The Van Dyk Family: September 2009

From the archives

I have a busy week this week so I'm not exactly sure what inspired me to edit this picture from the summer archives. Sometimes I just need a fun break from my other work.

This is Rocklyn in the yard this summer. She was twirling in her dress.

I'm pulling from the archives...which means I'm actually all caught up with my photo editing. I'm ready for a job! Anyone need me to take pictures? Let me know!

The Puyallup Fair: Mischief in the show ring

Hale sure had fun with the fair ribbons.

Which was great until he decided to run into the ring with them. Catch him Landon!

Fortunately, with some guidance from dad...

...his path is diverted. Total family embarrassment avoided...

...but only for two seconds until Hale makes another attempt. Dad is already expecting this and doesn't let him pass.

Landon is successful at rerouting Hale again.

Hale is happy kicking up the sawdust for a while.

Then tries to distract the judge's table.

It works. They are definitely distracted. Hale gets a wave through the screen.

The spectators are apparently also distracted. We get many comments after the show about his antics. Fortunately, his mischief is taken with good humor by all. It is a good thing that farmers are used to dealing with the unexpected. This is not an opera where you are glared at for rustling your cough drop wrapper. Most cow shows are casual enough that if your child lets out a cry (or runs all over the place) it's not a disaster. Good thing!

The one exception may be at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI. They roll out the red carpet for that event. We're going in October.

We're leaving Hale at home.

The Puyallup Fair: Fun with dad

Here's some pictures of Landon and Hale goofing off at the fair together.

Hale pointing out the facial features of the cow. He is really into eyes, ears, and noses now that he knows where they are. Every time he pointed at the nose he got a lick from the cow. When he pointed to the ears he got a swat from the cows big ear. Both things made him laugh hysterically.

A time out to get his shoe back on.

More ribbon fun

The best part of every fair is being with dad!

The Puyallup Fair: Visiting with Rocklyn

It was so great to visit with Josh, Tarelle and Rocklyn while we were in Seattle! Rocklyn shared her toys so well with Hale (and we won't tell Landon how much Hale enjoyed playing with her shopping cart and doll stroller). She made show day at the fair extra fun!

We stopped for doughnuts before the fair.

The two kids up to no good at Top Pot

And then they played some more at the fair. They loved petting the cows together. I got some video...maybe I can get Landon to help me post it soon.

Here they are hanging out by the show ring.

Rocklyn looking casual

Hale running around...

...then stopping...

...then telling a story that Rocklyn has already heard and doesn't care to hear again (or at least that's what it looks like).

And finally, eating cake in the barn after the show.

The Puyallup Fair: The price of beauty

After being part of the Van Dyk family for six years you'd think I'd finally be used to all this cow stuff. But what happens on a show day never ceases to amaze me. It is a lot of work to get these girls beautiful. Their whites get whitened, their blacks get blackened, and their hair gets cut and styled with a blow dryer.

This cow has an entourage that would make an A-list celebrity jealous.

Three hairstylists!

Two good looking tails

Oh wait, she's got a little spot on her foot! Phew, I'm sure the judge would have marked her down for that.

A few words of encouragement from Hale and they are ready for the show ring.

Ribbons! Yay, good job girls!

All done. Back to the barn now...

The expert traveler

We have taken I-5 south of Seattle 4 times since the last week of August. That's eight one-way trips of at least 3 hours in the car. Hale has become a car-seat riding champion. It has been so wonderful that, during these hectic weeks, Hale has made the car rides very peaceful.

Here he is in a rare moment of sleep. Usually he is awake and looking out the window. Ideally (for him), he is enjoying some fruit snacks too.

He loves to sit and drive the truck while we pack up. Here he is peeking from the drivers seat.

Good thing he is becoming an expert traveler. We have two more round trips to go this month!

One last Hoorah!

Just when I thought it was time to put the little blue pool in winter storage, summer has come back for one last hoorah! Life has slowed down a little bit (for this week anyway) so we were actually able to soak in the sunshine.

Landon is working in town three days a week now so we did a little picnic at the city park on Friday. We ate fajitas together and then Hale and I stuck around and played at the playground.

It was too bad that I had sour cream sitting in the car because I think Hale could have stayed all afternoon. It took him all summer- but I think he has finally caught on to how fun playgrounds can be. He used to just stand and stare at everything and I had to order him around: "Hale, walk up these stairs...okay, now go down the slide...now let's do it again!". Now he gets around without any prompting from me. Actually, it was kind of hard to keep him in view yesterday. This playground has many little tunnels perfect for kids and way too small for mommies to climb into. He'd be right in front of me, and then the next minute he was all the way on the other side of the playground - and I'd have to take the long way to find him!

That's not to say that he doesn't just stand and stare every once in a while. He is totally fascinated by kids 3-6 years old. I guess it's because they are just a little bit more capable than him and are therefore playing in a way that Hale wishes he could.

It was fun to watch him observe. And every once in a while when a stampede of kids would whoosh by us, Hale would try to step into the back of the pack. But he just can't quite keep up...yet.

Summer Portraits

I was honored to take pictures for Landon's cousin again this summer. Her kids are so cute and we were at their grandpa and grandma's farm which made for some fun moments.

It's too bad you don't see her face in this one, but I just loved her sandy feet!

Here's a few from another shoot that I did for some friends. It was my first "couple" session and I loved it! They contributed lots of ideas which made getting good shots really easy!