Swimming home

Thought it was hilarious when she came home from school with this scuba mask she had made. I mean, too cute, right?! And on top of that... she insisted on swimming. Even for the picture. Love her little imagination!

Voila!

And here are the cuties are with their finalized eggs! Well, and a couple of equally cute Easter Bunnies!


Don't ask how Ase got 4 eggs. She was really sneaky I guess. And somehow in the process, I had none. O-well. I can handle it. It's the other kids who, every time they see these pictures, are still arguing over why she got more!





and I will just tell you now. These two are Matt's. The first one was really sweet. A sunset at the beach, with the two of us sitting there. JUST the two of us. The kids however didn't understand this sweet gesture, and insisted they needed to be added. So the three of them are there, just on the OTHER side of that teeny tiny island. :) And the second egg... I'll let you try to figure that one out. Lol.

It's Easter!

Okay... so here we go again, with our really late at night of decorating the Easter Eggs. One of these days we'll be more on the ball! And it all started out great, but you can tell... Dad just wasn't into it this year. Too late for him maybe??

Conference Weekend :)

Here are two of our silly kiddos watching conference. They aren't ever allowed to have food upstairs, so they were rather excited. Anything to keep them happy, so I could listen!

Not in Kansas

I just have to say, I love this time of year. I don't know if it's because we didn't have storms like this where I grew up, but either way it invokes a feeling that I love. Nostalgia, beauty, peace, danger... a blender mixed with a little of everything, all wrapped up in one big sky. If my husband wouldn't' kill me, I would be seriously tempted to be a storm chaser. I'll settle for the view from my backyard for now I suppose!

Ham and cheese sandwich anyone?

I got a few new backdrops for my photography biz, and of course wanted to test them out. It really wasn't the best time, lighting was horrible... but the girls were amped. So what could I do but start taking some pictures! Once they got up there I realized I really wasn't going to get what I was after, no way. They had something else in mind. In the end though, I'm actually glad. You can definitely see them, and their personality. :)

Harriet

who just happens to be a hampster fairy. That's what she wanted to dress up as for the schools book day. You are supposed to dress up as a book character, and there was no other option for her other than one of the millions of fairies.. it was just a matter of which one. Then of course we had to take a picture. Man, I love this girl!

(oh, and this entire pose and picture was her idea. Of course it was, or it wouldn't have happened!)

When in Italy, or in OUR house!

Wanna know something we do as a family? And it's not just sometimes, but fairly often when dad is home. The kids love, no LOVE making homemade pizzas. They love getting to help, make their own, and well.. what kid doesn't love eating pizza. :) I never tire of watching my family do this. As much as I love to be a part of it, this is one of my favorite things to just sit back and watch. It's one of those small moments in time that I don't want to forget. Ever.

What do we do now?

So what did we do after the surprise, and serious jet lag? What didn't we do! We visited family in Utah for a bit, and then we headed up to Idaho to see the rest. The kids loved getting to play in the "real" snow and see all the family they miss so much. And of course, horse riding was a must on the list. Nutmeg was in heaven.



Poor guys. Had ice frozen on their eyelashes and nose hairs (although that didn't make for as good of a picture... I tried!)

I've got a secret

So Christmas Eve we jumped in and made some crazy plans. My brother was coming home from a service mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I hadn't seen him in nearly 3 years and really wanted to be there when he came back home. So we bought tickets for the family to fly out to Utah on the 28th of December. I flew out and arrived in Salt Lake City an hour before Steven's flight came in. NO ONE KNEW WE WERE COMING! Matt and the kids came in around midnight that night (long story on why we had to fly separate, but all that needs to be said is that Matt was the hero!). I waited by Steven's gate and surprised him there, and then we walked down together to surprise everyone else. It was seriously awesome. See that picture in on the bottom left? That has to be my favorite. Well, actually no... I love them all. You can just feel the joy pouring out of each image. Ah. Makes me happy!

Christmas in a blur

As I was looking through the Christmas photos this year, I noticed a theme. I actually took more pictures of the "traditions" than I did the present opening bash. And now I am grateful to have these memories to look back at. The presents don't mean near as much to me as do the little traditions that our family has created.

So here is the gimps you are looking at... (left to right)

1- Dad recording the kids walking into the room to see what Santa left.
2- The "booby" trap to keep the kids upstairs until everyone was awake and ready. And don't worry, there were bells on the streamers, so there wasn't a chance to sneak under without us knowing!
3- The lot of cards from all of our friends and family. We love getting all of them!
4- Playing Christmas bingo while watching the Santa Tracker on the Ipad. Usually it's a game called Don't Eat Pete, but it was WAY to late this time.
5- What? Snow?? We actually went out late at night to build the snowman... because you have to enjoy it when you can!
6- The left over mess. I almost hate cleaning it up, because its the start of the end of Christmas.
7- Christmas lighs
8- We always do an Advent with candles, music and family.
9- Skyping family, since we aren't around most of them.
10- Nativity program, put on by the kids and dad. They loved it... we just need more hands!



More snow!!




And I got a new toy. Okay, a few new toys! A new camera, and a toy lens. Love playing around with the lens! Well okay, and the camera too! But cool, right?

Piano Recital!!

I can't believe I am going to my kids piano recitals. Really. I remember MINE! This is their first one ever,and they did a dang good job! And of course, on par for us getting out the door in one piece, we forgot their music. And although they've had it memorized for weeks, Nutmeg was really upset, saying she had to have it. The show did go on, she was second and Bug was third on the program. And yes, they rocked, WITHOUT their music! I'm a proud mama. :) And, oh... due to technical difficulties with the camera... this is all we have. A friend took some more, so when we get those, I'll add them to these two lonely pictures. *sigh*

hEr cHrISTMaS pROgrAm

Loved how she was too shy to even get on the stage for weeks as they practiced. We had to bribe her with a reward chart just for getting up there. But once she did, she had no problems when it can to performace day. She didn't just go up there, she sang every song and waved a ba-jillion (as the kids how much that is.. I'm not sure yet) times, with a big smile! So stinkin cute! Don't worry though, my camera was acting up again, and we had no flash. So here is the super power of my ISO. Not great, but got the job done. And then a few after the program. She is such a ham. :)

kids photos- check

I don't know what to say other than, I love my kids. Really really love my kids. They bring me so much joy and happiness (along with many other things!). *sigh* Some of my favorite people in the world.

family photos -check

I am very proud of my husband. I hadn't bothered to get our family photos yet. Didn't know what I wanted, where I wanted, clothes or anything. And to be honest... I didn't want to know. I had vicariously taken our family photos through all the other family photos I took this year. I was done. But no, HE actually made it happen. Wow. Sunday before church, we ran out and grabbed some. Well, ran and grabbed would be all to quick for what happened. But I will say, we made very good time! And I'm glad he made it happen, because I would have regretted it had we not. Thanks babe!

It's her birthday

And she could not have been happier. Well okay, she could have. We could have let her not go to school and just open presents and play all day. THEN she would have been happier! But really, she had a blast, and LOVED every single thing she got. I think she was just happy to get, period! It seems so strange that she is already 7. It's almost sad she is so close in age to Dylan, because I almost feel she is too much in his shadow. Just always right behind him. He just turned 8, we are waiting until she turns 8. I think it makes it a little harder for her to make her mark. But trust me, she's working at that part! Haha. So here is a little about her at 7.

Oh, and did I mention she lost a tooth on her birthday too? She left that tooth barely hanging in there for over a week... hoping she could hold off until her day. She did, and it paid off with the tooth fairy. Good idea to loose your tooth on your birthday! She is hoping to time it right and loose the second on Christmas. Just what the tooth fairy wants to figure out. Something on Christmas Eve! lol

When she is happy, she really is happy. Elated and on top of the world.
She is an amazing reader. She always has her nose in a book!
She is one of the most determined kids I've ever seen. If she wants to, she'll do it!
She craves attention more than the other kids.
Loves, no LOVES to have her back scratched. She won't even cuddle unless you scratch.
Can manipulate any conversation in the direction she wants.
This will come in handy as she gets older!
Still does not like the color pink.
When she grows up she wants to be a cowgirl.
Never forgets her faith. Even when the rest of us might have.
Is a germ-a-phobe. I'm wondering if it's just a good excuse to not share!
Started taking piano.
Favorite food is still Steak and Artichokes.


Happy Birthday to my girl!









can I say that I love this photo. She has such special relationship with her dad, and this is it. That guy means more to her than anything else. I don't know who needs him more in their life. Me or her. :)

Not what I should be doing....

but I couldn't help it. I just really wanted to throw some new pictures up here and say hello to all my friends who have now abandoned me with my lack of caring for the blog world lately. :( Way back when, before this freezing cold spell we're in (and yes, it is cold even by non-Georgia standards!)... I grabbed a couple photos of the kiddos to update the yearly portrait on the wall. Funny how as the photographer I want to get all creative, but at the same time I also want the traditional portrait to hang on the wall! So here they are, all growing up and breaking my heart! Not want they wanted to do AT ALL (in fact, Makenna was in the middle of a play date) but I got some. Yay!

thought ahead this year!

i always think i will grab a pictures of the kids in their costumes, before they head out trick-or-treating. nope. never happens. so then we are left trying to get pictures in the dark, after they are exhausted. not this year! thanks to my good friend shooting her kids, i grabbed some of mine too. i actually took these the night of the trunk-or-treat, but hey, it works. they looked just like this, i swear! and this year the costumes were perfect. some year the kids just settle because they can't figure out just what they want to be. but this year was SO them.

star wars

a cowgirl

mini mouse

exactly what they would all love to be when they grow up. if only they really could.