Fall Is...

//  the sound of crisp brown leaves as they crunch beneath your feet  //  toasty brown marshmallows squashed between fudge striped cookies  //  a cup of hot coffee in the morning  //  curling up in a big, comfy sweatshirt with a good book  //  the last of the colorful veggies waiting to be preserved for the winter  //  warm campfires on a chilly evening  //  bouquets of flowers in shades of orange, red, and yellow  //  the quiet lapping of water against the shore of a lake  //  the smell of banana muffins fresh from the oven  //  the slow change from the vibrant and bright colors of summer to the warm and relaxing colors of fall  //

>>  What is your favorite thing about fall?  <<

And they just keep on growing

I've come to the conclusion that time just flies too fast. I mean, really too fast. Just this past week my little brother, Joshua (who is actually not-so-little anymore), had his tenth birthday. It seems like only yesterday he was turning three...can someone please tell me where the time went? I look around at all of my siblings and realize just how much they are growing up. With each passing year I'm reminded that they can't stay little forever....they just keep on growing. All too soon they will be all grown up, and I want to treasure these precious moments that I have with them now.

Joshua is a total boy - he loves bows and arrows, Legos, playing baseball, building intricate creations, and working with dad. He's got an engineering mind that can design and created complicated and detailed Lego machines that boggle my mind. Tenth birthdays happen to be a special occasion around our house, as they are the year you get to have a "big" birthday party. So he invited over our cousins and a few friends for a fun evening of baseball, a campfire, and any other activities they could find to do around the farm. It was great, and all the boys had a blast! And I learned something too...you need a lot of food to feed lots of boys - especially hungry boys that just played baseball!

Just to forewarn you...I took 573 photos. Ya, that's a lot, but when you are the "official birthday photographer" you do what you have to do in order to capture the special moments from the day. Besides, I love to capture those moments that may soon be forgotten in our heads, but are kept alive by a photo. I only posted a few of my favorites here...but remember that I did give you fair warning...

And last, but certainly not least, my favorite photo from the day...