honestly...I don't know why I try

I'll start this by explaining that I was attempting to get that elusive "great photo" with all 3 of my kids in it. We were at the zoo and I thought this would be a great backdrop for the amazing photo I was hoping for....I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Nuff said. And....I am left hoping for that still elusive "great photo." Sometimes I wonder why I try. But looking at these the next day, I guess they do make me smile at my silly children. God is good. Hoping that the rest of you have something to smile about today.

Love,

Katie

A garden hose and a toddler

I was editing a few pictures tonight when I came across this one from last week. It literally made me laugh out loud. To cool the kids off while they were playing outside the other day, I got the hose out. Well, Owen claimed it as his own. It took him a little bit to get the trigger on the hose pulled but once he did.....well I think the picture says it all.




I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the expression on his face as he is spraying Ethan with the hose. He had so much fun with the garden hose, and when he was done....everyone was soaking wet (including Mommy.)

Love,


Katie

Laugh out loud....or upside down...funny!

My kids love to tell jokes. Now, most of their jokes they have made up by themselves, and these jokes often make absolutely no sense to adults. That, however, does not stop them from laughing hysterically at their own made up joke. They other day I got on the computer and printed off some knock knock jokes and riddles and read them to the kids. Apparently.....(I'm gonna let you in on a little secret) jokes that actually make sense are not nearly as funny as nonsensical jokes. (Who knew?) They didn't laugh nearly as hard at mine as they do their own jokes. Instead of laughing out loud, Ethan........well, he chose to laugh upside down.

Here are a few of the jokes I read to them. I thought they were pretty cute and funny....what do you think?

Why was the baby ant confused?

-all his uncles were ants

What do you call a kitten drinking lemonade?

-a sourpuss

What do you call a gorilla with a banana in each ear?

-whatever you want, he can't hear you

Funny right!!??

Here's hoping the good Lord blesses your life with a little humor today!

Love,

Katie

Caught in the act

It seems like most of the time (around here at least) when you hear "they were caught in the act," it is usually something naughty one of the kids was found doing. That doesn't describe this picture though. I absolutely adore catching my children doing this. My boys can be so ornery, and they both love to pick on the other one....so when I caught them doing this, I had to capture it in a picture. I don't even care that neither one is looking at the camera. They were just enjoying a morning cartoon, and the best part is they were enjoying it with each other. Thank you Lord for these moments!

Love,

Katie

Pretty Boy

Owen gets great enjoyment out of digging into his sister's hair things and making a mess of them. He also loves to put on her head bands...especially when we say, "What a pretty boy!" Here are a couple pics of him enjoying his "pretty boy" status.

Yes, baby you are a very pretty boy!

Love,

Katie

Fishing over the 4th

The kids went fishing with TJ and his dad over the 4th of July weekend. Ethan absolutely loves fishing ever since he caught his first fish this summer. Grace is not really interested, but will go along for the ride, and Owen simply loves being outside and doesn't really care what everyone is doing as long as he gets to be outside with them. Here are some pictures that TJ took of their outing.




As you can see, Grace was more interested in finding goose feathers than fishing.
This is my new, absolute favorite picture of Grace. What a beauty! Love those freckles!

Ethan continues to fish even though it is starting to rain a little.

Another cute picture that Daddy took of Ethan fishing.

Owen, hanging out in his sister's lawn chair while playing with the fishing worms.

"I'm gonna go play somewhere else."

Ethan fishing with Papa.

Owen didn't really want to fish, but thought the tackle box made a great place to sit.

Ethan showing off his first fish of the day...not really a keeper.

They all had lots of fun. Ethan caught several fish, Grace found lots of goose feathers, and Owen had a great time toddling around in the great outdoors. Thanks to my wonderful hubby for the great photos since again....boo hoo I was at work all weekend and had to miss all the fun.

Love,

Katie

4th of July

Here's a picture of the kids enjoying the somewhat wet 4th of July parade in Osceola. They had tons of fun and brought home lots of wet, sticky candy! They spent the whole 4th of July weekend at TJ's parents. (I worked all weekend so I had to miss all the fun....poor Mommy.)They did lots and lots of fun things while down there, and TJ brought them back 3 days later....completely exhausted.

Love,

Katie

Just for fun

The kids and I spent the entire morning picking up, reorganizing, and purging toys. (Well, if you want to get technical....I did all this, and the kids were unaware of their sneaky mommy purging their toys.) Then came vacuuming, dusting and then washing every one's sheets. So needless to say, after lunch....I felt like I had accomplished enough for the day. So while Owen napped and while the big kids were playing Lego's beside me at the table....I decided to edit and play with some photos of the kids. I love a great photo. Really, who doesn't love a great photo of their kids???? I have a lot to learn when it comes to editinfg photos or photography in general. If I had more time to figure it out, I think it could become a real hobby for me. But who has time for a hobby??? Here are just a few before and after pictures.


Before. Liked the photo. I thought it showed off his cute, chubby, wet cheeks right after he got done swimming, but didn't really like the visible sunscreen smeared on his face.
After, I loved how the light looks in the photo now. Plus, the sunscreen on his face is less obvious.

Before. Cute photo but definitely not my favorite photo of my sweet girl.

After. I think it is much better close up and cropped. And the warmed up sepia color apparently is appealing to me today.

Before. Cute picture of the kids, except that Grace's eyes are shut. I thought Owen's expression was cute, but I loved Ethan in this photo. Honestly, I have very few photos of Ethan that he is looking at the camera without either a very exaggerated or fake smile.

After. I just love it. I love how the light is shining on him and his sun squinted eyes. Plus it shows off the cute dimple that is just below his right eye (just like his daddy's.)

I suppose I better get back to something productive. Have a great day!

Love,

Katie

A lobder for Ethan

TJ brought home a small pack of fishing lures for Ethan the other day. (He has decided since catching his first fish this summer, that fishing is his favorite thing to do now.) He quickly opened the package, holds this up and shouts,"MOM, LOOK THERE IS A LOBDER!" Me-"It's lob-ster, Ethan." Ethan- "That's what I said, lob-der!" I decided to leave it alone. I love his little mispronunciations...he just warms my heart. (I also kept it to myself that technically I think that is supposed to be a crawdad.)

Love,

Katie

This is what happens- take 2.

All the kids went to bed late last night, and they have all been a little on edge today. So when Owen couldn't tolerate sitting in his highchair as we were eating lunch, I decided that he needed a nap. Being the youngest, I like to "rock a bye" him for awhile before his naps. So I thought I could trust Grace and Ethan to finish the last few bites of their lunch while I rocked Owen for a few minutes. I instructed them to "be good and finish your lunch while I rock Owen." Well this is what happens when you trust an almost 5 year old and a 7 year old, who are both a little on edge from their late bedtime last night.......






No this is not blood...thank goodness! Grace squirted some ketchup on Ethan's spaghettios, so he retaliated by squirting ketchup all over her. (At least that is the story I was told.) She was trying to get away from him....so it all ended up in her hair and down her back. I give God all the credit for helping me not to holler and yell at them when I found this. Thank you God for helping me not fly off the handle, and helping me deal with my naughty kids calmly.

Love,


Katie

This is what happens

So...when you ask your children to play nicely where Mommy can see them while you mow the front yard, and to please keep an eye on their baby brother.....this is what happens:



1- You have to stop mowing 3 times to go fetch the "baby brother" who is running down the sidewalk. The baby brother that the older siblings are not "keeping an eye on."

2- You have to stop mowing twice to go fetch a ball that was thrown into the street.

3- You have to stop mowing once to go retrieve all 3 kids from inside the house, as they were instructed to stay outside where Mommy could see them.

4- When you finish mowing...you find your older 2 children arguing, and discover this.....



































Here is a closer look if you didn't catch it in the first photo.








That's right. Ethan found a black sharpie while messing in his Daddy's tool box. (The tool box he is not supposed to get into.) Grace did something to make him mad. (I don't know exactly what, because there were alot of different versions of what actually happened....depending on who you asked.) So black sharpie + big sister making you mad by trying to be the mommy = the above picture. Luckily, I was done mowing, so the sharpie was confiscated and the balance of power was restored. ;-)



And this is what happens when the mowing is done, and Mommy knows that you are only young for just a little while....

That's right...you get popsicles!

Have a great day!

Love,

Katie