Family Pictures

This is totally out of order chronologically.  I forgot to post about our family pics back in September.  Whoops!  I wasn't thrilled with how they turned out.  Cash was running around and really not into posing for pictures.  Apparently he thought the photographer wanted action shots.  Millie kept pulling her headband down over her face and instead of smiling for the photographer she eyed him with a great amount of suspicion.  We got a few decent ones but considering we could have spent an entire weekend at Sunriver for the cost of this photo session, I had set my expectations pretty high and ended up disappointed.  These are the best ones.

Love, love, love the Fall!

I've taken so many fun pictures lately which has inspired me to actually put up my 2nd post within the course of a month.  Miracles do happen!  First up, Santiam Christian had a Grandparent's Day and Nana and Papa were able to come up for it.  It was special for them to be a part of it because it had been over 3 months since we had seen them and because Cash is the only grandchild they can do these things with.  After the school program and classroom tour Cash went out to lunch with them.  We also had a small birthday party for Millie (the first of two) while Nana and Papa were here.

A trip to the pumpkin patch as a family.  Sometimes Josh opts out of these things but he agreed to go this year.  He even took charge of the picture taking and got some cute shots of me with the kiddos! Also let me just say, I never look this good (without the help of photoshop anyway).  I should have Josh take the pictures more often!

 

Off to Kindergarten...

Oh my gosh, this is so overdue! Cash started half day Kindergarten on September 6th at Santiam Christian School.  His teacher is Mrs. Mason, who has a very sweet gentle spirit.  I have to admit, I was a little concerned Cash would walk all over her but he responds to her quiet gentle directions amazingly well.  I may need to borrow some pages from her play book...  Here are a couple of pictures from Cash's first morning. 

You can't imagine how much I missed this kid.  When I picked him up I told him, "I missed you sooooo much Buddy."  His reply was, "In four hours?"  It's true, he was only gone four hours but that's still considerably longer than the 2 1/2 hours he went to preschool last year.  Here is a picture of him running towards me when I came to pick him up.  When he's a teenager and refuses to be seen with me I'm going to show him this and remind him that there was a time he would throw his arms out as wide as they would go and leap into my arms.

Cash's school has a carnival at the end of September each year.  I took both the kiddos and the highlights for Cash were playing life size Angry Birds and dunking his principal, Mr. Ness, on his first throw at the dunk tank.

Last of summer...

Oh my gosh, summer is officially over and Cash starts Kindergarten NEXT WEEK.  Can't believe it!  I have a lot of pictures to share from August but I will try to be selective as to not overwhelm everyone.  I am trying to build up my photography clientele again.  After 5 years out of the game I have been trying to get some practice in.  Millie was my subject one afternoon.

Josh's job has been a real blessing to us.  His company often treats all of the employees and their families to trips and special outings.  This month we all went to the Family Fun Center in Wilsonville.  Our family had never been there and we all had a blast.

 I really put this go kart to the test.  Cash was super impressed with his mom's racing skills.

Last weekend some of Josh's fellow salesmen from work got a house in Sunriver and we all spent 3 days there riding bikes, playing on the playground, and at the SHARC water park.  Since we have a gravel driveway and we live on a busy road, Cash hasn't been able to learn to ride his bike without training wheels.  There are awesome paved bike paths throughout Sunriver which was the perfect opportunity for him to learn.  He didn't even need any help learning either.  Josh took off the training wheels and Cash just took off.  For Millie I got a child seat that bolts to my bike so she could join us on our bike rides.  She LOVES it.  I can't even go out in the garage anymore without her pointing to the bike and asking for a ride.

4th of July

Yikes, this summer is just flying by.  Although I'm not quite as panicked about fall's approach now that I've switched Cash to the half day kindergarten.  I had originally enrolled him in full day Kindergarten because I wanted him to participate in all of the "enrichment" programs like music, art, and P.E. which are only provided to the full day kids.  I just wasn't feeling at peace about the decision though and was actually having panic attack symptoms when I would think about him being away from me for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week.  It was just overwhelming.  I also just don't think Cash is ready for that.  He loves being at home with his sister and I.  He doesn't even like being left alone in a room, always reminding me that he "wants to be with his family".  Even if it's for a trip to the bathroom.  LOL  It's almost August so I thought I should probably post our 4th of July photos. 

Our 4th was pretty low key.  Josh had to work part of the day so we waited for him to come home and made burgers followed by S'mores in the front yard.

This is the first year that we've set off fireworks at home.  Cash has always been really sensitive to loud noise so I knew he wouldn't be into it when he was younger.  As it was, he kept his hands over his ears the whole time.  It was something new and fun though.  Just not sure we'll do the fountains again.

Newport

Right before Josh's crazy harvest season hit he called me on a Friday afternoon to say he was taking the family to Newport for the evening.  We headed out by 3 and were on the beach about an hour later.  It was the most beautiful day on the Oregon Coast I had ever experienced.  It was actually HOT with a very slight breeze.  The kids played in the sand, Josh and I played frisbee, and Cash brought literally 2 cups of sand home in his pockets.  Fun was had by all.

Josh dropped my camera in the ocean so the remainder of my pics came from my phone.  At some point soon I'll have to bite the bullet and purchase another point and shoot camera but lately my phone and my SLR have been picking up the slack.

Annual Zoo Visit

Once a year I try to take the kiddos to the Oregon Zoo.  It's a 4 hour round trip so that's about all I can manage.  A few weeks ago I met up with a friend from the Portland area, Ene, and she brought her sweet little boy Daniel. Last year Millie was way too young to really get it but she loved looking at the animals this time around.  Cash was a great listener and we had a fun day with friends.

Ene bought the kids scorpion lollipops.  The literally had dead scorpions in the middle of them.  They loved them and it provided the adults with a lot of entertainment.