OH MY!

Oh My! I haven't posted since August! Goodness! I have lots of pictures and happenings to post about! I will try to catch up as soon as I can! I'll start by saying we made out fine during the storms. My last post was eyes on the gulf which meant we were watching Gustav. We decided at the last min to stay and we got along with no damage and only lost power for 5 min! And of course I have a few pics...

What is this laid back family to do while waiting on a hurricane?

Go swimming of course





Gustav clouds rolling in....



Mon evening...we still have E-l-e-c-tricity!

Eyes on the gulf and a messy eater

I've realized I have been neglecting my blog lately. I guess we've just been a little busy around here lately. And of course watching hurricane Gustav this weekend to decide what we are going to do. As of right now we are staying all long as it stays on a more west path, but who knows what this thing is going to do. So for now and this weekend we sit, wait, and watch tv.

In the meantime, its business as usual.....take a look.....







Wow, now that's a messy kid. Let me go clean her up!!!

Cousins

Cousins - I wanted a picture of the 3 cousins together. After the reunion they spent 2 weeks at Grandma and Grandpa Jones' house. So I wanted a pic of the 3 of them....I put them in a wagon and wheeled them over to this gorgeous brick wall and told them to smile....

Ok, not too bad...



Can yall squeeze in tight? .... (can you see the photographer's child?)



Ok, lets sing "old mcdonald" to make Alexis happy...



Ian! Can you work with me here! hehehehe

Ok, so needless to say I didn't get my perfect cousin shot, but these will work!

Oh, and one more goofy girl shot!

Family Reunion

We took a road trip last weekend! Sorry it has taken me so long to post! I have been up till midnight every night since Sun, playing/editing pictures. I love it, and I'm having so much fun!

Ok, so we drove to South Toledo Bend last weekend for the Annual Jones Family Reunion. For those non-Joneses let me give you a small recap: We started our trip Thurs evening, which was a 6 hour drive with 2 small kids. Fun, Fun. You see Friday is the golfing day for the guys, so anyone who wants to play has to get there on Thurs. So we finally got to the cabin about 8, visited and went to bed.

Like I said Friday is the guys golf day, so us gals get to hang out with the kids all day. Which is fine unless you have a 11 mth old who will not go to ANYBODY see doesn't see on a daily basis. I didn't pull out my camera on Friday being as I was busy lugging Andrea around on my hip, and worrying about Alexis (getting lost in the woods, drowning in the lake, or getting eaten by an alligator - YES, I am that paranoid; it is a hereditary thing I got from my mother). So for the most part we hung around the cabin and tried to stay out of the 102 degree heat. Later that night we grilled steak and ribs on the grill, while watching a alligator drift toward the bank (I kid you not, I had nightmares that night)

Saturday is Reunion Day! Most family members make it by Friday evening, but we occasionally have a straggler roll up on Saturday - Bob :) We rented the lodge on Sat which is overlooking the lake, has a gift shop and a air conditioned meeting room. It was very nice, the kids ran ALL day. Here are some of my favorites from Sat....

Sunset over South Toledo Bend...

The beautiful Alexis...



My gorgeous man and Andrea...



Our niece Nina...



Alexis' new friend and cousin; Paris... (I swear I can see this picture on a gallery wrapped canvas on the wall)



Paris' little brother; Rome...



I will post more details and pictures from Saturday and Sunday tomorrow!

Summer Moon

Check out our moon tonight....



Neal comes in tonight, as I'm reading misc blogs, to tell me to come look at the moon. Oh, pretty clear and is a orange/yellow color. So what is a photographer to do? Run and get the camera, tripod and cable release. I go in the backyard, set up and fired off a few. I'm not happy, doesn't look good on lcd screen. Neal, in the meantime, is behind me saying "I shouldn't have said anything". So I load them up anyway and pull up the RAW file. A RAW file is the digital "negative" for anyone who doesn't know. I start playing with the exposure and what to I see? Some detail of the moon coming back! Well crap, I have been overexposing them! I was thinking because it was dark and the moon was the only light source the SS should be REAL slow. Ha, evidently not! Doesn't it feel so good when you have that "AH HA" moment about something. So here I have my first respectable moon shot. Remember that lens I rented? Yes, that would have been perfect for this shot, I think. Oh well, have to use what ya got, right?

Cry Baby

Sorry about the lack of posts these last 2 weeks, but Andrea has been keeping us busy and worried. I swear I am convinced that Alexis as a baby was a trick by God for us to have more children. Alexis, even when she was sick was mellow, non-fussy and usually in a good mood. Andrea - not so much, poor baby. She had us on our toes last week with a fever virus (you know the code name for "she is running a high fever and we don't know why"). She ran a high fever last Tues thru Fri, which got higher every evening till Fri. 102; 103; 104; then Fri it was at 105! Finally it broke Fri night. Sat was ok, she seemed fine; then Sun hit. She got cranky, clingy, and just plain miserable. Then Sun night she would not sleep - AT ALL. She was crying even if we were holding her. Then Mon night - nope no sleep, maybe 3-4hrs tops. Tues morning I turned to Neal and informed him, he was taking her to the Dr. that something else had to be wrong. She got a clean bill of health, and he was told she looked perfect - it was her gums bothering her. WHAT? She cries for 2 straight days and its just her teething? (Remember Alexis - nope, no crying at night.) Ya'll Andy Candy is HOARSE from crying so much. She has been hoarse for 3 days! Thank goodness for Motrin and Benadryl, we have had 2 full nights sleep. So hopefully things will get back to normal in the next few days, and Andy Candy will get her "voice" back.

Fireworks!

I got my first try at the fireworks "shot" last night. We didn't get to go to a fireworks display on Fri night, instead we chilled out at home and visited. Besides the fact that the fireworks show in my town started at 9 and Andrea is in bed by 8 and Alexis doesn't like them, we didn't bother to go. But I have not gotten the chance to photograph fireworks yet, and I really wanted to give it a shot. So Corey said he would go get some on Sat and we could come to Lauren's house, which is outside city limits, and shoot some off. (Isn't he so sweet?) We arranged for Mom and Dad to come watch a movie while Andrea slept and Neal and I took Alexis with us. Well, Alexis was still having nothing to with watching fireworks, she said they made her ears hurt, even though she had ear plugs in and I had her hold her blanket over her ears. I imagine that is possible when you have ear tubes, everything is louder. She decided instead to watch Ice Age inside, while we fired off a few. I'm very happy with the shots I got, being that it was windy and they directly above us. Let me know what you think....

I think next year I may beg and plead with Mom to babysit both kids so Neal and I can go catch a fireworks display somewhere.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Fourth to all ya'll out there!

We didn't do very much, just the usual hung out at home and did some grilling. We did however enjoy some popsicles, since it feels like 200 degrees outside here.

Alexis working on a blue face



Andrea's first popsicle -

"I think I like it"



"Oh yes, more please"



"He took it away!"



"Look at my blue tongue!"



"Must find more!"



"Doggone, there is no more!"

Good times with old friends

After 10 or years I have gotten back in touch with one of best friends from high school, Shanna. She and her family happened to be in town this weekend for a family reunion and took some time just to come see us! It was so great to see you guys! We met at Copelands and shared some good food together! Take a look!

Garrett - if he's not in a band, he should be dude!



Ms Gail and Mr Gary - so sweet as always



My Brother Corey - with his favorite dessert: cheesecake



Carissa - So full of life and energy!



Me and Shanna!



Corey and Lauren



Isn't terrible I don't have a picture of Neal and I!

We had a great time and I can't wait to get to Georgia to visit Shanna again, it turns out she has become quite the chef! Check her out here: http://shannalovesfood.blogspot.com/

Shanna you also have a invite I have to tell you about. When we got home at 10:45 Alexis was still up (no shocker) so I laid in the bed with her till she went to sleep. I had been telling her we were going to meet my friend, so I apologized to her for not being able to go. A few mins later she says "Mommy I have to tell you something" me-"OK baby" her-"You are coming at my party" (her b-day party, apparently this is a 3 or 4 year old thing at school - who goes to whos party) I say "Why thank you sweetheart" her-"Oh and your friend can come too - and she will be very happy" :) So you are officially invited to my 4-year olds party! :)

Scooter

Ok, so we may have been wrong about Andy taking another week or 2 to get mobile. Check out this clip.

Trouble

Oh boy are we about to have our hands full....check out what Andrea is figuring out how to do!



(please excuse the blury pics, it was dark and i was trying to hurry)

Neal and I think we have another week or two before she actually takes off.

Blast from the past

OK, did anyone hear the news? You know. Come on!
The New Kids on the Block are back together!!! And they are coming here on their reunion tour!! Oh yes they are! And guess what!?

OH yes! I got tickets! My best friend, Sarah and I and a few other people are going! You see, Sarah and I went to the NKOTB concert in 1989. It was my first concert, so it just wouldn't be right if we didn't go this time; for old times sake of course!

Hopefully we will look better than this when we go this year...



That is if Sarah even talks to me when she sees I posted this picture :)

So we will be Hanging Tough till Oct!

Recital Day!

Alexis did great at her recital! We are so proud of her.

Unfortunately I was told wrong about taking pictures at the recital; I was told by the office manager of the dance studio that cameras were ok just no flash. Well, at the recital it was announced that any camera would be confiscated and returned later. So yea, that great lens I rented...you guessed it, I could not use it. So here are a few more pictures from her dance rehearsal last week....









Uncle Corey added to Alexis' great day by having a surprise waiting for us when we got home. He and Lauren had decorated the house with streamers and balloons and had gotten her a cake. To top it off when we walked in the door he had "Dancing Queen" playing on the computer! Too funny.

Dress Rehearsal - Our Dancing Queen

We had our first dress rehearsal tonight. Alexis did good I was proud of her. We had a few little ones that refused to go on stage and some that went out then ran off. But they were all SO cute, I can't wait to see them again on Sat. Just a few pics before I go to bed....

First thing first; have to see who's out there....



She didn't see me this time, and went ahead and did her dance...



But she sure wasn't happy with me when we got back stage. She was on the floor hugging her knees acting like she was going to cry and would not talk to me. She then said she could not see me, I assured her I was there watching.

This dance I made sure to wave till she saw me, which she did but was still a little shy on stage. I think it may be because it is a bigger auditorium than she is use to. Here is our bubblebee...






So, we shall see how it goes on Sat.

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Daddy's Day to all the Dads and Dads to-be out there!

New Toys!

The UPS guy came today! Yay for me! My Mothers day present came today, check it out...

50mm 1.4 lens with hood...



Savage seamless paper rolls in Sand, Coral, and Sky Blue



So, of course I have to go try my lens out!! Can you guess where the clan is?

Yep! In the pool!!

Miss Andrea trying to eat a plastic golf ball...



Miss Alexis just being beautiful...



My hubbie looking so sexy...



Oh and can't forget our "first born" Lennie Man!...



I love my new lens, can't wait to use it some more. I'm also going to try and get some pictures of Andrea using my new paper, I just have to figure a way to hold it up, since I don't have a background stand yet. I see a trip to Home Depot in my future!