We love our cousins!! Thank you Jenny and Jason for inviting us over to watch the 2011 Super Bowl. Well, at least the dads watched all of it, the moms watched some commercials and football (mostly for the half-time show), and the kids played the whole time. See? It was perfect!

Sorry there are no photos this year. The last time we got together for a Super Bowl party at the Hill home was in 2007. Here are some reminders of how much our sweet kids have grown.

On Monday afternoon I purchased a softbox (lighting accessory). With the weather being cold and wet, Michelle left Morgan & me at home while she took Sadee & Joshua to formation class at church. This gave me a chance to play around with the softbox. As I was assembling it Morgan walked in my office and asked, “Daddy, can you take my picture?” I was shocked! It’s a rare occurrence that any of our kids volunteer to have their picture taken so of course I said yes. Our ‘Father-Daughter’ session didn’t last long. After 20 minutes, Morgan was done and wanted to play with her ponies. It was the BEST 20 minutes I can remember in a while. Results are below. Happy 4th Birthday to my Little Miss Mo!

On this day, we welcomed into our world Morgan Marie Cantu. She was born at 9:32am weighing 7lbs 7oz and 19 1/4″ long. God gave us another beautiful gift. Are we deserving? Not in a zillion years, but He trusts us! So we parented the best we know how for the past 4 years with this little one (plus about 6 1/2 with the twins) and love our children more than any other human beings could possibly love. That counts for everything!

Happy Birthday, Miss Morgan!!!! We love you with all our hearts! Mommy, Daddy, Joshua, and Sadee

Hey, it has only been 6 months since our last update. Hmmm, let’s see. What have we been up over this short period of time? The photography businesses kept us very busy from September to December. Sadee and Josh are losing their baby teeth. The 1st grade is far more advanced than it was 20 years ago. Michelle and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on July 15, 2010.

On February 1, 2011 Morgan turns 4 years old. To keep up with the theme, I posted two photos from February 24, 2007. Sadee & Josh were attending a birthday party for their cousins, Jenna and Jaxson.

“The study of loft.”

“The plan of attack.”

Michelle and I were watching the Food Network show Unwrapped. The entire show was about Disney World food. This got me thinking about our Disney World trip back in 2008. It was our first family road trip. What an experience and we can’t wait to do it again. We are hoping to take the family back next year. Until then here are some more photos from 2008.

On day 2 of the road trip we finished up a 26 hour drive from Houston to Orlando. Normally what would be a 19 hour drive took us a little longer be cause we made many stops along the way for food, gasoline, rest, and of course potty breaks. We did discover two very interesting facts about road trips. One, contrary to all the advice we received..NO, we did not ‘need’ a DVD player to keep the kids occupied and stimulated. It’s amazing that simple family conversation still works. Two, pancakes are a sedative! On two occasions we ate at The Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Both times the twins ate a pancake each and 30 minutes later after getting back on the road they were both asleep for the next 4-5 hours.

I clearly remember the moment when Sadee and Joshua saw the Disney World entrance sign they both let out a huge scream of excitement. To tell you the truth, I did too.

Michelle and I were watching the Food Network show Unwrapped. The entire show was about Disney World food. This got me thinking about our Disney World trip back in 2008. It was our first family road trip. What an experience and we can’t wait to do it again. We are hoping to take the family back next year. Until then here are some photos from 2008.

A few members of the Texas Photo Forum GTG had planned a Trash The Dress shoot at Fort Travis Seashore Park on Sunday afternoon. After that everyone drove back to Galveston to do some shooting along the Sea Wall, eat a early dinner, and call it a day after a long weekend.

Last night I was looking for a photo and came across a photography get-together (GTG) we attended back in 2007. The GTG was part of a fun filled weekend for Texas Photo Forum (TPF) members and their families. All weekend we hung out at Fort Travis Seashore Park cooking BBQ, relaxing, and most importantly, shooting! I think this was the last time my family & I were on the Bolivar Peninsula before that little known storm came ashore in 2008 and caused a tiny bit of damage.

I took the opportunity to re-process these in LR3/PS and play around with some dramatic post processing.

The baseball season was coming to an end and I haven’t seen my nephew, Michael, play this year. My younger brother, Matthew, called me up and told me Michael was pitching. It’s been at least 3 or 4 years since I’ve shot my nephew playing baseball and that’s way too long for me. As soon as I got there old memories came flashing back of my younger days playing baseball on the same field. It didn’t take long to get “warmed up” with my camera gear and find a couple of good shooting spots.

Michael did a great job pitching for his first year as a starting pitcher. Matthew taught him well. Pump fastballs and changes speeds, but under no circumstances was he allowed to throw “junk”. I am very proud of you, Michael! Not only are you a good little ball player, but more importantly, you are a great student in school and a wonderful person. I am proud to call you my nephew.

Because Michael is all those things, I wanted to create him a special surprise. He just assumes I was there to “take pictures”. This is the poster I created from a series of photos. Surprise! We hope you like it, Michael. We love you!