Happy Birthday to CRAIG!!!

Well, I want to start off by wishing Craig a big ol' Happy Birthday! I wish we could be there with you so that we could harass you about your old age in person, but I guess we've always got next year, right!?!

Anyway, the girls have a couple little "somethings" for you. And, just so you know, I didn't wipe their faces before sending these smoochies your way, so they are nice and slobbery/snotty smoochies! Haha! I knew you'd love that!!!


The girls had THE BEST time doing this for you! They were giggly the whole time! Although, they didn't quite "get" how we were going to give this to you. Emma kept asking me, "but, Mommy, how are we gonna put it IN his hand?" Anyway, we love you & miss you much! Oh, and also, the girls told me to tell you that Simon says to have a crazy fun happy birthday! (That and to act like a monkey...ha!)

Okay, so, on to the rest of the afternoon. It's really amazing what a difference a little green can make. We spent the evening in the front yard, and as the leaves start to grow in & the grass starts to turn green again, it's just CRAZY how different I'm seeing my own yard! As the girls were running around the yard tonight, Emma just happened to stop in just the right place to have the greenery framing her perfectly. And, I happened to be in just the right spot to notice! I've never noticed this before. So, I snapped a quick picture, but she was just as quickly on her way. This photo isn't the greatest, but I wanted to share my excitement about my new little spot in the front yard. I'm planning on setting up some shots there soon...

Here are a couple more of Emma. The girls just LOVE to walk along that curb. (Watch for a picture of Maya doing the same thing later in the post.) And, the second one...well, I don't just love it, though I like the idea of it. This is another split second Emma decided to stop somewhere. I had to move quick to get the picture, and I had been shooting at 1.8, so I didn't have time to change my aperture. I think there is a tad too shallow depth of field there in the foreground. (Wait. Did I just say that!?! Am I complaining of too much depth of field!?! Ha!) But, yeah, this time I think it's too much.


And, on to crazy-busy, never-sits-still Maya... She's just nearly impossible to catch when we're outside. So, yes, I cut her foot off, but I'm thinking I'm pretty darn lucky to have gotten the picture at all! :-) I just loved her silly expression when she looked up, and I just happened to catch it!