Sleepless

At 3:30 am. At 4:00 am.

At 2 pm.

2:05 pm.

2:07 pm.

Last night was rough. Between Liv crying . . . and playing . . . and eating (really??) and Avery falling out of bed and finding her way into ours . . . and Guillermo barking at the cyotes roaming through our neighbourhood . . . few people got any sleep in our house.

Little Liv

Little Liv.

Such a bright light in a day of crazy kids. (Today was a PA day, fyi.)

But as she was feeding cereal to her little lamb, I couldn't help but smile and be thankful for my sweet little kids. Or at the very least, for being reminded how sweet they can be (as wild screams and thumps were heard above for most of the day.)

Cousins

Since I am SO behind on blogging these days . . . here is a snipet of what we did this summer!

We had my brother and his family come out to visit.

It was really fun to see them all (it had been over two years since they last visited) and it was neat to see Eve and Avery get along so famously.

Here are a couple of pictures I snapped of them trading secrets and having an afternoon slumber party!

Avery

Taking some pictures yesterday in our backyard.

Granted, the setting wasn't ideal, but the light looked nice, and it had been a while since I took some photos!

Also, trying out some new editing techniques . . . what do you think?

Reading Buddy

All my kids have been into reading. However, none have been quite as excited to hear the word, "book" as Liv is.

She can hardly contain herself and runs to grab one and hops into her reading chair. Often, Guillermo comes in to hear as well.

Lake Fairy

Timeless Family Photos

Well, it's that time of year that as photographers we are busy racking our brains and the web for inspiring new ideas for family photos.

Family photos can be stressful enough, hoping that everyone is in good spirits and that they will smile. It's a pity that clothing choices can add more strain to the already stressed parent. How do make sure that everyone is coordinated without being too matchy? Clothing that has enough interest without being busy or distracting for the real subjects. Trendy but not so much that the photo soon becomes dated? It is a delicate balance that gets further complicated by the addition of more and more family members.

Fear not.

I came across some inspiration for some family photos . . . in case any of you are stuck trying to find a coordinating wardrobe for your next photo. This photographer seemed to have avoided it all and made sure that clothing did not distract--or date--this family photo. Just an idea, for those of you who feel constricted in cotton! ;)

I can't wait to try this out in a session. Any volunteers? (Serioulsy, just kidding!)

Possessions

Sorry, I'm so very behind in blogging these days. Seems life doesn't ever let up for more than a minute.

But, in the few minutes I do have available I stumbled across this commercial and thought it was funny!

possessions

Check out all the other great commercials at kohler.com.

(They seriously have great marketers . . . these commercials make me want to slap down all my pennies, er, thousands if I had them, on their products.)

Extra-Cirricular Activities

For Mom.

Seriously. It is like a full-time job trying to figure out extra-cirricular activity schedules for 3-4 kids . . . and figure out which days of the week we will be eating on the run, which I will be entertaining 3 children while another does their thing . . .

You would have thought I had learned my lesson, bopping around at soccer all summer long.

But, we really feel it is important to keep our kids busy in things, and give them opportunities to learn new skills so they can discover what they are good at.

First up was securing swimming.

I wasn't crazy about the idea . . . swimming in the fall only to forget everything by spring or summer (because I am NOT the mom who takes kids swimming in winter!). But, the kids insisted and I figured that any time (but winter) is a good time to start learning how to swim properly. I asked around for swim school recommendations. There really aren't many out this way, but one happened to be 20 minutes away . . . not bad. The other mom told me how great it was and that she started lining up at 4 am for places.

4 am?? That's crazier than dealing with swim kids in winter!! I was so not going to do that. And, even at 9am (when it ACTUALLY opened for registration) I figured I'd wait a bit more and let the crowds die down. It was my first activity so I could afford to take what I could get.

I headed over at about 1 pm. Three people were still ahead of me and a rush of people came minutes after me. I talked to the owner and he said people were sleeping outside his house, in line, since midnight. Yes, MIDNIGHT.

And apparently it's not just the locals who are drawn in. People from townships and cities two, or three over were lining up.

We were given the choice of Tuesday nights at 7 pm or Friday night at 6 pm. It was a pretty easy choice. The rest of the week was filled with 30 minute classes . . . mostly all full.

I was pretty pleased though that we had a spot at this "great place" . . . until I had to hand over the check. No where on the flyers or the conversations with neighbours mentioned prices.

$750!!

I about died. I could just imagine the conversation I would have to have with Brad later.

However, if you figure that is for three kids to be taught by world class athletes (the owner medalled for South Africa, and his son swims internationally), from mid-September to mid-December . . . it kind of works out. Certainly, it is more expensive than the swim lessons as the rec centers we were used to. But then again, those lessons didn't teach my kids to even FLOAT in water after the 6 weeks were up.

Next up, gymnastics and soccer vs tennis . . .

Life's A Beach

Up in Cottage Country.

We just got back from a sun-filled week at my in-law's cottage with the entire family. Normally, we fit the entire clan in a mere 1200 sq ft . . . but this year a new cottage was built and we had two cottages to spread out in.


We had a fantastic time canoeing and kayaking, games on the beach, cliff jumping, playing on the lilly pad, exploring nearby islands.

And, while the adults relaxed on the beach, the kids spent endless hours finding sea creatures . . . and acting silly. In the evenings, we spent more time on the beach and in boats . . . and of course had campfires with S'mores!

At the Park

We were taking some shots of Jayden for his up-coming baptism . . . so I thought I'd snap a few of the other kids too.

Jackson . . . he's a tough one to catch on camera. So quick that boy is!

Avery . . . if you haven't had enough of her from the previous post, here is some more!

And little Liv. Poor thing. She had a fever of 104 that day! (Hence why I gave her the paci.) What a trooper . . . it was pretty hot out too.

Avery

It's been a while since I've really pulled out my camera.

Not that I haven't pulled it out. I have a fair amount of files that haven't even had a second look since being uploaded . . . but they have been more impromptu than planned. Therefore they are kind of a "what you get on the fly" with three kids, a dog in tow and one kid in your other arm.

But the other day I thought I'd take a few quick shots of Liv and Avery.

Here are some of Avery's.

What can I say about Avery these days . . . I think we once touted her as the angel child. Now . . . she might be bordering the devilish side of the heavens. She hasn't napped for ages, but still keeps up with the boys late at night. And, never one to miss out on parties, she seems to wake up with (or now, without) Liv through the nights. That leads to a cranky, whiny, shrieky girl.

If anyone has figured out how to combat this phase, please leave a detailed "how to" in the comments.

Fortunately, she still displays the fun, good natured kid we love . . . at least half of the time. She is very helpful when watching Liv. She is always trying to carry her places or enlist her for tea parties.

She has a new friend who moved in on the corner and they play at least once daily. If not more. This little girl will be in her class this fall so I have a feeling we will see even more of her, if that is even possible.

Her favourite toys these days are dolls (like shoes, can a girl REALLY have too many?), her kitchen set, and bubbles.

Avery is really excited to go to school in September and during the orientation day in June I had to pull her away kicking and screaming. As for me, I will have mixed feelings about her being off to school every other day. It will be nice on my ears to avoid the screeching, but I will miss my little Avery.

Fortunately, I still have Liv to keep me company.