Christmas Day!

Our boys...

a desperate attempt to get Cash in a picture, but he was not having it :)

pajama time!

playing some Christmas carols ;)

little LJ

the big boys

another attempt for a group picture

Maddie and Owen...the 2 most photogenic, and more importantly, most cooperative :)

story time!

little Cameron loving his new books and toys!

and this cutie once again!

As you can see we didn't get any post-worthy pics of the adults this year and didn't have a lot of time to even try. Which I can't imagine why! lol. But these faces are what its all about!

Christmas Morning

Let me just say Cade had a very "sporty" Christmas and Cash was definitely more interested in it all this year. Cade got everything Cardinals, SIU, Bears, etc. and was ecstatic. Although it was nice to get a new toy every now and then too :) He fell to the floor when he opened the white Bears jersey Santa brought him. These are just a few of the best we got Christmas morning with my in-laws.

Cash loved his new Rex dinosaur

Cash & grandma

Cash & GG

Cash & Uncle John

Fire Station set

Erin & Uncle Kody

Cade holding up his new Bears t-shirt from Grandma

Cash excited about some Toy Story candy :)

Cade was super excited to get a new STL hoodie!

never seen a kid so excited for a candy cane on Christmas :)

going thru their stockings from Grandma

A Christmas Gathering...

Some very special friends of mine came over for an evening of fun with the kiddos! We cooked, talked, and relaxed. And even managed to capture some pictures :)

Had a wonderful time girls! Can't wait to do it again.

a little experimenting...

I splurged on a new camera right after Thanksgiving and finally got a chance the other night to try it out. I had bought a 50 mm lens before I purchased the camera so I got to try that out as well. These were by no means the best circumstances to try photo shooting but photo ops are rare these days with toys galore and messy faces. So I had to just go with it. It was still pretty fun to play with my new gadget! I'm looking forward to a little help from a friend here soon ;) We spent an entire lunch hour (and then some) talking about cameras/photography. Not that I have the energy or talent that she does in me, but I think I have a lot to learn :)

Love those faces in the morning!!!

Fall fun

Just some fun pics I took of the boys last weekend playin' in the leaves.

I can't believe Christmas is less than a month away!!!

A 30th birthday celebration

Customize a photo slideshow

Matt's birthday was Friday, the 19th so we had a little celebration on Saturday night at The Blue Martin. I have to say, it turned out to be the perfect amount of fun! He had a great time seeing old friends and of course the people he sees more often too :) I just have to make more of an attempt to get pics of those people he sees more often. After looking thru my pics, it seems I take advantage of that fact. Anyhow, it's hard to believe it has come and gone. Now it's time to start on my next little boy's birthday party planning! lol. It was a great evening and he was humbled by all the family and friends that stopped in to wish him a happy birthday. This is just a glimpse of some of those people. Thanks to everyone that helped make it a special night! And to everyone that traveled hours just to be there for him. He is truly a lucky guy!

Happy Birthday again babe! Love you!!!