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.

Failed Family Photos

  I have had this little stack of photos lying by the computer waiting to have time to scan them in and share them with you. Tonight is the night.

  I found these photos and can remember when each one of them were taken.  At the moment the camera shutter opened and closed, the moment was chaotic and frustrating.  But as time passes, the chaotic and frustrating moments are strangely remembered as humorous.  The moment in time that once caused such utter irritation, later becomes a funny story to tell.  The moment becomes something you can laugh at with everyone that was involved.

  Here are some moments that were intended to be lovely family photos...

 ....but were turned into moments of chaos....

....and are remembered with moments of laughter.

It's good to know that as time passes, memories of difficult moments somehow seem less difficult.  It's good to know that these moments of tears are quickly turned to moments of laughter.  It's good to know that when a challenging situation arises, it will most likely pass and be forgotten.  It's good to know that although our family has moments of failure, we have many more moments of joy. 

It's good to know that the boys only had these moments a small portion of the time, or else I would have been forced to kick them to the curb.

My kids cry ugly

   If you saw my post from a couple of days ago, you will remember that I spent some time digging through old photos.  If you need to catch up on that story first, you can read it here.  While I thumbed through those old pictures, I got shocked!  I was shocked to realize that my kids are really ugly criers.

  Sometimes in the moment of Mommy bliss, your children look more beautiful than they actually are.  If you are a new Mommy.  Take my word for it.  Your newborn is not as pretty as you think they are.  Not trying to be mean.  Just honest.  Later, when you look back at their picture, you will see for yourself.  You can't see it until years later.....so you'll have to just believe me for now.

   So I found these pictures.  Pictures that, at the time they were taken, I somehow thought were cute.  And they are cute.  In their own little ugly way.  My kids cried with a wide open mouth and a red face.  They lacked adorable tears spilling down their cheeks.  And they wailed!  That part, I never thought was cute.

That face is as red as the tricycle he was riding.

This little girl here.....

She has a lovely little cry.  A pouty lip and precious little tears. 

This is not my child.  This little one is a friend of mine.  I took the picture.  That's as close as I came to a pretty crier.

This one is my kid. 

And these.

And this. 

Not cute.  No tears.  No pout.  Only wailing.

I have come to terms with the fact that my kids are ugly criers.  They have many other good qualities.  And they are very handsome.  I hope.  I will have to wait a couple of years and look back on the pictures to know for sure.