Sometimes it’s ok to just play.

A few days ago, we were all outside playing and we had an impromptu “family shoot.”  I set up my camera and let the kids go nuts with a water hose.  They had fun. I had fun. We had fun.  AND, awesome pictures came of it.

If you are anything like me, sometimes it seems like life is moving at like 4,391 miles per hour.  Regardless of how much you try to slow down, things just keep piling up;  that is part of the reason that our family practices a Sabbath once a week. But even then it’s like we don’t get enough breaks.  More and more we are realizing that we have to be intentional about stopping.  We have to “plan” to do nothing.  Maybe it’s just us, or maybe you struggle with this too.  If you find yourself seeming to never have time to “play,” you may need to just schedule it.  Put it on the calendar.  Make it the most important part of your week.  The cool thing is, the more we have time to rest and refuel, the more ready we are to get back to work or let our creative juices flow.   I LOVE some of the images we got and can’t wait to work this idea into an engagement session.  You know you want to be cool like my kids.  Email me if you are brave and want your engagement session to be H2O-wsome!!!

Due to popular demand (3 people) I have agreed to post my portion of our family talent show last week.  Danielle & I decided to not allow voting for a winner because we knew the kids would be so disappointed if we won unanimously. :)

Try not to be too impressed.  Enjoy.

Huge shout out to La Tee Da Flowers for hooking me up with the fabric for curtains.
(They just launched their new website today so go check it out.)

Well, Summer is coming to an end so I thought I’d share a little bit of what we have been up to.  This summer we decided to put everything we were going to do up on our magnet wall.  We are tackling them one by one and the kids have had a blast tracking out progress. :)  Take a look.
My favorite part of Super Sports Day was assigning random number values to each activity and place.  The competitive side of Jo could not handle it not being “fair”.  :)  I loved it.

Also, lsat week I made a little video of Jo that got picked up by a few NBA blogs.  (Including ESPN)  He is super pumped that it’s almost to 3,000 views.  He’s about 40 views shy so I figure you all can help push him over the top.  Even if you don’t like basketball click it, play it, make the boy’s day.

So a few months ago I was introduced to the work of Robin Annette.  She is a super talented artist and I commissioned a piece from her that I’m planning on using on my site when I redo it.  Take a look.

Then I was like… wait…. you totally need to draw my whole family.  How awesome is this??!!??!!

Then I was like… wait… I have an idea.  Draw these people.

And she was like.  Bada bing, bada boom.

How great is that?  You can get anything done, I had her do a wedding portrait, but how fun would it be to have a drawing of where you became engaged?  You can use these everywhere, Facebook profile pics, a print to frame and hang in your new home, wallpaper for your iPhone.  How about as custom stamps for your invitations?!?!

So here is the deal.  You need to give her a call, she is hooking you up with a discount for being a blog stalker.  She normally charges $50 for a couple but is giving you 20% off so it’s only $40.  (That’s like what you’ll spend on 1 person to eat at your wedding. :)

Email her here and mention my site.
(eightyniner89@gmail.com)

Ready…. GO!

I think my most favorite thing about having 4 kids is the repetition.  It’s like each one is practice for their younger sibling.  We learn what we do well, what needs improvement, we learn what to ease up on and what moments to really enjoy.  I think that’s what makes grandparents so cool.

Side note: I’m totally looking forward to being a kick butt grandparent by around 2032.
(I’m also looking forward to finally getting that flying car.)

So, back in the day I used to do a bit of video work.  My company was cleverly called. The Video Guy.  Like any new business I had t-shirts made and one day I took Jo, our only son at the time, out and did few photos.  For some reason we also worked an iPod into the shoot.  Partly because it was cool, partly because listening to music was one way he would stay still while I photographed him.  The video business is long gone but the t-shirt and tradition have stuck around.  A few weeks ago it was Eli’s turn to rock the shirt & iPad 2.

And, because I KNOW you want to see more photos of my kids, here are some of their TVG shoots along with links to the latest and greatest Apple gadget at the time.

Jo | iPod

Sara | iPod (w/video) (I can’t begin to explain how much easier the tiny tiny video screen made road trips.)

Luke | iPhone 3GS (Luke never had to “suffer” watching a 2 inch video screen like Sara & Jo did.)