looking back

i am experimenting with some new editing techniques and it inspired me to go back through some of the pictures from this summer that never got processed and posted. these were all taken in august and september.

practicing with the lens baby-i have not mastered it yet-but love how it can really make images look unique

miniature play-the girls can play for hours creating little scenes

i don't think i can ever have enough pictures of the kids reading and listening to books

brothers

bathtime

umbrellas and party hats. anneliese played with party hats for weeks at a time this summer. most of the time she was a unicorn :)

the unicorn pawing the ground-ready to attack

bubble blowing

playing on the porch with anything they can find

last soccer game

this fall was our first experience with soccer. we put anneliese in a league in missouri on the hopes that she would play on the same team as her cousin nathan. as it turned out they don't do co-ed teams. bobby and i weren't sure which anneliese would show up to play-the shy clingy one or the determined little beast that she is at home. at the first game she went out on fire-she was ahead of all the others-running down the field with the ball. after 2 attempts at a goal she came back and declared that the goal was 'too small'. week after week she brought a competitiveness that was really exciting to watch-because we knew that was the true anneliese on the field. 

6 months

 sitting up
chewing on toes
loving his pumpkin and banana
chubby tummy
big smiles
no teeth

we call him
slobber bobber
grabbing goblin
mr. ben
benny boo

he is now 6 months!

river

anneliese is a lucky girl. she gets to share a birthday with her nana kay-that makes october 22nd one super special day. i'm discovering that october is one of the craziest months of the year for photographers-but we were able to make it work to take a weekend trip to spend some time with cousins. 

 the old tree by the river fell onto the bank-the kids could have played 'forts' down there for hours.

 happy birthday anneliese! and happy birthday to my mom. she has given me so much-and i really love getting to be her friend. i sometimes think one of the best things about having kids is raising them to be people you like to hang out with-
i love getting to hang out with her :)

asleep/awake

kisses and smiles

emily's 7th birthday

walks up to the meadow have become an almost daily ritual now-pushing the stroller up there in the early evening-watching the kids run on hay bales and admiring the beautiful light that happens that time of day.

so when we were trying to decide when, where and how to do emily's party-i knew i wanted to have it up at the top-picnic tables lined up and kids running down the hills.

it has been so consistently dry all summer-i didn't even think about worrying-

but, as it happens, they were predicting rain...

we decided to chance it-bobby rigged up a tent out of the 'all purpose' tarp and we loaded all the picnic tables as ben watched from the stroller.

as it turns out-it was a wonderful party. it did rain-but the kids loved it. and the adults stood under the "tent" watching the rain come down and watching the smiling wet kids. it was great.

so the story behind the slideshow-

i have been listening to this song all summer. josh garrels-jacaranda tree. i knew i wanted to use it somehow-but it isn't a typical slideshow song. it sounds kind of sad-but i don't think it is. i think it is reflective and beautiful. to me-the message is about change and loving the moments when they happen.

i included the lyrics-i hope it isn't too distracting-but they can be a little hard to understand.

we love you emily! you continue to make our lives brighter, make us see things differently and help us appreciate random bits of happiness :) 

if you want more-watch the slideshow here