Hale's first time fishin'

Well, it is a rainy Memorial Day weekend in Western Washington this year. It could have been sunny - but why break a 10 year streak?

I am taking this rainy afternoon to show you what we'd really like to be doing if it weren't freezing outside.

Last Saturday, Landon and Hale went fishing with Uncle Kohl in his new boat. The trip was a big success because a.) They caught 7 fish (8 if you count the one that jumped out of the boat and swam away) and b.) Hale remained (pretty much) seated for 3.5 hours - a record to be sure.

During this fishing trip I went to the salon and then relaxed at home so the pictures are not mine - many thanks to Kohl and Landon and Uncle Grant for documenting the trip so well.

Just starting out and Hale is not too sure what to think.

Watch Hale's personal commentary here:

Daddy and Hale

Uncle Kohl introduces Hale to a rainbow trout.


The ship is overtaken by pirates (oh, wait, that's just Libby and Tom and Grant)


Tom shows off his amazing catch (a very very large fish for this lake)


Landon reeling in a fish

Rocklyn and Hale on the farm

A few weeks ago we decided to bring Hale and Rocklyn to the farm for a photoshoot. Hale and I arrived a little early so I had the difficult job of trying to keep him clean at the farm. I was, of course, unsucessful.

Here's a shot of him I took that morning. I really like it because it shows how he normally looks running around the farm.



Once Rocklyn arrived I tried in vain to clean Hale's overalls with baby wipes. Yeah right. Oh well - I liked what a friend remarked when she looked at the pictures "you can definitely tell which one is the boy". Yes, it wouldn't be authentic unless Hale was pretty dirty.

The photoshoot was really fun. We sat the kids on a hay bale and let them be their typical funny selves. The kids were pretty cooperative so I got many great pictures! I made this collage and framed it for Landon's mom for Mother's Day. It gives you a sampling of the pictures from our day.

Mother's Day Weekend Part III: Hale learns to pose in groups

We wrapped up our Mother's Day at Grandpa and Grandma Kroontje's house. It was a beautiful evening to sit outside on their deck.

As I was trying to snap a photo of Hale with Uncle Kohl I realized that this child, though very practiced at having his picture taken, did not know how to share the spotlight. I asked him to put his arm around Uncle Kohl and this is what he did.



Um...yeah...that's not really what I meant. Landon moved his arm where it needed to be. Then he got it!



Then he was ready to try out his new skill with Dad. Perfect!



And now he could even do two at once! Nice job!



But things quickly turned silly like they always do with Hale and his Uncle Kohl...

Mother's Day Weekend Part II: the celebration

I was super spoiled on Mother's Day. Our family of three decided to celebrate much as we did last year by going to a park in the morning. I hope have beautiful weather again next year so we can continue the tradition.

I was surprised with some goodies at the park!




And I got to relax and enjoy my coffee and while Landon ran after Hale. I think watching them play together was like another part of the gift - they are so funny.



In the afternoon we went to Landon's aunt and uncle's house to celebrate with his father's side. The sun was so warm and relaxing that I kind of slacked on my picture taking. Hale didn't move much from this sand pit.



Rocklyn enjoying the sun.

Mother's Day Weekend Part I : a hike with cousin Rocky

We were so lucky to have nice weather this weekend! It was a much needed change from what has been an unusually cold month.



Of course, the nice weather means that Landon was doing fieldwork all day Saturday, but Hale and I drove up to the mountains to hike with "Rock-eeee!" (as Hale calls her). Josh, Tarelle, and Rocklyn had planned a hike along with Josh's parents and cousin Beth. A very fun group! We were happy to be able to tag along.



We had a picnic lunch.



We picnicked and hiked right by the river. The kids were fascinated by the water and enjoyed watching some whitewater rafters float by.



The hike was very enjoyable. Guess who led the way?



This is Hale on a stump (with some help from Uncle Josh) ready to surprise us as we came up the trail.



Hale's favorite part was throwing rocks in the water. The bigger the better.





Eventually the kids wore out. Josh and Tarelle helped carry them back to the cars. Look at how happy they are about scoring rides!

We're back...again!!

I think I jinxed myself by announcing "I'm back". I was only back for one post before I got completely side-tracked again. Want to hear about what's been going on in life?

We are expecting baby #2! Yay. In November. But despite what you are thinking, pregnancy sickness and tiredness is not actually what has kept me from blogging. I have been immersed in some fun design and photography projects since February that have soaked up all of my "free time" (you know...when Hale is sleeping). Now that Hale is a little older I am able to clean the house and cook meals while he is awake (Praise the Lord!) but it is pretty impossible for me to do any constructive photo editing with him around. He ends up on my lap moving my mouse around the screen. So I'm afraid the blog took the back burner for awhile.

Also contributing to my lack of blogging was a recent switch in cameras. More specifically, I accidentally left Old Trusty outside overnight. He might have survived if we hadn't had the thunderstorm of the century. Shoot. "Water damage" is what the Canon Repair Factory concluded and said it would be $1200 to fix it. So I cashed in on their upgrade program and got a newer, nicer camera. You'd think I'd be thrilled to have a new model...but I was pretty okay with my last one. I was hoping to buy myself a new lens instead. But now I just have another camera...and the same lenses.

But I am thankful to have any camera at all - and have already taken some pictures that I can't wait to share...but I'm not quite ready to unveil. So, to tide you over here is a picture of Hale at his silliest. I have to take responsibility for the weird outfit (it is one of his comfy nap outfits) but he decided to accessorize, as he often does, with his helmet...on backwards. He was riding his dump truck and talking on the radio. It made me laugh.




Many thanks to all of you who seemed truly ticked off that I stopped blogging (my husband included). It made me feel good - like you enjoyed reading it. I'll try to live up to your expectations in the following months. Here's hoping for lots of photo-ops this summer!