I love long weekends.

I love long four day weekends. I love them partially because they end and the kids continue their routines in school. I am nervous about summer because I love a good routine and that goes out the window. My mom took the kids for three days and that us always wonderful for me and let me say I think the kids need a break from me sometimes too.

For the first time since I started taking pictures of the kids I took pictures of people I had never met. It was a scary, exciting, nerve racking experience for me. Of course the family was wonderful, but I lost a little of my confidence I thought the pictures turned out really good but just a little nervous about them. So I grabbed my favorite guinea pig family to recover some of my mojo. I have to say that I love some of these pictures so much that I might frame them and hang them in my own home. This is my favorite.

I have to say the Kitners are so much fun to take pictures of. They did anything I asked. Even when I asked Kyle to sit there while Barb crawled up to him like a cat. Barb goes "I don't know what you mean, you show me." You should have seen the look on his face when he thought I was going to crawl up onto his lap. Priceless. This one of Gracie is just one of my favorites too.

I am just having so much fun creating things. I am excited to get up in the morning and try something new. I wish I would have done this a lot earlier in life. No regrets though.

The day finally came!!!

This day will go down in Dekock history. I cannot tell you how many times I have taken my children to participate in sport teams. Each and every time praying that my children won't bring the whole team down with them. One time I was almost embarrassed enough to leave. You name we have tried it. Volleyball, soccer, basketball anything and everything. But today, today we were triumphant.

CARSON CAN ACTUALLY PLAY BASEBALL!!! I deserve to be able to say without a shred of humility that he was the best on the team. The man behind me said "wow." About my kid. I had to go around the corner and whisper in the phone to Daniel "he whips everyone's butts babe!" First time in the history of our marriage I have been proud of a Dekock in a sporting event. So I had to take his picture and put it up. Don't worry my other kids don't read my blog and by the time they want to when they are grown and reading through my journals, they will have already had the therapy needed to deal with this.

Anyway this day ranks up there. Just thought I would share.

Things are good!!

Didn't even know that frogs lived at the beach. When Noah (a family friend) found this one swimming through the water we did not believe him. But here he is and I am sure that this solidifies that the beach is the coolest place to be.

This weekend I had time to myself while Daniel took Carly and Soren to Germany and my mom had the boys. So I decided to paint a couple of rooms. Well my paint choice was not the best and it is the color of FLESH. I am hanabal and have wrapped the whole room in skin. I paid a lot of money for that paint so we are keeping that color.

Jaden's new quotes for the day are:

1. You are such a whiner

2. Carly, you are such a jerk

3. I can't pee in the bushes it is too dangerous.

I have decided that spring is the best time to take pictures and if I don't share them here where else do I have to share them. So you will all just have to grin and bare it.

See that was not so painful. Well it is late and I am off to bed.

This week

Flowers are killing me!!

This week is all about flowers. I have tried to take pictures of flowers and it has not turned out well. I take much better pictures of people so in all my flower pictures are little pieces of people. I just can't get into it. I think they are lovely and some of them will be gone soon but I just can't seem to capture them well.

I have also tried different textures on my pictures and some of them I like and some of them I do not like so much. I love this one of Soren though he looks so pretty. He loves it when I say that.

Today Carson said "Dad is going to turn 100 and then go live with Jesus and I will really miss him. I said hopefully you will have a family of your own so it won't be so bad and he said he wanted to live with me forever." Then five minutes later he said he wanted to live with grandma if our house burned down. What a fickle child. The things that come out of his mouth. Lately the only way we can get him to do anything is to tell him it is the way of the Jedi.

Well I finally got my mantle the way that I wanted it. With a little help from one of Kim's designs I really like it.

Love the beach!

Since the weather has gotten a little bit warmer we have been to the beach three times. There is no where that we have ever lived that I feel like when we go there time stops and we are happy just being together. The kids are not asking to play with friends. The dog has the time of his life. Daniel and I just talk. The kids are nice to one another and just play. It is a beautiful thing. I always take the camera and try to capture what I am seeing. The lighting was perfect last night and so I had to do very little processing. I am finally beginning to be able to take pictures that I want to, that look the way I see them.

This is a rare moment of the boys beign together.

I love the feeling of sand between my toes.

I always see Daniel in the kids, but in this one I really did.

I loved every single one of these and I am going to bore you with a little more, but I can't help myself.

I have so much fun. Sometimes at night I will lay awake and think to myself how I could make a picture better or wake up with an idea for another. I hope that never goes away.