Texas Andersons

We had two Christmas parties with our scouts group.  Tuesday night was the entire pack, at church.  LOTS of sweets and a visit from Santa.  And each boy received a present- their Pinewood Derby cars!!!  The other party was Saturday, just for our age group, at our cubmaster’s house.  Dinner, s’mores, a hike, a fire pit, and good friends.  Great night!

Evan had his preschool Christmas program.  Granmom drove out; we both sat anxiously to see how he was going to do.  He walked out on stage with his reindeer antlers on and his jingle bell in hand.  He seemed fine… until he saw me.  Then he threw his bell to the ground and hid his face in his seat until all three songs were done!  Oh, joy! 

This weekend I spent both days photographing dozens of adorable kids with “Santa.”  And Nathan brought the boys out to the studio for their turn.  Guess whose kid was the worst behaved of the whole weekend?  That’s right- my 2 year old!  He did not like Santa, even though he knew it was Daddy.  So I snapped what I could.  Not great images, but decent.

And then we headed out to look at Christmas lights.  The North Pole (on Cedar St.) is glorious again this year!  (makes me really wish we had had time to put up our lights and snowmen)

Ben had his first choir concert.  With a “Christmas Around the World” theme, the kids (and Santa) talked about different cultures’ traditions and sang songs from different countries.  Ben even had a speaking part about the menorah.  It was great, mistakes and all.  And we found that Evan took the whole thing in.  Once home that evening, he started practicing and performing his songs for his Christmas show. 

We had a wonderful playdate with some of our best friends.  Morgan, Landon, and Madison came over to build and decorate gingerbread houses.  Then, playing, hide-and-seek, laughing, and squealing commenced.  What joy!

We had our first-ever Shutter-Happy staff Christmas party.  Nathan and I cooked up some chicken sliders, coconut shrimp, and jasmine rice.  (we forgot the sweet potato fries)  And Beth’s and Emily’s families came to the studio for eats, visiting, and fun.  What a blessing to really enjoy the company of your co-workers and their families!  Only snag?  Beth baked up a bunch of cookies for the kids to decorate while here… and some unknown and still unnamed persons took samples of most of the baked goods!  (gasp!) 

Nathan and I took the boys to the riverwalk for our annual Christmas outing.  We saw The Polar Express in 3D at the IMAX (LOVE it!), walked the river, and ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.

And then we finally got around to decorating!  It looks as though we’ll never get our snowmen in the front yard or lights around the house.  But we did get the tree lit and decorated, and the stockings are hung. 

Letter to Santa, from Evan:
Evan’s letter was simply lots of scribbles.  What he means is, he wants trains or anything Cars.  He’ll be pretty easy to please.  Have fun building the toys for him!

The winter season has begun, so Evan has started gymnastics.  And he LOVES it!  One morning that I let it slip that it was a gymnastics day, he ran around the house yelling, “Go ‘nastics!” over and over again.  We had to start getting ready that minute.  And we got there over half an hour early.

We spent a wonderful evening enjoying Dickens on Main.  The boys rode the barrel train and enjoyed some kettle corn.  Then we all had fun in the “snow,” seeing the animals at the petting zoo, listening to the performers, eating a funnel cake, and taking a horse-drawn carriage ride.

The next day we headed out to Devine Acres Farm.  The pancake/sausage/hot chocolate breakfast was great, and the visit with Santa was pretty amazing (both boys sat with him, and Ben visited with him quite a while).  Then we enjoyed some rubber ducky races, putt-putt golf, a bean bag toss, tetherball, their playground, and a hay ride.  Then we picked out our favorite Christmas tree, cut it down, and brought it home.  Such a fun morning!

Then we headed to Bear Moon Bakery for cookie decorating and to Main Street for the annual Christmas parade.  Then Nathan and I handed the boys off to Granmom so we could head out to the Don Strange Ranch for Rackspace’s Christmas party.

Letter to Santa, from Amy:
I’ve been good, really good.  And all I want for Christmas are things for my business.  An awesome camera would come in quite handy, to help me capture even more beautiful portraits.  An extra light would make my job so much easier, so that I’m not constantly moving lighting around the studio.  And a few really neat backdrops would give my clients more opportunities to create images they’re going to love.  Really, that’s it… unless you can give the gift of time.  I’d love to have some extra moments to clean up around here, work in the yard, relax in a bubble bath, get back on the treadmill, etc. 

The scouts had a trip to Enchanted Rock a couple of weekends ago.  So, Nathan and Ben packed up and got to spend a weekend in the great outdoors, enjoying the sights and sounds of nature, beautiful weather, good friends, campfires, and marshmallows.  They got in a great hike.  And Ben got to participate in his first flag retirement ceremony.

We spent some time last weekend working on our family’s portraits, for a new canvas and for our Christmas cards.  We got all dressed up and drove out to enjoy River Mountain Ranch.  Beautiful day!  And it was fun to spend time with and cook dinner for Granmom and Papa.  And, thanks to them, we got some great images.

Evan started bringing home all kinds of cute projects from school.  He loved showing off all the fall leaves he cut and glued.  Turkey hands and pumpkins are proudly being displayed on the fridge.  And my favorite was the indian headpiece, which I couldn’t help but get a picture of (so cute!).

Then we made the trip to Ft. Worth for our Thanksgiving vacation…
*Day One (Thursday)- We sat around and stuffed ourselves with all of Debbie’s wonderful food!  Spent some time outside despite the cold.  We constructed a tent in a bedroom.  And we played a game of cherades/pictionary using Ben’s spelling bee practice words. 
*Day Two (Friday)- Nathan and I met up with Emily’s whole family and took their portraits (all 40-something of them!).  And then Larry and Debbie took us out for some play time at a playground (complete with a merry-go-round that used to be at parks when I was little), a walk along the Trinity River, to feed the ducks, and then out for dinner (burgers and shakes!).
*Day Three (Saturday)- We spent the day at the stockyards.  There were almost tears when we found out the train wasn’t running.  But we had a wonderful time… We got to watch the cattle drive; Ben and Larry enjoyed a gun fight; Evan got to ride a “horse”; Ben got to sit on a longhorn; we had a great bbq lunch; Nathan and Ben rode a mechanical bull (Ben held on tight and stayed on; Nathan got thrown)!  And we found a pressed penny machine, so Ben got to add one more to his collection. 
And no trip to Ft. Worth is complete without wagon rides down their driveway.  (And we did that every day!!!)

So much to be thankful for!  But now, back to reality.  Laundry to do, work to catch up on, marketing posters to create, Christmas cards to address and get out the door…

Thanksgiving morning, reflecting….

I am thankful for my boys.  Despite Ben’s tendency to be bossy and defiant, I appreciate him for his willingness to try anything, his smarts, his leadership qualities, his story-telling abilities, and his talent for being able to do any sound effect.  And although Evan’s starting to show some “terrible-two” qualities, he sure is a sweet boy and is cute as a button.

I am thankful for Nathan.  Busy lives cause us to feel disconnected quite often.  But we have created a wonderful family from our solid marriage and friendship.  I appreciate his constant calmness in my life, that his sense of humor clicks with mine, and that he puts up with my nagging and sarcasticness.

My parents, sister, and grandparents have been a blessing as long as I can remember.  I don’t know where I’d be without the love, kindness, and support of my mom.  And I am so grateful for all the memories I have of and with my grandma.  I think of and miss her daily.  And I know that we are all better people because we knew that wonderful woman.

Friends.  All the wonderful ladies in my life now.  But so very much for the guy I’ve had in my life the longest.  Myk was pulling my pigtails as far back as I can remember and is now my “besty.”  He brings great laughter and friendship into my life.  And always makes me thankful that he gets all the drama.

I love my job!  Getting to find a talent and follow a dream a little later in life was exciting.  Seeing it through and finding success brings me great joy.  And moving into a studio and finding a great staff this year was just icing on the cake.

I’m thankful for my truck.  Yes, that’s right.  Over 100,000 miles and never a problem.  My in-laws, for welcoming me into their family many years ago.  Smells of Thanksgiving.  Debbie is busy in the kitchen, preparing the meal.  And I get to sit on the couch and just enjoy the scents.  A few extras- our ice maker, chocolate, roomba, Dream Dinners, pumpkin pie, my laptop (all the things that make my life easier and/or tastier).    And I’m thankful for our health, getting to be a stay-at-home mom, hours behind the mower (getting to smell the fresh-cut grass and have “me time”), fun days at Fiesta Texas, free babysitting (thanks to Granmom!), and family portraits (perfect momentos of our best moments).

There’s more, there’s lots more.  But there’s my list for today.

Good things happening for Ben:
* He won a ribbon on Friday at the Walk-a-Thon awards ceremony for raising the most money in his class.  And the whole class won an ice cream party for having walked the most miles out of the whole 2nd grade!
* A portrait of him in the pumpkin patch (2007) was chosen for the cover of the latest Backpack Connection magazine!
* He received a certificate yesterday for being on the A Honor Roll for the first semester of the school year.
* I also found in his backpack, a certificate for having perfect attendance for the semester.
* And last, I just found out he was one of only thirteen kinder through 2nd graders nominated to be on the Rising Stars team at Curington!!!
Proud mama! 

For Evan:
I’m always hearing comments about how cute, fun, and easy-going his is.  But I was tickled by the compliments from the MOPS worker who took care of his class yesterday.  She called him a prince, beaming as she talked about how well he always plays and how excited he is about everything.  He is such a cute kid!

For me:
It was so much fun to set up a booth at the MOPS Shop yesterday morning.  I got to see the excitement in all the moms’ eyes as they viewed my images, got to visit with them about their kids and possible portrait sessions, and even got to hear some wonderful feedback about my work.

Warm fuzzies!!!

Evan, sick on the couch today, made me stop and breathe.  It’s been a busy few weeks!

Evan and I had a MOPS meeting; I photographed at several local preschools; I had a parent/teacher conference (with all good news!); Shutter-Happy has been crazy-busy.

One weekend was a trip to Corpus.  We got to go to the beach a couple of days.  We attended a wedding at the aquarium (among the sea creatures).  And we got to make a trip out to Orange Grove to visit with my family.

The Scouts had a Halloween party.  The boys had a fantastic time… bowling, darts, pumpkin toss, fishing, etc.  Evan won brownies at the cake walk!  And Ben won a Lego set for the best “All American” costume in the costume contest!

Halloween weekend was jam-packed!   We had a fun afternoon at Fiesta Texas… lots of spooky characters and fun rides… even the log ride!!!  We enjoyed our church’s trunk-or-treat (and got Evan used to the idea and the fun of trick-or-treating!)  And then we walked our neighborhood for candy.  (I’m still enjoying it, way too much.)

Mom and I took the boys to the circus!!!  We rode the elephant, enjoyed popcorn and cotton candy, and loved the performances!

Ben got to be Scientist of the Week at school.  He chose an expirement having to do with weather (big surprise!).  He studied tornadoes all week, spent an evening setting up and testing his experiment, and then got to present everything to his class.  He even got to wear a lab coat and goggles!  So cute!

Nathan took the boys for a hike at the Cibolo Nature Center.  They came back with all kinds of stories about what they saw and what creatures they ran into.

Evan’s in school… which means his first school pictures!  Of course, when he saw that it was me taking the portraits, he cried and wanted me to take him home, so I wasn’t able to capture the image with the rest of his class.  But when I picked him up at the end of the day, I snuck him back out to the bench and talked him into smiling a few times. 

And to get our clients thinking about their Christmas portraits, we had to do our family image early.  We headed to the studio, set up lighting by the barn, put the camera on self-timer, got into place, and yelled funny things to get the boys to smile.

Then I wanted to get us girls (Emily, Beth, and I) together for a Santa hat portrait.  And while waiting for them to get to the studio, I snagged one of me while I tested the lighting.

What’s next for us?  I do still need to capture Ben’s school pic.  And we need an official family session.  Right now, the plan is a gorgeous sunset session out at the Guadalupe River, with the colors of fall in the trees, with us in gold shirts and jeans.  Should be gorgeous!  And then I can create our personal Christmas cards and an 8×10 canvas for the hallway collage.  Can’t wait for November!

Day One:  Ben had the day off from school.  And the weather was gorgeous!  So we headed to the pumpkin patch for portraits, playtime, and to choose a few to bring home.  Then we met up with friends Erica and Madison at Burger King for lunch and a playdate.

Day Two:  Fun Scouts outing to the firehouse.

Day Three:  Myk came into town for a visit!  He and Ben spent the afternoon carving a pumpkin.  I cooked an awesome dinner and baked a texas sheet cake (YUM!).  Evan was so excited to sing “Happy Birthday” and to blow out candles, we did it twice!. 

Day Four:  Both kids were in school, so Myk and I hit the town.  First stop was Billy’s Western Wear.  I found and purchased my first pair of cowboy boots!  Myk picked up an awesome shirt and belt.  And I bought him a great gawdy belt buckle.  Then we hit Main Street for lunch, shopping, and Candy on Main’s ribbon-cutting.  Then the boys took me out for pizza at Fralo’s.

Day Five:  Ladies’ night with friends Marli, Melissa, and Melanie.  We had dinner at Mimi’s and then went to see Life as We Know It.  Dinner was good.  The movie was cute (very funny moments about parenting).  The girl talk was great!

Day Six:  I got to mow at the studio.  Nathan mowed at the house.  <enter sigh of relief>

Day Seven:  Nathan and Ben headed to Divine Acres Farm with the Cub Scouts.  They enjoyed fishing, a hay maze, a barrel train, a hay ride, putt-putt golf, tricycle races, and rubber ducky races.  Evan and I stayed home.  We spent a nice afternoon in the backyard (which we had been unable to do for three weeks due to it looking like a jungle).  And I got in a few much-needed hours of work.

Such a great week!

Thanks to everyone who sent cards and well wishes.  Thank you to Myk for the flowers.  Thank you to Larry and Debbie for the birthday money so that I could buy the boots.  And thanks to all who left the 100+ wall posts on facebook.  It all brightened my day!  I am so blessed!

We made it through a couple of scouts get-togethers.  One was our pack meeting, where Ben earned a few new patches and beltloops.  And we hosted the other, where I hear the foam frame craft and snack of pretzels and watermelon were a hit.

I photographed at two different school (individual school pics).   And then we posed for our family’s portion of Shutter-Happy’s Christmas cards.

Nathan and I attended the Cibolo Nature Center’s gala with Lewis and Emily.  It was a blast to get all dressed up and enjoy food from all the best restaurants around the area.  Amazing night without the kids! 

We attended National Night Out and I got all of our old baby items together, cleaned, and tagged for a Just Between Friends Sale.

Yesterday was Curington’s Walk-a-Thon.  With camera in-hand and tennis shoes on, Granmom Loretta, Ben, Evan, and I walked laps on the track with the rest of the school.  Shutter-Happy was a big sponsor of the event.  Ben raised $100 on top of that.  And he ended up walking 22 laps, a few more than last year.

And today, the boys went downtown to check out the cars at the Rod Run, we got to enjoy snow cones at Sandy’s (the fall flavors are here, including pumpkin pie!!!), and we spent a couple of hours at the Fabra Hay Maze… Ben got to walk around in the big hamster ball, we all rode the barrel train and walked the maze, and the boys jumped in the bounce houses and played on the playset.  It was a beautiful and fun day!

Tomorrow I work all day.  And then it’s my birthday week!  Can’t wait to see what this next week brings…

Since mine and Nathan’s anniversary weekend, Evan and I started back to MOPS and had a great time; I got to attend a Premier Designs jewelry party to buy some pretty new pieces (even got $50 of it free when I won a gift certificate!); Ben and I attended Morgan’s 8th birthday party; we made a fun trip to PetsMart to purchase a tree frog for the studio.

And today, with perfect temperatures and a nice breeze, we spent the day in some of the hill country we had never seen before.  First, thanks to a lead from Texas Monthly’s 50 Best Burgers List, we headed out to Alamo Springs Cafe.  Yum!  Great cheeseburger and onion rings!  Then we drove to Wildseed Farms.  We strolled the nursery, gift shops, and flower fields; the kids had a wonderful time walking through the butterfly house; and we stopped for ice cream.  And for our lot, I bought 10 pounds of bluebonnet seeds and 4 pounds of yellow coneflower seeds.  I can’t wait to get these spread… and can’t wait to see the color in the spring!

But for now, good-bye summer, hello fall. 

Everyday life had taken its toll on our marriage.  The boys, preschool, school, scouts, house work, yard work, the dog, Nathan’s job, my business, etc had just kept us too busy.  With no time to ourselves, we needed a getaway for just the two of us.

A wonderful gift certificate for a night’s stay at a hotel in San Antonio fell into our lap.  My parents were happy to take the boys for the weekend.  So we packed up and headed out to see where things would take us… 

Boudro’s- Where we both enjoyed fantastic prickly pear margaritas and freshly made guacamole.  And I had wonderful coconut shrimp!  Mmmhhhhh….

River Center Comedy Club- Where we laughed all evening.

Tower of the Americas- Where we got to see the amazing view of the city at night.

The Inn on the Riverwalk- Where we got to enjoy the chocolates they dropped off in our room, get a good night’s sleep, and eat a delicious breakfast.

Fiesta Texas- Where we got to ride all of the roller coasters.  Weeeeeeee!

Did we think or talk about the boys?  Sure.  We even stopped at a candy store and bought them some goodies.  But the weekend wasn’t about them.  For the first time in a long time, it was about Nathan and I.  It was all pure fun, with no interruptions from the boys, no whining and no diaper changing. 

And what’s really exciting is knowing that we have another night out planned in less than a month- dinner and dancing at the nature center!  It’s about time we take time for ourselves!

Friday was mine and Nathan’s 10-year wedding anniversary.  But it was overshadowed by big weekend activities coming up and company coming into town.  So while the house was a-buzz with excitement about seeing friends and cousins, I was busy cleaning house, doing laundry, and mowing.  One big surprise- Nathan bought me diamond earrings!  So I did get to do all my chores in style! 

Saturday was SO much fun!  The day was spent with grandparents, cousins, and friends!  We started the day off with the Kendall County Fair parade.  Wonderful floats, plenty of candy, lots of smiles!  Then we headed to the river for a bbq lunch, fish-catching, swimming, and tubing.  And we ended the evening with dinner and snow cones.

Sunday I took cousins Marisa and Jayden’s portraits, we went out to eat for lunch, and spent the day in the back yard.  And then Nathan and Ben decided to spend the night at the lot.  Evan and I packed them up, sent them on their way, and then got to enjoy the house to ourselves.

Yesterday morning, Evan and I headed out to the lot to meet up with Nathan and Ben, to let the boys jump on the trampoline and drive the tractor.  And then Nathan took the boys back to the river for more swimming.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.  It was fun and relaxing, so great to see family we hadn’t gotten to visit with in a while (just wish they would have stayed longer).  And we were very fortunate to have such gorgeous weather (so glad the downpour held off until today).

It was quiet for a few days.  And then (boy!) did it pick up!

Thursday was my grand opening for Shutter-Happy.  We had a ribbon-cutting with the Chamber of Commerce and then had clients and the community stop by all day.  Ben got to cut the ribbon as we all posed for our picture for the paper.  And then we all got to enjoy sandwiches, sweets, lemonade, good company, and a fun day.  I was so tired at the end but so appreciative of everyone who came to support us.

Friday was a Movie in the Plaza event.  So we headed to the gazebo to watch Evan Almighty under the stars, with popcorn and snow cones.  Yum!

On Saturday we spent the day at Fiesta Texas.  Swam at the water park; rode the train, the bus, a roller coaster; drove the antique cars (and more!)… and had a wonderful time.  Coming home hot and tired, I made our favorite refreshing drinks- strawberry/watermelon slushes!

Strawberry/watermelon slushes:  2 cups cubed watermelon; 2 cups cut strawberries; 1/3 cup lemon juice; 1/3 cup sugar; as much ice as desired.  Throw it all in a blender.  And then enjoy!  (it can make a house full of whines completely quiet!)

Sunday was spent lounging around the house and playing in the back yard.  Evan got to swim.  We went on a bug hunt.  And the boys got to swing, play in the sand box, and blow bubbles.  Then Evan got to have his first messy popsicle.  He was tickled that he got to have it all by himself and make such a big mess!

Yesterday we stayed in pajamas until after lunch.  Play time followed.  And then we headed to the Hungry Horse for Evan’s “last supper.” 

And today I dropped off my little guy at his first day of preschool.  He seemed very comfortable and was very excited.  He walked right in and showed his stuffed animals to Ms. Trish and Ms. Amy and then wanted to play.  So I snapped a quick pic and snuck out the door.  I cried coming home but am now so excited to have time to get a few things done off my to-do list.  (blog, work on print orders, make the surfboards for the parade, make preparations for our anniversary and company coming into town, etc, etc… whew!)

Thursday was SO much fun!!!

The day started with our ribbon-cutting.  Dozens of Chamber members came by to host the event and support us.  And BEN got to cut the ribbon as we posed for our picture for the newspaper.  He LOVED it! 

Then we played host to lots of family, friends, clients, and the community as they stopped by to tour the new studio, grab some snacks, enjoy their time in the photo booth, and visit.

THANK YOU to all who played a part in making this dream happen.  THANK YOU to all who have supported Shutter-Happy over the years.  I am so blessed.  “Do what you love; Love what you do.”

Click here for our You Tube video of my speech for the Chamber reception.