I Give You Exhibit A

As per usual, I didn't ask Randy to get me anything for Christmas. That doesn't usually deter him, and this year was no exception. I had half expected him to actually take me seriously for once due to our precarious financial situation but you see, after 16-1/2 years of marriage Randy knows me inside and out. And he knew the one (material) thing I wanted more than anything else but knew better than to ask for: a new camera!

This might sound melodramatic, but I have been in somewhat of a depression over the number of activities that the kids have been involved in that we've been unable to capture on film because our camera is just that bad. It was literally like our camera was holding us hostage. Need proof?




I know I'm no spring chicken, but I don't think it's my eyes that are blurry, do you? A few more examples:




It was after taking a string of photos like the last two above on Christmas Eve that I was practically in tears, bemoaning the fact that we would be unable to visually document Christmas 2008. And that was just about more than my heart could take.

Christmas morning dawned and I half-heartedly snapped a few photos, all of which were blurry and none of which are worth sharing here. And then Randy brought out a beautifully gift-wrapped package and placed it in my lap. I would be lying if I said my heart didn't skip a beat at that moment. He and the kids then serenaded me with their rendition of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and . . . "Happy Birthday to You." Yikes--that expensive?? Naturally I opened the box on top, which irritated Randy because evidently I was supposed to have opened the larger box on the bottom first. But you can see by my blurry smile in this photo that the cat was out of the bag:


No way!!


It became quite comical at that point because, with each box I would unwrap, Randy would pull another gift bag from underneath the tree, only he started saying things like, "Happy Valentine's Day" and "Happy Easter" and "Happy All Saints Day" and I think he even made up a few holidays--that's how long I'm going to be paying for this present! He ended up getting me not just the camera but two different lenses, two memory cards, an external flash, a tripod and a couple of DVDs to bring me up to speed on the Nikon and to help me to be a better photographer in general. But as I looked at all of the wonderful camera equipment surrounding me I asked somewhat sheepishly, "Um, Randy? What am I supposed to store all this in?" Randy looked sort of chagrined at first but then pulled out another box and said, "Happy Mother's Day!" Yay--a camera bag! And may I just say: I LOVE MY NEW CAMERA!

Sweet photos of the girls:



No blur in the picture of Sawyer punching Tyler in the back :-)


No fuzz as Darcy prepares to fling the Frisbee!


I watched the first chapter of the set-up DVD with camera in hand, and then I was ready to start snapping away! I shot close to 100 photos which I eventually deleted, because I was just shooting everything I could see! But I finally put the camera to good use yesterday when Clark, Rebecca and Chelsea came over for a night of eating and nibbling and noshing and . . . oh yeah, we played games too! But oh, the eating!!!

Snapping Clark as Peyton greets Chelsea and Randy puts a pizza in the oven--you can even see the sausage!


Sawyer telling Aunt Rebecca all about his new TIE Fighter


Getting ready to play Card Golf. I believe at this point Clark is telling Randy to dispense with the strategy pointers and just give him the rules!


Did I mention we had a lot to eat??


Brian, Jamie and the kids came over Tuesday and sadly, I didn't even bother to take any photos because . . . well, I think you know why. Had I known what was waiting for me under the tree, I probably would have sweet-talked Randy into letting me open my gifts early!