gypsy, Lauren is Hannah Montana minus the blond wig and of course, Jack is a pirate and O, the skunk.

Go..Go!!

Bring back lots of Snickers for me and Auntie Tami!

 

 Post candy collection. Immediately upon returning home, the kids dumped out all their candy and picked out all the ones they wanted. They filled up another bucket with some of the kinds they did not care for as much and handed it out to the remainder of "trick or treaters". I think Lauren and Jack had just as much, maybe more fun doing this as they did "trick or treating".

Time to go! Auntie Tami giving the boys lots of love!!

Thanks again for a wonderful weekend! See you in a couple of weeks!!