River {Portrait}

My little guy turned six in September. I did a little post about this over at the family blog. You can see that post here. So, here are a few shots of my not-so-little-guy. Growing like a weed, I tell you....

outdoor happenings. home edition.

who says you have to go far to have fun? who says you have to get in a vehicle and drive away to explore the world or at least a little part of it?

many times we just open up the front door and venture out onto our 1/4 of a mile long (half paved, half gravel) driveway and call it an adventure...it is really, lots to see and do.

the kids love this driveway. and that was one of the biggest things they missed about tn when we lived in gulf shores..lots of places to move about without so much traffic.

they love the driveway so much, in fact,  that they enjoy getting a head start down the driveway when we are heading out to run errands and such. they do this so "they can get their exercise and become really strong" (that's what they say, really). i also think they like it because it is all down hill and helps them go pretty fast. plus, it's just fun...and that's what being a kid is all about.

funny...the never want to go UP the driveway. it is somewhat steep. but, kids are bursting with energy...hmmmm...something doesn't add up. ;-) most of the time i can't seem to simmer down that energy (not that i would really want to, of course)...but, you know what i mean....if we could bottle up a kids energy we could make some major moolah. ;-) but...alas, they prefer to drive up the driveway. we will work on that. ;-)

just some random shots taken on multiple adventures close to our home...
one thing you should notice...notice how many "ouchies" lily manages to get on her hands...hmmm....

oh, and yes, rocky...those are your boxer shorts i was sportin' in that shot of my feet. haha. hey, they were there, convenient, comfy...and i have missed you. ;-)

have a beautiful, blessed day!
-kelly

catch and release...

while going through some photos for rocky, i came across this photo of river. this was taken back in august of 2010. this photo was taken by my mother-in-law i do believe. i also believe it was taken on a point and shoot camera. no fancy shmancy camera needed to catch this moment. ;-) though, i am curious how it would have turned out on, let's say, my dream camera, the canon eos 5d mark II, but that's just how my brain works. ;-)

taken at grandma and grandpa's pond.

anywho, i love this shot  for a couple reasons.  one reason is that it shows river's love for fishing. now, being we are veggies and do not eat meat (yes, not even fish)....he just catches and releases...
and reason #2, well...it's just a fun shot. perspective wise, it almost appears that the fish is the same size as river. river thinks that is pretty rad. ;-)

that's all i have time for today as far as a post goes. too much to do and not nearly enough time in the day.

happy day to you!!

-kelly

project 365 photos PLUS a little home video

hello!

i hope you all are having a great weekend!
ours has been good..weather not so good. rain, rain, chances of rain, more rain. yes, lots of rain. but, no complaints really because the area really did need rain.
so...the weather has postponed three photo shoots, and that isn't so good being that we are leaving gulf shores at the end of this month.
but....we have those shoots lined up and i am faithful that we will be able to get those done.

oh, and i just got all of the editing work done on the wedding we did earlier this month, and i am very happy with those. will share more after the bride and groom has a chance to look at them.

so...not sure if you have been following my photo project (project 365) on flickr. i have really been enjoying it and it really has been a great push to take photos (not that i need a push, as i am literally attached to my camera), but it has helped force me to look daily for those moments to capture. i am thrilled to think that at the end of the project i will have a nice collection of photos (yes, all 365 of them...oh, my math skills are beyond fantastic, huh?) that i can look back on and more or less see the past year via photos.

so this project, to me, is a collection of little glimpses of our lives, as well as a tool for visual progress and growth on my photography journey...

here are some recent project365 photos (in no particular order, but the first one posted, i'd have to say, is one of my most treasured thus far)...

sweet offspring

the flow of the fountain..

magnolia tree leaf

emerging from the water...

he's a fast one..

on the hunt and with a net...

she apparently has the pool time blues??

who said you have to be a kid to enjoy kiddie books? ;-)

all smiles..

and some music via the kids...



River and Lily sing 'Only a Boy Named David'...a song they learned from their grandma.

They LOVE this song, btw.

On to other news...River got a new haircut. While Rocky and I were trying to decide what the cut should be like...Rocky decided a mohawk was going to be it..so, though i wasn't so sure about the idea at first...i can honestly say that it is cute on him. 

as rocky said, "what better time to have a cut like that than when you are kid?" excellent point!

here's the new do':

and despite what his facial expression may show in these shots...he really does like the hawk. ;-)

karate chop kid? ;-)

so edgy...

what a fun haircut for a kid...

question:

ever considered getting a mohawk yourself? how about giving one to your child? why or why not? ;-) 

like i said earlier in the post...it is such a fun hairstyle for a kid...i mean, in river's case...he loves dinosaurs and this is a fun way he can have the "spikes" like one. 

and there really isn't a better time in his life to have a haircut like this (wise thought from my wise hubby).

plus...it's just hair. ;-)

he sports the spikes quite nicely. ;-)

anywhoo...

have a great week!!

-kelly

8th Wedding Anniversary, Lily turns 4, & More

Wow! These past two weeks have been so busy!! That's pretty much all I can say write to describe them. I am trying to catch my breath really...

Speaking of having to catch my breath...have I told you how much I love this man??

I do...and deeply. He really does take my breath away.  8 years ago on the 6th we were married. Wow, time flies when you are having fun!! Seems like just yesterday we were saying "I do" and hopping into the getaway truck to set off on our 3 week road trip to Canada. Oh what a fun time!

And just look at this cutie! I love him! Well, not only because he is adorable but, because he really is an incredible person, father, husband, friend, nerve-calmer (more on that awesome trait in a bit), forgiver of my faults, and encourages me to no end. I am blessed by God to have him in my life.

Curious about when/how we started dating? See this post here.

Thank you, Rocky for your love. Happy Anniversary!

So...about him being an incredible nerve-calmer...well, like I said things have really been crazy but in a good way. He really does help me calm my nerves...

Lots going on, but more on that when I have time for another post and more explanation.

I wanted to share with you some photos from a recent shoot Rocky and I did of a mother and daughter duo we just met through my friend, Amy...

Meet Blakely and Brynley:

This was such a fun shoot! Just thought I would share some of the cute shots we got. ;-) If you are interested you can see more photos from the shoot HERE.


In other news...
Miss Lily just celebrated her 4th birthday on the 7th! Yes, she almost did not have her own special day...but, she does. Our wedding anniversary is on the 6th. So, just barely. ;-)

I still can't get over the fact that our baby is four. She is growing up so fast. She will always be our baby girl, though. Happy birthday, Lily! Your mommy, daddy, and brother love you beyond words...

Here is a shot of Lily helping make her birthday cupcakes for the pool party...she loves to bake!! I think she inherited that from me...i am much more of a baker than a cook. Hopefully (for her future husband's sake) she turns out to be both cook and baker. ;-)



And here is our newly 4 year old in action "picking & collecting" blueberries at grandma and grandpa's house...

Blueberries do not stand a chance with Lily and River around...

Here's proof.

Oh, and here is another shot from the grandparent's house (the massive veggie garden)...

collecting some garden goodies...

So...i skipped a portion of time when the family came to see us in Gulf Shores to celebrate Lily's birthday..that will come in a post soon. The blueberry and garden picking photos came from when we took a lightning fast trip back to TN 4th of July day... a business trip for Rocky. Everyone else went to work on the garden and sauerkraut making...we then headed back to Gulf Shores the following day.

More to come (especially from Lily's birthday get together at Fort Morgan)...but, for now I must go clean.

Have a blessed weekend, Lovelies!!

-kelly

recent happenings..

first off...wow! it's been a while since my last post..just so busy. i am going to do my best to get you all caught up on our happenings since my last post.

well...the weekend before last we headed back to tn for father's day weekend. it was mainly a work trip, but we squeezed in some fun while we were there.

saturday we headed to hiwassee river for canoeing and tubing. we encountered thunderstorms while on the river complete with hail...we were very blessed to be able to make it off the river quickly before being pelted. Praise GOD!

here are some glimpses from the trip to tn...(which, unfortunately...does not include photos from the river adventure as that was a very wet trip and well...water and my camera do not mix).

a snooze on the way to tn.

one of tina's new kittens getting his bath. ;-)

gary and debi's (my in-laws) first tomato of the season. isn't it a beauty?

first cucumber of the season...and it is so cute!

the above photo is of my sister-in-law tina working on one of her beautiful ceramic creations. you can check out more of her work on her etsy shop, Xarine Creations. she is super talented!!

time at the duck pond

making father's day cards..

then this past week included another VBS for river...he had lots of fun learning about ways we can take care of God's creation through recycling, preventing pollution, leaning more about the animals God created and how our actions can put them in danger, etc.

here is a snapshot from VBS...

'the little zoo that could' brought in animals to help the kids learn more about them. here is one of the monkeys.

while river was at VBS, lily and i got to enjoy some time together..here, she is clearly getting tired of all the picture taking..oh, but i can't help myself. i mean..look at those gorgeous eyes!

also this week we had friends come to visit us from tn....our buddies, kent and his son daniel.
here are some photos from the activities which took place while they were here...

meet daniel.  ('beast')...a new term i learned from him. i will forever remind him i know this word. haha! he thinks it sounds funny when i say it because i'm not a kid. oh, that makes it even more fun to say around him.

oh my! i love this man!!

making pancakes...river supervising. ;-)

i also finished my homeschooling list (which includes the subjects as well as a materials list). you can find the subjects/curriculum list under the 'homeschool' page. i will be frequently adjusting this list (especially once we actually get started...so, you might want to check back often.

and then saturday fires broke out in gulf shores...what a terrible mess. when we were at the beach we saw this....

afterwards we drove around and snapped a couple more photos of the fire...
here is a news bit on the fire in case you didn't hear about it. gulf shores fire news story.
my friend amy reminded me that the trees being burned are the ones that had just started to fill in from being hit from hurricane ivan. how sad!





well, how's that for a catch-up post? ooh...remind me to keep up with my at-least-twice-a-week-posts so, i can keep the posts a bit lighter. ;-)

i hope you all are doing great and have a fantastic week!

love,
kelly