Caleb at Tylers Party

Caleb at Tylers party.jpg, a photo by Elli :-) on Flickr.

I took my four younger boys to a birthday party today. They had a good time playing in someone else's yard and eating Spiderman cake. Caleb wore his Spiderman mask on his head most of the time. Goofy boy.

After the party we went to K&S Nursery in Corvallis. I love that place, but my appreciation is nothing compared to Caleb's opinion. All the boys were eagerly choosing hanging baskets for Grandma, and finding treasures they wanted, but Caleb was asking, "What's this one? Doesn't this one smell good? Will this one keep having flowers?" I asked them how old one has to be to become an apprentice at the nursery - I'm sure Caleb would love it! They said he's a bit on the young side. Bummers.

It's a Bug's Life

It's a bug's life, a photo by Elli :-) on Flickr.

I wanted to capture the detail in these budding maple leaves...they're so tiny, and rough...very interesting. I've never photographed them at this stage. While I was studying and shooting this one somebody showed up for the photo op! Have I mentioned how much I love my 7d? The detail and sharpness I get with this camera just thrills me!

Another point - the fact that these leaves are coming out and the ant was crawling around means that spring really and truly is here! Whoohoo! Caleb keeps picking dandelions and asking me each time if it means spring is here. It's really hard to teach kids about the seasons when the seasons just won't change!

Random Dandy

Random dandy edit, a photo by Elli :-) on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
The Daily Shoot assignment was "randomness." The first dandelion bouquet of the season has gone to seed...but it was the first random thing that caught my attention. I like how it looks now as much as when it was yellow.

Was it supposed to be about baseball?

When we go to our children’s baseball games we’re probably supposed to focus on that…and take pictures of that…right? Oops. I found this irresistible “little” guy that had my attention for a whole lot of the game.

I have the bit of Caleb’s head in here just so you can really get an idea of how big this baby is. He’s 15 weeks old, and he’s humongous! And adorable! And sweet! His name is Zeus, and I just love him!

Oh yeah…and Austin played baseball.

(He’s batting.)

A lot of our family life revolves around baseball right now. For about 6-8 weeks every spring we seem to do almost nothing but baseball. These junior boys of summer have been having a great time!

Such a happy/sad day

Fancy and Ken left this morning for Indiana. I am so excited for Fancy, and I am very proud of her. She has come so far and become such a loving, caring young woman. I can’t wait to see what God does with her now! But I’m also sad because we are all going to miss her so much. I keep reminding myself that this is the way it’s supposed to be…they’re supposed to grow up and move on into life. That’s right.

I made a video for the graduation party – it seems like just the thing to share on this amazing day in Fancy’s life – the day she steps out of the familiarity and comfort of Scrivnerburg and into the big, amazing world.

Seven Goofy Scrivner Kids

Seven goofy Scrivner kids, a photo by Elli :-) on Flickr.

We spent some time at a park today, visiting with Fancy and Dale's birth mom, goofing off, and taking pictures. I wanted one more shot of all 7 kids together...so what do I get? Goofiness. What do you expect in Scrivnerburg?

Fancy the Graduate

Fancy the graduate, a photo by Elli :-) on Flickr.

Fancy did it! She made it through high school! They even gave her a diploma! We are so proud of her. She's had quite the journey to get here. I know that all of that was just preparing her for an amazing life! Fancy, in the words of the Great Nate the Bean, you're magnificent!

We had a wonderful party for her at the church after the ceremony - many people came out to celebrate with her and wish her well on the next leg of this great journey. Overall, it was a wonderful day!

Next comes the sad part...Fancy is leaving Tuesday for Indiana. We will all miss her, but there is one person who is just devastated at the thought of her departure...

Fancy finds herself comforting Caleb often.