Golden Family Moments

It was a golden afternoon. By the number of other photographers out that day, we had obviously picked a popular location in town. We managed to find a few spots of our own and let the fun begin. I love how Reno has pockets that make you feel completely transported to another place. It's not all sagebrush, look at those golden aspen trees! Thanks again Darian and Maurice, I had a blast spending an afternoon with you and your littles.

Watching siblings laugh and giggle together is one of my favorite parts of doing family sessions.

Sweet moments like this one melt me every time.

Could I have asked for a better looking crew? Seriously, you guys are gorgeous!

night time

This time of year I have to accept the dark and the night that sets in earlier and earlier each evening. I count down the days to the winter solstice and the return of the light. I make myself get out for mid day walks. Having photo projects helps motivate me to seek the sun and the shifting rays of warmth.
Last night, however, I took in the evening and the lack of light.
I snuggled into it and it felt good.

Night time down town. 

Night time with my best friend.

Night time at home.

Shadow Play

The light right now is so lovely. 

 

The shadows long, the streaks from the fading sun are as soft and gentle as the temperature has been these past few weeks. 

 

I love how the light shifts with the seasons. I know that it is because of photography that I see these shifts more clearly.

 

Thank you again, photography, for making me more awake to this world and my surroundings.....

seasonal

My in-laws are stealthy dropping off bags and bags of apples at our door.

 

At least one zucchini has gone unseen in the garden, and is almost larger than my baby girl when it is found.

 

I need a sweatshirt for a good part of the morning. 

I do love this time of year, like a lot.
Even the name of this blog comes from a poem about it.
(Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower. Albert Camus).

And you, how are you settling into the new season?

I am ready

it's bare feet and sweat shirt weather. 

green grass and golden leaves.

hot coffee with honey and milk in the morning and ice water in the afternoon.

October, I think I am ready for you.

baking prep...

We are headed into that time of year (or rather, we are there already) when there is a happy cake almost every weekend in celebration of someones birthday in our family.

My favorite cake to mix up for the occasion? Smitten Kitchen's, Chocolate Stout Cake. It so yummy, moist and just the right sweet.

What's your go to birthday cake?

306:365, between seasons...

We are between seasons, both figuratively and literally.
It's a strange place to be. There are so many variables and decisions to make.
I cross my fingers (toes and eyes) and keep faith in our choices.

I remind myself that we are making the best ones we can with the information we have at the moment,
change is the only constant.

apples, apples, apples

most people have to go to a special place to harvest apples. well, I guess we do too. We just head over to grandma and grandpa's house and walk out the back door.

it was a bumper crop this season. this pile doesn't even scratch the surface of all the apples they got from the trees.

Just the weekend before I took these photos, my mom and mother in law peel well over 30lbs of these green beauties for apples sauce.

And today, Daddy-O is down at the home brew store crushing and juicing three, overflowing camp sized ice chests full of apples. He will add some magic and soon we will have hard cider to enjoy.

Aren't we lucky?

304:365, Woody and the Cow

Halloween was a BLAST this year. O was totally into it, and so was Fifi.
The idea for his costume came about one night like this...

Him: Mom, I want you to make me a Woody doll.
Me: Oh, I don't think I can do that.
Him, starting to cry: But I waaaaant you to make me a Woody Doll.
Me: I'm not sure I have a pattern to do that.
Lots of crying and tears.
In the middle of the night that he even woke up crying about it and asking me to make him a Woody Doll.
We got him to calm down and go back to sleep. A day or so later we were talking about it again and he says, "But Mom, you said you could make me a Woody vest. I want you to make ME a Woody doll."
It all clicked, what he had been asking was for me to make him into Woody for Halloween. Well, duh!

I love how his vocabulary is huge, but he doesn't always have the right articulation or word order for it to all make sense to anyone but him. It can be frustrating, but sure does make for a good story later.

For O's costume I pulled out the sewing machine, traced an existing vest and I made the vest. I had thrifted the cowboy shirt, and the hat a while back and found the boots and jeans at the store, which he can totally use this fall/winter, and stopped by the dollar store for a holster and star.
I was giddy as I pulled it all on him.

He looked adorable and was SO excited to be dressed up. Unlike last year, where we had to bribe him to just get into the two sizes too small pumpkin costume.

My girlfriend was nice enough to lend us a too small cow costume for Fifi and the theme was set.

We are lucky enough to live in a neighborhood where there are lots of trick-or-treaters and the neighbors are really excited to see the kids in costume. Almost all of the neighbors had 'special' treats for our kids. It was sweet, pun totally intended.

We did the loop around the cul-de-sac and called it good. The last thing we needed was a boat load of candy. That said, we still ended up with quite the bounty.
Let the sorting begin!


I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween, and a great Nevada Day!

286:365, on the roof top

Friday night. They colored and ate french fries, we shared nachos and a couple of beers.

the kids were both in bed before 8, it was a good ending to a very busy week.

On Saturday, Daddy-O let me sleep until 8:30. When I got up, I made waffles and muffins.

We ran to the store, ate lunch and took naps all afternoon. It was a perfect, lazy Saturday.

And, just what we needed since the girl is punky with the stomach flu....

Turkeys

I got pictures of these turkeys,

this pretty turkey,

and this turkey too.

But I some how managed to not take a picture of the actual bird. But trust me when I tell you that it was big and juicy (and done much faster than we had expected). We had a really nice thanksgiving. The kids had a blast running around together and the icebox cake that O helped me make was yummy, as always.

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out around the house, a little bit of thrifting and fabric shopping. Some time in the sewing room and some time brewing a new batch of beer. It was cold and a bit snowy, so we really just hunkered down and enjoyed one another. And isn't that what it is all about this time of year?

cup half full

I am more than half way through the gratitude project for this month. It really is a wonderful way to stop and take stock of those things I have, to focus on what I really am thankful for, especially as the holiday season and all that comes with it moves closer. Here is a peak of what I have been thankful for so far this month...

Gratitude

Yesterday, as we drove up the driveway to the "Farm" for a celebration of life (despite the sadness), I was grateful. Grateful for the woman we were celebrating. Grateful for the smell of the vineyards, the oak trees and the horses. I was grateful for all the memories that came flooding back to me even if I was only 2 or 3 years old when they were created.

But mostly, mostly, mostly, I was grateful for family that doesn't share blood but who shares life-

If you don't have family like that, you should finds some.

~I am participating in a gratitude photo project for the month of November. Everyday, finding something to be grateful for and about. Just a week into this project and I am finding that each day I can hardly sum up just one thing to be thankful for. My life is full and that is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

why I don't mind peer pressure

Most parents are probably not into the peer pressure gig. It means trouble most of the time, "If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you too"? sorta stuff. I am sure I will be there soon enough, asking that very (stoopid adult type question). But when you live in a house with an extremely stubborn two year old (and what two year old isn't?) the whole concept of "everyone else is doing it" works for me.

You see, if all the other kids aren't using a binky all day he won't either or if they fall asleep at nap time he probably will too. If the other kids are going in the potty, he wants to try it out and knuckle bump you when he does the deed. And last night, after a 3.day.in.a.row.no.nap.taking, diaper change induced, kicking, screaming, tear-fest I could use all the peer pressure I could get. Because, what mom and dad say at that point doesn't matter one single M&M bit. I was at the point of me telling Daddy-O, as we were trying to shove the poor kid's arm in his pumpkin sleeve, "We want to do this more than he does. Let's let it go until next year when he gets the whole thing a little more."

But, when O. saw his buddy from  down the street wearing her pretty fairy costume telling stories of getting chocolate by just knocking on doors, well he FINALLY decided it was okay to slip that pumpkin costume on and get down to business.



Thanks to a little peer pressure O 'got it' and he didn't let go of that sweet little tulle and wing wearing girl's hand all evening long. M was happy to drag our little guy around the block and show him the ropes. And our hearts melted about as fast as a hershy bar does in your hand.

It turned out to be a pretty sweet evening after all and our grouchy little pumpkin turned his frown upside down...(and got a little chocolate too!)

Pumpkin Patch Kids

We had big plans for O to be a knight in shining armor this Halloween. Yeah, we even found a helmet and a breast plate at the dollar store for him to wear and if you remember the Pebble I knit for him this summer, it was a perfect addition to the get-up since it looked like a tunic that a knight would wear underneath his armor. Of course he will have nothing to do with it, NOTHING. He keeps telling me that the helmet is for a horse. hrrmph.



But this morning I decided to try Fifi in one of the costumes we have for her (hand me downs rock) and slipped her into the pumpkin costume. I pulled out the other pumpkin suit that we have to see if it might still fit O. When he saw his little sister in her get up he quickly wanted to join the party. I am pretty sure I have the cutest jack-o-lanterns on the block...