Haven't posted in forever, basically due to technical difficulties making me too frustrated to fight my way through to get things up here, but thought what the heck maybe, just maybe its gotten easier. We'll see....
My budding little artist working the block print station at Winterfair.
And now my little man. They made quite a few block prints, of course block printing was our class assignment this year and I worked first shift.
I was walking with the family down the trail by the Ken Lockwood Gorge when I spotted some cool tree fungus. I couldn't help but photograph it and all I kept seeing were little fairies perched upon the fungus. So, I decided to make my vision a reality and turn Sawyer's class into fairies upon the fungus. It was a fun project and made a nice end page to the books I made for them this year.
Probably not, so why not just start afresh and keep my blog going. So let's start with a couple weeks ago, since after that our family, minus John, has been a froggy, snotty, runny, pukey mess & lets face it no one wants to see that!
So a couple weeks ago Sunday was Superbowl Sunday. We decided to have a kid friendly gathering, just for the heck of it, since John was on vacation the week following. We started early, since some idiot in television planning puts the Superbowl on Sunday late in the day, so no one can ever stay to watch the end, since most people work the next day.
Mother Nature graced us with some good snow, so our Superbowl party became at Supersnowl party. The kids were having a blast and the hill was nice and fast.
Sawyer was soooo excited to have his girls here! He was the only boy, not just his cousins and sister but his girlfriends too.
Sam was the first one to ride down with Sawyer.
Payton was ready for a run, so Katelyn pulled her up. Payton's too funny to watch being pulled, as she just lays down like a little rag doll and doesn't move even when she starts sliding out of the sled!
And down they come.
And then it was Sammy's turn to ride with Payton.
And a wipeout with Payton!
The girls brought up this board and Sawyer found it was his favorite ride.
And then Caroline had her turn with the Popper.
More snow in the face!
Sometimes you need a little shove off! Thanks Aunt Judy!
Then the girls broke out the snow board. Sammy's first run!
Not bad for a first try. I didn't get the big part of the wipe out!
Lovin' life!
All four together!
Heading for the deck.
And plop in the Popper for a good group shot.
Back to the solo ride.
On their way to crash.
Gives new meaning to the term, "hit the deck!"
Going for it again!
They think this is sooo much fun!
Katelyn going for aerodynamics!
Aunt Judy decided she'd take a run, helped by a push from Aunt Gina, as you can see it didn't go well!
She decided that that would be her final run!
They're at it again.
Deck is coming up fast!
We tried to pile up snow to soften the blow, but it seemed to just catapult them higher!
Nothing can keep him still!
They decided to avoid the deck.
As you can see it didn't work, they crashed into the butterfly bush.
A little stickier than the deck, but it definitely gave more!
Trying to slow themselves down.
Notice Sawyer decided it would be best to ride in the back and face backwards. He knows all to well the sting of snow in his face.
Payton decided sitting on Grandmom's lap, having a snack was much more fun then riding sleds.
And tiny pink cupcakes eaten like a dog are even better. This little girl just cracks me up!
I don't know what makes her eat certain things like this, but they are usually deserts!
She makes short work of the cupcake though.
Must make sure I get every bit of pink icing!
Love that smile!
Then Alexis arrived with her cool three seater snow tube!
Tube started to take off before Sawyer was competely on board, but notice he never lets go, even as he's dragged down the hill!
I climbed the hill to help them out, and thus got them sledding away from me!
Dad watches them come to a stop.
Caroline & Katelyn help them out, and Caroline goes down!
Screaming makes it much more fun!
He loves his friends.
More snowboarding!
She's like a pro!
Heading up for another run!
He's such a ham sandwich!
A little teamwork!
Some help from everyone's favorite helped, Katelyn.
The whole gang heads up the second hill!
And then they moved to the other side of the hills.
The tube is a fast mover!
Gets a little ride on her own.
Sometimes you need a little help to pave the way!
Its a good thing Uncle Bear is there to lend a hand.
Girls tube ride!
Sawyer & Lily go for a ride.
And get a little snow in the face and then....
crash into the butterfly bush.
Love the smiles!
Havin' a blast!
My gallant, young lad trying to stop Lily from sliding down the hill.
All aboard!
Whoa, horsie!
And yet again, Whoa, horsie!
And then there was July.....
We spent the first few days of July with more water play.
I just couldn't keep her out of those sprays.
And Sawyer was really starting to slip n slide.
Payton thought she should try.
She was rather determined, so I helped her do a little slide. She really loves sliding. I think she's going to be my lilttle daredevil!
Then she decided to go look for Aiden.
Hmm, where is he?
No really, where is he?
Then it was back to the fountain. Love the tush shots!
Watching the kids intently & getting ready for that first step. It wouldn't be too long before she graduated from standing to walking.
And it was the 4th with a picnic at Kevin & Amber's.
Hanging out in the pirate pool, Katelyn was keeping cool!
Ah, to be a kid and be happy with a puddle of water, wish I could have jumped in with them.
Check out my little pirate princess wearing the spoils of a sunken treasure. She looks fabulous, dahling!
Cousin Heather, being a good sport and playing water gun war with the boys! Luckily someone invented the cardboard box shield!
Having a lot of difficulty getting this post finished. Typepad keeps locking up on me, so, I'm going to put the rest of the summer in photo albums here. Try not to tear up over the loss of my words. They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Of course they didn't know I could probably write as much as I shoot!
Well there were sooo many photos I had to break it down into two posts. Probably will have to do that for the next two months as well, but we all know I'm obsessed with documenting every minute of our lives!
So here we go, to the boardwalk....
We met Sam & Aunt Judy for a fun night of pizza, rides & ice cream.
Sawyer was thrilled to see Sam & took off right away with her.
I told him he had to hold one of our hands and he opted for Sam's. I love that kid!
The first ride he ever would ride alone was this one last year & he opted for it to be the first ride this year. Sam looks thrilled with this slow boat to China doesn't she?
Actually Sam did quite well & had a lot of fun with Sawyer even on the slower kiddie rides.
Gotta love those smiles!
Love my biker babes!
Uh oh, trouble at the wheel. He has a habit of not watching the road.
They even rode the sea sick ship!
Riding the tram car with some Boardwalk fries. Yes, Payton was with us through this whole night hangin' tough, takin' it all in while riding in her stroller. Its a good thing she really likes to observe life!
He made the whole walk back, but then had to take a rest on the porch of the hotel. He walked a long way that night. We walked from the hotel all the way down to the third pier, then back to the second pier, rode the tram car back, then walked the 10 blocks back to the hotel. My kids know how to keep themselves awake!
The fun did not stop once we returned from the shore. Just a few days back and we went Strawberry picking with our friends Haze & Cayden.
They were quite tasty!
Good thing Mom comes prepared!
And now for some random shots of fun around the house.
Sitting pretty.
Nothing like dumping a bucket of water over your head.
Rebel Badmitton players, Aiden & Sawyer.
First time on the slip and slide. Sawyer's getting Payton used to the spray. He couldn't really do the run & jump thing so we pulled the slip and slide up on the hill and put the slide at the top.
She was diggin' the sprays.
He really was a slippin & a slidin!
And then we made our annual trip to Kutztown Folk Festival.
In the little hay maze, he loved peeking through the little hay "windows".
On the covered bridge, notice a trend here?
He's King of the Hay!
Facinated by the tractor, not tremendously sure about standing next to it while its running.
Couldn't believe he was allowed to sit on a tractor.
Just loved these colorful tops!
Every year they have these cool sprinklers for sale & this year we ate right next to them. Sawyer had a blast running through them.
Payton was enjoying her lunch, but totally facinated with Sawyer & other kids running through the sprinklers.
There is always a petting zoo, but I think there was a more diverse animal presentation this year. Sawyer has been losing his fear of animals & so loved the petting zoo this year!
Check him checking out the goats!
He absolutely loved the bunnies though, ok, so who wouldn't, cute fuzzy things that they are! I had a hard time getting him away from them!
Everybody, say "Awwww".
He was trying to convince us to get him another whirly-gig, but we said one humming bird one was enough.
And of course no summer is complete without many trips to our favorite fountain!
He decided this year it was also a drinking fountain, much to my chagrin!
As you can see my attempts at getting to stop went unnoticed.
Such joy!
And Payton made her fountain debut!
She really enjoyed it that day, but any visit after pretty much steared clear of the jets.
Where did that water go?
I got it!
We did get kicked out of the fountain for not having shoes, even though she couldn't walk yet.
And thus we conclude our photo journey of June. Phew, makes me tired just looking at them & we had two more months of summer to go!
And so June appeared and with it the start of picnics, pools & parties. OK, fairs too, but that didn't start with a "P".
Our first picnic of the season was the end of year picnic for Sawyer's class. Sawyer had such a good time.
I think Payton had fun too!
And then there was Aiden's Birthday party at Bounce U.
My little basketball star in the making!
The super fast slide!
Aiden, a little slugger in the making. He's really good with a bat & ball.
Even, Tammy's having fun!
The whole birthday gang.
The little birthday prince.
Mmmm, pizza!
Happy Birthday dear Aiden.
And then we had Alexis's birthday party.
Alexis loves baby Payton.
My little princess.
Look out world, Sawyer's behind the wheel!
He seemed to be trying out all forms of transportation.
Pin the bow on the mermaid.
Yup, another vehicle.
Pretty maids all in a row.
You'd think he'd be a little happier with a big chocolate cup cake in his hand.\
Wanna bite?
Despite a wasp sting on the nose, Payton had fun too.
Little Miss Fearless!
Good buddies, Sawyer & Liam.
And then we spent a few days down the shore with TuTu. It rained most of the time but we still had a blast.
As you can see it was a little blustery.
As you can see Sawyer had fun despite the weather.
Despite the chilly weather, this little kook wanted to hit the pool.
Payton was content to watch her brother in the pool.
Sawyer did convince TuTu she needed to come in the pool with him. God bless her. I WAS NOT going in!
It was shortly after this my camera strap let loose and my camera came crashing to the ground. My heart was in my throat as it sounded as if my lens cracked. It had issues but it was still working, so I didn't lose it for the trip.
The next day it was pouring so we headed to the Atlantic City Aquarium.
This was a touch me pool, but Sawyer only wanted me to touch the crabs, rays & other critters.
Nice to meet you. May I shake your hook?
Argh! Two new recruits!
Hmm, this captain thing is harder than I thought.
Probably the closest I'll get to getting the pictures the photo place lost of my swim with the turtles in Hawaii. sigh.
He'd touch things in here, but then nothing was ALIVE!
After a day at the aquarium, a very late lunch & nap, we decided ice cream was called for for dinner. Sawyer had a bowl of "dirt", complete with worms.
The sun decided to make an appearance after ice cream so we took a stroll to the beach.
We brought our own crabs to the beach!
Sawyer came prepared with a wagon to transport any good finds. We had to traverse some rather large inland ponds to get to the ocean & not thinking I had us wind our way up and down the beach so my sneakers could stay fairly dry. It wasn't till the trip back that I thought to take them off and just walk through the water!
The ponds were actually too deep and too many for Payton to be strolled down to the ocean, so she and TuTu headed back to the hotel.
Somewhere along the way we lost a green Crock. I thought they were both in Sawyer's wagon, but alas it was not so. Sawyer was brave though, he did not weep for the favorite shoe, but we did run out and buy a shiny new pair in blue.
The pull of the ocean was enticing, but Sawyer managed to keep all but his feet dry. I was quite amazed.
The next day, our final full day, dawned with bright warm sunshine. A beach day at last! Sawyer was excited and watched the beach combers from the balcony as soon as he rose.
I'm ready to play!
My lens was having this fogging up deal, most likely due to the drop, so these first few shots are a little funky from trying to resolve the issue with Photoshop, did the best I could.
She loved the water!
Gotta have the tush shot.
Just a little wave jumping to pass the time.
TuTu and Payton, now you know where Sawyer gets his long thin legs.
Hey look, at boat!
As you can see there was no fear of the water this year.
Goldilocks thought this wagon was jussst right.
What to play with, what to play with? Oh the tough decisions of childhood.
Sawyer made some friends while on the beach. He's quite the ladies man. This young lady from California, was thrilled to show Sawyer all her sea finds on the beach, which included a live hermit crab, some sand crabs and this dead horshoe crab. He was more than happy to bask in her attention.
Payton on the other hand was more than happy not to have to share TuTu's attention.
Oh my prim and proper little girl.
Yes, she decided to follow in her brother's footsteps and eat sand. That must come from their father's side!
Sawyer made a few other friends at the beach. He was sad to say goodbye at the end of the day, but naps were needed as we had a big night at the boardwalk to come.
Let the the journey through summer begin.
OK, so it wasn't technically summer, but this begain our season of festivals, picnics, parties & fun.
These are pictures from Mayfaire at Sawyer's school. I didn't get to take as many as I would have liked as I had to do my school duty & volunteer to take a shift to work at the fair. I worked a shift at the welt felting booth. It was a lot of fun, & tempting me to pick up a new craft. I need a new craft like a hole in my head. I can barely walk into my craft room as it is, but I have no strength when it comes to craft supplies!
Here are my little May fairies!
The opening ceremonies begin! It is so sweet to see all the children doing the Maypole dance.
Yes, we've had a lot going on over the past couple of months. I'm so far behind on my posts. I'm so far behind on putting almost 4,000 photos in albums. Somehow I'm up to date on editing my photos, but am mourning a 4-6 week loss of my "go to" lens, but it challenges me on a creative level to have to use my other two lenses. It was quite a scary sound to hear my camera come crashing down to the concrete. I swore the glass in my lens cracked, but luckily that was not the case and even luckier is the fact there was no damage to the actual camera. It also taught me to check my camera strap every time I put it on to make sure its not coming undone.
Its so funny how two little ones can fill your social schedule. We're on the birthday party circuit now, plus school functions and just stuff we like to do. If I could keep off Facebook and stop tending my virtual farm I might have more time for posting and if I could stop taking naps with Sawyer then I definitely would have time, but I've come to rely on that late afternoon nap!
Luckily I am still able to capture some of the everyday and they are some of my favorite pictures. Its nice to know I have images to remind me of the expressions, outfits and little things we do.
We broke out the kiddie pool in April. Seems early, especially with how much cold and rain we've had through this spring but we did snag a couple of warm days and were able to get Payton her first experiences in the pool. She seems to love the water, but then she seems to love just about everything. She's my little fearless one, who much to my joy and chagrin will also eat anything, and I mean anything, from mulch, to dirt, sand and even rusty metal. I have to keep my eye on her at all times!
One of the cool things Sawyer got to do was help Daddy build a train table for all his Thomas stuff. He was so excited to help and so proud of the outcome.
He painted most of this piece himself.
Payton watched intently as the boys worked. She is quite the little observer.
Monster Jam! My Grave Digger lovin' little girl! Well, really I don't think she has a favorite Monster Truck, but she does love playing with them.
Little smiley girl.
One day in April Sawyer realized that he had left some toys outside, so quickly threw on his boots to go retrieve them. The heck with pants, shoes are the important thing!
Wielding his first power drill, helping Daddy take apart our Christmas sled. Yes, we were a bit slow in getting all the decorations down this year.
Payton was there cheering him on again.
Her first swim in the pool. She loved it.
Sawyer was happy to spend some time with her and show her how its done.
Sometimes you have to take a break for a snack.
Ain't he a cutie?
She began to suspect there might be some fun things outside the pool.
Next day, still pool worthy, so we jumped in again.
He loves to entertain her.
Hmm, wonder what they're thinking?
Uh-oh I've been caught!
Yup, a little hungry so stopped to snack on some clover.
Still hungry so perhaps I'll grab one more.
Its always fun to slide into the pool.
I love seeing him so into his make believe world.
The emergence of her cheesy grin.
Back inside and sitting just like her Uncle Taylor used to sit when he was just a wee lad.
Sawyer was so excited to make something for his Grandmom's birthday. He painted this birdhouse all by himself.
This was one of his first works were he didn't blend all the colors together.
He had a lot of fun at school this year too & I was able to capture some moments out on the playground. This was actually one Friday that we came after school to take pictures of any of the three day kids that we needed shots from for our end of year gifts.
It brings such joy to my heart to see him able to go out there and play with other kids, even when he doesn't necessarily know them.
And to see a bit of the fear going away. This is a very tall slide he climbed all by himself and slid down.
Then there's my always inquisitive, fearless little girl. She had fun on the playground too. She always wants to be right in the action with the other kids, but unfortunately, has to be pulled away for her own safety most of the time. She found a dandelion to keep her amused, so all was right with the world.
I have to say I don't think I will ever know how to do everything in Photoshop CS2, first because they'll probably come out with an upgrade and second because there are just soooo many layers to the program. I am loving playing with it for more than photo editting though. It seems I learn more each day. I just have to be careful I don't become so obsessed with figuring things out that I get sucked into a virtual life and never come up to take part in real life!
Here are some of the things I've done lately:
