Tattoo Brothers

The boys got tattoos the other day and wanted them in the same spot. Not real ones people! :D

My knight in shinning armor

This is what I get for being a pack rat and keeping EVERYTHING!!!! Toys that come around again :D This is Hayden on his 4th birthday. Narnia had just come out and he was really into pretending to be King Peter.

Hanging at the Library

Jax and I have done a few library programs this summer along with Hayden and the summer reading program.
These were programs while Hayden was in camp to do something other than sit in the house and watch Mommy clean :) He's enjoyed some and been scared out of his mind with others.(see the puppets)
This was Music with Ms Jan
dancing with scarfs.


The puppets. I thought it was neat but Jax didn't like the 3ft tall puppets.... oh well.
We have one last program next week and that ends the summer reading program. We all went today and turned in the last of their sheets to collect their prizes. They got things as simple as crayons and temp tattoos to coupons for free meals at Chili's or free ice cream at Culver's. Its really been a great motivator for Hayden to keep reading this summer!

Lake County Discovery Museum

is where the action was at! Nice little museum for little cost. Kids had a blast and so did my friend Tracy and I. Lots of stuff for the kids to touch but nice displays of county history.
Jaxson found the only picture of a train in the whole place :) He was happy.
The kids enjoying a short movie about the history of Lake County. Good thing it was roller coaster themed :)
Brothers goofing off.
The girls goofing off as well :)
Jaxson found a Thomas the Train set to play with and was happy for a good 45min just to push those things around.
The older kids found a room that was set up like a wilderness Native Indian area. They played just as long as Jax did with the trains. It was nice to see everyone so happy and occupied.

Train Park... brings back memories.

This is a park that I used to visit with my friends from the campground. We would pack a picnic lunch and go loiter at the kiddie park even though we were too old for it. It was just someplace nice to get away from the same ole at the campground.
Jay, Lisa, Kris, and Brooke. (funny that that tube is still there)
Me & Brooke on the train.
A friend and I were nearby so we decided it would be a good place to take the kiddos for lunch.


Hayden and Erin are two peas from one pod... both silly crazy! :D
Rachel helped me watch Jaxson since he was running all over the place. I can see her being a very good babysitter in a few years.
Even though it was really hot and humid it was a nice day.

2 events in One!

On Father's Day we took Tim out for breakfast. I offered to cook but since we had a BBQ planed for later he chose to go to our favorite place.
After breakfast we went to the movies to see the new Toy Story 3. We all really liked the movie but none more than Jax! It was his first movie after all. He sat for the entire thing and barely moved!
munching popcorn and just enjoying the show.
We tired him out. He fell asleep on the way home and went straight down for a nap once we got there. Too much excitement.
Later that afternoon we had a BBQ with the grandparents...

Rainy Day modeling

On the first week off of school we had a really rainy blah day... so what does Mommy do? Whip out my portable studio and make the kids model of course!

Cool story; this sailor uniform was made out of my PawPaw's uniform into an outfit for my Uncle Scott. . . 42 years ago. My mother gave it to me to use with Hayden but by the time I found it in the back of his closet he was too big. So with Jax I kept it right in front and kept trying it on. My mother has a photo of my uncle in it and now Jaxson.

Jaxson reminds me of the Cracker Jack logo in this photo. All he needed was a dog. :D
Hayden in his Purple belt... even though he's testing for his Blue tomorrow. Oh well we'll have to take another picture :D

The for Tim and my father I wanted brother pictures. These were hard to get because Jax was just not having this... I only got 4 shots off before he had enough and took off. I am lucky that 3 out of the 4 turned out :D

My boys do sometimes show that they love each other. Every morning now Jax gets up and runs out to the family room and snuggles with Hayden who is already watching cartoons. Its really sweet to see. They do actually like each other.... for now :)

obsessed much?

This is how my living room looks most days now, although we've cut the track down to a modest oval. He's obsessed with trains and cars. We watch train videos and shows, and we push cars around the table, and we play with his trains.... let me tell you this kid in focused :)

Texas Photography

Here are some of the portraits I took while in Texas of sweet little Miss O. She cooperated most of the time and slept the rest so we made due with what she gave us. :)
I think this is my favorite shot... sleeping and innocent. If her parents only knew I told her how to paint on the walls when she gets bigger, while I was there :P LOL

Precious baby feet.
And "the shot" It's the pose that all photographers are striving to get these days. It took us 2 hours to get there but we did. The light was off and Miss O was a bit squished so she was a bit pink/purple in the color shot but I think it looks just as fantastic in B&W.
This is the family :) My Godmother, my Uncle Rich, Kris, Justin, Miss O, Lauren and Shannon. I love them all so much and was happy I could try and take portraits while there. It was hotter than hades and Miss O didn't like being in the heat so these were quick snaps... between the yells.
I love this picture of them. Texas agrees with them and makes then happy.
The new family