A Kiss and a Jump

On Christmas Day, Cheryl had a girl who is just starting out in photography come and take some pictures...and I thought it would be fun to 'recreate' one of the wedding pictures Michael and I had taken over 10 years ago with some birch trees...he was game, so here's the shot!

...and there's crazy me, taking a self-portrait. Just crazy. If you look closely, you can see Michael with the boys coming out the front door....this was moments before we took our family picture for the Christmas card. Hee hee!

Our Tree and Santa

Here are the boys....with Santa in Madison, and in front of our Christmas tree this year. Awww...

Family

Here we are, with our new home in the background. Austin took the picture...how did he do that? :)

a foggy first day

Austin's first day of first grade. We set his alarm last night for 6:30am this morning, leaving him plenty of time to get dressed, eat a bowl of cereal, brush his teeth, eat his vitamin, get his socks and shoes on...and for me to get rid of the hairs sticking up on his head...kisses and hugs, and a few morning photos before daddy took them to town at 7:00am. He woke himself up early, got dressed and made his way to my bathroom where I was in the shower...knocked and waited for me to say "come in". He came in and I was surprised at what I saw. He was a wee bit excited for his first day, I think. :) I told him to turn his alarm off, since it hadn't gone off yet, and to go down and get a bowl of cereal and he could watch a show on the tele. If only every morning would be like this. That would be bliss. So I leave you with a few shots of my first grader, among the fog (first day of kinder was foggy, too. Remember?) who had a fantabulous day of school today.

"Say cheese!"

Tonight I took the boys to my school's first home football game of the year. We were there early and snagged a seat spot right on the edge of the track where it met the turf. When taking pictures at the games, I must be as close as I can be. I had two cameras with me, so I had one boys sharing one so they could take pictures of the team, too. Ethan turned around and said "say cheese" so Austin immediately snuggled close and Ethan clicked.

And clicked.

I'm grateful to Ethan for capturing these images of Austin and I. Next game, it's Austin who will take a picture of Ethan and I together. Must keep it fair!

Tractor Men

This year the boys are taking their pedal tractors that Michael restored for them to the tractor show in Edgar. They are so excited to go! My favorite parts at the show are the tractors, the long rows of flea market tables, the deep-fried cheese curds, and ice cream. I'll have to run it off later so I don't add more poundage to my midsection. Ugh.

Can you tell which one was crabby this morning? :)

Ha!

Morning Snuggles

(Taken with my phone)

Only in Wisconsin...

...will you find a 'vending machine' for live bait. Ha!
I've driven by this many a times, and decided it was time to get a photo of it. I laugh every time I see it!

Sunflower lovin'

As we headed towards a friend who had her kids in tow and was visiting her parents yesterday, I looked to my right and out my car window saw sunflowers. Love. So, I slowed down and turned onto the dirt road. I took some pictures of the yellow beauties. When I was done I performed a perfect "Y turn" on the road, I glanced into my side view mirror I saw love again. The farm, the dirt road, and the image in the mirror.....a perfect capture. The straight-on shots can't compare.

This was taken with the camera on my phone...edited in Instagram.

Insta-love

Some pics off my Instagram....

Keep Calm and Carry On

For all the hype surrounding the Keep Calm and Carry On slogan, the back story. I found this video to be enjoyable (and educational).

Big Enough to Ride

Last Sunday Austin was invited to a birthday party at a hotel oasis, and I took Ethan to partake in the swim part (okay'd by the birthday boy's mom). After Ethan saw the kids go down the waterslide he was begging....he isn't 48" tall, like the sign said he needed to be, that I know. I took his hand anyway, and we marched up the red stairs, and met the attendant before the last flight to the top. I asked Is he too little to go down the slide? He's my child that has fear of nothing. Can he go down? She sat, looking down, and was silent. Do you know if he's 48 inches tall? I knew he wasn't....I have no idea...he has no fear... I assured her...He's my little kamakazie...so she said sure, let him try and we'll see how it goes. Well....that was the beginning of him on an endless circle of stairs and waterslide. He had so much fun, he didn't want to get off!

We are super excited to have cherries right in our own backyard! Austin is especially excited - they are a bit sour, but so good!

Randomness...

Where did the past 3 months go? Seems like forever since I've been on here to post....Blogger even changed up the whole format of posting, etc, and it's taken me forever to get this far! I can't seem to get a space between the first two pics; not sure what is going on there. Sorry!

Here are a few random shots of late...
The playset. It made the short trip to the new house...and the kids are loving it.

Ethan dancing with his shadow.

...a killdeer egg. One made a nest and had four eggs in the gravel of our driveway....but something took the eggs because one day they just disappeared...no shells or evidence of eggs anywhere. Another (or maybe the same one??) made a nest in some dirt in our backyard and laid an egg....crazy birds. They get this I've got a broken wing, you better get away dance they do when we go near the nest....

 

Swings

Every spring/summer I enjoy listening to the cranes sing in the field adjacent to our house. Music to my ears. I've loved their songs since high school, when I went on the same biology field trip to the International Crane Foundation all 3 times it was offered to students. Someday I want to take the boys there. Soon. (The quality isn't great; I had to keep my distance and I had a 24-70mm lens on).

The weather has been unseasonably warm, so we've enjoyed time after school running around barefoot, swinging, walking, and playing with sticks.

Sasha.

I'm still crying, the 'what if's' creeping up on me...
Ethan doesn't understand, Austin gets it, and has shed tears.
Michael is taking it hard.
I'm taking it harder than I anticipated I would.

Sasha, our beloved dog of almost 9 years, was killed by a vehicle Thursday night.

I'm still trying to understand - she hardly ever (maybe twice) went down to the road.
I just don't get it.
I never will.

That's all I want to say about her death at this time....I can barely type right now. I might post more later about it, maybe not. I will have a post later with more photos of her. We had many good memories with her that we will cherish and always keep in our hearts. :)
We loved her.
So much.
It hurts.