One hundred and eighteen...

This is the face that we see when we ask Bodie for a kiss. Sometimes he teases me and I ask him for a kiss and he shakes his head "no" and looks at me and waits for me to pretend that I am really sad by sticking my bottom lip out and pouting. When I do that he grins and giggles. Little stinker!

One hundred and seventeen...

He is getting better and better with each practice. He is enjoying himself this year and showing a confidence that wasn't there in years past!

One hundred and sixteen...

Ron was asking Bodie to pick up the balls on the ground and put them in the bucket. Picking up things and putting them into a container is a very big thing for a almost two year old. So naturally I thought I would get some cute shots of him doing just that...well, to my utter shock he did this instead...

...are you kidding me! Way to go Bodie! Do you think I should contact the Major Baseball League now?

One hundred and fifteen...

What is it about those cute little blondie wisps of hair coming out of her t-ball hat that just makes me smile and so proud of her. Maybe it's because she is one of three girls on an all boys team. (we did that so we wouldn't be going to two different games and practices) Also, it might be because although she is a solid two years younger than Rowdy, she keeps up with him like they were born on the same day. In fact, as I was at their practice last night I could help but feel as though they were the same age...she was rounding those bases as fast as she possibily could and doing a pretty good job of throwing and batting.

Side note...Ron bought a new bat just for her and of course it is PINK and she could not be more thrilled!

One Hundred and fourteen...

This post is for Michael Andrew. He is the photographer who is going to come here to hold a personalized workshop for 4 - 10 lucky photographers. See his site to learn more! I am hosting the workshop and would love to have any of you who own a DSLR and want to get better attend. It would be great to fill it with friends! Have fun looking around Michael! You can click on any of them to make them bigger.

One hundred and thirteen...

I honestly, have no clue where he gets it.....

One Hundred and twelve...

There is definitely some advantages to owning a tow company and Ron having some awesome skills with the slim jim...

One Hundred and twelve...

There are new things on my horizon. Please read the next few blog posts to see what they are.

One Hundred and Eleven...

Announcing

Julia Shinkle Photography...the daisy patch.

Click HERE to check out my photography blog.

One Hundred and Ten...

When I told Rowdy that I was going to start a photography business I asked him what I should name the business. He took a little while to think about it and he eventually came up to me with this note:

He had seen that I had made a list of potential names on some sticky notes and did the same. He is such a sweet boy!

One Hundred and nine...

When I purchased my camera last year I had so much to learn. I basically taught myself to use my camera by reading books, searching the internet, and videos. I am thankful for my friend Kim because she has been a great resource and support to me when I need encouragement and she has given me tons of helpful hints.

One of the sites that I stumbled onto was this one...Michael the Mentor. His teaching style is great and he offers a ton of free videos on his site. I have also bought a couple of his videos he has in his store.

Well, recently he had a post on his blog about traveling around the nation and holding workshops for small groups of people. He wants to keep them small so he can really focus on each person attending the workshop. That is a good thing!

At any rate I am going to be hosting a workshop here in Dallas on August 13, 2009. I wanted to put this information up on my blog just in case anyone reading wanted to attend. The cost of the workshop is $300 but I have no doubt it will be worth every penny!

So, check his site and if you have questions you can contact me.

One Hundred and eight...

I saw a bumper sticker once that said,

"We interrupt this marriage for race season"

(photo was taken by one of the track photographers)

One Hundred and seven...

You know how a sound or sometimes a smell can bring back a flood of memories. Well, growing up I spent a lot of time on a golf course. Before I took up the sport I would ride in the golf cart with my parents.

I started taking lessons when I was about 5 or 6. We would only play three holes. I remember sassing my mom about it quite a bit and not wanting to play. Even shedding some tears. My Dad made me a special putter from a grown up putter. He cut it down and welded it together so it would be just my size. That I liked.

As I got older and better, I loved it. My best friend and I spent our summers at the club playing in a group called Jr. Golf and eating lunch together at the snack shack. And when the Country Club put in a pool, we were there all day!

We happened to live very close to the club. The point of this whole post was to share that in my youth my Dad and I used to walk up to the club in the evening after the course was empty and play golf together. Sometimes, just a few holes. I don't remember any specific conversations that we ever had when we did this but I remember the sounds.

There is one sound that I will never forget from all the time I spent on the course with him. It is the sound the bird makes in the photo above. He has a very specific sound.

He showed up her at our house several weeks ago and seems to be staying. He likes to perch high on one of three of our trees. When I am out there with the kids he "warbles" his little sound and I whistle it back to him. He responds. And we continue back and forth. Bet you didn't know I can do bird calls.

We have lived here two years and I have never heard him before or a bird like him. So when I heard him for the first time a few weeks back, I couldn't help but think of my Dad.

It is just strange to me how a little bird and a sound make me feel like my Dad is near.

(Easter Sunday marked 6 years since my Dad died)

One-hundred and six...

This is what Avery's hair does on the trampoline with all of her wild flipping, dropping and wrestling with her brother. But more importantly, the expression on your face in combination with what her hair is doing, illustrates how I have been feeling lately. I have a long list of things to do and none of them are small projects. And then I must weave in everyday life into the equation somewhere. I know I am preaching to the choir but what better place to put my thoughts of being a bit overwhelmed, but my blog.

One-hundred and five...

We started t-ball last week. Taking pictures of the kids and keep track of Bodie has proved to be difficult. I need to bring his stroller next time!

One Hundred and four...

This is my brother husband's brother and his wife and there three munchkins. The oldest is my Avery's best friend. They are cousin/friends. Everything that Malea does is just peachy in Avery's eyes. Avery will even determine certain things are her favorite because they are Malea's favorite! Avery once told someone she was left handed because she knows that Malea is left handed. I love that we live close enough to family that we have cousin/friends.

One Hundred and three...

I just wanted to take a minute and wish this person a very Happy Birthday! She a beautiful Mom, friend, person and I am so glad to have her in my life!

Have a great day Kim!

One Hundred and two...

I was looking through some old photos and came across this one. My word, how he has grown! Everything I am learning in Photoshop Elements I have been applying to photos from my SLR Camera. Well, I just thought I would play with a photo from my point and shoot camera. I love playing around with Photoshop!

Before:

After:

One-hundred and One...

He makes this sound very much like Cookie Monster when he does this...

GONE!

(this is Bodie's sign for gone)

One-hundred...

Avery's first time holding a baby chick!

Ron surprised the kids about a week ago and brought home 16 baby chicks. He had to go the store pretty early to get them because they are in high demand right now. He built a little coupe for them. We have been visiting them several times a day to make sure they are doing ok. Ron told me we can't handle them for awhile because they don't like stress. He has been surprised that we haven't lost any. They all seem to be strong.

If you know anything about me, it was hard for me to hear that it wasn't a good idea to handle them at first. I wanted to pick each one of them up and put my nose right on top of their little fluffy heads and snuggle them (I know I am weird). So, I listened and didn't pick them up until I got the go ahead. I might have reached in and stroked one of their little heads though. They are so soft that you can't really even feel them. I love animals...In fact I told Ron that as a kid I would have never left the coupe all day and would have had them all named within the first 10 minutes. So needless to say, if you need eggs, look us up in about 6 months.

Ninety-nine...

Just one to share from today because I learned this new rounded corner thingy and my blog is sooooo behind! Kind of cool, I think! I will catch up I promise!

Ninety-eight...

I don't ever have to ask twice if anyone wants to get into the blue truck and "drive".

Ninety-seven...

We colored eggs last night and I made this one for Bodie!

Ninety-six...

My brother-in-law, Joe, lives just around the corner from us. About three weeks ago one of his cows had a baby. Well the Mama cow didn't take to being a Mama very well and so the baby is bottle fed. My niece Katia took us out into the pasture yesterday in search of "Baby" to give her a bottle. Prepare yourself for cuteness....are you ready...

Katia got the bottle all ready for the baby. Avery was very interested in this process and asked Katia about every step of the way. Katia is so cute with her little cousins. She is very diligent about making sure that they can see what she is doing and offers them turns with everything. She describes everything she is doing in great detail so that Rowdy and Avery understand. I just LOVED watching them interact. " Wait for me guys!"
We had to go search for Baby. We heard her before we saw her. Once she saw Katia with the bottle she came running...Darling!

MILK!



After the bottle was gone, Baby just followed Katia like a puppy. Baby, as you can see, is not much bigger than our dog...she is so soft too!

Later, after we got home I asked Bodie, "Did we go feed the baby cow a bottle of milk?" He said, "Gone". I said "Yes, she drank it all gone!"

Ninety-five...

Dup-a-dup!

Translation: Jump-a-jump!

Ninety-four...

This post brought to you by the color
PINK

Ninety-three...

I missed Bodie so much during my trip! We do so much snuggling throughout the day, it was very strange to not have that time. We made up for it the morning after I got home he woke up at "too-early-o'clock" and I got him from his crib and we fell back asleep in my bed....so nice!

I love his little hand on his knee in the one above. He probably liked the break from that strange black thing that is always in front of Mama's face...

...well, rest assure Bo-Bo, Mama is back and she needs to practice what she learned!


Love this Boy!

This is what Bodie does with his mouth when he hears a bird...I guess maybe he is trying to whistle or imitate what he hears.