Anden Goes to Preschool

Despite my best efforts to keep him litte, he's decided it's okay for him to grow up and go to school.  Why do they have to grow up, really?  They grow up, they give you grief, they cost too much dag on money, and they make you cry when you realize they really can venture out into this big big world on their own! 

 

See, he's much too little to go to preschool...

 

 

No Anden, you are not SO BIG!  You must stay home with your mommy and let her rock you while we watch Mickey Mouse Club!  (It's just not the same watching Mickey Mouse Club without you!)

 

FINE!  If you insist, we'll go to preschool!  But I will walk you down those basement steps at preschool, because they're much too steep and you are not THAT BIG!

 

 I wonder if your teacher would notice if I just hid upstairs while you were at preschool?  :)

And They Lived Happily Ever After

Jesse and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary today with a night away at West Baden Hotel in French Lick.  We had such a great time.  We got up there last Friday evening.  Started with dinner at one of our favorite places to eat ~ Hagen's.  I got steak, Jesse got ribs.  Mouthwaterly Good!  Then on our way to the hotel, I told Jesse we should swing by the casino because I had found a penny heads up in the gravel that morning.  $20 later, we left... (Did I mention we are BIG Gamblers!)  This morning we slept in, went for a bike ride around the resort, grabbed some breakfast at a local diner, and then hiked around the resort.  It's beautiful and has so much history associated with it.  Supposedly, prior to the depression, it was "The Las Vegas" of the Mid West.  They say Al Capone used to hide out here!

Here is the West Baden Hotel.  It's a huge dome.

 

 

The interior is wide open, with the rooms surrounding it.

 

 

This is outside in the courtyard.

 

Here's some very nice scenery!  :)

 

 

There was an Art event going on this weekend.  There were Painters all over the resort painting pictures or different parts of the resort. 

 

Here we are on the wrap around porch of the dome.  So Happy!

 

 

Photography 101

I'm ultra excited...

I've had a lot of cameras in my day. 

I think I started with one of those disposable 35 mm cameras...

Then moved on to a real 35 mm camera...

After we were married, we got a digital point and shoot camera...

Having kids made me want to invest in a fancier point and shoot camera...

Swimming, boating, waterparks, and trips to the ocean made me buy a waterproof camera...

Never having my larger point and shoot camera on hand made me buy a slim point and shoot camera that fits in my purse or diaper bag...

Then of course the ever-handy, iPhone camera (and all those fun photo apps that go along with it)...



AND NOW...

I've ordered my VERY FIRST SLR Camera.  I've grown a bit weary of blurry photographs of Kaylee doing backhand springs, Jacob running bases on the ballfield, and Anden who as his grandma says is, "Fast as lightening!"  I'm super-hyped for it to hurry up and get here.  I've read so many photography tips online the last several days and I'm learning so much!  (Thank you Pinterest!)



And now, I'm about to share with you the most incredible peice of knowledge of I've learned so far...



"Reduced photo noise" means your photo is not blurry.

It has absolutely nothing to do with being able to take pictures of sleeping babies without waking those sleeping babies...  Who knew?!?!



Genius I tell you... Genius!

Back to School

Kaylee ~ 4th Grade

Jacob ~ 2nd Grade

Make it a GREAT year kiddos!  Love you!

Our Summer... A Race

This summer has felt a bit like the Kentucky Derby...

Right out of the gate, we were off and running and we did not stop...

The week after the kids were out of school, Ben, my amazing 14 year old nephew from Michigan, came for a visit.  He stayed with us for a week.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures during the week he was here!  Shame on me!

June was full of camps, camps, and more camps...

Jacob's 4-H Day Camp

Kaylee's 4-H Camp

Kaylee's Girl Scout Camp (no pictures, after 3 days at 4-H Camp, Kaylee only lasted a day at Girl Scout camp... I really can't say that I blame her though!)

All three kids had Vacation Bible School

And finally, Kaylee's Basketball Camp

July was full of THE FAIR!  Need I say more?

The first weekend of August, we were able to make it up to northern Indiana.  We started with some boating on Saturday with my Mom and Dad and spent Sunday visiting with my Uncle Max & Auntie Kay at their cottage on Silver Lake. 

Love them!  Uncle Max is 98 and Auntie Kay is 96.  Amazing!

Their lake cottage is truly one of my favorite places.  Growing up I remember as a little girl visiting them each summer at their cottage.

Normally we visit them on Labor Day weekend and the water is too cool for the kids to get in the water.  Not this year... granted they only got to wade around in the water, but how special to watch my kids making memories in the very swimming hole that I have so many fantastic memories of!

Here is Kaylee with my cousin Liz.

Jacob must have been sick that day... he HATES for me to take his picture!  Yet here he is actually LOOKING at the camera and SMILING!

Look Mom!  A clam!  Gotta love a little boy swimmin' in his undies.

Throw in a splattering of baseball tourneys throughout the summer, and there you have what made up our horse race... I mean our summer. 

And now it's come to and end... Kaylee & Jacob go back to school tomorrow and Anden will start Preschool in two weeks... sniff sniff, boo hoo, hang on while I bawl like a baby...  WAH!!!!  How can that be?!?!?!