an absence explained

my computer died. it was almost a relief, since it had been threatening to do so for a very long time and then, when it refused to get up i just thought, 'well, this is it.' and i was okay with that.

until i saw the price tags on the other laptops when i went to look for a replacement. then i was very distraught. and i wanted my old one. my old one had my bookmarks on it, my software. it was comfortable, worn and i knew when it would be sluggish or quick.

now i have a new computer. and i don't know where anything is. and i don't hit the spacebar right and now none of my words have spaces between them. the keyboard is backlit, which is fancy. it makes me feel like i'm about to fly a spaceship instead of sending an email to ryan saying, "we're going to your parent's house tonight."

of course now i can't find the photoshop cd and i don't have any of my pictures on here, so i have nothing to blog for the time being. it has taken a change of computer to teach me that i rely heavily on pictures for all of my blogging.

so, i guess, until i find that cd, and bring some pictures over, stay tuned. . .

leave it for the maid

it is saturday. i am making the bed. ava is watching.

i move to kate's room and tidy the clutter on her dresser. ava is watching.

i fold some stray kate clothes and put them away. ava is watching.

i move back to my bedroom and stick some shoes in the closet. ava is watching.

finally, she asks, "is someone coming over?"

"no," i say.

"then why are cleaning up?" ava wonders.

i laugh a guilty laugh (is that the only time i clean?).

then ava asks, "are you the maid?"

(this reminds me of being a child myself and hearing my mother occasionally grumble, "i'm not the maid around here!")

hikers

it's that time of year! when all we ever do is hike because the weather is fantastic and the trails are nice and cool, or even a little bit green and we're all just dying to get out of the house. several weeks ago (okay, maybe a month) we went on a hike with our friends. it was five adults, six kids and four teenagers (unenthusiastic teenagers. so they were almost like weights strapped around our ankles. no offense, guys.). it would have been crazy but our friend nate is sort of like a pied piper and also an enthusiastic hiker. so he marched on ahead happily and so did all of the children. and then everyone else followed, except for the teenagers who were slow and grumpy (understandably so, i guess. i mean, if your dad was the pied piper and an enthusiastic hiker, you might be, too).

i see this picture as proof of many things: 1) the children like ryan more than me (it's okay, i do too). 2) ryan is really nice and takes all of the children without complaint so i can take pictures. 3) there's this woman at church named louise (who is lovely) and is married to a man named barry (who is also lovely). louise's mother says that the key to a good marriage is to marry barry. i think the key to a good marriage is also to marry ryan.

i might seriously pay good money to know what on earth was happening when this photo was shot. talk about candid! i have pulled this photo up just to get a good laugh.

some of the crew marching along.

this was the time that jane climbed up a little hill, then slipped and found herself doing the splits. allen helped by grabbing her foot, making it impossible for her to get out of the splits. he held her foot and yelled, "i've gotcha! i've gotcha!"

kate loves hiking, views and affection.

here's a fun story: at the trail head ryan and i were gathering people, holding excitable dogs back from leaping into the bushes, wiping children's mouths, tying shoes, etc. ryan said, "i'll wear kate." he took the baby carrier and started to put it on, reaching for the belt around the waist. 

as i started to say, "i'll help you adjust the waist, it probably needs to be pulled out a bit." ryan neatly buckled the belt. perfectly. awesome. ryan and i are the same size. so i accused, you could have at least pretended it was too tight and fixed it later when i wasn't looking." 

men can be so insensitive.

a group shot. that cute girl with the backpack is my favorite photography assistant, aubrey. she's the reason i have cute pictures of my children right now.

more kate and me.

this, people, is where i live. i don't need a car to get to these trails, these views, i can walk there. I. LOVE. WHERE. I. LIVE. it's beautiful. the weather is gorgeous.

three in a row

we've talked before about how hard it is to get a good picture of my children, right? 

in case you missed that one, i'll help you out: when i try to take pictures of my three children together i often grow frustrated. so frustrated that i want to throw my camera at them so they finally stop being awful and notice that the instruction i give them is to merely look at the &@(#*i@ camera! 

with kate's first birthday around the corner and my living room being in need of a photo of my three children in one frame, i decided that i was going to give this a try. with help, of course. i asked my friend aubrey, who is taking a photography class at her high school, to come along and help me out. 

friends, she. was. amazing. i might never do another photoshoot without her. i'm so happy with the photographs we got that i think i might write her a thank you card. it'll go something like this:

dear aubrey,

i love you i love you i love you i love you i love you i love you. also, thank you.

too much? obviously you've never tried to take a picture of my children. 

the mouse

around the house

missing tooth

ava: is the toothfairy real?

me: (pause) what do you think?

ryan: (no pause) no.

i give ryan an angry glare. he shrugs. "i'm not going to lie to my kid." he says.

i glare some more. because he's right. but also, because he's ruining ava's childhood. 

ava: i don't believe you daddy. because she came to our house and gave me a dollar."