Halloween

Chris and Kelsey came over to carve pumpkins with the kids and me.
Tim was out of town, and we were really bummed about him missing pumpkin
carving for the first time in our family.
So I'm glad we were able to share it with Chris and Kelsey.




Next night was Halloween and the kids had SUCH a great time.
We met up with Kayla's good buddy, Bailey (who is in her class and lives across the street.. that has been so nice) and her family. Tim went out with the kids and they ended up trick-or-treating for almost 2 hours due to the gorgeous weather.
We ended up going to Chris's and Nana and Papa's to trick-or-treat too.
It was so fun to see the kids dress up as characters and so nice for me to order costumes online.
I really appreciate creativity, but I am not crafty enough to put together some of their costume ideas. Good thing I have Nana nearby- next year Kayla wants to be a music note!

Chris and Kelsey's Bi-Partisan election party

What a blast Chris and Kelsey's Bi-Partisan dinner party was on Tuesday night.
They served "mavericky chili", "Yes we Can" cornbread and red and blue cupcakes.
Even the crazy lady from the McCain rally showed up!





What an awesome and emotional moment it was when the TV screen changed all of a sudden and flashed to "Obama Elected President"!


No matter who we all voted for, it was an incredible moment in history and so powerful to see African Americans everywhere moved to tears.
I may not agree with all of Obama's ideas, but I am so excited to see the country and the world so energized and emotional.
Yay for all of us!!!

Collin Days

Collin wanted me to take pictures of him riding his bike around on the street the other day. So I took my camera out and plopped down on the curb to watch and record.
All of a sudden I realized that I had the most beautiful view... right across the street! While our little rental home does not have much to offer in ways of landscaping, the two houses across from us sure do!



So I sat there and marveled at my view, when all of a sudden Collin popped in front of my camera, reminding me of what I was supposed to be photographing!!

how we spend our weekends

While some weekends mean work for me, most of the time we spend our weekends bike riding, going to parks, having movie nights and spending lots of time with family.
Joe's Farmhouse Grill and Coffee Shop is our "spot"
It's where I meet my parents, Chris and Kelsey for coffee on weekends and some weekdays. It is also where I have done my last few photo shoots.
Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying breakfast at Joe's.
Joe's has quite an interesting story and concept. Check it out sometime. http://www.joesfarmgrill.com





We often get together for lunch or dinner at the parent's house or Chris and Kelsey's. Every now and again we meet out somewhere... this past weekend we met at one of my favorite restaurants, Cantina Laredo


It has been a real treat to live by Tim's parents and my parents and brother.
We are enjoying it immensly!!

Halloween party at Grandma's

Saturday night Grandma Elephant had a fabulous Halloween party at her house for the kids. It was full of surprises, crafts, candy and spooky decorations.
She and Papa Tom dressed up and went all out for the special night.
Each room had something in it... a skeleton the kids had to cuddle with, a Halloween book for Grandma to read, a flying ghost and more!
In the last "spooky" room (their bedroom) they said to open the door slowly and the scariest, biggest surprise of all would be waiting.
Well, we did, with much apprehension. There were two scary creatures under an orange gauzy material staring at us!
I think it scared all of us a little bit!!
But, the material came off and it was- Nana and Papa!!!!
We had no idea they'd be at the party!
Tim and I came dressed up to surprise everyone a bit too.
To be PC, I won't describe what we dressed as... just see the pictures below. :)
Tim's costume even came with a big fake hairy belly.
Kayla and Collin are in to Star Wars this year and decided to dress as
Princess Leigha (spelling?) and Darth Vador!
Thanks Grandma Elephant and Papa Tom for such a memorable night. Thanks to Nana and Papa for doing a great job surprising us!!!

Agritopia

I had a great morning taking pictures of my friend Susan's family.
We did the shoot in a neighborhood called Agritopia.
It is a gorgeous little neighborhood with white fences, big porches
and beautiful landscaping. Lauren and Hailey were adorable and it
went so well!
Here are a few of my favorites. The rest are in a slideshow labeled 10-26-2008 on robindphotography.com

Pumpkin Patch, Sunday Oct 20th

Our family headed to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday and it was about 95 degrees if you can believe it!
We took a great hayride, jumped in the bounce house, went through a maze and pet and fed farm animals. Our good friends, Shawn and Susan came with their kids and some old friends Christine and her daughter, Samantha joined us all as well.
We had a great time!