Family Pictures 2013

 Family Pictures

 

When the person that usually does our family pictures moved to Texas this year, I got a little panicked. Luckily I have another friend who is a talented photographer and she was able to schedule a fall family photo shoot like I was originally planning to do. Whew. My friend, Cary, is the amazing photographer who takes pictures at most of the vintage sales that we participate in. She is awesome. You can check her out here. I was really happy with how they turned out...especially considering it was a sweltering 90+ degrees and we were hot and sweaty and my hair had lost it's poof. We don't always do a full photo shoot every year. Usually we do pictures of the kids and then a quick family picture...but since our last full session was when Bryn was a baby it was definitely time.

I think there are some great shots of the kids. I love the pictures of Kameron and Bryn laughing. Those are awesome. Reilly looks so grown up; it is a stab in my heart and Ailey is just the picture of childhood. I love it. I also love having new pictures of me and Ty. It was so funny when Tyler and I were having our couple pictures taken we crossed paths with another photographer who was taking some Senior pictures and as she passed us she said "Congratulations you two!!"(obviously thinking these were engagement pictures) and then her eyes widened when she saw our four kid!! Ha ha.

So here you go for your viewing pleasure... we also got all these same shots in black and white which I love as well. I am excited to play around with these pictures...some I want enlarged, some I want cropped, some I want on canvas, and some I want in black and white. Here they are in their original format:

   

So Long September

So Long September
 
So long September. So long Summer. So long sunshine. So long warmth. It was nice while it lasted.  Hello Fall.  September was a busy month with back to school, the starting up of activities, and all sorts of good things. Here's some of what we were up to this month:

We soaked up the last drop of summer-like temperatures at the lake. It was glorious. The weather was in the 90's and the water was that perfect temp of slight shock and then absolutely refreshing when you jump in.

Kelley, Tyler, the kids, and I decided at the last minute to run out to the lake and have an impromptu pizza and root beer float party with Granny. I am so glad that we did. Our Grandma is crazy for root beer floats!! We all had a great time.

It is hard to believe that this was less than 3 weeks ago. We went straight from 90 degrees and HOT to 40 degrees with cold rain. No middle ground whatsoever. No Indian Summer this year. Boo.

 3 Bathing Beauties

The teenagers. This picture is a perfect snap shot of these two this summer. I love it.

That water felt good!! The last swim of the year is MUST BE enjoyed to the hilt and it sure was!!

Two little fishies

We picked and ate the bounty of our garden. Bryn loved going into the garden to pick tomatoes to go with her lunch each day. Four is seriously the cutest age. Bryn is just adorable.

School FINALLY started for her. She had to wait until the end of the month of September for it to begin. She was so excited!! Bryn has one more year of preschool. She is going to the preschool that is at the high school. Again, she is thrilled to go to the same school as Reilly.

First day of school outfit.

Bryn was so happy to be back with her teacher, all her friends, and her big buddies.

Back to school means after school snacks. This is my favorite part of the day. All four of our kids are chatty and they all have a lot to say about their days. We usually have about half an hour when everyone is home before they all go in different directions once again.

Kam is on the Cross-Country team for his school. He is loving it. Some how it is way more fun to run for your school rather than just on a city team. Plus you get all that sweet swag!!

The kid is doing absolutely spectacularly!! I cannot believe how much he has improved since last year. He really loves his coach and loves the meets. He practices 5 days a week and they run 3-5 miles a day. I love driving the girls to various activities and seeing his team running down the street and through all the neighborhoods. Kam said that he LOVES running on the road rather than around a track. Surprisingly, he has given us full permission to honk, yell his name, and wave when we see him. We take FULL ADVANTAGE of that!!

Last week's cross-country meet was EXTRA special because look who came to watch Kam run? Grandma!! So exciting!!

Grandma will even take you out for treats when you are done!! Like Twinkies aka *Winkies* from Sweet Frostings. DELISH!!

My friend, Judy and her business partner, Sally, have opened a second Sweet Frostings location here in Spokane. There is one downtown and now one on the north side in the Wandermere area too. My little girls are SUPER excited because the Northside location has a party room!! It is absolutely darling. Perfect for birthday parties!!

Seriously...is there anything cuter than a boy who reads his scriptures? Phil from Duck Dynasty would be so proud. (Yes, we are still into that show!!) "Is he a godly man? Does he carry his Bible?" (That is oft quoted to Reilly whenever she talks about a new boy she likes!! Ha ha. ;)

These next pictures...though poor quality...due to the fact that they were taken at around 1am...must be documented. We found the boy sound asleep with this sticky note on his chest. Out of our four children we have three early birds and one kid we have to drag out of bed. Guess who that is?

Not sure how this sticky note was supposed to wake him up, but he gets an A for effort in motivation. "Wake Up. Jazz Tryouts. Get Up. Get Up". So funny.

Activity Days have started up again. Ailey LOVES activity days. Here she is with "Modest...Yet Fashionable Ailey".

Bryn and Elle continue with swimming lessons. They are doing so great!! Last week the teacher had them swimming the length of the pool. Bryn would swim a bit...tread water...swim again...tread water...etc...but she made it all the way across the pool by herself!! Elle has had one more round of swimming than Brynnie and she swam clear across by herself...no treading. So exciting!!

There goes Bryn across the pool!!

 Cousin time!! Bryn doesn't look thrilled but BELIEVE ME she was!!

We are back at ballet. This is my 14th year of being a ballet mom. It feels like it too!! Ailey goes twice a week and Bryn once a week. Here's a pic I took through the glass. Nice plié!! Reilly isn't dancing at all this year which is very weird but both she and Ailey are taking piano lessons again this year.

Scouts are in full force. Last week Kameron had a Merit Badge Clinic at Gonzaga University. Very fun. He and his buddy had to run directly from a cross-country meet, throw on their scout shirts, and head downtown.

Pretty!!

We also had family pictures taken. Good grief that is a process to coordinate everyone. But we did it. It was pretty much the last scorching day of the year. We had our pictures taken at Manito Park which was such a gorgeous setting...albeit the 90 plus degree temps. 

Car load  of girls!! Tyler and Kam were running in the store to get us some drinks. It was SO HOT!!

Bryn only has preschool three days a week and so that still gives us a lot of one-on-one time together which I totally cherish. Bryn is such a fun and easy child. I am not even remotely counting down the days until all day Kindergarten next year. Just the opposite. She is such a little sweetheart and I love having her home.

She can play with Kameron's old Matchbox cars for hours.

'

She loves shopping at Trader Joe's. Who doesn't?

This last weekend we participated in a vintage show called the Mad Hatter Vintage Flea Market. So fun!! Here's a pic from our booth. This is a fun show because it kicks off Fall and we get to do fun things for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

And last but not least, we closed out September with Tyler having a little procedure done on his shoulder. He has had Frozen Shoulder also known as Adhesive Capsulitis in both shoulders. Not fun. His left shoulder was able to get better through physical therapy but his right shoulder was much worse and wasn't responding to PT alone. Yesterday he had to have a shoulder manipulation done under general anesthesia. He did well. Today it is pretty painful!! He then has to go to PT every day for 10 days straight. Hopefully this will fix the problem and give him back his full range of motion. Frozen shoulder is pretty common as you age. Who knew? Your 40's just keep on giving!! It is even more common in diabetics so we are glad to have this fixed. (Fingers crossed.) I am in nurse mode right now. I am not good at it. Pray for Tyler. ;)

See ya September. Hello October. 

Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Oh man, I've been itching to write some book reviews. I don't know why this gives me such satisfaction but it does. Maybe one day my great-grand kids will want to know what I thought about a book and BOOM!! There you go.

I've got some good ones for you today. The weather is cooling, my electric throw blanket is calling, and I've found the most delicious herbal tea to drink, and so it is again time to read. If you need some fun books to read this fall you will like all of these. So take an armchair vacation!!

Susanna Kearsley has quickly become one of my favorite pleasure reads authors. I have yet to read a book of her's that I didn't love. This one is no exception. 

From Goodreads:

"...This mesmerizing, suspenseful, and richly atmospheric tale of time travel draws us into the heart of a heroine we won't soon forget...The first time Julia Beckett saw Greywethers she was only five, but she knew at once that it was her house. Now, twenty-five years later, by some strange chance, she has just become the new owner of the sixteenth-century Wiltshire farmhouse. But Julia soon begins to suspect that more than coincidence has brought her there. As if Greywethers were a portal between worlds, she finds herself abruptly transported back in time. Stepping into seventeenth-century England, Julia becomes Mariana, a beautiful young woman struggling against danger and treachery, and battling a forbidden love for Richard de Mornay, handsome forebear of the present squire of Crofton Hall. Each time Julia travels back, she becomes more enthralled with the past, falling ever deeper in love with Richard...until one day she realizes Mariana's life threatens to eclipse her own--and that she must find a way to lay the past to rest, or risk losing a chance for love in her own time."

I read this book after watching some episodes on YouTube of the British TV show called Extraordinary People when I was sick this summer. This show is FASCINATING and especially good at keeping your mind off of puking. I had coincidentally just watched the episode "The Boy Who Lived Before" right before starting Mariana which is also about reincarnation. So I was definitely in the proper mind set for this book.

It was super fun!! I couldn't put it down (I think I read it in a day) and I was bawling my eyes out at the end. Kearsley takes her readers on a great ride and this book is no different. Sure, there were a few loose ends that kind of bugged me, and a flat character here and there, and someone please tell me what the deal was with her brother... but it didn't stop it from being a lovely book and a wonderful escape from reality.

My Rating: Great. (As in fun...not as in beautiful classic literature.)

 From Goodreads:

Remember the woman you used to be ...Alice is twenty-nine. She is whimsical, optimistic and adores sleep, chocolate, her ramshackle new house and her wonderful husband Nick. What's more, she's looking forward to the birth of the 'Sultana' - her first baby. But now Alice has slipped and hit her head in her step-aerobics class and everyone is telling her she's misplaced the last ten years of her life.In fact, it would seem that Alice is actually thirty-nine and now she loves schedules, expensive lingerie, caffeine and manicures. She has three children and the honeymoon is well and truly over for her and Nick. In fact, he looks at her like she's his worst enemy. What's more, her beloved sister Elisabeth isn't speaking to her either. And who is this 'Gina' everyone is so carefully trying not to mention? Alice isn't sure that she likes life ten years on. Every photo is another memory she doesn't have and nothing makes sense. Just how much can happen in a decade? Has she really lost her lovely husband forever?

This was the perfect summer read for me. I thought it was fresh and fun. It think it would be a good selection because there is a lot to discuss...such as, what if you couldn't remember the last 10 years of your life...how would you feel? Would you be happy about where you found yourself? Did you become the person you wanted to be? Are you living the life you thought you would live? If no, are you okay with that? Good thought-provoking stuff to discuss. Plus, it's a funny book and had me laughing out loud. I liked how we got the perspective of several people...Alice's sister via her letters to her therapist, her grandma via her blog (that was one of my favorite parts of the book!!), and Alice's perspective...both as a 30 year-old and as a 40 year-old. I loved it.

My Rating: Fun, engaging, and funny. Enjoyable!!

Yes, another Susanna Kearsley book!! They are fun. You should read them. You'll like them. I promise. 

From Goodreads:

"Archaeologist Verity Grey has been drawn to the dark legends of the Scottish Borderlands in search of the truth buried in a rocky field by the sea. Her eccentric boss has spent his whole life searching for the resting place of the lost Ninth Roman Legion and is convinced he's finally found it—not because of any scientific evidence, but because a local boy has "seen" a Roman soldier walking in the fields, a ghostly sentinel who guards the bodies of his long-dead comrades. Here on the windswept shores, Verity may find the answer to one of the great unsolved mysteries of our time. Or she may uncover secrets someone buried for a reason."

This book gets a little criticized because it doesn't contain the usual parallel time story lines but that is what I liked MOST about this book. One of my critiques of Susanna Kearsley is that she uses the dual time travel storyline in almost all of her books...in different ways to be sure...but it's still there and it makes the love story set in the present suffer because, truly, how could it possibly compete with the amazing love story that is set in the past. That said, the love story in this book is most definitely in the present...and it was good!! I also loved the characters in this book. My two complaints are 1.) I wanted Verity a little more fleshed out. Why is she described as a 'difficult women'? There is nothing in the book that supports that claim for instance so that irritated me. 2.) I wanted MORE...I wanted to know more about all of the characters, main characters and secondary characters, including all of their back stories...even the ghostly Sentinel. I wanted to know more about what happened to the Ninth Roman Legion. But I did like that the story didn't flip flop from the past to the present and that Verity didn't "travel" to the past. It's always nice to mix things up a bit and not be so formulaic. I also like that when I finish a Susanna Kearsley book I can just hand it right over to my 16 year-old daughter who also loves these books and then we can gush about them together. That's rare!! 

I am currently reading Kearsley's book The Firebird which has the character Robbie in it (about 20 years after Shadowy Horses) as well as Anna from The Winter Sea. So maybe I will get the closure and depth that I wanted from this book in The Firebird. I hope so.

My Rating: Great. (I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning just to finish it.)

From Goodreads:

"Award-winning author Alan Bradley returns with another beguiling novel starring the insidiously clever and unflappable eleven-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce. The precocious chemist with a passion for poisons uncovers a fresh slew of misdeeds in the hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey—mysteries involving a missing tot, a fortune-teller, and a corpse in Flavia’s own backyard.

Flavia had asked the old Gypsy woman to tell her fortune, but never expected to stumble across the poor soul, bludgeoned in the wee hours in her own caravan. Was this an act of retribution by those convinced that the soothsayer had abducted a local child years ago? Certainly Flavia understands the bliss of settling scores; revenge is a delightful pastime when one has two odious older sisters. But how could this crime be connected to the missing baby? Had it something to do with the weird sect who met at the river to practice their secret rites? While still pondering the possibilities, Flavia stumbles upon another corpse—that of a notorious layabout who had been caught prowling about the de Luce’s drawing room."

 The Flavia de Luce mysteries are delightful. Enough said.

My Rating: Good...but not as good as the 1st one The Sweetness At The Bottom of The Pie.

I read this book in elementary school years ago and watched the series on PBS. They were delightful then and they are delightful now. I reread this book this summer with my 9 year-old daughter and it was SO MUCH FUN!! My daughter, Ailey, is the dreamiest of my four children and definitely the most Ann(e) like. She loves to be dramatic, use big words, and has a superb imagination. She loved the book and I have heard her saying things like "you are my bosom friend" and "he reminds me of Gilbert Blythe" this summer. I love it!! Getting to relive it all and share it with her has been PRICELESS!!

My Rating: Always has been and always will be...EXCELLENT!!