Happy MUDer's Day!

My family knows that the one thing I ask of them every year for Mother's Day is a little photo session with all my kiddos.  I am normally the one taking all the pictures, so I never let Mother's Day slide without handing the camera to my husband and jumping in the photos with my kids.  I don't really care what else the day brings (or doesn't bring) as long as I get my pix fix.

Normally, I like pretty pictures.   Combed hair.   Clean faces.   Good lighting.

But my hubby loves dumb puns.  Really loves dumb puns.  So, when I was brainstorming with him about this year's photos, he suggested our backyard.  I was suggesting local parks with great backdrops and things like trees and flowers.  But I knew that he'd hooked me when he started laughing about how we could totally have a happy MUDer's day.  Our backyard, you see, has no grass because it died years ago and we've never been able to get it to grow back and we have given up trying.  So we have dirt.  Lots of dirt.  Which makes the most excellent mud pit.  And a very happy MUDer's Day, as you can see.

Above is the before shot, more or less.  The mud was so irresistable, the little ones just couldn't restrain themselves.

 

 Except that B was not exactly happy when she fell and sat right in the mud puddle.

 But it didn't take her long to warm up to it.

 Soon enough, she was tromping all around with joyfully muddy feet.
  Love this babe, mud and all.

The kids could hardly believe that I was allowing them throw mud.  At each other.  At me.  Especially at me. 

J needed no help whatsoever in that department.  Surprise, surprise.

And R, the ultimate tag along kid, had a blast with the whole thing.

Poor K, being 13 and all, is just not all that interested in mud.  She will have to get a lot older before she's immature enough to join us in a mud fight.

S took a little convincing.  But once she started pelting me with mud, I figured it was fair to retaliate.

 Here are some of my favorite dirty shots.

 It's not hard to see who had the most fun with this little episode.

B was overjoyed by the fact that she wasn't being corrected for wiping her hands on her clothes.

I was prepared for the possibility that our clothes would be ruined and chose some very old and worn out threads.  But amazingly, the mud washed right out.  Notice that K was reluctant to even come close to us.  I had to explain firmly to the other kids that she was totally off limits to even get her this close.  I decided that I would rather have one clean child sticking out like a sore thumb than a sour face that would ruin my beloved mother's day pictures. 

It really IS all about the joy, after all.

I feel fairly confident that this year will be one to remember.  It was crazy.  And spontaneous.  And fun.  And such a great stress relief considering our current about-to-move-to-the-opposite-side-of-the-country scenario.  Although I am ok with not allowing this to grow into a regular tradition.  ;-D

I suppose it's safe to say that I'm a sucker for a good pun.  But I take solace in the fact that there will be time enough next year for beautiful photos.  For now, we just needed some good clean fun.

The happiest of MUDer's Day to you all!


Linked up to this fun photo series with Kristen Duke Photography.