Yellow...

 
Every day as I drove the kids to the soccer fields I passed a patch of yellow flowers that just begged for me to take pictures in. So, one evening I gathered all the "yellow stuff" I could find in our closets and assembled some outfits for the kids. On our way to soccer we stopped by the flower patch and had a mini photo session. As it turns out, the flowers looked lush and beautiful because they were growing in dairy sludge. By the time we were finished we all smelled like fertilizer and were covered to our knees in dairy water and mud. The kids changed into their soccer clothes in the car and arrived to practice shoeless. The pictures were worth it... but I'm not sure that I'll be able to convince the kids to try it again next fall.

Sophie the Earth Bender

 
Okay... so maybe I'm playing favorites, but I was so dumbfounded by how amazing Sophia looked in her Toph costume that I had to make a post dedicated just to her. For those of you that don't know the series... Toph is this tough 12 year old blind girl that can manipulate earth and rock through martial arts moves. Because she's blind she feels vibrations through her feet and that is how she sees, so she NEVER wears shoes. Sophia fits her character perfectly. She's a quick-witted little tom boy. I loved watching Sophia perform her earth bending moves in her Toph costume. She played the part perfectly, but even more so, she looked beautiful. Who knew that a little black bob would look so amazing on my baby girl?

The Last Air Bender... Thompson Style!

 
It has been decided for months now that our family would dress as characters from our favorite cartoon series The Last Air Bender for Halloween. Paris was Katara, the water bender. Sophie was Toph the earth bender. I sewed her entire costume and just made up the pattern. I was surprised by how well it came out! Brenden was Aang the Last Air bender. Jett was dressed as Momo the flying bat leimer. I of course went as Azula, the evil (but super awesome) fire bender. My costume was actually a geisha outfit that I found on clearance, so there were a couple of Halloween events that I attended in my "geisha get-up." I had such a blast dressing up with the kids. This was one of my favorite Halloweens of all time. We've never had a family-themed Halloween before... now I'm wondering what we can pull off next year!?

Fall Fun!

While Daddy was out of town hunting with friends, I made good on a promise to the kids to take them to the local pumpkin patch for some low priced fun. They braved the blacked out hay maze, played on the play ground, and climbed the giant pumpkins. It was a fun and simple night with my kiddos. I loved it.

Pumpkins...

My awesome friend Rickie invites our family out to Del Osso farms every year to pick pumpkins. She and her husband have "VIP" access to their private fields so it is quite an opportunity! Some of our other good friends joined in the fun too. (The Astles, Blacks, and Fallentines) We raced around the muddy field with our cameras while our husbands helped our kids roll their gigantic pumpkins into the back of our trucks. Afterward we went over to Del Osso and enjoyed the rides and games. It was an incredibly fun night thanks to fabulous friends!

Opportunity Knocks...

Recently our children have been considered for representation by a bay area modeling agency. We were invited to go up to San Francisco for a "meet and greet." After our early morning meeting we decided to head over to the famous Pier 39 and enjoy the day. We toured the Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not museum and had lunch at Bubba Gumps! The weather was amazing for this time of year and over all it was a fantastic day. We decided that trips into the city are much more enjoyable if taken in the middle of the week!

Thompson Time in Knights Ferry!

This year for our annual October Thompson BBQ at Knights Ferry I had in my possession my friend's fabulous top-of-the-line camera. I had a great time following the kids around and playing with that wonderful camera! Grandmother made some tasty tacos and as usual we took a walk around the park. It was a beautiful day.

Soccer!

This was our first year playing soccer and we dove in head first. On top of all three of our older children being in different age brackets and on separate teams with very different schedules, Michael also decided to coach Brenden's team. As crazy as it was, we somehow survived it and had a really great experience along the way. The kids discovered a fun new way to get some exercise and make friends, and Michael fell in love with the game. At the start of the season he was a bit nervous being that he had never played soccer and knew nothing about the game, but by the end of the season he really looked forward to his time with the team and kicking the ball around. He attended coaching clinics, read up on different plays and strategies, practiced with some of the best coaches around, and really became quite a great coach. Out of 10 games they only lost 3... not too shabby! We had a great season. I even tried my hand at being a soccer mom and made soccer-themed hair bows for my girls. (Yeah, that's about as far as I go with the whole soccer mom thing)

September...

September went by quickly, but here are a few moments from our busy month... Michael turned 37 years old and to celebrate the kids and I bought him a tool set (yes, that is what he asked for). We received two new additions to our family when the kids went with daddy and picked out two new boy kittens. The kids named them Momo and Ziggy. We tried to make them indoor pets, but they liked to poop in our laundry and house plants, and so sadly, they have joined JuJu Bee (our evil cat) outside. Jett has began to show more of his personality with big chuckles, strange gurgling speech, and by racing across the floor in an army crawl. Last but not least, our house has been put on stilts. Yes, folks, stilts. Michael chiseled out the foundation from under the front corner of the house and while we waited to pour new concrete, our house was floating above the ground supported by stilts. I can only laugh, because it seems that over the years in our effort to finish and beautify our home we only seem to tear it apart a little bit more... the good news is that the new foundation has since been poured, the stilts removed, and we managed to plant a beautiful lawn made of pure grass and no weeds.

Ward Family Temple Day 2010

August 28th, 2010 we headed up to the Oakland Temple to take part in our Ward Temple Day Activity. The ward didn't officially gather until about 11:30am but we arrived at about 8:00am. Mike went inside and did some temple work and study while the kids and I walked around, took pictures, and toured the visitor's center. We watched the Joseph Smith movie and then joined up with the ward for lunch. After the activities were all over we ventured over to San Francisco for some yummy PF Changs and then drove across the Golden Gate Bridge just for the view. Michael was incredibly sweet and drove around looking for the perfect spot for me to try to get a nice picture of the bridge. The wind was out of control, but I was determined... I am happy with the picture that I was able to get. It was a wonderful day with my family. I love this gospel, I know that it is the true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I know that He lives. I am thankful to be married in the temple and to have the blessing of this fabulous eternal family. Heavenly Father is real. My life is witness to that...

Back to School! 2010

August 17, 2010, Knights Ferry Elementary is back in session. This year Paris is a big ol' fourth grader, full of style and "pre-teen" attitude. Brenden is in 3rd which is actually combined with 4th so he and Paris are in the same class. Sophia gets to join the ranks with the big kids and stay for the entire school day as a first grader. They were ready to get back to school to see all of their friends and start the new year. I'm enjoying the regular routine and alone time with Jett - but truth be told, I miss my kiddos and wish I could slow down the momentum of time... they are growing up fast. Too, too fast.

Family Photo Shoots!

August has been a booming month for business! ( Well, for practice anyway) I've had the opportunity to take pictures of quite a few people from right here within our family. These are just samples of family portraits but there are two other sessions I was able to do this month as well. I learned so much by doing all of these sessions so close together. I feel like my skill level has grown and I'm excited to keep moving forward! I will no longer be able to offer free sessions to anyone outside of the family as it is time for me to build my business. That being said... you Thompsons know my number! Give me a call and let me get more practice in, build my portfolio, and give you a FREE CD filled with YOUR pictures! It's a "win-win"! Thank you Beth, Courtnie, and Rachel for allowing me the privilege of taking your pictures. I really enjoyed it and hope I get the opportunity again in the future!