These is My Words

This was one of my favorite books. It was the best love story. Highly recommend this one!

Tagged

Tagged! (from Sara....I altered some of the questions...I figured, who cares what my favorite food is?

Jobs I've held:
1. TGI Fridays server
2. Counselor for troubled teens school
3. Ballet teacher
4. Sonic car hop

Places to go for a weekend getaway:
1. Flagstaff, AZ
2. Cedar City, Ut
3. California...ok, so that's a little longer than a weekend
4. shopping

Movies I can watch over and over:
1. Hitch
2. How to Loose a Guy- love that one
3. Nacho Libre
4. Napoleon D

Guilty Pleasures:
1. Shopping for too many hours
2. Massage
3. Pedicure
4. hmmm, this one is too hard

Places I've lived:
1. Provo, UT
2. London England
3. Denver, CO

What were likely the 1st things you thought of when you saw your significant other for the first time?
1. Look at that hair....(nice shiny ponytail going on-what was I thinking???)
2. He is so funny
3. I wonder if I'll marry him....(really- and I was only 16)

Places I've been on Vacation:
1. Good ole Mexico
2. San Diego & LA
3. Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Prague, & Amsterdam
4. New York, NY

What drives you crazy? :
1. A really messy house
2. Too much chaos
3. Mean people


If in a "jam" with your spouse, what tactics do you use to get out of the doghouse?:
1. um, he's usually the one in the jam. :) (so true sara)
2. Just act like it never happened =)
3. After realizing I have no other options...apologize

4 traits or talents you want to aquire:
1. Patience
2. Patience
3. Chaity
4. Patience

Places I'd rather be right now:
1. In my bed - this took longer than I thought! :)
2. On any nice beach
3. Hawaii with Jasper


Who sent this to me:
Sara

Now I get to pick 4 other blog buddies to do this "survey":
1. My sisters- you two Mer
2. Jamelle
3. Theresa
4. Emily

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall...

So Jasper and I have had this conversation MANY times:
Me: Hey, we should hang that mirror....
Jasper: Ya.
So now it's been 2 YEARS and guess what, we hung it yesterday! It was sitting on my floor asking me to hang it daily and I was begining to come to grips with the fact that I would have to hang it myself...the thing weighs a good 50 lbs. Yesterday was Pioneer Day and we just hung around home during the day and Jasper finally took the plunge and was ready to hang the dear mirror on the wall. It's actually a very large mirror, the picture doesn't quite do it justice. But all the same, you get the idea.
I feel so proud of ourselves. =)

5 People You Meet in Heaven

This was a great quick, interesting and uplifting read. It makes you think about your life and how intertwined we all really are. It's by Mitch Albom (Tuesday's with Morrie author).
Now I'm reading These is My Words. I CAN NOT put that book down. I have been staying up way way too late reading it. I love those kinds of books. I tried to read Life with Pi. But I just couldn't stick with it. It was too slow for me. I also started The Measure of a Man by Sidney Portier. Ya, bo-ring. I think Oprah is a little off on her book selections sometimes. =)

Wa-hoo!

This is my all time favorite picture of Tanner at our campout. He had a blast getting incredibly dirty and swinging on the many hammocks. Never a dull moment with this kid.

Campout

So for the last 20 or so years my family (my Dad and his borthers) have gone camping religiously...every year. It's so much fun. It started out with just 30 people and now has grown to nearly 80. It's such a great binding family tradition. I'm so grateful my Grandparents started it many years ago.

Photography Tip #2

FILL YOUR FRAME. Very important...make sure you fill your frame with your subject. Don't be afraid to cut off the tops of heads, or sides of faces. I need to just play with my own kids tomorrow and post some really good examples of what completely different images you'll get when you move the camera just slightly. But in the meantime, here are 2. I stayed in the same spot, just moved my camera over to cut off a bit of his face, then layed down on his bed so I was at his level. I wanted my frame to be him and his name on the wall with a little bit of his room. If you just want a face, again, don't be worried about cutting off the tops of their heads, it adds much interest and draws your eye to theirs. When I photograph kids I always always get at their level, then high above them, like we see them. Then all angels of their chubby cheeks, their beautiful eyelashes as they are looking down. I try be as invisible as possible with them so they are comfortable and relaxed as they play. You can't go wrong in that setting. Don't be afraid to get strange angels- you just might love them like I do. Good luck!

Thanks to My Mother by Schoschana Rabinovici

I just finished this book about the Holocaust. It's about an eight year old girl who survived 3 different concentrations camps because of her mother. Her mother (Raja), hid her, disguised her as an adult and really pushed her into going on. It was actually quite uplifting to see the drive these people had just to live. And of course the love this mother had for her daughter. This is one of my favorite paragraphs, it's talking about one of their friends who had manages to hide her own 7 year old son for months and months in this concentration camp, and were finally discovered and taken away to be killed. The mother Niussia could have left her son Rafik and let him go alone, she would have lived...
"When everyone was being loaded into the truck the gaurd came to take Rafik, and Niussia went with her son, quietly and resolutely. Together, hand in hand, they climbed into the truck. Hans was still trying to persuade Niussia to stay; he said that her son hadn't much longer to live, anyway. But Niussia, who was already standing in the truck, said loudly and firmly, "It is worth sacrificing my whole life, so that my son can feel safe and at peace for half an hour."

where do rainbows come from

Tonight Madeline says to me;
"Mom, I know where rainbows come from"
I was thinking wow, she has learned about light and reflection! Uh, no...
"It comes from this little gold pot at the end of the rainbow!"
So there you are. Now I know.

Jana

THis is my oh so beeeeautiful sister Jana. I love this picture of her. Isn't she so pretty! She and her husband are trying to adopt a baby, they are such amazing parents to their 4 year old daughter Emma. Any child will be so blessed to go to a home like theirs. If any of you know of someone looking to place a baby for adoption, they can look at their blog at www.jeffandjana.blogspot.com, then there's a link to their adoption profile. So this post is for you Jana. These are 10 things I dearly love about you!

1. You are full of goodness
2. You are one of the funniest people I know
3. You are a terrrrific mother
4. You are always willing to help others
5. You always have good advice and amazing insight
6. You are very talented with photography
7. You are such a grand writer
8. You are extremely loyal
9. You are a good listener
10. You usually do what I say. =) Very obedient.

West Fork

When we were in Flagstaff we took a morning to go West Fork. I've loved that place ever since I was in high school. They have lots of secret little spots where the rocks are so smooth you can slide down them. The kids loved it. The girls went down the slides all morning while boys helped themselves to throwing massive rocks into the creek. It's a stunningly beautiful place. Eric and Mer and my friend Rebecca, and all their kids came as well. And most mportantly both Grandmas! My kids have the BEST Grandma's ever made. =)

Camera answers...

So I've recently had a lot of people asking about what camera I use, lenses etc. SO...right now I am really liking the Nikon D80. If you want something a little cheaper, Nikon just came out with the D40. It's much cheaper, has good reviews, and really would be perfect for the beginner. This is the D80, 10. somehting megapixel =)
My ultimate FAVORITE lens is my Nikkor Micro 60mm 2.8. It is a FABULOUS lens. You can get extremely close up. This is lens I use on Newborns to get each little line in their feet.
However, they are in the $500 range. So, it you'd like something similar, you could try the Nikon 50mm 1.4 or 1.8. No zoom, very efficient in low light situations, and a great lens. These are only $115 or so.

This is the D40...pretty sexy hey! They are in the $550 range- with a lens
So there you are. Did I miss something?? Any more questions I can answer?

Ry Ry

My awesome brother (in law) Ry, striking a pose or two for me. I love the sunset behind him!

Heartbreak

We just got back from a family reunion where we rough it in the middle of no where, then to Flagstaff where our families are. It was so relaxing and fun. I'm just now starting to go thru all my pictures- so I'll do lots of posts where you can see all of our wildest dreams coming true...or something. So...when it was time for little cousin Emma to go back home she burst into tears not wanting to leave. It was quite dramatic really. But our of her sobs I got some very adorable pictures =). We miss you Emma!

Hold On...

A little different version than our lipsync, but still love it!

Thank YOU!

A little picture of what I see so often, my beauty Tae hanging on to Mom's leg. So adorable. I also just wanted to say thanks to all my dear blogger friends who read my rantings and comment. I can't tell you how theraputic it has been for me to be able to write exactly how I feel and then know that somebody else has felt that same way- something you don't get when you're writing in a journal. Isn't it strange how we all struggle? And sometimes- especially with motherhood, we don't really talk about it. It's like sometimes I'm leading this seperate life where I feel like I'm the wicked step mother, but nobody else knows....=). Really. But that's only because we hold ourselves to extremely unattainably high standards. So well done to all of you for doing your best everyday. That's all we could hope for. What an amazing support system I feel I have. And how blessed I feel because of it! So again...Thank you!

When she sees a camera...

I get out a camera, and this is what I get. She is very skilled in the art of posing. I don't even tell her what to do, and she always poses beeeautifully. She is so beautiful, inside and out. The biggest heart, and a great love for people. I feel so blessed!

Bathtime

So during the summer I have to bathe my children at least everyday, if not twice a day. Otherwise....well you know. So here are some pictures from our latest bath session.