Parks Family

Rachel was a little girl who came to our house to play with Shannon.  Her and Shannon spent lots of time together and then......... they grew up and have their own little ones.  Rachel and Aaron have 3 sons that are pretty amazing and cute..... sorry handsome.  

There were so many cancellations due to surgeries, sickness, work..... I can't remember anymore but between Rachel and I we finally got the date nailed down and it was totally worth the wait.

This boy is too cute

Middle Child Cuteness

And just pure Handsome

It was a nice night so the boys put on their puddle boots and we shot a few outside in the sloppy lawn.  Totally love that I asked the boys to put their hands in the pockets and they did.

The great thing about outdoor photos is the natural look.  Who wouldn't want this one on the wall. Sloppy grass and all.....

Rachel it was great meeting your boys. 

Tree Hugger no more

Up north at the cottage we were on a dead end black top road.  Lots of trees between us and the neighbors.  We might not be in the front yard very often but it was a beautiful place with lots of trees. It was the perfect location for parking campers, the trees provided lots of shade.  Here is a photo of the front yard as of last summer.

Then this happened.....  They removed all the black top and cut down all the trees on both sides of the road.  What a shame.....

All so they can build the road up to code, a dead end road in the middle of nowhere 

We won't be getting used to this site for a long time.

The openness doesn't only effect us it effects everyone on the road and they live there full time so I'm sure they are a bit more upset then we are.  

Along with the missing trees comes the mess.  John assures me they are not done.  This will get worse before it gets better.

Now for the back yard.......  We had a couple fires already on the deck

This was a few weekends ago when the ice was still on the river.

Can't wait to see the open water under my kayak.   And hopefully we still have a front yard for campers when they are done with their "code"

Fun & Funky.....

Tonight I had two photo sessions, they were great.  The first gal is starting a new jewelry line and needed some head shots for her business card.  One photo you say..... not going to happen.  This session was very fun and the jewelry line is pretty awesome.  I chose this funky crop because it spoke to me..... 

Next was one of my Senior girls who wanted her softball pictures taken.  Softball is her passion and she's dang good at it.  I've went to a couple of her games in the past years and she's fun to watch.  So to keep with the funky- speak to me - photos I chose this one for a quick peek.  

G-baby #7

Adam and Monica are expecting baby #2 in July and since there were a few complications during her  pregnancy we decided to not do an announcement picture until we knew more of what was happening.  

The first months Monica was so sick she couldn't even keep water down, she gave us a scare a few times with being so tired and dehydrated that a couple trips to the ER were needed.  

Next came the news of a blood clot attached to the baby during her first ultrasound that sometimes can cause miscarriage or the chance that the baby will not survive the entire pregnancy.   The next few days were pretty sad and worrisome but then we accepted that this was in God's hands and we were to pray for the best for everyone.  We still worried but knew we couldn't do anything about it but accept what was to happen.  The next ultrasound was the day before we left for vacation...... the doctor decided to wait another month.  Are you kidding me??  More waiting.....

This last week they finally got the ultrasound to say the clot has dissolved, which is what they are supposed to do, the babies health is good, and the sex of the baby was determined.  Holding your breath for 4 months is pretty scary but when the all clear is released it lets down lots of tears.  Adam and Monica wanted to tell us the sex of the baby in a special way so when I drove home on Wednesday I knew there was going to be a sign somewhere for me to know if our next grandchild was to be a boy or girl.  I have to be honest I thought when I drove by Adam's house there would have been something on the mailbox or all the snow in their yard was going to be pink or blue...... NOTHING!!  

My heart may have sunk a little, as I pouted the next mile to our house I didn't even see the sign until I pulled into the driveway.  I had to back out of the driveway and back onto the road in front of the house to look at the street view I missed.   I got a quick iPhone photo so you could see what the baby will be. 

Oh you can't see it?  Good thing I grabbed another photo in the morning before I headed off to work.  

Grand baby #7 is 90% chance a GIRL. 

So today was the announcement photo and since Monica couldn't eat a thing while having morning sickness she can eat now and baby girl is making up for lost time.  She has many crazy cravings which includes drinking pickle juice for real, as soon as we took the lid off the jar she was drinking it.  This isn't my original idea, of course I found it on Pinterest, but it sums up their little family right now so we knew this was it.

Yes the book is upside down, that was planned.  If you know Adam at all you know he does not read, ever.  So asking him to read a book was so not him but he will read to Jr so we grabbed a children's book and flipped it upside down.

Raelynn and Aubree

Sweet 6 month Raelynn was a happy baby.  Her dark eyes could melt your heart with one blink.  

What's a girl to do with a lampshade...... tip it over and have a baby sit in it of course.

Big Sister Aubree is almost two and she was on the move.  One of the ways I could get her to sit still for more than 10 seconds was to put her on a chair or bench and put a hat on her head.  

Getting these two girls to both look, Aubree to sit still when Raelynn is looking was a bit challenging but all you need is one where they are both looking at the camera.  Mission accomplished!

Got a few of the whole family which was another tough battle but again, all you need is one.  I loved this one in black and white.....

This smiles says........ getting your pictures taken by Connie is so much fun :)

Such a sweet family and I got to spend snuggle time with the girls.

March Challenge - Early Signs of Spring

Yesterday I posted the March challenge for early signs of spring..... then tonight my niece calls me and says "the neighbors are back sunning themselves in the window"...... I'm there.  Well last year I walked down to the corner, this year it's freezin' out there..... I drove  

Couldn't figure out how the heck she was laying.... I could see her tail and her face at the same time.

I was there for quite awhile and she never moved, even with me right below the window.

You never know when you might need your brothers butt as a pillow....  then I hooted!!

and they were on the move.  See that hole above the window?  

They disappeared into the hole.  I would love to know how many live in this house.  Okay maybe I don't want to know.

The moon was out while it was still daylight.  Since I was already out in the cold I might as well get that shot too.

Happy early signs of spring month..... what do you see?

Saona Island Day 6

Day 6 we decided to venture off the resort to Saona Island.  This was the only trip we decided to take and it was the one recommended by our Apple Vacations Rep.  We had to get up early to catch a ride from our resort to one of the other resorts in our complex.  From there we rode a bus for about 45 minutes with the tour guide giving us a bit of history about Punta Cana.  Very interesting stories, he was our guide for the rest of the day.  When we got to the parking lot for our boat ride there were tons of people trying to sell you things and we got to experience the Dominican bathrooms for the first time this trip.  I've had much worse on my other trips to Mexico.  

You either got a speedboat ride to the island or a party boat.  Yep you guessed it we got the party boat.   

Very busy place as we waited to load the boat.

And party we did right from the moment we took off.  A little dancing and a lot of drinking.

 The water is so much calmer here and bluer.  The day was beautiful right from the start.  

They put the sails up on the party boat

We got to know more people, this guy was talking to us and mentioned that the following weekend he was going ice fishing at the Willow..... that is where my Dad lives, he was staying in a cabin right near him.  This is a small world folks.

More dancing, this party boat was worth the trip all by it's self.

This is getting close to the island, notice the blue waters.

And the closer you got the more turquoise the water was.  This is the place where they filmed The Blue Lagoon.  

We had to get off the party boat further out and get into a smaller boat.  We were almost the last to load the smaller boat and someone said their girlfriend was down in the bathroom on the party boat.  The workers didn't quite understand so I hung onto the party boat and kept telling him we couldn't leave yet.  Finally she came up and we told her it was us that waited for her, her boyfriend didn't really put much effort into it.  She became my best friend, she was a hoot.

Yep more drinks.

You hang out on this island for some lunch and drinks, both were very good.

We put our chairs right in the river up north so we did the same thing here..... after a awhile everyone else followed our lead.  This water was amazingly warm and calm.  

Palm trees, blue skies, white sand and clear waters for miles.

The girl in the chair to the right is the one we saved from the bathroom.  We hung out with them the whole day and had some more fun. 

Then we got tangled up with 4 younger kids that were on their honeymoon.  This girl (I can't remember her name) she was so loaded, she made up laugh and she took a liking to us.  He husband would end up taking care of her drunkin butt for the rest of the trip.  He was amazing and she was hilarious.  

She thought John needed a head wrap to protect him from the sun.  (too late honey)

I love this picture of Kathy, it sums up our whole vacation.  

Two of the best vacation travelers ever!!

Drunkin girl wanted to try my camera..... well drunkin me let her and she was standing in the water.

At least I have pictures of both of us.  They might be a bit goofy

We match :)

Those insulated cups are a must wherever you go.  It's hot and the drinks get warm really quick.  

We found this thing in the water so I had to have my picture taken with it.

We aren't sure what it was but it was very picky and they told us to leave it in the water.

When it was time to go back we got to take the speedboat.  The hardest place to sit is the front.... yep that was me.  We stopped at another location to find starfish.

It was alive and they coach you to only take it out of the water for a quick picture and then put it back.  This is the famous starfish pose. 

Touching a starfish was pretty cool.

It was another party going on in the starfish area.  Drunkin girl was still going strong along with everyone else.  No slowing down for any of us.

I took this from the speedboat in-between heads.  It really does look like this.

We were finally heading back tot he bus area when the sun was going down.  The water was sparkling, not sure how I got this since I was up in the air as that speedboat flew us back.

We got back to the bus and it was the most wonderful day, we had so much fun.  Drunkin girl was out cold by now.  Her new husband held her in his lap giving her his shirt for a blanket as he read his book.  True love for sure, they were such a fun couple to meet.  

They take your photo when you get there, this is why.  Of course you can buy the bottle of wine but since we're not much of a wine drinker I just took a picture of it.  

It was late when we got back but of course we still had time for more drinking and when the bar closed down we grabbed our drinks from the fridge and went to the beach.  

Vacation life is the best!!