Family series, Pt 4

And here's where I really struggle...the dreaded family shot!  Too stiff....

 
 Better...but I didn't do so well positioning people.  Some are almost hidden.  It's hard to get the kids to react to a remote shutter release and camera on tripod too...but at least we are all TOGETHER.  Another memory made.  It's a whole lot easier to shoot other people!  lol

So to loosen everyone up, we did this:



You'll notice that one rebel decided not to follow directions.  I love how A is looking at me like she's thinking, "Really?  Silly faces?  Are you sure?" 

I WAS going to say, "That's all folks..." but there are actually more family pics coming in the next few days. 

Family Series, Pt. 3...

Even the old folks had a go.  Bear in mind that the man after 2 or 3 shots is saying, "We're done".  lol

Family series, Pt 2

 These two were pretty easy too...

And adding the littles always complicates things.  But at almost 3 and almost 5, they were definitely more cooperative this year!

And yes, I'm going to post a LOT of family photos, because this is the easiest way for my mom to see them.  lol. 

Family series, Pt. 1...

We went out during Thanksgiving weekend to try to capture family photos for Christmas cards.  That has to be one of the biggest challenges I face as a photographer, especially since I try to get in some of them.  But this girl made it easy.  Click, click, click...and done.  That's a wrap!

In awe...

 

We're wishing you a Merry Christmas!

Twas the night before Christmas...

I just love the "feel" of this one...so sweet.

Oh Christmas Tree...

Our second year to attempt the Christmas tree/Jammy pics.  This had been a packed day, celebrating Hannah's birthday.  But it was one of those rare occasions when the kids were here after dark, so we went for it.   Jenny and I strung about 500 extra lights on the tree earlier since it is the only light source.  I just LOVE how these turned out.  More in the next couple of days.

Future farmers of America...

This was actually the girls' favorite part of the garden.  Planting plastic vegetables in sand.  We were fortunate enough to get there early and have this part of the garden to ourselves.  By the time we ate lunch, this spot was PACKED with kids.

There were tons of other interesting areas, but the girls were a little too young for some of the exhibits.  This spot was perfect for preschoolers.

The explorer...

I LOVE this shot!  And I'm pretty crazy about the girl in the polka dot coat too!

At the end of the tunnel...

 One of the best places for shots was at the end of the log tunnel...cutie pie.

 

And the tongue definitely helps.

Children's Garden...

While Jean was here, we visited the new children's garden at the Arboretum.  What a cool place!  We even got Bob to come along.

Cousins....

Original title, right?  lol.  We LOVED having my niece come to visit for a few days in November!  And I even talked her into a couple of pictures!  Love these girls!

Let her eat cake!

She and A have been calling each other Anna and Elsa from "Frozen" during their pretend play.  We're trying not to feed the princess obsession too much, so Olaf was a happy compromise.  She loved him!  Thanks to Kara's friend for making the cake and cupcakes.

Growing up fast!

Celebrating FIVE!

Love this girl!!!  Happy Birthday!

Graduation Day...

Well, it seems that I took a little sabbatical from blogging!  I've actually taken and processed pics since the last blog post, but just got busy and never posted.  Maybe I'll catch up later.  For now, I'll just start with mostly present news though.  It was graduation day for Mr. Monkey a few days ago.  We agreed he would only pose for pictures with H until she turned 5 and we are there.  More birthday pics to follow!  Monkey has been a good "yardstick" to measure H's growth.  He never changes.