My bluebonnet babies

It's that time of year again. Bluebonnets. It's not spring in Texas without them. Some years they have been more like mild flowers rather than wild flowers.

But Texas didn't disappoint this year.

I've learned my lesson over the years. Driving to look for bluebonnets having no idea where they are is a very very terrible idea. Don't do it. I had to learn the hard way.
 

 So over the years we've fine tuned our search and Facebook does an awesome job of finding where they are without having to do all the work of looking for them.

My friend Ashley told me about this great patch. I'm always leary of stopping on the side of a busy highway, but this patch that she told me about was well off the road and just a country road.

And it was our first year with sweet baby girl, so I really had to make sure that we did pictures this year even if it turned out to be disastrous.

Now that the kids are older and entertain themselves easier, bluebonnets pictures aren't near the beatdown that they used to be. They were actually fun this year!

Justin has come up with our million dollar idea. A bluebonnet blanket needs to be invented. These suckers are so itchy and the blankets sometimes make a sore sight in photos so we thought it would be a great idea to have one that blends in with the flowers. Of course, we might be the only people crazy enough to purchase one because other people don't really care about bluebonnet pictures that much.

When it come to seasons, fall is my first love but I could easily cheat on fall with spring. The breeze and 60-70 degree patio weather. There's nothing that beats it. And the smell of bluebonnets? There's nothing better. I decided there should be a bluebonnet candle scent. They smell so good.

 The flowers just blanketed the side of the road. Ok, so maybe Texas doesn't have the most gorgeous landscape but don't be talking bad about my bluebonnets...those are fighting words.

The kids acted like seasoned models this particular day, thank goodness. You just never know what day you're going to get with them but I think the constant snapping of photos is just like white noise to them by now.

I got these ties off of Very Jane. It's a groupon concept but with boutique style stuff. In another words, it's a money pit for me. It has the cutest stuff and it's all so reasonable.

There was some pouting. It's not a forced family fun event if pouting doesn't make an appearance.

But in the end we end we kiss and make up.

A trip down memory lane...

 2007

2009

 2010

2011

2012

Thank you Texas for making me proud this year.

Blue for you...

Sometimes I drive around Texas and I think about how ugly it is with our grass fires and flat land. And the triple digit heat in the summer only magnify its ugliness when driving around in the concrete jungle of the city. I mostly feel this when I've just come back from a trip or I'm sweating through my shirt. Sweat makes me grumpy.

But some days, I'm taken back by it. A sunset in Texas is a sight to be seen, farmland with rolling hills and windmills have its own unique sense of beauty. We live near a lake and seeing the sun reflect off the water gives that feeling that there's fairy dust in the air.

But bluebonnets? Don't even get me started on those suckers. They make driving in the concrete jungle that much more bearable when you see them sitting there all prissy like they just know they're cute right along a highway. It's like they're saying, "Aww, c'mon, Texas isn't so horrible!"

The only thing that could be better about bluebonnets is that they should definitely stay longer than a few weeks.

I've got this bluebonnet thing to a science. I've figured out that on Justin's birthday week, they are at their peak. The only thing I don't have down to a science is where to find them. One year, we drove around for two hours looking for them. I highly recommend NOT doing that with two kids 3 and under. Bad idea.

And once a mama has had a bluebonnet beat down, she vows for it never to happen again. So I must say for the past two years, we've been on a roll. I start a couple of weeks before scouting them out...but this year, nothing. It was so sad driving around here. It was a pitiful display, to say the least.

But my sweet co-worker, Carlynn, told me of one field that was a little out of my way but boy was it so worth it. I think this must have been the one spot in my area that actually got a decent showing of bluebonnets.



And apparently everyone got the memo because there were at least 7-8 other families doing the same thing we were except we were by far the biggest amateurs out there.

 But we did our best to try and act like we knew what we're doing. Confidence is key, right?

 So we didn't have Radio Flyer wagons and old tattered chairs out in a field (why didn't I think of that?) but who needs props when you've got this oozing cuteness working for ya?

 

The boys have had a camera in their face since birth almost daily so the bonus to that is that they seem to not mind it and just carry on doing what they're doing. And candid photography is my absolute favorite.

Swear that we had no part in the 'hands in your pocket' pose. That was completely all them. They are becoming quite the posers, aren't they?

And Campbell in his horse obsession kept himself entertained by feeding the bluebonnets to his horse.

 

 Another year of successful bluebonnets makes for one happy mama.

Bluebonnet bash!

It's that time of year...where the sides of Texas highways are covered with a blanket of bluebonnets. It's so pretty and every year I get a little panicked about wanting to get the boys pictures done and in the back of my mind knowing how much I'm dreading the process of it...but I do it anyway. My best friend, Angi, decided to try it again after our miserable attempt last year. Ugh, just thinking about it starts making me tired. Driving around for two hours looking for them and then taking pictures. We definitely learned our lesson last year. We scoped out a place way ahead of time, met and did pictures in a jiffy and went to dinner. We're getting smart about these things finally.

Apparently, everyone else had the same idea as we did. There was another family and even a bride taking her bridal portraits. Nolan was a champ. I bribed him before we even got there and said that I'd give him 5 stickers. He's working really hard to fill up his sticker sheet to get a car he's been wanting. So he was just a cheeseball out there and kept asking after every picture if he'd get more stickers. He knows how to work the system. Smart kid.

Angi's twins seemed to really it too. I think they were all a little itchy in the grass, but the meltdowns from everyone (including the parents) were nothing like last year, so no complaints. With it being an overcast day, it really was great lighting! All in all, it was actually fun..a first for bluebonnet pictures! We even had enough energy to take the kids to the park afterward! Who knows maybe we can make this a yearly thing!

Bluebonnet Beatdown

You should know the drill by now...or at least I should.

1. I get this idea in my head that I THINK will be fun.
2. It usually involves LOTS of preparation in order to pull off the idea.
3. The idea is a total DISASTER and usually involves meltdowns from all family members.
4. Only bonus of the entire thing...the idea almost always ends with pictures that "look" like we had a good time.

When will I ever learn? Of all the FFF outings this has to be in the Top 5 for sure. I love bluebonnets. Some years they are gorgeous and everywhere. Other times they are more or less "mildflowers." Unfortunately for them, I decided to bring victims along on this FFF outing. My best friend, Angi, and her husband Chris came along with their precious twins.

First mistake of the night, we had no idea where bluebonnets were so we just went "looking" for them. BAD idea! We ended up driving for an hour. I was practicing every bit of deep breathing in the car to tune out Campbell fussing. We finally end up in my old stomping ground of Crowley and find more-or-less 20 bluebonnets. After all that trouble that we went through, I WAS going to take bluebonnet pictures darnit!

We get out of the car and Nolan begins his fear of the wind bit that he does...screaming, panicking, wanting to hold me. I broke every rule of what my pediatrician told me to do to get him to work through this phobia. I'm supposed to validate the fear and tell him how brave he's being. What do I do? Tell him he better suck it up and smile! Poor kid, the things I make him do.

Meanwhile, all of the babies are fussy (and understandably so!) but we just keep making them take bluebonnets pictures and feed them yogurt melts like they're dog treats or something. Meanwhile there's this random kid who's just wandering around and apparently wants part of the bluebonnet action and keeps getting in our pictures!

We finally decide enough damage has been done for the night and go to dinner with all the kids. Reese, Angi's little girl, spills water all over Angi. I think she was really trying to get back at us for the very terrible ordeal and putting her through that. In the end we all had a really good laugh about what a crazy night it was just for some dumb pictures...but those dumb pictures sure did turn out cute, huh?