Grandpa's visit

Grandpa Wilson came to visit for a few days. We had a good time with him here. The kids LOVE having him around. They have so much fun with him and would love to see him more (*hint, hint*) We kept him busy by taking him to the Westlake Rec Center pool, the West Side Market (no pics of that :( - not sure why I didn't take any), playing out back, playing games, making Sushi, and watching both National Treasures. Caleb also had a baseball game while he was here... that was great... it was the first time in the two years that he has played sports that we have had anyone but us go see him play... he was beyond thrilled.

Always the entertainer... reading to the kids (one of the things the kids LOVE to do with him)

Memory

A cute one of Ben

Baseball with Joshua

Westlake Rec Center - 100% worth being a member of... there are tons of pools, it is often quite empty, and it is LOADS of fun... a great family activity

The awesome slides... Caleb is lucky enough to be tall enough... the other kids are still a few years off... the slides are great!

This is the tot pool... there is a pirate ship slide, the coconuts fill up with water and dump out, the ropes in the background open the shower-type spouts above, and all the other water that comes from the pipes can be adjusted with little wheel cranks... it is a fun little place.

First time on a Wii...

Watching the movies... Kate loves to cuddle with Grandpa.

Making sushi... Very tasty! :) First time for Grandpa... he LOVED it!

Good-bye hugs... Come again soon!

For Grandpa

Happy Father's Day!!! Hope you have a great one! Love you!!!

Who knew...

We were driving through Avon, Ohio to pass a little time while we were waiting for Caleb to finish up at a birthday party and stumbled upon this cute little annual festival... the Duct Tape Festival. We didn't have much time so we just walked around the entrance. They had these amazing floats that were in a Duct Tape parade earlier in the day. I think we'll have to check out the entire thing next year.

Baby Paige

I did a photo shoot for this little 9 day old beauty today and (shockingly) already have most of the images edited... I'm almost caught up. Couldn't resist getting these past baby sessions up - a sneak peek for the parents. I really enjoyed this session...been a while since I've taken pics of such a tiny girl. She sure is a precious one... congrats again to the parents!

She reached over and touched the flower for a second and I was lucky enough to capture the shot... just love it!

Take a look at the little lady's hand... she is gripping her Daddy's finger (I didn't even notice that until I was editing)... SO cute!

This mom was so happy to have her little girl... I feel so privileged to have been asked to take some pics for them... Enjoy!

Brotherly Love...

Baby Grant

I got to do a photoshoot last Thursday for baby Grant. As soon as I arrived his eyes popped open and he wanted to wiggle and stay awake almost the entire time (the first time this has really happened since his birth)... even through that, we got some great shots of him.

Love this one of his loving mom gently holding his oh-so-tiny hand.

With one of his older brothers... this lucky little guy has 3 brothers that he'll get to pal around with as they all grow up together.

Sweet feet... love the new flakey skin.

This is another of my favorites... it was a split second shot just as his mother was placing her hand on his head... to me this picture shows the love his mother has for him and the tenderness and protection she gives him.

Yawn...

Okay, so I loved this session... I did mom's maternity shots also, but am having some computer issues and those are not available to post right now... I will be getting some of those up soon.

Our Princess is 6

Today was Kate's 6th birthday... where-o-where has time gone? I cannot believe she is already 6. She surely is our princess. She has a quick wit and sharp tounge - a real street smart kid (already). She already knows how to work her sarcasm and is (very unfortunately) quite the good little storyteller (AKA liar)... (Don't worry... we'll be sure to keep a good eye on her - and Caleb will help us - we are quite sure). She is also quite an actress. Kate is funny... no, actually, Kate is hilarious!!! She is the one who always makes us laugh. Kate can say the exact same thing (funny or not) as the next person, but the way she says it will crack others up like no other.

Kathryn is a wonderful addition to our family. She is very kind. She is always willing to share. She is a sweet sister - and though she'd love to have a sis of her own, she does a great job handling all the boys. She always has her brothers vying for her attention. She is fun loving and always up for an adventure.

We are so happy to have Kate as our princess.

We love you, little girl!!!

In the hospital with Kathryn - 6/4/02 - Boise, Idaho

Pretty little girl with a head full of hair (a couple of weeks old)

Kathryn's blessing

Her big brother loves her SOOO much!

3 months old

Christmastime 2002

Easter - 2003

1st birthday

2 years old

3rd birthday

3 years old... one of my all time Faves of her! :)

5 years old... (I know I missed 4 years old, but I can't find some of my picture disks... yikes!)

The weekend before her birthday we had a party with several of her classmates... it was wild. We had 11 kids show (plus our older 3). It was a royal theme. Everyone had a blast.

The girls making bead crowns... (the boys are in the other room painting shields)... loved these! Couldn't have done it without the fab Aunt Jessie helping out!!! Thanks!

We had a relay race with the girls putting on princess dresses and the boys knight costumes. They had to get it on, get their pics taken and then take off the garb and run back to tag the next teammate. It was a good way to hype them all up....

And then... when we needed to calm down, Awesome Tony stepped in and had them all meditate... he even taught them a real meditation mantra... the kids still love doing it - and it's a great way to grab a few seconds of peace.

The party came to and end, but for Kate and Sami the fun kept going until around 12:30 (at least, that's when I fell asleep). It was Kate's first official sleep over. The girls had a ton of fun. We put up the small tent in the front room and they got to "camp out" and watch High School Musical.

Here is Kate on her actual birthday... it was a nice day... At school she had her Kindergarten celebration (perhaps that will be another post) and then we did a family party at night.