Sometimes she has actual pastry chefs to help her.  This year, it was just me and another neighbor mom.  A step down from last year.  And I don’t think I helped much as I assigned myself the “official photographer” task.  Sometimes it’s so good to have this gig.

There were my four kids, a friend of one of my kids, my neighbor’s little girls, and another neighbor’s little girls.  By now, she has it down to a science.  The whole thing runs like a well-oiled machine.  She has counter space galore, so all the kids are set up with their own “space.”  They each get their own rolling pins, their own cookie cutters, their own dough, their own flour.  In case you didn’t know this, girls bicker.  A lot.  We try really hard to make everything VERY uniform so there is less of that.

The kids always have a blast.  This year, the little ones joined the big ones.

It’s like play-dough except you can eat it!  From a three-year-old perspective, what could be better?

Even the VERY young joined in.  How cute is this little girl?  Love her.  This reminds me of some kind of pose ~ “she can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan…”

Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of work involved.

And sometimes, the dough hits the floor.

I didn’t say they were neat.

I did draw the line when the three-year-old cute little girl, in an attempt to clean the floor, started picking up all the fallen dough, and then doing what any good baker would do, rolling it back into the dough.

Yuck.  Hope I caught that in time.

There was some frustration.  Here is B saying, “oh no, I messed up again.”  He’s got a bit of perfectionist in him.

Can’t wait to try some!

A great day all around.  Decorating tomorrow.

Stay tuned.

A

So, the snow.  It came down.  And down.  And then came down some more.

My kids loved it.  Truth be told, so did I.  I love being inside with the snow blowing around outside.  I like cozy and warmth and hot drinks.  My husband, not so much.  He shoveled.  And shoveled again.  And then shoveled some more.  Tomorrow?  More shoveling.

But, the kids?  Oh, how they played.

And sampled.

And played some more.

The snow is beautiful.

And it’s still coming down.

And then it was time to come in.

And they were sad.

Oh well.

I’m thinking the snow may be here for a day or two… or ten.

Smiles,

A

Below are a few photos I took for one of our assignments on composition and perspective. The “subject” here is my wonderful (and cooperative!) neighbor. I needed someone who would follow direction and who could sit still for more than 10 minutes. Obviously, my kids were out. J “volunteered,” which went something like me saying, “are you doing anything right now?” (while our kids ran rampant through our backyards), and she saying, “no, what do you need?” (because she is always willing to help anytime for anything). Little did she know what she was getting in to! I plopped her over on our swingset and ran to get my camera. When she didn’t jump off the swing and run away, I figured we were good to go.

The day after I took the above photo, I decided to enter it into a photography contest on whim.  I was shocked when I found out this weekend that I received an Honorable Mention in the “Admired by Beckstead” contest run through the Pictage Blog by David Beckstead, a world renowned wedding photographer.  Check out the winning image.  Wow.  When I browsed through the entries before the contest ended, I just loved that shot.  The other winners are so talented as well.  I am humbled to be included amongst them.

Here J is with her daughter K, who ran over for a quick hug.  So cute.  I’ve known K since she was 4 months old.  She has been raised right along with my little girls and guy.  When I see her, it’s like looking at a member of my family.  She has a little sister A, who has been featured here before.  Adorable.

One last shot.  This one was my “artsy” shot and I hesitated on including it in my images for my assignment.  But I loved it, so I went with my gut.

Always go with your gut.

xo

A

But he has found a pal in Little Miss A.  She batted her long eyelashes at him, and he was hooked.

The two of them, B and A, go together like A and B in the ABC’s.  If one is around, the other is nearby.  They love to laugh together.

They love to play amongst the front porch posts.

When something goes wrong and something needs to be fixed, Little Miss A calls her Mr. Fix-It Man, my dear B.  He is happy to oblige.

While he fixes, Little Miss A stands by patiently and waits.

She had him at “hello.”