One Misty Moisty Morning: Holderness Family Portraits

This lovely family in our ward asked me to take some pictures of their family.  They are such awesome people, we love being their friends.  My favorite is sitting behind them in church with their three angel girls in the pew all quiet and perfect while our boys are being good but boys.  Then my friend Carolyn will turn around and apologize for her girls.  Ha!  Anyway, they are so sweet and fun.  I was thrilled to get to practice taking some pictures. 

We went up to the Old North Bridge in Concord, because that is such a unique New England location.  The morning was incredibly foggy.  it was cool to experiment with the lighting and ambiance with the fog in the background.

One of my favorite moments of yesterday was seeing the middle girl, Evie, through the lens of a camera.  I had previously seen her in many moods (ranging from grumpy to outright tantrum.  She is a sensitive soul!) and with the perspective of a mom.  When I had a few minutes with her one on one behind a camera, though, my perspective completely changed.  She has the most honest, open, expressive face with no self-consciousness in front of a camera.  In short, simply photogenic.

The youngest has remarkable eyes and a funny personality!  She was a hard audience, though, not wanting to give an easy smile.

I love the five-year-old's budding self-awareness.  She has hit a little of the posing stage which is so cute in its way.  It was fun to catch her off guard and get a spontaneous and genuine laugh out of her!

And here are some snapshots of behind the scenes of our boys.  Collin and the boys came along for the adventure.  Such a fun place to run around and play.  Big rocks, walls, trees, leaves, bridge.  All the good stuff.  It's fun for me to see the difference of the pictures, when I put on the "photographer hat" above or the "snap shot hat" below.  And I think Davy is learning to equate pictures with attention and love because at the end of the hour shoot he kept begging for pictures of himself in different places.

What else is up with the Lambournes?

I had a lot of catch-up posts yesterday, but still neglected to grab Collin's iPhone pics and include a fun extra.  Here goes.

First, the other Saturday morning we walked down to the library for their book sale.  The boys were hovering around a table outside where cake and cookies were displayed, celebrating a big grant given to the city to build a new library (finally!  Don't even get me started on the state of the current library.).  A reporter for the local paper asked if they could have their picture taken and I said, "sure, in exchange for a cookie!"  Here's the link to the picture and article.

One rainy evening we visited the local fire station while they hosted an open house.  They had some cool demos, like firemen tearing apart a van in a pretend rescue and sprinklers containing a house fire.  They also had pizza and soda, so it was a perfect field trip for daddy, too.  ;) 

When Janeil was visiting we met Collin in Harvard Square for dinner, hot chocolate, and playtime at the park (though I had to leave the playing and go to my class).  Happy boys!

Our Primary Halloween Party was Saturday night.  Strange, but it feels like Halloween is now come and gone and I'm ready to move on to Thanksgiving!  Collin was a good sport to be a Julius Caesar to my Cleopatra.  Easiest, most comfy costumes!  The boys were not so cooperative.  Edward had his gladiator costume on for the first half hour, then stripped to his diaper.  Davy had talked and talked about being Trash Gordon (from Sesame Street) but then refused to dress up as anything, saying it was "boring."  I told him he doesn't get any candy on Halloween trick-or-treating if he doesn't dress up so we'll see if that threat gets him to at least put on a cape or hat or something.  Dressing up is serious business in this house, so there are serious consequences if not obeyed.  Just kidding, mostly.

Salem (the non-witch tour)

Thursday we had a full free day and chose to spend it doing something really out of the ordinary Belmont life (rounds of music class, nature class, baby-sitting, library trips, CVS, etc.).  Janeil--in all the times she has visited and done so many things--had not yet checked out Salem.  So here we go!

We first stopped off at the Peabody Essex Museum.  Super impressed with their kids/hands on room.  So awesome.  Some of my favorite sources of inspiration were this room.  An entire picture made of origami--I want to make one of these!  And a wrench xylophone--lovely music.  Wood magnets for the fridge.  None of us wanted to leave that room, but then we ventured out to the other rooms of the museum and it was great too!  Lots of treasures from all over the world and ships and figureheads from ships. 

After the museum we were very ready for lunch.  We were walking around looking for some options and none looked promising until a guy dressed up like a prisoner (in black and white stripes and a funny hat) came up to us with a coupon.  Usually I am really wary of flyer handouts on the street, but the coupon said, "dine in a 200 year old haunted prison!  10% off and free drinks!"  Food and a fun venue?  Done!  We had fun, though I now remember why I never order the children drinks (aside from the expense and health--what a stinking mess!!  And hassle!  They never wanted their own, wanted the lids off and on.  Never again.).  The food was good, the place was decorated cute and not corny.  

I thought about splicing these pictures and putting together one cute of both of them.  Too much work.  Just flip between the two:

This is the spookiest part of the week, bar none.  Eddy and I were having a very quiet morning at home together Friday (while Davy was at Miss Mary's and Janeil walked the city by herself in peace).  I finally brought the Halloween decorations up (consisting of a witch broom for the front door, a few wood block signs, a pumpkin pillow, jack-o-lantern buckets, and the skeleton (previously gracing the Vesuvius party table)).  Eddy attached himself immediately to the skeleton.  It was a little disturbing to see him interchangeably carry it around like a doll (his teddy bear is stuffed in the pumpkin bucket) and tear its limbs off to put them back on like a puzzle.  Love that funny kid.

Apple Picking

Don't let the jackets fool you--it was a stunningly gorgeous day.  After our time in the orchard we ended up in our shirtsleeves and stashed the coats in the car to fully enjoy the golden sun.  Collin's sister, Janeil, was visiting and I'm so glad!  We had saved up a few things we'd been wanting to do but may never have got around to if she hadn't come.  Apple picking was one of them.  We connected with some friends of the boys (and of course, me), and my friend whom I visit teach, and drove 25 minutes out to Honey Pot Hill Farm.  (Luckily it was also "F Week" so the farm aspect fit in perfectly!) 

We had to hike a little farther than last year to find the apples, but once we did the trees were still so loaded it was easy as pie (ha!) to fill our bags.  We ate to our heart's/stomach's content of apples straight from the tree, then had fresh cider and cinnamon donuts and fresh squeezed cider.  There were animals to admire and a hay ride behind a tractor to finish off the perfect morning.

Family Pics 2012

Sneak-preview for our Christmas card picture this year.

Janeil took some family pictures for us when she was visiting last week.  Thank you!  We got a little cheesy and used some props to try and make it more fun for the kids.  The frames were a bomb, so luckily I wasn't expecting them to be awesome.  (I love how clear Edward is about being DONE with the pictures above!)  The lollipops, as you'll see, were just as much of a hit as I hoped them to be!

Some Collected Davy Sayings

Collin's collected a few funny things Davy's said this weekend. Here they are for your enjoyment:

Number 1
Collin:  Are you bigger than Daddy?
Davy:  Noooo.
Collin:  Are you smarter than Daddy?
Davy:  Yes.  Daddy is so smart.  But Mommy is so so so smart.

Number 2
Davy:  Mom, what's my shirt say again?
Rachel:  "Rock Star"
Davy:  Rock star?  Is that when the star rockets off?

Number 3
Elder Richard G. Scott:  . . . as revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Davy:  Joseph Smith?!  He's a good man!  Or, he's a bad man.  Or, he's a Batman?

Collin's Bike

Collin has a bike!  We are now officially a bike riding family, having gone on our maiden adventure as a whole family yesterday before Conference.  It was a perfect fall day--crisp and clear.  I hope we have many more bike rides together in the near future.  Here is the funny ad (that was completed with a picture of Mitt Romney on a bike in the original post) from Craig's List, where Collin found his bike.  Enjoy!

The Liahona Mission is a 21-speed mountain bike, well equipped with mechanical disc brakes, a lightweight aluminum frame (21 inch size), Shimano components, and an intriguing back story. The name Liahona, of course, is a Book of Mormon reference. Why a bike with a name that references the Book of Mormon? The story (according to a missionary source) goes like this:

"We have a gentleman from Taiwan who was a convert to the church, and he wanted to be more helpful to missionaries," says [Michael] Spence, a lifelong Mormon who rode a 10-speed Schwinn on his mission 30 years ago, "and he said, 'You know, these bikes are really bad.' " So Spence and the grateful convert created the Liahona Mission Bike, a 21speed mountain bike sold exclusively to Mormon missionaries, also known as elders. Spence assembles the bicycles himself-the frames come from Taiwan, the Shimano parts from Japan. . . Named after a compass in the Book of Mormon, the Liahona's design is based in part on recommendations from elders. Its most Mormon-specific feature is a plastic sprocket guard to keep trouser cuffs oil-free."

It's sort of like FUBU for mormons, a bicycle marketed only to Mormon Missionaries. I am no missionary, but after researching it a bit, I realized what an interesting bike I had. It just had a tune-up, including a full drivetrain overhaul. It is now dialed and ready for your next mission, this neat mountain bike with a cool back story will get you there. You could even ride it over to the polls on November 2nd and tell the Romney supporters all about it. You know, this bike is so reliable you can ride to the polls again in four years when Mitt tries again. Now I am asking $150, but am open to reasonable offers. Please don't hesitate to email me and put "Mission" in the header, or text me. Thanks!

SOLD!

High Class Newport, RI: Art, Mansions, and Polo

 Last weekend we drove an hour and a half south to Newport, RI to enjoy some high class culture and entertainment.  The society was pretty first class, too!  Erica joined our family and our friends met up with us for the cliff walk and the polo chukkas. 

 First we took advantage of the Smithsonian free museum day to go to the Newport Art Museum, housed in the historic Griswold house.  The art was cool--loved the oversize nature canvases.  But I have to say the house itself was the coolest.  Couldn't get over the amazing woodwork.  I made (I mean asked nicely) Collin take pictures of all the floors for future dream house inspiration while I engaged the boys as best I could.  They lasted their usual 45 minutes then were ready to run crazy outside.  Just as we were about to go to the car to find a place for lunch Davy got bit or stung by some awful insect.  His ear swelled and got terribly red and he was quite upset about the pain.  We rummaged frantically in our car first aid kit for something to clean the owie and put on a band aid (the cure all for kids, apparently).  It was still itchy and irritating for the poor kid, but lemonade at lunch also helped. 

Then we drove around Newport for a while, trying to find the right place to access the cliff walk that goes behind all the famous mansions.  Finally tired of turning around we just parked far a way and walked in.  It was fun to see all those huge houses, in any case, and walk along the rocky and rugged beach.  I loved the contrast between the polished lawns of the mansions and the craggy cliffs.  We found several fantastic photo-op locations, so enjoy our little photography splurge:

The polo match was in this gorgeous place tucked away in Portsmouth, the next town up from Newport.  The late afternoon was a bit misty, but I think that only added to the lovely atmosphere.  The match was surprisingly (to me) quiet, or perhaps muted by the fog and surrounding trees.  It was quite restful, in my opinion.  We spread out blankets on the lawn and enjoyed a little picnic while chatting and keeping track of the chukkas (don't you just love that word!).  The highlight--especially for the kids, I think--was during "half time" when we all went out on the field to stomp back the divots. 

Eddy and his friend Daxton had this funny game going where Daxton would fall down and Eddy would go help pick him up by pulling his arm (I was afraid he'd get a dislocated shoulder, actually).  There was a really funny video Daxton's dad caught of the two of them running head on into each other and Daxton going straight-plank backward while solid Eddy was barely fazed.  We all got a laugh out of that.  Kids are such great free entertainment.