a week (or so) in the life...

This is how my kids eat. I also only have to make one hard boiled egg to feed the both of them. (ps this is another diptych :):))Outtakes from our valentine card shoot. The homemade valentine cards are a product of getting inspired by Amy, and finding a free template over at shutter sisters all in the same week. If that's not meant to be, I don't know what is.A little project that I started that is now finished--a hat for Alex. He still loves it when I knit for him. I'm sure that one day soon it will be horribly embarrassing for him to wear something knit by his mother, but until then, I'm knitting feaverishly for him. A little Battleship (and a bit of cheating) to pass the time.Some pants I made for Lily. For some reason she's always low on pants. case in point.The trampoline finally got lowered into the landfill...er...hole in the backyard.Must be why all her pants are always dirty. That's what leftover fabric is for. For some reason I can't get that Charlie Brown song out of my head. Brett says this is his first time on a trampoline. He must be some sort of trampoline miracle savant. Peeringafter a bathsunset/moonrise.
over and out

I'm in love with diptychs...

What's a diptych, you might ask? Well, it's what we nerds call two pictures put together to tell a story. I've been stalking them on flickr for quite some time...there, I said it.

But I'm really really shy when it somes to relationships, so it took me a while to ask it out on a date. I'm so glad I finally did...




I had a great time. I think we'll be going out again.

ckreepeest storees By Alex

Alex loves to write stories on the computer. Usually they look like this...

kfmfjfrjdfrjuedidxzcjfugifdoergv ocfrmv ngjhgtjuhftrirfi1674869e0930rtjrjfthfjgjtyjgjfnvgjhgnbmvgmgvjvfvcng0khghjkhkjkgtjghyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyhjvjmnftghhgbfdcujed8GNGHTJJGGRGIHJKJJ,GBGNGGCNMJHGJHJD.LFLVB,N.JFJHJGKTRKYJUT&LKGNBVNMAN F HE MAN HFGFGBHYRTFFGTERWERTYER

But at some point this week the marriage between the spelling of words and those little letters he sees on the keyboard sparked a synapse in his brain, and words began to emerge.


GFFRGTRYTUERHFGVBCNDFHFRGTTVXGDBGDSEGDVGGDF63549876543111111111111111111111111111111163W53245521452345BGSBGCFHGFHDVDGHGFJDNCHNFCVNCHVNCNVNVNFNVN THE END P S DIL 8794651 FOR MOR CKREEPEEST STOREES BY ALEX

The phone number was mine, but I changed it before sending it out into the void. So if you call it, you won't actually get ckreepees storees. Not actually sure what you'll get, but good luck to you.

65 pounds and she pees like an elephant...more from our visit with Jade.

Photographing Jade proved to be quite a difficult task because she's almost black, so every time I tried to expose for her my shutter speed was really slow, and on top of that (and I can not overemphasize this) she is a puppy and never stops moving. It's deceiving because she's so big, and you'd think she'd act like a dog but ( and I can not overemphasize this) she doesn't. She's an enormous puppy...and all that that implies.

This is Buster contemplating the pros and cons of an altercation with Jade. By the end of the day Buster was done contemplating.

Just a little perspective.

I love this picture. She is so powerful it's a little scary.

Me and my new pal.

Jade with Mommas.

A little more perspective. She will double in size. for shizzle.

I would love to have her every day, however, Buster would not like to have her every day. I'm pretty sure he hates her for accentuating his small dog syndrome. Jade was very playful with him, but by the end of the day Buster wasn't playin'. I had to sit between them. So for Buster's sake we probably won't have her again, but oh how I love that beautiful, goofy girl!

Jade

1/21/2010, originally uploaded by bekalily.

Meet Jade. Jade is a five month old, 65 pound Great Dane. Jade is my new buddy.
(just so you don't think I've gone insane...I'm just babysitting. That's not to say I'm not insane. Just saying.)

sunrise after a stormy night.

1/19/2010 day 19, originally uploaded by bekalily.

I've been frustrated with photography lately. It seems like I'm not quite capturing, or conveying what it is I see. This has always been true to some extent because I am a fundamentally flawed person, but it's been more so lately. I think it just means I have more to learn and I need to probably be patient with that. Like every other skill in my life, if I don't let it unfold on it's own I usually make it worse for myself. So this is me being patient. See that? Patience.

Well, that was a ramble.
and ps Amy, this was the shot I was talking about. (click on the photo to see the whole thing)Really awesome in real life. I love living here :).

1/18/2010 day 18

1/18/2010 day 18, originally uploaded by bekalily.

watching Return of the Jedi...with varying levels of interest. (you have to click on the link to see Seth...sorry)

let's study this magnificent creature

This photo encompasses all there is to know about the Lily Species. Note the bandaids on two fingers, which if removed and examined would reveal no physical wounds, the pink, or otherwise known as beautiful straw, for which there could be no other color.
Now, let us examine the chocolate milk bubbles for which it is only a matter of time before they reach their apex above the rim of the glass. And then, of course, the fingers touching the beverage. It is quite rare to see a Lily without her phalanges in her drinking supply.
And the hair...oh yes this is remarkable. Anyone who is familiar with this particular species knows the signature "rat's nest" which one can just see sticking out at the back of the cranium. Yes, this is a truly classic representation of the lilus brackenus.

The rest of them

This is mostly for Megan. So here you go Megan. It's weird that Cru isn't in these. It's hard to imagine a time before any of our kids were born, but I believe I've represented each of your children circa Fall 2008.

This is a milestone moment in our family. A snapshot with Pooh...

Didn't even need to put in a coin...I love this age.

Our kids totally hijacked this shot...so hilarious. I kind of felt bad for this middle-aged man trying to get a picture with Eeyore, but he seemed to be able to laugh about it.

I remember I had to bump my iso all the way up for these next few shots so they're nice and grainy.

This is photographic evidence of Megan being a good mom.

I call it squishy legs.

For some reason I imagine this shot re-lived in about 20 years...and Seth is still wearing that shirt.

Big brothers can be so funny

Peek-a-boo

This just never got old.

Robot

Lily got a little worried on the carousel.

Worry that turned to panic. Don't worry, I took pictures.

Then it got to be sort of OK.

And after it was all over she couldn't wait to go back in. Typical Lily.

Trying to get a picture together.

This was the best I got.

Parade

Missing a shoe. Typical Lily.

Fell asleep on the way back...typical Lily.

It got bright...so we bought sunglasses. They still have these sunglasses, and they are beloved.

I don't remember what was so loud.

Words fail to describe how much I love this picture.

It seems like she slept a lot, but really she didn't. Mostly she squirmed around a lot and tried to get abducted. My only explanation for the multiple shots of Lily sleeping is that I finally had my hands free long enough to take a picture.

Then we went to Sea World. Also, I had short hair.

Waiting for shows to start is hard. One must keep oneself occupied.

OK, that's all I got. Now I'm ready to go back...my kids are totally at the magic age. They would both be really fun to take this year. Please no one tell them I just said that.

Peace out.