WEDDING PEEK

here are a few shots from a recent wedding...

THE COTTAGE 2008 CONT....

a few more pics...

THE COTTAGE 2008

we spent the past week at a cottage my parents rent every summer for a week. it's my parents, my sister, me and the boys. my sister's husband and my husband come out a few nights to visit, but it's mostly just the immediate tilma family! we had a lot of fun and justin learned some new cannon ball moves! jordan and brendan had fun enjoying a lot of freedom.

NEW STUDIO

oh boy, i am so excited to announce that i am working on setting up a new little studio in jamestown. it's a huge space that needs a lot of TLC, but i am excited to have this great opportunity to have my own studio space. here is a pic of what it looks like now. i am hoping to have an opening date of the first week of september. yeah!

BATH TIME

i hate to do this to justin, but i couldn't resist. i told him he needed to take a bath. he asked if he could take one in the pool. without giving it much thought, i said sure. i look outside and this is what i see. i couldn't resist running to get the camera and capturing this naked, white butt. someday i will use this for blackmail. you mom's know what i'm talking about...

FAMILY PICS

i was honored to be able to take family pictures for an old friend of mine, amy. what a beautiful family. i had more fun on this shoot than i've ever had. on the way out to the park, it started to rain. i was fretting because some in this family came all the way from oklahoma, not a shoot we could easily reschedule. but they were all so much fun, willing to do anything, including jumping in the freezing cold stream all for the sake of the picture. thanks you guys for making my weekend! a few of my favorites...

WATCHING THE CLOUDS ROLL AWAY

on wednesday night a storm rolled in. and when i say rolled, i mean rolled right in. justin and i were playing at the neighbors when the thunder started faintly. the wind whipped up and the dark clouds starting coming in from the north west. the whole storm moved very fast. we got the kids inside and i ran back out with the camera to try to catch the feel before getting wet. the pictures do not do this justice. it was awesome!

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY JUSTIN

our little guy turned six this weekend. i can't believe he is six years old already, how time goes by so fast. here are a few pics from his special day.

JUSTIN'S LATEST STORY

this has been justin's story for the past couple weeks...

justin: "mom, you know how i'm growing out my hair this summer?"
mom: "yes...."
justin: "well, i want to grow it all the way down to my zit."
mom: "hmmm...your zit huh? and where is that?"
justin: " right here mom, i want to grow it all the way down to this zit. i want it to look just like ozzy's."

so, the zit is actually a big mole he has in the middle of his chest. and yes, he wants it to look like ozzy osborn's hair. i don't know what scares me more, the fact that he wants his hair down to the middle of his back or the fact that he knows who he is and what ozzy osborn looks like. just a sign of the times...

WE TRIED

well, we tried. sara and i took the boys out to the park and tried to get some good pics of them in their overalls. but the stars were not lined up in our favor. the boys were sour pusses, could hardly get them to crack a smile, and when they did i wasn't ready. the park was completely muddy and torn up. poor aunt sara had to tromp around in the mud in her nice clothes and got all dirty. what a great aunt. here are a few of what i got. nothing i'm going to hang on the wall. and justin has been gone all weekend camping with a friend and his family, so i didn't get any new shots of him either. try, try again i guess.

MY WIERD SON

ok, so jordan is officially wierd. here he is, sitting in the bottom of the oven drawer after pulling everything out of it. and now tonight i came home from work to find him all tucked into the toys. he looked so cute, like a big doll, staring out at me with his big blues. gotta love it.

QUICK UPDATE

a quick update for all those who may live far from us... brendan is now officially walking. he still crawls around every once in a great while, but it's mostly all walk now. jordan, on the other hand, has no desire to walk anywhere. he is crawling all over, but buckles his legs when you stand him up to practice. his favorite thing to do this past week is crawl all over the four chair legs and bottoms under the table. right now, he is under his highchair finding an old spoon from this morning and some left over cheerios to snack on. and brendan is recently fascinated with birds. saying the word "bird" and trying to make the sound, seeing them at the bird feeder, hearing them singing outside. we also hear a lot of "what is that"? we can walk through target and get a continuous feed of "what is that"? it's pretty funny.

justin is having fun at summer recreation during the week. it's sponsored through the rec league and is held every day at his elementary school. i send him in the afternoons and he does crafts and plays games in the gym. they also go outside to play. he is also into the indiana jones lego video game and is playing that now as i sit here. lately, he has been very loving and cuddly. we were sitting here on the couch last night and he said:
justin: "mom, i love you so much i just don't know what to do."
mom: "how about you just love me forever and ever."
justin: "ok, i will."
mom: "even when you're like 16 years old?"
justin: "of course, mom. and you can pinch my biskies anytime you want."
gotta love a free pass to pinch the biskies anytime i want. :)

karl stays busy with his computers and video games, with a little bit of work thrown in for good measure. there is no hockey to watch right now, but he is up to date with the latest and greatest rumors and trades. if i'm not mistaken, free agency starts tomorrow, so i'm sure he'll be all in a twitter tonight and tomorrow when some big deals will probably get made.

i have been busy with pictures lately. lots of babies all of a sudden and pregnant mommies. also a few seniors and weddings. then i balance that with working three days per week at the office and taking care of this whole house of boys. i have it pretty easy i'd say.

SNEAK PEEK FOR LAURA

here is a sneak peek for laura and alex. what a beautiful mommy-to-be! some of my favorites.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

since we had justin, karl and i have started the tradition of going to the zoo on father's day, doing a picnic lunch. we had a beautiful day today, although we skipped the picnic lunch and ate right inside the park. easier that way with the twins. we had a great time and i even got to be in some of the pictures. karl enjoyed his day and the boys loved it too. happy father's day honey, thanks for being such a great dad!

i also want to say happy father's day to my own father, who every time i talk to him still sings to me and tells me he loves me. god blessed me with a wonderful dad, who has taught me that my heavenly father is always there for me too. i love you dad!

CHEAP ENTERTAINMENT

tonight a laundry basket made for cheap entertainment. karl put the twins in the laundry basket and pushed them around while they laughed hysterically. as soon as he gets home from work, the twins try to crawl all over him. and then justin gets in on the action. soon there are bodies all over the floor.

LIFE IS PRECIOUS

i just needed to say this today. life is precious. we need to live every day to the fullest, hug our kids, kiss our spouses, thank our parents. a good friend of mine just found out this week that her mother has ovarian cancer. her mother and my mother are not too far apart in age and it really made me stop and think. what is our purpose here, what is god's plan for our life? every day we need to be in his word, talking to him, asking him to use us today for his plan. also, i just want to say thanks mom for all you have done for me in my life. i would not be where i am today without you. god knew i needed you as my mom. i love you.

JUSTIN'S LITTLE ACCIDENT

justin had his all day field trip today to the children's museum and the park for lunch with his class. i get a phone call at work around 1pm, justin has fallen off the monkey bars and cut his lip open. his teacher thinks he needs stitches. so i run and get him, bringing him back to my office so dr hammond can sew him back up. he ended up biting completely through his lip, needing 10 stitches on the inside of his lip and 5 on the outside. he looks like a prize fighter. but he took it all like a trooper and came out none the worse for wear. i am sure this is just the first in a long line of accidents, fall, broken bones, stitches and ER visits...i am so lucky.