New Pics

Cassidy and I took the kids to the River Trail to snap some pictures of them the other day.

We may or may not have promised them McD's if they posed for us.

(Which had they know McD's were either out of or finished with Smurf Happy Meal toys, I'm sure we wouldn't have gotten one smile.  It's amazing how quickly 3 year-olds can turn bitter sans Smurf.)

Smurf or no Smurf, these were my favorites:

As you can see from the previous pictures, I really don't understand lighting. So although this next picture was one of my favorites, the shadows all over the kids' faces was ruining it.  Luckily, turning it to a sepia-ish color seemed to hide my mistakes.

Top it Off

My dad and Jason's dad have one thing in common.

They both love to work in the yard.

(And have really pretty yards.)

And since we were in the big city this weekend, I had to take advantage of Grandpa Gary's scenery and snap a few shots.

Now, before I show these to you, you'll probably notice that the kids are shirtless in all the pictures.

This is a nod to one of my favorite Urban Legends of Gary in which he supposedly once had a passport photo in which he was shirtless.

As the story goes, he chose to submit a chest-bearing photo for a legal document since it was a "really good picture" of him.

So without further ado, photos suitable for 1960's international travel.

Pre 4 Inches of Snow on May 1st Pictures

Since I forgot I had these pictures, and the blog's been kinda Kyle and Reed free the last few days.....

Smileys

Showing Off

I've been wanting to share some of the pictures my friend, Niki, took of the kids.

 But since I was giving them to the grandparents as Christmas presents, I had to wait. Although, these aren't the actual ones I picked for presents, just some that I really loved.

This One's a Do Over

Alrighty, so yes, I know I've already made you look at Great Pumpkin Patch pictures.

But seriously, the pictures my friend, Niki, took make my pictures look like a three year old took them.

Soooo enjoy.  Pumpkin Patch Photo Ops Take II 

This time by a professional:

Hot Off The Presses

I figure these first day of school pictures should hold the grandmothers over until I have time for a proper post.

Even More Flora

Since Durangoans like things to be "local", and I showed you Denver flowers yesterday, I figure I better get with the program and give the local flora some airtime.
I don't drive to the north side of town very often, so I was shocked how beautiful the front of Serious Texas BBQ looked. (And if you're thinking, didn't you just go to Serious Texas BBQ the other day? Why, yes. Yes I did. But even though I live in a town without a Target, I do live in a town with 2 Serious Texas BBQs. I know. I've learned not to ask questions anymore.) Anyway, after I dropped JR off to catch the bus to mountain camp, I made the babies jump out and pose for pictures. Here's the best one I got. And though they weren't in the mood for picture posing, look how pretty their background is.



Here's what every other picture I took looked like. Kyle spotted some motorcycles coming down the road. And then some big trucks...



Finally he just started screaming out "car! car!". You can tell Reed was trying really hard to pose, but those motorcycles, trucks, and cars were just too tempting to look at!

Friday Farm Scenes

And when I say "Farm Scenes" I of course mean, "pictures I took nowhere near the pasture where actual farm type things would be." I've cleaned enough cow pies off dogs and children that I like to stay near the house...where it's safe.

Okay, so I do have a story about this little rocking chair. The chair is about 80-years old. The German Jew Presbyterian side of the family used to let Gypsies camp on their land as they (The Gypsies) were passing through San Augustine, Texas. This chair is one of the things they made as "rent" for camping on the land. And yes, I said, Gypsies. You know I couldn't make this stuff up!

Our Floats were Fantastic!

Our 4th of July (that was really on the 3rd) parade "floats" might not have won a ribbon, but I think Jason and I did some fabulous decorating. And yes, you read that right: Jason. fabulous. decorating.

Being that we have children who don't do well waiting with riding toys, and I have a mom who doesn't like to get her hair wet (and we thought it was going to rain at any second), we showed up to the parade about 10 minutes before it started. I was so busy decorating Kyle's tractor and JR's bike that I completely missed Jason decorating Reed's BigWheel...cause if I'd have seen that you better believe there would be pictures!

Wave your glitter flag and show us your jazz hands for Jason on this one!

Kyle was a seriously busy guy. Poor thing was trying to wave, drive his tractor, and check out the firetruck behind him.

Even though JR told me "I wish I had my uniform" when he saw the Boy Scouts, he still had a blast riding his new bike.

Happy Birthday USA!

Obviously, I Need a New Camera

Jason emailed me some pictures today that his assistant, Sam, took waaay back at a golf tournament in May (on JR's birthday to be exact). If I'd have known random shots at the golf course were going to turn out this good, I'd have had everybody in their picture posing clothes! I mean, seriously, check out Reed's eyes. If this camera will work wonders on me (i.e. make me look skinny and hot) I'm buying one immediately!

Rock-et Men

JR started his skateboarding lessons today (which will be the feature of another post), so while we were waiting on him, the babies and I took a little walk along the Animas River Trail. I saw a big rock and thought it would make a good backdrop for some pictures. Apparently the boys were in the mood for some picture posing (which isn't always the case), so a few of the pics came out pretty cute. Oh, and if you're wondering why I've got them dressed in their "winter wools" (as my mom calls outfits that she thinks would make you too hot), it was 48 degrees this morning. I'm actually looking forward to some Texas heat and humidity!