You be the judge.....
I am trying to decide which picture to enter Julia in for the Proex photo contest they are having this month. (Don't worry, I won't ask anyone to vote on this one. There are judges that get to decide all on their own - the way I think it should always be. I don't like popularity contests, but I do like winning digital cameras, college scholarships (see sidebar) and family vacations.) What I'm asking for is feedback on which picture everyone thinks shows the best "face appeal and modeling ability"

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A walk in the park

This is my favorite city park. It is a emerald green gem set in a city of cement.













Sam, with his bag of Wonder Bread to share with the ducks.


There was no shortage of ducks, birds, or fish to feed. Even an egret came over for a bite - or so I thought.


It didn't take long to discover the beautiful white bird's intent was to pluck his lunch out of the water when the unsuspecting fish came to the surface for a morsel of bread.

Lunch time!





The babies enjoyed the "cool" of the shade while Sam threw bread in the water.









A local performer entertained the children while they devoured their lunch.


Like we needed any more HEAT!



A man of many talents!

Now THAT'S convienence!

While I was working on my 4th of July post I could literally feel the fireworks going off 1/2 mile from our house. I kept my fingers crossed that the kids would sleep through it all. (They did.)
At one point I could see through my curtains that the sky was lighting up so I stepped outside to investigate. Lo and behold, I could see the fireworks from my own backyard! Granted, there was a big tree in the way, but who cares! No fighting crowds of people or mosquitoes and the best part - I could enjoy the fireworks while my kids got some much needed sleep.


The bright light in the corner is the neighbors lighting their own fireworks. How in the world my kids slept through all the racket is beyond me!

Happy 4th of July!

A salute to the red, white, and blue....

The whole family found patriotic colors to wear today.












Can't forget the puppy!

A couple of sparklers is all the fireworks our family will see this year. I don't know how families with small children attend those fireworks displays that don't start until almost 10pm! In fact, I can hear the booms off in the distance and couldn't imagine if my kids were still up at this hour!








The three musketeers - Adam, Sam, and Julia



We pray everyone had a safe and fun day of celebrating our country's independence!

Wordless Wednesday - July 4th, 2006

Happy 9 month birthday Julia!

I love this picture that Jennifer took of Julia. It captures her sweetness like no other photo ever has. As her mom, I'll always think she's a cutie, but as her personality develops I find that I'm just as enamored with her sweet disposition and laid back demeanor. Not much phases Julia - except for maybe a little stranger anxiety and of course her brother's teeth.
Tonight I had her 9 month pictures taken at Proex and then she and I went shopping at the Mall. Even getting to bed 2 hours late didn't bother her one bit. She still had lots of smiles and leg flails for Daddy when we got home. I can't wait to share the beautiful portraits I splurged on at our photo shoot. I'll be entering one of them in the studio's portrait contest at the end of the month. My only problem is deciding which one to enter. Speaking of contests.....I submitted a photo of JoJo in a cute baby contest that I'll post about later this month. Watch for a link under the archives section so you can help send Julia to college. (The grand prize is a college scholarship.)

Mommy Talk Monday

Want to read more about mommy talk?

The question for this week:

How hard was it for you to lose your pregnancy weight and keep it off?

With Sam I gained about 35 lbs. When I came came home from the hospital with him I was 18 lbs lighter. Those were the fastest (and hardest) pounds I ever lost. I was able to lose another 5 pounds by breastfeeding and walking a lot. The last 5 pounds took some extra work and with my ten year reunion the summer Sam was 10 months old, I really wanted to get back in shape. I bought one of those lateral thigh trainers at Target that's basically a fancy stepper. It did the trick and I lost those last 5 pounds and a bonus 5!

I went into my second pregnancy at my lowest weight since my starvation days of 10th grade. Rather than gaining weight, I lost 15 pounds before I gained any because of morning sickness.
I wore maternity clothes much longer after this pregnancy and overall it's been harder to lose this last 10 lbs. I can't get out for walks much because I don't have a way to move quickly with 3-4 kids in tow. Walking at Sam's pace is fun, but it's not a calorie burner. My size 8's fit so I'm not complaining, it's just that I know where I was 2 summers ago and am determined to get there again. I have a size 4 pair of white linen capris that I want to wear before the no-white-after-Labor Day-cutoff. Is that too much to ask? I suppose I should stop buying Little Debbie's and eating hot fudge sauce straight from the jar then.

One thing I learned in my nutrition research that pertains to this topic: When a breastfeeding mom loses weight too quickly the toxins that have been building up in our fat stores is excreted in our breast milk.

One sunny, summer day....

six kids spent a Sunday on the farm.

There was food; there was fun,

and when it was all said and done....

Kyla, Caleb, and Jacob went home with this one.



The running joke of the day was that the kittens were the party favors.
As you can see they were very popular with everyone.

Enjoy your new home Tiger!

This is what we got to bring home. :)


A big thank you goes out to Tim and Patty (Mr. and Mrs. "Old MacDonald") for hosting an unforgettable day! Thank you also to Katie for ordering the sub, Lynn for making it, and to Amy, Doug, Tim, and Mark for helping the kids make incredible memories.

If your eyes aren't tired yet from looking at the many pictures in this post, hop on over to Jennifer's blog to see her beautiful photographs taken at the farm this morning. I promise it's worth it!!

America - They've got talent

Ok, so they might not make onto Star Search or any of those other talent shows, but we're still their #1 fans.

A perfect way to end the day

Tipping the scales

Julia had her 9 month check-up today. The most memorable moment wasn't when the nurse asked me if she would stand on the scale to be weighed, or when I learned she'd gained 3 pounds since her last appointment. It wasn't even when I did the math and discovered she'd grown 4 inches in 3 months. It was when we were making her 12 month appointment and the mom and daughter next to me were rescheduling an appointment. The daughter appeared to be in her teens, perhaps going off to college in the fall. The receptionist asked for her birthday, "2-14-92," the girl replied. While a different receptionist oohed and aahed over Julia, I waited for the mom to correct the daughter on the year. Of course the girl knew her birthday so there was no correction to be made, but I was stumped. I was a sophomore in high school when this girl was born. How could that be? Oh yeah. I know now. I'm 30. It's been 15 YEARS since I was a sophomore. It's true, time flies when your having fun.