HE'S DONE!!!!

Michael is officially done with all 100 practice appraisals. He can now call himself an appraiser. If feels so good to have him done. But, he reminded me that he really isn't done doing appraisals, he is an 'appraiser' now. So to the kids it will be no different. But the difference is HUGE to me, he gets paid for the time he is away from us!

I Caught Them!

I caught them playing and having fun together.
Actually, they really play well together (most of the time)

Regina

I have a new favorite song artist. If you haven't heard Regina Spektor, you have got to check her out. It is music that makes my soul happy.

My own personal model

These are some pictures I took of Maya yesterday. I started taking pictures at home and she was such a willing model, that I decided to take advantage of the situation and take her to a field of flowers Michael told me about.

If you would like to see all the pictures, you can go to www.portraitsbymarisa.instaproofs.com

Do cheeks see?

This is a conversation Maya and I had...

I'm working on the computer, Maya is sitting beside me.

Maya: "mom, guess where I am."
Me: "you are sitting right next to me"
Maya: "How did you know?"
Me: "I can see you"
Maya: "Your cheeks can see?!?!?"

BIL's

Hands off ladies, these guys are spoken for.

I pulled out my camera, and they so graciously started posing for me.

What great models they make!

And then there were 9!

For the last 6 months Michael has been working 9 hour days and also doing apprentice appraisals. In order to become an appraiser, you have to do 100 (unpaid) appraisals. This is our tally sheet, as of 8:00 am this morning we were down to 9 more. In a few hours I'm hoping our tally sheet will say 7. It has been a long journey, and in the end I'm sure it will all be worth it. We are just so excited to have our daddy/husband around more often!

delightful and delicious

My talented and creative friend Brandi hosts a "cupcake of the month" activity each month at her house. The kids get to come over and decorate a creative cupcake, and then of course eat it as well. This month the cupcakes looked like apples to celebrate 'back to school'.

Of course the daughter of a photographer is posing with her cupcake.

They get Mason's lick of approval

No, Maya is not growing dreadlocks, she just wanted to wear the hat. I thought it was cute on her. It was a yard sale find given to us by my brother Cam. Don't worry it was thoroughly washed.

BFF-hopefully!

I told the little rug-rats to go hop into bed last night. I could heard muffled giggles and laughs from down the hall. They had all jumped into the same bed, and thought they had really "tricked mom". I let them think that they were really sneaky as I pretended to be baffled. I'm glad that they can all have so much fun together, even if it means they are ganging up to bamboozle mom.

Kids were born to embarrass their parents!

I can laugh about this now, but at the time, I was mortified. A few weeks ago I was REALLY sick. I was visiting the potty frequently. During one of these visits, the phone rang. Reece yelled, "Mom, I'm going to get the phone!" I yelled back, "Whatever you do, DON'T tell them I'm in the bathroom!!!" This is the conversation I hear from Reece's end. "Hello? No, he's not here, he is at work. My mom? No, she is on the toilet." I yelled "REECE!?!?!?!" Then he says, "Oh, wait, I think she is done." I was done, and when I grabbed the phone, I hung it up. I couldn't bear talk to whomever it was, even if it was a telemarketer.

"SHE IS ON THE TOILET??? Are you kidding me Reece?" This is what I said to him. He burst into tears, saying, "You just said don't say you are in the bathroom." Where is the common sense in this? Anyways, I had to apologize to Reece and let him know that I wasn't really mad, just embarrassed, and explain that you NEVER again tell anyone I'm in the bathroom OR on the toilet.

Fresh eggs, nothing better!

If you didn't know, we are raising chickens for the eggs. I just don't think I could raise chickens for the meat. I don't think I could kill an animal. Here is a picture of our latest egg. There is nothing better than fresh eggs! Well, besides chocolate.....oh, and Pene Rustica from Macaroni Grill......oh, and the Ben and Jerry's Creme Brulee ice cream.....oh, and caramel from Leatherby's. So, I guess I should say, There is no better EGG, than a fresh egg.

Where has summer gone????

I just discovered these pictures I took a few months back. It makes me sad that summer has come to an end!Oh no, don't get me wet!

Mason trying to be modest.

I wish I had this much fun running.

"Come on mom, Put down the camera and play!"

"Hey, where did all the water go?"

I hope you had as great of a summer as we did!