Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year filled with lots of fun and way too much candy. We started off the day by going to Anna's school to see the Halloween parade. All the parents were gathered around with camera's in tow and the kids all walked in a line around the flag pole. Anna was the cutest pirate there. (in my opinion of course.) Later on in the evening we headed to the church for a trunk or treat and chili cook off. Afterward, we met up with several of our friends and went door to door via a trailer full of kids. There were at least 20 kids on that thing. I wish I had a picture, but I left my camera at home. Lainie went up to one door where a lady said, "what do you say?" We all expected her to say, "trick or treat," but instead Lainie looked her right in the eye and said, "meow." Such a cute little kitty.

Carving Pumpkins

Carving pumpkins is always a favorite part of Halloween. Anna loves pulling out the insides while Lainie can't stand getting her hands dirty. Uncle Terry helped Anna, Paul helped Ava and I helped Lainie. We loved seeing them all lit up.

Halloween Party

Anna and Lainie were invited to a Halloween party at our neighbors house Saturday night. I dropped them off and took a peek at all the little girls (and 1 boy) dressed up so cute. They played games and ate pizza. Lainie wanted to be a kitty this year. She meowed at everyone she saw.

practice, practice, practice

So outside we went this morning...I was determined to get some good lighting. I've decided not to be frustrated, after all I am in control of my attitude. (That was for you dad.) I just need to get outside more and take advantage of the nice weather we are still having in St. George. I'm ordering my tripod this week and I'll attempt to take our family pictures myself...we'll see how that goes. Until then...thanks for all the nice comments and pick me ups. I appreciate you all!

BTW, I got a haircut

Got my hair cut yesterday. It's short. Definitely shorter than I've ever had it. These mighty fine photos were taken by my 5 year old Anna. It was so cute the way she tried to hold up my big camera.

One of those days...

Today has just been one of those days so far. Many of you know that I've ventured out and started my own photography company. I still haven't gotten my website up and I don't like posting client pictures to my family site so in the mean time I decided to start a photography blog. (preslanaldridgephotography.blogspot.com) Don't get too excited...there's not a single post on there yet. I went through a lot of pics from past photo sessions and I just started feeling a bit disappointed. I started to doubt my abilities and began to wonder if I could actually charge people for pictures! I'm frustrated. I have so much to work on. I'm still a novice at photoshop, but learning...thanks to a few books and many mini lessons from Leah. I need to practice more with lighting, and put to use all the great bells and whistles my camera has to offer. I guess it's a never ending process. And, I do enjoy that process...just wish every photo came out perfect the first time.

I realize I haven't posted in quite some time. My computer is once again not working properly, hopefully it'll be fixed and back today.

Good Morning

This is one of the four sweet faces I get to wake up to everyday.

Pumpkin Patch

We headed out to the Staheli Family Farm this year for pumpkins. (Instead of my usual trip to the grocery store.) We went with our friends the Storys. There were all sorts of things to keep the kids interested...a petting zoo, playground, tractor ride, and of course choice of any pumpkin they could carry. Ava found hers right away. She tried to pick it up for awhile, but then decided to just sit on it until Daddy came over to get it. I think we may make this an annual event. We'll be carving these as close to Halloween as possible, otherwise they'll wilt after just a day in the sun.

Slide and swings

Just a few photos from hanging outside on our playset this evening. Besides Ava's constant need to eat the pea gravel, we had a great time.

Flying

Uncle Terry came over for dinner tonight. The girls just love it when he is here. He is so good with them. A few neighborhood friends were over and Terry was throwing them all in the air. This is Anna holding tight to her original pose.

Polar Dip

Our backyard neighbors, the McNary's, just finished their pool. (Long process, lots of mishaps.) All the kids were hoping it would be done sooner, but didn't. Now that it's done though all the neighborhood kids wanted to swim. Pool season is OVER! It is getting too cool to swim. Today it is 84 degrees...warm, but definitely not warm enough to swim-especially when the pool water was a chilling 63 degrees. But Jamie let them anyway. All of them jumped in and got right back out. It was cold!

Can I watch a movie?

This is what Lainie says to me on a daily basis when Anna goes to school and Ava is asleep in bed. I don't know if it's part of being a middle child or what, but she feels like there is absolutely nothing to do without her sisters around. I detour her in the direction of coloring, puzzles, and playdough often, but today I gave in. Peter Pan was her movie of choice.

Cleaning the Garage...again

Just hanging outside while daddy organized the garage again. I swear we do this all the time. How is it that one garage can become so cluttered over such a short period of time. I've come to the realization that we are in serious need of some shelving in there.

Marathon Day

Today is the annual St. George Marathon. 26.2 miles of concrete from Central, Utah to St. George. Love it! We headed out to Hwy 18 (near my house) and cheered on the runners that were passing mile marker 10. I loved watching all the runners and how excited they were to have a crowd cheering for them. It took me back a couple of years to 2005 when I ran it with my gal pal Kath. We were both out there this morning thinking how much we wish we had ran it this year. There's always next year....actually scratch that...I hope to be pregnant then....the next year after that.

Sisters

It was windy today, cold and windy. I almost broke out our jackets, but instead opted to stay inside and hang out with my girls. Love these days.

No computer

Sorry about the lack of posts, but I am currently without my computer. It's been acting a bit sluggish lately and finally just stopped working. Where's my G5 when I need it!!! Anyway, I'll have it back soon. I'm still taking lots of pictures, so you can expect some serious back dating when it returns. Until then my faithful readers....

Feeding the Ducks

For our family night this week we decided to go feed the ducks. I save all the ends of our loaves of bread and in a few months we have enough to make the ducks happy. Afterward we went to Nielsen's Frozen Custard. Yum!