Message from Magson...

We're taking a break from this coat weather...

But we'll back on the 16th-ish to catch up!

Maui here we come!

One Tomato

Meet Larry. He’s retired and single and keeps his yard pristine. In the summer, he can be found poking at his plants, making artistic bird baths out of concrete, and responding several times a day to Maggie's loud “Hi Larry’s!” with nodding and waving from his place two doors down.

I’m grateful he’s not right next door because then our failing grass would be smack next to A+ quality, enormously magnifying our neglectful yard upkeep. A little space is welcome, but to our relief, Larry is just a hop away to soften our landscaping sins. Last spring he suggested we use this nitrate stuff that attracts worms into the soil—ammonium nitrate, maybe?--to fertilize our lawn. He next lent us his spreader with which to apply the fertilizer, and was often spotted edging our lawn with his (disregard my technical jargon) lawn edger. (And never mind that our lawn is now yellow and infested with mushrooms.)

And so Magnet knew just the guy to talk to when Maggie and I became determined to have a little garden. He went straight to Larry’s, who had the type of box we hoped to build, to ask for pointers. Not only was Larry a wealth of information, but Magnet came home with all of the materials needed to make the box (Larry’s scraps and leftovers). Larry even lent us his drill so we could start right then as the battery in ours was dead. He helped Magnet assemble it and within a half-hour we had a pretty little box all ready for dirt and seeds, water and sunshine. We intended to buy dirt the next day, but Larry insisted his cousin would gladly deliver some. Sure enough, the next morning a grumpy Italian man was shoveling dirt onto our driveway under Larry’s supervision. All we had to do was hand over $20 and listen to the cousin grumble:

“What, Larry?! You have me bring dirt to your neighbor’s? Who do you think I am? I thought this was for you. Never again, Larry, never again.”

With everything in place, the next week for family night we studied the backs of our seed packages and nervously proceeded to plant cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, green beans, and cantaloupe. Maggie watered them generously and had wonderment and glee in her eyes as she imagined how her garden would grow. I looked forward to the fresh vegetables I’d have at my fingertips and felt proud that we, the horticulturally challenged, might have pulled it off.

The first month was great. Maggie danced around her garden analyzing what was sprouting, what wasn’t. Sensing my pride and excitement about the project, my friends often inquired about how the garden was coming. I was showing it to one of my girlfriends, personally admiring how tall one particular vegetable was getting, when she kindly (really, this girl is so sweet) pointed at said tall vegetable and asked, “Do you think that’s a weed?”

It should have been a statement.

I shrugged and thought about saying, “Oh, of course. Definitely. I’ve been meaning to uproot it all week.” I also thought about telling her Maggie was really attached to weeds in case there were others—were there others? I couldn’t tell. I feared additional embarrassment and began strategizing how to distance ourselves from this uncomfortable inspection of my precious garden.

My friend pointed:

“Are those green beans?”

“Uh, ya know, I’m not really sure,” I said honestly. “I could go get my notes. I have a scrap of paper somewhere that tells me what was planted where," I said jokingly, yet again, truthfully. It was obvious I couldn’t tell a weed from a vegetable plant, let alone green bean sprouts from onion sprouts.

My friend: “Yeah, I’m pretty sure those are green beans.”

We laughed and I quickly pushed the conversation in another direction. Phew.

The rest of the summer was abnormally warm for Washington and at times reached record-breaking temperatures. And just like my house plants, our garden was dwindling, wilting, shriveling. It’s sad when your four year old asks if she can please, please, please water the garden!

At last, Larry came to the rescue.

His garden was overflowing and in need of thinning, and so he happily gave us one of his big and beautiful tomato plants that hadn’t yet produced. He planted it in the corner for us, and it was a strange sight: a garden of stubs with a plush and beautifully thriving tomato plant gracing the corner.

We were instilled with new hope.

Months went by and nothing substantial happened, although Maggie might say otherwise as she was tickled by the slightest changes. She was ecstatic when the yellow buds appeared on our tomato plant. And then one memorable day in August we “ooohed” and “aaahed” at a green baby tomato that miraculously appeared despite the dead leaves that decorated the plant's perimeter. September passed with little change other than the green tomato growing a little. It finally turned pinkish in late October and then red last week.

We have one red tomato.

We visit and admire it often. I snapped a few pictures and wondered if I should pick it. I would ask Larry, but he has a fence up now. He can’t wave and nod at Maggie when she calls; our sad garden is nowhere within his view. Is that why he put a fence up? Should I go tell him we have one red tomato? Wait, I can’t. He’s on an extended vacation to California and his yard is turning yellow and he has mushrooms sprouting. Larry wouldn’t like that. Not one bit. Maybe I’ll sprinkle nitrate on his lawn and weed out the mushrooms. When he gets back we can tell him how, thanks to him, the garden didn't fail completely.

Or maybe we’ll just have him come see for himself because nobody seems to want to pick our one tomato.

PS. I once expressed to Larry how impressed I was that he basically set up our garden for us. His response: "I couldn't help it, seeing how excited Maggie was just at the talk of it."

My Girl

Maggie turned four in August, but with our crazy summer, I took her birthday pictures today of all days--Happy Halloween! I bet you were expecting to see costume photos, sorry! Magnet snapped a few while we were out trick or treating, but it was a little chaotic getting the kids dressed and out the door. Maybe I'll post a few this week sometime. Until then, Maggie was an angel and Magson was one unhappy ghost. He wasn't a fan of his costume one bit. Huge fan of the candy, though.

Oh, and I can't fail to mention that my friend Melissa MADE that dress! Wish you could see it minus the coat, but Maggie refused to go out in the cold without it--can't blame her. So, I will have to photograph her wearing it again next week in Hawaii. Yes, Magnet's sweet parents are treating us to another vacation, this time to Maui. :) We leave next week! Woohoo!

Anyway, here are some pictures of my beauty at four years old. ♥♥♥

L♥VE

What words can I find at a quarter to midnight to describe how I loved this session?

Just L♥VE to the upteenth.

Night, and hope you love your peek. :)

{Shelby}

My-oh-my, it was hard to pick which photos to share of this gorgeous tomboy of a girl. She is so beautiful and confident and hip at the young age of 14! No fair. I'm pretty sure my nose grew faster than the rest of my head at that age and that I had bangs curled up in a tight hot dog roll among many other awkward features. So yeah, I'm warning you ahead of time, it might be difficult not to get jealous when looking (wink), but if this will help, she is really easy going and down-to-earth, too. Sweet combo. I absolutely loved her!

Christian, Elisabeth and Bryant

I'm the oldest of seven kids and these three are "the babies." I post pictures of them on a fairly regular basis, so I thought some of you might be interested in getting to know them a little bit. So, let the random facts begin:

As a threesome, they have a band called "Celebration."


Christian, the oldest of the three, is passionate about music, the guitar especially. From what I observed this summer, he spends every spare minute practicing or studying other musical artists. I also noticed that he's very quick to take advantage of opportunities to serve even when it's not expected or required of him. I've never met a young man (and I've always felt this way) with so many selfless attributes. I completely trust and admire him and know he has a very bright future. On the outside, he's handsome with the perfect amount of curl in his dark hair. He's got big brown teddy-bear eyes, broad shoulders for his frame, strong legs and an oval-shaped head very similar to mine. I often look at Christian and think, "We look alike!" He's soft-spoken with a distinct and memorable laugh that makes me smile each time I hear it. Because he isn't too outspoken, he has a mysterious side to him that often makes me wonder what he is thinking.

Next up, Lissie. She hops when she's excited. She has extremely small fairy feet. Her hair is long and thick, yet fine--very feminine. Personality wise, she is very giving, always willing to give me a back massage upon request (I miss those!). She dreams of becoming a professional ballroom dancer. The way she feels about dance reminds me of the way I used to obsess about gymnastics at her age. She's a math whiz and Harry Potter fanatic. I think she is perfect and always wanted to grow up and have a daughter just like her. It's crazy how much Maggie reminds me of her--my wish was granted!


Bryant is completely lovable and playful. He has a blue eye and a hazel eye. He has dark brown hair and a very masculine and attractive square jaw. He loves to read, play soccer, and casually kick around his ball. He is so good with my kids. While he was here, we'd all go on morning walks together. He would push Maggie and Magson in the stroller with spins and speed that would challenge any kid ride at an amusement park. When he's concentrating, he flexes his mouth into an over-extended smile and then relaxes. He's a complete natural in front of the camera. He's got a lot of style and makes friends easily. He's fourteen years my younger, but I look up to him and admire him a lot. :)


I know that was choppy and disjointed.; it's late and I'm tired, tired, tired, but wanted to share some random tidbits about three of my favorite people in the world...totally missin' you guys today!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

I quickly learned that these girls (especially the young twins) wanted nothing to do with my camera and everything to do with having fun digging their toes in the sand, climbing the climbable and flirting with the waves. It turned out to be a delightful situation as I love photographing genuine and care-free happiness. Thanks for such a fun evening, you beautiful girls!