I'm a Hero......

........in my son's eyes!! What an amazing thing to know! He invited me to a Hero's Celebration at his school yesterday afternoon where he and his classmates gave out awards and certificates to the people in their lives they view as heros. Some of the students honored their grandparents, their older sisters, their twin brothers and most honored both parents. Cameron explained that he didn't want Jean to feel like he had to get the time off work...but I think he was feeling a bit guilty he didn't ask us both to attend. It was so sweet! Mrs. Poulin....you're a fabulous teacher - just ask Cam, he'll tell you so!

He read this about me:

My hero makes me happy, and I love her a lot.

She helps me with math homework and she buys me school supplies when
I need them. She lets me play with my friends on the days when I have
football or hockey and she gets me winter clothes to keep me warm. She
gives me medicine when I am sick and takes really good care of me. She
lets me stay up until 7:30 and watch TV. She is kind and always nice to
me. I think she is the best mom in the world, that's why she is my hero.

I love you mom!

I know he loves me too - I feel it in his hugs! I know the others love me and their hugs are thoughtful and warm....but when Cam puts his arms around me, its like he melts into me in a special kind of way. For sure, he's "my boy" and I hope he always hugs me like that.

We have had rain the last few days and though its dreary, the temperatures are not bone chilling so I manage to get through the days without complaining. I saw these bright spots in the corner of my back lawn and went to check them out....though they are dying off, it was a delight to see the sunny faces against the crispy brown landscape that surrounds them.

Enjoy the day!

~kel~

When people talk...I listen.

Whether its my relatives (my mom) or people in the grocery store isle...they share their advice about rearing children...."enjoy it, it goes so quickly"...I listen to them! I try to stay focused on my job as a mom soaking in the little things I learn every day in this life with my kids. The silly things Marleigh says that I just want to run for paper and pen to write down but I know it wont sound the same coming from me.....its the sound of her voice, the tone that she uses and the quirky way she pronounces things that make my heart melt. The reproductions just aren't the same.

I was picking up my house yesterday while the baby napped (will I always call her that?) and as I returned the boys sweatshirts to their room, Makenna's sneakers to her room and Marleigh's everything back to where it belongs, I soaked it in....knowing that the day would come when I wouldn't be picking up those sweet little black shoes..........or Curious George (who every time I see him, I think of how we were shopping with Diane and Marleigh convinced her she needed a Curious George of her own).........or the crowns that find their way to the top of her locks each day. I'll miss it all....I know I will....people tell me so.

Instead of cleaning....I grabbed my camera and photographed them for memory's sake.

Enjoy!

~kel~

I want to be a princess II!

Now that the chat about the vacation is over, my senseless rambiling continues.....

I think my life is pretty great....besides a home that is too small for all the bodies that live here, there's nothing I would change! Even my small home doesn't bother me that much because most days everyone is gone (except Marleigh and me). It's easy to clean and forces me to purge the junk that I might otherwise be inclined to keep "just in case". This sweet little house is a big part of my life...both past and present. There's a song that talks of how love grows best in little houses and I believe that sharing one bathroom can bring a family closer....the kids can't fight without me hearing the details and the mudslinging....and phone conversations are everyone's business around here! As we watch the housing market change, my yearning for a bigger home gets stronger.....but my head keeps telling me just a few more years here and its paid for and we will have colleges to finance then.

Yesterday, after school, the kids and I ventured out to take our Christmas card photo. I know what I want but its just not happening. I may have to go with one I already have...the stress shows in these! The shorter days are so hard to deal with too! I hate that its dark nearly an hour after they come home from school. I had their clothes ready go to (nothing fancy, I wanted them to look like they do every day so just stain-free shirts and jeans), Branden's shirt was too small, Cameron's pants were too short, Makenna was caught up in the drama of it all and just cried and Marleigh bucked the idea of changing out of her tutu. Is it worth it.....really??? Maybe a snowman or a wreath will adorn the front of my card this year!

I want a life like Marleigh's! Not a care in the world.....she wakes up....goes directly to the dress-up box to find a princess dress and crown to wear...

Last night I asked her to hang up her denim jacket and while the TV distracted her, I got my camera.....oooh to be so carefree!

Enjoy!

~kel~

The BEST last day!

The last full day of our vacation was the BEST day! We decided to go back to the Magic Kingdom again as there was still so much we hadn't seen yet. We weren't rushed....we took our time and we moseyed through the park. The boys were already there.....grabbin' thrills of their own and we were going to meet up with them. This was the night the older kids would be trick-or-treating at Mickey's Not-so-Scary Halloween. I knew it was going to be an early night for Marleigh so we decided to spend the day there until it was time to get her back for bed.

When we arrived at the park, we saw Snow White just there on the right. The girls were thrilled to see her as our first stop in the park. Someone just asked Marleigh if she liked Disney...her reply was "I saw Snow White!" I think when things are relaxed, they are more enjoyable and thus more memorable.

If you're thinking of going to Disney....mid October is a great time to go...and the Magic Kingdom on a Tuesday is a VERY good day to go! Not much crowding during the week! We got to really see the details of the buildings down Main Street!

I don't care if the shrubs are fake....they are still so cool! :)

As we were wandering the streets, we actually happened upon this show at the castle. We saw the people gathering so we joined them knowing something good was to come! It was hot standing in the sun but seeing all the characters and princesses together was excellent. The kindness of strangers fell upon us that day when we stood next to a woman who was pushing a big carriage. She offered for Makenna to stand right next to it so she could have a good view of the show. As Kenna was watching, a tall woman walked right up and stood in front of her. The kind stranger told the woman she was blocking Makenna's view and this was a show for the children and she needed to move to the back! Kenna and I thanked her.

Sleeping Beauty......I STILL want to be her! Though I don't remember it specifically, I'm sure there was a day when I was little when I wanted to be sleeping beauty! At this point, I'd just take her name....but look a this life....sleeping all day in a beautiful pink gown and being awoken by a handsome prince....ahhh, that's the life for me!! No....I quite like my life as it is with my own handsome prince!

Here she is close up (cropped in from photo above).

So after today I will resume my regular nonsense posts about my kids and my ho-hum life. The shorter days have limited my shoot times to weekends and most of them are filled with sessions this month.

Enjoy

~kel~

Back to the vacation!

I only have one more vacation day to post after this one ..... the trip is going by much slower this way! Those who are tired of my vacation story are all saying: "Thank goodness its almost over - bring on the complaining about the snow again!"

I found a Disney font that I'd forgotten I had....yippie! I've got to get my book started so I can have all kinds of fun looking through it again!

Marleigh has a pocket book addiction (already). She likes little purses with lots of bling. We didn't bring one on vacation with us but I found one in a store for cheap (they were discontinuing them so I lucked out)...but....once you have the purse, you need "stuff" for it. Mom took her into a little store and got her a tinkerbell cell phone and we put a little lipstick in there for her too. She was so funny walking around with that lipstick all around her mouth. When I finished taking the kids photos with the characters, she ran to get her phone and took photos of them too. She was constantly taking our pictures on the buses and in the parks....people would stop and giggle at us all posing for her fake camera.....I liked telling people "its because we all look a lot like tinkerbell!" (the photo on the inside of the phone). Her make-pretend is so awesome....today she is an ice skater! Yesterday we tried to find a blue Cinderella dress like Makenna's in Marleigh's size but the Christmas Tree Shop was sold out of them so she settled for a cute little pink skater outfit. She's half dressed and it makes me chilly to look at her, but she's happy twirling and dancing!!

I thought I'd spare seeing the same photos repeated and did these in a collage because I wanted to show how cozy Marleigh was with all of the characters! She just snuggled right in for that photo and had no problem with shyness.....I'm so thankful for that - I hear such sad stories (and we saw a few too) about kids who are afraid of the characters. I think the only thing Marleigh disliked about Disney was how loud the shows were. She would sit with her ears covered. If you are going to Disney with little ones, consider purchasing ear plugs before going.....the shows are spectacular but loud!
Here's my photo of the Tree of Life....cause you know I'm all about the artistic side of this (carvings) and I'm drawn to the things with "meaning".....I know....I'm so DEEP! I was so glad this shot came out so well - I am able to crop in close to see more detail than I ever could from where I was standing.
We went on that back-breaking safari ride with an awesome guide who drove like a madman and made it so much fun for the boys! It was bumpy and sometimes scary - the rickety bridge was meant to scare us and when I looked back over it from the last seat on the bus, it was definately rickety and scary! Its the same ride that a lady I talked to who had lost her camera on...five days into her trip! I felt so bad for her! I was happy to get home and see that I got some descent photos anyway....through all the bumping and bruising going on. Got this one of a lion laying on a rock...I named her Nala from the Lion King movie. I called her but she wouldn't look at me.

I got this clear one of the giraffe - we must have slowed down a bit here because its fairly sharp without much blur! I love the giraffes...maybe because they are so uncommon....maybe because they are tall and thin...something I'll NEVER be!

The boys and Jean did the Everest ride and got shirts to prove it! Okay...so the shirts were on the clearance rack too - they were being discontinued because they had new designs coming in (the nice boy from India shared that with me - I tried to keep him talking because it was interesting to listen to his accent).

The day ended with a dip in the pool and PB&J sandwiches in bed.

AHHHHH Vacation!!!!!!

Enjoy

~kel~

Fall in New England

Yesterday....no blog entry because I had plans to meet this sweet young man and his parents just down the coast a bit. Eleni and Kevin are friends with Jackie and her sisters. They passed my name on to her and she called to book this shoot a few months ago...I'm so tickled she did! We met at a beach I'd never been to and I was loving all the elements it had to offer a photographer! It was chilly...40 degrees...but Eleni dressed her little man for the temps and I think the photos came out sweet! Good job mom! She got him to laugh for this one.Lovin the M&M snack.....

They brought a kite!!! I got a few father and son treasures! When we stood in the cove of a small hill, it guarded us from the wind but just above the hill, the winds were strong enough for the kite to fly...lucky us....a beautiful sunny day!

Eleni, thanks for calling me.....it was a treat meeting you and your men! I'll be in touch!! Jackie, Jane and Julie, thanks so much for passing on my name....I love you guys!!!

This morning as I type this, the vacuum cleaner is running! Strange....because nobody runs the vacuum but ME....unless I ask and I hadn't!! Branden came in to kiss me goodbye so I asked him what was happening in the other room (I wasn't going to take a chance on checking it out myself, they'd see me coming, drop everything, I'd be vacuuming instead of blogging...I couldn't take a chance!)...he said "Cam is vacuuming the floor (with a "brownoser" grin). It truly is a small miracle when my children "see" a mess! There's hope for them yet!

Christmas Sale: Canvas prints are 20% off for a limited time. They make excellent Christmas gifts for the "hard-to-buy-for" in-laws! :)

Enjoy!

~kel~

Welcome November!

Well....I thought I'd be nice by welcoming in the new month but truthfully I don't want it to be November.....I'd like to skip right on through to the end of April, please!?!

I forgot to say Happy Halloween yesterday! I know some don't recognize the holiday and celebrate the harvest season instead so Happy Harvest to those folks too!


We do participate in Halloween....always have. In my sweet little town, the businesses on Main Street open their doors to the children early 3-5:00 PM so they can get good and pumped with sweets early enough that when bedtime (7:00 PM) rolls around, they are officially crashing from the high. Its really nice though because the day is still warm enough from the sun....you can see the oncoming faces and for someone like me who is a total social butterfly.....we get to visit with those we normally only seen in passing.

Here is a photo of the whole clan...that Joker on the end is Branden's friend Johan...they always team up for this holiday. In this photo, you can see how big Branden should be based on his peers. He says he's the smallest in his grade and Cam seems to be almost passing him in size. The doc assures us that its normal and he will catch up. Bran isn't bothered by it.....yet. He's pretty athletic and keeps up just fine with the bigger kids....and he's a whip on skates! This was the first year Makenna was scary! She borrowed Cameron's inmate costume and was tickled with it.

I took the kids downtown and in about one hour, they had visited every storefront and had a good start on filling the goodie bags. The politicians took advantage of the daylight hours and shook hands with the adults and offered the kids to "choose" their treats......here's Marleigh taking full advantage of the fact that they were in a bucket on the ground and she could grab her own....while the other kids patiently waited. (love the full skirt - it went completely straight up in the air when she bent over).We went back to Branden's friend's house (he lives on Main St.) and we had some pizza to line our stomachs. We hit the night life on the next street over....they have an awesome haunted house that they tone down for the little kids and kick up for the bigger ones. It was our first time doing this with the kids. Summer Street was amazing.....a party on the entire street! The people in these beautiful grand homes really get into the spirit of the season! The whole family gets dressed up and stand on their big porches handing out candy. Their homes are decorated amazing and the whole community is walking the streets with the kids. I can't wait for next year! I forgot to bring my camera along on this part of our venture.....I kicked myself the entire time! It was a great night!


Wanna meet my new boyfriend?? He's a great conversationalist!And.....he has a smile that warms my heart!

I visited with my friend Jackie yesterday - her baby is already two months old!! I got my fix of baby lovin...feeding.....burping....and.....snuggling him! Jackie, thanks for sharing your little man with me...he's soooo sweet!

Enjoy!
~kel~