What happens when Mama doesn't pay attention . . .

The day started out on a fairly clean note.  The boys and I went out back to finish planting a couple plants.  I did have to wet the ground to soften it.  Any clues as to where this is going?  Aidan preferred to sit near the hole I was digging while Jacob enjoyed helping pour in the compost.

Well, things took a slight turn while I stepped aside to photograph some of my blooming tulips.  I remember hearing a sloshing sound, but it just didn't register . . .

Then it clicked.  I turned around and walked (yes, walked, not ran, I figured if what I thought was happening, it was too late anyway) from one end of the patio to the yard and this is what I found!

The boys really had a blast playing in the mud and it was hysterical to watch them.  Then came time to clean up . . . Luckily we are having great weather and I was able to strip the boys down before going inside to take a bath.

Assignment: Action

This weeks photography assignment is motion.  I wish I had more time in the week to go out and capture some different types of motion.  All that I was able to get were "freeze motion" types.  I would have liked to played around with panning or blurring part of the action.  I'm sure I'll have many more opportunities to do so.  Here are the three pictures I will present at our class, plus one of the moon I just really like.  Enjoy!

Jacob Jumping

Zooming in at water bubbling over a fall

One of many honey bees in our front yard, feasting on our trees

The moon - I was supposed to be taking pictures of Cody's softball game, but the moon was far more interesting. :-)

Welcome to the world!!

I just wanted to send out a quick congratulations and let everyone know that our very good friends, Matt, Amy and Heidi Ulrickson welcomed their newest addition, Shiloh Joy, to their family yesterday morning.  Please check out their blog (link from our blog is "The Ulrickson Family") to see little Shiloh and their family.  Congratulations again!

First Fat Lip

For our little man, Aidan.  While playing out back today, he tripped and bumped his mouth.  Thus producing a pretty nasty fat lip.  Good news though, it hasn't slowed him down a bit!

More photography

I have definitely found a new passion in photography.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am taking a class, along with my mom and sister, on digital photography.  I have learned so much in just a few weeks.  Enough that I think I have seen a difference in my photography abilities.  (Hopefully others see that as well)  I have discovered that I enjoy taking pictures of nature, flowers, rocks (yes rocks), trees, animals, etc.  Of course I enjoy taking pictures of the boys - I'm just not as good at that yet - I haven't mastered (well anything yet) but especially not things on the move - such as the boys.  I like to set all the settings on my own now, and am just a tad slow at it when it comes to capturing the constant movement of the boys.  I know I'll eventually get up to speed.  I know I've got a TON more to learn and can't wait to learn it.  Here are a few of my most recent shots.  I would love any feedback.  It's how you learn . . .

This is me taking the picture below - it gives you a sense of perspective.  I am loving ( and still learning to use) my new micro lens (another gift to myself).  If you click on the picture before you can see the details much better.

Our newest addition . . .

I hope that my children never ask for a cat, dog, horse, etc. because I really don't think I will have the will power to say no! Thus leads me to the introduction of Flicka the Fish, the newest member of the Thomas family. Let me take you back a step - Jacob has had a new fascination with fish. Whether it be the fish at the Bass Pro shop or the fish at the zoo, he loves to watch them and pretty much throws a fit every time we have to say bye bye to them. At first I was not keen of the idea of something else to take care of, clean, feed, blah, blah, blah. But then the soft spot in my heart took over and I thought that a small fish bowl wouldn't be that bad. So today I purchased Flicka. Jacob and Aidan were super surprised to see her when they woke up from their nap. It was very fun to watch their excitement. I am so glad that monkeys and tigers aren't legal, otherwise we might have the beginnings of a zoo in our backyard,

A Man of Many Hats

Aidan has a new obsession . . .he loves to try on hats. Which is a surprise to me. He never used to like wearing a hat. His mood and the hat determine how long he will wear it. Aidan will actual bring a hat and hand it to me, indicating he would like help putting it on. And after he has it on he typically gives a silly little, "I'm so proud of myself" grin. Here are a few of the hats and helmets he has enjoyed over the past couple of days.

Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

We'll find out . . . My mom, sister and I are taking photography classes together. It is one night a week for nine weeks. I have always enjoyed taking pictures, I just never had a great deal of knowledge about how a camera worked, picture composition, etc. Now a days it's not too hard to get a decent picture - set your camera to Auto and away you go. But I want to do better than that. So, with one full night (the first class was pretty much just introduction, didn't learn much at all) of lecture behind me, I set out to test what I had learned (which wasn't much past the basics at this point). For our third class, we have to bring in three enlarged pictures of things we shot over the past two weeks. Here are a few of the contenders:
(I'd love to know what you all think)

I wanted to bring in at least one photo of the boys, since they are what I shoot the most. It's very difficult to get a decent picture of them - (while trying to apply what I have learned as opposed to setting the camera to auto and going with it) they are constantly on the move! By the time I would get the focus right, the EV meter set correctly, etc., they were long gone! I liked this photo because it caught Jacob helping wipe Aidan's face in focus while in the background you can see that Nan and Lori are really enjoying watching what was going on.

The next two photos were much easier to play around with - seeing as the flower couldn't get up and walk away. :-) I was really able to play around with aperture, shutter speed and EV values. Now, will I remember what I had set at the time of the picture to make it work - heck no! Most of the time I can't remember were I put my keys . . . I'm just hoping that someday it will become second nature, like driving a car . . . . if I can ever find my keys . . .

So much to get caught up on!

Wow, after a very full December, I finally have a minute to sit down and update the good ol' blog. We have had a wonderful month, filled with lots of family and friend time; from decorating trees, to Christmas lights, birthday celebrations and finally celebrating Christmas . . .
I made an executive decision not to post pictures from every single event - otherwise this post would go on forever - I think I have well over 200 (I'm not exaggerating) pictures from all of our festivities. I didn't represent each activity because it was so hard to pick just a few, plus I wanted to add a few from the last couple of days, but I think you'll enjoy the ones that made the cut.

Our Little Swedish Elves

Christmas Eve




Christmas Morning

New bikes for both boys!

Lovin' the mini air hockey table with PopPop

Aidan had a blast playing with Josh

Playing this week in the new fun ball thingy . . .no idea what it's called

Our little scavenger . . . you'd think we never feed him

What happens when you don't see little hands getting into the makeup drawer . . .

Aidan decides to try out eyeliner