Oh my goodness...

It's been a long time since I posted last! My how time flies when you are having fun!! A lot has transpired since I posted last. Let's see if I can capture it all.

I got to spend some time with my brother Chris before Thanksgiving! He was in town for a little over a week. He performed in church for one of my mother's friends, and then he and a friend performed a recital at KU. It was so nice and fun to hang out with him one on one! Thanks Chris!

We spent Thanksgiving in Branson with Ella's friend Isabella and her parents, and Tammy and her kids. Before we arrived, we made a pit stop at the famous Lambert's cafe! The food wasn't spectacular, but the 'throwed' rolls were a hit with the kids!! We enjoyed going to a fish hatchery, the Dixie Stampede for Thanksgiving lunch, and a glorious dinner of Taco Bell (LOL- the only thing that was open on Thanksgiving day!). We then visited Silver Dollar City where Ella experienced 2 of the adult roller coasters! She loved the 1st one with Daddy and kept begging me to go back and ride it with her. I instead took her on another one. She chose to sit in the very front seats- where only grown men were standing in line, and people commented 'look how brave that little girl is!'. She didn't make a peep on the ride, just had this frozen smile on her face ( and no not from the cold weather *wink*). Ella said as we climbed out of the roller coaster, 'Mom, I think I need to be 9 or 10 before I go on that again!"

The last day in Branson we spent at the Outlet Malls and then going to see 'Noah the Musical'. It was a long show, but quite amazing. The girls loved it! If you are ever in Branson, you should definitely go see it.

We then spent a week convincing Emery to have her 3rd b-day. She didn't want to have one, but we finally got her to change her mind. Emery had a great week and was excited to have gifts! She and Ella are now obsessed with 'Barbie and the Diamond Castle', and now that she got a matching Barbie to Ella's they are constantly singing those songs!! It's quite entertaining to say the least!

Since then we have been preparing for Christmas! We've had fires in the fireplace, and we have plenty of snow, I guess I need to get those gifts wrapped!! Hope all is well with you and your loved ones!! Here are a couple piccs of the kiddos ( we had issues getting them all to look!)! Enjoy!

Beautiful subjects!

I have come to terms with the fact that I will probably never become a professional photographer, nor will I ever take the perfect photo composition or technical wise. BUT, I will ALWAYS have the most beautiful subjects!

Happy Halloween!

We ventured to our favorite pumpkin patch today since it is beautiful outside! I don't think I can recall a Halloween in my entire life where the weather was 70 degrees out!! Unfortunately they were OUT of pumpkins, except for these large ones in front of an old truck! Nana and Papa T accompanied us, so we were able to get some photos of the 3 girls in their fall sweaters!! The girls got to play in the corn bin, launch gourds from slingshots, go through a maze, and play with the tricycles. And the highlight (and purpose) of the trip was to play with the incredibly kind cats, and any kittens available. They only had one kitten, about 6 weeks old that was so tiny! The girls had a great time playing with it, well at least until it scratched Emery on the face :)

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe Halloween, and that you see some great costumes!!

Shots, shots, and more shots.....

Between 2 of the girls, we've had 7 shots in the past 6 days. Ella got her kindergarten shots last Friday- 4 of them!!! YIKES! Plus she had her finger pricked for a blood test. She was incredibly brave up until the nurse came in. Then she got tears in her eyes. The finger prick was first, and probably hurt the worst. Then came 2 in each arm. She was crying 'NO' the whole time, but didn't struggle. I was surprised at how difficult that appointment was, I wasn't expecting it. It was gut and heart-wrenching to see your child scared and in pain.

Thankfully, an ice cream cone and an afternoon at Nana and Papa T's made it all better. She was calm, and proud of her shots by then. She feels like a big girl now!

Everett got her 2 month shots today, 3 of them and an oral medication!! And boy was she unhappy! I haven't heard her scream like that ever! She was already worn out from crying during the exam, that the minute I picked her up after her shots, she was immediately calm. We're home now, and she's had her Tylenol, but still pretty unhappy. I'm hoping she falls asleep soon, and the nap will help.

We still have 2 shots to go, flu shots for Ella and Emery. Hopefully that will do us for a while, well at least until December when Everett gets more!

Hope everyone is safe and happy! Talk to you soon!

"Look, there's Tinkerbell!!"

"Where, I don't see her", says Ella from the back of the car. "Right there!" ,pointed Emery excitedly out her window. "Where Emery?", asks Mom while driving through the McDonald's drive thru. "Right there!", she says impatiently pointing out her window. "Oh", said mommy, "that's not Tinkerbell, that's Taco Bell!"

Another proud mother moment I experienced yesterday that I thought you would all enjoy!

Bing, Bling........who's there?

My 10 year anniversary present!! Tad and I have never been big gift givers to one another, well at least not surprise gifts anyway. So imagine my shock ( and embarassment- I only gave him tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld Live and I couldn't even go with him!) when he surprised me with this at dinner!!

Before:

After:

Isn't he sweet?! I'm one lucky lady!!

Everett cocoon

Hi everyone!! I survived 3 days with Tad being out of town for work. Wow- I was beat by the time he got home. Being by myself with 3 girls wore me out! And I had a lot of help from Nana and Papa T! They were a huge help! They took the girls to school and watched them for a while during the week while I helped my photographer out with taking preschool pics! I didn't do much but try and hold a reflector (for lighting purposes), and try and get the kids to smile and look at the camera. It did make me realize how difficult being a professional photographer truly is. I don't think that career path is in my cards anytime soon, but maybe someday... I have a lot to learn yet.

It did inspire me to get the camera out again today, something I haven't done in a while. Mostly because I'm exhausted, or have a child needing something- shocking I know. I knitted a cocoon a few weeks ago- the hot new phase in the photography world. I tried making a matching hat- but I made it too small and haven't had the time to make a bigger one. I figured I better take pictures of her soon, before she outgrew the cocoon-which she is close. I feel much better about taking photos after today. I think I've inspired myself again. mostly because I took about 50 and I got these 2, I forgot to change one setting, and it ruined most of the pictures for today. It made me determined not to let it happen again, so be looking for more pictures soon!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy weekend!!