My Second "Offical" Family Photo Shoot

My good friend Rickie asked me a long while back if I could take some pictures of her kids too, so we were finally able to cooderinate a date and time! I got so many great shots of her kids that I wanted to post more, but this is just a small sample. So what do you think? Sisters... if any of you are willing to let me experiment on you and your families... I need more practice! Give me a call! Thanks Rickie for trusting me behind the camera... but honestly your kids are so cute it was like cheating!

My First "Official" Family Photo Shoot...

My friend Misty asked me if I would take some family pictures for her. These are just a few of my favorite pictures. I am really enjoying this photography thing... thanks to all of you that have encouraged me and let me experiment on you! (That includes you Misty!) Thanks so much!

Playing at the Ranch

The day after Paris' party I returned all of the girls to the ranch where their mommies were waiting for them. The Stouts had just dropped off these enormous pumpkins and the kids were having a great time climbing on them. I spent the day following these cute cousins around with my camera! We have a cute bunch of kids!

Happy 8th Birthday Paris!

November 11, 2008 Paris Rose turns 8 years old! She had a "Rockin' Hannah Montana" pizza party. I decorated the empty dining room with glittery music notes and set up a craft table and a make-over table. The girls took turns all night singing Hannah Montana songs on the microphone, coloring Hannah Montana crafts, and painting each other's nails. I attempted to create a guitar shaped cake... Paris loved it! After the party Maryn, Tayler, Camille, and Layla stayed for a sleep-over. They stayed up until almost midnight and were up bright and early the next morning ready to play some more!

A Birthday Party Adventure!

My kids were recently invited to a classmate's birthday party. She had "Python Ron" come and share some wildlife critters! In these pictures the kids are holding an albino snake. We saw huge beetles, spiders, lizards, snakes, and other crawling creatures. The kids had a blast. There were "zip-lines" suspended between the trees and the kids took turns "zipping" from one side of the yard to the other. It's hard to tell from these pictures but the zip-lines were pretty high in the trees, so as you can imagine... I was a little stressed by Brenden's unfailing interest and daring intrigue... but we escaped without incident... this time!

Happy Halloween!

Every year for Halloween Paris and Brenden's school have a little parade through the town of Knights Ferry. The entire community comes out and the kids trick or treat from car to car. It makes for a fun day! Another Halloween tradition that we've had the joy of being a part of is a hay ride through our neighborhood on Horseshoe Road. About 6 antique tractors line up pulling trailers loaded with hay and trick-or-treaters and then pull us in a caravan down our road from house to house! This year I dressed as a "mommy butterfly", Paris was a "rockin' pirate", Brenden as "Wall-E" and Sophia dressed as "Fancy Nancy." As you can see... they not only dressed the part... they played the part as well! My kids are hams!

Little Evyn...

Back in October when we had our bi-annual Knights Ferry picnic, Laurie asked me to get some pictures of Evyn sucking her thumb... and I forgot to post them! So sorry! Here she is... just beautiful!

A Filed Trip for Mommy!

I was feeling a little "blue" with the daily hum-drum of life... so Mike took a day off and spent it with Sophia and I. We drove up to Jamestown and Sonora and just walked around enjoying the day. After we picked Paris and Brenden up from school our whole family took a long hike around Knights Ferry. It was nice to have simple family time.

Happy 8th Birthday Maryn!

October 20th, 2008 Maryn Libby Thompson turns 8 years old! Can you believe it? Already!? Heather and Noah had a few of us "locals" over for dinner to celebrate the affair. Maryn was so happy to have her family around her! She was all smiles the whole night! As always, Heather served a delicious meal. We had homemade lasagna, followed by moist chocolate cake. It was a nice evening spent with family! Thanks guys! Happy Birthday Maryn!

How to Eat a Banana!

With Morgan around it's impossible not to find even the simplest of acts to be endearing! Here she is eating a banana... what more is there to say?

The Next Day...

The cousins gather around Grandmother and Grandpa to take a picture with "Scarecrow Bob" in the daylight! Notice how Grandpa is tickling Paris, and Brenden is tickling Scarecrow Bob!


Scarecrow Bob gets popular and turns into a family affair!



Mike and I returned to the ranch the day after the party to clean up some of our mess, and found everyone enjoying their Sunday and carving pumpkins!

1st Annual Thompson Halloween Party!

We Thompsons make a FABULOUS team! We all worked together and had an awesome party because of it! We had various homemade soups for dinner on a beautifully decorated table done by Brooke, games, dancing, haunted hay rides, face painting, a fun house, and just plain fun! I made "Scarecrow Bob" using Grandpa's clothes. Throughout the night many took turns getting their picture taken with "Scarecrow Bob"! Jared DeWoody made a potato blaster that brought big smiles to the kids' faces! Jared Wetenkamp was quite the DJ and kept the kids hoppin' with lots of fun halloween music. With Jared's music expertice Brooke and I even did the limbo, chicken dance, and "Hokie Pokie" with the kids! Mike built a fun house with strobe lights on the back porch. That was a total hit with the kids. As the night passed the kids continually ran back to the fun house filling the air with shrieks of laughter. The haunted hay ride was a complete success too! On the ride we visited an old witch's house, a grave yard, drove through some ghosts, and were chased by some crazy ghouls and goblins with chainsaws! The haunted hay ride was such a success that the kids loaded up on the trailer for a third ride! Later in the night there was a cupcake walk where each kid won a wonderfully hand decorated cupcake. Thanks Auntie Mary Ann for all of your work and creativity! Grandmother and Grandpa were spookily dressed and served "witches brew" out of a cauldron! (homemade rootbeer) At the close of the night Brooke brought out her homemade pumpkin roll and believe me when I say that it was delicious! Just when we thought that things were coming to a close, face painting became popular again! The kids lined up to have bats, pumpkins, witch hats, ghosts, and scars painted on their little faces! The night was an absolute blast! Thank you so much to all of you that worked and planned so that we could have this wonderful evening! Our family is so much fun! Like I said before... we make a great team!