A Look Inside The Photo shoot

The photo shoot went fantastic! At first Amya was a bit reserved, but then she relaxed......and started to have some fun!
All I had to do was bribe her with a lollipop!

O . O

V

...and lastly...

Here are some examples of custom dresses that aren't for sale, but were fun to make!

I love the baby white snaps!

My friend asked me if I could reproduce this dress she is wearing as a child. This was a fun challenge!

Picture Day!

It's Picture Day!!!I even blow dried Amya's hair!!

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Today is the day that I photograph...

...the dresses...

...and headscarves...

...that I've been sewing for a couple months now (during Amya's naps and late into the night).

I'm very excited!

Very soon,

There will be a post

With pictures of the dresses

And a link to the online store where I'm selling them!**





**this is all contingent on how willing my feisty "model" will be

Good Morning!

Sometimes Amya sleeps with us in our bed. Not often, and less now that she has decided she is a big girl and needs, "My own bed!" But when she does, this is what we wake up to.... ...she gently strokes our hair and kisses us lightly on the face. When our eyes open, she smiles gently, then snorts like a pig, really loud, and laughs. That's our Amya! A mixed bag of surprises!

Cowgirl!

Amya got these cute pants in the mail from Kara! Thanks! She loves them!

Date!

Our friends watched Amya for us last night while we snuck off to a movie! Our local theater is attached to a pizzeria, so you can bring your pizza and beer into the theater with you. We saw "Angles and Demons". Right at the end, before the big announcement that changes everything, the film got stuck and melted right on screen! The whole theater erupted in a collective, "Ahh! Is that for real?!"
They fixed it and we got to see the rest of the climax, plus, we each got two free tickets! Yeah! More date nights! Amya had just as much fun as we did. She got to play with her friend, Matty and his dog! She wouldn't eat her dinner, but as soon as Matty left the table, she gobbled up his dinner.
Thanks Pam and Ken! We all had fun!

More Zoo!

Now, who wouldn't want to tour the zoo in this ride?! Greg fashioned this carriage in his shop. This summer there will be a cloth cover over the top, .......a "covered wagon".

Amya had fun swingin' around on this playground by the monkey exhibit!

Amya and Lila, playing in the bamboo. They had so much fun back in there, that the Dads had to climb in and pull them out when it was time to go. They'd both knitted something for us while they were hiding back there!

Monkey Business!

mothers day activities

For mothers day we took amya to Portland to go to the zoo. Her friends met us there. Amya loved it. Later we stopped at Trader Joes, our favorite store and then out to lunch at a really cool new restaruant in Troutdale on the way back home....

Here are a couple of camera phone shots taken of the best mother in the world (one of the best anyway ;) ) and the reason she is a mother....we love you carol!

time to brew

brewing my first batch of "double white salmon IPA".
minimash of 4 lbs 2 row malt plus 1/2 lb carapils plus 3lbs of some unkown grain left over from the last batch

mashing at 165 deg for 1 hour. then adding 4 lbs bries liquid extract, 2 oz magnum hops and 2oz amarillo hops at the end of the boil....pitching with wyeast 1098 british ale yeast....

happy mothers day mothers!

It's A Small World

If you've ever watched Little People Big World, then you've heard of the Rolloff family. They were in Hood River today shooting footage for their reality t.v. show. This is a bad picture from far away, taken on a cell phone, but that's them!

Dan's Hobbies!

This was what Dan was doing last weekend...fishing and flying.

We drove up to the mountain to go on a mini - afternoon vacation. There is still snow up there...and people skiing.

This weekend, Dan was windsurfing! The guy stays busy!

Miss Cool

More Shrink Material...

Happy Belated Birthday...

...aunt C.C.! We miss you and love you!

p.s. how was the movie?

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

...and happy "anniversary of dating", baby! Wow! It's been 9 years of couple bliss! Love you, babe! (this is from a book Tracy made us for our wedding...our story in pictures)

The story behind the picture is that Tracy and I had a cocktail party while we were roommates in Boston .....and she invited her brother, Dan. Dan came up from Connecticut to Massachusetts with his friend, Ryan.

At the party, Ryan grabbed my camera and took a picture, saying, "Hey you two! Get together for a picture so you can show your kids someday!" He was trying to embarrass us, but it turned out to be a prophetic statement!

We started dating two weeks later.

Got married a year and half later.

Had a kid.

And she loves looking at pictures of Momma and Dadda!

Dinner!

Dan and Michael went fishing on Saturday and caught three lake trout. They were yummie!

Pink Bunny

It was a long time coming, but Amya's Pink Bunny finally arrived! (Amya always emphasises the "pink" part. Apparently the size of the bunny needs no explanation)
Dan's Grandma Shaw mailed this inflatable, glowing bunny long before Easter, but it only arrived a couple days ago. No matter. She loves it! ...and doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that Easter is passed.

We have to tell her the Pink Bunny is taking a rest sometimes, or he would be on all day long! :)

Thank you Great Grandma!