Childhood...

He's at the age where being out on the tube doesn't look nearly as fun as sitting behind the wheel.

Every now and again he would look over my way and grin ear to ear - so proud of his work as the driver. Childhood is too short.


Nikon D750 | Lens 24-120 mm | Aperature 4.0 | Shutter 200 | ISO 320

It must be something with this age because I have a picture of Hunter at the wheel and Bennett at the wheel as this exact age and not a single picture of them older in this same position.



They're learning young!

The texture of summer...

In my mind, cotton candy is the texture of summer. It's light and airy and dyes your mouth all sorts of fun colors and leaves your hands and face completely sticky. Perhaps most parent's nightmare. I realize I might be in the minority here, but I love myself some cotton candy. The kids know I'm a sucker for the fluffy stuff and I rarely turn down an opportunity to coat their teeth with this glorious sugar.

But I don't share. I always get my own bag. I'm not a fan of smashed cotton candy or even worse when they lick their fingers and then go to grab more and leave their slobber marks on a perfectly good cloud of candy. And blue is my favorite, I always go for blue. Oddly enough I'm not sure the blue smile is nearly as cute on me as it is on those younger than 6 years old!

Childhood...

Nothing says summer like a morning of swimming and an afternoon playing MarioKart.

We're not big into video games - it's not something that they can play without permission and we only have a couple games. I'm pretty sure the kids were shocked when they asked if they could play one afternoon and I said yes. Their chores were done and they were getting along and it was too hot to even swim.

So they all played MarioKart and their dialogue was entertaining. I enjoy watching my kids play MarioKart. Can anyone really play without leaning into the turns or clenching your teeth as you watch the red shell coming towards you? And the victory dances when you win the cup...forget about it. I have several videos of Bennett winning and they're great - and even better is the dance he did when he thought he won and then the disappointment when he realized otherwise!

Childhood...

I feel like I blinked and my little girl no longer looked little. She acts older. She talks older. After all, she is going into fifth grade. And she's constantly asking why all of her friends have phones and she doesn't! They don't stay little for long, do they?!

Summer means sunscreen, popsicles, friends and pools. And this is her summer look. Sun bleached pool hair, chapped lips and freckles peeking through her skin and not a care in the world. 10 looks good on her. Childhood is too short.


Nikon D750 | Lens 85mm | Aperature 2.2 | Shutter 320 | ISO 100

Childhood...

I've always heard that kids like the box the toy comes in better than the toy. What is it about a cardboard box that screams endless fun. Steve had some large boxes at work so he brought them home for the kids to enjoy. Those boxes seemed to be relocated to every corner of the yard before they made a more permanent home next to the playhouse. Don't worry - I built them a playhouse and they had just as much fun in their playhouse constructed of boxes.

I think more than anything I love the chalkboard doodles all over the boxes (and the fact that Cannon is invited too!)





Childhood is too short.

Childhood...

I often catch these two reading together. Sometimes it's on Bennett's bed. Other times it's curled up on Cannon's bean bag. Cannon brings a pile of books and Bennett reads through the few words that he knows or can sound out and he makes up the rest. Cannon doesn't care. He just likes books.

This is real-life. Late morning photo. Nutella is smeared across Bennett's face from his pancake breakfast. Cannon is still in his Chewbaca pajamas. (Chances are he remained in those pajamas until after his afternoon nap). I enjoyed watching them read together until they started to act silly and one of them hit the other and then reading books wasn't fun anymore and they both went they're separate directions.

Childhood is too short.

Childhood Laughter...

This is Hallie. She is happy and she has an infectious laugh. This particular day, she was cutting out her Valentines and had her mouth full of carrots and we got her laughing. I like watching her laugh - her laughter spreads across her face and travels throughout her body. And it doesn't take long before she has everyone else laughing.

I want to remember laughing Hallie before she morphs into a moody teenager and giggles like this become nonexistent. I want to remember how she laughs without being self-conscious as to what she looks like while laughing.

Childhood is too short.

Childhood...

Childhood is dirty. It's playing outside, not caring what gets underneath your fingernails. It's wiping your runny nose across your sleeve, leaving a trail across your face. It's voluntarily dumping sand on your own head. It's having grass stains on your pants. Its having hands as dirty as these and then eating a snack.

And we wonder as mothers why it's so hard to keep a clean house!

Childhood is too short.

Childhood...

This kid rarely has quiet moments. He is as enthusiastic and animated as they come. And yet - on rare occasion, I will find him quietly concentrating. It's usually a fleeting moment but I have proof that they do exist. I watched him for just a few minutes as he carefully built his tower. I wondered what was going through his head as he carefully placed each piece. Was he actually thinking about what he was building? Was he anticipating crushing it with a car? Was he wondering what we were having for lunch?

I enjoy their quiet playful moments...much more than their screaming fighting moments. Childhood is too short.

Childhood...

The kids were getting ready for school; running up the stairs to brush their teeth and running back down. Running back up the stairs to grab their sweatshirts and running back down. I was directing traffic from the couch with my bowl of cereal, signing homework.

I glanced over at the kitchen table and there sat our youngest with his bowl of oatmeal, which he requests every single day. One streak of light was shining through hitting him square in the face. He was illuminated in the dark room. And I watched as he slowly maneuvered the spoon from the bowl to his mouth. He wasn't bothered by the chaos around him or the TV on in the adjacent room. He was just enjoying his oatmeal.

Childhood is too short.

Childhood...

We've got a book lover in our house. He has single handedly destroyed more books than all the rest of our children combined, not intentionally, but because he uses them so much. He has a book case in his room and there's always a pile he's pulled out and put on his dresser. We often find him in a comfy bean bag in the playroom next to the books with a pile sitting next to him. He's been known to pull the books off of Hallie's shelf while she's at school or out of Hunter's locker. Because of him, there's books haphazardly placed throughout the house; on the kitchen table, on the floor of the entry way, on the piano, next to my desk, under the couch, we've even found one in the toilet!

He spends a lot of time looking at books but he loves it even more when someone reads the book to him. If you're a visitor to our house, he will bring you a book and request that you read it. The morning after Christmas - still in his Christmas jammies - he requested Steve's mom read him a book. And after she read that one, he brought her another. He would've climbed up on her lap with a book as long as she was sitting on that couch!

I love watching a child explore a book. Childhood is too short.

Childhood...

Hallie received a sketchbook and pencils for her birthday and she's loving it. This is how I found them this afternoon - an iPad was propped up in front of them with a youtube video playing on 3-d sketching by Mark Kistler (an old school video I watched when I was a kid!). I think they both drew the same 3-d cylinders at least three times. And each time they excitedly wanted to show me their masterpiece.



Nothing beats Sunday afternoon sketching. Childhood is too short.

Childhood in realtime...

Sometimes it's the most simple of toys that make a child happy. This particular stick horse was made by Bennett's preschool teacher last year. It's been used for games of stick pole, limbo and hockey. Not to mention its most common use - a sort of weapon to hit people with.

Cannon has finally figured out how a stick horse should really be used. And he gallops around like a regular cowboy.


Childhood is short.

Childhood in realtime...

His obsession is football (and legos) right now.

He walks around the house with a football always in his hand; tossing it out in front of him - diving into the couch or floor. Whenever Steve gets home from work, Hunter is patiently waiting for his quarterback to join in the fun.



Childhood is too short.

Childhood in realtime...

When was the last time you danced in the rain - or ran through the irrigation water?!

I have a lot to learn from my kids. Bennett saw the irrigation filling the backyard and immediately ran to me to get permission to get his swimsuit on. Immediately, 10 reasons popped into my head as to why it was not a good idea in that moment. But the look on his face was priceless. He was so anxious. I told him sure. He stood there for a minute not sure if he heard me correctly and then quickly disappeared to suit up.

I walked outside minutes later to hear the backyard filled with his childish giggle. The water splashed up in his shorts as he ran and he thought it was so funny. He tossed a ball up in the air probably a hundred times. Not once did he ever come close to catching although he tried every time. But he didn't need to catch it to be happy - it was the process of throwing it in the air with water spraying up that made him smile.



Childhood is short.

Childhood in realtime...

I realize the majority of my photography is "event photography". We go on a hike, I take pictures. We go on a trip, I take pictures. When we're out and about, I always have my camera. But where I spend the majority of my time - at home - I rarely pull out the camera, but they're the moments I want to remember.

I'm making a constant effort to photograph my children in realtime. Without a staged home or perhaps even a clean home - but it will be in the moment.

I want to capture moments like these two sitting so close to each other at such a big table in their striped shirts and they remained there without fighting for approximately 20 minutes.
Childhood is too short.