Two Jennifers!

We had a few friends over for dinner last night. When Maddox asked who was coming, I told him that actually both of my friends were named Jennifer. His response was something to the effect of..."Two Jennifers! How could there be two Jennifers?!" ;-) It was such a beautiful day, we spent the majority of the time hanging out in the backyard watching the kids play.

Sean had a fabulous time swinging...





Maddox preferred the slide (in the wrong direction)...



The big kids had fun too...





You will see more of that Jennifer in the next day or so. We have a shoot planned...should be interesting. I'm heading into new territory here. The other Jennifer is due to give birth in early June and I wanted to get a picture or two of her. The first attempt did not go so well...



It took some cajoling but I did persuade her to allow me to snap a couple.



Dave was quite surprised to realize his wife was 9 months pregnant! ;-)



Congratulations Jen & Dave...we are anxiously awaiting baby's arrival!

We Heart Cash

I decided it would be nice to have a cool gallery wrap of our beloved Cashy...so he got a quick mini shoot. Here are some of the pics...





Why might he be licking his chops? Here's a clue...
You can see my reflection in his eye...arm extended holding up a treat. ;-)



We were outside which is very distracting! Without treats he wasn't interested in looking at me at all.



I like how he gets these little parts or ruffles in his chest and neck fur.





Handsome boy.

Fun at the Zoo

We joined Friends of the Zoo this year and yet this past Monday was the first time we managed to get out there. Seems like everytime I tried before, the weather was less than cooperative. But Monday was quite beautiful! So I packed up the kids (and my dad) and headed for the zoo. Thought I would share some of my favorite pics from the day.

Maddox and PaPa at the top of the treehouse...



I really really like this picture of a meerkat in the Discovery Barn. If he had turned his head to the right to catch his profile...I would LOVE the picture. Unfortunately he did not follow directions well. ;-)



Maddox watching the kangaroos...



The kangaroos were my favorite of the day, so I took quite a few photos...





My favorite kangaroo pic...



Maddox's favorite thing at the zoo was a small stream he spotted running alongside the main path. He loves throwing rocks and sticks in any body of water he comes across. So we spent several minutes hanging out by the stream while Maddox chucked rocks and sticks.





He really likes showing off how strong he is! I was trying to get the splash as the rock hit the water but I was a little too fast and caught it mid-air instead. I'll have to work on my timing. ;-)



Evey's favorite thing at the zoo was Maddox's lemonade.



Another highlight for Maddox...this large rock structure to climb on so that he could be just like his idol, Bear Grylls (Man vs. Wild is his favorite tv show).



Every time we go to the zoo, Maddox wants to see the sea lion show.





Evey was watching the sea lion show from her stroller. It just so happens that one of the sea lions ended up performing right in front of her...she got to see that sea lion right up close from about 3 feet away. She was fascinated. Then the sea lion let out a huge roar right in her face...not so fun anymore! So PaPa held her for the rest of the show. I think she preferred people watching. ;-)





That's it for this installment of zoo pictures. I'm sure there will be many many more this summer!

It's a Small World After All!

So the other day I posted this image from a walk around our neighborhood...



I had passed this light pole many times and wondered...
How long have those stickers been there?
How on earth did they get those stickers so high up on the pole?
Why would anyone go to such lengths to decorate a light pole with radio station stickers?

Well my friends...I now have answers to those three questions!

Allow me to introduce Andrea...former student, client, blog reader, and winner of February's LOVE photo contest! A few of my favorites from Andrea's senior portrait session last year...





Another favorite and proof that she has thumbs! haha



Andrea saw the light post picture on the blog and recognized it because her Grandma Johanna lives on that street! Small world! She did a little research and discovered that her Uncle Mike and Aunt Carla are responsible for the light pole vandalism. ;-) I was very excited and relayed my questions to her as I have been seeking answers for years! So here are the answers to my questions...because inquiring minds want to know!

Q: How long have those stickers been there?
A: Since about 1973

Q: How on earth did they get those stickers so high up on the pole?
A: They climbed! That's insane...they go really really high!

Q: Why would anyone go to such lengths to decorate a light pole with radio station stickers?
A: They just had the stickers so they decided to do something with them.

That last one is a little less poignant than I had anticipated. ;-) Though I'm not sure what I expected...haha!

I had to include one last photo collage to show you the REAL Andrea. She looks so sweet and normal in the first set of photos...but she is a total goofball...which I LOVE! ;-)



Not only is Andrea quite funny...she is also super smart and talented! Thanks to Andrea for solving one of life's little mysteries...atleast in my small world. ;-)

Generations

Some pictures from last night's "Mother's Day" dinner at my sister's house.

First off, a portrait of my lovely mother - I adore her... ;-)



And now some Evey pics to Even out the Maddox posts lately. ;-)
About all Evey ate at dinner was a spoon...



I was trying to capture Maddox's reflection in the spoon. It sort of worked...if you look closely you can see me taking the picture on the right and Maddox is the small head in the chair on the left. :-)



Evey playing peekaboo with Aunt Chris...



I whirled around to snap this picture of Grandpa Lee after he shot me in the rear end with a nerf gun while I was taking peekaboo pics. Ornery! He looks pretty pleased with himself...



Little Evey exploring Gracie...with her favorite pointer finger!



And finally...my mother has always treasured these pictures taken on a trip to West Virgina to visit her grandmother. It's me (I'm the little one), my sister, my mom (looking quite stylish...haha), my Grandma Peters and my Great-Grandma Newland...4 generations!



So she requested a similar shot that Jay took for us...we are 1 generation shy...but still a neat photo for the family books. Three generations of females...

Happy Birthday Jay!

We celebrated Jay's birthday Saturday evening at Grandma Nita's house. Jay got his favorite gift...cold hard cash. I've been telling people this year that Jay is registered at your nearest ATM. The problem is that just about everything the guy wants is some sort of expensive electronic that he himself has to purchase.

Anyways - here is Maddox placing the candles in Jay's favorite cake (his mom's yellow cake with chocolate icing - it is quite yummy)...



Happy Birthday Jay!

Even Better Than Dandelions

I forgot I had taken these on my birthday and wanted to share a few. I may have mentioned the constant stream of lovely yellow dandelions I have been receiving lately.... Well, Maddox selected a real bouquet of flowers for me on my birthday. Flowers and gifts are always presented from behind him...he likes to hide whatever it is behind his back and make a big presentation out of it. ;-) Very cute. And he was pretty serious about helping me arrange them all in a vase.





And I can't remember what I said to him here, but I had to share this picture b/c he makes this face pretty frequently and it cracks me up. This expression generally indicates that whatever you have just said is (in Maddox's opinion) grossly incorrect and/or totally crazy. He makes this face right before he sets you straight. ;-)