Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

  We are postponing Thanksgiving until tomorrow this year so that Shawn can spend Turkey Day with her in-laws.  But, that gives us time to cook thankfully, especially since both Dave and I had to work all day yesterday.

  We typically go do Black Friday shopping after the crazy people go home, around 8am, and then afterwards, visit Santa for pictures with the kids.  However, since we adjusted Thanksgiving, we will probably need to do some cooking tomorrow morning instead, so, we decided to make a run for the mall last night.  The grocery stores were insane yesterday (I know, I forgot pumpkin!!), but, the mall was practically empty!  So, no lines...which is why we typically do the pictures on Black Friday...everyone else is preoccupied and forgets about the jolly man...

Halloween

These are actually pictures of the Halloween Carnival at Owen's school the week before Halloween.  The kids opted to wear different costumes on actual Halloween night.  I only got a phone picture of that, so, I will add that later when I'm more ambitious.

The same weekend we also did some pumpkin carving with the Crouse side.  Even cousin Eli got into it this year!

 Owen opted to do his own design...he opted for a bat (I know, its an impressive owl...but, not what he was aiming for).  He and Dave both used the Dremel tool to thin out the top so the design glows through instead of completely cutting into the pumpkin.  They looked great!

And Ollie was in the way, so, I took a picture of him...We might have some wishful thinking, but, we are wondering if his eyesight issues might have been due to malnutrition and that he's getting at least a little of it back.  Again, not sure that's true, but, we think we are seeing some improvements.  The vet swears he probably can't see at all out of the all blue eye and you can see the pupil is weird.  But, it moves with the other and he'll blink if you move your hand towards it, so, we just aren't sure what to think.

Some more...

I edited these forever ago and I guess I never posted them!!  These are mostly of Liv at her soccer practice.  This is the first year she played.  I think she was about the youngest on the team and although she loved the drills, she just wasn't able to hang in when they did the scrimmages.  So, she got a little discouraged.  But, she stuck out the whole season!  I think with as disorganized this group was, we will wait until she's 5 to try again.

And this is just my goofy boy playing in his Darth Vader costume... he keeps tying a couple pieces of the cape in the front because he doesn't think they look right....drives me crazy!!  Sometimes, I see his mother's hard head in him! ;O)

Wonder Woman and Other Random Pics!

As usual, time has gotten away from me.  I've taken a few photos here and there, but, not many.  I have finally had time to play with some of them though and thought Id share what I've got.  

Shawn got the girls these Wonderwoman outfits and wanted action shots with them.  We did these on an overcast day and I didn't have my lights up and running.  So, they aren't what I wanted...I also know now how they should pose.  I'm hoping to try one more time, but, thought these were fun regardless.

Liv is so proud of her cousin and still thinks she's the greatest thing ever.

Lizzy on the other hand is not yet impressed with her cousin or her aunt that takes too many pictures every time she visits...

Owen had to have retakes done because he was super sick the first round.  The photography company is a pain in the butt to deal with and ended up putting the wrong background on the retakes.  I was going to call and make them resend.  But, decided to just extract him myself and do my own background.  I actually like mine better than theirs anyway. 

In trying to get Owen's pictures just right, I learned some new techniques and it made me think of Liv's first Easter pictures.  I had tried using a green screen behind her and it was so bright, her whole body just glowed green.  But, with the techniques I learned on Owen's photo, I went back and edited one of hers.  There's several others I'd like to work on, but started with this one. I can still see a bit of glow on the white parts, I'll have to keep researching for these more extreme photos.  But, I'm MUCH happier with this picture.  I think she was around 2 weeks in the picture, she was such a crabby little thing!!

First Day of School!

Owen started 3rd grade this year!!  It just kills me to see him grow up so fast.  I'm so very proud of him and am hoping he has an even better year than last year.  Kindergarten and first grade were rough, but, he made huge strides last year in the confidence department and I really hope he surrounds himself with positive kids this year.  Honestly though, the pickings are limited.  I don't know if it's the school or the area or if we just got spoiled by the kids in his montessori class.  But, I can see why it's hard for Owen to make friends, these kids are so disrespectful and mean, Owen just can't relate to them at all.

I love that this kid poses and likes wardrobe changes...hahaha!

Liv was absolutely wired about being in the "big girl class" this year.  She's moved up from the toddler class and is now officially a preschooler...SO hard on her mom!!  The pictures were definitely hard to come by as she wouldn't stop hopping...so, this is what I got...

I have absolutely no idea what the hand thing was about...maybe too much yoga?  No idea!!  But, she did it every time I got the camera out...namaste you goofy kid!!

A Visit from Grandma and Papa!

Dave's parents came up for two weeks the end of July and sadly, I barely got any pictures!  Hopefully, Dave's got a few on his phone.

We took a quick trip up to Hatcher Pass and Owen decided to climb up a path we'd never taken before to the very top of the mine.  I figured the path couldn't possibly go all the way and decided to let him go to the end.  Much to my surprise...it didn't end!!  We went all of the way to the top, much higher than I had anticipated, and the trail got so steep, Owen and I had to go down most of it on our rear ends because it was such loose gravel.  Dave did much better than us however!!

To give some perspective, here's Diana and Anthony before the "steep" part...Liv even walked up this far, but, bailed about a 1/3 of the way up the "steep" part and Dave had to take her back down to his parents.  

Here's Dave and Owen at the very top.  I do have to say though, it was worthwhile to go up because on the way down, we saw a couple Collard Pika gathering greens for the winter...they are a small animal related to rabbits that look like chinchillas without a tail.  They are super cute and I'd never even heard of them before!  Dave wanted me to take a picture, but, the one we saw up close happened to be when I was in an especially percarious position.  So, picture taking wasn't exactly my top priority!! 

New Cousin Elizabeth

We got to meet new cousin Elizabeth in July too!!  The kids were over the moon.  Owen was so disappointed when he found out that a "baby shower" does not have anything to do with the baby at all.  He thought all along thats when that kid would make an appearance!!  I'm not sure why the confusion given the fact that he's been through this before, but, it cracked me up.  It was a LOOOONG wait though I can tell you from the baby shower to the actual delivery date for him! 

I stayed at the hospital the first night so that Trevor could get some rest.  Shawn had to stay in the hospital three days, so, they had a long haul.  This is how Miss Elizabeth looked most of the night...which was good because when I first met her, I thought maybe I need one of my own...but, by morning, I was good with just being the auntie!  Hahahaha!

Clearly, I messed with this picture too much.  I liked how proud Owen looked when he got to hold the baby for the first time, but, wanted the background gone.  So, I subbed in my own.  But, I just don't love it, not sure how to make it better though.  Still a sweet picture.

All of these pictures I take make me realize how much Owen wears his heart on his sleeve.  Theres never a picture that you can't tell exactly what this kid is thinking.  I get credit for taking such great pictures that capture so much emotion, but, it's really all him.  I just love that about him.

 Liv's a lot like that too, but, she's not quite as sensitive as Owen so, it doesn't typically show through as transparently in her pictures.  But, this was an exception, could she look any prouder to be a big cousin?  She was SO glad to get a girl!!

I messed with this one too much too.  I especially liked the kiss, but, it was kind of blurry.  So, I had fun trying to fix it...content is still good...but, I need to work on my artistic skills some more! ;O)

I'm obsessed with pictures of my grandmother and the kids.  I think it's because every day with her is a gift at this point.  I guess its also because I know from experience with Dave's Granny that unfortunately, sometimes, all you get with a loved one is a photo.

I wish I'd focused on Elizabeth in this picture, but, I like the look on my grandmother's face.

This is a blanket woven by a guy that Trevor works with.  He patterned it after the same material as was worn on the princess in Brave...how cute is that!!