New Family Pictures

Despite my past as a photographer, I just cannot bring myself to pay someone else to take our family pictures. **Hangs head in shame**

But we persist. We usually go one of two routes:
1. Self timer
or
2. Trade

The first is self-explanatory but the second just means that I take pictures for someone and they take pictures for me. This year we chose the latter.

Without further ado.

 This is the picture we sent out in our Christmas cards. We apologize if you didn't receive one or didn't receive one yet.

 Lucas. Skeptical as always.

 Libby. Need I say more?

 Thick as thieves, these two.

 *Sigh* Abbie is well on her way to being a sullen teenager. We still like her though.

 In truth, all Lucas wants is all of your attention all of the time. I'm not sure why this is a problem.

 Love this guy. Lots. P.S. Today is his 35th Birthday.

 An excellent shot of all the kids together. Gonna order this one larger.

 I really love their expressions in this one. Perfection.

 Um. Yah. Daddy's girl, much?

 Gah! I just can't take her cuteness!!!

 I will not admit that she is our favorite. I will not. I just won't.

 I have big hair.

 Such a handsome dude. I'm a little worried about the girls as he gets older, but then I remember that he's completely physically uncoordinated and I worry less.

And finally, besties! I hope they stay that way. So far, mostly very little fighting. And yes, we're in big trouble with such gorgeous ladies!

Amazing

We aren't big fans of kids getting a lot of screen time. I feel like my children would prefer to move from the TV to the computer to my Kindle (playing games) and back to the TV without ever actually moving. So, I spend a lot of my energy encouraging the kids to entertain themselves.

And success! For the record, I've never successfully managed to stack cards like this. I am fairly certain it has to do with my extreme lack of patience.

Anna's Turn

 During the summer, Anna joined the swim team at the YMCA. She's been having so much fun and getting quite strong.

 She recently-ish competed in her first swim meet. At first she was begging to not have to compete. She was so nervous. But she did great. She came in second in her heat for breaststroke and third in another. We're just so proud of our little fish.

 Even if it does mean that I spend a whole lot of time shuttling her back and forth to and from practices.

I think mostly we are hoping it gives her the confidence to try new things. She isn't exactly our most adventurous child. Love this girl.

A Sporting Chance

The older girls have recently decided to try out some new sports. We encourage this because I only ever did gymnastics and my husband only ran track. We know very little about anything else.

Abbie played a season of YMCA Youth Volleyball. Come to find out, she's quite good! At the end of the season, her coach named her the MVP of the team. So proud. However, this season was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to endure watching.

Her team was 0-8. That's not a typo. They didn't win a single game. So absolutely heartbreaking. And yes, some of the girls on the team cried. But not Abbie. Not ever. Not once. I did though. So hard.

She was just so happy to be out there playing! I can't wait for next season. Maybe they'll actually win a game?

Halloween: 2012

I realize it's not even THE DAY yet, but our costumes had to be finished early for a couple of events, so I took pictures while the costumes still looked "fresh".

We'll do this youngest to oldest. For no reason.
First up:
Libby is a girly girl. She likes all things pink and purple and sparkly.

 And so, she is a princess. I made the crown. The outfit was a gift from my mother... I believe she paid an awesome $3. She also has a necklace (which she lost). Mostly, she just wants candy. This look is "I can't believe you aren't giving me any candy right now."

Next:
Lucas. We had to beg. Plead. Bribe.

 But in the end, I got my Dobby. Inspired by a pin with no link on Pinterest. I fashioned the skull cap out of nude lycra type knit fabric and attached the ears my husband designed. The "dress" is just a pillowcase that was already stained. Nice, eh? I have to be honest. It is my hands-down favorite.

 You should have heard people "Squee" with glee when they saw him.

And yes, apparently Dobby likes to pick up chicks. Or whatever this expression is.
Next:
Miles is mildly obsessed right now.

And he makes a pretty convincing Harry, right? We borrowed the cloak and tie. I made him a sweet wand (which you can only see the end of) and the glasses are just one of those pairs that have the comically large nose attached...with the nose detached. Believe it or not, Miles won our congregation's costume contest. It probably helped that he was casting spells on people all night. Method actor and all.

Next:
If you recognize Anna's costume without me telling you what it is, you win big points. BIG NERDY POINTS.

Still no clue? How about this:

This is Rarity. She's a My Little Pony. And yes, I made Anna a wig. 

Basically, I created tufts of hair and soaked them in fabric stiffener. Then wound them around a bat (covered in saran wrap) and stuck them in front of a fan to dry. Hint: the more stiffener the better. I then attached them to a hat I crocheted just for this project. Yes, this was easily the most time consuming project. What was I thinking??? 

And Finally:

Abbie has wanted this costume for several years. I finally consented.

 She is Katara from Avatar the Last Airbender. As reference:

In all honesty, the costume wasn't that hard. The hair is my nemesis. We did get it to look much better for our church party, but come Wednesday, I should have it down pat.

I actually think this costume will get played with again. 

Overall:

I am awesome. 

I feel like we should all get to say that more often.