Photo Friday!

Today is Photo Friday. Nothing to say, really. Just want to share some photos from the week.

Enjoy!

Little brother, learning the ropes from big brother.

This was my view from my end of the kitchen table the other day.
Does your kitchen table look like this?
I lost control somewhere along the way...

And this is typical of Charlie's blue jeans. I have exactly two pair that don't have holes in them.
They are under lock and key.

Chase wanted to see what it's like to sleep in a big boy bed.
Listen, buddy. If' you'd sleep past 6am, I'd be happy to move you into one of your own.
Keep that in mind, my friend.

Remember this guy? 

Chase, taking the wheel and going for a ride.

And already an aggressive driver apparently.
"Hey, buddy! Watch where you're going!"

Take this photo, frame it and date it February 22, 2012.
It's the day Charlie sat still long enough for me to take his photo.
And, he smiled.
I should play the lottery.

Can you tell that I'm in love with the Chase / Pooh Bear photos?

Kinda cool lighting, I thought.

I love this time of day.

Charlie, in motion, but relatively still.
Most photos I take of Charlie are blurry b/c the boy moves so fast - literally.

Chase, smiling and not giving me the pouty model look.

I love this photo!

I am DEFINITELY playing the lottery now!

Pooh Bear is my new muse.

Mister Bob and his Tractor

It was a gorgeous day yesterday, so we spent most of the afternoon outside. The boys LOVE playing in the woods behind our house. We were having a great time, but then Chase became very concerned about a noise he heard... that is until he figured out it was Mister Bob (our neighbor) on his tractor. Then, he was a man on a mission. He had to go find that tractor!

Here's a cute video of Chase, Pooh Bear, Bunny and the search for Mister Bob.

Charlie, Chase and a Little Bear Named Pooh

It was an absolutely gorgeous day today. Gorgeous! The boys and I spent all afternoon outside. Pooh Bear came along for the ride, too. Thankfully the boys let me bring my camera and the result is a couple of great photos. (And, I stuck to my New Year's Resolution and took all of these photos on the manual setting. Yeah, me!)

Oh, and if you're wondering why I don't have many pictures of Charlie, it's because the boy never sits still long enough for me to capture any! Oh, well!

Hope your day was just as wonderful as ours!

You know I like photos from behind, but I especially like this photo because Pooh Bear is facing the camera.
I love that Chase loves Pooh Bear.

Another classic Chase with Pooh Bear

Just so sweet...

Charlie would live outside if we'd let him. He loves being outside.

LOVE, LOVE this photo!

Super sweet!

Charlie wanted to be the line leader, so here, he's instructing us to get in line and follow him.

Pooh Bear gets lots of love!

Taking a load off and enjoying the beautiful day.

Nothing in Particular

There really is no rhyme or reason to the photos that are going in this blog entry. For awhile there, I tried to take a photo a day, but then life got in the way and I just didn't have time. (And frankly, there just aren't that many memorable things that happen on a daily basis.) So, what's left is a lot of nothing in particular.

Truthfully, I am trying to practice shooting in manual. For awhile there, I got lazy and used the automatic setting on my camera, but one of my new year resolutions was to go back to shooting in manual. (That just gives me a good excuse to take more pictures!)

Oh, and for those of you wondering what I do with these hundreds of pictures I take of my kids... I compile them into a year long photo book. It's a great way for me to showcase my favorite photos, plus it's way better than sticking snapshots in a photo album that I'll never look at again.

Enough rambling. Onto a whole lot of, well... nothing in particular.

Chase got his own "camera" for Christmas. This is how he takes pictures of us...
...with a big goofy grin and a "CHEESE!"

This is how the boys look when they're engrossed in a movie.
At the moment, their favorite movie is "Handy Manny's Big Construction Job."
That just means they've seen it no less than 30 times!

Chase loves to say "I made that!" Here he's admiring one of his works of art.

The boy has a belt and his "adjustable waist" pants are at the tightest setting and yet he still can't keep his pants up. His little crack is showing constantly. (See above.) It's downright obscene sometimes! Poor Charlie. 

Chase loves to play on the iPad. I'm amazed at how well he does with it! It's so intuitive...
...especially if a 2-year-old can figure it out!

So, this is just me showing off the cute Valentine's we made for Charlie's class.
A shovel, some M&M's and a little note that says "I dig you!" Aren't they adorable! Thank you Pinterest!
(If you don't know what Pinterest is, that's probably a good thing. It's a time sucker!)

This isn't a very good picture, but I had to include it. Notice how there is nowhere to sit because Charlie had to park all of his trucks on the couch. The poor dog couldn't even find a spot!

The boys love playing in the woods behind our house. It's a little boy's wonderland!

I just have so few pictures of both boys together, I always have to include it whenever I come across one.

I think this is kind of a cool photo.

Chase just loves his big brother.

Career Day at Preschool!

On Monday, Charlie got an extra special treat at school... a visit from Daddy! 

Mike spent part of the morning with the class to talk a little bit about his job. (Ok, mostly he compared his job to Lightning McQueen and his sponsor, Rusteze... words a preschooler can understand.) He also shared all of the different color flags you see in racing and what they all mean. He read "The Race Car Alphabet," and he showcased a real helmet and driver's uniform. A few of Charlie's classmates even tried on Uncle Tony's helmet! How cool is that?! Afterwards, Mike gave away hats, No. 14 matchbox cars and even an autographed hero card. Not too many Dads can do that for their kids' class, can they?

Here are a couple of pictures from Mike's visit to StoneBridge.

Mike, explaining what a checkered flag is.

Charlie and a few of his classmates. Aren't they cute?

Charlie, listening intently to his Daddy.

Doesn't Mike look like he's having fun?

Charlie was excited to help his classmates try on Uncle Tony's helmet.
(Charlie wanted no part of it, though.)

This is Grayson. He loved it!

Mike taught Parker how to hold up a #1 sign.

Isn't it fun to get a sneak peak of what Charlie's like in school?