Anniversary Present and Family Photos

My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in April! Wowsers!

 They were going to be in Virginia for Latham's birthday (and were bringing my niece and nephew to VA too), so my brother, sister, and I decided to gift them a photo shoot for themselves and their three grandchildren. The wonderful Jennifer Kline was patient and worked really hard to get excellent pictures of all of them--especially two squirmy toddlers! Thank you EJC Arboretum at JMU for the viewscapes!

 My beautiful niece, Eva!

 

 My handsome nephew, Ethan!

 

 Sweet Latham!

 Yay! Everyone is looking at the camera!

 

 

 Kissing cousins.  :)

It was a fun day! Adam's parents were also there, so Latham got to have a couple of pictures with all four of his grandparents. Since Adam's family is from Alabama and mine is from Indiana (and we live in Virginia), Latham has only ever seen all four of his grandparents together one other time. We're so glad we could take this picture.

 

And, because I'm a picture fiend, we also got some pictures of our little family-of-three. This was this year's May Family Photo Shoot.  :)

 

 

 I can't decide what "kissing photo" I like the best. I'm lucky to have two great guys who love me.  :)

And, I'm lucky to be able to see my parents' dedicated love, as well as to see my in-laws' example of devotion to one another.  I guess it's just a love fest for the Copelands/Bloses/Bulls! I hope you all enjoyed these spring pictures!

Beach Vacay

We went to the beach in July! Latham had never been to a beach before, so we weren't sure how he would do. We went to Southport, NC and stayed with my cousins Janet, Paul, Carleen, and Max. They were such gracious hosts and really spoiled us while we were there. The best part, though, was how much Latham LOVED the ocean. We're going to have visit the beach MUCH more often!!

The "other guy" in my life!

It's my man's birthday! 450 years young! 

I've always had a super crush on Shakespeare. Some years, I've baked cupcakes; all years, I've tried to generate enthusiasm amongst other people. Oddly, not everyone is as excited about Shakespeare as I am. But who cares? I love him!

Now that I have a precious son, I'm trying to help him enjoy Shakespeare. I didn't have any Shakespeare-themed clothes for him this year (epic mom/Shakespeare scholar FAIL), so you'll have to enjoy this picture of him last year! He can say "Shakespeare" now but I couldn't get a good video of it. (Alas!)

In honor of the birthday boy (and because I don't have time to bake cupcakes), I thought I'd post my current ranking of Shakespeare plays! They're in order from least to most liked, as of 2:49 p.m. on 4/23/2014. If you're amazed at any of my choices, feel free to talk to me. And, remember, the order is always changing! 

38. The Two Noble Kinsmen 

37. Measure for Measure 

36. Troilus and Cressida 

35. The Two Gentlemen of Verona 

34. Henry VI, Part 2 

33. Coriolanus 

32. Henry VI, Part 3 

31. Pericles 

30. Henry VI, Part 1 

29. Timon of Athens 

28. Henry VIII 

27. Richard II 

26. Cymbeline 

25. Romeo and Juliet 

24. All's Well That Ends Well 

23. Henry IV, Part 1 

22. Henry IV, Part 2 

21. The Winter's Tale 

20. King John 

19. The Comedy of Errors 

18. Antony and Cleopatra 

17. Love's Labour’s Lost 

16. Titus Andronicus 

15. The Merry Wives of Windsor 

14. As You Like It 

13. Henry V 

12. Othello 

11. The Merchant of Venice 

10. Julius Caesar 

9. King Lear 

8. Richard III 

7. The Taming of the Shrew 

6. The Tempest 

5. A Midsummer Night's Dream 

4. Twelfth Night 

3. Hamlet 

2. Macbeth 

1. Much Ado About Nothing

Happy Shakespeare's Birthday!!