they were really tired

so, i've been super busy lately with a ton of weddings to shoot and edit. with all that work, the kids have had substantially more "Daddy time." everyone has been loving it. there's only one down side. Jason is so determined to pack fun into every second, that he commonly misses bedtime. and sometimes nap time. today, Avery reached her breaking point.

last day of soccer!

the soccer season came to a close. Anna saw a lot of improvement in her game. but the bench as still her favorite spot. it's always a party.

she definitely got more aggressive going after the ball. and really started to understand the game.

she may have had a little crush on coach Brian. she was always very willing to follow his instructions. maybe i should have Brian come over when it's time to clean up the toy room.

i love this shot of her guzzling water. she was really working hard out there.

and of course trophy time was the best. all the kids were so excited. win or lose, they all got trophies, so who cares? (Jason and i are a little anti everyone getting trophies, we look forward to the keeping score days. it builds character.) all in all, a terrific season. way to go Superheroes!

Easter weekend re-cap

our Easter festivities began with out traditional neighborhood egg hunt and breakfast. we started bright and early so we could be done in time for conference. the breakfast was delicious as always. i am lucky enough to live on a street with some of the best cooks! yum! here are (most of) the kids that live on our street. and this June we will welcome 2 more neighbors born on our street! please take note of my youngest, she is our most terrible "terrible twos" girls and she's starting at only 18 months. whew, we are in for it from this girl. here she is displaying one of her favorite moves, the "throw-yourself-on-the-ground-in-a-crying-fit-for-no-reason. "

then, the hunt got under way. as usual, we found a lot of eggs and ate too much candy later that night, we dyed eggs (many of which ended up in some delish potato salad.)

Easter morning did not disappoint. the Easter bunny surprised the girls with these cute lambies, and a promise of another big egg hunt later with the cousins!after conference, we headed to Aunt Renee's dad's house. it was pretty funny listening to Anna explain to Maddie how we know Mike. "you know Maddie, he's Ethan's grandpa. you've seen him before, he's the guy who wears clothes and has tiny beard." (a moustache) hilarious.

this party was jam packed with exciting activities. more eggs, more candy!

bucking broncos!

Avery was so astonished by this she had to try it....all by herself. this is a common theme lately.

horse back riding!

and then some more fun. the kids lined up in this corral contraption that they use to release calf for roping. first, the gate was flung open. then they raced through the tires, and Wendy chased them.
here's Anna approaching the gate.
clearly fun was had by all. fun, food, and family, this was one great Easter weekend.

we were really tired.....

so, sometimes a parent just really needs a nap. i mean most days i power through, but every once in a while i can't make it. Sunday, i had a partner in crime. Jason and i were really, really, really tired. unfortunately after church, meetings, etc. we missed our kids napping window. we had to rely on the age old tv as babysitter. we put on a special movie and instructed the kids not to wake us until it was over. it worked! we had a nice, and necessary, 90 minute nap. and we woke up to this:

luckily for my children, i was well rested so i took it in stride!

portraits....the backstory

so, i've gotten a lot of positive feedback on how pretty the girls look in their Easter pictures. i thought it would be funny to share a little back story on the making of these images. i remember in my youth, dreading portraits. my mom would plan our hair and wardrobe for months in advance. we would spend hours getting ready, waiting impatiently under threat of death, for the big moment when we'd head out to a studio in the hot sweaty car, only to wait some more for the photographer to finish their last appointment, before finally being put in some unnatural pose and holding a smile for hours on end. the results were usually the perfect family photograph, big smiles on everyone. i hated every minute of it! (this is a bad example, since it was my Debutante Ball and not just an average family portrait. but, you get the idea)here's my approach: monday was the day i chose. so when Bria and Wyatt invited the girls over to play....i said yes. i just brought their dresses to her house when i picked them up. Anna had taken a golf club to the face the day before, so she had a big fat lip. but, i still went with monday. when i came to pick them up, they were eating strawberries. juice was everywhere. their hair was day old, they were covered in dirt. oh well, monday was my day. it was really convenient because Bria's house was my chosen location for the shoot. i stripped them down in the car, put their dresses on and set them loose near the horses. i had brought a chair for some posed shots, but they were having none of it. so, i let them play and got what i could. 40 minutes later we were headed home. i think they loved every minute of it. but, i'm sure when they grow up they'll still blog about how much they hated taking family portraits. moms can never win!

more Easter pics

Easter was a very fun, very full weekend for the Earls. i still haven't looked at all the photos from our festivities. but here are some more from my little impromptu photo session with the girls in their dresses. i loved the way the light was playing with this fun yellow fabric. and the girls loved feeding the horses. maybe a little too much....there were lots of tears every time i tried to get any "posing" done.

happy Easter Sunday!!!!