Foto Story Friday #94 Twins

It's my experience that twins are a funny breed. These two have been so fun to watch grow and change. They love to be with one another. They can finish what the other is thinking and they laugh for no reason. Twins just have a different connection than other siblings. This week, they attempted to do what so many twins have done before, switch places! That's right they wanted to trade places.... never mind that I have have boy/girl twins, the desire to trick everyone is still there! Scott dressed up in several different girl outfits and Em tried many of Scott's clothes on. They would come rushing down the stairs and announce that they were their twin. It was hilarious! :D I only captured them in these outfits, complete with shoes or boots as the case may be.

Hugs

and kisses

and silly poses!

I'm just not sure they could pull it off in the real world..... someone's hair is a little too short or the other's hair is a little too long!


Hosted by Cecily

Foto Story Friday # 79-- decorating the tree and lighting is my boon!

It's that time of year again when we get out all our pretty things and celebrate the birth of Christ. We normally tend to put off all the decorating, but our children are all excited and Scott started to ask if the tree could go up last Saturday. On Monday, we went in search of Christmas decor and located everything except the tree (yeah, I know we just use a fake one, we're lame). Having promised Scott that we would put up the tree I was obligated to go purchase another. We remembered that last year the tree broke and we threw it out (it lasted us about 12 years- not bad for the Kmart special!) Finally, after dinner, we opened the box and set to work.
Scott could hardly wait for the lights to be tossed on before he placed the first ornament.
EmmaLece was right behind him placing hers on.
Robby too was thrilled to be decorating with his ornaments.
BahHumbug, aka Savanna, placed hers in the very back and vowed to not put another one on. (I forced her to place 5 ornaments and she put them all in the back away from sight.
Shantel still enjoys decorating the tree and put several of hers on.
Cody, decked out in his wrestling sweats, happily placed a few as well.
The finished product. Really, I have such a hard time getting the right settings for capturing the right amount of light for the desired effect. While the tree is clear and crisp, you can not tell that the lights are on and you loose something in my opinion.
So I turned off the lights and the flash and got the tripod. Still not exactly what I was hoping for but you can see the lights!
Wishing you all the the Merriest of Christmases and may the Peace of the Babe born in a stable settle in your hearts at this time and throughout the year to come.

Hosted by Cecily and Rachael

Foto Story Friday #76 -- Desire for greatness

I think we all have a desire for greatness inside us. I look at others and see their greatness, but it is much harder to see the greatness in ourselves.
I desire to make great pictures.
What exactly makes a great picture: Clarity? Beautiful subject matter? Seriousness or humorous? Knowledge of lighting and proper use of equipment?
Photography is a form of art. Beauty in the eye of the composer of each shot. Sometimes we can convey our perception of beauty to others and sometimes it falls flat.
Here are a few examples of the way I see my surroundings, what inspires me and things that contain beauty. (Of course, my kids are beautiful and inspiring!) I love a good showing of colors in the sky but sometimes I try and look elsewhere for the beauty and inspiration that surrounds me.
Humorous:
From the recent construction on my street, which thankfully is complete, I was inspired and humored to find this port-a-pot........... the first I's seen on a single trailer like this. It is truly a portable potty!
Beautiful/ Curiosity:
I like to improve on capturing my human subjects. Robby gave me that mischievous grin and this turned out to be a favorite photo of him taken at a volleyball game.
Beautiful/Growing up:
The fleeting tween years and the ever changing portrait of childhood fades. ANd maybe I need to look with my eye before I look with my camera....... how could I miss the strand of hair?!
Humorous:
Typical kid doing dishes, listening to the iPod and chewing gum..... bigger and bigger until it pops! Which it did all over his face!
Beautiful:
Photo night put on by the young men and young women at church. Props can help a person to loosen up. Learning lighting..... need lighting!
Dreaming/Inspiring:
Old time photos taken at Kmart........ shooting from the hip. The photographer was not well pleased to see that I had a camera hanging from my neck. She grumpily informed me that I could NOT take pictures of her backdrop they are protected! Well you can see that it is located in a store and they are stetting up and I didn't even try to conceal that is was a photo shoot. Props. Yeah could sure use some cool props.
Beautiful/ Sneaky:
In my ever growing attempts to take good people shots, I do have 6 mostly willing subjects. Everything worked that time!
Thoughtful/Beautiful:
Mostly this child doesn't stop moving and trying to get and acceptable photo of her proves to very difficult. She was busy looking off into space and I got my chance.
Inspiring/Thought provoking/Beautiful:
Patiently awaiting his turn and wishing his mother would not point that camera at his face, I got lucky to look up and see this glimpse at teen life. What was he thinking? Was he wondering if he could ride the rails on his board? or was he simply wishing the "photo shoot" were over?

So what inspires you? what is beautiful to you?

Hosted by Cecily and Sue

Foto Story Friday #74-- a devine smell and a weird helmet

When the smell of fresh baked cookies wafts through the air in your home, what do your children do? Well Scott goes in close for a big whiff!
I looked up and saw him "just smelling them mom!" I couldn't resist a shot to preserve the moment. It's torture when you haven't had dinner yet and the cookies are cooling on the rack!


And totally unrelated picture....
Scott was going to be Spidey for Halloween until the Monday before when he informed me that Spiderman was "not cool" and he HAD to be Darth Vader. Well, since I live in the middle of NOWHERE, my only choice was Kmart and they didn't have Darth. SO I figured I could wing it... come on it is only black and the helmet. So I visited the Attic for some second hand stuff in the shade of black and possibly something to bulk him up. I lucked out in the bulking up department. I spied 2 motorcycle chest protectors for a whopping .50 cents each... I grabbed both! A nice big piece of black fabric for 2$ and a black sweatshirt for 1$. Then I did a google search on 'how to make a Darth Vader costume/helmet'. Well there were some easy but not cheap ways to make the helmet but since the kids can't wear full masks at the Church Halloween party/trunk or treat I didn't want to make it that way. I figured I could make one.
I stared at a photo of Darth's helmet and got some supplies: cardboard box, scissors, tape and black poster board and set out to figure it out.
It wasn't looking too good so when Cody came home from school I asked for his opinion and we set out to cover it with the black paper. When we were nearly finished Cody said: " this looks more like Dark Helmet from Spaceballs rather than Darth Vader. Seriously google it!"
SO I set it on the table and called it done hoping that Scott would like it.

Well he got up the next morning and told me: "This is WAY better than Jace's Darth Vader helmet!" Thanks for the ego burst! So here are Darth and Ninja Girl!
Trunk or Treat just after getting all gussied up in the bathroom. We got some very nice comments like, "that is the coolest costume I've ever seen!" I was well pleased with the reactions and nearly everyone knew who he was! :)

Foto Story Friday #70-- Missoula Children's Theater

A few weeks ago, The Missoula Children's Theater (MCT) was in town. All the local kids that were interested arrived at the high school for try-outs. This year thankfully we had a small number and everyone got a part. It is no fun when you get cut ----- trust me I've been there, done that. When I was in grade school, the MCT came to town every year and I would always try out. I once got the assistant manger part, I was SO excited! When practice was over, my big brother, Brandon, came to pick me up, because my parents were out of town. He was chewing gum and I really REALLY wanted some.... well, if you have a big brother or are a big brother, you can probably guess that he didn't just hand it over. He ran up the wall and placed it on the back of the basketball hoop and said: "If you can reach it, you can have it." Not wanting to let a challenge pass, I tried and tried to get that stick of gum. Brandon eventually had to lift me up to reach it. The trouble started here.... he let go of me thinking..... who knows what... I, of course, was not holding on to anything and came crashing down, landing strangely and broke my ankle. Guess what? If you have a broken ankle, you can't be in the play! That was the one and only time I ever got picked for a part in the play. Robby has also experienced the getting cut, so we were all happy when no one was cut this year. My kids have been much more fortunate and have all gotten the opportunity to be in one or more MCT productions. The girls didn't try out this year because they are in volleyball. Cody is too old now that he is in High School. So that left the 3 youngest to give it a whirl.
The play was Robinson Caruso. After 5 evenings and one day of intense rehearsals, they performed to a near full house.
Robby was a member of the Very Hairy Frownie Face Tribe. They were cute and Robby was SO loud! We had NO problem hearing him.
After many years of having a child in the play, I stayed and watched the try-outs. It was way fun to watch them saying lines and trying to be loud.... which they have no problem with at home! Scott and Em were chameleons and they were too cute up there on stage singing and dancing.

The little guys are always my favorite, cause they are almost always off step in their dancing or just plain doing their own thing and it makes me smile!


Hosted by Cecily and Angie

Foto Story Friday #68--- my boys

Continuing from last week, I present my shots of the boys:
ScottMan the youngest and the funniest!
Robby the charmer.
Cody the untouchable teen!
Each handsome and ready to conquer!
I think all my kids are pretty cool..... but then they are my kids!

Hosted by Cecily and Sports Mama

Em and Scott-isms

5-8-09
Em: "Mom, are these ant seeds?"
Me: "Nope just yeast. It makes the bread grow."
Em: With a 'yeah that cleared up NOTHING' look on her face, "OK."

Later that night,
Scott: "I think my new hair will make me run faster and jump higher. I think I can jump right over Mom's head!"

5-11-09
Savanna: "Do you know that our school has a typewriter?"
Em: "Who is that?"
Savanna: "It's not a 'Who', it's a thing."

6-8-09
Em: "Mom, you should move Savanna's and my bunk bed upstairs to Scott's and my old room."
Me: "Nope, too much work."
Em to Savanna: "Let me tell you the bad news -- she said NO!"

Foto Story Friday #50-- fishing genes

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Fishing Genes

This is my Grampa Sam circa 1973. There are many things that remind me of him. On Monday I didn't have any extra kids so Troy and I spent the day with the twins. We asked them what they wanted to do, go riding 4-wheelers or fishing. I think we were a little surprised when they both yelled "fishing!" Fishing as mentioned here, was one of Grampa's favorite past times.
Here's Grampa Sam sitting outside his home circa 1976. This was his typical attire... that hat and a button-down shirt. I wonder what he was thinking when this photo was snapped.... his garden, his bottles, his next fishing trip or had he just finished singing? I'll never know, I was only 2. One of our favorite things to hear him sing was the ZYX's. Grampa learned his alphabet both directions and he frequently sang them backwards to us kids. He would always ask if we'd learned our ZYX's yet. One time I sat down and did it, I learned them! I was SO proud of my self that I couldn't wait to show him. My sister also learned them we thought we were hot stuff. I remember Grampa was pleased with our accomplishment as well. Whenever I sing the ABC's I have to then sing my ZYX's! I've yet to convince my kids that it is a handy trick to have up ones sleeve. Point in case, in high school we had a history teacher who thought he could pull a fast one on the class. He told us to take out a sheet of paper, then he'd time us to see how many times we could write the alphabet backwards. I kicked butt! (the next year, Ryanne was excused from the exercise .... he wasn't going to be showed up twice!)
But this is a fishing story....
In the above photo, you can just see a man with a fish in the frame. That is Gramp Sam with one of his catches, surrounded by a poem my dad wrote about one of his fishing experiences.
Sam, the Rocks, and the Steelhead
When Sam retired, he moved
to Orofino with his wife.
Lucile worked at the hospital,
and fishing was Sam's life.
It was a good place to live
because the river was nearby,
but Sam did say you had to lie
on your back to see the sky.
The Clearwater River cut a deep
and narrow gorge through there.
To build the highway, they hauled
in boulders, large, jagged and bare.
Sam hiked up and down the river
with his fishing pole in hand.
They bought a little smoker and
Lucile smoked the fish Sam caught,
while Sam spent the day searching
for the very best fishing spot.
Before too long, Sam found what
became his favorite hole,
and those big rocks got acquainted
with Sam and his fishing pole.
Sam hooked a big steelhead one day
at his favorite fishing spot.
The fish was programmed to spawn
and was not about to be caught.
That lure Sam threw out there, that
looked so good, did not suit its taste,
so that fish postponed its spawning,
and headed downstream with haste.
Sam had no time to waste 'cause
that fish moved like a tornado.
The drag on his reel was maxed.
His line was short. Sam had to go.
Over those sharp rocks he scrambled,
he leaped, he stumbled and fell,
and whether he did a flip
or two, he said he could not tell.
But he chased after that fish
and never let go of his pole
until that trout finally
got tired and stopped at a hole.
Sam was standing there huffing
and puffing and looking around,
When he checked out his pole and line,
a huge knot is was he found.
That knot was the size of a baseball
and looked like spaghetti,
and if he untied that he'd rate
a parade of confetti.
With a snarl like that, there was
no way he could reel that fish in,
but for a fisherman, to let
that fish go would be a sin.
Sam found his pocket knife then
cut that line fore and aft that knot,
and the fish resting on the bottom,
was just as good as caught.
Calm as a cucumber, Sam then
tied those line ends together,
then began to work his reel
with a touch light as a feather.
That fish was no different
from the others after it was smoked,
but with each bite Sam ate,
memories of those rocks were evoked.
Copyright 1997 by Daren Flynn
(if interested in more poems by Daren Flynn contact me.)

I think my Grampa Sam's fishing genes got passed along to his great grandchildren. They sat there and waited for those darn fish to bite.
With patience and determination.
Hands at the ready.
But we got dogged.... I think they might have had better luck if I had not been along!

Foto Story Friday #35 Baking boys

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Baking Boys
Robby and Scott measuring and scraping into the bowl.
Crack some eggs, boys!
Robby took over the actual pouring of the eggs out of the shells, but Scott cracked them both.
Sugar measured by Scott -- all by himself!
Robby turned it on and Scott put in the last of the ingredients.
After a little time {OK overnight} in the fridge, we rolled it out on the table. Scott got to cut out the first "man"
We decorated them before we baked them because I did not have any frosting.
"Oh, they looks SO good, Mom!"
Add a little milk and that is perfection!
So the pictures tell the story quite well, but the real story is that last Friday as I was reading all the foto-stories, we came across one that had "little men" cookies on it and Scott starting asking to make "little men". Now usually it is Shantel who makes the cookies round here. Robby had been dying to make dessert and since it was his dish day and the girls were sleeping over at grandma and Granpa's Nana-sitting, I figured it was a good idea. The boys had such a fun time measuring and mixing the cookie dough up. They were a bit dissappointed that it had to go in the fridge first. It was late so we opted to make the cookies the next morning. Unfortunatley, EmmaLece was VERY whinny and bout drove me batty to the point that she did wake her sleeping dad. The kids all had a good time cutting decorating as well as eating the cookies.