Halloween & Leaves

We haven't had a family picture taken since last Halloween. How pathetic is that? So, we set the timer on my camera (not my good camera) and were able to get a few semi-decent shots. I finally discovered how to use the timer on my good camera, so we need to try again.

Hiding in the leaves. I have a ton of great autumn pictures that I took in our yard that I will post soon...here is preview.

Sage was a pink monster for Halloween. These were taken the weekend before Halloween on our way to a party. I haven't uploaded the "real" Halloween night photos yet, but I will soon.

On our way to the Halloween party, Sage said her fist cuss word "Oh Shit". I quickly told her that she was not allowed to say that, which was, of course, followed by a quick succession of "oh shit's". I told her that we couldn't go to the party becuase she was being naughty and saying naughty words. She replied..."okay mom, I'll keep my words in my mouth". She hasn't said "shit" since.

October was a crazy busy month for us. We worked a ton, were sick alot, and had lots of fun parties to go to. I'm hoping things quiet down a bit before the big holidays hit. I asked Sage what she wanted from Santa. She said "a ladder, a red bow, and a sister for Addie (Addie is her dolll)". She quickly followed it by also saying " I want everthing for Christmas". Good thing, since I've already bought her a little of everything. Not a ladder or red bow though.

Pumpkin Patch

We visited one of our local pumpkin patches a couple of weekends ago. It was so fun watching Sage experience everything there for the first time. Out in the pumpkin field, she would brush off each pumpkin and then sit on it to see if she liked it.

Throwing hay in the sunflower maze

Picking sunflower seeds with Dad.



Exploring the sunflower maze

She got her face painted for the first time and LOVED it. She worked so hard to sit still while the girl was doing it. Bath time that night was very sad when we had to say goodbye to it.

Mom and Sage

Introducing.....Ruby

Ruby is a sweet little gray kitten that showed up in our garage on Saturday. I've knocked on doors, put an ad on Craigslist, and called Animal Control with no luck in finding her owners. She is absolutley adorable and LOVES Sage. Sage carries her everywhere and plays with her constantly. She wraps her in blankets for "naps" and the kitten just purrs away. Sage named her "Ruby" after her favorite show called "Max and Ruby". Honestly, I had to encourage her to name her Ruby as her first choice was "Shrek". We have been known to say that we will NEVER have another cat. Well, here's the perfect instance of "never say never". At this point, even if her owners are found, we will have to go to the shelter and get Sage another cat. Sage is totally smitten (and so are we). Not so smitten with the litter box though...it's been awhile since we've done that. We are comitted to keeping her indoors though since we live on such a busy road. The dogs are beside themselves, but today went a little smoother. Ruby is not afraid of the dogs at all and actually stands up to them. Lucy has a scratch on her nose from getting too close! Off to the vet next week for spaying, shots, and a checkup.

More More More!!!

I'm addicted to taking Sage out for little photo shoots. We did these the other day, in the same field as the old truck bed. I wanted to try and get some better lighting. I think these turned out better.

The first is of Sage looking at a family of deer that were in the field. Do you see them in the background? They were NOT happy we were there. The 2 mama deers were a bit territorial.

This is Sage asking for a 2 minute break from picture taking. Poor little thing.....NOT!!!

This is probably one of my all time favorite pictures of her. I had just told her that I had a lollipop in my pocket for her since she was so good for me.

We went to the pumpkin patch/Harvest Festival today. I'll post pics of that soon.

Exploring

Today we went "exploring", which is really just driving around our neighboorhood looking for cool places to take pictures. Found this old truck behind someone's house in a field. I wasn't overly happy with any of the photos today, but practice makes perfect right? It seems like the exposure is not right in any of them.....Still trying to figure this all out.

We walked up a little hill in our neighboorhood that takes us to a trail that follows along behind some of the houses. Those of you that know me well, know that I have an irrational fear of mountain lions. I was literally in the middle of an adrenaline rush the entire 10 minutes we were up there. I kept hearing things and was certain we were being stalked by a mountain lion. We will never go up there alone again...too scary for me.

Sage came down with a fever this afternoon, so we rested the afternoon away. Hopefully she's feeling better tomorrow.

Photography Class

I'm 2 weeks into the photography class that I am taking. I am LOVING it, but it is a lot of work (& I haven't taken a class of any sort in a really LONG time). I am learning so much, which I love. The pictures here are of a little photo shoot I did with Sage last week. Notice, once again, the sucker. It is the ONLY thing that makes her cooperative.

Fire Nearby

View from our front window as they were getting the fire more contained.

Well, on Monday there was a forest/grass fire that was extremely close to our house. It burned over 1,000 acres. The wind was blowing in the opposite direction of our home, so we were safe. Others had to evacuate and thanks to wonderful firefighters no homes were lost and no one was injured. I was home alone with Sage and was frantically trying to figure out what I would do if we needed to evacuated. Not much room left in my car with Sage and 3 dogs.
This plane is coming straight towards our house as it drops retardant on the fire. It was so loud in our house, having planes and helicopters so low right nearby.

Four firetrucks came and sat right across the street from our house. I think they were on watch for wind change and hot spots.

Now on to cute stuff........Sage in the bath last night. I'm in the second week of my photography class and am trying to implement some of our lessons.

We were doing this little photo shoot in our backyard when I saw a helicopter come right over our house with a bucket of water. I looked over my shoulder and could not believe the smoke that I saw.

A 2 1/2 year old and a sucker. Makes for a perfect photo shoot.

Last night Sage informed me that she would like to be called Sagey because "that's what everyone calls me". Hillarious!