Matt, Jennifer & Riley

You probably recognize Riley off my blog or website. She is Jennifer's (my best friend from kindergarden) baby girl. I'm proud to say she is also my God-daughter.

The last time I photographed Matt and Jennifer together was when Jennifer was pregnant with Riley. So, it was about time for family pictures!

We had a great time- as usual. And Riley, as usual, was perfect!

Coming in at #1...

The week in Arkansa was filled with so many great memories. But, I think my favorite was taking Austen, Ross and Madison to Crystal Lake. Who knew we could hop on the 4-wheeler and, just 2 mintues later, be at such a beautiful place?

We loved exploring this place so much, we ended up going four more times!

Horse Trough

Quick story...
One afternoon, me, Matthew and Michelle took Ross and Joseph with us as we fed the horses, shoveled manure and cleaned out the stalls in the barn. (Yes, this was all our idea. And, yes, as expected, we had fun doing it.)

Ross and Joseph got into the horse troughs for a mid-day swim. They had a blast splashing around and jumping from one trough to another!

More Horse Trough Fun

Just a few more from the horse trough. (This is another example of a warm tone I changed the pictures to. I love how it looks a little old and a little vintage.)

More memories from the creek

Sadie, the new family puppy, loves coming along for the water trips!


I love Rayna's little toes!


Matthew and Ross


Austen

1-2-3- JUMP!

I want to make a Story Board out of this for Ross' room. (It looks great side-by-side. But, it's already too late to be up. So, I'll just leave it as it is for the blog.)

I can just hear the kids screaming as I look at the picture!

Floating Along...

We took the kids to the pool at Pinnacle Country Club. Rayna was loving life!

Rayna

Outside

Matthew is trying to work all the energy out of this horse before giving him his daily shot of medicine.

(We obviously forgot to pack any clothes for Ross for this trip.)


We wouldn't be in the 'Martin' bloodline without having a baby tossed way too high in the air.

Ross

He's smiling.
He's happy.
His eyes are beautiful.
It's going on my blog.

'Population' what?

Yes, you're reading the sign correctly... "Population 1,314"

Grandaddy's cowboy hat

Loving Grandaddy's cowboy hat...


Thinking about take off Grandaddy's cowboy hat...


Move quickly before my camera gets hit by Grandaddy's cowboy hat...

Butterflies at Crystal Lake

There were beautiful butterflies all around us at Crystal Lake. Here are two of my favorite new friends.

Joseph

Joseph is only a few months younger than Ross. Even though he doesn't like to be cuddled with or kissed-on, sometimes I just couldn't help myself.

Ross & Joseph

Is Ross naked every chance he gets? Yes.
Is Ross rubbing off on his cousin, Joseph. Looks like it!

Rayna & Matthew

My little baby-girl is breaking my heart! She is crawling and pulling-up on everything. She is such a joy. I love these new stages, but, it makes me sad to think about how quickly she's growing up. (Can I make another remark about how adorable she is? It's my blog, so, technically, I think I can. SHE'S SO ADORABLE!)

Ross

If you know Ross, you know it's very difficult for me to get a decent picture of him. (I guess he's over the camera by now.)
So, if he's actually smiling, I'm posting it on the blog!

I love the warm-tone I added to these photos. It's hard to pull it off on most pictures. But, I think these are good examples of how it can change the feel of the pictures. It reminds me of what summers would have been like a long time ago, before TVs and video games.

Cousins

There's something about this picture I just love. It's so real and unscripted. Maybe it's the way Madison is so sweet and loving to Ross.

Just hanging out..

I've said it before and I'll say it again... I belong on a farm!
There's nothing better than watching fire flies at night by a big fire. Or, playing baseball with all of the kids in the backyard. One of my favorite things are when the horses decide to start running in their pasture in front of the house. That has to be one of the most beautiful sites in the entire world.






Rayna relaxing on the front porch with Matthew