Kid Cam

  My parents treated us all this past weekend by offereing to carry my little guys to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  Obviously, this was a treat for the boys....but it was also a treat for me and Bradley.  Having a kid free weekend is a super rare treat. Not that we sit around and wish to not have our own children...because we LOVE spending time with them....but it's a treat to get to do something as a married couple.  A married couple who is still madly in love, but has a hard time finding moments to squeeze in for ourselves. If you're a parent...you know what I'm getting at.

So anyway......as I gave the boys a kiss and wished them farewell on their adventure, I suggested that the boys use their IPOD cameras to snap a few photos of fun memories along the way.

I expected one of two things to happen....

1.  They would never once use the IPODs up to take a photo with.....or....

2.  They would take a million blurry pictures that didn't really even make sense.

I was completely proved wrong.

When the boys arrived home and told us all about the trip, Sawyer held out his IPOD to me.  He said,

"Oh, Mom.  I almost forgot.  I made you a slideshow of our trip. It has 17 pictures on it."

Really?

"Yes, Mam.  I figured 17 would be too many for you to use for your blog, but you can pick the ones you want.  Are you gonna use them for your blog?"

Wow!  My little 8 year old really knows his Mom!  And since he suggested it....I couldn't pass up the offer to include his photography in my blog.

Despite the fact that his IPOD takes poor quality photos, I thought he did a great job on the composition!  Here are a few pictures taken with Sawyer as the photographer.....

Sawyer couldn't take this one of himself standing in two states at the same time, so he handed the IPOD off and asked his Nana to take it for him.

Carter wasn't quite as successful in his photography skills, although I am happy with the 3 whole pictures he took.  I will share his entire album with you....I know you will be impressed.

I expected that if they used the IPODS to take photos, that I would see a load of ridiculous pictures.  Instead, I got a surprisingly nice collection of memories from their weekend.

Well done, lads.

Why Can't They Just Smile and Be Normal??

  I wanted to get some nice pictures of the boys for Christmas cards.  After a bit of a war, I convinced Sawyer to put on jeans instead of his favorite "slicky" pants, made Tucker change into a navy shirt, and encouraged Carter to take off his tie.  They boys were dressed somewhat coordinated.

  We stopped by a gorgeous waterfall near our house for the photo session that I promised would be short....if they all cooperated. 

But, instead of cooperation, I got this......

Two acceptable faces, and one....um.....not so much.

And then the roles reversed.

And then I got this lovely shot.....

I get Tucker talking out of the side of his mouth saying,

 "Smile normal, or we will be here all day."

And then Tucker took matters into his own hands, when his brothers didn't cooperate.

In the end, it was Tucker's strategy that worked.

After the heads were banged together, I got all 3 boys smiling at the same time.

Whatever works.

Unearthed Treasures

 If life had a rewind button, I can't think of many times that I would press it.  A few, but not too many.  Perhaps the time that I backed into the pole at TCBY.  Maybe I would press rewind just after I topped the hill and spotted the policeman when I was speeding.  I might would press it moments after I used my credit card for the first time.  I wouldn't change very many things about my life or my past.  Most things work out for the better in the long run.  I know for sure, that if I had a "do over" that I would go back and write more when the boys were smaller.  Unfortunately, life doesn't come with a remote control.  There is no rewind, pause, or fast forward button.  There is only play.  So, we are left to do the best we can from this point forward.  So, I write.  I wish I could remember everything from the boys toddler years, but I can't.  Finding these photos brought back some fun memories and are some of my most favorite pictures. 

Tucker learned to swim very early.  The summer he was 2, he swam like a fish.  I remember going to the pool and he would jump into the deep end totally fearlessly.  There were several attemped rescues for him, until people realized that he could swim. 

Everytime I see this little pouty face, I have to smile.  Carter was cold, even though it was like 100 degrees, and wanted to go back to the camper.  No one else was ready to leave the beach, so he sat.  And pouted.  And looked cute.

Bzzzzzz......I couldn't figure out what in the world the sound was.  I went to take a peek, turned the corner, and found Sawyer like this.  Brushing his teeth, buck naked, wearing Tucker's shoes.....on the wrong feet.

As a toddler, Carter would pitch a hissy fit wanting a lemon.  He also loved pickles.  He made this face every time.

 Sawyer had been standing in the surf, talking and playing.  I wanted to take his photo with the ocean in the background. Just as I was about to snap...he looked down.  Something about the surf going back into the ocean threw off his balance. He froze that way for a moment, trying to recover. I  feel guilty chuckling at my kids in distress, but this has always cracked me up.

This is one of those moments that is permanently etched into my brain.  This is the first time Tucker brought me flowers.  They were pulled from the flower bed, but his heart was in the right place.  To this day, it's my favorite bouquet ever.