Texas Grilliots

Crossing the Cyberspace Border

2010-07-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

Well we have a new home in Calgary so we thought it was time to upgrade TexasGrilliots too. This will officially be the last post on this blog, but not to worry our new place will be just as fun. So pack your bags and delete this off of your blogroll, come on over to our new home...

www.TexasGrilliots.com

Visions of Apple Blossoms...

2010-06-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

Although it is no longer blooming, upon our arrival to Calgary the apple blossom tree in the back yard was in full bloom, thankfully I snapped a couple shots of it before it wilted away...

British Columbia

2010-06-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Spending 5 days in the car would be more than enough for any kid to ban long distance car rides for a life time but somehow we talked them into another few hours to our weekend destination across the Continental Divide to Panoram, BC

We saw Rockies upon Rockies!

everywhere we looked the view was more spactular than the last

The rivers along the highway were crystal clear and blue

The boys had a great time exploring, throwing and collecting river rocks and taking the time to smell the flowers!

Big or small everything was amazing

Pollen Jock!

And the scarriest view of all, NEVER go near a momma bear and her baby!

I safely shot this from the car driving about 30 miles an hour!

Yes my cycling friends there are hazards of cycling in the mountains, thankfully this bear was more interested in what he was eating than the guy on his bike. Who's ready to come cycle with me?

*And just a little photography note, all of these were shot with my new 24-70L 2.8 lens. Harry bought this for me before we left the states and I never seem to take it off my camera, it is the perfect "walk around" lens

Banff Trip 1

2010-06-17T21:59:00.000-07:00

First weekend here in Calgary, no moving van from Texas; we went to Banff. It is about a beautiful hours drive away from here.

You may reconize this from a previous post from Harry's month long trip before we all came up. But I had to take the famous picture too!

Near the river through the mountains, beautiful. Logan thinks so too

Very accomidating mountain climbing

Then we thought it would be fun to ride this thing...all the way to the top instead of walking. (Harry thinks he will go back and walk it himself. The boys and I will stay at the bottom and drink hot chocolate or something)

Going up...

still going up

At the top finally. I found someone with a big Nikon camera and figured she could handle a real camera...Canon!!

We did not move here for the cheap prices of ANYTHING or the long lines at the grocery stores or the 30 degree rainy weather in JUNE but perhaps to see this...

Yes it is pretty amazing...

It has been two weeks since we moved to Calgary. I do miss my friends and family terribly though. I am homesick. If you read my blog, leave a comment, send an e-mail, shoot a fax, write a letter send a text!

We are off to Panorama, British Columbia this weekend for our first "Holiday!"

Waiting to Nest...

2010-06-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

Nesting is something that I feel I do best. Maybe it is the mother in me that has that need to create the perfect environment to raise, love and live with my family. It need not be extravagant, less is more. Certainly not expensive, some of my favorite things have come from re-sale shops or I have made them. Coming home to a place that feels...well "homey" surrounded with all my favorite people and things is so comforting. We arrived at our new place in Calgary knowing it is temporary. Very little is coming from Texas with us, but there are a few of my favorite things to make our new place feel like home while we are here. Our shipment from Texas is still not here, in fact no one seems to know where it is. Knowing that our clothes, the boys much loved toys and a few of my "not so expensive or extravagant but much loved things" are in limbo is very frustrating. I know when everything does show up it will feel like Christmas morning. I miss my coffee pot...so.very.much. We are doing laundry everyday, if you notice in the past posts we don't seem to have much variety in our wardrobe. This house is nice but it doesn't feel like home yet. It will be so wonderful to get settled, have more clothes, toys, silverware and real coffee again. I took these photos the other morning, Jonah waiting on his high chair (on the moving van) decided he really did not need it. He helped himself to the table and ate is breakfast, like a big boy. Stuff or no stuff I know I truly have what is most important right here with me.

Evening in the Parks

2010-06-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

Friday night we headed to Nose Hill Park, a very large hill right next to our place here in Calgary. It is great for hiking and mountain biking...and photography!

We tried to find the highest peak to get the best views of the city, this was my favorite view...

This reminded me of Horton Hears a Who!

He poses for me now!

After walking around till around 8:30pm with pleanty of daylight left we headed downtown to see what we could find. Another fantastic little park perfect for scooter riding and a little playground time.

It was bedtime, even though the sun is still up...after 10:00 even the Momma Canadian Geese know it is time for bed...

Glad I'm not the only one keeping track of three little ones!

Canadian Tooth Fairy Ehh'

2010-06-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

Yup we have em' here too! Logan FINALLY lost his first tooth. My sweet boy was heartbroken when Isaac lost his about a month ago. Life was just not fair that his twin lost one but he did not. I assured him that he would. He was so excited last night when it finally came out!

Thankfully the flying tooth collector had some Canadian money in her wallet equivalent to what Isaac received the first time he lost his, the stash needs to be replenished however...there are several more that will be ready for another visit soon!

Happy Birthday....

2010-06-09T21:39:00.000-07:00

To two of my favorite people...

(I think this was taken in 03')

18 is a big year

but no one says you have to act your age. These two are no exception for sure!

Kayla, I have loved watching you grow up. You are the best gift your Mom ever gave me! We are so proud of you and excited for the road that lies ahead of you. With God leading the way...well kid, I just know you will go far!

Harry, thank you for taking such great care of your family, for supporting me and my silly habbits and for always knowing what I need...even when I don't. I love you and will always be happier when you come in the door every night after work.

Happy Birthday you two! I hope you both have a wonderful day!!!

Driving Days 4 & 5

2010-06-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in posting these last two days of our cross-country adventure...once we arrived in Calgary we literaly hit the ground running. It took a couple days to get internet up and running, furniture bought and all the usual things that go along with moving to a new country :)

Bright and early Wednesday morning...

**little disclaimer here, yes they are sleeping in their play clothes. I don't want a ton of laundry to do when we get to Canada!**

out on the open road a bright, cool, crisp Wyoming morning

Which turned into a bright, cool, crisp Montana afternoon!

My camera could not do this state justice, we plan on traveling back down to Montana, it is breathtaking. Purple Mountain Majesty...definately

and speaking of the land I love. I think the talley for number of American Flags from Texas to Canada was somewhere around the 300 marker. IMPRESSIVE! (even more impressive that I counted them huh?) more on talleys to come.

wait that can't be...Blue Bonnets in Montana? Naa, but they look like them! These lovely blue flowers are considered a weed, just like the good ole dandylions

We stopped at Little Bighorn National Monument where Lt. Col. George A. Custer fought his last battle against the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians.

Back in the car we continue to head north, I think we saw more windmills here than in Kansas. It is very windy here and with the mountains in the background it was a pretty amazing sight...again my camera not doing justice for me here.

Wait, do those cows have perms?? Ok, ok, they are alpacas! Yep, Montana the land of alpaca farms. Kinda scary, I think I had a hairstyle in middle school that looked a lot like this.

So for those of you who will never actually cross the Canadian border by car, this is what it looks like! (Hopefully minus the bugs on the windshield fogging up my photo!)

We sat in the customs office for two hours waiting for them to let us through. They were very kind to us and even gave the twins some stickers. The same could not be said for the gentleman in front of us who was from South Africa, trying to return to his wife in Canada. He apparently did not do his paperwork right so they threatened to put him in jail for 5 years with a $100,000.00 fine. They don't mess around here.

Finally through, Harry was a bit nervous I think but everything went well. Two hours past the border...

We finally made it. We did not get out of the car for a photo opportunity here, they were SO very ready to be out of the car and asking if we were there yet, I seriously doubt I could get them back in the car. (again more bugs, Harry we need to go back to Oklahoma. I think that was the last time you washed the windshield!)

view from the front seat

And finally we made it, our home...away from home.

The three boys have not stopped running since we got here. I think all that pent up energy in the car had to wind down sometime.

More to come on our Canadian adventure...stay tuned!

Driving - Day 3

2010-06-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

Across another state border into Colorado the start of our Rocky Mountain foothills drive all the way to Canada

We stopped at the information center for a little...well info of course! And a tour of the old west.

The boys were most impressed with the barber shop where cowboys off of the range could buy a hot bath for $.20, if you were the second in the tub only $.15, it was free after that if the water was still warm or if you could stand it

We stopped by the jail, I think I want to get one of these installed in our house for time-outs

The smell of the Old Time Soda Fountain was most pleasant...as you can see.

Then after the twenty building tour of Old Town we headed back out on the road in search of real bufffalo..oh here is one!

Oh good there are only "little bears" here. Hopefully there are not "Big" bears in Canada!

And I guess these are suppose to be mini buffalo?!?

Finally another state line

This is how the sky looked the rest of the drive to Casper, WY. It was raining and 54 degrees when we arived at our hotel, yes we really have NO idea what we are getting into.

Farm Break

2010-06-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

The boys asked for two days when we would arive at the farm...finally a little Grandma -n- Grandpa...and basement filled with trains and legos play time.

They had a great time visiting with cousins old and new...

And a special Godfather and awesome Aunt!

the twins especially had a great time with cousin "T" who also were thrilled with trains and legos in Grandma's basement, after swiming at Great-Grandma's house ofcourse

which all followed with a sleepover and late night Star War's movies to help them get to sleep...

I was able to sneek out to take some pictures on the farm. I love taking pictures there, around every corner is something unique to photograph..

We had a great time, sorry our visit was so short but our journey continues!

The Adventure Begins..

2010-05-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

At this point everyone's pitching in for driving...

2 days into our trip...we made it to Harry's family farm last night. The temperature dropped 20 degrees and there is no humidity!

Day 1 highlights:
Houston to OKC: 8 hrs 5 min, 479 miles, 59 mph avg
(Time is per the Nissan Trip Computer, equals engine running time only)

Spent morning finishing up around the house getting it all organized, intended to leave prior to lunchtime. Officially got on the road about 1 p.m.

Last stop in Houston - Taco Cabana!

Last stop in Texas - Arby's in Gainsville (healthy eating on this trip) which is about 6 miles from the OK border and seems to be our regular stop on any trip this direction. They have a playground which helps expend some energy.

Crossed the border of Texas at 5 hrs & 5 min. It was too dark to take pictures crossing into Oklahoma (ok I admit it was in my camera bag most of the day!)

Memo to Oklahoma: I-35 is a friggin interstate - which means at least 2 lanes of travel in each direction. In the 13 years Harry has been in Texas there has always a 10-mile stretch of narrow 2 lane speed limit 50 construction between the TX and KS borders.

Arrived at hotel in Yukon, which is in Canadian County, and the Canadian Valley Hospital was across the street. This was not planned.

Day 2 Highlights:
OKC to the farm: 6 hrs 23 min, 369 miles, 57.8 mph avg
2-Day Totals: 14 hrs 28 min, 848 miles

little hotel bed jumping before we headed out

Jonah prefered to spin in the chair

Pictures with the natives...

Lunch stop at Lake Ft Supply, Oklahoma

The kids played with their food

Note the phyiscal effort required to scrape the Oklahoma bugs from the windshield

Everyone was in good spirits - so Jonah decided to get some ink.

Jonah thinks he's the third twin sometimes. This was at Boot Hill in Dodge City, Harry hadn't actually been there yet, check that off the Bucket List.

Harry forgot that the speedo was not reading metric.

No travel tomorrow - rest day at the Farm.

Kinder Graduation 2010

2010-05-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

Today I am happy, today I am sad. For lots of reasons, my twins are no longer babies (yes I figured out that one a while back). Pardon the lack of focus, it was the emotional teariness of the whole thing.

They were so excited for this day and there were times I wasn't sure we would get here or not. Harry and I high-fived each other on making it this far before we arrived today. What's more amazing is their pants made it this far - took some searching to find two pairs with knees intact.

Logan was truly happy to be here today - lots of smiles & thumbs up

The boys loved school this year, not only do they attend a great school but their friends are amazing. We are so very sad that we will not be with them next year...

These two did a great job of keeping Isaac in line and being "Momma Hens" to him. They ruled the roost and he was perfectly fine with that.

We were entertained by several songs and then they played their recorders (little clarinet like instruments) and actually did pretty well!

Note Mr. H on the left with his PERFECT ATTENDANCE - in Kindergarten. Whatever vitamins he's taking we should get some.

Isaac received a special award for showing/sharing his Christianity with others.

This is where I lost it.

We will miss all of you (you know who YOU are!)

our friends at school are so important to us...

yup that is more like it...

It is amazing how important friends become in our lives even at such a young age

they stay in our hearts forever

and mean so much more than they may even know

Now I know some of these ladies may not like that I posted this picture but it means so much to me. I have had the honor of getting to know each of you this year and I look forward to our return and having our children grow up together.

J.H. - Don't stop shooting, you are an amazing photographer and when I get back we WILL get together and go shoot for fun!

E.S. - I love your candor and talking to you about parenting, listening to your stories is what makes our "GNO" worth it!

P.M. - YOU are an amazing Mom, Wife and Friend. Where you find the energy I will never know but it is truly inspirational! I'll be waiting for pictures...

A.M. - Ok you just flat out CRACK me up. Your honesty along with that quick wit, no one can ever have too many friends to just laugh with.

A.T. - My dear friend with wisdom beyond her years, you have been such a great friend to me this year. Talking to you almost daily has become a habit I don't plan on breaking. Like I said, the distance will not affect our friendship.

You are all great parents, the proof is in each one of your kids. Our family loves them all!!

One chapter had ended, yet another one begins!

Oh the difference a year makes

2010-05-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

I really have no business blogging today when I have several loads of laundry to fold, a dishwasher to unload my house is in shambles as we get ready for Canada but I was able to talk Harry into putting on his tux in 90 degree weather and stand in the garage...one more time.

Remember this?

one year later...

And because I haven't done an update on the little one, here are just a couple things about Jonah at (almost) 17 months:

He has built in manners, can blow his own nose and can empty a box of wipes or Kleenex in no time flat.

Always says grace, and keeps us in line if we forget.

Screams "Momma!!!" at the top of his lungs...all.the.time

drives his big brothers crazy and gets away with it

loves watching Thomas the Tank Engine

plays outside in the sandbox for hours

has to "dip" all of his food in something to eat it

loves bubbles, will ask for them all day.

can pretty much make every farm animal sound

thinks he is a beagle dog (like Pia next door!)

takes a great two hour nap everyday and goes down with no problem

loves to color on my walls, windows, doors, tile floors with any marker, crayon or pencil his big brothers leave around

favorite song in the car is MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This" he about dances himself out of his car seat

Thinks marshmallows are the best and will stand at the pantry door begging for them.

I'm sure there are 100 other things I am not remembering but he is screaming Momma again and needs my attention!! We will be blogging from the road next week to document our adventure so stay tuned!

Dear Harry,

2010-05-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

So while you are here

I spent the day keepiing this one from eating things he shouldn't...

and while you were busy exploring this town

The boys and I were busy building one,

I can only imagine what it was like to be there...

as you already know what it is like to live with these nuts...

Lake Louise is beautiful Harry, even when it is melting!

And so were the castles guarded by Star War's figures with extra long light sabers

We can't wait to explore all of this with you, thank you for taking pictures, even of these Rocky Mountain Sheep. Jonah started barking when he saw them! I guess they look like dogs...to a 16 month old!

and in case you were wondering, here are a picture of the "dogs" at our house.

I miss you, can't wait for you to come home

love, love, love....

Justin & Lauren - A Surprise Engagement

2010-04-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

To tell you how lucky I felt today to be apart of this photo session would not even begin to compare to how lucky my friend Lauren felt. Her new fiance (ha! does that sound funny yet Lauren?) Justin was kind enough to allow me to photograph his proposal to her.

I told them I wanted to practice taking photos of couples...probably should include their heads too...Justin's knees don't look too weak at all...yet.

So we ran around, got some fun shots and they did everything I asked without complaining (thanks guys!)

All of this started out in the rain...the lighting was perfect

Ok are they cute or what?!

Justin hid the ring in my camera bag, and when he was ready, he got down on one knee

Lauren said "YES!" - thank goodness or that would have been kinda wierd...

and of course is was Double cool for an awesome future Sister-In-Law!!

Thank you again Justin and Lauren for letting me be apart of today, I wish you a lifetime of love, happiness and understanding!

Happy Spring!

2010-04-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

Spring in Texas means bluebonnets. When you had a winter like we did (lots and lots of repeat freezes) then you are bound to have a Hill Country with a blanket of blue. We ventured out on Sunday and found the perfect spot...

this is still one of my favorites...

Hill Country - Sneek Peek

2010-04-11T17:49:00.001-07:00

Lots, lots more to edit...so little time.

Blastin' Off

2010-04-10T21:36:00.000-07:00

Back in the 60's Rice University donated land to the government to start a crazy little program called NASA. They named the facility The Johnson Space Center, after the vice president at the time. Not too many years later they built a rocket there and went to the moon.

So thankful for a beautiful day we packed up the kids and headed down with Grandma and Grandpa.

There was lots of cool stuff to see and do...and we got to stand in line a lot..

Isaac figuring out where we were

and Logan with his forced smile

Daddy carried little man so I could take pictures

I liked both of these

Rocket Man

Nap time..

After dinner at T-Bone Toms to experience Armadillo Eggs for dinner we walked it off at the Kemah Boardwalk

ok the twins ran it off

Now that tower on the right we climed in a slow revolving glass gondola great for taking picures...

So this one ride drove excitement in the twins to try out some more stuff...

Here is Logan on the "Bouncer" going up...

and coming down..

He was so brave during the 3 minute ride, He quickly announced he needed a much calmer ride

So they headed to the Ferris Wheel

I don't blame him, I rather keep my feet on the ground too.

Last day to be 5

2010-04-02T19:58:00.001-07:00

Surprise Breakfast Birthday Party is planned! Although they figured out that tomorrow is their birthday and are having a heck of a time falling asleep right now, we somehow managed to fulfill all their hopes and dreams to celebrate turning 6.

A trip to Build-A-Bear, lunch at Souper Salad, bowling, dinner at James Coney Island for cheese fries and top it all off with an ice-cream cake from Baskin Robins. Everything is planned out, I needed just one last picture of them being 5.

Ok boys, sit next to Jonah, and just look at mom...now smile!

They are crazy! We loved 5, and I just know 6 is going to be awesome!

Happy Birthday Isaac and Logan! You are AMAZING dudes!

Bubbles, Thomas and Peak-a-Boo

2010-03-25T14:37:00.000-07:00

I admit I blow bubbles in the house. There is something about them that just puts you in a good mood whether your 1 or 30 something. Now although you don't seem them in the pictures you will see their remains in Jonahs hair...No it is not dandruf...just had to add that little disclaimer. I loved his smile in these pictures and had to post them. Dandruf bubbles and all.

He is really into reading these days, the twins were always impressed by books too. I love finding him flat on his belly, kicking his legs up behind him engrossed in a book. Also, like his brothers he is very impressed with Thomas...

Just another game of PEAK-A

Boo!

He really thinks you can't see him here!

Spring Break Part II

2010-03-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

Second half of our spring break adventure went a little something like this:

Wake up Thursday morning not quite as early as we had planned
Pack up the car with special toys, movies, snacks, drinks, hats, blankets, animal friends, portable DVD player, and somehow found room for a change of clothes (we're going to be in the car for three hours afterall so we have to keep the troops entertained)
Stop for breakfast only two minutes down the road, realize our trip will extend past normal lunch time.
Answer for the first time of the day that indeed "No, we are not there yet" and "we are very close to our house but you cannot see it from here"
chuckle at Monsters Inc. for the thousandth time
yell at the boys to stop touching each other
answer for the umpteenth time, "No were not there yet"
Arive in New Braunfels around late lunch time, discover signs for Gruene Texas (pronounced GREEN by the locals) so we head there for a little lunch alongside the Guadulupe River at the Gristmill, which is German for good burgers.
Be entertained by Logan and Harry as we wait for our lunch.
The air is filled with the smell of grape kool-aid from the blooming Texas Mountain Laurel , this is just one of the blooms...
stomachs full it was time for a little exploring and some more photos...
The very cold (think a just made glass of ice water heavy on the ice on this day) but so much fun to go rafting down Guadalupe River...when it's warmer - although we saw a few brave souls.
Then it was off to the Natural Bridge Caverns for a little cave exploring...but first we had to try a little panning while the line for tickets progressed.

for what you wonder? Why nothing other than "real" indian arrow heads of course!
They can't seem to contain their excitement here..
and of course there were the caverns...they were beautiful. Logan wished for a more hands on experience, but that's strictly against the rules.
the bluebonnets are just now starting to bloom...give it a week or so and they will be perfect for more pictures
and the last picture of the night
we headed down to the Riverwalk to find crowd that was not very kid friendly (it was like taking them to a crowed bar 4 feet wide next to a river with no guard rail, nerve racking to say the least) and hour-long waits for seating in the restaraunts...so we headed back to the hotel restaurant just in time to order before closing and then to our room for more jumping on the beds.
I guess old man winter's flight south was cancelled so he decided to hang out a little longer, the next morning we woke to a very cold and blustery day so after standing in line to see the Alamo we had just about all we could stand and headed back home
today - very little excitement to report
tomorrow...back to school!

Spring Break Madness Under the Sea

2010-03-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

Greetings Everyone, spring break is in full swing deep in the heart of Texas! Kicked it off witha trip to Brazos Bend SP, some more nature study around the neighborhood, a rainy day for recovering from the madness that is spring pollen (frustrating on beautiful days), and of course St Patty's day

Today I played pre-approved hookie from work so I could get in on the fun.

First some breakfast - Pancakes and Bacon!

This was right before Jonah decieded to try and batter his foot!

We headed downtown to the Aquarium Tuesday night, had dinner at the restaraunt, and by the time it was over we had less than an hour before closing time so we decided to bail and come back during the day today.

So did a whole lot of other people, after the shortest line of the day we made it inside for some aquatic fun...

Not sure the suit was designed to hold this much excitement

Full ahead starboard shiver me timbers let's go find a sweet bass!

While waiting in line for the Shark Adventure train (the longest line of the day) a juggler was wandering around.

Logan was spinning the ball on his finger.

Finally got on for our 10 minute train ride after 45 minutes of waiting in line.

Isaac ready for the locomotion to begin.

Heather, Logan, and Jonah excited to finally be on board.

They did park us in a plexiglass tunnel through a shark tank for a couple of minutes, that was the highlight of the trip, although Isaac would tell you it's the humongous mechanical shark that pops out of the lagoon to surprise everyone, and we also enjoyed the tour of the parking lot.

After that it was Sonic for dinner in the clubhouse on the backyard playground - the best dinner we've ever had (on the playground)

Roughhousing seems to be the norm these days...it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt!

Heather made me put up this picture

More adventures planned tomorrow....

Valentine's Date...

2010-02-14T21:02:00.000-08:00

Isaac spent most of the day wishing everyone "Happy Thanksgiving" he just could not remember the word Valentines. A house full of bouncing, excited, loving boys, I am no doubt Thankful... We took a little trip into the big city today to check out one of Houston's art museums, since the boys have been asking.

But before we went, the twins had to decorate for the holiday...I tried hard to restrict the taped hearts to the toy room, I think they did a great job.

Jonah took a bath while they decorated

So off we went, they drove us nuts the whole way since we did not tell them where we were going, we stopped to look at the fountains in the area first.

and how we have managed to never fall in to the fountains the boys are magnetically drawn to is a mystery to me

He's walking now...everywhere

He loves picking up things to carry around

Photos were not allowed in the museum so I got to lug around my big camera bag and camera aound my neck with out being able to use it. But Isaac and I decided to live dangerously

So on the way out we stopped to get a couple pictures of little man walking...I had to get his brothers to sit next to me so he would walk towards us, look how happy he is to see them! This ended with Jonah throwing his arms around both of them for a group hug...love, love, love

And one of my love on Thanksgiving Day...

Have a great week people!

Wanna See something really sweet?

2010-02-12T17:48:00.001-08:00

Of course you do, that is why you are here! :) Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

Isaac let me do something diffeent to his hair...he really looks like Logan here

Check out my little Cupid...

Logan Love

Isaac

2010-02-10T07:50:00.000-08:00

he makes me laugh...

Jonah Harrison - 13 Months big

2010-01-30T06:50:00.000-08:00

To say this past year went by fast to me is an understatement. Other than just getting bigger and doing more, Jonah still has the same disposition of the best little baby. He is so laid back and happy all the time. We spend our days playing, pointing at our noses, making animal noises and lots and lots of standing. He has taken a couple steps but refuses to go much more than that. It is easier to keep up with Isaac and Logan when he bear crawls. He wakes up happy, goes down happy without a fuss and loves a good snuggle. He can color a picture while the boys are doing their homework and has decided it is easier to eat with two forks instead of one. And forget about just feeing him off of our plates when we go out. He needs his own full kids meal now. After dinner if we have had a good day Isaac and Logan finish up their dinner with some sort of frozen treat...Jonah insists on having his own too, he eats up the whole thing. Wearing shoes and hats these days are a treat for him, he loves it.

His latest thing is to stick out his tounge shift it side to side while shaking his head, he thinks it is hilarious, I need to catch some video of that...but this will have to do until then.

After going through the photos last year I realized that there are hardley any photos of me with the boys, I am always behind the camera not in front of it. And the truth be told any photo that I am in I can't stand it, I'm too fat, my eyes are closed, bad hair day. The excuse list goes on. I do realize that no matter what I look like my kids love me the way that I am. As much as I don't like it I realize that it is important to be able to look back and have the memories for myself and them. So I will try my best to be in a few photos with them, for their sake not mine. So here on a tripod I can still take the picture on a timer, while being in the photo as well..

And a few photo notes...all of these photos were done with my flash...off the camera. I have never really liked using it, it never gave me the results I wanted. Until I learned how to use it. If you're a photographer and want to learn more, visit http://www.strobist.com/ very addicting and cool stuff!

You can see where Jonah get's his cool facial expressions!

We inturpt this program for a little....Play time

2010-01-25T12:44:00.000-08:00

Yup, still here.

The craziness of Christmas, Birthday parties, New Years, Play Dates & Back to School really caught up with the Grilliots. After finding homes for all the boys new toys on their shelves and overstuffed closets; getting back into the routine of school our schedule never quite went back to the way it was.

All my boys seems to be demanding more attention from me, which is perfectly ok. So instead of spreading myself thin among everything in life, I am trying my hardest to devote quality time to each one of them. Which means, the phone will not get answered, dishes sit a little longer in the sink, e-mail's not returned on time and my camera sits waiting patiently for me in my camera bag.

Just a little much needed "play time", and because it is never fun to post with out a picture.....

Long overdue...

2010-01-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

I wanted to go back and share some images from our Christmas card that did and did not actually make the card (only because I did not have the room).

the only photo I got of all three of my boys not acting silly. It is NOT easy to get them all to work together. But in the end all you really need is one photo right?

my handsome little men, Isaac here was pretty excited to be wearing a tie.

Then there was Logan...he would not stop posing for the camera. Why can't all kids do this for me?

and the little man himself...

and ofcourse here are some from his party and his actual birthday. Everything outside is pretty much blah for the winter so ignore my dead grass!

and the day of his party on his new turtle from Grandma and Grandpa..

A duck...

2010-01-04T14:12:00.000-08:00

in our front yard...

Little duck, are you lost?

We have had our fair share of strange visitors around here. This little guy greeted Jonah and I on our way out to pick up the boys from school. Not every day you see this. So like a good hostess, I gave him some of Jonah's Cheerios from his diaper bag stash. I did not expect he would still be here when we got home.

Funny though when we got home he was like a little ornament in our yard just sitting there next to his cup of cereal. Our neighbor down the road just returned home from duck hunting and had several he was pulling out of a cooler from today...I think it scared our little friend. He will not leave! Does anyone know how to politely tell a duck to go home?

Jonah tried barking at it. I kept telling him it was not a dog.

He did not care.

He loved it, "Woof, Woof." little duckey!

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

2010 caught up with me pretty quickly, I am behind a post or two for Christmas and Jonah's birthday...they are forthcoming. I wanted to be sure to post some pictures from today. We snuck down to Galveston for a bit with my Mom after visiting my brother in the hospital. (My brother is recovering slowly but all is well.)

It is possible to have fun at the beach even in 55 degree weather. It was windy and cold...perfect for Logan to fly his kite with Meme.

and collect a few seashells

The sun was bright and the sky was beautiful as was the beach itself. The clean up crews did a great job after Hurricane Ike.

Logan did manage however to run into the ocean with his shoes ON

And Isaac thought it was fun to dig in the sand like a dog...(you know with his hands throwing it between his legs!)

These were in a store..not on the beach...they were just so pretty though I had to share

Courtesy of my Mom...I have taken a shot like this several times for people and love it. I have always wanted one of Harry and myself. I love the ocean in the background.

We love the water, this is a perfect shot. Great Job Mom!

Back to the old routine after tomorrow. I will update the blog with more pictures soon!!

Happy 2010 everyone, I hope it is filled with many blessings for you all.

1...a preview

2009-12-30T19:20:00.000-08:00

my 1 year sneek peek...more to come

I think I woke the neighborhood!

2009-12-28T09:54:00.000-08:00

ok well if they were actually sleeping I would have woke them. Yours truly had her "out-do-my-husband" photo featured in a contest on one of the best blogs out there...

The PIONEER WOMAN

Check it out!!!!!!!

I'm gonna go scream some more!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone

2009-12-25T20:18:00.000-08:00

Season's Greetings! In the spirit of Christmas I (Harry) took over to send a special message out to the world. The picture above was taken by me with my trusty Sony and edited in MS Paint. Lego construction by Isaac & Logan.

Silent Night - all's quiet on the home front. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

Did you really think she'd let me get away with it?

Apparently as I was setting all this up Heather was watching in amazement - trying not to laugh.

Here's Christmas day in Chronological Order, you are spared my photography for the rest of the post.

Here's the dynamic duo at 6:30 in the a.m. - that was more than 16 hours ago, all three boys have only been out for about an hour.

They had already been up, out to the tree/stocking/surprise area (OH MY GOODNESS and LOOK AT THIS right outside our bedroom door, hard to sleep through that) and then bless their hearts back to bed because it wasn't morning time yet. Jonah woke up too so Christmas was on like a pot of neck bones!

That is not their normal 6:30 a.m. expression on school days.

Isaac asked Santa for (among many other things) a remote control robot. Wall-E here fit the bill perfectly.

Wall-E is a hit with the whole family - Jonah dug it.

Stocking's unstuffed - here's what the tree above looked like this morning.

Jonah still checking out Wall-E

Jonah getting brave and trying to make Wall-E go

Logan told Santa he wanted (also among many differnt things) a rocket ship, not one that flys in the air but one he could play with. It's not that the boys asked Santa for a lot, they just kept changing their minds. Mom & Dad had a few "uh-oh" moments but in the end it was all happy smiles.

BLAST OFF!

First Christmas - so many non-edible things to try and eat, so many new robot friends, so many new things to play with...

New Pirate Underpants to go with the new Pirate Comforters. AAARRGH!

The boys have been struggling with words like CAR and ART - sounding out the A and the R was not working out. I told them AR sounds like what Pirates say (ARGH) and now they get it every time. I would love to see the look on there teacher's faces when they explain that one.

Hello Robot - I come in Peace

Jonah did dig his own presents too...he's really likes playing with our cell phones lately, I've tried non-working and toy phones but they're not the same. I think he found a phone of his own now.

Practicing talking to Grandma...

"Hello!"

Later in the afternoon with another new friend...

Second place to Wall-E for best Christmas present - a box of Goldfish!

It was a tremendous day for the Texas Grilliots - we are blessed with 3 wonderful boys and the whole day was wall to Wall-E fun.

There are many more pictures, Heather will be back in the saddle shortly.

Of course this wouldn't be complete without a proper interpretation of the Lego Christmas theme. Not only does she make me look bad photgraphically but she throws in Baby Jesus to make me look like a heathen too!

Holy Night

All is Calm, All is Bright

Good Night!

Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt

2009-12-19T18:17:00.000-08:00

The Christmas lights were installed on the Casa de Grilliot today, a bit more subdued than last year due to the late start. We're off for a light tour tonight, complete with scavenger hunt list. Play along in your neighborhood, reply with the tally.

o Santa
o Train
o Reindeer – Bonus Redneck Points for Red light anywhere but in the nose.
o Nutcracker
o Bear – Not Polar
o Snowman
o Jesus
o Mary
o Waldo
o Race Car – Bonus Points if Santa’s Driving
o Snowflakes
o Angel
o Penguin
o Polar Bear – Bonus points for drinking a Coke
o Armadillo – Look Out!
o Ho!
o Ferris Wheel
o Snow – Bonus points for real
o Snow Globe
o Drummer Mouse
o Elf
o Presents
o Star
o Rocket Ship
o Van
o Helicopter
o Jeep – Super Mega Bonus Points!
o Candy Cane
o Osama Bin Laden
o Peppermint
o Texas
o Pick-up Truck – Bonus Redneck points for Beer Cans in the Back
o Christmas Tree
o Mickey Mouse
o Dalmatian
o Gingerbread Man

o Triple Bonus Point Score for a Menorah

Feliz Navidad!

2009 Christmas Recital

2009-12-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

My funny little men and their funny little friends. They had a blast singing together last night. They sang songs with new lyrics to the oldies songs like:

It's the Time of the Season (for Christmas)

Mary's Baby (to the tune of the Beach Boys Sherry Baby)

Woke up the Mornin' (feelin' fine got Chistmas presents on my mind...)

After this crazy week I could hardly get them up for our last day of school this morning, most of last night went something like this...

I need a nap, they need a nap. Harry, I want sleep for Christmas ok?

So happy to just stay home tonight, we're not going anywhere. Our Friday fun night is going to be a simple one. Locate every Christmas book we have, light the fireplace make hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles on top then snuggle up for story time. I really hope everyone wants to sleep in tomorrow.

And because I don't want to leave the little one out...here is his new outfit from his Great Grandma K, can someone make sure she sees this? (oh and please excuse my messy house!)

Visions of Sugar Plums....

2009-12-15T20:47:00.000-08:00

What is a Sugar Plum anyway?

well according to Wikipedia: A sugar plum is a piece of dragee candy that is made of sugar and shaped in a small round or oval shape

Ok...Got it. I wanted to make sure I knew what I was talking about here.

So my little blog has been quiet because of....well, sugar plums. We attempted this weekend to make our own gingerbread house out of a kit we bought at the grocery store. It had major flaws and ended in a sticky half eaten mess.

Friday night we went to see my niece dance in the Nutcracker, it was simply amazing. The boys have been dressing up at the Rat King and the Nutcracker and fighting each other to the death since then. Nothing says Merry Christmas like a good sword fight.

This is the last week of school and there is so much going on that there is hardly any time to take pictures or blog about it. Ok...well I did get my camera out today for round two of our gingerbread houses. This time, school was in charge with a little help from the room moms.

Logan loved that I was there to help but not so happy that I had to run between two classes to help out. He could not sit down when I would go next door to help out Isaac's class. In fact, either one of them could sit down all day, I think they were on a sugar overload...

Here is Logan's house

And Isaac was very good at icing the entire house...yes that big glob of white is all icing...

Can you say SUGAR PLUM???

It's been a long week already and it is only Tuesday, we have lots more before they are out on Friday. But hopefully....hopefully we can kick back next week before Christmas and Jonah's birthday for a little R&R.

I might even get to sleep in...ok that is just crazy talk now. Nevermind.

Oh and a big thank you to my Mom for coming up today. Do you know how hard it is to make meringue icing, pass it out, take pictures, slap on a few candies here and there, smear more icing on a roof, run back to the other class to see if they need more help all while trying to hold a wiggley almost 1 year old who keeps sneeking a lick or two of icing? Not easy!

I think she was sneeking a kiss to her sugar plum!

Elf Sighting!

2009-12-06T16:18:00.001-08:00

Snow? In Houston???

2009-12-04T14:55:00.000-08:00

Yup sure did! This is a once in about 5 years kind of thing. It started snowing on the way to school this morning and after dropping of the kids I stopped at the grocery store, when I got out the temp had dropped another 10 degrees. Now I'm sure all you northerners have no worries about driving in the snow. Me on the other hand? I worry about all the other drivers on the road so I headed back up to school and checked the boys out for the day. This does not happen often so we headed home and have been playing in our winter wonderland all day.

They were so excited they could not be stopped.

This went something like this...

Me: "Logan stop!!!"

Logan: "Bbbwwwaaa Haha ha ha ha ha"

Me: "Logan don't you throw that at me..."

Logan: "Ha Ha ha hahahahahahaha!"

Me: "LOGAN my camera!!" Oh cripes he is gonna hit me with that...

So I ran

The rest of the afternoon went much like that. I have more pictures to share and ofcourse of our AWESOME snowman...stay tuned!

Jonah Harrison - 11 Months Big

2009-11-30T09:15:00.000-08:00

Time is flying...nostalgia is setting in. I wish they could stay little longer...

He is growing and learning so much these days, like saying "ball" or was it "Paul" maybe "mall?" He is mimicking sounds and loves to make raspberries and crack up with his brothers...because, well it's funny!

he is teething this week, two more on the top are about to pop through. That makes for a bit of a cranky and clingy baby, but that is fine with me I like hanging out with him.

he is not too sure about walking, he will stand on his own as long as he doesn't realize he is not holding onto anything

Vegetables are not his favorite, he is a fruit baby and if he knows there is fruit coming forget trying to give him any more of his mixed veggies

so.very.sweet

Loves everyone, he has not met a stranger yet. If you spend time playing with him on the floor like Grandpa did all last week he is like butter in your hand dishing out smiles hugs and kisses

We are so blessed to have Jonah as our third baby he has brightened up or life more than I ever thought someone could and we're just getting started. They say they are only babies once and it is so true. Jonah has had an amazing start and is so lucky to have two amazing big brothers to help him along the way. We love watching him grow and be apart of our family.

Taking a break...

2009-11-23T19:30:00.000-08:00

yup gonna chill out this week and enjoy my boys...all four of them. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!!

The Perfect Man

2009-11-17T18:17:00.000-08:00

Any man who does the dishes is a perfect man!

Sick

2009-11-17T07:03:00.000-08:00

We somehow managed to make it thus far through the worse allergy season for the twins with out getting sick. With all the scares of the flu and the flying pigs I have to admit that I am really surprised. Logan was diagnosed with asthma a few months ago, his test results were worse than Isaacs were. Being asthmatic means their noses are little breading grounds for any and every germ out there. I have always been pretty protective with them as far as taking them into the public. I never let them play at the fast food restaurant playgrounds, avoided putting them in grocery carts and we spent more time at home sick than at their Mother's day out program when they were 3. It has taken about 2 1/2 years for them to build up their immune systems which I think they have. Along with excellent preventative care and lots and lots of hand washing and hand sanitizer they have done great this fall.

With all that being said, Logan and Jonah are sick :( but thankfully we are on the road to recovery which Harry and I could not be happier about. We really hope that one day soon we will sleep through the night again!

And because posts are better with pictures here is one Logan drew yesterday of me giving him medicine to make him feel better...

Playing Hookie...

2009-11-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

Friday morning, beautiful, sunny, cool...finally a perfect 10 day. Definitely a day to play hookie from work, and laundry (which is really starting to pile up)

So Jonah and I headed out, we stopped and picked Harry up from work to hang out with our friends at the Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens in Humble.

The gardens were amazing and it was a butterfly and honey bees haven.

This is bamboo, I did not really pay attention to how beautiful it is till I got home and started looking at these...

Our tour guide was my friends Dad who has worked there for several years.

It is nice to have friends with fringe benefits! (no pun intened here SP!)

Little monkey here loved it especially after we let him out of the backpack to play a bit...

but he enjoyed his snuggle time on Daddy too

It was a beautiful day and much more enjoyable than folding laundry...that is on my to-do list for tomorrow....

***And a special welcome to the world for little Miss. R and Miss. I, our family is growing more girls!!!***

Bathtime

2009-11-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

Little one here is teething again, not feeling or sleeping so well these days. You would never know it by these photos though. Jonah like most babies I would guess loves to play in the water. Today we added lots of bubbles.

We clean that mirror almost every day, you can see why!

they taste good too!

and a little Mommy Paparazzi, this was funny he was clapping his hands and dancing for me in the tub...can you see him do a little shimmy?

Have an awesome weekend!

Love.My.Daddy

2009-11-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

Spotted

2009-11-03T18:57:00.000-08:00

Our room is "off limits" but sometimes I catch the boys sneeking in our bed. This was so sweet I had to take their picture before I kicked them out!

Someone stop me please!

2009-11-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

they are boys...at Halloween, what can I say?

For every photo you see there are 20 plus more that you don't. I will try to restrain myself

BOO!!

2009-10-31T14:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Pooped Pirates

2009-10-31T06:58:00.000-07:00

Our Halloween Carnival was last night...the boys had so much fun. Harry and I worked the booths and I did not have time to get pictures of the boys. They fell asleep in the car and did not even wake up when we got home so we just put them in bed...pirate face still intact, well almost.

AAArrrrr....Logan

Snoring Pirate Isaac..

and even our smallest buccaneer...

Happy Halloween!

Jonah Harrison - 10 months Big

2009-10-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that in only two months Jonah will be a year, why can't they stay little longer? I will miss him like this so much.

This is the cradle that my dad made. He actually made two of them almost six years ago for the twins. Jonah has long grown out of his cradle but we still had this one in our bedroom, I could not bring myself to put it away, something I should have done months ago. It is time however to put it back in the attic. I wanted to remember him in this so I convienced Harry to haul it out to a field behind our neighborhood so I could capture him in it. Nostalgia sinks in and I don't know if I will ever get them out again for my own children or if they will wait for my grandchildren one day. They are beautiful pieces of furniture and will be a wonderful heirloom.

But more than the cradle is what it holds, my heart. I love this little baby so much. I wondered when I got pregnant with him if I could ever love someone as much as I loved Isaac and Logan. I can, I really can.

Jonah gets around chasing after his brothers, barking like a dog, playing peak-a-boo every chance he gets. Happiness is what he is all about. Jonah is a happy loving little baby.

I could not decide which picture I loved the best. I like them all, in fact I would love to print one of these up really big for his room. Which one do you think?

BFF

2009-10-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

I have always been blessed my whole life to have amazing friends. Many friends fit into our lives in various different times when we need them. I am so happy to say that I have a handful of amazing women in my life (and one amazing man in particular). Some I am related to and others I thank God he blessed me with their friendship because my life would not be complete without them.

and if you are really, really lucky like I am you will be gifted with an amazing forever friend...a definite Best Friend Forever.

This is my BFF Amy,

Right now, I know she freaking out that I am posting this. (Isn't she beautiful?!?) She is not one to take the spotlight, ever. She is an amazing supporter of her friends and family. Amy has always been there for me throughout my life. In fact I joke that we were friends before I was ever born. My mom ran a daycare in our home, Amy was one of the children that my mom cared for while she was pregnant with me. Our families became very close...so close in fact that our moms decided since they did not have a sister of their own they would adopt each other as sisters. I grew up thinking Amy was my cousin!

We vacationed together as kids..

and really bonded together as teenagers, we were always having sleepovers, sharing clothes, giving each other makeovers and we always seemed to find something to giggle about.

That is the best, laughing with Amy...and everything in my world is right again.

We have been there for each other in good times and in bad. She probably knows me better than anyone else does and she still loves me anyway.

You are the most amazing friend I could ever have hoped for.

I am glad you have always been and will be in my life, I love you Amy!

Great Pumpkins

2009-10-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

Lots and lots of great pumpkins! We finally got to visit the local pumpkin patch after school today. The boys wanted to pick up one for their Uncle David's birthday present today. Here are a few of my little pumpkins...

Isaac had more fun running around, over, around, under...I think he was happy to be out of school

Logan's choice for a great pumpkin

Little J was not too sure what to think...or do with a pumpkin but we bought him this little one anyway!

Wonder if they will sell all of these before Halloween. This was just one of about 50 pallets of different size pumpkins they had for sale

Happy Fall Everyone

Trick or Treat?

2009-10-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

Definitely a TREAT!

Welcome Fall...it's about time!

2009-10-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

The weather here in Houston is FINALLY not 95 degrees with 100% humidity and we are all beyond thankfull. We spent the day at Brazos Bend State park with friends yesterday...lots of pictures of that to come. I wish I had more time during the day to get them all posted sooner. So many pictures...so little time.

I wanted to share some from Friday of Jonah in the yard...

Peek-A....

Boo!

Check out his new pirate shoes for Halloween. (he was sitting in his little swing here) He loves wearing shoes.

And to a wonderful little girl in our life...Happy 3rd Birthday! Wish we were there to celebrate with you!!!

Smile for a Tuesday...

2009-10-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

Special Delivery

2009-10-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

Why aren't all delivery men this flippin' cute?

I got to spend a little time yesterday with my great friends and capture this years Halloween costumes

They were complete with little props too!

We stepped outside to get a couple at the front door and it started to thunder and rain on us...Check out his reaction to the thunder! TOO FUNNY!

I love this picture, I was going for a more abstract dreamy look here...

HANDSOME!

Belt Testing

2009-10-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

On their way....many, many more to go!

one of the things they get tested on is if they can stand perfectly still for 30 seconds...not so easy for some kids. The boys did great, I think they forgot that they were suppose to be quiet while other kids were being tested here...

They got to see a demo from one of their instructors...he is one of their heros. Can't you see why?

Isaac with his instructors

and Logan with his. Check out that cool yellow stripe on their belts!

Halloween Costume Sneek Peek

2009-10-05T19:49:00.001-07:00

Ofcourse the real test comes in how much candy they actually bring in!

(check out Logan's boots...the're on the wrong feet!

AAAAAGGGGGGRRRRRRRR! (that is his improv hook!)

Fair Continued...

2009-10-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

Well Harry was not the only one who had fun at the fair this year...so I had to come back and share some of our other moments of this hot Texas day...

Who knew it would cost four people almost $20.00 to ride on just one ride!

So...we told them to really enjoy it...thankfully they were a little nervous about most of the rides and the carney's made them run a way.

my little funny face got to ride in his stroller

Jonah Harrison - 9 Months Big

2009-10-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

I'm late I know, it's been a long week...Daddy is out of town and I realized I could never make it as a single Mom. I really don't know how they do it, they definately deserve a ton of my respect.

Little man is now 9 months, here is what that means exactly...

he likes to eat anything...and everything. Especially dirt. aaaccckk
I bought him bubbles and he got to see them for the first time...I don't know why I waited so long, he loved them

3. He can clap, wave and throw up his arms when we tell him how big he is...

4. He is always smiling, laughing and in a happy mood

5. Check out those teeth! All four of them!
6. Watching his big brothers is his favorite past time. He was watching them run through the sprinkler the other day and he got a little wet...check out that face!

7. Jonah loves his toys...just like his brothers.

8. He sleeps all night...9pm to 6am here in his bed...We have no complaints!

9. Naps are definately a must, he comes to me when he is ready and I lay him down...then he sleeps. I have no idea how this is working out so well

10. He started giving kisses the other night...once he figured it out he gave me like 10 in a row...

11. 17.6 lbs, tall and a big head...skinny, tall and smart...and SUCH a good little baby.

Fair Sneek Peek

2009-09-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

Parade Day

2009-09-25T20:33:00.001-07:00

Today was our annual Fort Bend County Parade to kick off the week long fair. This has been a long standing tradition for...ummmm well a long time.

The boy's school participated and the twins had an opportunity to ride in the Noah's Ark float along with...none other than large stuffed animals.

They were very excited, so much so that they almost forgot to go to sleep last night but they finally passed out.

Logan decided that he would very much NOT like to ride in a big float because...well he just has never done anything like that before and wasn't too sure about it. So he watched with his Monkey George from the side with the rest of us...

I think the lack of sleep had something to do with it. He was not too excited even when the monster trucks drove by.

Can you find Isaac on the float? He is helping his hippo wave to the people...

Apparently Isaac decided he was pretty tired too from his lack of sleep that he took a nap on the float durring the parade

Jonah had a friend come with us, she was most impressed with her little flag...

as was the little man himself, he loved the parade...

We were able to find some of the boy's friends from school there too...Logan finally decided to stand up for the motorcycles...

Tomorrow is the fair, I told them if they don't go to sleep we're not going. They are sound asleep dreaming of cotton candy and bumper cars!

Babies Playday

2009-09-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

This is for you my dear friend who keeps me laughing...I love our little babies together, they crack me up too. I can only imagine what they are thinking here...

We took our little ones to the Zoo...oh shhhh! It is a secret. If Logan or Isaac found out they would be devistated since we went while they were in school!

They spent less time looking at the animals and more time eating the straps on their strollers..

Here is our little friend watching Jonah slobber all over

I'm so happy you had a baby, I would be sad if you kept on cycling without me :)

ok big shock here, I actually handed off my camera to get a photo with Jonah...he really does look like me huh!?!

Thanks for coming to play...

Slow down growing up little one...it is happening way too fast for your Mommy too!

Ten on Tuesday

2009-09-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

1. Boys are getting better...thank God

2. Jonah has a runny nose too and had a bad cough in the middle of the night but he was able to get some relief and finally fall asleep, and so did I. He felt miserable yesterday though, even eating a "cookie" we could not get the little man to smile much.

3. we had our last weekend of summer pool party at my sisters yesterday. Well if you go by the calendar down here it is the last weekend of the summer but we will actually have days in the 90's for a couple more weeks I'm sure. We defiantly are ready for some cooler weather down here. The water was very cold from the rain the night before.

4. Isaac is a mad man in the water jumping in. He is not afraid, so that is a bit scary to Harry and I.

5. Logan just squirms alot and loves his goggles...

6. This was as far as Jonah (and Harry)went..

7. The boys played legos most of the weekend, Harry got caught up in it too. I went to take a 15 minute rest and asked that he wake me up...two hours went by...I had a great nap with no 15 minute wake up call.

8. Our hot water heater went out. We actually had to boil water to take a bath...it was very "Little House on The Prarie"

9. I have to share this with you. It is simply amazing

10. What is even more amazing is that Fr. John Riccardo has a blog here on his blog are over 200 different talks, homilys and even notes you can download on specific talks he gives. He is one of the most amazing Priest's I have ever heard...you can listen for free. I can't wait to hear them all. If you take a listen, let me know which ones you heard and what you think!

Have a great week!

something is in the air

2009-09-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

finally the weather is changing and all too soon again to get sick. It never fails Every time the weather changes someone starts coughing. This time it is Logan. We finally had allergy tests run on him yesterday and it was not good, every tree and grass was a high positive for him. Animals are bad too and we even tested for hamsters since they decided that would be a great pet...sorry little dudes..no go. He has been coughing for about a week but it finally got the best of him today, woke up with a fever and is taking a day off from school. I think it is time to start the boys on allergy shots now so we can get them off all the medications they are on. Three day weekend ahead, rainy forecast. We definately need the rain...thank God for the rain!

Jonah Harrison - 8 Months Big

2009-08-29T17:55:00.001-07:00

This is going by entirely too fast for me...why can't they slow "growing up" down??

Some of my favorite (and not so favorite) things about little Jonah at 8 months...

the back of his head, see his hair and that little duck tail? I could kiss it like 100 times a day.
he could make rasberries all day long
Has 3 teeth, grew them in like 2 weeks it seems...we're finally back to sleeping through the night
used those new chompers this week to try eating a bug...aaaccckkkkk!!! (he spit it out thankfully)
besides bugs and anything he can put in his mouth he does like eating
he loves it when anyone puts on glasses or sunglasses, he just cracks up
dances when music comes on
he will grab a blanket and lay his head down, snuggle up and say.."aaahhhhhhhhhh"
crawls everywhere and is cruzing...speaking of cruzing...

we traded in his bouncer seat and swing for a new car...he thinks he is pretty cool stuf in his new car...if you don't push it fast enough he will try to make it go on his own.

this is his girlfriend, she is a Dr....he has high standards :)

for Jonahs 8th month birthday we headed over to Meme's (my Mom's) neighborhood for a little trip to the park to feed the ducks and a little picnic breakfast.

he wasn't too sure about those hungry birds, he kept checking to see where I was

among the ducks and turtles was this little dude...

we played a little peak-a-boo...

he loves the park now, especially the swings, he is such a big boy...I'm pretty sure he believes he is just as big as his brothers

he has amazing brothers,

and a pretty cool Meme too

this was his expression when we sat him down in the grass

it was a great day to be 8 months, 5, or any age above...love you family

5 days strong Kindergarten

2009-08-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

Having Kindergarteners can make you feel old. HOW did they grow up so fast? Overnight they went from this

to this

my funny little men, you tell them to smile and they give you a silly smirk. The first day of school went great, as did the next 3. The boys love their teachers, they are in different classes this year and it is working out great. They miss each other but are doing well.

my little Logan...who is not so little anymore told his teacher she looked like his Grandma which is a pretty big compliment coming from him.

Isaac loves all his friends in his class, his same running buddies as last year. They are going to have a blast

And as for the little man and myself, we stay busy at home. Reading, playing, bath time, music time and ofcourse nap time which he seems to take a little longer one now that the house is SO quiet. And no, he is not trying to keep up with the trend to wear your pants low here. Jonah is tall and thin like his brothers. His pants hardly stay up.

Is it time to pick the boys up from school yet??????

I miss them.

Thunder Bolts and Lightning

2009-08-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

Very very frightning indeed. Not the best idea to walk outside in the middle of a lightning storm with your metal tripod but I did it anyway. I took seven shots, this was the last one. It pretty much scared me back into the house since it was right above my head, I have never seen lightning so close before but the really cool thing is that I actually caught it! Bad location on my front porch...oh well better planning next time.

Camera Fun with Light Painting

2009-08-15T16:47:00.000-07:00

Well it is all camera fun to me. I love my camera...moment of silence for the love of my camera.............ok.

Now I guess it is really also the love of light. When I started taking photos I really started to notice the most important thing about photography...Light.

How it falls, how bright it is, how dim it is.

so the other night durring my 2am photo shoot with Harry's jeep I was playing with light...a flash light

SS 12, f 4.5, 250 ISO, 17 MM

I set my camera on my tripod (this won't work without one) and set a long shutter speed and I "painted" the edge of the jeep with the flashlight only.

I am actually in this picture but because I was running as fast as I could and no light was actually shining on me, I don't appear in the exposure.

This works really cool with colored LED lights too the camera just soaks up the light.

SS 21, f2.8, 250 ISO, 17MM

the next night Harry tried his hand at a little light painting too...can you see his feet in three different places spelling his name? Every thing that has light falling on it will illuminate.

SS 21, f2.8, 250 ISO, 17MM

abstract or flying ghost?

SS 21, f2.8, 250 ISO, 17MM

a car ofcourse, nothing in our house is complete without something with wheels..

So go grab your camera, tripod and a flash light and get creative! I would love to see what you come up with, I'll even post your photos if you wish. Happy Shooting!

Sock Monkeys, Fire extinguishers & roses

2009-08-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

....have nothing in common unless your celebrating someone's birthday!

We celebrated my dear friend Carla's birthday yesterday at my home with a little birthday lunch...

I pulled out my Great-Grandmother's pink flower china and added a little zebra print to the mix for a little sass. I'm sure my Great Grandmother would think it rocked her china as well.

And just because you get older doesn't mean you have to act your age. So the girls and I jumped into my improv photo booth for a few birthday shots. We laughed our butts off coming up with different things to do, like spooning, throwing confetti, keeping the fire department on call for the candles and monkey's on our backs.

Happy Birthday my friend, and thanks for always being there for me! love you!

for the love of the jeep..

2009-08-09T00:16:00.000-07:00

and my love for Harry

thanks for all your help today

it was yet another, perfectly, wonderful, crazy day

here is a little gift for you from me, ok it is almost 2:30 AM time to put the camera away :)

((fyi....no this is NOT Photoshopped)) however if you would like to know how it is done just leave a comment and I'll fill you in!

Smash Cake Part II

2009-08-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

Do you think it would be acceptable to do this for myself for my next birthday?

Kidding

ok...I'm not kidding but I will spare you the blog post on it

Little D your growing up entirely too fast...

you are such a cool little dude and I'm so glad were friends.

Sneek Peek - 1 Year old...

2009-08-06T21:10:00.000-07:00

so cute, so fun, so many more to come...

Albuquerque Part II

2009-08-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

So what is the first thing you think of when I say New Mexico?

Indians?

Desert?

Mountains?

Ocean life? Yep, me too.

ok not really but we took an afternoon to visit the local aquarium.

Jonah was looking out of whales...

what a great smile!

This is my father-in-law feeding the fish.

just kidding

My niece, a funny, sweet, princess loving, very smart little girl. Everytime Grandpa got lost she reminded him that he needed his map.

She loved getting her picture taken too. It was no problem getting her to pose for me.

but she especially loved sticking her tounge out at me then running over to see the results of her funny face on the review screen on my camera...

my boys miss their cousins terribly, they talk about them everyday.

This is my other sweet little niece, she was not as impressed with my camera. Guess it doesn't compete when Grandma is around

Land of Enchantment...

2009-08-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

New Mexico that is, here are a few photos from our trip last weekend, at the top of Sandia Peak. Harry was too excited when we went to rent a car and they had non other but a four door white Jeep almost like our Jeep at home. I guess there really is no other way to climb a mountain by car other than in a Jeep with the top down. Word to the wise (which I was not) wear sunscreen, lots of it too.

This spot was so cool but it REALLY freaked me out, I just knew one of my kids was going to slip and fall, there were no guard rails to save you...still freaks me out.

and our family photo on the mountain..

Time for a swing...

2009-08-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

At the big park that is, Jonah has a swing that Grandma and Grandpa bought for him several months ago. However since he is bigger now, we decided to take him for his first trip to the park for his 7 month "birthday"

Daddy pushed, Jonah laughed.

he is getting so big so fast...

Jonah Harrison - 7 Months

2009-07-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

ok everyone say it with me, "He is SUCH a GOOD baby!"...yep still a true statement
Crawling, crawling, crawling
loves to put his brothers toys in his mouth...sorry I & L, your worse nightmare came true
raspberries are now a household noise and a way to communicate that brings on a ton of laughs
this photo is how he usually looks, laughing all the time.
took his first airplane ride this past weekend, flew like a champ.
finally enjoys food, especially yogurt
discovered the wheels on a car today, he was playing with one of the twins toy cars and just sat there spinning the wheel and looking at it very intently...great another one of those kids!
sleeps great, plays great, eats great
This is going by WAY too fast for me. I wish parenting came with pause buttons, and "instant replay" and sometimes even a volume button...but it doesn't. Every moment is fleeting however we're enjoying every minute of it!

Summer nights = Family Baseball Game

2009-07-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

My sweet nephew all the way from Las Vegas is in town. Funny, charming, handsome are just a few of the words to describe him....

We decided to get the family together to play a little ball. Half of the guys wore flip flops, no one could hardly pitch, and not many of us wanted to run the bases, but we had some pretty good hitters!

My boys had a blast and did not want to go home after playing for two hours, guess we need to look into putting them in little league in the spring.

We are always thankful for the times we get to be with family. Thanks for a great night guys, we had a blast!

Bedtime Stories

2009-07-23T05:40:00.000-07:00

Now it's midnight little one, time to go to sleep!

Wedding Ideas

2009-07-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

This is too funny not to share...If you know my neice, this would be something SHE would do at her wedding...this has been floating around on Facebook.

Learning

2009-07-18T21:30:00.001-07:00

Trying lots of new stuff today. This was my first attempt at studio lighting, set this up right in my family room!

I joined a photography club on facebook and I suggested the first meet-up around the corner from us at the rail road tracks where I took photos of Grandma and Grandpa. It rain on us, but we had a blast, if you look very closely you can see the rain drops falling here

And here is one of my new friends, Ms. J whom is a talented professional photographer, I had a great time learning, talking, shooting, posing in the rain with an umbrella (probably not the smartest thing). It was great to talk to all these people and although I have never met any of them prior I felt like I knew some of them for years! Can't wait till we do this again. Hopefully not in the rain...

summer heat

2009-07-16T06:54:00.001-07:00

Texas summers are miserable...especially in the south. My car thermometer has not dropped below 103 in over a month. Humidity is no friend of mine...or my naturally curly hair. By the time I get the kids packed up in the car to go somewhere I am sweating so bad I could use another shower. A breeze would be nice, anything other than the stagnant humid heat that lives just beyond my front door...can't tell I detest the weather here can you?

However, after about 7:30pm it cools off to a nice 98 degrees making it somewhat tolerable to head out.

We grilled the other night, while the boys played in the yard. (Polenta, Spicy Turkey Sausage and Bell Peppers)

Slip n slides are a great way to cool off and water the brown spots in your yard at the same time!

Logan has taken up rolling himself up in his t-shirt to roll around in the yard like a ball...

Commissioned but not for hire...

2009-07-14T17:44:00.000-07:00

Isaac and Logan are all about making pictures for anyone and everyone. It is their way to give a gift of themselves. They put a lot of thought into what they make, usually some form of transportation drawn in your favorite color. For my birthday I asked them to create a masterpiece for our house...

And here is the finished product displayed on our toy room wall, it's pretty cool if you ask me!

and because he is not painting yet, here is a little "Jonah Art"

Heather - 29 Years....

2009-07-10T03:05:00.000-07:00

...give or take.

So in honor of my special lady on her special day a special blog all about Heather.

Heather was born in Houston on July 10, 19 somethin. Here she is about Jonah's age, cute runs in the family

Fast forward to the 90's, here's Heather's rock star senior picture. This one will probably cost me an night on the couch, but I like it.

Fast forward again to '00, Heather decides to sign up for the gruelling fall season of church league flag football and meets up with the monster from the Midwest, the galloping goofball, me.

Luckily for me she stuck with me longer than she did with football! This was a truly awesome day. Seems like just yesterday, but if that's the case then last night was a wild one!

Fast forward to now, I did manage to sneak the camera away from Heather on the 4th and ended up with a good picture of her - which is only surprising due to my photography skills, I am learning by proxy though

Here's what we know about Heather:

After 7.5 years of being married to me I love her more than the day we got married, and amazingly she still keeps me around.
She's an awesome mother to our 3 crazy boys, if you want to know more about this then read the next 1,000 posts or so
She's a crazy good photographer, again read on
She's going through bicycle withdrawal although photography keeps her mostly distracted, once it cools off that'll change
She hates the heat in Texas (who doesn't!) even though she's lived here 90+% of her life
She loves Jeep rides through the forest...oh wait that's me but she'd come along if she can bring her camera and bicycle
She has more creativity than I can keep up with
She's a great friend, not just to me either
She's has truly a generous spirit

Here's a little video we put together - Happy Birthday Heather, we love you

Fine Print - All photos and video were not edited, taken, approved or reviewed by Heather Grilliot Photography.

***UPDATED to add our Godson***

From Happy Birthday Heather & Harry

Jonah Harrison - 6 months big

2009-07-09T12:45:00.001-07:00

This is long over due but I managed to find a little time to post about Jonah 1/2 a year old....

Finally sitting up on his own! He had been sitting up when we would prop him up but he is now sitting himself up. I love going into his room after his nap and finding his little head poking up over the crib, I can't see his mouth but I can tell he is smiling...then the squeel follows.

Super hugable, super sweet, such a good baby. Haven't heard that before have you?

Loves eating solids finally, some of his favorites are mashed up avacado's, banannas, carrots and baby yogurt. I am trying to make all his baby food I think we will start on more green food next week.

Definately enjoys riding on Daddy's shoulders, he cracks up while smacking the top of Harry's head. Still thinks his brothers are pretty cool too, he is so funny the way he laughs at them. Has not got into too much trouble eating the boy's toys, which was a big concern for Logan.

He has the crawling thing almost down, he rocks back and fourth on all fours and is reaching out with one hand but just has not put lets and arms into motion...just yet.

Sleeping through the night still but sleeps with me for an hour or two in the morning since he wakes up to eat around 6, it is still nice to have him to snuggle with.

Love my family

2009-07-07T23:20:00.000-07:00

Summer is nuts and our days are crazy...do you know how hard it is to keep two 5 year olds entertained all day long? Grilliot day camp is coming along but it doesn't seem like enough. Days are spent making up games, playing Thomas the train, monster truck ralley's with library books propped up (you gotta have something for the trucks to jump off of!) yes we read the books too. They will probably go through a reem of printer paper before the summer is up making drawings to hang on the wall or to give to each other mostly. We are reading a chapter of Charlotte's Web every night before bed. Being that it is so terribly hot here we only really go outside to sweat it out to drive to or from TaeKwondo, or in the evenings when it finally cools down to a nice steamy 95 degrees. I took these photos on Fathers Day evening.

but I love each and every one of my boys, Isaac's silliness and charismatic charm..

Logan's tenderness and unbelieveable compassion...

Jonah for his peaceful disposition, happy smile and little giggle. And of course Harry's patience and never-ending respect for me.

Our family is priceless, irreplaceable and is the gift that God gave to Harry and I, for that I am thankful for everyday. It is chalked full of temper tantrums, graham crackers, skinned knees, laughing, slow moving when we need to be somewhere fast, fruit snacks, Band-Aids, spilled milk, tickles, missing shoes, lots of laundry, hugs, tears and family prayers at the end of the day. I tell Harry almost every day...I love my crazy life...and I do, I really do.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

Today...was a good day, I was able to spend it with my family. We were all happy and we were together. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to be with them today, on our Independence Day. I believe that in a way Mark brought us together. Small blessings are coming from our family's tragedy and for those blessings, big and small I am thankful. I am also thankful to live in this country. I told everyone today that there is no where in the world I would have rather been today than in the company of my family. Thank you all for a great day. I love each and everyone of you.

Harry took this last night, there were others where we were actually looking at the camera...however I thought this captured us the best, the way we are.

And because I did not post pictures of Jonah for his 6th month birthday I am adding these two...

Happy 4th to all my family and friends!

Mark David Newcomb

2009-07-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

My brother Mark's funeral was today. It was sad and beautiful all at the same time. We celebrated his last mass with him and he had a beautiful Catholic burial. It is never easy to say goodbye to your loved ones, especially your siblings. I had to say goodbye to my oldest brother Michael in 1997. I love my family very much. I know I don't talk much about them here, but I will. I was able to spend the day with the rest of my 3 brothers, Kevin, Kelly and Chris and my sister Andrea. I will talk more about each of them soon. For now, I thought I would share a little about Mark...

This is the day we met (smile) Mark was 15 years older than me so I did not really grow up in the house with him...I don't remember him being at home when I was younger but I know he was around non the less. Mark always called me "Sis" the funny thing is...all week long I have heard him call me that in my mind.

Mark was always a gentle person, very kind and quiet but a total goof ball, he loved to laugh and he was such a tease all the time. He loved to give me a hard time, but I gave it right back.

This is one of my favorite pictures of him. Everyone says he looks like one of the Beatles.

Mark had a hard life, he was a good person. Sometimes the struggles of life got the best of him but deep down he was a good guy. He lived a simple life and never really wanted much. He always said he wanted to have a little piece of land with a pond on it so he could go fishing anytime he wanted. I hope he found this in heaven.

Speaking of heaven I know he is there or at least on his way. This little boy is my nephew Brian who passed away two years ago July 9th. While going through photos of Mark this happened to be on the last page of the album. This speaks volumes to me, it says that Mark is with Brian and that he is at peace.

I put together this video to share my brother with all of you and for my family to remember our brother. I always told Mark he reminded me of Forest Gump, it was also one of his favorite movies. It was only appropriate that I use some of the music from the move here. Thank you so much for all the comments, e-mails, phone calls, cards and flowers that were sent. It really means alot to me.

Mark from Heather Grilliot on Vimeo.

Good Friends and Happy Birthdays

2009-07-01T13:25:00.001-07:00

We celebrated a big day with some great friends of ours this past Saturday. Little N turned 4, he is handsome and hilarious! He is pretty lucky too, only 4 year old I know who gets a Caddie for his birthday.

I love this picture, little brother D was so sweet with his Grandmother

and these are for the birthday boy, if you know him then you would understand...

cake face

amazing what you two started, your family is so beautiful, thank you for letting us be apart of your day!

2009-06-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

I will have more pictures soon.

My brother Mark passed away today, please pray for him and my family.

Personality Plus

2009-06-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

We had dinner with my Godson and his parents tonight, little E is a bouncing, bubbly, happy little man! It took him no time after dinner to get ready to have my camera in his face...

It is so hot here these days that it seems the only time to go outside is in the evening, but it was still hot. If I did not have my camera in my hands I more than likely would have joined in. Why can't adults run and play in the water like little people?

maybe we would be afraid of the looks we would get for something like this...but how cute is he?!!

E's Daddy is a Harley Man, so is E!

Thanks for the fun tonight guys!!

Cousins...

2009-06-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

These are my sweet, beautiful, little nieces. They are graceful and tough at the same time. Little L here could run circles around the twins, she could chase them both down, tackle them and pin them down by sitting on them BOTH. Isaac and Logan loved every minute of it...

Little K cracked me up sticking out her tounge most of the time, I did manage to catch her pretty little smile...

We can't wait to see you guys next month!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

fathers day from Heather Grilliot on Vimeo.

"Daddy, I love you and your the best Dad ever, ever, ever, I love you." - Isaac
"Daddy, I love you every day and I think you are the best Dad I really do!" - Logan
"ahhhh squeeellllll, phhaaatttttt." - Jonah

Houston 5-O

2009-06-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

Remember this little guy? Well he is now six months, sitting up and contemplating joining his Daddy as an HPD Officer...

Look at these eyes! So not fair that little boys get great lashes when so many girls pay big bucks for those kind of batting beauties! WHAT a cutie-patootie!

Seniors Rock the Farm

2009-06-18T21:09:00.001-07:00

At least this one did, everyone was surprised that I took Harry's beautiful cousin to the "part's yard" at his family's farm to get some portraits...she is gorgeous in any location but how cool that at her own family farm and the fields she has helped harvest in the past become a photography setting for her. One year left of high school then she is off to college..

This is one of my favorites...

maybe this is my favorite too...

I liked this in black and white...what do you think?

"K" I had so much fun with you thanks for your easy beautiful smile...the rest are coming in the mail to you!!

One more for "G" Family

2009-06-18T05:48:00.000-07:00

...depending on your internet speed you may have to let it play through one time then go back and watch it the second time...Enjoy!

Gfamilyvideo from Heather Grilliot on Vimeo.

Happy for rainy days...

2009-06-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

So I had the great honor to photograph some friends of ours on our vacation. We did not however think this was going to happen since we woke up in Wichita on Friday morning to a ban of thunder storms but we were able to dodge the rain drops and the lighting was perfect!

Harry had the honor of knowing this couple in college and I have had the great pleasure to get to know them and their beautiful little girls over the years...

This was my favorite family shot...if all family's posed this pefect this naturally then I should have no problem in the future, what a great looking bunch!

Love just pours out of their skin for each other, it is so inspiring to see a faimly like this, they are very centered, God loving and they just devour all the details of life. I want to be like them one day! G family thank you so much for letting be be a part of your morning and giving me the opportunity to photograph and get to know the four of you better!

Definately not in Kansas anymore...

2009-06-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

Phew! Over two thousand miles, too many fast food joints to mention, all sorts of weather, happy but overly tired twin boys and a happy bouncing yet sometimes screaming baby. We made it to and from Kansas on our annual visit....although technically we did not go last year or the year before due to pregnancy and sick kids. We had a week chalked full of cousins, friends, Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles and a partridge in a pear tree...ok, wrong time of the year but I did get to see some cool owls~ I think my photo total came out to about 1800 photos in all, but I did have the great opportunity to do two different shoots which brought that tally up. The best way for me to share is to give you all a little every day. I am still editing but have got a good chunk of it done already.

We stopped on the way up to the farm for this shot (whats another 30 minutes to 17 hours straight through?) This was a windmill farm in some little town in Oklahoma. The sun was setting and it started to rain on me but I really could care less, I knew on the way up I wanted to stop here. We were however being watched by a state trooper who ended up following us to the state border, just to make sure these Texan's would not start trouble I guess.

We packed for summer, shorts, sandals, its June you know. Nobody told us it would be 47 degrees when we arrived in Syaracuse. Harry came with me early on Monday morning to get some shots of different stuff around the farm, we froze. No complaints from me though, it was 104 upon our return to Houston, You Kansan's have NO idea how lucky you are...oh and if you ever complain about your humidity again I will insist you come down to check out ours so you won't mistaken beautiful weather for the steam bath we live in.

More cows, cows are afraid of me, they did not like my camera either. I tried to explain that it was really cool and could take amazing pictures. They turned and just walked away. Cows are rude. I did think it was funny how these two cows were hanging out, especially since their tag number sequence was in order!

This is Harry's Grandparents, I love to think of how two people falling in love so long ago could create such a huge family that continues to grow, within one year there will be seven babies born, how many great grandchildren does that make now? I pretty much lost count at three.

Speaking of great grandchildren, here is Logan on Grandpa's tractor...

and Jonah in the tire of the same tractor...

I was able to talk Harry's uncle into bringing a tractor around so that he could have a photo with his grandkids, this was taken in Harry's parents front yard...no way that could fit in my front yard, I think the tractor is bigger than our house!

I have lots more to come and some neat previews for those of you that are patiently waiting from our little mini sessions...I can't wait to show you!!!

Close to 1500

2009-06-12T04:39:00.000-07:00

Yup I have taken almost 1500 photos this week. What is wrong with me?!!?!?!?! Here is just a sneek peek of some little babies. I will work on posting when I'm done shooting! Lots more to see and do! Great family, great friends, tons of cousins and lots of laughs!