Vacations!

The boys sure have enjoyed their summer! We started off with a trip to Silverwood in June, the kids thought it was better than Disneyland..... a place they've never visited, but it was funny to hear them say it. July and August were even busier. We spent a week in Idaho at my grandma's farm, it's something the boys thoroughly enjoy. The highlights are illustrated in pictures......

We happened to be driving by this beautiful scene on the way to grandma's house so I stopped to take some photos.


Spelunking! The boys really enjoyed being cave explorers, it was one of the highlights of the week.






Working on the farm with their grandpa was another highlight, they had jobs to do and were put to work several times. Jared and David sure felt important!




Close to the property, you'll find these strange little critters. They are called Spurge Caterpillars, they feed on leafy spurge - a noxious weed that is not natural to this side of the world.


Yellowstone is always a joy for us, we saw a few large critters and enjoyed the beautiful drive.






We stayed a couple of nights in Jackson Hole, Wyoming so that Larry could visit one of the Caterpillar dealerships (he didn't get much vacation time, it was mostly work for him since he's new to this job and has not accrued time off). We took the kids on the Alpine Slide, something we like to do anytime we're in Jackson during the warmer months of the year.



While I was in Jackson, I got up early each morning to enjoy the sunrise at these locations. I got some wonderful images out of the deal...






The boys thought it was pretty neat to see Earthquake Lake on one of our road trips. It's worth googling to learn the history of it. Notice the dead trees in the water - it is all because of an earthquake which caused half of a mountain to fall into the water causing it to rise.


We visited an old western town called Virginia City, Montana. There was a little shop that was famous for the best ice cream in the west so we just had to stop and try it. Obviously the boys hated every bite.....


Also in Virginia City, the boys learned about what this town does to the "bad guys."


Soon after we got back from our trip to Idaho (and just about every state around it), we headed up to Kalispell, Montana. Larry had business to attend to so I visited Glacier National Park for the first time. I went 3 times, it was absolutely beautiful! Larry and I hiked in to St. Mary Falls in the evening, it was nearly dark when we got back to the car, but wonderful to be the only ones there to enjoy the scenery.


On our way out of Glacier National Park, it was nearly midnight and we immediately noticed how bright the stars were. It was like looking at the night sky for the first time, we could see the whole milky way! Of course, everything lined up perfectly. The best time for viewing the stars is on a clear night in the summer during a new moon (which was just 2 days away). Luck was on my side and this is what I got on my first try (thanks to a friend who let me have a book about night photography).


As soon as we got back from our trip to Kalispell, we were off to Mt. Rainier the next day. The boys have been begging to camp all summer so they finally got to do that. This was a photo club trip, we camped out at the cabin of some friends in the club and had a blast! I got up at 4:30am each morning to capture sunrise over Mt. Rainier. The first day was pretty strenuous, I hiked about 6 miles and most of it was either up or down, not a lot of leisurely walks through the woods. The boys hiked about 3 miles with Larry so they got to run off some of their energy. Here are some of my favorites from last weekend....






Yesterday was the first day of school and after a summer full of fun, they are back to routine. I love the routine, but will miss the kids! The house is so quiet. Even though they said they were not excited to go back to school, they practically ran to the bus. Who are they trying to fool?

Underwater Adventure

This past weekend was a dream come true for me, I've always wanted to do underwater photography and I finally found a way to make it happen. It took a lot of time, planning and and $$, but I feel that it was worth it 100%. With the help of some beautiful and talented models, I made some amazing images and had a lot of fun. I also couldn't have done it without a location, I owe a huge thanks to Rick and Cheryl for loaning me their pool and backyard for this 2-day shoot.

Some of my favorite images from this weekend are posted on my photo page on Facebook, but here are a few that I especially love:

How to enjoy a sucker

The boys earned a giant sucker for their bravery and valor. I bought a huge one a couple of weeks ago for the purpose of a photo shoot and they salivated at the very site of it, but did not defile it as it sat in my office. So that deserves a little reward.

Jared demonstrates how to thoroughly enjoy a sucker of this magnitude and tastiness......

First, smell and admire.....


Second, slowly glide across the sweet surface with your tongue and roll your eyes back into your head to show pure heavenly joy....


And third, giggle with glee and excitement because you've got the biggest, tastiest sucker you've ever had in your very hands and it's only taken 10 years to talk your mother into buying it.....


David's optional forth step: Take a gigantic bite out of the sucker and then continue licking with some of the candy stuck in your cheeks......

8 Things I love about David

I was informed that I forgot to make my annual list of things I love about David for his birthday..... I'm only a month and a half late here :)


8 Things I love about David

*He still cuddles with me and give out the best hugs!
*His neck massages, they feel like tiny fingers pinching my neck and shoulders.
*His smile, his whole face smiles when he's happy.
*He genuinely cares when someone is hurting, even prays for them.
*When he has a goal to meet, he takes it seriously.
*He likes to learn about the world we live in, he loves it when I "google" things.
*His sense of humor and laugh, it's enough to brighten my day.
*His ability to make new friends so quickly, he is a social butterfly.

The last month

To my friends and family who actually check my blog from time to time and hoping for an update, I'm sorry I've fallen out of the habit. I can't promise I'll do better, but I will make an effort.

On June 11th, Larry and David shared a birthday. It was an extra special day for David, his eight year old birthday is a milestone where he gets to be baptized. No child was ever more excited than David. We noticed that he paid extra special attention to the music and the people who spoke. When his grandpa got up to talk, we noticed how focused he was.... his eyes were glued to the speaker. At some point, he leaned over to Larry and said, "Dad, I think I know which eye is fake." Grandpa has had a glass eye since his childhood and it's hard to tell which one is the fake one because they both look real. Anyway, we had a good laugh afterward.

It's finally summer! June felt like April, I was still wearing a sweater and there was a lot of rain and even a couple of torrential downpours that could easily have been labeled a monsoon. We also know it's summer because David wears these small fashionable things on his knees - all kids are wearing them these days and he certainly couldn't be left out...... bandaids!


Jared has a pocketknife (taking some deep breaths into a paper bag) and he loves talking about it! He learned how to handle one safely at cub scouts and now he carries one around on his belt loop all of the time. I think he even sleeps with it.



Three weeks ago, I met Layla and her family. She is my 12th angel (NILMDTS.org) and my heart goes out to her family who seemed so strong despite losing their baby. I hope they will find comfort and peace.


Last week I read a book called, 'The Last Lecture' by Randy Pausch and was extremely touched by his story and strength. Most of all, I was impressed at his positive and fun character.... even though he was only expected to live for 3-6 more months due to pancreatic cancer. I read a lot and will say that this one tops my list of favorites this year. Here is a very short version of his original lecture:


I recommend watching the full version, it's over an hour long, but very touching! If you read the book, surely you'll have time to take a peek at the lecture which inspired him to write the book. It was fantastic and has made me reflect on a lot of things.

Last night was the fulfillment of a childhood dream for Larry. He has always wanted to light off the big fireworks.... you know, the ones you see at the firework shows? They are legal to buy and light off in our hometown (they will be banned next year) so we bought some and crashed a neighborhood firework party to join in the festivities. The boys have never enjoyed the 4th of July so much and we are positive that they will remember it for many years. It sure beats fighting traffic to sit at a crowded park, watching a 20-30 minutes of fireworks, then finding the car in a sea of cars and fighting traffic to leave. The boys got to be involved, they got to light off some smaller fireworks and for some reason, the sparklers always steal the show. I loved them when I was little, they were magical!

Here are a couple of favorites, I would love to have captured a different angle, but they were literally exploding right on top of us and ashes were raining down on our heads.

10 Years Ago

Jared was born the morning of May 22nd, ten years ago. He had my heart the moment I felt him kick inside of me and he continues to amaze me with his energy and zest for life!

Then......


Now.....


10 Things I love about Jared......

*He loves being alive, anyone who meets him can tell that he'll get everything he can out of life.
*His smile, it's so easy to get one from him and they are always genuine.
*He still cuddles with me, I love that he lays on my lap at church.
*He's ticklish, his laugh is contageous!
*His energy, he could run all day and not seem to tire.
*His creativity - he enjoys art, I can't wait to see how he applies this when he is older.
*He enjoys helping to serve others, he has a big heart!
*His humor, whether he means to be funny or not.
*He likes to build and figure things out, he thinks of things that I don't.
*His big brown eyes - hard to say no when he gives me a sad puppy face.

Catching Up

There's so much to catch up on when I get lazy with blogging and let 2 months slip by without updating. I do think of this as our family journal (the public version anyway).

The most memorable part of Thanksgiving was the practical joke my dad played on everyone. I knew ahead of time because I sent him an email of a joke someone else played on their family. My dad found a small game hen at the store and cooked it inside of the turkey. When everyone was prepared to eat, he started to carve the turkey and pulled out the hen with a look of surprise on his face. My mom and the kids had a reaction I wish I had caught on camera. My mom was stunned that she purchased a pregnant turkey, her mouth was open and her eyes were wide. The kids were asking questions, they were very curious. Eventually, Jared asked the obvious question..... "Where's the egg and why doesn't it have a head?" Smart boy. My moms eyes narrowed and you could almost see it on her face, the realization that it was all a joke. Everyone was laughing, we had a good time.

December was a blur, between Christmas shopping and last minute photo shoots, it went by too quickly. There was a week when I had 3 angel sessions (NILMDTS.org) and that wounded my Christmas spirit. I always look forward to the feeling of Christmas, the cold weather and warm coats, the smell of pine, the Christmas lights... all of it. But this year was difficult, my spirit was broken and I was picking up the pieces. This experience brought me to my knees, but with the help of my friends and family, I was able to get back up again. During the 12 days of Christmas, someone delivered gifts to our doorstep and a few other people here and there delivered things anonymously. We were overwhelmed with gratitude, it lifted my spirit and we felt loved. I took a picture of our first gift of Christmas....


I'm also sharing one image of each of my angels hands/feet with the permission of the families (as always). Thank heavens for my friend, Nia and my mom. Without their help during my sessions, it would have been much more difficult. These first two angels were done on the same day, back to back.






I think that the kids will tell anyone that the highlight of December was meeting Santa. I met Santa Charlie at the mall and was able to trade family pictures for an appearance in his Santa costume. He is the best Santa! He knows all of the reindeer, the stories, and every answer a kid could come up with. And the boys put him to the test, they had all sorts of questions. They were so excited, I was afraid they'd wet their pants. And to top it all off, they "caught" Santa delivering presents again.



 



The boys had a nice Christmas, probably their best yet. They got something they've wanted for 3 years. It's wonderful because I can get them to do anything (homework, reading, cleaning) and they'll do it just to earn more minutes playing their games. Here are some random pictures....

David enjoying his remote controlled helicopter


Jared peaking to see if anyone was awake (this was on the front page of the Sunday Extra in our local newspaper)