So my dad sent me all of my old professionally taken baby and school pictures the other day. (I use the term 'professional' loosely - many of the pictures were way off center!) He said he had scanned all of them and didn't need them. I wasn't sure whether to be insulted that he no longer wanted them, or happy to have the originals so I could put them in an album. I've been pretty busy lately, so I chose the latter. :)
So here are some of my younger years:
Do the jowls in the first photo remind you of anyone? So
that's where Josh gets them... I think I was a pretty cute little kid. The bangs in the last picture crack me up - I'm pretty sure I had trimmed them myself that morning! (I'm not sure why my mom didn't fix them.)
Everyone goes through an awkward phase, right? That's what I tell myself when I see the next few sets of pictures. I think my worst phases were from 6th grade through 9th grade. (Around the time I started really grooming and dressing myself.) It's like I fell off the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. How in the world my mom was able to hold her tongue with some of my fashion choices, I'll never know!
Whew! The hair in that last one! How in the world did I have friends then? Oh, that's right, we all looked awful! Luckily, by the time I was 16 I had figured a few things out. Plus, I got rid of the glasses and the braces - it was a big year for me! Not that I've ever been a fashion diva, but at least my pictures get a bit more bearable to look at.
The picture of me in the red polo is of me in the 11th grade. I think I looked okay then - that's just not the best picture. The next is my senior photo. The last one was the year before I got married; I was 21.
Okay, I've shown all, so to speak. Let's see your pictures! (Assuming your parents no longer want/need them and have sent them to you!)
Do the jowls in the first photo remind you of anyone? So that's where Josh gets them... I think I was a pretty cute little kid. The bangs in the last picture crack me up - I'm pretty sure I had trimmed them myself that morning! (I'm not sure why my mom didn't fix them.)
Okay, I've shown all, so to speak. Let's see your pictures! (Assuming your parents no longer want/need them and have sent them to you!)
The boys and I made an impromptu visit to the Pretty Prairie Berry Farm this morning. Spencer moved our flag up and down the row, picked under-ripe berries, squished 
over-ripe berries in his hands, actually put a few berries in his bucket, constantly asked where the farmer was, and generally had a grand time. Josh hung out in his stroller at the end of our row, drinking a bottle, talking to himself, and charming the little old ladies who passed by him. I kept an eye on both boys, had to get after Spencer every five minutes for something or other, 
picked up Josh's bottle every time he threw it, and picked 14 pounds of berries in just under an hour. Nice. My hands are now stained a lovely shade of strawberry pink from cutting all the hulls out of all 14 pounds of berries this afternoon. I plan on making several pints of strawberry jam (and I'm freezing 
several quarts for other mixed berry jams) and a couple of pies that will go in the freezer for a later date. We'll have lots of fresh berries for all meals for the next few days, and, of course, fresh strawberry shortcake! (Homemade shortcake, of course - I'm not a big fan of that fake store-bought sponge cake.) Forget Memorial Day - summer actually starts once you have your first strawberry shortcake of the season. Heaven! So, what officially starts the summer season for you?
Nice. I didn't even realize what he was doing until it was too late. Not bad, considering he only has 1 1/2 teeth. I think he actually ate the cardboard, as there was none to be found on the floor and just a small little bit in his mouth. Does this make me a bad mom? Maybe, but at least I know he got his fiber for the day! Mmmm... fiber.
My question for you is,
