JFP photo blog

The Voices in My Head

It's not every day you see that bumper sticker or this....

but this summer our neighborhood association hired some goats to come and mow the lawn (or the wild tall grasses on the too steep to mow hills).  So of course we had to go and find them....more than once....

"Hurry up, Henry" 

B is actually trying to push the big guy up the hill....that's some hard work!

Much easier if you just hold his hand.

Look, there they are....

This was the kids favorite goat...just for the spots.

I'm still working on cleaning up and organizing all my photos from the summer so you never know what fun I might find next...ooooh, I'm sure the suspense is killing you!

Happy Friday!

Reason 972

that I love this girl so darn much....

We were at the grocery store the other day, one of the cool days we've had lately.  I happened to be wearing jeans for the first time in a long time and perhaps they were a bit on the snug side...probably they shrunk or something, I'm just saying.  Anyway, she says to me in her sexiest voice

"Hey mom, you're wearing your foxy jeans today.  Raarr raarr!"  (Envision her with her kitten claws out and she's basically purring.)  Think maybe she's been hanging out with her dad too much lately?  She sure didn't get that one from me!

Just a little warning...I'm starting to get all wistful, what with school starting next week.  I will miss them all and even though the littlest miss will be at school less hours per day this year than last year, it will be Kindergarten.  The first big step.  I'm guessing you will be seeing a lot of my kiddos this week while I try to soak up every last minute with them. 

So I'm a big sap, but you knew that already.

Welcome baby!

Some fabulous new birth announcement choices....

 

there's a girly option of the above sample too...

 

 

and there's a boyish option for that one too...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the orange and the cute car!!  The girly version has a flower in the best rosey color.

Aren't these the cutest EVER?  and the best part is that there are coordinating mini books to go with!!  Can't wait to get some printed...

 

Beauty and the Beast

So a little more out of the ordinary stuff here.  It was so absolutely beautiful in Yellowstone that I really thought about trying to sneak out into one of the fabulous meadows, build myself a little shack and stay there forever.  Also, seriously considered learning how to paint.  I felt like my camera wasn't doing justice to the vastness of the open spaces and just the whole feeling of the place. I say you should all just go there and see for yourself.  Anyway, here are a few of my favorites...

It was kind of a hazy day and therefore you will not be seeing any photos of Old Faithful as the geyser almost completely blended in with the sky and it was super hard to tell what was water and what was clouds.  Oh well, it wasn't my favorite part of the day anyway.

Guess who wished he had his fly rod with him?

That's where my little shack should go...yes, please!

and there's the beast.

  I love bison.  They are so cool. I was bummed we didn't get to see any big herds of bison roaming through the park, but we got up close and personal with two of them wandering along the road.  This guy was actually kind of fed up with all the traffic and was snorting and grunting...don't want to run into him in a dark alley!  eek!

Ok, enough already with the nature photography.  Next week, back to our regularly scheduled programming with a few cute baby bumps...and then, first day of school photos!  Woohoo!  Enjoy your last few moments of summer vacation...we are planning one last "stay in our jammies and watch tv all day" days...truthfully we only had one other of those kind of days and it was the day after school got out.for summer vacation, so I guess we didn't do all that bad!

The Wild

***WARNING:  I just finished posting all the photos and this is a LONG one...I didn't even put them all in!***

So we are back from Montana and our lengthy car trip to Yellowstone...though I'm not complaining because my sister-in-law drove all the way from New York with 4 boys and a husband in her car!  Impressive!  Anyway, a good time was had by all and cousin joy abounded.  A few of my favorites...

You will note a few guest photographers in this post....

A bird, a plane, no, it's superman?  Thanks for being so obedient Aunt Trish!

Our little scientist.  She's got her clipboard and her check list.  Sadly, here she is checking off the elusive Canada Goose...get a few of those around here too so not as exciting as, say a moose would be.

Ever smelled a sulfur hot spring?  This was a pretty standard reaction for the day...

My fabulous nephews...loved these rocking chairs though I'm pretty sure they were done having their picture taken!

Do love this shot...just so manly.

All done hiking, thank you very much.

Ahhh, my sherpa has arrived!

Guess who loves her big cousins?  and she's not the only one...

Life is good when you are the only girls around and the big boys are way nicer to you than your own brother ever will be!

And finally, one last shot with me in it!  Thanks John!

 Pretty scenery shots still to come....

 

A Dainty Little Lady

I finally got to meet this young lady when she was 9 days old.  Now, I know that might seem pretty fresh to some of you, but I've been waiting for quite awhile for her appearance.  You can see her "before" shots here and her "after" shots right now!!  Here are just a few of my favorites...more to come!

 

Check out those blue eyes!  Just so you know they were open the whole time...she was not going to miss one minute of her supermodel debut!

Her adoring parents....

Snuggled with dad..

Notice her dainty, ladylike hands?  Well, I did get a shot of those same hands making a not-so-ladylike hand gesture, but this is a family blog, so you'll just have to imagine it!

 

Happy momma....

A little love from the new big brother.

And what is a newborn post without some little piggies???

Could she be any more daint and girly?  Enjoy!

 

A Little Out of the Ordinary

Henry is obsessed with classic cars.  We have been to a couple of car shows this summer and I have been promising him all along that I would post some of our photos.  We were quite the crew of photographers as I lent both Henry and Madelyn cameras.  We stopped a lot of traffic..and when I say that I just mean with the three of us standing in the middle of the street, no one could get past us!  Anyway, tons of amazingly restored cars and lots of fun....

My favorite...

 

Everything was so shiny, I had fun taking a bunch of reflection shots...

This next one is our new family photo...check the bumper for all of us, plus a straggler...

The kids favorite part of the car show....

My favorite part...

Be still my beating heart!  Love him with a camera!

and this is my favorite shot of his....

Love that he got all those tail ends....What an artistic genius he is!

 

One Lucky Girl

Yup, that's me...I'm one lucky girl.  It has been 15 years today that I have benn married to this guy.

He knows just how to make me laugh.  He's the best dad around.  He's handy and smart and artistic.  He's even been known to sit through "the Bachelorette" with me...he might even like it, just a little.  And as a true test of our relationship, we decided to pack up three kids and a dog and spend somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 hours in the car this week, camping our way toward Yellowstone and 100 degree weather...I'll be sure to let you know if we're still married when we come back.

Our official anniversary shot.  Photo credit belongs to our 8 year old...she's good, no?