Little Miss

Sass

Good Pictures, According To Me

This first one is just for funsies, because it is SO rare to catch Eli actually smiling in a photograph. I hold fast to the hope that someday, all of the pictures he takes will have this, his actual smile, in them. We must have 500 or so photos of his "Picture Face", which gives one impression that he has been constipated for several years and becomes increasingly miserable with each passing second.

Joel and I have an ongoing conflict as to what makes a good picture. When looking over his latest pictures, I'll point out the ones I especially like and he tells me why they aren't Good. Maybe it is a manifestation of my ignorance of the Art of Photography, but for me what makes a picture Good is that I like it.
Simple, right?
If it's a nature shot, it has to evoke some sort of emotion for me to declare it "Good".
If it's a portrait - does it capture a part of the personality of it's subject?
If so, then I declare it "Good".
Don't trouble me with tales of faulty framing, or how the lighting could have been better. I'm a busy Mom, and I don't have time for such things.
Here are three more pictures that I think are . . .

Good.

Aren't they?

I'm Back . . . I Hope!

I'd pretty much given up on updating my blog, in case you hadn't noticed! I originally set it up to keep grandparents living out of town up to date on pictures and what the kids were up to. However, the only grandparent who ever looked at it (my Mom) is now living here, so I really couldn't see the point! Now that the kids are all in school full time, I thought I'd give it another shot and see if I could be more faithful updating it. I won't even attempt to catch up, I'm too far behind! So, here are two big events since my last update. The first, Hannah learned to ride her bike!

Go Hannah!

Next on my list of "Big News" is that Joel and I have finally discovered an upside to him working the night shift. The kids are in school, so we get to go on dates every week! Yep that's right - every week! After over a decade of trying to squeeze in a date every few months if we were lucky, this has been wonderful!Speaking of Joel, he has really been taking some gorgeous pictures lately, which is another reason I couldn't resist resuming the blog - I've just got to share these!

Here are a couple of my recent favorites:

I plan on uploading some more in a separate post, I don't know if Blogger is working differently or if it's just funky today, but I'm having issues with moving the pictures around the text.

It's Because They're Cute!

Our dogs are not allowed on the couch!

So why do you constantly see pictures of our dogs lounging on the couch? I don't know, it's one of the many unexplained mysteries in my life.

Hiking With Daddy!

Joel has really gotten into photography, and I think he is really very talented. Eli, ever the observant one, has been collaborating with him on things like composition and framing. So, on this last hiking trip, Joel let Eli use the old camera. He was thrilled, and had a ball taking pictures! Isn't he adorable?

If you haven't guessed yet, "Hiking With Daddy" is going to be a regular installment of the blog, especially when summer arrives and the days are warmer and longer. The kids love to hike, Joel loves to hike, and it gives me the treat of having some alone time at the house. Everyone wins!

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

Joel found the coolest kite, and he and the boys were so excited to test it out! I guess it was working great and everyone was having the best time - until it hit the ground the wrong way and broke! Oh well, the important thing is that we got some good pictures first!

Another Installment of Hiking With Daddy!!

The many faces of Emma: "Hey, you talkin' to me?" "Forgetta-bout-it"

Eli and his funky picture faces!!! HATE IT!

So, is he pretending to try and catch her, or pushing her in?