I've had a great summer exploring in photography. I love playing with light and shadow.
Having fun at the park.
Charlie had a soccer camp this summer.
I noticed that in every action shot I took of him, he has a smile on his face.
Still shooting macro whenever I can.
Ice cream after Charlie's soccer camp.
The Black Tie Event. A couple weeks ago, Mark and I received an invitaition to a Black Tie Event. It was being held at my mom's house and we were told that babysitting was being provided at an off-site location. The day of the event, my mom came to Jessica's house to watch the four younger kids and Jessica, Chad, Mark and I headed for our special night. We were greeted by this sweetie ready to punch our tickets.
We were then led to the back deck for some appetizers. The girls read beautiful words to us explaining the purpose of the evening, which boiled down to 'relax and let us love you'.
It turned out that the girls had been working with my sister, Julie for weeks planning all the details of our evening which included a four course meal, dancing, games and letters of love. It was the sweetest thing.
The best part was seeing how happy it made them to be able to do something special for their parents.
I was so proud of them and grateful to my sister for teaching them the impact of serving others.
In other news, Taylor has signed up for her first official sport, softball. Practices start soon, but she's already started practicing at home.
The kids have done so well with swim lessons. It's honestly been one of the best parts of the summer.
We've been to the library several times this summer and participated in their summer reading program as well.
We haven't been to Kings Island as much as I would have liked but we have been there a few times.
I've taken some more back-to-school photos in preparation for my mini sessions. Can't believe we'll have four kids at the school this year!
This little guy is so ready for Kindergarten.
We went on another trip this summer. This time to Minnesota. This time on a plane.
Poor Charlie had to ride by himself on his very first plane ride.
He didn't complain a bit though.
I sat with this one and she was very good. Although she did figure out how to unbuckle her seatbelt within minutes.
We were very blessed to have a very uneventful day of travel.
After our 90 minute plane ride, we still had a 4 hour car ride to get to our destination. This was how we traveled.
I've got to say, I don't know why any family would choose an SUV over a mini-van. The kids were very good in these close quarters, but it did make me appreciate my minivan even more.
Finally, we arrived at our friend's lake house on Lake Six.
What followed was four days filled with fun, relaxation, adventure, old friends, and new friends.
The weather was a little too cool to swim comfortably, but we didn't let that stop us.
At least cool weather allowed us to appreciate our nightly fires.
A highlight for Mark and me was the reunion with his Colorado dog.
And I finally got to meet our friends', Andy and Heather's, son. He such a sweet heart and a miniature version of his daddy.
One of my favorite memories was throwing helicopters in the breeze with Charlie.
I left the jet skiing up to the Daddies.
I loved seeing Mark so relaxed and happy. This may be my favorite photo of the trip.
I also loved spending time with Andy and Heather. Mark lived with this duo once upon a time, and we spent some very fun days and nights together in Colorado. They truly are life long friends.
Taylor tried waterskiing for the first time. She got up once. Briefly. Unfortunately, the poor thing was freezing and unwilling to try more than three times. Still, doesn't she look good?
Charlie decided to give it a try as well.
He had less success.
Another favorite moment of mine was lying down with this angel for naps. She didn't have a crib to sleep in (and alternated sleeping with her big brother and big sister at night) so I brought her into my bed during the day for some much needed mid-day naps.
The kids were lucky enough to have children their ages staying right next door.
It was fun to see them running around together, digging for worms and playing games.
I managed two family photos on our trip. This was the first of the two.
Andy was very interested in photographing star trails so I did a little research and gave it a shot. This image was just a 10 second exposure with the ISO bumped up to 4500 so I could check my composition. I ended up liking the image quite a bit.
Here were the star trails. This is the path the night stars take in 22 minutes time.
We tried it once more with the camera aimed straight up.
This time we tried a 32 minute exposure.
This was our crew. Andy and Mark's college friend, Charlie and his wife joined us for one night. Charlie was stationed in Colorado Springs as well. I hadn't seen him in 6 years and was so grateful for the small window of time to reconnect and meet his amazing wife.
I think the kids really enjoyed fishing. It was ridiculously easy to catch a fish off of the boat's dock. We're talking a fish caught within 20 seconds of casting your line. Every. Single. Time. Perfect for an impatient 5 year old.
Our neighbor's were fishing for their dinner and ate well that night.
Taylor's favorite activity from the lake house was tubing.
This was not Morgan's favorite. Not one bit.
I got to sneak in a little Minnesota Macro.
Morgan turned three on our trip and celebrated by making cupcakes with her momma and sister.
I even let her lick the batter.
Much to my dismay, we left the lake house. Our vacation was not over yet. We spent two nights at Andy's mother's house in St. Paul.
She is a bit like my mom- born to be a grandparent.
I may have waited too long to get an Olson Family photo. Oh well, it's still adorable.
On our last day, we went to the Mall of America for some overstimulation.
Here's our other family photo from the trip. We met my dear friend, Erin, at the mall and had dinner at this entertaining place.
After one quick stop at the park, it was time to head to the airport.
This time I got to sit by this character on the plane.
It was Taylor's turn to sit alone, but she didn't appear to mind.
So that was our vacation. The following day, my little guy spiked a high fever and had sore muscles and joints. Morgan had a fever, too. Luckily, it was short lived. Still, it prolonged their separation from their cousins for a few extra days.
I managed to squeeze in a sisters only night with my two big sisters. We went to dinner and then bowling.
It is very rare to spend time with just the three of us, and I am so grateful we did.
When the kid finally saw each other after tens days, I was expecting a huge hug. Instead, they did this.
We then headed to the park.
I took the kids shopping during Morgan's nap so they could buy her a birthday gift (with their own money). They decided to make it challenging by hiding her gift and giving her clues to find it. (It was in the coat closet.)
Last Sunday, we threw Morgan's birthday party. It was a nice time spent with family and friends.
For days leading up to it, Taylor planned games for the party. I was extremely impressed with her creativity.
She even made our own goody bags using fancy letters that I'd never seen her use before.
I was thrilled with all the girls cooperated with her games.
The boys decided to play their own games.
Their were a total of 12 kids at her party.
After this photo she proceeded to take out the candle and take three big bites out of it before anyone noticed.
I was so proud of her for thanking everyone for her gifts and being generous with her hugs.
Phew. That was a lot of catching up. Seeing all those photos at once like that makes me even more aware of my blessings. I am so grateful to be creating such special memories with my family this summer. We have one more week until school starts. I am going to do my best to fill it with more of the same.
Finally, I leave you with two family photos taken for our church directory.
Thanks for reading my incredibly long post!
