A very long weekend

I have to say that this was a particularly busy weekend for me. Father's Day weekend is always a little hectic around here, as it often coincides with Chloe's birthday and Kevin's family reunion is always held on Father's Day. The Rodie boys also play in a Sunday afternoon softball league that often causes us to hustle off from the reunion as soon as lunch is over.



Of course I had to complicate all of that with my own busyness this weekend. I shot a wedding at 3 on Saturday, and then I had the dumb idea to agree to do a class reunion at 7 the same evening. In my defense, it was very difficult to turn down a job which required about 20 minutes of work and several hundred dollars worth of print orders. Especially since I was driving right past it at the exact time I was needed. Really, who wouldn't have taken it?


Anyway, the wedding was fine, despite the oppressive heat. It was actually a little better than either the day before or after, so I was very thankful for that at least. I also drank about a half gallon of water in addition to eating a half a bottle of Tums. I really enjoyed the shoot I had with the bride and groom before the reception. This is my absolute favorite shot.


The groom's sister is also a photographer, so she took over after dinner at the reception so I stopped for a quick bite to eat and high-tailed it over to the lake for the class of 1954's 55 year reunion. Who knew that this many people would show up for a reunion 55 years later?


I can't say I really enjoyed shooting the reunion or the wedding as much as shooting kids and families; I certainly wouldn't want to do it everyday or even on a regular basis. But it sure is a great way to supplement your income a little.

My Grandpa

My Dad sent me an email this morning. My Grandpa fell twice yesterday and was found the second time by his neighbors who called an ambulance to take him to the hospital. My Dad lost his Mom at the beginning of the year so he seems to be pretty broken up.

The kids and I were just talking yesterday about how blessed they are to have 4 living Great-Grandparents. Hopefully, my Grandpa will recover soon, but he's got some pre-existing heart problems. Anyway, we'd appreciate all your prayers for my Grandpa and my Dad. Thanks.

The Party...

Well, despite the terrific thunderstorm that had our entire family in the basement a mere 12 hours before Chloe's birthday party and without power just 8 hours before, the party was great! We started at 4 and at about 3:58, the power went out again. But just for a few minutes. We had planned on having the entire event outside, but my husband made the decision to move all 46 of us into the house because of the 90 degree heat outside. It turned out to be a great decision.

My SIL, Megan had the idea to tie dye at Chloe's party. I had not tie dyed since the '80s so she was kind enough to help with that part of the party. The night before, Chloe, Megan, Ellen (my MIL) and I did some practice shirts for our family to wear at the party and so Ellen and I could learn how to do it. So yesterday morning we set up the basement for the tie dye station. It really helped to keep the chaos to a minimum and the kids had so much fun! The older kids (the fab 5 and older) did most of their own work on their shirts. The mommies got to do the shirts for the littler ones. I think most of them turned out really cute!

Unfortunately, this photographer mommy got so caught up with helping the kids, I completely forgot to get out my camera! We'll just blame it on my pregnant brain. I did get it out after the party for some of the stragglers.

Here's the finished product. We actually had 25 kids and all of them got at least one t-shirt. My girl and a few of her cousins got to use some left-overs to make these after everyone else was gone. We even did one for the baby.

Here are some cousins in their tie dye fun! (fyi: this is only half the cousins)

Chloe is 7!!

In honor of her seventh birthday, Kevin took Chloe out fishing tonight. He kinda spoiled the dinner that we had planned, but she seemed pretty okay with that.

So how about a look back over her last seven years instead?

2 wheels... or 4?

Yes, I know. I've been rather inexplicably absent recently. While I have plenty to blog about, we've been rather busy doing all the things I have to blog about. Kind of a catch 22 don't ya think?

Anyway, a couple weeks ago, Micah had been begging to get a bigger bike. He's been distraught about the fact that all his cousins and his sister have bigger bikes while he's still riding around on his little 12 inch bike with the training wheels. So Kevin made a deal with him, as soon as he learned to ride on 2 wheels, we'd get him a bigger bike.

So on a Saturday afternoon when Kevin was home with nothing to do, they went outside to do just that. It took him a while, but he finally caught on. Every time he got a little tired, they'd take a break, and Micah would come back a little while later doing a lot better. He did so well that when I went out on my girls' night out later on, I got a phone call that Micah had ridden all the way to the park without any help(that's just a little less than a block away)!

Last weekend, I happened to drive past a yard sale with a boy's bike out front. When I stopped they said they were asking $5 for the bike. It was a really nice bike and it was in great shape, so of course we bought it! Micah is not quite tall enough to get on by himself so Kevin or I have to hold the bike up for him, but he's learning to get it going. And he loves being on a big bike now!

Chloe and Micah spent this evening racing up and down the street on their big kid bikes!

Jadon was not going to be left out!Jadon is definitely enjoying the fruits of Micah's labor because now he gets to learn on the little bike. Four wheels is just fine with him!