Jennifer the Photographer

I did it!

2011-02-22T12:10:00.000-08:00

I made a skirt!

Two skirts, actually. One for each girl.

I've given sewing several attempts and failed miserably. But I'm drawn to cute fabric, so I keep trying again.

This time I asked my super sewing skilled cousin for some advice. She summed up a basic skirt in about 30 seconds. Seriously. She made it sound so easy! I went home, and whipped them out, no pattern or anything.

And it worked!
They're wearable!
And they fit my girls!!!
And they didn't even fall apart when I washed them!!!!

I couldn't be more excited over this!

She learned to pose by pointing her toes. (I'm sighing at my daughters cuteness.)

Madie is my little fashionista.

She does things like wearing swim suits in the middle of winter.

Without shoes. Stylin'.

I was even able to put in that band of contrasting fabric near the bottom. The front and back sides of the skirts even line up to make it a neat little circle. Yay!

Next, I want to try something with ruffles!

Nutty, nutty, nuts.

2011-02-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

My kids are craft nuts.

And cooking nuts,

building nuts...

project nuts in general.

They aren't the type to sit in front of the tv all day and let their brains rot. But in the I-feel-so-sick-I-must-be-dying state I've been in the last few months I've done absolutely nothing fun and creative with them. But in honor of the upcoming card maker invented holiday (Valentine's Day, in case you missed that), we broke out the red and pink paper and did some crafting.

When I broke out the camera to take some pics of the crafts, my kids were excited to show off what had been going through their crazy little brains.

First, taping your own mouth closed.

The perfect way to keep yourself quiet when Mom tells you to keep in down.

And then, of course, to keep your sister from hitting you, you can cuff her with the cupboard child lock.

All while in your swim suits. In January.

Of course.

And if they're not in swim suits, they are in undies, or pj's.

I can never seem to take a picture of her with a clean face.

Now on to the crafts.

Oh wait! That's my not-so-camera shy girl standing in front of the craft.

And Jared getting in on the camera action.

And not to be left out, the half diaper, half pj clad youngest of the group.

But, jeesh, she's adorable!

Oh, there's the craft. I knew I had put it back there somewhere.

We cut out hearts, then sewed them on my sewing machine.

I think it's almost the coolest thing in the whole entire world that you can combine cute, crafty paper and sewing machines!

Seriously, almost the coolest!!!

And then we made these!

So fun and easy to do with the kids!

(!!!!!) <--- Can you tell I'm excited to pull out the crafts again?!?

We just cut out 3 of the same sized hearts in different paper, folded them in half and glues all the half sides to each other. I could even give little jobs to my 2 year old so she didn't feel left out.

Ta-da! Now we are ready for Valentine's.

Now to brainstorm for the next really big holiday around here...St. Patrick's Day! (no, that was not sarcasm) This year we are catching that leprechaun!

Of Birds and Fog

2011-01-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

The strangest thing happens on really foggy mornings.

First, I suddenly think it's ok to let my little girl dig in the dirt in her pj's and bare feet even though I know she's got to be freezing.

And second, all of these birds gather in the tree across the street and hang out until the fog starts to
lift.

There's always one or two big ones, and a bunch of little ones.

It's like a regular convention for them. Or maybe it's like some kind of birdy hydrating spa treatment or something. All I know is, the birds dig the fog, and the old dead tree.

Happy Birthday Baby!

2011-01-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that this little girl...

...is now this two year old little girl.

Abby has been the sweetest little girl in the whole wide world and even after 2 years she's as charming as ever. She loves kisses and snuggling and lately, yelling no and running away...but she did just turn two, after all.

We had a little party at home for her.

With cake!

We gave her a scooter that she LOVES. Now she won't have to steal her sisters anymore.

The Black Eye Story

2011-01-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

The girls and I were scoping out the 75% off toy clearance at Target when Abby, who can no longer be contained in the cart and insists on walking everywhere, tripped over the cart's wheel and went face first into the isle's bottom shelf. You know, the one with the tiny little, skinny edge that could cut through flesh like butter. I had flashes of blood, gaping wounds and rushing off to the ER for stitches flash through my mind, but as it turns out, she just got a really good shiner.

The tough little cookie cried for about 2 minutes, then was ready to continue the toy hunt.

2011-01-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

I'm a little tiny bit exhausted and short tempered today.

But then, I came across these pictures of my girls.

And now I'm just exhausted.

Spontaneous Pictures

2011-01-28T11:13:00.000-08:00

My little brother come over to get some tips on using his new camera, and I got these craptastically brilliant pictures of the girls.

That's a combo of pb&j, blue eye shadow, pj's, crazy hair and a black eye.

And this was just a very contrary girl.

It was like, the most picture ready day ever!

My Girly Rant

2011-01-25T15:30:00.000-08:00

These pictures are unPhotoshop'd.

But do I look like this in real life? No, I do not.

The light was hitting my face just perfectly and washed away all my imperfections. See, every time I've been pregnant, I get these brown blotchy spots on my face that basically look like I've been playing in the dirt and then forgot to wash. And they're getting pretty dark the 4th time around here.

Very annoying!

So after I have this baby I'm planning on doing something very untypical of me. I'm going to buy crap to put on my face to fade my dark spots and maybe even see an esthetician for some microdermabrasion.

All on the off chance that my face will get half way back to this and maybe, just maybe, no one will ask me if I have dirt on my face ever again...unless of course I do have dirt on my face. Because that would be ok.

Look What My Family Can Do!

2011-01-25T15:14:00.000-08:00

The kids all took a turn behind the camera. And not just any camera. My big ol' honkin' huge and heavy camera. They did pretty good.

Abby took these.

Madie took these.

Nathan took these of his own volition. He just stepped right up and took them and I didn't even have to ask him.

Look, Jared and I have the same quirky half smile happening, like we share the same genes or hang out a lot or something.

And Jared took these.

Ignore the junk on the table, we were unpacking groceries when the mood to play with the camera struck.

Not bad for a bunch of munchkins.

My Lack of Photoshop Skills

2011-01-25T15:01:00.000-08:00

I was messing around in Photoshop and was trying to come up with a faded oldish picture look, which I'm horrible at.

See, it just looks all yellowee. (Yes, yellowee is a word.)

But then I did this, which isn't all faded, but totally sepiatonish (another real word), but I like the look.

Could I replicate the look again now?

No.

The Sparking Night Light

2011-01-25T14:53:00.000-08:00

So one day the kids are playing nicely in their bedroom.

I could stop there because that was an amazing event in and of itself.

But I'll continue because the story gets even better!

The big kids come running out in a panic yelling about the sparks shooting out from their night light.

(?????) That's what I was thinking. So I jumped up and ran (literally) to their bedroom and discovered the problem.

Sparks were shooting out from their night light!!!

It turns out Abby found a penny, and instead of eating it like you think a toddler might do, she put it on the prongs of the night light and then plugged it into the wall.

It's kind of hard to tell, but there are chunks taken out of the metal prongs where the penny was sitting.

And here is the poor penny.

Yep, the penny has chunks taken out of it as well.

But, thank goodness, the child is still fully intact, and the outlet even still works. So does the night light, actually. And even though I was freaked out to try to use them, Nathan the "electrical" engineer assures me there are several reasons why they are still safe to use.

Thomas

2011-01-25T14:40:00.000-08:00

My little brother cracks me up.

He attended a white elephant gift exchange

and gave 20x30 prints of these pictures as his gift.

What else happened in November?

2011-01-25T13:43:00.000-08:00

We decorated for Christmas.

And while we were decorating, I was coming down with a sinus/strep/bronchial infection.

Except I didn't know it was a sinus/strep/bronchial infection, I thought it was really bad morning sickness combined with a really bad cold.

It wasn't until three days later when I couldn't even get off the couch to take Jared to school that I thought, "Gee, I think I might need to go to the doctor." Duh. It was yucky bad, but I was happy we had our tree up.

Random Pictures of Me and Mine

2011-01-19T11:19:00.000-08:00

A Day in the Vineyard

2011-01-19T11:14:00.000-08:00

Get ready for a bunch of pictures.

Or if you're not ready for a pictures overload, go get a snack instead.

I went out with some friends and their kids to take some pictures in a vineyard with high voltage power lines running through it. The sky was very blue with these cool wispy clouds floating around. Perfect for picture taking...if I new how to take landscape pictures. I seriously suck at them!

Take this shot, for example.

Pretty vines, nice sky, fun towers in the background, yet your eye just has no idea where to look. Ick.

So I stuck mostly to my munchkins.

I super-duper LOVE this one. I think I need to frame it.

Cool clouds, eh?

So I took my lens off and held it on the camera backwards, ya know, just to see what would happen.

And this happened.

Kind of a cool, dreamy, fairytale effect.

Halloween

2011-01-19T10:51:00.001-08:00

Halloween.

The one day a year your parents are happy to let you dress up as anything you want then send you out into the neighborhood to beg and threaten endless amounts of candy off of strangers.

The only requirement I have of my kids before letting them run wild is posing for an excessive amount of pictures first.

This one was not so happy in the beginning.

October Visitors

2011-01-18T12:46:00.000-08:00

Grandma Susie, Aiden

and Kayla

came to visit. Yay!

And then we went to the Jelly Belly Factory. Yay!

October

2011-01-18T12:32:00.000-08:00

October is an exciting month. There's my dad's birthday, my birthday (I turned 30 this year and didn't take any pictures), and of course, Halloween.
But this October, we did something we've never done before!

We went away without the kids!

That's right, no kids.

It was a little strange leaving as we were walking out the door. But a good strange. The kids were happy staying with Grandma Susie and Aunt Kayla, but it was just totally new and different for me.

We drove up to Reno for the weekend where we checked out Cabela's and saw Cirque d'Grande. It was one of those awesome shows where super strong, flexible and coordinated people did things that defied nature. Totally fun.

The not totally fun part of the weekend was me spending most of it with the biggest migraine I've ever had. Like I couldn't stop my hands from shaking, bad. Since that lovely little surprise was thrown into our weekend, we totally think we should get a redo.

And because I felt to terrible most of the time, the only pictures I took were in the car on the way home.

Me

Nathan

And Us

September

2011-01-18T12:21:00.001-08:00

As it turns out, I was a slacker in the photo department in September. But I did get a few of my kiddos using the couch cushion as a blanket.

August

2011-01-18T12:11:00.000-08:00

So apparently I didn't take any pictures of my own family in August, but I did get together with my friend Rosie,

and cousin Kim,

and took pictures of this cutie pie!

She's Rosie's daughter, and was totally happy to model for us, which is so cool after spending lots of time bribing my kids for just a few quick pics. Here are some of my favorites.

That one is just fun!

I think photographers spend a lot of time leaning forward.

The sunset was awesome!

And so was this old rusty fence.

Is it strange that I really like this old rusty fence?

And I'll leave you with some of the strange things that can happen to self portraits when you're using a mid-range lens with a really wide aperture.

First, you can get a freaky weird floating head that isn't quite attached to your neck.

Second, your teeth that started out as "large" in real life can grow into big ol' horse teeth.

And lastly, I'm still thinking I should cut my bangs short again.

And speaking of school...

2011-01-18T11:45:00.000-08:00

It was only Jared's first day of school, but the girls totally wanted to be in on the camera action.

For a while Abby's favorite toy was an empty tube of toothpaste.

And here's the school boy. He was super excited to start the 1st grade!

Hmmm. I think it's time to trim my bangs. I liked them that short. Not that you care, readers of the blog. It's a note to self.

Jared Graduated Kindergarten...a long time ago.

2011-01-18T11:21:00.000-08:00

Jared is half way through the 1st grade, so I thought it was a great time to share the day he graduated for Kindergarten.

And that was the day he started summer vacation...a long time ago.

Catch Up

2011-01-18T11:01:00.000-08:00

I may be a tad bit behind on my blog, but I have plenty of good excuses, like...

...busyness,

...laziness,

...and morning sickness.

That's right, I'm having baby number four. But that's only been an excuse for the last 16 weeks. Before that I was mostly busy, then lazy.

So the next several post will be a catch up of what my family has been doing since mid-June. Geesh, I just realized that's seven months.

We left off with our awesome vacation in Southern CA with my in-laws. While we were there we went to Sea World! I had never been there before and I loved it! The kids kind of liked it too.

I brought my point and shoot camera that I hadn't used in a few years. I forgot how easy it is to just slip in my diaper bag. We hit a lot of animal shows.

Shameful starfish.

Look at the giant walrus Uncle Rusty won for Jared!

And that was our trip to Sea World.

A Whole Lot of Family...as in, lots of pictures.

2010-08-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

My in-laws invited us to go on a super awesome beach vacation with them down south. It was beautiful and relaxing and fun. While we were there we took some family pictures. I pulled out my poor ignored tripod and made it feel useful again while getting some group pictures of the whole family.

I was testing my exposure and caught this little scene, which I really like for no good reason at all.

Kayla and cutie-pie little Aiden.

The whole family.

My little family.

Check out Madie!

Kim and Susie

All the grandkids.

Once again, check Madie out.

Kayla and Amanda

Me and Nathan

Yes, I'm making a funny face.

The waves were attacking.

Uncle Rusty

The Boys (This time check out Jared.)

The Girls

Me

So I wore these fugly shoes to walk down to the beach because they are oh so comfortable. Then I forgot to take them off when we started snapping pictures. Uug!

Nathan

He really looks nothing like himself here.

The Beach

An odd attempt at posing just the kids.

Bye-bye!

Absters

2010-08-14T08:16:00.001-07:00

Party, Party, Party!

2010-08-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

How awesome is it to have a friend that just volunteers to let you throw a birthday party for your own 2 kids at her house and invite over the whole family and said kid's group of crazy friends and said friend's husband goes through tons of extra work finishing lots of extra outdoor projects just to be ready for your party?

Pretty. Freakn'. Awesome!

This is the awesome friend! (Hi, Shaunika!)

Abby was our only kid who actually hung out with us enough to take five thousand pictures.

I love how dirty Abby got by the end of the party!

The End

Some Darn Cute Kids

2010-08-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, they're mine (mostly). And yes, that automatically makes me think they're adorable.

But seriously, just look at this cuteness!

That big guy in red might not look like a kid, but he acts like one sometimes. I think we can call him twelve and he wouldn't argue.

Just imagine cute words coming out of this kids mouth. He has a lot of them in there.

And this air drum show was down right adorable!

So are the curls.

This kid is not mine...

...but he turned 14 and I can clearly remember when he was born and came home from the hospital and my family went to my cousins house to see her new cute and adorable little teeny, tiny baby and now he's 14 and I feel slightly old, but think he's still cute anyway...

...and then I looked over at this cute little man of mine who is six already...

...and realized he's going to be 14, like, tomorrow.

(Sigh)

Hi!

2010-08-08T08:18:00.000-07:00

Have A

Happy Sunday!

Bu-by now.

Fresh Fruit

2010-07-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

One morning this spring our family found ourselves here.

And while a corn field has nothing to do with what we did on this morning, those lumps of dirt in the foreground that are actually the sides of an irrigation ditch that make for a funny story.

As we were finishing up our morning activity and Nathan and I were buckling Jared and Abby in the car, I hear Madie ask, in the cutest, most amazed voice I've ever heard come from her lips, "How did this happen?". I turned around to find her mid-shin deep in mud in the middle of the irrigation ditch. It had looked dry to her, but really it was just really deep mud she had jumped straight into. It cracked us up! Her little cowgirl boots even stuck in the mud when Nathan reached over and pulled her out. I wish I had pictures, but we were too busy scrambling to get her out of the mud before she fell over and made a real mess of herself. So you'll just have to trust me, it was adorable.

So if you turn around and look away from this corn field, you'd find cherry trees and our real reason for being out and about on this fine morning. I've never been out picking my own fruit before and my verdict is:

Lots of fun!

A great family activity.

Really yummy fresh fruit.

The cool thing about cherry trees is that they're pretty short with low branches and totally accessible to the kiddos.

You just grab a bucket and fill it up with all the yummy goodness you can imagine stuffing in your belly.

Of course, this one wasn't much interested in picking the fruit, but she was very interested in eating it and looking a bit like she had a bloody mouth.

I always think these kind look gross and like they couldn't possibly be ripe, but they're so sweet and yummy!

My oldest got really into it. He would have picked 20 pounds of cherries if we had let him.

Is it considered stealing when your kids pop the occasional cherry in their mouth at a u-pick orchard? I keep telling them it is, but I think the temptation of juicy fruit out weighed any moral qualms they might have had.

But wearing them is another thing all together. I totally don't care as long as they don't track them into the car.

We picked five pound in total. But they only got to hang around for 22 hours before every last one had been devoured. This will definitely be on me to-do list next spring.

Sugar!

2010-07-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

Like Father Like Daughter

2010-07-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

This man...

...is astonishingly similar to this girl.

Not only do they look alike,

they're both hard headed...

...strong willed...

...and will love you to death and take care of you no matter what.

Thanks for my spit-fire child, Nathan.

You guys make life and adventure!

I love my dog.

2010-07-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

The only one I was happy with here is Ash the dog. At least she helped me clean up the mess.

Happy 6th!

2010-07-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

My kid turned 6!

Six!

One third of his childhood is complete.

Already. (I'm making a sad pouty face right now.)

We brought cupcakes to school.

And he got a butterfly garden which he was totally stoked about. Who needs toys when you can grow your own bugs?

It's been amazing watching my baby grow into a big kid. He is honestly the most curious, questioning, analyzing and charmer of a kid I know and I love it!

Grandma Tibby and Abby

2010-06-12T13:34:00.001-07:00

angry/goofy/normal/silly

2010-05-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

I so very much enjoy when all three of my kids are in happy, goofy moods. It doesn't happen all that often, being that one of my kids is like an emotional pre teen already, but on this day we were all in happy -go-lucky moods.

Abby was being sneaky, and as it turned out, learned a new trick. She's leaned how to use anything and everything to give her enough height to cause some trouble, like pulling pens out of drawers.

She was very proud of herself.

Then Madie decided she was a monster.

I know what you're thinking...she acts like monster all the time, what's new?

But really, this time she was pretending to be a monster.

Beware of those three foot tall, pastel dress wearing, pink fish pen eating monsters. They'll nip at your knees then whack your butt.

And Jared played a little game of guess what emotion I'm acting out.

He's very good at Pouty, don't you think? He practices it a lot. He practices Happy a lot too.

Then Abby decided to show me her one emotion she shares with us 90% of the time.

Happy.

From the moment Abby started crawling I realized she knew she could check out the pictures on the screen on the camera. I would take one picture, and she would crawl right over to take a look at it. Today she decided to skip the crawling step and just sit in my lap, expecting me to take a picture and show it to her right away. So I thought, why not get a few of us together.

I till need to work on growing my arms out another two inches.

I even managed to convince my mini pre teen to join us.

Jared didn't want to squeeze in, but he did want me to take some pictures of myself acting out whatever emotion he called out.

Angry!

Goofy

Normal (I'm so glad he thinks I'm normal sometimes.)

Silly face. Apparently that and goofy are different.

And then their tummy's called to them and we stopped the angry/goofy/normal/silly faces for snack.

Fire Starter

2010-05-26T11:51:00.001-07:00

Hang'n Out With Dad

2010-05-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

I can't get over how much they look alike. And they have the same haircut.

Sleepy...

Hang'n Out with Grandpa

2010-05-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

My girls love their Grandpa Jim..."Gam-pa" in Abby's case.

Yes, Grandpa and Abby are in sweatshirts and Madie is in a rash guard and undies. She "likes" being cold.

More Easter Flashback

2010-05-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

Easter won't come if you don't dye eggs...

I discovered these awesome bib/apron/cover thingies...why did no one tell me these exist? I LOVE them!

Egg Head.

Not all the eggs made it...

Flashback to Easter

2010-05-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

Grandma Susie sent an Easter package.

Super fun!

And can I just say, my kids are cute!

Gam-ba

2010-05-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

Abigale has a soft spot for her "Gam-ba".

She gets excited and yells Gam-ba every time she sees him.

She even heard someone say "grandpa" on t.v. the other day, turned around, yelled Gam-ba and looked around for him.

My Madie

2010-05-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

Princess Dress

Princess Bike

Princess Helmet

Cowgirl Boots

Flowers and People

2010-05-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

I can't say I have ever made it to the Oakland Temple to see the spring flowers before. Here's a mix of flowers and people.

Get ready to say Aaawwwe!

She is full of kisses lately. Hugs too. It's especially sweet to us because our first two weren't all that snugly until they got to be a bit older.

Our best attempt at pictures with me and the kids.

I took off my sunglasses and was practically blinded by the sun. Holy cow, it was bright!

More flowers.

More people.

The kids had tons of fun. Madie was fascinated by the fact that we could go up the stairs and find a garden on the roof. Except we actually got up to the roof and there were practically no flower at all. Whoops. But we were still able to enjoy the view.

More Of Those Pesky Shadows

2010-04-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

As it turns out, I'm so behind on organizing my pictures, I didn't realize I have more by the train.

So remember those pesky shadows I was complaining about? I retract all bad thoughts towards shadows when it comes to this particular photo.

Maybe it's the cuteness outweighing the shadows. Or maybe I like that the shadow is only on like 1/4 of his face instead of half. I might have to play with shadows some more.

Maybe.

And I did get some pictures of my silly billys together.

I love that Abby's belly is hanging out the entire time.

Adorable! (If I do say so myself.)

For Uncle Rusty

2010-04-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

So I went out with some friends to take some pictures by a train and some pretty yellow spring flowers and it was beautiful and around sunset and the light was lovely...and I so wasn't in the groove.

Two problems.

1. Nathan wasn't there to help with the baby who wanted to crawl all over the place. In the dirt. Which was fine, but I was trying to chase my other kids with the camera at the same time so I couldn't keep an eye on what bugs and rocks she was trying to eat, so she spent most of the time in the stroller.

2. I decided (for some crazy reason) that I should try stepping outside my comfortable and familiar box and try using the light a little differently. Moodier, shadoweyer. (Look that one up in the Jennifereze dictionary.) But as it turns out, I like my box. I like light, and lots of it. No so much with shadows.

I'll just chalk this shoot up to a learing experience.

I did get a few I really liked, mostly of this little guy.

Then I changed my angle slightly when it was Abby's turn in the chair and I didn't like it as much.

But I adore her so much I still love the pictures.

So after shooting in my friend Maryann's field, we crossed the street to shoot by the train. This is where I was trying to get "moody" light.

And this is how into posing Jared was...

He might hate me for this later, but he's still young enough to laugh at it.

Madie wouldn't pose either of course, but she would sing for me. This is her rendition of I Love To See the Temple.

Look at the passion on her face!

Shadows on the face. Ick.

I like it in other peoples pictures though, so I suppose I just need to practice and figure out how to do it right.

This is Rebekah (I know I totally spelled that wrong. Sorry Andrea.) Madie LOVES her. They kind of fight a lot...like sisters...and love each other anyway.

Abby confined to the stroller so she wouldn't eat rocks. She doesn't actually stick a lot of stuff in her mouth, but I was still worried about it.

Ok, the light in this ditch...AWESOME! That is totally my kind of light. And this is the only picture I snapped of it while Jared paused for 1.23 seconds at the bottom of it.

But now I know for next time, throw my kids in a ditch.

More stroller.

She needed some attention and I needed some pictures of her, so we played the snap-above-the-babies-head game. She joined in and "snapped" back.

Then I took some of the kids in front of the train and they had all these weird shadows on their faces and so, ya, I'll totally have to redo this shoot because I totally love the location. And when I take my kids to play by a gigantic train, I totally get cool mom points.

Up she goes.

2010-03-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Abby is venturing into a new hobby...climbing. She'll be scaling sheer cliffs by the time she's a teen.

But for now, she's practicing on the kitchen table.

This was the first time she climbed up onto a chair.

Then she looked behind her and saw another challenge. The table!

I, being the caring mother that doesn't want her babies head cracked open on the tile floor kind of person that I am, told her no, no.

She thought about listening, then swung her knee up high and wiggled herself onto the table.

Insert imaginary picture here.

It was her first time climbing that high and I didn't know how stable she would be, so no, I did not take a picture of her on the table. Instead I ran over, grabbed her up, and put her back down on the floor.

Yes, I'm a mean mom who destroys her children's dreams of climbing to higher heights.

But at least their brains remain intact.

For now.

Water

2010-03-28T16:39:00.000-07:00

From time to time Madie begs and begs for a water bottle and when I finally give in she takes about 3 big gulps then puts the rest of it in the fridge. And like her big sister, Abby is loving water bottles too. She snuck this one out of the fridge without Madie noticing.

And while we're on the subject of Abby, here are a few pictures of her at a play date from my friend Shaunika.

I love it!

Green

2010-03-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

After we visited John Muir's house, we drove over to the coast to check out Muir Woods. I don't know if John Muir had anything to do with the woods directly, but if you go to his house first and bring your receipt, you get in free.

Yay for free!

These woods are beautiful. Tall. Grand. And green!

I've been there lots of times before, but always in the summer. I had no idea everything would be covered in beautiful green moss. This tree was so moss covered and damp, little ferns could live on it.

The kids were especially good. Abby didn't nap all day, and she was still fantastic.

We could have fit our entire family in this tree. This section shows what was going on in history through out it's life.

And now for some craptastic landscape photography!

Have I ever mentioned how bad I am at landscape photography? Well, I am.

And that was our day at Muir Woods. I'm sure you can see just how pretty it is, despite my very marginal pictures.

And yes, I'll stick to photographing people.

John Muir. Lots and lots of John Muir.

2010-03-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

We went on a little day-cation with out friends Trent, Kristyn and Sammy. It was tons of fun and I think we should do something like this every weekend.

But Nathan disagrees.

With the every weekend part, not the it was so much fun part.

We started our day by driving over the hill to John Muir's house. I LOVE old houses. I want to live in one. One that has new plumbing and electrical and central heating and air. Is that too much to ask?

It had been raining for days before this. Can you tell my kids aren't use to sunlight?

Isn't it pretty? And look at the top...it's a bell tower! The kids ventured up the long steep stairs in the attic and rang the bell.

And this is why I love old houses.

Character! Details! Stuff that makes you say, Wow, look at that! This is the door between the kitchen and dining room.

These are the people.

He's scary ;o)

This is Sam.

She's adorable.

This is my kid.

He has chapped lips.

This is my big girl.

She is the King of Legendary.

I don't know what that means either.

And this is my baby girl. (And me too.)

She is nothing but sweet.

And these are the grounds. They raised fruit trees on the property and apparently did very well in that department. I didn't catch exactly what kind of fruit because I had to take the baby out before the intro movie ended at the beginning of our tour.

And these are playful squirrels. Or maybe they were fighting.

Any which way, they made a very loud ruckus chasing each other around.

I believe this was the winner of the game/fight.

This path leads down to the carriage shed...

...past some pretty trees...

And on to an adobe house on the other side of the property.

Because my kids are kids, they needed a potty break. Nathan took them while the rest of us enjoyed the first day of sunshine in weeks.

Then we were united again.

Remember my goal of taking more pictures of me with my kids? Well, I've added an addendum to that. I will take (or have other people take) more pictures of me with my kids and us as a whole entire family.

Goodbye John Muir's old house. We think you're great!

Up next...Muir Woods.

Awards and Report Cards

2010-03-08T12:12:00.000-08:00

Jared had an awards assembly at school.

I realize it's only kindergarten, but I had the proudest mommy moment when Jared got awards for perfect attendance and being responsible.

I am so happy that he is working hard and loving school!

Nathan went in late to work that day so he could come see. Here he is with Abby waiting to get started.

Getting his award!

That's his teacher in the background.

I can't believe I have a kid in school! How did he get so old so fast!?!

Jared could probably care less that he got an award, but I think he was happy to see me so happy with him.

In fact, he just got his report card and didn't even tell me he brought it home in his Friday Folder. I had to dig though it to find it, and when I told him he got super good grades, he just smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and went back to playing.

Good job Jared!

My Babies Ears

2010-03-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

Madie only wants me to take her picture when I'm trying to take a picture of someone else.

For example, my friend Kristyn pierced Abby's ears! ...so of course I was trying to get some pictures of her and her new little sparklies and Madie came over and asked me to take pictures of her too.

So I tried to take the opportunity to get some pictures of both of my girls together, but because it involved another person, Madie was only half into it.

Madie does that silly look with her lips all the time and it makes me smile.

Abby chill'n with a cracker.

She's my always happy child.

See Madie there, hanging out on the side, considering being involved in picture taking.

Then they really just ignored me and played with each other. I love it when my kids get along.

Abby just looked at me and smiled when I told her to look to the side so I could take a picture of her earrings, so I switched to the snap your fingers where you want the baby to look method.

It worked with moderately good results.

But mostly she looked at me like this.

Pure adorableness.

And then suddenly we were playing a spontaneous game of peek-a-boo!

I think she is looking super cute with her new earrings and pony tail and constant smiles.

Love her!

The Many Looks of Madie

2010-02-25T20:42:00.000-08:00

The "OK Mom, are you ready yet?" look.

The "I'm easily distracted and can't look at the camera long enough for Mom to take a picture" look.

The "I know I'm cute and want to please Mom while maintaining a little bit of Independence and control by not looking at the camera" look.

The "Am I being laughed at, or am I just so darn cute I make people giggle?" look. (my favorite)

The "Ya, I think I'm just cute" look.

The "What is my silly mom doing?" look.

The "Alright mom, if you keep acting that way it's going to be time to go inside" look.

Crazy Cool!

2010-02-23T16:31:00.000-08:00

Half my friends think I'm crazy, for wanting to hang these on my wall, and the other half want to know where they can get their own.

My friend and her husband are slowly replacing the old wood framed windows in their house and I saw these precious babies callously discarded in their dump pile.

Ok, they're not babies and it wasn't callous and they were technically garbage and therefore the dump pile was a good place for them to be. But I think they'll find a better home on my wall.

I hosed them down and was going to clean them up better the next day, but then it got cold and rainy and I'm a bit of a wuss, so I'm waiting until it is slightly warmer to get outside and clean them up properly. I did consider washing them in the bath tub...but then who wants to have to clean dirt out of the tub when I'm done? Not me. Plus the windows will probably have to wait until I paint my wall to be hung, so there's no rush.

Plus my bushes have taken quite a liking to them. They look good together don't they?

Look at that old peeling paint. I love it!

Hello Kinda-Sorta Spring

2010-02-20T14:04:00.000-08:00

I admit it.

I am, at times, a terrible mother who will not take her kids outside to play because it's too darn COLD!

I seem to be able to get bundled up and go out to play in the snow, but to go out in the damp foggy air right in my own front yard chills me to the bone! And my kids suffer for it.

Ok, the suffer part might be a bit of an exaggeration. In fact, spring is starting to tease us a bit here and on a very nice day I tried to get my kids to go outside and play. And do you know what they told me? Of all things? No, Mom, we'd rather stay inside.

Insane! Insane, I tell ya!!!

So I pulled out my secret weapon that I could likely lure my kids to all corners of the earth with.

Bubbles.

That's right, a little soap, water and glycerin and I have complete control over my children.

Jeesh, I never realized how flesh colored my house is.

The kids quadruple checked I got some pictures of the bubbles that landed on the plants.

Hmm. That brings back memories of The Gnome-Mobile.

I'm not sure I like the fact that you can see my back door from my front door...something to keep in mind if we ever buy another house.

This is Madie's favorite place to be in the front yard.

Probably because it's the only place in the front yard that has had any work done to it so far. Yay for grass we will probably have in the spring!

Ya, we definitely match the house. Weird.

Bring on the spring and the sun and the suntans so we're no longer those weird people down the street that match their house.

Abby's New Ride

2010-02-19T14:38:00.000-08:00

I'd like to freeze time for a few months and keep Abby right at this age. She's so sweet and happy and playful.

But that wasn't really the point of this post. The point is, she got her big girl car seat. And look how happy she is about it!

Major enthusiasm here.

By by, y'all.

Surprise!

2010-02-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

Jared LOVES school, but he does not love discussing the every day happenings of classroom life. I only get small bits of info here and there.

So I was totally surprised when he jumped in the car with a blue backpack full of this.

This is Brown Bear. She goes home with a student every weekend in a backpack full of clothes, a bear story, a book put together by all the students, and a notebook to record your weekend at home with Brown Bear.

I asked him why he's never mentioned Brown Bear before.

He said he wanted it to be a surprise.

I told him if he never tells me about anything at school, it's not a surprise, it's just a mystery.

He's ok with mysteries.

But at least I got to meet Brown Bear.

Fun Dip

2010-02-13T08:55:00.001-08:00

Fun to eat.

Fun to spread across the table.

Fun to draw pictures and designs in.

Fun to lick off the table.

Also, super uber fun to smush into the cracks of the table with a rolling pin.

Meltdown

2010-02-13T07:48:00.000-08:00

So I guess sometime in the past, before I knew him, when he was a kid, or a teenager, Nathan knew of someone making or made himself, a hot air balloon out of a garbage bag, or maybe a plastic shopping bag, candles and straws.

You clear on that?

He saw that plastic bag that protects the Sunday paper from the rain and was inspired.

But as it turns out, those plastic paper covering bags are very narrow, and very thin, and melt into nothingness when they are within five feet of flame.

But still lots of fun for the kids...

...and Nathan too.

Movie Time

2010-02-13T07:40:00.000-08:00

Time for a movie with some friends.

It's a Sign

2010-02-13T07:37:00.000-08:00

This is Abby eating her goldfish. The cracker that is.

This is Abby asking for "more". It's baby sign. And it's so darn cute!

And this is Abby wondering why mom is taking pictures when she's already asked nicely for more food.

Fine then, Mom, whatever...

Not really. Can you imagine a one year old with that kind of attitude. Imagine the terrible twos!

If mom won't put down that silly camera and feed me, I'll just drink my milk.

The Bribe

2010-02-12T12:23:00.000-08:00

This year I actually planned ahead and took some Valentine's Day/Abby's first birthday pictures. And I didn't take a few...

Madie wasn't into the rocking chairs, so just my oldest and youngest...

Outtake...

I found these heart shaped lollipops in the dollar bin at Target. They were my bribe to get the kids to pose for me.

And the craziest thing of all...

...I did this ALL BY MYSELF!

No help from any other grown up and I managed to get all three of my kids to sit still long enough to snap a few.

Yay me!

One!

2010-02-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

My baby turned one! I can't believe it. This was one of those super fast years, and I'm almost sad she's getting big already.

She was the sweetest baby ever!

Happy
Content
Snugly
Sweet
Happy
Curious
Happy
Calm
Happy

Did I mention happy? She's almost always happy. People I see regularly, like friends and the other parents dropping their kids off at Kindergarten always comment on how they've never seen her cry. That's because she doesn't unless she has a very good reason, like her sister just kicked her in the face...again.

Happy

And she has way more hair than my other two did at her age, so that's fun too.

She LOVED all her first birthday presents. We got her this cash register, my parents got her this awesome dog you can gook up to the computer and program to say her name and favorite things, and Nathan's parents gave her a camera that plays music and lights up. All three were a huge hit!

Happy First Birthday Baby Girl!

Ignore the Paint

2010-02-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

So you have to imagine this against a background of fresh, clean and crisp paint, perhaps grayish in color, but not a dark cave-like gray, a light and airy gray, a gray that I hope to have on my wall this time next year so the full cuteness of my banner shows through.

I bought a gallon of a brownish-tan paint, but I think I've changed my mind.

It's a girls prerogative.

I heard that on t.v. when I was little and it's always stuck in my head.

And the "this" I was talking about...

Abby's birthday banner. She turned one, you know.

It's super cute if you ignore all the awful paint samples slathered on my wall, and the other paint that is actually suppose to be there but was a dirty looking off white to begin with that then became dirty in real life and poked through by many, many nails and screws that nobody bothered to patch when they pulled out. Poor wall...I'll take care of you...when I can actually decide on a paint color.

The white back circle is made of coffee filters.

The pink paper is, well, pink paper, cut in a circle and lined with a sparkly glitter.

The letters are brown paper cut with a Cricut, Fancy Pants font, then painted with glue that I then dumped loads of Martha Stewart glitter on. I LOVE Martha Stewart glitter. It's the best glitter in the universe!

Now I just need to make a banner that says Madie, and I can reuse the Happy Birthday for her birthday.

Jared, on the other hand, might get mad at me if I pull it out for his birthday and try and call it a "bubble gum" birthday or a "cotton candy" birthday. No, I should be brainstorming something in blue or green, or maybe camo...

You've got to have the right tools.

2010-02-11T18:17:00.001-08:00

Jared got a kids tool set for Christmas and Madie has taken a liking to this...

Photo A Day

2010-01-27T20:34:00.000-08:00

So I joined this group with some of my friends where you take a photo a day and post it online.

Guess how long I lasted?

Hint: I just might be the worst photo-a-dayer ever.

1. Nathan on our 10th anniversary.

2.

3.

4. Jared lost his first tooth!

5.

That's right, five days. On the sixth day, it didn't even cross my mind to take a picture. I wasn't even putting it off and being lazy, I plain old forgot.

Christmas Morning

2010-01-27T15:13:00.001-08:00

Only just over a month late...Christmas morning!

Nathan and Abby ready to document the event.

Christmas Eve with Three

2010-01-04T19:27:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents and had a rousing game of...of...of...

...I don't know what you call it. But I do know you get play dough and mold words or phrases you draw from a hat and the first team to guess gets the point. FUN! Good pick, Thomas.

Here's a hodge-podge of pics from the night.

Sarah

Kristian and Peter. Lane was around there somewhere but I don't think I got his pic.

The only picture of Thomas.

A rare picture of me and Nathan together, if you can call being separated by the couch, together.

Then we took the kids home to open pj's.

Then we sent those kiddos off to bed to ~~not~~ sleep.

Graduation

2010-01-04T19:15:00.000-08:00

Madie graduated from nursery! She had her first Sunbeam class yesterday and loved it. Yay! But before she moved up nursery had a graduation for the big kids moving up.

She's the only one who refused to wear their daddy's white shirt.

Grad Caps

Getting her certificate from the bishop.

Grandma came to watch.

And Abby got to visit and get a little taste of her future.

Pre Christmas

2009-12-30T17:20:00.000-08:00

My mother in law sent the kids Christmas presents in 2 big cardboard boxes. It was almost like Christmas morning pulling all the packages wrapped in pretty wrapping paper out. And then we noticed some of the tags said open now. Yippee!!! So the kids tore into them and they pulled out the cutest Christmas outfits. The big kids stripped down then and there in the middle of the living room and put on parts of their outfits. Then I made them take them off and put them away to keep them pretty for the coming Sunday. Ya, I'm a mean mama like that.

That adorable flower headband came with Abby's green dress that, no, she's not wearing. And the blue of Madie's dress is gorgeous!

Jared was in a horrible mood! He only put on the vest and left the matching blue dress shirt on the floor (check out the left side of the pic).

But the girls were happy to be in the spot light.

Thanks for the awesome outfits Grandma Susie!

Christmas Must-Haves

2009-12-30T17:12:00.001-08:00

My mom took Madie on some errands with her in preparation for Christmas. They stopped by See's Candy and brought home these candy canes to share with Jared. It was an exciting day!

Building Houses

2009-12-23T14:01:00.000-08:00

This year I bought a ginger bread house kit. The super cool part was the house was already assembled for us. All we had to do was decorate! And the smart put-together-ers of this kit must have known my kids would eat half the candy during the decorating process, so they included enough to fill tummies and decorate the house.

The roof was my favorite part to decorate.

After we were done we decided to take a picture with it. It was hard to do. Getting their heads close to each other and the house and looking at the camera at the same time takes coordination.

My kids are lacking in that department.

In a funny way.

And yes, Madie is wearing her swim suite, in December. It's her chill out at home outfit.

Cany Cane Eating

2009-12-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

This was the day we broke out the candy canes. Abby was watching us eat them and salivating. Her little tongue was working on stretching all the way over to a candy cane and getting a taste.

We tried to distract her by giving her this nifty ball to play with...

...but she couldn't be sidetracked.

This little girl has a thing for Christmas candy. She asks for it about 20 times a day. No joke.

My candy loving little girl noticed my baby girl's tongue at work...

...and decided to share!

Abby

2009-12-23T07:41:00.000-08:00

My baby girl is 11 months!

I love this silly picture because her hair is long enough to have crazy fly-a-ways and she's doing that cute little thing she does with her hands when she's excited about something. And she has a double chin.

Bikes and Shoes

2009-12-21T12:55:00.000-08:00

Notice anything missing from this picture?

How about this one?

Figured it out yet?

No training wheels!

Jared has a little bit of fear in him that makes it hard for him to venture out and try things that he might fall down while doing, but he was having a brave day and asked for the training wheels off and down the street he rode. He was doing really well, then got nervous a car would come and started getting a little wobbly. But once he gets over his nerves he'll move up to his big bike his friend Wyatt passed down to him. He's so excited!

Madie would be on her bike 24 hours a day if I let her. I'm pretty sure she'd find a way to sleep on it.

This is his "I'm mad at mom because she won't stand in the the middle of the street and look for cars" look.

...and is it weird that I want shoes just like my 5 year old son's?

If anyone spots them in a women's 7.5, send them my way. :o)

Halloween Practice

2009-12-16T20:29:00.000-08:00

This was practice for Halloween. I believe they were getting ready for the ward Halloween party. Abby was actually a frog, but I had made this little dress for her out of cute Halloween dish towels from the dollar bin at Target and it was CUTE, if I do say so myself. Jared was Obe One Kenobi, and Madie was a princess of course. We curled her hair and let her wear some makeup and she was super excited.

And not to be partial to one kid over the other...but she was having an extra cute moment.

And I'm lovin' the feather hair clip my friends and I made. Then again, Abby makes just about everything cuter.

Some October Happenings

2009-12-16T20:14:00.000-08:00

Abby learned how to climb through the chairs. It's cute...until she slips and slams her face into our super hard tile.

Madie learned a new trick with apples. Makes snack time more fun!

The big kids and I made sugar cookies, because that's what we do in October. It wouldn't be fall without Halloween themed cookies. I let Abby nibble on one while we frosted the rest.

Abby learned how to pull up onto totally vertical surfaces. She was super proud of herself!

And I let her crawl around out on the front walk for the first time. She thought it was awesome and now bolts out the door anytime it's open.

And of course Jared helped to keep her from eating bark (almost) while she played. He's always a good helper (almost again).

Goodbye Pictures

2009-12-11T19:24:00.000-08:00

These are from Grandma and Grandpa Skinner's visit back in October.

The Many Faces of Jared

2009-12-10T16:43:00.000-08:00

Abby's learning that it isn't always fun to play with her big brother and sister. They think she's still a little baby that just wants to be held.

Help

2009-12-10T16:39:00.000-08:00

I was trying to take a picture of the feather hair clips I made...

...and the kids came over to help.

See that huge gash under Abby's lip...that's the first time she did that to herself.

Beautiful Brown Eyed Baby Girl

2009-12-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

I love those dark brown eyes!

Being Domestic, Crafty and Active

2009-12-08T16:42:00.000-08:00

I made pear butter. I'd never had it before and have decided it's not the best thing in the world of toast, but it is yummy eaten just like apple sauce.

And I made these name blocks for my new little nephew.

I walked a 5k. I even jogged for like two minutes. And climbed a giant hill.

Brajon and Joyce

2009-12-06T11:18:00.000-08:00

This happy couple got married at the Oakland, CA temple. They were all kissy, huggy, eye batting in love. It was cute. Here's just some of the day.

Thomas took this one. I like the view point.

My Little Brother and Me

2009-12-06T11:01:00.000-08:00

I did a wedding. I don't normally do weddings because they take a lot of time...on the day and with so many photos to go through. But this was for a friend and it was a fun day!

See how much enthusiasm I started out with!

I brought along this goofball to help out.

Ok, that was a mean picture. He's more of a pretty cool little brother.

Me at work.

Thanks for that one Thomas. I'm off to do some sit ups.

And this is me at the end of the day. I got sick. What horrible timing for a nasty cold to sneak up on me.

I look tired and worn, but the flowers sure look pretty! So next time I get really sick and have to go out in public, I'm just going to carry gorgeous flowers around and no one will notice me.

Baby Strap

2009-12-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

I decided to test out my very limited sewing skills and finagle some sort of grocery cart strap for the baby. I didn't want a big bulky seat cover because I already have enough ~~crap~~ kids stuff in my car and just wanted something I could keep in the diaper bag and not be in the way. Only I didn't see anything for sale like that, so I made my own. And the amazing thing is...it worked!

What we do when it's too hot to go outside.

2009-12-06T10:09:00.000-08:00

I guess not a lot happened with our family in August because the only pictures I have are of this wrestling match between Jared and Abby.

It ended well.

Baby Torture

2009-12-05T23:53:00.000-08:00

For Peter and Rustin...I'm finally blogging again.

2009-12-05T23:35:00.000-08:00

We had a family reunion waaaay back in July on Nathan's mom's side of the family. This was our second one and they're so much fun!

Grandma and Grandpa

Silly Madie

I wonder if they're related?...jeesh they look alike.

Jared

Aunts Kayla and Amanda

Grandma Susie. Too bad this cute moment isn't actually in focus.

Abby was being super sweet.

My kids LOVE their great-grandparents!

Grandpa Kim

The Boys

Look Rustin, you're finally on my blog!

And look at this cutie-pie couple. They're having a baby! I'm so excited for them!!!

We love these guys.

We really, really do.

Pretty People

2009-09-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

I got to take some pictures of the most photogenic family ever. Usually I do a small amount of touching up here and there on people, making sure they don't have super dark circles under their eyes and stuff like that, but these people are perfect!

And they're fun.

And their kids are good. I love good kids.

And the kids offered me ice cream. I'll love them forever.

See, I told you they're adorably cute.

I use to teach this little man in primary. He's bubbly and energetic and oh-so-sweet.

And just look at those blue eyes and curls! The sweetest.

They can't help being all cute and adorable with these two as parents. It's in the genes.

In conclusion...

They're cute.

They're fun.

They're photogenic.

And they use ice cream to bribe their kids to be good for pictures.

They're my kind of people.

My Big Kid

2009-09-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I've sent my boy off to kindergarten. Seriously, he just can't be that old already. He was so completely ready for it I just couldn't hold him and his big ol' brain back. He was super excited and didn't really have any worries at all about it. He told me he'd miss me while he was at school, but that was ok because he'd only miss me a little while then he'd come home. I, on the other hand, almost cried as he walked into class...and I'm not a crier. It was a big mommy moment.

Everyone was excited getting in the car that morning.

The next week and a half the mornings didn't go as smoothly. They kids had a hard time realizing he had to be there ON TIME and couldn't drag their feet all morning. Now they're totally use to it and get out the door pretty well.

Nathan came that morning to see his first born off into the big bad world.

Look, we have matching dorky faces.

Jared was giddy. Madie wasn't quite sure what to think. Abby was enjoying the ride. She always enjoys the ride.

See, excited!

And this is his friend from church. They're not in the same school class, but they play at recess together and LOVE to see each other.

And then the first bell rang and the kids lined up. Then the second bell rang, the teacher opened the door and told the kids to say goodbye to their grownups.

Kids cried.

Mine did not.

He waved, said goodbye, turned to follow the line into the class and didn't even look back. Not a single glance.

Then I almost cried.

Then it was over. He's officially in school and LOVING it!

Real Food

2009-09-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

Abby turned six months and it was time to start her on some solid food. Funny thing is, she's our chunkiest baby, but didn't really have any interest in food. She didn't act like she hated it, but she wouldn't really eat it either. We started with rice cereal, tried fruit a few days later, but when she didn't want either, we went for pudding. And pudding she liked. A lot. A lot, a lot. So after she figured out that food can be yummy she'd eat a bit of the "real" baby food for us.

Waiting for her first bite.
This is the first high chair we've ever owned. We've never had room before so we used the boosters you strap onto your kitchen chairs. The high chair wins my vote. Deciding factor: wheels

Hmmm, what's this?

Sure, I'll try some.

Mom, what are you trying to do to me?

I'm now making our own baby food. Way easier than I thought it would be and she likes it. Can't say I blame her for not being all that into the jarred stuff. It's gross.

Street Food

2009-08-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

The kids and I took my mom to the Brentwood farmer's market. And dang, it was hot! We all wore jeans and the kids put on winter hats. I know. We're weird.

My kids can't walk by a fountain without stopping to play in it. Jared was excited.

That hat gives him elf ears. Funny.

Madie was a bit enthused herself.

Abby was pretty neutral.

Then as we were leaving we passed by this completely awesome door! The light was all funky on it, but I'm tempted to dress the kids all cute and go back at a better time of day.

A time of day when more of my pictures will look like this.

And this is what most shots of my kids look like.

So if you wake up Saturday morning wondering what to do with your day, stop by the farmer's market.

Independance Day

2009-08-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

I love the Forth of July! It's one of my favorite holidays! And we've started a tradition of inviting friends and family out for a pancake breakfast. We've been going to Contra Loma, a big reservoir with a giant pool and trails, but I'm thinking next year we might as well just go to a regular old community park where we don't have to pay to park.

Although sitting under a big mature shade tree sure is nice.

Kim is so on top of things. She actually thought ahead and dressed her family in patriotic colors.

I should have known someone would be taking pictures of me and gotten up early to do my hair that morning. Oh well.

We wouldn't let the kids play in the lake, so they cooled off in the water fountain instead. Look at that wet hair.

Our friends cute little girl. I took pics of the other kids too, but I caught them all with crazy looking faces, so I'll spare you.

Except my kids of course. You know I'll force you to look at their pics because I think they're adorable, even when they're crazy.

He's sopping.

Kerri getting her baby fix.

I always take blurry pictures of my mom. I don't know how it always happens. It's like she's got some kind of magic camera manipulating powers.

And Dad didn't have to work. Yay!

And being that my kids are huge arts and crafts lovers, we did a patriotic craft. I watered down paint and put drops on their paper that they then blew with a straw. It made fireworks. Then creative Jared decided to turn his into a flag. He asked for tape and did it all on his own.

That night we lit off fireworks in my parents court and had a good ol' time. (But I forgot my camera) And rice krispy treats. We ate a lot of them. Over all, a very good day.

Nathan, at last

2009-08-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

I didn't take many pictures camping and exploring Bryce Canyon, but here they are.

There was an ATV trail near by and if you went out at sunset you got to see lots of stuff like this.

And this.

We hiked a short part of one trail in the canyon. Walking from the parking lots this sign made me think, hmmmmm.

And the trail was STEEP! This is us at the top.

The view. Pretty.

And on a side note, we drove through this on the way there. What kid wouldn't get a kick out of that!?!

Then we went home. The end.

Actually, thanks, Kim and Susie, for a great trip. We had a blast!

The end, for real.

Our Trip, Day 3

2009-08-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

On this day we visited Temple Square in Salt Lake City. My poor kids were so worn out from the day before and I still dragged them out to see it. I hadn't been there since I was a kid and really wanted to check it out.

Here is Jared all ready to go.

And this pic pretty much sums up the whole day. Jared in a pretty good mood, Madie on the verge of tears.

We didn't get to go in the tabernacle because they were doing rehearsals, but we did go into another beautiful building with a giant pipe organ and awesome details. Here's the ceiling.

Madie and I went and sat by ourselves for a bit to try and cheer her up.

Jared was such a good sport.

And Abby is happy 98% of the time.

We sat down on a flower bed retaining wall to feed the baby and this is what I saw when I looked up. Pretty.

Of course we checked out the visitors center. The kids weren't too interested, but I liked it.

And then we went to check out the temple. There was construction and we had to walk around to the far side of it to get close. The kids were tired and Madie had to ride on my back most of the way, but I'm glad they hung in there so I could see it.

These steps were crazy steep and the doors were GIANT!

It was really nice seeing the temple, then Grandma Susie took us out for a yummy lunch!

The next day we spent getting ready for our camping trip family reunion and picking up Nathan from the airport. Pictures of that to come.

Our Trip, Day 2, Stop 2

2009-07-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

I forget the name of this place. Something about Heritage or something. So I call it Pioneer Village. I think it's so awesome they were able to take all these amazing pioneer era buildings and move them all to one fantastic place. The kids loved it too.

We first stopped in on a small one room cabin that housed a family of 10! That's right people. One room. Ten people. Someone told us the size of the homes didn't necessarily depend on ones income, but the amount of lumber available in the area.

The kids learned about laundry, pre washing machines.

I somehow only took pictures of them washing and blinking.

The kids in this family of ten slept in the loft. They had to go outside and up the ladder to get there.

And of course they didn't have indoor bathrooms, which Jared really loved. He wanted to use the outhouse so bad! Silly kid wants to use any public bathroom he passes.

And here we are on the steps of the church/schoolhouse.

Upstairs had a benches and a stage.

Downstairs was the school room.

There is a "train" you can ride around the town, see some cool buildings, and learn a little history along the way. They kids loved the ride. I did too.

The kids and their poor chapped lips. Utah always does that to them.

Abby had chapped cheeks, but Photoshop worked its magic on them.

And this adorable little nugget is six months old today. Not the day of this photo, but the day I'm typing this. Six months! Can't believe it.

And our last stop of the day. We learned how wool goes from sheep to clothes. Jared was looking forward to this all day. He barley made the age cutoff for carding (combing) the wool, so he was a happy boy.

I loved this place. It's always entertaining learning a little bit about history.

Our Trip, Day 2, Stop 1

2009-07-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

To do list:

1. Go to the dinosaur museum.

This is a dark, dark tunnel you can walk through and all you see is stars. Disorienting, but cool!

Happy dino.

Have I mentioned I hate florescent lighting? I can never make it look right.

Jared LOVED this cool water/sand table. You could build dams and rivers and then wash the dinos away. I bet Nathan would have loved this part. Hopefully next time we will be there with him (he was home working) and show him all our cool discoveries.

Madie was having a grumpy moment. But she loved hanging out with Grandma.

Madie carried that ball around the whole time.

I don't know why, but I love this picture. Maybe it's the blue.

Or the giant fish about to bite my sons hand off.

Or not.

Then they played in a sand pit and excavated dino bones. We actually have a park near us you can do this at, but they thought it was a way cooler thing to do on vacation.

Here's Kayla. I somehow managed not to take any pictures of Amanda. How did that happen?

And my beautiful baby.

We loved this place!

Our Trip, Day 1

2009-07-12T20:34:00.001-07:00

Guess what these two munchkins are waiting around for.

Our trip to Utah!

They were seriously so good! They helped me pack and got their own carry-on bags ready with quiet toys and snacks, then they just played and were all excited to head out to the airport where Grandma Susie was meeting us. That's right people, my mother in law got up early in the morning, hopped on a plane, flew here, waited around in the airport for us to arrive, then helped us check in, get through security and onto the plane and flew back with us. How nice was that!?! There is just no way I could handle flying by myself with a small baby, an often times cranky three year old and keep an eye out for Jared all at the same time. So thank you, thank you, thank you Susie! You're my hero. And we had a great time!

Our trip pics to come...

The Party

2009-07-06T15:47:00.000-07:00

We all know Madie loves pink and princesses and everything girly, so of course she decided to have a "Pink" party. It was really the easiest kid party ever. We had a few snacks, a cake, a water balloon fight, and general running amuck play time. And kids love to run amuck so it wasn't much work for me.

A Barbie princess was the guest of honor.

We didn't tell her she'd be eaten at the end.

Madie has found a new love in water balloons. Here she is sopping wet and ready for cake.

Madie has always loved and adored her Uncle Thomas. When she was a baby she'd always want him to play with and hold her. Something just clicked with those two. And he was nice enough to come to come hang out with loud little boogers running amuck just so he could be at Madie's birthday party.

And this is Madie

2009-07-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

my big 3 year old!

We went out for ice cream first, but all she wanted for her third birthday was a pink princess bike.

And that's what she got. She LOVES it!

I just love the way she looks at her feet to make sure she's doing it right. Funny.

We raised Jared training wheels the same day. A lot. He got scared but tried really hard. But as you can see by Nathan's hand on Jared's neck, he needed help. A lot of help. So we put them back down.

In the mean time Madie was as happy as a clam on her new pink princess bike. She even changed into that shirt to match it.

And Nathan sat on the curb looking extra scrumptious with that cutie pie little baby in his arms. Makes me want to have ten more with him. Did I just say that? Don't let him know that.

When Madie got tired of trying to figure out the peddles she'd just walk her bike around for a bit...

...while Nathan sat on the sidelines basking in baby glow...

...and watching Jared smile big with relief that we put his training wheels back down.

All in all it was a very happy third birthday for Madie.

This is

2009-07-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

Jared

He is incredibly cute and adorable.

Loves making goofy faces.

And is very interested in watching his baby sister trying to drink a can of Coke.