I had the pleasure of doing a session with my good friend Elanie and her family. Elanie will be delivering baby number 4 on Thursday. Elanie will remain queen of the house, and will be chasing after 4 boys, 5 and under.
I’m excited to meet your new little man!
Is California burning up? It sure seems like it. We’ve had some smokey days the past couple weeks, some worse than others. The moon has been orange. Today I think it’s the worse I’ve seen it. Stepping outside it smells like we’re in the middle of a forest fire, the smoke stinging my eyes immediately. I think my children are going a bit insane being stuck in the house, but they cannot go outside with air quality the way it is. Here is a picture I took that looks out my backyard. No, those are not clouds or fog, it’s smoke. It looks like an overcast day, but with a lovely orange tint to everything. Stay inside! Obviously I won’t be holding any outside sessions until the air is clear. Heres a link to see where the fires are:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110735790609633874400.00044f7bd13c461bb9ba2&ll=39.147103,-120.212402&spn=8.789921,13.491211&z=6
Always a pleasure to see this family. I’ve been doing sessions with them since moms maternity with big brother. Here are a few to see before I finish the gallery. 
With gas prices rising, getting closer each day to $5.00/gallon, I know many of us are feeling the effects. I’d like to give a little something to take the sting of filling up, away (or minimize it!).
Heres the scoop…
So, we’re swimming…in about 4 inches of water because they don’t want to fill the pool any higher. ha
I had the pleasure of meeting and spending a couple of hours with this family on Saturday. The girls were so polite and wonderful to work with, and of course, gorgeous as well. Their parent’s I’m sure are so proud of them. I hope to work with them again in the future.
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.
It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’ t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t.
Because, sometimes, they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
’cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike
and I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
—Dr. Seuss
So proud of my little girl. She’s learned so much, and continues to amaze me each and every day.
Doing the Pledge of Allegiance
The Graduate
Best friends
We had a busy weekend painting our living room. We hadn’t painted it since we moved in, 7 years ago. It needed it badly. I always love the colors they use in Pottery Barn catalogs, so I ordered some through there (Benjamin Moore Paints). You can order small sample jars to see what color you like. Walter wasn’t so thrilled with this, but once it was up on the walls, he likes it. I LOVE it. It’s so fresh and clean. This is Key Largo Green. Pottery Barn Color Wheel
The ledges are from Pottery Barn. I love them because I can swap out pictures of the kids really easy without framing. The largest print up there is on the far right of Sam, and it’s 16 x 20.
It’s so interesting to photograph siblings and see the differences between them. I have a sister who is 2 years older than me. We’re quite different, but we both have blue eyes. When my son was born, we thought he would have bright blue eyes like his sister, but they turned out hazel like my husbands. It’s interesting for me to see siblings with different color eyes now, I really notice it much more.
Recent Siblings…
2 more weeks and our little ones are done with preschool……time to move to the big kid school! WOW. I know Jillian can’t wait, she’s so excited to make new friends and have homework. Is she really my child? Here are a couple from school
