Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from
The Williams Family

The kids are ready for Christmas, they had a
chance to visit with Santa to tell him everything
they wanted this year. Kendall wants everything from
a Monster Truck to Dinosaurs and anything in between.

Lizzy really wants a puppy, but I don't think Mom and Dad
are quite ready for another pet right now... so, she has
decided that CD's, Clothes and Games would be better.

I am done with work for 2006 and I am looking forward
to a change of pace when I return in January. My job will
change from taking School Portraits to more groups and
sports for a while, then towards the beginning of March
we will start taking spring portraits until the end of the
school year when we will start Proms, Graduations and
Summer Sports Leagues until the end of June...

Happy Holidays!!!
Tim, Fonda, Lizzy and Kendall

Sledding Fun...

Our little daredevils talked me into taking them sledding
this morning while we had some good snow on the ground.
So we bundled them up and headed to the local sledding hill
at the Middle school where they both had a great time.

Kendall was like the Energizer Bunny...
He just kept going and going and going!

He was such a sport and kept climbing the hill for
more even when he would tumble down the hill.

Lizzy liked spinning around and around all the way
down the hill (she's a little dizzy most of the time anyway),
and going down head first until she took on a face full of snow.

Let it snow...

Well, we got our first good snow of
the season (is there really such a thing?).
I think we received just over 8 inches at our
house and they are reporting up to about
15 inches or so near Sedalia, Missouri.

Lizzy has been out of school Thursday and Friday
because of the weather, and both of the schools that
I have been scheduled to photograph these two days have
been cancelled too. This gave me the weather I wanted to
photograph our house with the Christmas Lights
all lit up. I hope to get out later today to take
some other scenics in the snow too.

Christmas in the Sky...

On the night before Thanksgiving,
Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department
had it's Annual Christmas in the Sky Fireworks Display
at Longview Lake. This is the kickoff to the Christmas Season.
Following the fireworks, they open the Festival of Lights around the
Longview Lake Campground and with the unbelievably warm weather,
the turn-out was crazy. We ended up parking along the road
and walking down towards the lake to view the fireworks.
We all had a good time and Kendall and Lizzy
really enjoyed the Fireworks.

Thursday we had Thanksgiving Dinner at our house
and enjoyed having the family together for the day.
Fonda and Ramona fixed an awesome feast and
we all spent the day around the house while the
kids enjoyed playing outside in the 60 degree weather.
Ramona and John left for the Chiefs game and
after it got dark we went back to the Festival of Lights
to view the Christmas Lighting Display - it was just
too busy Wednesday evening to fight all the extra traffic...

Friday, I got up early (2 a.m.) and went out on my
Annual Black Friday Shopping Spree. I ended up
getting what I had hoped for and made a
good start on the Christmas shopping list.

Happy Halloween!

Well, we've been a little busy the past few months...

I had hoped to keep this website updated
a little more often, but I have obviously not kept up!

Friday evening we were able to spend some
rare family time carving our pumpkins.
Kendall made the ghost and Lizzy made the Bat.

The kids all dressed up in their
Halloween Costumes!
Lizzy is Miss America and
Kendall is a Football Player.

First Concert...

We recently surprised Lizzy with tickets to
the Carrie Underwood Concert at the
Missouri State Fair for Friday Night...

It was so hard to keep this secret because we
have had the tickets for a couple of months
and didn't want to tell her until closer to time
so she didn't drive us crazy until the concert.

Well, we bought one extra ticket for her to
take a friend and since the concert was
scheduled on the second day of school,
we decided to take them out of school after
lunch and spend a few hours at the fair
before the concert. It was Hot, but Fun!

Fonda and Lizzy had made them cute
little shirts to wear and they were the
talk of the Fair that afternoon before the
concert. Everyone loved them!
After the Concert was over, Carrie came
out to the Souvenier Table and signed
numerous items for the fans...
Lizzy and her friend had their shirts
signed while they were wearing them,
and we also had her sign their concert
shirts that we bought at the booth.
To say the least, the girls were flying
on cloud nine the rest of the weekend!

It was very exciting to take the girls to
their first concert and it be an
experience that they will never forget!

Back to Work!

Well, it's that time of year again - school is back in session and that means I gotta go back to work... To tell you the truth, I am ready! I like the time off, but I can only find so much to do to keep me busy through the summer and then I am ready to go back to work.

First Day of Fourth Grade!

Lizzy started the Fourth Grade on Thursday and after a nice summer, I think she is ready to tackle another year too. We got to visit her Classroom and meet her Teacher last Wednesday evening and it looks like she should have another great school year. It does not feel like my little girl should be in the Fourth Grade! Before you know it she be headed to College!

Mini Golf

Watch out PGA, Kendall now likes golf too!

We took the kids out to Coolcrest last Sunday
evening and had a blast watching Kendall get
so excited about golfing. About every night
since then he has mentioned that he wants
to go back and golf some more. It was Hot,
but luckily most of the course that we decided
to golf was in the shade by early evening.

Lizzy and I finally got to spend a morning
at Powell Gardens taking pictures of
flowers a week ago last Friday. I let her use

my digital camera and we had a brief
photography class as we wandered the park.
She done an awesome job and learned alot too!
I think that the water lilies were her favorite.
Once we get a chance to edit them down some,

we are going to start her a scrapbook of her

flower photographs to show off some of her

work. We also want to get a few larger ones

printed to hang in her bedroom.

Vacation Photos

One day of our vacation we visited
the Deanna Rose Farmstead in
Overland Park. The kids love to feed
the animals and spend time in the
play area. This time we also took

the time to fish in the pond - that
was sure messy, but both kids caught
lots of perch and had a good time.
A fun, cheap afternoon of entertainment.

We also spent a some time feeding
carrots and apples to the Elk and Bison
near Missouri Town. Both of the kids
love animals of all kinds. It is pretty
cool to see them up close. We could
only get two of the Elk to come to the
fence and about a dozen of the
Bison came up at the end.

While at the Lake of the Ozarks,
Kendall caught this nice catfish
off of the dock. Both kids had been
catching some perch and then when
Kendall hooked this fish I could tell
it was a better fish. Besides us being

stopped by the Water Patrol
(Policeman Boat), it was his
highlight of the trip to the lake.

Lizzy got to drive John's Boat a
couple of times, there was no doubt
that was her favorite thing of the
whole trip. She couldn't quit smiling
when she was behind the steering
wheel on that big old lake.....

Back Online...

Well, it has been a few weeks since I have been

able to post any updates to our family site.

Our internet service was interrupted for almost two

weeks and since the service was repaired I have been

playing catch-up with as many photography issues as possible.

A few days before Fonda was to start her vacation we had our

air conditioner freeze up and the first repairman just thought it

was a slow leak and advised us that filling the freon would

probably get us by for a few years... Well, three days later it froze

up again. The next repairman took the time to find the leak and

gave us the bad news that it was going to have to be replaced.
Just the news you want to hear when planning a vacation???
After two and a half days of looking for a new unit in a house

without air, we found a unit that would replace what we had

and we were back in business. I don't know how people do it

without air conditioners in Missouri during the July heat and humidity.

During the last few days of her vacation we got the chance to spend a

few days at the Lake of the Ozarks with John, Ramona and Kaiya.
They brought their boat and we spent two full days on the water.
We all had a great time and it was very relaxing.

Well, Fonda has been working lots of overtime due to her

taking a week off and then it being the end of the month...

Just before she left for vacation her files were in the best condition

they have been in for a very long time. She lost all that

ground while she was gone on vacation.

Kendall is still wound-for-sound. He never stops!
We bought him a Razor Scooter a few weeks ago and he

rides that thing like the big boys. He has been riding it as we

take our walk around the sub-division and it is so cute.

Lizzy is gearing up for school, we have picked up all of her
school supplies for the Fourth Grade - yes, I said Fourth Grade.
It does not seem possible! She has had a pretty good summer

and we still hope to do a few more fun things before school starts.

Speaking of school starting, I have to go back to work after

having a whole month off. We had our annual Fall Training

last week in Sedalia and the next two weeks we will be calling

on schools to confirm our schedules and taking Staff Group Photos.

Then we have a couple of schools that do Enrollment Pictures and

the week of August 21st we will start shooting school photos every

weekday and Fall Football and Soccer leagues on Saturdays.

Fonda and I have photographed a few weddings the past

two weekends. It has been lots of fun, but it takes it out of you

when you haven't done them in a while. We have one more
wedding in a couple of weeks and I will start shooting High School

Football on Friday nights in September, I can't wait!

I will add some more photos in a few days...

Kendall at the Park

The boys are still just havin fun!

Kendall and I have visited a different park or
playground every day this week. He loves to play and
climb, it doesn't matter to him where we are.

Due to it being in the mid 90's every day, we have
had to limit our time outside - but he spends
every minute possible outdoors.
Lizzy is spending a few days at Grandma and
Grandpa Crooks house while her cousins are in
from Indiana, and she just finished her week of
Volleyball Camp and her last week of Summer School.

Daddy Daycare

Boys just wanna have Fun...

Kendall and I have already had lots of
fun on his first day home with Dad!
We have been spending lots of time outside
riding his four-wheeler and bike and we have
been to the playground at the school twice.

We are planning on going to a movie later in the
week, and I'm sure we will play some more Baseball!

At the Lake...

Another fun-filled weekend!!!

Fonda, Lizzy and Kendall joined Ramona, John and Kaiya on their
Pontoon Boat at Lake Jacomo on Saturday while I photographed
about 40 Ball Teams in LaMonte, Houstonia and Centerview.
They had a great time taking a boat ride and swimming in
the lake until the Thunderstorms rolled in by late afternoon.

Sunday I was able to join them, and we made a day of it by taking
another boat ride, eating lunch on the boat and swimming in the lake.
We are all paying for it now with our sunburns!
It is so nice to have a lake where we can get out for a
few hours at a time so close to home.

Lizzy is in her last week of Summer School and still loving it,
I think she has come home with a new Science Experiment every day.
In addition to that, today she started going to a Volleyball Camp
for two hours each morning at the Middle School before Summer School.

Kendall is home with Dad this week because Mrs. Ami is on vacation.
We plan on playing lots of Baseball, taking some Bike Rides and
going to the Park a couple of times. He really enjoys riding his
Bike and 4-Wheeler anytime he can. And you would not believe
how he can hit and throw a baseball for a 3 year old...!

I have my last two nights of Ball Leagues this week and then I will
have most of July off to photograph Baseball- Softball Tournaments
for my website and to get ready for the Fall Photography Season.

Queen Lizzy...

Well, it was another busy night for the Williams Household...!

We spent the evening at the Leeton Queen Contest where Lizzy
passed on her "Queen" status to the new 2006 Leeton Fair Jr. Miss.
After raining most of the afternoon, it cooled off and turned out to
be a beautiful night. All of the Crooks Granddaughters
looked stunning and made Grandma and Grandpa
proud by doing a wonderful job!

Crooks Grandkids at the Leeton Fair

Mallory also passed on her torch in the Leeton Fair Pre-Teen Division.
The Wee-Queen Division crowned Kennedy as the new Queen
and cousin Taylor as the 1st Runner-Up!












Lizzy was announced as the
2005 Leeton Fair Jr. Miss,
then she crowned the new queen.

I was actually scheduled to take sports photos in Stover,
but due to the rain I was able to spend the evening with my family.
Thanks Rain!

Sprinkler System...

Well, I had to do it - I am just so proud of the end result that I had to show it off!
I have the sprinkler system installed in the front yard, and can't decide if I am going to go ahead and do the back yard now too, or wait until we get a deck put on the back of the house...? Yes, we want to add a deck to the back of the house, but that may still be in another years budget - we will just have to see. It is so nice to just run out and turn it on instead of dragging the hose around and adjusting the pattern each time you move it. I installed three sprinkler heads in the front, two along the north property line and one near the mailbox and they cover every square inch of the front yard. With me doing the labor, the system was much cheaper than I ever imagined and I should actually save money by watering more efficiently.

Father's Day...

Well, I had a great Fathers Day, and I hope that everyone else did too! I spent most of the weekend installing a sprinkler system in our front yard. After having a few minor issues with the original plan, we are now in full operation and I can't wait to water without dragging that darn water hose around the yard...

We were able to spend Sunday together as a family and spent a few hours at the Kansas City Zoo. It was a HOT summer day and the kids (well, we all) wore out in a hurry, so after seeing half of the Zoo, we decided to head home and we would see the other half the next time...

Kendall always enjoys feeding the sheep and goats...
(I think he made a new buddy)

Since it was Father's Day at the Zoo, Dad's got in FREE and they had a few of the local Sports Team Mascots out on the grounds as an extra bonus. See the photos of the kids below.

Kendall and Lizzy with Sizzle:
(KC T-Bones Minor League Baseball Mascot)


Kendall and Lizzy with KC Wolf:
(Kansas City Chiefs Mascot)


Kendall and Lizzy with Slugger:
(Kansas City Royals Mascot)


Being the past queen, Lizzy spent Saturday at the Leeton Queen Contest helping a couple of the different age groups prepare for their runway walk and interview. She enjoyed being able to help and I am sure that she done a wonderful job, she has become quite a little lady! Thursday night she has to crown the new queen of her age division to start the 2006 Leeton Fair. Although she has enjoyed being a queen, I don't think that she is quite ready to give up that title. So I guess she will always be the queen around our house....

Getting Started...

Well, I thought that this would be a great way to keep in touch with our friends and family about things that we are doing. My goal is to update the site weekly (possibly on Sunday) to recap the previous week and to inform you of things that are coming up. Hopefully I can keep some pictures posted of the kids, but I will have to see if I can find someone to take some occasionally.

Go ahead and save this as a favorite and check in periodically to see what the Williams Family has been up to.