Monday, December 21, 2009

Snow Much Fun!!!

Here in Indiana we had our first snow fall of the season this past weekend! I wasn't much but it sure looks pretty, I just hope it stays around for Christmas! Yesterday Chad got his lawnmower out and hooked up the old antique sled behind it to pull the kids around the yard. I wasn't sure who had more fun Chad or the kids! I know I had lots of fun taking pictures of them, even though I was freezing the whole time and had on another pair of Lindsey's mittens that were entirely to small for me! (Note to self: get your own mittens out!) Here are some of the pictures I took yesterday! 
Below is Jacob and Lindsey.
And here is Kyle!
And below is the biggest kid of them all, pulling the three little ones!
This one below is my favorite one! I love there facial expressions!
This is another favorite!
They had so much fun yesterday, and to think we have lots more snow to come! The kids and Chad are planning out snow forts to make already! I love the sled they were riding on, Chad got it last year at a farm auction somewhere for dirt cheap! He did have to fix something on it, I'm not sure what, but it works and they love it! I can't wait to ride on it myself next time!!! Were hoping for a white Christmas!!!                                  Lisa 

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!!!

Santa Claus is coming to town in just a few more days!!! Wow, its hard to believe Christmas is almost here! I took the kids to see Santa this past Saturday! Here are some pictures of the kids with the big Jolly Guy! I was surprised that Jacob didn't cry with this Santa, he did with the other Santa he seen a few weeks ago! The Santa we seen yesterday was much nicer, he actually talked to the kids and made it more personal for them and also he looked a little more realistic! The other Santa reminded me of the Santa from A Christmas Story movie, when Ralphie tells him what he wants for Christmas and he tells him "you'll shoot your eye out kid! Ho! Ho! Ho!"! 
Here is Lindsey below with Santa! She really does want her two front teeth for Christmas! 
And then it was Kyle's turn! Notice how he has this "you owe me big time mom" look on his face! Ha!Ha! Love it!My niece and sister went along with us too! Here is our group picture of the kids, they are just too much fun!!!I know I'm not ready for Christmas yet, I still have some shopping to do! I wonder what Santa will bring to our house this year!!!                   Lisa

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Christmas Program

It's that time of year again, Christmas Programs are in full swing! Kyle and Lindsey had their program earlier tonight at school. They had fun but I think they are glad it's over, or at least Kyle is, Lindsey on the other had loves to be in the spotlight! She definitely doesn't get that from her mother, that's for sure! Here are some pictures from this evening. I used my 55-200m lens so I could really zoom in on them! Unfortunately the gym lighting was horrible! 
Below is Lindsey shaking her tail feather
 Here is Kyle below with his class, which did a snow bear went to college skit and Kyle was the snow bear who went away to college but then returned home just in time for Christmas! Notice Kyle has on a Purdue jersey, he told me had to wear it for the program! Notice he also has on a red and white shirt underneath! Ha! Ha! Go IU! Totally thought that one up didn't we!!! The kids had fun tonight and Chad, Jacob and I enjoyed watching them! This program really put me in the Christmas spirit, now if only I can get those songs out of my head! "Up on the roof top click, click, click!"                                                            Lisa

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Just a little late!

OK so I realize that these pictures are just a little late considering that Thanksgiving and Lindsey's birthday were last week! I have been sooo busy with school work as the semester comes closer to an end! Wahoo! (two more weeks!) We did have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year, we spent the day at Chad's parents house with his brother and sisters and 14 kids altogether, honestly it was really fun! The day after Thanksgiving was Lindsey's birthday and she turned seven years old! My is she getting old! Here are a few pictures form her birthday! (I'm not sure why my photos are looking all grainy here on blogger, when they sure don't look that way on my computer!)
Here is a picture of her birthday cake!
Lindsey blowing out the candles! 
 We didn't get to go out to eat at her favorite restaurant Paneras only because I did not want to get out with all the people shopping! Hopefully we can do that next weekend when we won't be so busy! She did have a good birthday and I just can't believe my little girl is seven years old now, wow time sure flies by when your having fun!                                Lisa

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Backyard Fun!!

Just a little late on posting this but on Sunday the kids and I spent most of the day outside enjoying the warmer, sunny weather, which may be the last for awhile! Luckily Chad got all of the leaves cleaned up on Saturday so we could enjoy the backyard one last time before the winter snow, which by the way they are predicting flurries for Thanksgiving! Anyway I was trying to practice shooting my camera in manual mode while outside with the kids, I think they are used to me taking random pictures of them! I am much like the paparazzi! Here is one of Jacob with a ladybug/beetle which ever you want to call it! We had a hard time finding some that were alive, which is so funny because a few weeks ago they were everywhere! Don't mind his dirty little fingers.
Here is Kyle helping us look for some more.
Meanwhile Lindsey was spinning herself crazy on the tire swing, which looks like fun! Doesn't my yard look nice!!!
Below, Kyle and Jacob fixing the teeter totter, that isn't really broke, Jacob insisted that they work on it!
And I leave you with one little green swing!
I know we had a blast on Sunday, I wish we could have more warmer days like those, but all good things must come to end! Besides, this gives us something else to look forward to SNOW! Lisa

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Photography Lessons

This past Friday I went down to Indy to meet with a professional photography to finally learn how to use my camera. I admit I had never got my manual out that came with my camera until Last Thursday! Honestly though, when I read a few parts of the manual it was like reading a book in another language! I had to make sure I had the right manual! I met with Sarah, and she did a wonderful job explaining things to me. She made everything sound so easy and really it kinda was! We spent almost three hours talking cameras, what to look for in a picture, lighting, using different angles, aperture, shutter priority and what type of photo editing software to use! Let me just tell you by the end of the evening my head was about to explode, I had sooo much information! My main goal is to shoot in the manual settings rather than the auto settings. The reason why is that when using manual I can control how I want my pictures to look, not to mention the colors are much more true to life. On Saturday I took a few pictures of Jacob while we were out side raking leaves, below is one of the pictures I took of him using the manual setting.
This one here is the same photo, I just experimented with Photoshop's Lightroom a little bit to make it look more vintage!
I downloaded the latest version of Lightroom onto my computer yesterday and let me tell you it seems a lot easier to use than Photoshop Elements 7 that I also have and could never figure out! Sarah also uses Lightroom to edit some of her pictures and said its fairly easy, although I may end up having her teach me to use it properly! Overall I had a wonderful time, and Sarah was phenomenal, she really knows her stuff! Now I have a lot of practice to do!!!          Lisa

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Fun Family Photo's

Today I took some more family photos for my amazing family! So the past two Sunday's I have been doing family photo shoots for fall, what fun! So here are just a few of the photo's that I took today! Please note, it was quite a hard decision to choose which picture to post on here, they all look sooo good! 
I love this one! It was so much fun working the dogs, they are so much apart of their family!
I think this one is my favorite one!
All the pictures turned out very well, now I can't wait to see them all in print! Stay tuned later this week, I am hoping to get a few new things that I have for the shop photographed and posted! Also this week looks a lot less stress full, I had three different exams last week!                    Lisa

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Fall Photos

This evening I took fall photos of the kids playing in the leaf pile that Chad was working on! He has a bagger for his lawn mower so cleaning up the leafs is a breeze. And my yard looks much nicer! Chad kept adding more leafs to the pile so it kept getting bigger and bigger as they were playing! They were also a leafy mess by the time it was over!
I love this with all the leaf's in the air!
 Of course Lindsey had to do it too! Just not so many leafs!
Dive in!
Jacob who is always busy, was putting them in his little wheel barrel! Making his own pile!
The kids had a blast tonight, and it was fun to watch them interact with each other! I know where they will be tomorrow when they get off the bus!  Leaf pile 4:00pm, OK maybe 4:30 gotta have snack first!                                      Lisa

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Another Trip to Indy!

On Monday Jacob had another doctor's appointment down in Indy, to meet with his doctor and get his new pressure garment glove from his physical therapist. He was excited to get his new glove considering his other ones were wore out and to small! His doctor said that everything looks great, he has to go back down toward the end of December. The doctor suggested seeing him in two months rather than three since he is such a growing little guy! So he will have to be fitted again for another glove when we go back down, this will hopefully prevent the gloves from getting so wore out. After his doctors appointment and on the way back home we stopped by the Harley Davidson shop to do some shopping! Jacob was excited to see the bikes, he liked looking at the toys they had, meanwhile I was trying to find the boys matching shirts. 
In the picture below, Jacob checking out the bike!
"Yeap dad, this is the one!" Forget those plastic toys!
Not to worry, he did settle for those plastic toys after all!
And as for Chad, well lets just say he was dreaming and drooling! Of course he had some things to show me, just a little out of our price range! (OK did I say a little, I mean a lot!) 
Here are the two wild boys in their matching shirts! 
Overall we had a great day and I was just glad to see Jacob get his much needed new glove! I think he was too!                                Lisa

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Denim Ruffles

I finished up some denim ruffle pants for the shop on Saturday, they will listed soon! I took Chad some dinner when he was at the other farm filling the grain bins and decided to take Lindsey back to the barn lot for some pictures! Let me just tell you this it was freezing out! Some of the pictures turned out well, the sun was setting and the lighting was great. I got excited when I seen this old truck out there! Lindsey wasn't quite sure about sitting on it but I insisted it would look marvelous! I actually like the old truck, I think it adds lots of character!
This one here is one of my favorites, I just love the colors in the background!
And here is one last picture of Lindsey doing her supermodel pose! 
I do have admit that it is always so funny when we do a photo shoot together! I tell her to"work it darling work it" in this super funny french accent! Its always hysterical, and I do manage to get her to pose for me and have fun with it! I have lots more things that need to be photographed for my shop so be sure to check it out within the next few weeks! On a different note, tomorrow Jacob has his doctors appointment down in Indy, he should be getting his new glove! I sure hope so because his other ones are to small and have some holes in them! He is definitely a hard working country boy! Also, we are writing the first check for the money raised with Riley's Pop Garden Knot dress, the total comes to $84! Wahoo! The money will be going to the Riley Hospital for Children's Burn Unit! A huge Thank You to all of my sweet customers!  Lisa

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

A farmer in training!

It's that time of year again, the harvest season is upon us! Last week was the first week that we got into the fields. Jacob of course was excited to see the combine drive past last week and I mentioned to him that they were going to "pick beans". Well Jacob says to me "no cut beans", wow I thought this coming from a two year old! So of course I just had to ask him "do you cut corn?" and he says "no pick corn" in a very stern voice! I was just too funny, he was so serious when we were talking, he probably thought I was out of my mind not knowing how to farm! On the first day the guys got in the fields I took the kids down to the bean field for a ride in the combine. At first Jacob was excited to see the combine in the field but when it got closer and when it came time to get in it he seemed a little apprehensive. 
We assured him that it was fine and away they went down the field, he was excited about the ride when he got back! And still talks about it allllll the time!!!
This past Saturday when we were picking corn, the kids got to ride to town to the elevator to drop off the corn.
Kyle has gone lots of times so this was nothing new to him but for Lindsey and Jacob they thought it was pretty neat! Of course Chad mentioned to me that we can't waste time at the elevator and we soon found out why! When we got back to field the auger wagon was full and the combine was almost full! I don't think I could make it being a farmer, way to much to learn! That and you really don't want me driving a combine, now that would be scary! OK I think that's enough farming pictures for one blog!                                                              Lisa

Monday, September 21, 2009

Breakfast at Tiffany's!

Today was another very eventful day, Jacob had his doctors appointment this morning down in Indy to get fitted for new pressure garments also its Chads birthday, and we went to Tiffany's! Jacob is getting two new gloves made, one in camo green (for hunting season!) and the other in light blue, he will get them when we go back down in  the middle of October.  After Jacobs appointment we went to the fashion mall in Indy and we went to Tiffany's, this was my first time there so I was extremely excited! Like a kid in a candy store, I could barely contain myself! After looking online at the website I knew what I wanted and how much I could spend. Let me just tell you this the workers there were extremely nice, and not the fake nice that you get at some stores! The sweet lady that was helping us let me try on the jewelry, even asked us if we would like a bottle of water and/or a cookie, it was like she really did want us to have Breakfast at Tiffany's! I didn't do the whole Audrey Hepburn thing in front of the window, I will need to do that next time when we go back and pick up my new ring! Sorry folks but it's not the $84,000 ring on the website, nope that ones just not for me, instead I just got a pink gold band cause that's just how I am! Nothing too fancy or frilly for me! We also went to Williams Sonoma and oh my gosh did it smell good in there! (OK so us country folks just don't get out much!) I loved looking at all the kitchen utensils and gadgets they had, wow if only I knew how to cook (OK so I do try!) When I got home I checked out there website here and they had lots of different recipes to try! After shopping we went out for lunch at our favorite restaurant in Zionsville that has the best sweet potato fries around! Chad, Jacob and I scarfed them down in no time! I did have to miss school today but it was well worth it!  I will have to miss class again next month when we go down for Jacobs gloves, I feel that I need to go as I also have a dozen different questions to ask each time we go. Thank goodness Jacob has a really wonderful physical therapist and is under the care of one of Indiana's top doctors!    
Happy Birthday Chad!!!                                                     Lisa

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Parking Instructions!

Today seemed to be a very busy day for us, we went quite a few different places all in one day! So this morning  I got the pleasure, not really, of taking some tires to a recycling center about a half hour north of were we live. Chad and Kyle left to go to a farm machinery auction and so Lindsey, Jacob and I drove the truck to the recycling center. Then when we got back to the farm I decided to go to an Apple Popcorn festival in a town close by, it was about two or three in the afternoon when we got there and everyone else and their brother were already there! I tell you what, finding a parking spot was eventful! Then I found one, this lady had just left so I pulled in her spot and then decide, well this isn't going to work my back end was still sticking out. Just great I was going to have to parallel park like I was taking my drivers test all over again! For me that was easier said then done! So I started backing in of course I was thinking wow this is pretty easy, then I hit the curb so I had to pull forward and try it again! I got backed in but I was still on the curb just a little bit so I had Lindsey jump out on her side and tell me how far I was from the car behind us. She, being the drama queen, said your this far with her hands all of six inches apart seen below!
Oh my I thought so I pulled forward and she was saying oh no mommy your going to run over the flowers right here! Just great who in the heck puts flower by the curb! So I finally got the van in a somewhat good spot and when I got out to open the back and get Jacobs stroller out you will never believe how close I was to the other car behind me! About four feet yes four feet rather than Lindsey's 6 inches she was showing me! I couldn't help but laugh, I bet we were a sight to see! A mother listening to a six year old directing her how to park! Gotta love it! Since the festival had lots of people we didn't stay very long, we did stop a few yards sales and all we got was a 50 cent pop from this really nice lady who I chatted with for sometime! Then we walked back to the van and went home, so we took the scenic route and I took some pictures of the brand new windmills that are about five miles away from our house! There are so many of them its crazy and to think we are going to have to be looking at them for a very long time!
Lesson learned for today is, do not take parking instructions from a six year old!       Lisa