Why Yes, I Did Make The Kids Take 546 Pictures

I have a bit of a head cold, which is killing me because my friend, Jolene, had her baby on Sunday and I haven't been able to see him yet. He was 3 weeks early but weighed a healthy 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. They named him Jacob Douglas. I am so happy for Jolene and Derrin. I can't believe that they finally have a baby and I have too many germs to go see him.

My nieces have gone back home after a great visit. The week just flew by. We packed in so much stuff while they were here that I didn't have time to keep posting in real time. Here are some of the pictures I took of them while they were here.

I decided to take their pictures in front of a lot of cacti, I guess to prove they were actually in Texas, I don't know. This sort of plays into a stereotype of Texas but the fact is, we do have cactus here. A lot of it. And horses. We also eat quite a bit of BBQ. We have more state pride than country pride (let's be honest). Sometimes there is tumbleweed. And more cowboy hats and boots than you see anywhere else. These are stereotypes because they are partly true.

But I digress....

Annabelle, Natalie, Emma and Savannah.

Savannah. 6 years old. She takes a lot of crap from her sisters. She gives as well as she gets and often deserves it, but man, this one gets no sympathy from those girls.

Annabelle, Natalie and Emma.

Emma will be 11 in early September. She is a great mix of mature young woman and little girl. She still orders mostly from the kids menu but she is very responsible, kind, and takes good care of her sisters. She loves to bake so while she was here we made cookies and cake balls. She also cleaned up the house before they left and wrote a lovely thank you note that she left behind.
Natalie, my new teenager, is definitely the most mature of the group. She is very mothering to Annabelle. She was the leader of the pack while she was here, making sure everyone ordered what they wanted for lunch, talking to the younger girls about options on the menus, kissing boo boos, taking Bella to the bathroom, etc. She is such an avid reader, too. She is currently re-reading the Twilight books. She definitely stays up late and sleeps in like any respectable teenager should do.
Avery and Annabelle had so much fun together. It was sad to see Bella go because Avery just loved having a playmate around 24/7. Even though they are both 3 now, it is clear that Bella is the youngest in her family and Avery is the oldest. While Avery sings "Itsy Bitsy Spider" Bella could be heard singing:

Shut up and put your money where your mouth is

That's what you get for waking up in Vegas

And she knows all the words to Poker Face, too, in case you were wondering if she is just a one hit wonder.

Bella also knows all the psychological torture tactics to make someone be your friend. Avery hasn't learned yet so she was an easy target. For example, Avery wouldn't hug Annabelle when they saw each other one day so Bella told Avery that she just wasn't going to be her friend for the rest of the day because Avery was not very nice to deny her a hug. It worked. Avery hugged her immediately.

Well played, Bella. Well played.

I think you are all familiar with Curly and Avery by now.

Those glasses my dad is wearing really crack me up. I guess they are the kind that tint in the sun and look normal inside. I think it might just be worth it to invest in a pair of sunglasses for outside that are different from inside glasses. I mean, is it just me or do these look like they belong in 1988?
Here's the whole gang in one of just a few shots I was able to get of all of them together. Jack has the attention span of a gnat, so I never got a shot of everyone looking at the camera. I don't know how professionals do it. Do you think professional photos are so expensive because of all the therapy photographers must need?

Jack being almost smothered by the two youngest girls. He didn't mind the attention one bit. The good thing for him is that he weighs the same as Bella and can hold his own if he needs to.

At the end of the photo shoot the kids started to get a little silly.

I think this is there way of saying that we are done here.

So fine. We are done. I think that is enough pictures for one visit. In the future, these girls will appreciate having all of these photos. Just wait for wedding videos. Or 40th birthday videos. I think, instead of mocking me, they should thank me.