My new favourite pic of Elissa

I did this the other day and loved how the colour popped out. Joel thinks this shirt looks like something from the 80's...I guess the 80's really are back, at Baby Gap anyway.
One more week until school starts wooooHooo! And then 2 more weeks until we leave for Toronto. I am so excited about my cousin Brendan's wedding. I haven't seen him for years!
Arghhh, Connor has not taken a nap for two days now. He discovered how to get out of his crib and thinks it's fun to climb out and not sleep.. Well hopefully he'll go to sleep early tonight since Joel will be out golfing. I didn't get home until 1:00 this mornng from our GNO (girls nite out) We had an awesome time going out for dinner and back to Jen's house. She is the perfect host, and thinks of everything! Well I should run and check Connor. 

Elissa in her tutu!

Today I got to play around with my camera. Elissa was actually fairly cooperative (notice the tutu) It's not the one I made but it's the one she always wears, a gift from her Auntie Jen. My SIL Brooke itroduced me to spot metering yesterday and I had fun trying to figure it out. So here are a couple of examples from today...
 

Cayley's Gorgeous Blue Eyes!

Here is a picture of my neice Cayley holding the last of Abby's puppies today. I cannot get over how sparkly blue her eyes are.
It was a busy day and I am so tired. Off to sleep! 

 

I LOVE little feet!

Okay so I couldn't resist taking a shot of Connor's cute little chubby feet tonight. There is something about little ones' feet that are so adorable . I've yet to figure it out, but it seems that everytime I do a photo shoot of a child or baby, mom always wants some feet shots.
Well I have spent the better part of the lsast three days sanding these table and chairs down, the stripper sooo didn't work for me. So here are some pictures of the nearly finished product. I have to do one more coat. For those of you who don't remember what they looked like before or have never seen them, they were a bleached oak. Think 1988... I would post a before picture if I had one, but they were so hideous before I most likely avoided taking any picture of them. Okay maybe they weren't Thaaaaat bad, but I really wanted a more rustic, warmer feeling.

I also posted a picture of Elissa with her Molly doll, but it seems to have dissappeared. I'll try to find it and re-post it, or maybe it will just magically appear!(gotta love computers)

Now I have a question for all you super savvy bloggers out there that seem to know the ins and outs of these crazy machines...how do I get a link on my blog? It says "edit-me" and everytime I try it I get all confused and get all this weird mumbo jumbo.

So today I thought I would try the Utopia Academy to get my hair done. I had heard wonderful things about it and how cheap it was to get highlights and a cut. So I make an appointment for 1:00 today. They call me at 12:45 to say they are running behind and would I mind coming in at 1:30. That's fine as I really have nothing else to do today...Joel's at home with the kid's:)

So I get there and I'm in by 1:40. Then the girl tells me that we probably won't have time to do highlights. Hmmmm, okay.... so just a cut? So just a cut I got. 4:10 I am FINALLY done! I know my hair is a little on the thick side, but all I wanted was trim! I think maybe she took 1/4 of an inch off. I'd post a pic, but it really looks no different. So for $13 I got to sit in a chair all afternoon and chat to total strangers, but it was at least relaxing.

Well I need to get these little Munchkins off to bed, and search for the picture of Elissa and Molly. 

Morning Coffee

I'm not sure if there is a better way to start off the morning than with a cup of hot coffee poured into your favourite mug. I feel like it's the perfect time to relax and think about what lays ahead for the day, or sit with a good magazine and be inspired.

I have been working on my table and chairs in our kitchen for the past two days. I sanded my table yesterday and today I am working on stripping the rest of the finish off my chairs and the hard to reach places on my table. Sanding is much easier and quicker. I chose a red mahogany stain to put on once this is all done.

Connor has come down with a nasty cold, the one Elissa is finishing up, so he's been asleep for over an hour already!

Anyway, I should head back out to see how my "stripping" is going. Oh and maybe make myslef a good cup of coffee!

Well we're back! We had a great weekend up in Mara at the annual Meatfest on the Aylard Farm. The kids were great driving despite having no a/c. It was the kids first time sleeping in a tent. Elissa unfortuantly came down with a nasty cold and was pretty miserable all night, so now she associates that with sleeping in a tent and is not so keen on trying it again anytime soon. So that is great for me since tenting is not my favourtite thing either.
The kids had a great time on the super big slip and slide and playing with all the cousins.
The food was great with a wide assortment of goat, pig, and lamb, as well as many salads, fresh fruit, and every drink imaginable.
Okay, well I need to unpack some more, wrap a birthday present, get the kids dressed and hopefully squeeze inthe some breakfast! Joel took this morning off so I have a bit of help.
I think we'll be going to get Elissa and Connor their fish tonight. They already have named them Nemo, Dory, and Marlin.


This little cutie is Avery, the newest McAllister.

Bye for now! 

Bye, Bye Elle!

Well we just said goodbye to Elle. She is going to live with a wonderful family in Langley on acreage. It sounds perfect for her and I know she will be very happy. The kids were very good about saying goodbye, no tears at all!
We had a good day today. The kids and I went to the library and Elissa and I baked cookies this afternoon while Connor had his nap.

I have dinner almost ready so I should haul in the kids and Joel!
 

Who wouldn't want her????

I thought I would post a picture of Elle tonight, just because she has kept me busy today. I cleaned out her room, and repainted some of her scratch marks. I also moved her crate to the basement, as Joel thinks she is old enough to sleep on a blanket in the mudroom.

This week has been busy with Connor to the Dr's yesterday, Costco shopping, and a playdate for Elissa at her friend Callyista's this morning. This afternoon I had a nice visit with my SIL Amanda and her sweet little baby girl Avery.

Well the kids are playing soccer in the park with Joel so maybe I'll
head over with my camera for a few pictures. 

Photo shoot in Clayburn

I did a photo shoot of this great family last night. They were very laid back and up for anything. Well I shouldn't say anything as this little girl would NOT put on my tutu that I made. I'm starting to really wonder about it. I spent a lot of the day proofing and have come up with quite a few choices.
Joel has been working hard on the garage and I am happy to say it is almost done!!

Well the trainer came to assess Elle the other day and said that she is too much of a "people" dog to be a police dog...go figure! So if anyone knows of someone who would love a fun and loveable dog, let me know!

Well that's about all for now, I'll be posting more of my family session on my Photography website. www.lmcallister1.photosite.com

Are we done yet???

I bribed Elissa to let me take some pictures of her yesterday. This was the best of the bunch...
She was sooo not into it. I made her a tutu last week and I'm dying for her to let me do some pictures with it on...she won't wear it. 

Yeah!! We woke up to rain this morning! After over a month of dry weather it was so refreshing to see the rain. The coolness and the sweet smell of it was a great way to start off my day.

Elissa had swimming lessons again today. She really is loving it. Today she actually "swam" under the water for 3 seconds all by herself! She only has two more days left, but I will probably sign her up again in the fall if things don't get too busy.

Joel and I have made the decision to find Elle a better home. She has it pretty good here, but the kids don't want to play in the yard anymore, for fear they will get nipped, have a toy grabbed from them, or be knocked to ground. She usually gets at least one walk a day but seems to still act a bit aggresive afterwards, which is very frustrating! We are having a trainer come out tomorrow to take a look at her and test her to see if she would make a good "police" dog. Our neighbour has a good friend who does this and so he's the one setting it all up.

In photography news... I had a woman at the park today approach me and is interested in having her family photographed. She was wondering about getting a long, narrow picture done. I have never printed one before so I've been scrambling all night to try and find out where I can get this done and how much to charge. She said she would call back tonight for an aswer!
Well that was about my day! I thought I would post a picture of my little Connor tonight.

Well, another day playing around with my new lens. A neighbour had set up a small pool and sprinkler on the sidewalk in front of their house and all the little kid's on the block swarmed. I grabbed a shot of this little guy playing in the sprinkler.

Here are a couple more
from the other night.
Practicing with my new lens!

Here is one of Elissa "dancing" at Nana and Papa's the other night. She is such a wonderful little girl, so full of innocence and wonder. I love watching how excited she gets about going swimming or just out for a play at the park. She is so happy and joyful, I wish she could stay this way forever.

Monday August 7, 2006

Still hot here. Joel called tonight to let me know he had missed his connecting flight home to Vancouver, so he's spending the night in Chicago. I hope he gets a good night's sleep, he's been travelling non-stop for three days now!
Mom came over for a bit today. I tried playing around more with my camera. I am trying to figure out how to post some pictures onthis thing, but it seems to take forvever to load! Once I do figure it out I'll be posting a ton!
That's all for tonight...

Sunday August 6, 2006

Super warm day here. Joel left earl this morning for Maryland. He's only there for a couple of days, which for me is good, but for him it sure is a lot of travelling. I think the kids and I will have some Mac and Cheese for dinner and go to be early! Okay well that is my first ever blog entry...now let's see if anyone will read this!