Day 99

Some of you may know that we live on a farm but since starting this blog I haven't had too many opportunities to document that part of our life. This morning when we came home from a trip to town, we stopped at the barn so the kids could help feed the calves with dad. Madi, of course, loved every single second of it, Tyson, however would run and hide behind the hutch while we were feeding them. He doesn't like when they are noisy and can be heard calling them 'naughty baby cows'.
I have a ton of great shots of Madi with the calves and narrowing it down to just one shot was tough. Luckily, I have a very opinionated little girl and once she put her two cents in, I had no choice but to choose this photo!

Day 98

Happy Spring! I love that I am able to do this type of shot now! Three years ago if I would have been asked to do a shot like this one I would have laughed and said, 'what?' I am so thankful to have come so far with photography and am so excited to learn more and more! And on a side note, I am also very thankful that my kids are {mostly} willing participants!

Day 97

Going for a scooter ride. The weather has been gorgeous the past week (well, mostly gorgeous...after a LONG winter it seems amazing!) and we have been taking advantage by being outside every second we can! I suggested a nature walk after supper to get us moving and the kids insisted on riding their scooters instead of walking. Needless to say there wasn't much a 'walk' going on by the time we got home, I was carrying a couple of scooters and trying not to get mad about all the brother/ sister 'love' that was happening! (I use the term 'love' loosely, they were definitely not 'lovin' at all!)

Day 96

My kids love this cat, more than any other animal on our farm I would guess. Catching Ty giving him a gentle hug was a priceless moment. I love that he is so gentle and loving with animals!

Day 95

Today was one of those days when the last place you want to be in is in the house. As the sun dropped lower and lower in the sky, I kept putting off the inevitable. The kids and I stayed outside as long as we could and I am so glad that we did. It isn't often that we stop to watch the sunset, but last night we did. I love this shot of the kids patiently waiting to see the setting sun.

Day 94

Happy Easter! We spent the gorgeous spring day playing outside together. It doesn't get much better than that!

Day 93

I am so happy that spring has finally come and that I am able to get out and take photos in the sunshine! Madi loves to blow bubbles and I was excited to get this shot since she is such a speedy bubble blower!

Day 92

Tyson loves my sisters dog Chubs. Their relationship reminds me of two brothers, sometimes they are each others best friend, and other times they are at each others throats. Today, they were more than buddies and snuggled up for a photo on the floor!

Day 91

Angela came for a visit today and brought my favorite little nephew with. I attempted to take a couple of shots of all the 'kids' (Chubs was included). This was the best one, it wasn't an easy photo!

Day 90

Hip, hip hooray the Easter bunny is on his way! We spent the afternoon dying eggs. Tanner and Madi had a great time experimenting with mixing colors. Hopefully Travis is in the mood for some hard boiled eggs because he is the only one in the house who will touch them!

Day 89

Tyson is 2 1/2 and I know that it's not long before he flat out refuses to pose for my lens. Until that day comes, I plan on taking as many photos as I can! He has been my best subject for learning photography and is such a happy little boy! I love that his zipper is totally down in this shot, he wouldn't let me put it up and since I wanted the photo more than the fight, I was happy to let that one go!

Day 88

A new bright green chair! I painted an old chair I picked up at a garage sale today and couldn't resist showing it off. Although it needs another coat of paint and maybe some sanding (for a more antiqued look), I think it's going to make a great addition as a photography prop! I love colors!

Day 87

Dance, dance, dance! Madi had a dance show on Sunday and did a fantastic job! She was just getting over the flu and I wasn't sure if she would make it through the almost 2 hours of performances. She did! Great job Madi!

Day 86

I found another school house! Ok, if I am being honest, I didn't really just find this one! I had an engagement session here last year and knew that I had to take a photo of it and showcase it on the blog for my schoolhouse series! This one is located close to our barn (which is about 7 miles from our house). It seems to be standing the test of time a little better than the other two I have taken photos of, it could be the brick exterior and that it isn't too old. Just above the door, there is a sign that says est. 1904.

Day 85

I had a maternity session last Friday (I have a little catching up to do if you can't tell) and I wanted to share one of the images on here. I don't have that much experience with maternity sessions, but I am getting more and more. I love this image, especially with the backlight coming in from the studio window.

Day 84

Sometimes being the son of a photographer can be tough. Today was one of those days for Tyson. He wouldn't look at me and just before I snapped this photo he said, 'no more camera mommy.' I got the hint and put it away...but I was glad to get this shot. There is something about it that makes me smile. I love how the grass is starting to get green (I am praying for no SNOW tomorrow!)

Day 83

After a trip to town this afternoon, I ventured to another abandoned school house located about 2 miles west of our house. I think I may have found a new passion! I am on the lookout for little old school houses and honestly I can't wait to 'discover' more! A friend of mine blogged about old buildings on her blog (you can check it out here) and inspired me. I am putting my own spin on the idea and scoping the area for school houses. As a former (and hopefully future) teacher, I love thinking about the history of these buildings. What were the students like way back then? Did they face similar educational challenges? How courageous must their young teachers have been to choose to live in rural america often times far away from family and friends? I wish for a second these old walls could talk and tell me what they've seen..

Day 82

Madi and I spent a little time this morning playing and dressing up her barbie dolls. Being the savvy little girl that she is, she suggested that she get them ready for a photo shoot and asked me to 'pretty please' put the picture on the blog. Since she is one of my best readers (she asks to look at the blog almost everyday), I am going to comply! Thanks for the fun playtime Miss Madi!

Day 81

There has always been something about this old, abandoned school house that I have found interesting and when I drove by today I stopped to capture it. As the sun was setting behind it, the eerie calm surrounding the timeless building captivated me as I snapped away. In post processing, I couldn't resist adding some vintage effects!

Day 80

Day 79

We had a great day at the pool with friends today! Happy Saturday everyone!

Day 78

I have wanted to put this on the blog for a little while and since I didn't feel too much inspiration today for a photo (or as I like to call it, waiting until the last minute and not having a photo for the blog!) I am putting this out there.
This is my favorite wall quote in our home and by far my favorite! It is so true to our family, especially the 'we do loud really well' part, which seems to be the motto in our house filled with small children!

Day 77

Ty and I went 'muddin' tonight! We both put our mud boots on and headed out to the biggest, messiest, mud hole that we could find. I can't remember the last time I purposefully went in the mud for the JOY of it. I love that this kid of mine is able to get me to really enjoy the messy side of life. I forgot how much I used to LOVE mud {gasp!}, did I just say that!?

Day 76

'Oh happy day!' We have spent the last couple of days outside, and I can't help but sing out! It has been a VERY LONG winter and we have been waiting and waiting for spring to come. I think that it is officially here and while the kids and I were out playing, I brought my camera along. Although the colors outside aren't fabulous right now, I did have a blast taking tons of photos of the kids, they are my true inspiration.
Madi was checking out the blog the other day and realized that I hadn't posted a photo of her in a long time. She was pretty upset with me, so I promised that the next photo I posted would be of her....I got a ton of great shots of her, but this one makes me smile. She is having a great time hanging upside down once again!

Day 75

I have said it once and I will say it again and again, this little guy could be the subject of an entire year of blog posts! He gives me so many reasons to smile everyday. Tonight, he was having a ball trying to get my birthday balloons down from the ceiling. He figured out that if he moved one of our stools over to the point where the balloon string dangled, he might just be able to grab them.
As his mom, I worry about him a lot...this was definitely one of those worried moments!! Our stools are not short, we have a very hard floor beneath them and he was standing on one reaching for the 'sky' or in other words our vaulted ceiling. Luckily Travis and I were very close to him when I took this series of shots. I don't know what I am going to do when this kid is a teenager and I can't be there all the time ready to catch him!?

Day 74

In the days to come, you may see some of my photos taking on a whole new look. I have discovered overlays and wow, I am in LOVE! I snapped this shot of the kids this evening when the light in the studio wasn't great (in fact, it was pretty darn dark b/c it was 7:15pm). I love that they all cooperated and smiled up at me, next time I will have to try the same shot in some good light and hopefully in the green grass!

Day 73

Not a normal blog post, but I wanted to show you a project I was working on today. This is the photo book I made for my new nephew Johnathan. I am totally in love!

Click here to view this photo book.

Day 72

I put this sweatshirt on this afternoon, which is one of my all time favorites (Travis bought it for me when we were dating and I still love to wear it!). Madi got really excited when she realized she had the 'same' sweatshirt (a hand me down from a cousin). For the brief minute she had it on, we snapped a photo...our first mother/daughter matching outfits.

Day 71

Seriously, how can one little cup of chocolate pudding create a mess like this?! I have to wonder, did any of it end up in his mouth?!

Day 70

When my sister told me she was going to have a baby, I remember being so excited for her and also for me! I have been a mommy for nearly 7 years and haven't been an auntie yet! I was honored when I got to be there to see this little guy enter the world, and can't wait to watch my nephew grow! Isn't he adorable?! I am one proud auntie!

Day 69

We have spent a lot of time the in the past week with my sister and her new family. When we were there the other night, we got a chance to see my grandma and aunt and Tyson got the chance to check out his new baby cousin again...he loves 'baby John' as he has come to call him.

Day 68

About a week ago, I suggested to Madi that we should braid her hair after her nightly shower so she could wake up with beautiful hair. She went for the idea and we both had a great time braiding and talking (which are some of my favorite memories of my mom and I as a kid). Well, since I came up with this idea, now she wants her hair braided after every bath/shower...what in the world did I get myself into?

Day 67

My boys admiring their new cousin, Johnathan. They look pretty sweet and innocent now but I have a feeling these three are going to get into their share of trouble over the years!

Day 66

Since day 66 would have fallen on my actual 30th birthday, I am going to post a photo from my birthday party. I had a lot of qualms about beginning this decade but on the actual day, I was pretty ok with it. Maybe it was because I had so many people to share it with. My husband (along with lots of help from our wonderful family and friends) threw me a big bash. It was a lot of fun and I had a great time visiting with friends and family I don't see on a regular basis!
Here's to a new decade of adventures!

Day 65

The kids and I have started to save for a family vacation...to Disney World! It is going to take us a few years of saving change but it sure is fun to give us something to save for! Last summer we saved our loose change and took a trip to the cities, our goal is a little bigger this time!

Day 64

I am more than a week behind and once again I can attribute that to my crazy busy life! I substitute taught the last couple of weeks of this month and I can't seem to find the time to blog every day when I am subbing!
Anyway, I am going to attempt to get all caught up b/c I was taking photos during this time just not uploading them and writing about them. This first one was taken on Tanner's 100th day of school, or as he informed us later the 101st day (apparently they were off by a day). I love how bright and happy his classroom is and the smiles on the kids faces light up my morning!