Mike's 40th

My brother, Mike turns 40.
Mom, Mike and Dad Special gift from me and my family. . . glad he is still here to joke about it. This last Easter Eve I was tucking my girls into bed, so the Easter bunny could come, when the phone rang. It was my sister, Mike was at MMC in the ER. He had been struck by an 88 GMC 1 ton van while chasing two suspects on foot across Dirksen Parkway. He did $4,000 damage to the van. He was very fortunate and had no major injuries. I went to the ER to be with him. He drove himself home and missed no work. After all he had the next three days off. . . that should be enough.

Mom and her girls

Your own backyard

You can see what God does right in your own backyard. Everyone should take the time to enjoy it, if even for a moment.

Zoe at the Pumpkin Patch

Daughter of a photographer

Last week was Zoe's school picture day. She got a new outfit and was all fluffed and sent to school for the big day. I called home to see if she still looked cute when she got off the bus and my mom said she sure did. I got back to my office that afternoon and check the messages on my machine to find out that Zoe got very upset when it was time for pictures. They tried for over 15 minutes, moving them studio lights so she could stand instead of sit but nothing worked. Her teacher sent the money home. NO picture for Zoe. So off to my studio to see if that would be any better. Well, she did the same thing for me. This was the only shot that was close to good so I photoshoped out Grandma, and there you have it my daughter that hates the studio lights.
And then there is the natural! Morgan and her new hat.

Running for Office

Morgan came home yesterday and asked if she could run for office. She wants to represent her class on the student council at School. We said sure and the campaign began. We started out with a quick photo shoot downtown in front of the State Capitol and then I worked on some ideas for posters. Voting is this Friday, Oct. 3rd. Keep your fingers crossed.

End of Summer

Today was the official close of summer at our house. The pool was closed. And, of course, before we put the cover on Morgan took one last swim.
Zoe went on a quick photo shoot with me on Friday. We went out to Dr. Zook's farm to photograph the cemetery on his land. She really enjoyed looking at the tombstones.

Family Fun at the Cabin

Morgan caught 3 fish on Saturday. 2 bluegill and one large mouth bass.
The girls get a boat ride with Uncle Mike.
Angie shows Zoe two little toads.
Zoe holds the toad for herself.

Zoe's First Day of School

Zoe rides the bus now to and from school. She gets picked up at her house and then gets dropped off at her grandparents house were Grandma watches her the rest of the day. Day one went well.

First Day of Third Grade for Morgan

Morgan is in 3rd grade now. Her teacher is Mrs. Drainer. She seems to really like her. I hope this is a good year.

10K

I am just getting ready to cross the finish line. My official time was 1:17:44
Melanie had a great time too. 1:19
Love the cheers from the family at the finish line. 6.2 miles of hills and full sun and a smile at the end.

Big Girl Bed

Zoe has a big girl room now. She got a new bed this weekend.

Hummingbird Festival

We went to New Salem State Historic Site this weekend for the Hummingbird Festival. For $5.00 you could adopt a hummingbird. They banded it and you got to hold it and then release it. If it comes back and the catch it they will send you a note that it came back.

Zoe got to feel the hummingbirds heartbeat.

HSM Dance Camp

Dance camp with the theme being High School Muscial. They had a lot of fun.

Chicago

Zoe at the Cloud Gate in Millennium Park. Lots of fun.

Storms Tonight

Waiting for the big bolt and this was it. Not quite as big as I would have liked it but I still like the photograph.

Happy Birthday Morgan

What a great day we had. Morgan is 8 years old now.

Roy G Biv

Today was a rainy day all around. We were awaken by thunderstorms in the night with Chuck our Chocolate Lab (11yo) panting and trying to dig his way to the crawl space. This is a new fear for him. Then we had the Women's Distance Festival a 2 mile race that I ran and then the girls both competed in a childrens fun run. They did awesome. Zoe waved at all the people as she ran. Morgan gave it all she had and finished quite well. Both girls walked away with a trophy and a great experience. All of this was done before 10am.

Tonight we took the girls for a walk and on the way home there was the most beautiful rainbow that I have ever seen. Morgan decided to jump roap. The girl were both asleep by 9pm tongight. They are worn out. I hope Chuck sleeps well tonight too.

4th of July

Look what I found.

Big Smiles.
Morgans version of fireworks.

SO Magazine Features . . .

Photos of Morgan and Grace from the American Girl Fashion Show. This came out in SO magazine with the State Journal Register.

Good Hair Day

I thought Zoe was just looking beautiful on Saturday. She was having a good hair day and her eyes were just popping bright blue.