My Helper

Jonathan was having fun helping me unload the dishwasher last night. Not an artistic shot, but at least it's a new one! :-)

Snow Angel

One of the things Thomas wanted to do in New York was make a snow angel. I think he made a pretty good one. So did he.

Wet Jonathan

Here's a shot of Jonathan having fun at the water park in New York. He LOVED splashing!

Palmer

I've had a cold all week and am tired. So I'm being lazy and posting more pics from last week in New York.

Jonathan was there too!

Ok, Mom. Here you go. Proof that Jonathan was in New York too. The snow is overexposed, but Jonathan's cute.

Footprints in the Snow

Soccer Cleats

Thomas is getting ready to play soccer for the first time and today we bought him his shin guards, soccer socks, new cleats, and a new soccer ball. He wore the cleats all day and the second we got home, we had to go play soccer in the front yard. We're still growing our dandelion patch as you can see, but try not to let that distract you. ;-)

Lunar Eclipse

And now for my first attempt at lunar photography. I was out there for 30 minutes, in 16 degree weather that actually felt like 7, trying to photograph the lunar eclipse on Wednesday night and only got this one picture worth keeping.

And for added info on what's in my image, read this from space.com.

Moreover, this eclipse comes with a rare bonus. The planet Saturn (magnitude +0.2) and the bright bluish star, Regulus (magnitude +1.4) will form a broad triangle with the moon's ruddy disk.

Based on what I read, I'm pretty sure Saturn is on the left.

Baby Snowman

Thomas has been dying to make a snowman while we're here in New York. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of good snow left after it was in the 40s on Monday. So we had to settle for a baby snowman. Today it's in the low 20s and very cold with the wind.

Karate

We went to watch Mason at karate last night. Thomas really wants to take karate so he was very into watching Mason. Very difficult lighting conditions. Dim gym with fluorescent lighting. This is the best I could do.

FYI. It's 18 degrees here currently and feels like 7. Brrrr!

Oddity

Notice something odd? Swimsuits inside. Snow outside. Fun!

Cousins

Thomas and Palmer getting ready to go sledding yesterday.

Sledding

I know this isn't the best pic, but I'm in New York and don't have my usual setup. It also might be a big file but again I don't have my normal editing programs. I know the snow isn't the brightest but it's a dreary day and I've never used this camera in snowy conditions before. After all those disclaimers, enjoy the pic of Thomas sledding down the hill. He loved it.

Puppy Towel

Thomas loves his new puppy towel!

Peg Game

A friend of Dale and Wanda's made this game for the boys. They both love it for different reasons. Thomas actually tries to play it the right way by jumping the pegs and taking one out. Jonathan just loves pulling them all out.

Valentine Haul

The Valentine's Thomas got at his school party.

Shoeless John

Over the last week, Jonathan has figured out how to take his shoe off. Always his left shoe. And sock. In the car. Every time.

Sleep

Little Imp

Jonathan was so tickled with himself for chewing on this photo from the fridge door.

Dandelion

I saw this lovely patch of dandelions in my front yard the other night on our way to dinner. I wasn't thinking about pulling them. Nope, I was disappointed that I didn't have time to photograph them. The wind and my oldest child took care of the rest of that crop before I could try to photograph them the next day. Thankfully they grew back and I finally got to photograph some last night. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be: on my stomach, in the grass, hoping for no breeze and no neighbors, but it turned out really pretty. This is one shot that looks better once you click on it to view it larger.

Elephant

I captured this pic last month at the zoo.

Water Tower

I took this shot in Lubbock at Christmas. I love what the sunset did to this normally plain, white water tower.

Monkey Fun

Some pics of Jonathan's favorite toy these days: a wind-up monkey. He'll hand it to me and grunt which means, "Please wind this up for my enjoyment Mommy." Then he'll laugh deep belly laughs the whole time the monkey is doing flips and then hand it to me again and grunt.

I took 177 shots trying to get the monkey picture I wanted. Never did, but here are some of my favorite attempts.

Little Fingers

I tried some more piano shots with some little fingers just for fun. I couldn't decide which one I liked best so I'm posting all three. What's your favorite? And since I posted three pictures today, does that mean I don't have to do another one till Saturday? ;-)

Piano

Lunch

A food stylist I am not, but it sure did taste good!

Castle Window

Treasures

I found these items this morning in the washing machine after I washed a load of Thomas' clothes. Forgotten treasures from his pockets: interesting rocks from the school playground and Australian money.

Playing Pool

Took this shot last night of my dad playing pool with Thomas.