First Signs of Spring

Shots from our front yard, covered by snow only two weeks ago.

Bull Run Mountain

Last weekend we took a hike up Bull Run mountain to check out the amazing fall color this year (cold snap really brought out the color!). The park is about 15 minutes from our house yet this was our first trip! It was a lot of fun, though we ended up with both boys in backpacks for most of the hike.

Memorial Day Weekend

This memorial day we went fishing....  Seems like we have been doing a lot of fishing lately!  It was a great trip, with Maranda outfishing me quite effortlessly.  We caught a total of 23 keeper size crappie, 8 bluegill, and 1 perch.  Kieran did a masterful job of fighting the perch, bluegill, and several crappie.  Maranda could be considered a show off after she hooked four crappie in under three minutes.  We were also accompanied by our friend Bruce from a church we have been joining fellowship with.  It was a fun time to swap tales and he kept the boys entertained while I ran to retrieve Maranda's frequent fish.

Here is Kieran proudly showing off our catch

A trophy bluegill

Our friend Bruce with Tristan

Bone Shirt

Every since he got his "bone shirt" late last summer, Kieran has been absolutely infatuated with his favorite sweatshirt with glow in the dark bones.  I am surprised this sweatshirt has not already worn out, as he wears it EVERY day that he is allowed, begs to sleep in it each night (he is wearing it to bed tonight with Mommies permission).  He loves to stand in front of a bright light and then turn off all the lights and see the bones glow.

I shouldn't have been surprised given his love of this sweatshirt, but when I was carefully explaining to him a few weeks back that we would all be dressing very nice for Easter Sunday and I needed his help to pick out his best clothes, he immediately responded with "my bone shirt is really, really nice!"  Sigh....  There was nothing I could do to convince him that a button up shirt and vest was "nicer" than his bone sweatshirt, so it was a rather distraught three year old in the back of car that morning on the way to church.

A week after Easter Sunday mommy was getting the boys dressed to go take portraits.  As she explained to Kieran that he was wearing clothes that looked very nice matched well with his brother Tristan he paused, and then asked in his most persuasive voice, "can I wear my bone shirt, 'cause I want to look nice AND cool!"  Needless to say, the cool factor did not end up meeting his expectations...

Luckily he still has some room to grow, so the bone shirt may be with us into 2010.   

Tristan Portraits at Four Months

Tristan is now four months old.  It is incredible how fast the time is flying by, he will be crawling before we turn around!  Here are a few shots I took of him this afternoon in our front yard.  He is quite the little poser!  :)

Really Cool Dudes

So I noticed a model shoot going in a local park one afternoon, and managed to steal a couple shots of these outrageously cool gentlemen.

Photo shoot with peterbphoto

Pete of Peter B Photo brought his lovely wife to our house recently and spent some time shooting pictures of our boys. While my adhoc lighting setup proved to be less than exceptional, there were some nice shots of both boys and some ideas generated on how to improve my setup going forward.

Here are some of the best shots

Grandma Reading to Boys

Grandma Tennyson reading to the boys.

Belly n Boy Shots

The nice thing about a delayed birth is I am finally getting around to getting all the photo shoots in! Here are my favorite "tummy shots" of Kieran and Maranda.

Kieran's 3rd Birthday Party

At long last Kieran's third birthday party arrived! It was a lot of fun, see below for our best shots.

Kieran & Maranda to the right.












Car sandwiches!



Dance Party!

August Camping Trips

Well, we have a lot of fun camping in August, finally getting some time to put some pictures up. Our first trip was to Trout Pond in West Virginia, a small, family friendly campground in the rolling hills and hardwood forests of WV. Kieran had a fantastic time and was shaking with excitement as we unloaded the gear and setup the tent. This trip he got his FIRST SLEEPING BAG and was absolutely thrilled! It was a wonderful time with dear friends, although the three days went by far to quickly for me (as it always does).

Here are our best shots (our second camping trip is after these photos).

click on any image for larger image

The beach at the small lake, love the richness of the colors in this shot (hat tip to Maranda). Kieran is in the center.



Kieran straining to carry his load of water, his friend Mike in the background joining the cause.



More water carrying with his friend Keenan.



What used to be a sandcastle!



A boy pile, Kieran and the three Doan boys. Kieran's head is the bottom right. Looks like baby C.J. needed a snuggle!



Cute shot, kudo's again to Maranda.



Kieran and Keenan playing together.



Kieran and Ethan playing together in matching outfits!



Canoe time! From left to right, Sam, Keenan, Kieran, and Ethan.


Our second camping trip was to the Lake Erie shoreline in Marblehead, Ohio. We had a great time with friends Maggie, Schuyler, and their son Levi. Although Levi and Kieran had not seen each other for over 8 months, they instantly bonded over their mutual love of monster trucks! Levi even brough the ICE CRUSHER, which was a new one for Kieran and had him enraptured immediately. We were also able to attend our friends Joel and Kate's wedding which was a beautiful and meaningful affair.

Here are some of our best shots:



A happy boy watching the CARS movie on Daddy's iPod.









Oops, boy had a time out discussion with Daddy...



At the wedding reception.






Levi and Kieran just floatin' around.



Levi and Kieran attacking Ken.