The past couple weeks...

^I think I've been gaining weight with this pregnancy, except I'm not the one who is pregnant.

It has been a couple weeks since we have posted anything on the blog. And it isn't because we haven't been busy. On the contrary, you can rest assure that when we haven't posted anything, it is typically because life has been super-busy for us. Both in our personal lives and with photography.

So here is a short run down of what has been happening lately, with pictures:

^Good-bye old car. This shot was taken a few weeks ago when we decided to trade in the old Lexus for one of them there mini-vans. The Lexus kept having things go wrong with it, and with a growing family we figured it was that time in life to go the soccor-mom route. Actually we very much enjoy the new vehicle, but that will be a post in itself coming soon.

^ A couple weeks ago, a beloved family member passed away. She will be greatly missed and never forgotton. When Nicole was pregnant with Aubrey, she volunteered to put together a fun baby shower which we have a ton of pictures from. Her husband had asked if I could take a couple respectful shots, something I have done before for other friends in the past. I debated on whether to post anything, but it has been a great part of our lives lately and probably will be for some time to come as we will always remember her.

^Nicole & Aubrey going thru some of aubrey's old baby clothes, seeing what we might be able to re-use when daughter #2 comes. Aubrey helped me put together that white dresser you see in the background with her toy tool set. She was so proud to have helped dad and was amazed at how we took some nails and pieces of wood to make a dresser.

^Mmmm, Superman ice cream. Earlier this day we attended the annual World Brat Fest where there is live music, games, and yup - brats. This year it was super-hot out when we went with Grandparents in tow. However I think the heat and sun was getting too much for aubs as she wasn't looking too great when we finally sat down from standing in line. So we left and headed to Ella's Delli for ice cream instead.

^Outside Ella's Delli (great place for kids & adults w/all the toys), they have a Carosal ride. So of course we had to take a spin!

^On Memorial Day, we went to a couple cemetaries to pay tribute to family members who have passed away by laying flowers by their graves. While at the Cottage Grove cemetary, we noticed a couple VFW gentlemen playing the bagpipes with a crowd gathering. I love the look on Aubs face when she heard bag pipes for the first time.

^After the bag pipes, we found out there was a memorial service for fallen service members with a raising of a flag and a 21 gun solute. It was very nice tribute and something we might attend to again next year.

^Finally we had a small family shoot by a local lake on Monday night. Afterwards, we went into the nearby bar with the family for some dinner while the kids played around. Literally, they played around - me! Yup, that's me in the middle and aubrey is on the right. Apparently all the kids thought it would be histarical to run around me for like 10 minutes. I guess I'm the next best thing to a playground. : )