IPhoneography Roundup

*

Facts:

• After sorting and culling down, I typically end up keeping an average of 200 "big camera" photos a month
• After sorting and culling down, I typically have an average of 250 iPhone photos I keep per month
• Doing the math, that means I end up with an average of FIVE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED total personal photos a year. 
• *THUD*

 You could say I'm a memory hoarder. 

You could even say it's an addiction.

But don't bother with trying an intervention. I don't see myself quitting anytime soon.  You hear me whine here and there about never being caught up on personal photo editing, book-making, like it's my lifelong burden. But make no mistake: I created this burden for myself, and I own that. And I wouldn't change anything except maybe having one more hour in a day to work on this endless life-work of personal photo memory-keeping I've taken upon myself. 

Heaven might be a full bookshelf of completed, up-to-date beautiful photo books, and a whole roomful of progeny sitting on comfy couches and plump cushions, looking through said photos books and asking each other to share their stories as they are all snuggled under vintage quilts, with some Alison Krauss Pandora playing in the background.

But I'm not there yet.... Haven't made it to that heaven. So for now, I keep chipping away at the life-work of these 5,400+ photos a year, and then, sometimes, I even share a portion of them here.

Today, I'm going to share a blitz of iPhone photo collages from last fall til now, made up of mostly unshared pix not seen by anyone but me til now, just so I can close that door and say I am caught up on the sharing part. And because I LOVE looking at collages of iPhone pix on other blogs. So maybe you guys will have fun scrolling this post today. 

* Brief notes about the photos are under each collage, numbered 1-9. Meant to be viewed left to right, top to bottom. *

End of 2014, #1:

1. Lucy letters, Quinn hand. 2. Spontaneous "why not" sink playtime 3. Joe coached Noah's fall soccer team. HE LOVED IT. 4. "Mom! Take a picture of this!!" x 10. 5. Happy pots of geraniums on our front step. 6. always trains. Always. 7. Sometimes we get out on dates. Usually to the movies. Which I adore. 8. "It's a snowman!" 9. Quinn and a goat.

End of 2014, #2:

1. Paper bag dress by me. Lulu style by Lulu. 2. Park playtime 3. Noah bedtime with loveys. 4. What Noah's after-school screen time usually looks like. 5. Another paper-bag dress pic. Because I freaking love her. 6. When Noah has a day off school, he still has to do Quiet Time. 7. Laumeier Sculpture Park. Right before they came and told us not to climb this eminently climbable sculpture. Oops. 8. Christmas holiday firepit fun at my parents' house. 9. Same.

January 2015, #1:

1. Preschool Science Center field trip, staring at cars through the floor triangle. 2. Dad snuggles. 3., 4., 5. Mild winter day so to the park to play. 6. Elephant overload. 7. Books! vintage fun books as a gift! Let's step on them! 8. Though Quinn's birthday was long past, they still wanted to sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out candles as often as I'd let them. So this is Play-Doh with candles stuck in. We sang and blew about 6 times. 9. Castlewood State Park exploring.

January 2015, #2:

1. He loves his new book rack. 2. Elsa+butterfly wings + pipe cleaner antennae 3. Snuggling a pile of sale stuffies at a store.  4. National Geographic at Quiet Time 5. Birthday Digger. 6. Bumper cars at Chuck E Cheese's, both Lucy and Noah. 7. Forced pose at Magic House. 8. Happy little trumpeter. 9. trains everywhere. Always. Guess who is the one to clean them up? Always?

February 2015, #1:

1. Crying whilst in a Time-Out. Hey, at least he has learned to stay put! 2. Spiderman and Noah running errands with me. 3. Stitching addict as of January this year. LOVE. 4. Valentine's treats from my parents. 5. Fedora selfies. 6. Lucy wanted to dress Quinn in a super costume too. He was more than willing to let her. 7. Before. 8. After. 9. Snowplay!! Quinn's first sledding, which he loved.

February 2015, #2:

1. Science night at Westridge: snake fun. 2. Science night part 2: marble runs. 3. Lego time with Dad. 4. Luluface 5. Microblox snowman by Noah. 6. Noah and Lucy's room, clean. 7. Lucy's treasures. 8. Imposter likes his sister's bed. a LOT. 9. Ready for the morning bus.

March 2015, #1:

1. Castlewood hiking with just my boys. ICY + muddy-- random combo. 2. Castlewood chillin'. 3. Guess who is the Primary Packer for this family? Almost ready for our drive to D.C. for Spring Break. 4. Indiana stop and Julina + Co. visit as we drive to D.C. 5. MamaSelfie with three book-reading kids behind me 6. D. C. cupcakes. 7. Random parking garage mirror pic at their grandparents' apt. complex 8. Cute hubby napping at his folks' apt. 9. Nov07 friends at the Baltimore Aquarium

March 2015, #2:

1. Home from Spring Break, Lucy sits among the pile of needs-to-be-unpacked. Guess who is in charge of that job, too? 2. Bus stop snuggles the one random morning Noah's bus driver forgot to stop at our house and we had to trek to the far corner of the street to catch her. 3. Thunderstorms at bedtime mean mom-snuggles in her bed instead. 4. Faust Park playground. 5. Happy daffodils: some to keep, some to share. 6. Noah hijacks the sensory tub and creates a Pokemon game for himself. 7. City Garden exploring. 8. Sacrament meeting construction site. 9. Dad-time on the trampoline.

April 2015, #1:

1. Lulu birthday gifts include this deer mask I made. 2. A walk to Target with my trio to get dollar spot trinkets. 3. I'm still a goofy girl, after all these years. 4. POTTY TRAINING. Warm water for her feet to "nudge" the pee along. 5. Columbia, MO for Easter weekend; errands with Grandma. 6. CONSTANT chair-pulling/pushing to get things he wants. 7. Happy happy rainbow fabric for Lucy's birthday bird wings. 8. Cute Quinn+Mama 9. Six Flags train!

April 2015, #2:

1. Six Flags season passes will be AWESOME all spring/summer! 2. Except when Lucy has to use the public potty for the first time. Haha! (I'm so mean!) 3. Lulu birthday balloons in the morning 4. On her party day, decked out in costume gifts from Aunt Mary 5. Typical Noah-ness 6. Still in her rainbow butterfly costume, on my rainbow bed. 7. Ready for school 8. Playing on the church stage 8. Noah and his best friend Carter, talking about deep things.