Ellyana's Easter Pictures

This is Ellyana!

Isn't she adorable?
She came all the way from Germany to visit family and friends.


And we're all so grateful to finally get to see her. Of course, it was nice to get to see her Momma, too. Her Momma and Daddy were stationed in Japan while Heather & Dustin were there and it was Ellyana's Momma who picked me up at the airport when we were waiting for Grace to make her way into the world. The airport was a bit too far from the hospital for Heather to travel, so Elly's Momma, being the wonderful friend that she is, was there to help out!

Finally, a smile..... and it's hidden behind that egg!

Elly really is a happy baby. She just doesn't smile for the camera. Hopefully, we'll catch her off guard before she goes back to Germany and get a REAL BIG SMILE, though.

Sawyer's Easter Pictures

Sawyer came in just before Easter for Easter pictures!
I was amazed at how he'd grown. He's only four months old, but he can now sit with support and laugh and play! It's so cute!

Look at that charming smile!

While he was here and in such a good mood we decided to try the teacup! He did wonderful and we got a lot of really cute expressions!

And - it looks on the pictures I uploaded have no bunny in them! But, if you's like to see Sawyer AND the bunny, you can see the rest of this session HERE

Select Sawyer Easter

Stephan.... Senior 2011

This is Stephan! My photography class was studying senior portraiture and Stephan was kind enough to volunteer to model for us!

He did a great job!

Hopefully, the kids each got a few good pictures!

These pictures are some of the ones that I got. I am still waiting for some of the students to get theirs turned in!

Thanks, Stephan, for being such a great sport and a great model!

Gabriella

My next door neighbors just had a beautiful new baby girl. Isn't she precious?

She has an older sister who is just about the right age to make a nice little playmate for Grace and she is just a couple of months younger than Brilyn and Olivia!

Even though her Daddy might like to have a boy, I was so happy when I heard that they were getting another girl! Girls are WONDERFUL!!! And - It won't be long before the girls will be big enough to enjoy play dates, pool parties and other neighborhood activities! I just know we have many, many years of enjoying the blessings of watching these little girls grow and I couldn't be happier!

So, welcome to the world Gabriella! I'm happy you're here!

And - here is Gabriella's Hello Baby Slideshow!

To see the slideshow at full resolution go HERE

The OKC ZOO!

When I'm not working, the Zoo seems like the perfect place to spend the day. And the OKC Zoo is MUCH, MUCH Better this year! Grace especially enjoyed the children's area.

She liked feeding nectar to the birds!

She loved the giraffes!

But, I think the birds were the most hands-on and entertaining!

But, the Big Cats are always my favorites. We ran out of time and only got to see the Cheetah's. But, maybe we'll get to see the Lions and Tigers and Bears next time we go!

While I was there I also saw many signs of spring. Isn't this just the prettiest tree?

Gardening....

Sometimes, when I am not working, I find a little time to get some work done around the house! And gardening is just one of those jobs that is a lot more fun if you have a helper!

Of course, it's a lot more messy, too! Especially when your helper decides that YOU need watered!

By the time we were finished we were both soaking wet!

(actually, the dog was wet, too)

But.... we now have pretty flowers!

And sometimes when I'm not working, I like to enjoy the great outdoors!

Gracie likes it, too! Here she is at the pond!

Occasionally we get a chance to relax and go fishing! This was actually Grace's FIRST FISHING TRIP!

And Grace caught the most fish!

After our fishing trip she told me that she was going to have to teach her Daddy and her Uncle Deuce how to fish. She told me that they were not good fishers because they didn't catch anything, so she was going to have to help them!

I found that funny because her Uncle Deuce has been since he was in diapers and he's now 26 years old. He's got LOTS of experience and is a really good fisherman. But - Grace and I were the ones catching fish, so we're the experts in her eyes. Of course, we were fishing for perch and perch are always biting - and they were hoping for a bigger catch!

Sometimes size really doesn't matter!

I Host Tea Parties....

Isn't our little tea set just adorable?

(recieving blankets also make nice tea party table cloths)

And.... we have the most delicious snacks!

I also enjoy fine dining! We order from the coolest places.

But there is so much to do, we normally end up eating on the way home - or at home because these places have so many things to do.... who wants to EAT?

Gracie is great at the games!

Just look at her form! I think she's going to be a star!

(of course, she already is in Grandma's eyes)

And here we have proof that she's a winner! Just look at all her prizes!

Sometimes It's Nice To "Go Fly A Kite!"

Sometimes it's nice to just "Go Fly a Kite!" And that sometimes leads to being tackled in the grass and having the opportunity to look up into the cutest of faces!

Which sometimes leads to chasing a Barbie Jeep around the yard!

Look at that girl go!

I think Gracie is going to be a great driver! But, I hope it's a long time before she gets a set of real keys! She's growing up way too fast and I would like to keep her little as long as possible.

Little Cousins Becoming Friends!

When I'm not working, I enjoy watching little cousins become friends!

Here is Gracie and Brilyn!

And here is Olivia and Brilyn! This was taken a few weeks ago - I think Olivia has now caught up with Brilyn in size... and I wouldn't be surprised if she were actually bigger. Maybe it's because children grow while they're sleeping! I really don't know if that is true of if it's an old wives tale. But, I heard it from my own mother who had several children, so she should know. Olivia sleeps so she grows and Brilyn is a little live wire. She likes to be fully awake and aware of everything that's happening. (But - I hear she takes a good nap after going home from Grandma's) And BOTH babies love the outdoors. We're going to have so much fun this summer when we get that pool installed and the water warms up! I can't wait!

What I do When I'm NOT Working!

It's soccer season, so most of my evenings are filled with work. I take team pictures, edit and order and then pack the pictures for individual players and deliver them to teams. I don't post many of my sports photos on my blog because I don't know all of the players and their parents well enough to know whether they would like their child's pictures posted online or not.

So - this week, I thought I would post non-work-related photos showing what goes on when I'm NOT working! These pictures will be ones taken with my "play camera" so you can see what a photographer's family snapshots look like. They are probably not so different from the ones you take yourself.

When I'm not working......

I go to an occasional ballgame! Take Grace to see the cheerleaders.....

I go on family outings with my kids and grandkids! This was taken at the circus!

I stuff children's faces with tasty treats! (which sometimes gets me into trouble)

This guy got into trouble, too! You can check out Heather's post on The McGriff Adventure

to find out why!

I basically enjoy spending time with my grand daughters!

And - I know some of my readers (especially Grandma Phyllis) would like to see more of THEM!