Professional Portraits

And of course we could not leave dad's house without trying out his latest portrait studio set-up.   He tests out all kinds of arrangements, various lightings and reflectors, before we get the wiggly kiddos in there. They all cooperated for a few minutes before church and let him take his best shot at capturing their attention.
I love that so many of these look like their natural expressions - not too posed.

Baby L is still super drooly, as her dress shows!

Dad took a couple quick family shots after church too. Baby L was asleep and brother M was having a hard time focusing on anything other than his paper toys made during church.

Thanksgiving Part 3

Saturday was rainy and cooler so we went to the Rockwell Museum.  They have a lot of American art, including a few pieces by Frederick Remington, who we studied in our "Meet the Masters" class.

Since brother S wasn't feeling well hubby stayed home with him. The older kids had just enough attention span to walk through the museum for about 30 minutes before we arrived at the Family Art Area with crafts and activities for the kiddos.

They made gingerbread houses with transparency paper on light boxes.

 

 They also made 3d paper gingerbread houses and decorated them.

Baby L did her best to help out.

Thanksgiving Part 2

The weather was warm on Friday (60F) so we went to St Mary's playground.  That used to be our favorite when we were kids. Of course it had been completely updated since I was little, but it was still a fun place to play. 

Big sister A lost her front tooth on the way home from Kentucky last Sunday. 

 Brother S and M loved all the climbing walls that were part of the playground.

Big sister A was pretty proud of how well she can climb the monkey bars now.  Baby L slept through the whole thing (took her nap in the car)

Thanksgiving Part 1

We went to my dad's house in upstate NY for Thanksgiving.  I was happy to set my camera aside and let him take most of the pictures.  He also prepared a delicious feast for us. He brined the turkey and then cooked it in a bag and it came out very moist and flavored with spicy goodness. He also made sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, rolls, and apple pie. My only contribution was a pumpkin pie.

 Here are the kiddos Thanksgiving morning. Grandma Judy's new puppy, Miko, loved all the attention from the kids. Baby L was his special favorite as they are close to the same age and both about the same height off the floor.

 Miko loves giving little kisses.

After the feast our kiddos zoned out watching a moving while everyone took naps.