Caleb and Clayton have never spent a night away from home with mom and dad. That all changed last weekend. They were with us for three days and two overnights. We had a blast! And we made memories together! Enjoy.
Weekend with Caleb and Clayton
The Best of 2018
I took more photos in 2018 than any previous year. It’s hard to cull photos down to my favorite but here it is, a slideshow of my favorites from 2018. Enjoy!
If I had to narrow may favorite photos to nine, these would be the images that I would select. These put a smile on my face and warm my heart!
Real Life
The best moments of life often come in very plain packages. Sitting together as family around the meal time, laughing together, working through disappointment, or movie nights. These moments seem so ordinary that we don't even think to capture them in photos. And then it happens, it's too late, our children are grown and we missed our opportunity!
Don't let this happen to you. Take time to enjoy and capture the ordinary moments of life. Find beauty in the ordinary!
Here are some pictures from our recent trip to Manhattan, Kansas. Four boys four and under, two parents, and two grandparents hanging out for several days in January just having fun being together. Enjoy!
Clayton Takes The Cake!
Today is Clayton's 2nd birthday. Two years ago today we drove to Mason City during a blizzard in order to see the little guy shortly after his birth. It was an awesome experience being with Josh and Diana during such a special time.
Last week we traveled to Forest City to help celebrate Clayton's birthday. It was a fun several days hanging out, playing various games on the floor, making our usual trip to Cabin Coffee and eating birthday cake!
Happy birthday Clayton. You bring your parents and grandparents much joy!
Enjoy the slideshow below.
Tiny Moments
I love being around children. I love hearing their ideas, watching the way they process the world and observing their behavior. And although it's not readily apparent in the moment, the are learning and growing at light speed!
This is the reason I want to capture and document these special moments of childhood. These years are only here for a short time and then are gone forever. We think we will always remember our children's early years, but they soon fade from our memory as we hurl headlong into the next stage of life.
These are the tiny moments I want to capture and remember. They are so ordinary, yet so precious. I love finding beauty in the ordinary. Enjoy!
Play Ball!
Jonah is an active little guy! He loves playing anything with a ball, especially if someone plays with him. You could say he is a social ball player!
That someone to play with was me during our ten day visit to Norman. We played soccer, basketball, tag soccer (a game I made up), football and more! He never got tired. It was always me saying, "I think it's time to go inside."
Here are some photos of our ball games. These childhood stages pass by so quickly. I'm glad I was able to capture some of the joy and enthusiasm of childhood in these pictures. Enjoy!
The Gift of Life
We traveled the Norman, Oklahoma two weeks ago to see our new granddaughter, Darby Marie. What fun it was getting to meet this sweet little girl! Darby is the first girl born in the Pagel family in over 55 years! I guess that makes her special! Darby joins her older brother and six other very special grandsons in our family.
It's so much fun to capture the first weeks of a baby's life. The newborn phase passes by so quickly. These photos (and many more) will help us remember the joy we experienced as we welcomed Darby to our family. Welcome home Darby!
Going On An Adventure
We had a great time with Josh, Diana, Caleb and Clayton two weeks ago at the Indian Creek Nature Center. What an awesome place for kids to run, jump, play and explore! The weather was less than ideal but we made the most out of our time together.
Every family needs adventure. Getting outside to explore builds memories and is a change of pace to our daily lives. And of course, capturing these memories with images ensures that we can remember and share these special times together for years to come.
Enjoy the adventure!
Trip to the Farm
What do you do when you have your grandsons with you for the weekend? You visit the farm and take your camera along with you to capture the memories. That's what you do!
Once we arrived at the farm, we were greeted by Chole, a golden retriever. She was anxious, like any proud mama to show off her new litter. Caleb and Clayton weren't too sure about the sheep, goats or chickens, but they loved the puppies!
It was a great way to spend a gloomy Saturday afternoon. We got to hold puppies, explore an old barn, visit a hen house, pet farm animals and make memories. And most importantly we captured the special memories so our grandchildren can enjoy them over and over again in the future.
It was a good day. It's always a good day when you get to hold a puppy and you're with the people you love.
Making Pancakes
I love to photograph grandparents spending time with their grandchildren! And what is better than having your grandsons help make pancakes for breakfast. It was a little messy, it wasn't very efficient, and we wasted some ingredients. But we sure had fun! And we made some great memories. And by the way, the pancakes weren't bad either!
