Artistic or just creepy?

While I was shooting a mini session a couple weeks back, we came across a dead bird.  Poor bird.  But we were at an art campus and apparently someone felt the need to give this bird a chaulk outline.  I couldn't help it.  As morbid as it felt, I still had to snap a couple photos.  Was someone trying to be funny?  Or perhaps make a statement as to how the bird died?  We will never know.  And now you get to wonder along with me.

Rest in Peace, birdie.

A day at the lake

A couple weekends ago we decided to "get out of Dodge".  We decided to check Butcher Jones' Beach at Saguaro Lake.  We packed our lunch and headed out.  It was so much fun.  Jason and I sat on the beach under the shade of the pop-up canopy while the boys played in the water.  Logan and Ryan had a blast. 

 Logan found a lake plant of some sort and had to show me.  He collected quite the treasure while we were there.

Hanging with Daddy

The water was shallow for quite a way out.  Perfect for the kids.

Ryan ran around squirting everyone with his little water pistol.  Two year olds should not have firearms.  Even if they are plastic and filled with water.

The view from our little area.

"What's up, Doc?"

Logan's preschool planted a garden at earlier this year.  They are now getting to see the fruits (or veggies) of their labor. 

Of course, Ryan had to join in, too. 

Splash pad season has begun

It's early May so the splash pads are running but the water is still cold.  The boys and I met up with our favorite playmates for some splashin' fun.  They looked so cute all bundled and lined up sitting in the sun to warm up. 

 Making silly faces

Happy summer!

Surprise at T-ball practice

This morning the Red Dragons had t-ball practice.  Their awesome coaches had arranged for a surprise visit from the Red Sox' former pitcher Bruce Hurst.  He was really nice- brought autographed photos for everyone.  The kids (ages 4-6) didn't quite realize how cool this was until we explained that he played BASEBALL when he went to work.  They thought that would be a fun job. 

There are only two more games until the season is over.  Logan seems to enjoy t-ball but often says the games are boring.  Not a lot of action in the t-ball league, I guess.

Another good example of the best camera is the one you have with you.  Mine was at home.  Of course.  But Jason had his IPhone.  Again.

Twenty Two

So I've been accused of slacking with this blog.  What can I say?  Guilty as charged.  But it's because I am not slacking in other areas.  Jason and I are working on my new website.  Well, when he's in town- which hasn't been very much lately.  He's been to 4 states in the last 3 weeks.  I had my first mini sessions on Saturday.  Five sessions in 3 1/2 hours.  It was exhausting but so much fun.  I will post some images from that day when I get the editing done.  I also shot the Gluten Free Expo in Scottsdale last weekend.  I'm still editing those photos.  I've been running and/or getting to the gym most days.  Who would have thought I would want to excercise that much?  Not me, that's for sure.  But I feel great and have so much more energy than I used to.  It's awesome.  Anyway, that's what I've been up to recently.

This session was a lot of fun.  The weather cooperated by providing just enough cloud cover to diffuse the sun in the middle of the day to give us some decent lighting.  There were 22 people total.  Several live out of state so we had a limited time frame to shoot this family reunion. The large group was a good challenge but everyone was a good sport.

Easter fun

A nasty cold ran through our house last week.  Well, it was more like a slow, scenic tour than a run.  Logan ended up with an ear infection and missed two days of school.  Ryan gets extra moody when he's sick.  Oh joy.  By Thursday, I was feeling it, too.  Did I mention that I had choosen the same week to potty train Ryan?  Yeah, it was crazy.  But it worked out just fine.  I didn't end up with as many photos from Easter as I would have liked.  The cold just sapped my energy and my creativity.  The poor kids didn't even get an egg hunt at home.  They had to wait until we got to Aunt Sandy and Uncle Don's house.  Luckily, they had everything under control, as usual.

Easter with our extended family is always a lot of fun.  Uncle Don hosts an egg hunt for the adults.  He has numbers inside the eggs.  Later, he calls the numbers to give out prizes/gifts.  Then the trading starts.  This year we ended up with ear buds/headphones, a cookbook, a pack of nice pens, honey, 4 different flavors of popcorn seasoning, gourmet applesauce, a flashlight, Rachel Ray's hamburger seasoning in a grinder, 2 DVD's, 2 pairs of sunglasses, a key chain with a light, a 2G memory card and a jar of razzleberry jam.  I might have missed a thing or two.  (I probably would have taken a photo of everything if I had been feeling better.)  The kids just got plain, old candy in theirs.  I think we made out better than they did.  :)

Anyway, here are some photos from the kids' hunt.

Ryan loved this game.

Logan is one of the older kids so he found a lot of eggs.

Ryan loooves candy.  He was so excited when he found some in his eggs.

All the Arizona grandkids. 

There are two more in Califonia for a total of 11.  Eleven 5 years and under- makes for interesting family gatherings.  It is just like when I was little.  Cousins are so FUN!