EPIC PicSpam

Dec 15, 2008 16:34

So.

I've been promising the lot of you pictures for what could reasonably be termed "forever." Last night I finally took my laptop, plugged in my camera and wiped all the pictures from it onto the computer, then sat and selected several of them before resizing and uploading them.

Now I'll spend a good portion of the afternoon putting it together in a post for you, complete with comments, and praying it lets me put in 114 pictures because I couldn't narrow it down any more than that. Although to be honest, now I'm thinking I could probably weed out a few more...

Anyway, please enjoy them - I worked hard on picking them out from the thousands I had, and equally as hard on resizing them and uploading them.

So we often go driving around on weekends when we've nothing else that needs doing - but we didn't do it too much this summer because of the whole tank-of-gas-equivalent-to-one-trip-to-the-moon thing. We just took one extra-long drive in July. This is looking out over Winona, MN:



On the same trip, Mikey was enjoying something, but we can't remember quite what it was....this was July, after all:



Looks like it was good though, no?



We went again on the second of November, stopped at a park in Lake City so Mikey could get out and stretch a bit, play a little:



He got himself stuck in the jungle gym - took him five minutes to figure a way out:



Got a lovely shot of the sunset over the Mississippi from the Wisconsin side:



We spent a good portion of time this summer at the wading pool, too:












In August, we spent a long weekend up in Duluth. Amanda got some goofy new shades:



Then swapped with Dad for a photo op:



None of us are smokers, but Matt usually gets a few cigars when we go on vacation:



My mom's friend, Barb, decided to have a few puffs, since she's never done anything bad in her whole entire life - seriously, Saint Barb. Anyway, I managed to get evidence:



This is the only way Mikey had a puff:



Amanda had her own grape-flavored cigar:



And even Dad lit one up:



Went up to Two Harbors, walked out on the huge stone pier thingy. If I didn't know Lake Superior has an average year-round temperature of 40ºF, I'd have jumped straight in for a swim at this point:



Mikey, posing:



And cold, but still grinning:



Then we went up to Gooseberry Falls. This is why I rarely post pictures of myself - they illustrate exactly what a chunky slob I am:



Matt did a panorama picture - that's Karen and Amanda up there, respectively:



Watching the womenfolks' purses:



Mikey, Karen and Amanda after climbing off that big-ass rock on the right:



Karen and Amanda:



Karen, amused by something:



Matt and Mikey:



Mikey and Amanda, discussing something:



One afternoon we went down to the beach right near our cabin. On the way back, we bumped over something on the left side of the car. When we got back to the cabin, we discovered both the front and back tires on the driver's side were punctured and flat. *sigh*



So we had to take Dad's car the next morning to Wisonsin, where the nearest WalMart with a tire center was:



Went to a better beach the next day, out on the...whatever the hell it was. It's a peninsula-thingy, something like the second-largest sandbar in the world - anyway, nice beach. This is the view of my towel...through my hair:



Amanda, next to me:



Karen next to her:



Matt on my other side...and one of the better pictures I've gotten out of him in eight years:



Mikey on the other side of Matt, bored out of his nine-year-old brain:



Then Matt swiped the camera...this is the only shot of me worth posting:



Mikey, having a bit more fun:



Mikey and Amanda dug a big hole:



Then they climbed into it and wanted to be covered:



Then Matt wanted a turn:



We went up to Duluth again in mid-October. Amanda had a henna-tattoo set, so she gave Mikey some tattoos:






Comfy on the floor:



Playing with Daddy on the bed:



Went up to Split Rock Lighthouse, found this in the gift shop and just about died laughing:



Mikey and Bunny, his grandmother - I should point out here that her jean jacket, there? Amanda painted that by hand:



Matt had to do a panorama of the lake and cliffs, of course:



Matt and Mikey, looking decidely cute together:






Mikey, grinning yet again:









The lighthouse:



It's Dr. Evil and his Mini-Me! OK, it's my Dad and Mikey, but seriously, they look so much alike:



Matt let Mikey and Amanda each pick out something goofy at the store. Mikey chose this:



Of course, Matt had to try it on:



Amanda chose these:



And Mikey felt the need to try them on:



Both at once, of course:



Then he caved and let Amanda do this to him:



So he looked like this:



The day we went home, we went to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. They have a bear in an apron outside, and Matt decided to see if he could look like the bear. I think it's safe to say he succeeded:



And to wrap up the trip, Mikey insisted he wasn't tired. Which is, of course, the most surefire way for a kid to take a nap:



Halloween rolled around, and we had a good night. We carved pumpkins a couple days before hand. Mikey hates cleaning them out:



Amanda doesn't mind it, but apparently, it's exhausting:






Matt's pumpkin was huge and looked really cool when he cut off the top:



Once cleaned out, naturally it became a hat:



More of a mask in Mikey's case:



Not sure what Mikey was going for, here:



Amanda, however, drew freehand from the Nightmare Before Christmas VHS tape case:



Matt drove Mikey to school on Halloween wearing this goofy Darth Vader mask - the kids walking along were pointing and laughing the whole time:



Mikey wore the Darth Vader mask he got for his birthday and a costume, and used his lightsaber he also got for his birthday; Amanda was a vampire:




And of course, gobs of candy later:



Also on Halloween, Mikey's grandparents, Bunny and John, got a new puppy. Her name is Nama, and we adore her:






Last month, we went to a CiCi's Pizza for our first time ever, and I fell in love with these cinnamon buns:



We also went to the Dayton's Macy's holiday display downtown. The theme this year was "A Day in the Life of an Elf at Santa's Workshop." I took a ton of pictures, but managed to pare it down for you to these:



























Mikey also had his fourth grade concert on November 20th. The theme was "The Spirit of America." I've got three photos here, and then a video we took and put up on YouTube. On the risers, Mikey's the farthest kid on the left:



Even did his own hair:






Video: I can't view YouTube from work, so you'll have to click the link. Click for super cuteness. XD.

For a reading assignment, he had to wear a tie to school, so Dad lended Mike a tie:



A random photo of him in a perfectly descriptive shirt...



I LOVE when the rainbow's bright enough to show up super well:



Why are women so WEIRD when it comes to public restrooms?



Amanda's 19th birthday was December 3rd, so Matt took her and Mikey to the Monster Trucks at the Dome. They went early to the pit party thingamajig, and Matt snapped this GREAT pic of Mikey with the driver of "Avenger:"



Amanda and I attempted to make a gingerbread house yesterday afternoon...it didn't go so well:






It's bad from the front, too, although maybe a little less so:






And on Saturday, we went to visit Beth and the girls!! Talk about a bunch of cutie patooties! Here's Mikey with Elaina in her room:



Mikey chatting with Evie:



I think both Matt and I kind of had mild heart attacks when Evie started crying and Mikey plucked her out of the walker himself - he's never held a baby before!



Apparently, though, he liked it:



And so did Evie, surprisingly - although Beth gets some credit for being in Evie's line of sight, here:



OK, that exhausts my photo supply. I left a couple unnecessary ones out, but other than that, they're all here. And that catches me up to the here and now, kids. Hope you enjoyed them! Let me know which ones you like best! I'm biased, so I like them all. *hehe*

BETH. We have a few videos from my camera of Elaina singing Jason Mraz. They are wildly cute, but we won't post them up on YouTube without your permission, so let us know if you're OK with that. Also, feel free to swipe any of those pics I posted and use them on your own journal - you have far more friends than I, I'm sure they'd like to see them, too. XD.

picspam!

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