Roots Got Talent!

Noah entered the 'Roots Got Talent' talent show at his school last week. He is currently taking banjo lessons at MDA Studios and he and his instructor worked so hard to get this song down before the show.

On the day of the talent show, they had what they called a 'dress rehearsal' that morning where they performed for the entire elementary school. Noah had a bit of trouble at the dress rehearsal. When they placed his banjo on the stage for him, it was accidentally knocked out of tune. That threw him off when he began to play and he ended up forgetting to sing along with the song. Noah was very disappointed afterward. Luckily, Matt was a Watch Dog Dad at school that day and was there to comfort him. At 6 p.m. that evening, he got a second chance to perform for all of the students and parents and, I must say, he nailed it! I am so proud of him!

Check it out:

Spending Time with the Steins

Kru and I have had a busy, fun week. We had the pleasure of spending time with the Stein Family on Wednesday. Between all of their family activities and our family activities, time to just hang out with one another is sparse! So when it does happen, we thoroughly enjoy it. I had so much fun photographing Mr. Cade. He is at such a great age (6 months) to photograph. I especially like the picture where Cade is looking to his right with the sweet smile. That sweet smile was just for his momma.

While I was snapping some fun pictures of him, Miss Laney slowly made her way into the photos. Before I knew it, she was doing pose after pose as I snapped away! Ha! Everything that you see of her below is of her own creation. I didn't suggest any poses or direct her in any way. This is simply her own personality shining through. Miss Sadie was not as eager to have her picture taken, but I did manage to sneak one shot of her.
























Thanks for having us over Stein Family. We will have to do it again soon! :)

Hanging Out with the Hollands

Kru and I had the privilege of hanging out with our good friends Ashley and Braxton this week. We had a fun day of playing in the back yard planned, complete with ride-on toys, a slide, bubbles and a kiddie pool. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had a different plan.

Just for You

Just for you Mrs. Rhonda. Because you were curious enough to ask and you are such a great blog follower. Here are the engagement photos that I took after the snake incident.















Thanks to JR and Denisa for being such a fun couple to photograph. And for finding humor in my snake incident. :)

Watch Where You Step

I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but we live close to the park. Walking distance, actually. However, in order to get there, you must walk through a field that belongs to our neighbors and then climb over their fence. Luckily they don't mind that we do this. In fact, they even mow it with their super cool, super fast lawn mower just for us and our fellow neighbors who also access the park just this way. This is very convenient for me when I have a photo shoot because the park has some really great spots to take pictures. I just walk over, meet my clients, and walk home when we are finished. Ta da! Easy peasy. Not so much.

On Thursday, I had planned to meet J.R. and Denisa at the park for their engagement photo session. I view taking photos as very similar to other sports and events, you need to psych yourself up for it. Get in the "mode" so to speak. Just like one would do before a big game or a big triathlon (huh, Pinky?). So, here I am camera bag full of equipment in hand, moseying on over to the park, silently psyching myself up for this shoot. Now let me tell you, I was really giving myself a great pep talk. Complete with all the best locations to try, lighting tips to remember, well, you get the idea. Just as I was about to take my next step, and continue aforementioned pep talk, I just happened to glance down. And that is when I saw this. Look closely...



Here, let me zoom in a bit for you...


Oh, and did I mention that I was wearing flip flops? When I realized that it was a snake that I was about to step right in the middle of, I quickly altered my step mid-air and was able to jump over it. That was quickly followed by a "I just almost stepped on a snake" dance. You should have seen my moves.

It took me a while to recover from that. Actually, if you were to ask my husband, I am sure he would say that I still haven't recovered from it. I am currently convinced that there is probably a snake in our garage due to the fact that a couple of days before my snake incident Matt had left the garage door open over-night to let it air out. Did I mention that my washer and dryer are located in the garage? I am very skittish while I am doing the laundry. I am also convinced that the snake could easily be in our back yard. Come on, it was only a stones throw away from our backyard when I saw it AND it was facing our direction. I am telling you, when it slithered away (which I didn't stay around to witness) I am sure it slithered into our backyard.

I shared my story with Noah and Wyatt. They laughed at me. But I also pointed out the possibility of the snake being in our backyard. That is what responsible parents do, right? Make their children aware of the dangers lurking around, so that they are prepared in case they are ever forced to face one of those dangers. Now they no longer want to play in the backyard. They don't even want to run the short distance to climb up on the trampoline and bounce. Kru also wonders around the house yelling "Nake! Nake!". I don't think Matt is too happy about me passing on my paranoia.

Giveaway and Great Blog

I follow a great blog called In This Wonderful Life. In This Wonderful Life creator, Megan, is hosting a fun giveaway from Juliethefish Designs that you all should check out. While you are there getting in on this great giveaway, be sure to read Cohen's story. It is both heartbreaking and awe-inspiring. I am certain that once you read it, you will continue to follow this blog as I have.

A few things you have missed

So here are a few things you have missed since the last time I blogged.

Mia's 2nd Birthday

Mia turned two on February 15th. We celebrated by having a fun little party for her at Andy and Naomi's house.

The cake


Kru sliding.


Sweet Millie.


Mia the rock star.


The birthday girl.


Mmmm...cake!

Sledding

During one of our many (can you believe it?) snows, we headed to Wilson Park for some sledding fun.


Crazy Wyatt.


Avery and Bella ready for take-off.


Kru and his snow boots.


Andy and Bella getting some air.


Bella, Andy and A.J.


Uncle Matt and Bella.


Typical brothers.


Three cousins.

Building a snowman

Noah, Wyatt and I also managed to build a life-size snowman at my parents house.


The boys terrorizing Frosty.


Showing Frosty some love.

Noah Turns Nine!

On February 22nd Noah turned nine! We celebrated with a skating party at Roller City in Springdale. It was great because we had the whole rink to ourselves!


Roller City.


Blowing out the candles.

Bulls Basketball 2010

Noah and Wyatt both played basketball this year. Matt was able to coach both the first and third grade Bulls teams. Noah and Wyatt were even able to play one game together when Noah's team only had two players show up for the game. Wyatt volunteered to play on the third grade team so that they didn't have to forfeit.


Notice they are both #7.


Noah scoring two points.


Wyatt in action.


Noah hustling after the ball.

Sleepover

Cousin Bella spent the night with us for the first time in March. They talked me into letting them paint their faces.


Wyatt and Bella working on their masterpiece.


Sweet Bella.


I am not sure who is enjoying this more.


Our Darth Maul.


The final results.


Don't worry Kru got in on the painting action too.

Hanging Out with Cousin Hadden

Since Kru and Hadden are only three months apart in age, they are BIG buddies.


Hadden.


Best cousins.

Bulls Basketball Party

After the basketball season ended, we hosted a party for both the first and third grade Bulls basketball teams at Jump Zone in Bentonville. The boys had a great time running, jumping and attacking Coach Matt. The party was complete with a giant cookie and trophies for all of the players.


Giant cookie.


Matt and Kru sliding.


Noah with his trophy.


The huddle.


Go....


Bulls!

Tulsa Zoo

If you have never been to the Tulsa Zoo, I highly recommend it! It is close to us, and it is a great zoo. Now is a great time to attend since the weather is not too hot. This was Kru's first trip (and Noah and Wyatt's no telling how manyth trip!), and he enjoyed it immensely. He just kicked back in his stroller and pointed at animals all day long. We joke that Noah can communicate with animals. I'm telling you, he has a natural gift for it. On this particular trip, he even got the lion to roar! If you have never heard a lion roar, it is something you must experience in person to be able to grasp the magnitude of.


"Rattle, rattle"


My goofballs.


Laid back eating cheese its.


The ROAR!


Did I mention that they are silly?


Checking out the penguins.


FLASHBACK: Wyatt and Noah checking out the penguins in 2006.


Pink flamingo.


Oooh...look!


Pelicans.

All of my boys :)

Seniors 2010

I have had the pleasure of photographing a great group of seniors this year. Congratulations Seniors 2010!

Amy

Cody

Flannery

Dylan


Cheyenne