Hope is the Thing

4 Blessings

2012-01-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

During these dreary, dull winter days, I find it helps to count my blessings...

Due to make an appearance in much sunnier and warmer weather...

(July 24 to be exact, and we couldn't be happier)

My Relationship with Bangs

2012-01-21T06:27:00.000-08:00

Here's my girl with flat ironed (at a low temperature, mind you!) hair to show you how long it's getting :)

Bangs are like bad boyfriends. Ya know, like bad-boy boyfriends. You see them hanging on some other girl and think to yourself how cool and edgy they look and how cooler and edger she even looks.

And so the crush begins. You're nievely unaware of the work involved and can only think of how you want them! Oh how much funner and more exciting your life will be with them!

You even make the mistake of telling your mom about your crush. You can hear her rolling her eyes over the phone. She sighs and tries to talk you out of it. Heaven knows she's seen this time and time again and knows it will only end badly.

But you ignore her! The rebellion has begun. The feeling seems to match your impending commitment. You dive in, boldly making the first move. Surprised by your own brashness you find yourself with this new dude (do).

And everything is how you dreamed it would be...for like two weeks.

It starts gradually. You may not even be able to put your finger on it--all you know is that they're acting weird. They're just not behaving like they have in the past. You finally decide to give them a good talking to (trim). And things are better--but again--only for like a couple of weeks. And before you know it you're involved in this uber clingy, high maintenence relationship that you did not sign up for.

And in the end, you finally decide it would be best for everyone involved to let them go. Knowing you'll be facing a long road of ugly twists, bumps and (bobby) pins along the way in an effort to hide the pain and regret you must deal with in order to grow strong enough to heal and find your inner-you once more.

I've got about 3 to 4 inches to go, myself. But who's counting?

~Sigh~

Happy Twenty-Twelve!

2012-01-05T20:16:00.000-08:00

Penny playing at the Children Museum in Everett, WA. I didn't think this horrible shot would turn into a nice outlook on the upcoming year.

After a five minute discussion with my mother, we've officially decided, we'll be calling this year "twenty-twelve" as opposed to "two-thousand, twelve". It rolls off the tongue a little easier, wouldn't you say?

I am happy to announce we made it safely back to our humble abode....seven bags later...and are quite content to be sitting in a crazy mess of unpacked clothes and toys and piles of Christmas decor waiting to be boxed up. Now, that the stress of getting all the toys home is over, we're all enjoying the hours of new entertainment. And to my surprise, Phil was able to work from home Wednesday and Thursday, allowing me to ease quite slowly back into reality. I'm very grateful I have been thrown a softball of a week, because according to my schedule next week we hit the ground running again.

With all the time on my hands these last couple of weeks I couldn't help but think--a lot--about all sorts of things. Many of which ranged from happy and hopeful to sad and nastolgic. Of course, I had a very enjoyable time, but there is always the subtle sting of missing my family I didn't get to see during the holidays. That in addition to the shockingly long flight it takes to get to anywhere in the West (have I mentioned how long our flight was yet?) only reminded me as much as a glowing neon sign two feet in front of my face how difficultly far away we are from our loved ones. All of this wasn't making me all to excited to go back to NJ. Not to mention two pretty great friends of mine ironically moved away right before the holidays. This pretty much summed up my thoughts for the first week.

Sweet Jamie and Sharla who are all moved away now (sniff, sniff). I'm so grateful for them!

The second week came the more hopeful and excited feelings that only a new year can bring. New goals and projects came to mind as well as all of the exciting things we know this year has in store for us. I began missing friends and even my church calling (a break is always nice;) and so I started looking forward to getting home to our little house and getting 2012 underway!

And so with my mixed emotions, I bring you, not really a list of new year's resolutions, but a list of new year's hopes. Things to look forward to (small and silly things) mixed in with a few goals here and there. Which the more I think about it are one in the same.

I even made 12 items for 2012. Clever, eh? I certainly wasn't doing to do 2,012 things...

1. Buy a cute new dayplanner. (I actually did that this morning--so, check!)

2. Start new goal to memorize scripture mastery scriptures. I don't know about you, but I didn't do this very well in seminary.

3. I've been participating in a very relaxed scripture reading schedule (Conference Ensign here, Book of Mormon there). I would like to start a more dedicated plan for reading of the Book of Mormon this year. This is always one of the quickest ways for me to get a happy outlook on life.

4. As for the excercising portion, my friend Ashli posted this and since I have a pedometer just lying around, I thought I'd give it a try:
"On a practical note- Buy a pedometer. Did you know that the recommended number of steps one should take each day just for health is 10,000?!? For weight loss more like 12,000 or more. I recently started wearing a pedometer and I love it. It automatically makes me want to move more, take the stairs, and park further away from the store. I sometimes feel like I don't ever sit down in the day and yet my little pedometer was only reading anywhere from 4,000-6,000 steps a day. If I go to the gym and even just walk a few miles I very easily get my 10,000+ steps in, sometimes just even in the hour workout. "
I started doing this a couple of days ago, and I'm here to tell ya, there is some room for improvement!

5. Purchase some fresh new tunes to listen to.

6. I'm almost finished reading, "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt" per my mom's suggestion. It is SO delightful. I think I'll be asking for some more suggestions for a good read. Do you have any?

7. I asked and recieved an Adobe Illustrator how-to book. It's designed so that each chapter is a lesson, so I'm excited to start tackling that.

8. Look for and try a couple of new recipes. Maybe even some healthy ones.

9. Get my winter TV shows lined up. So far I'm plan on watching "Once Upon a Time" (this might be my favorite), "Castle" (oh wait, no this is my favorite), "New Girl" (are we all liking it as much as we thought we would? I am), Survivor (when it starts in February) and probably American Idol because I know Phil will be watching that one. Is that too much?

Speaking of TV, I really have a hankering for some BBC Masterpiece Classics. Now, I looked on there schedule disappointed to only see something called Downton Abbey (second season). I mentioned my concerns on this subject to my mom, who not only watched the entire first season, but loved it. Did she care to tell me about it? No. Who else out there was enjoying this withoug telling me? Tell me, I dare ya. However, after doing my own research I discovered that you can watch past episodes online and it that is has to be up to the usual caliber of other classics because it's hosted by Laura Linney.

10. Try extra hard to stay withing allotted budgets.

11. Pick a fun and doable craft project.

12. Blog more! Blogging always becomes the 'reward' for when I get everything else done. So naturally, it never gets done. But I like it, so I think I'll try to make it more of a priority.

Happy New Year from the Seaside!

2011-12-31T22:29:00.000-08:00

We spent the last day of the year roaming the beaches by Magnolia, WA. This particular beach had a historic lighthouse that was quite beautiful.

We ate a lunch and played by the beach, while we waited for others to hike up. (We drove :)

In the grass :)

Throwing sticks...

Hands in pockets (it was cold!)...

....at sunset. Holding hands.

Definitely, not a bad way to end a very blessed year.

A Story

2011-12-30T15:17:00.000-08:00

So the other night we all went tubing. At a place that looked like a super-enlarged verson of the ride, "The Slides" at the county fair.

Fun was had by all.

Some may have thought it was bliss.

I mean who doesn't like sliding around in a big, inflated, rubber tube?

And for some pulled around the rest of the time.

A definite thumbs-up good time.

Holy Smokes!

2011-12-23T12:11:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if you noticed, or not, but a whole month has passed by and Christmas is in like two days! Eeek! It's tricky being a parent during Christmas. I'm still struggling to find how to make it magical for the kiddos while teaching them the true meaning, and I can't help getting a smidge overwhelmed and stressed out by this task. And before I know it, I turn around, Christmas is here once more! It's funny how it does that. Here are a few things we've been up to:

-Our ward Christmas party, bunco party, and sadly, a good-bye party for some good friends of ours. (They're dropping like flies, I tell ya!)

-Got everyone their flu shot

-Had a Facetime date with Nana & Pompa to open presents from them.

-Visited 'ol NYC for Phil's work party, which included a Santa visit and a stop at Rockafeller Center to see the tree.

-Took a SEVEN hour flight from NJ to Seattle (who woulda thought it was that long) for some Christmas and family fun. We're (perhaps foolishly) doing presents here. I had mostly everything shipped here in advance. I'll let you know how it goes....{nervous laugh}

- Finally, we had a beautiful, delightful little girl turn two years-old right before our very eyes. Oh we love our Penelope.

Oh. nooow I can see why this month went by so fast.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T19:40:00.001-08:00

As this Thanksgiving comes to a close I can't sit here without expressing my gratitude for these little turkeys:

Oh, and this handsome guy:

They make my world make sense and they bring me immeasurable amounts of joy.

Today was officially our first Thanksgiving with just "us". I even made a mini-fied turkey dinner (it was great for some much needed practice) and after we ate, we went to the matinee, Happy Feet 2 (a beloved little tradish from my childhood) and finished the day off with a bang by eating pie with friends at our Stake President's home. It turned out to be a very nice holiday indeed.

I hope all of you had an Happy Thanksgiving as well! Tomorrow the Christmas comes out. Hurray!

Twenty D's!

2011-11-16T19:38:00.001-08:00

It's only been within the last year that I've taken an interest in TLC's 19 & Counting about the Duggar family. It was actually during our summer in Manhattan when at church in Sunday school, our teacher brought them up as an example to illustrate a point in her lesson (I'm a little fuzzy on the point, huh). Anyhow, the two examples I remember she brought up in her lesson were:

During one episode their family was participating in some sort of water recreation and for their swimwear they all wear board shorts to the knee and the rashguard shirts.
When they're together out and about, if one of the boys (maybe girls too, I dunno) notice something inappropriate, they have a code word that they say. When they hear this code word all of the boys know to put their head down and make an effort to avoid looking at whatever it was.

Sometimes I feel that we as Latter-day Saints we are the only ones out there who have such standards, in this case with modesty, chastity and pornography. So you can see I was rather impressed with this family who not only takes our same Christian values seriously, but takes them to an even higher standard. I find it both impressive and refreshing.

Unfortunately, we went back to no-cable land and I haven't thought too much about them since. But then I saw this little headline come across my people feed on my google homepage (did I just say that?): "Duggars are Pregnant with 20th Baby". How can anyone read that and not let out a gasp or two? TWENTY KIDS!?! They must be crazy. So probably along with the majority of America, I was drawn back to their website. After reading about their story and watching a few clips, I must admit the jury is still out on Jim Bob and I think they should make a special episode for Michelle to get a new hair do (pretty sure she won't though because I'm guessing that's how Jim Bob likes it). However, at the same time, I can't help but like them. And here is the real kicker: their kids ALL OF THEM seem to be good, happy and well-behaved. I find the whole thing fascinating.

So as you can imagine, they're taking a lot of criticism. However, those who do support the Duggars make a strong point. They do way better at parenting twenty children then most people do with two. The Today Show brought on a couple of experts this morning to address why the backlash? And one of the reasons, which surprised me, was jealously or perhaps disbelief that how can these parents do so well with 20 (well, 19) children, when most of us, LDS or not, are trying to keep our heads above water with 2-5? Especially with our belief in the importance of families and having children.

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but taking a good hard look at my own life as a mother.

I don’t think it’s so much me comparing myself to Michelle Duggar (way too many jokes to insert here that I couldn’t pick just one), but I do think there is somethings to be learned here. I mean, I’m sitting here as Ryder watches Little Einsteins (still in my pajamas) wondering how I’m going to finish the items on my to-do list and entertain my kiddos for the rest of the afternoon/evening, and when that blessed bedtime hour rolls around, I’ll breath a sigh of relief and feel completely entitled for some much needed me time, usually spent on the couch looking at some sort of screen. Bottom line: Michelle, you make me look like a pansy.

Dang you Duggars! (I just really wanted to say that).

I think the biggest thing I take from the Duggars is their perspective on the family. I guess I feel their actions are far more reflective of their beliefs than mine are. Which makes me sad. And makes me understand why people are eager to put them down. (Ya know, so we can feel better about ourselves).

Don’t worry, I’m not about to go tell Phil I think we should have 20 kids and home school all of them, BUT I do think I have room to improve. Especially, with how sometimes my actions (run along and play or watch TV) and attitudes (is it bedtime yet?) don't reflect what I truly believe about motherhood and families (there is nothing in this world more important).

I don’t mean to sound hard on myself, but I think it’s one of those times I can probably work on being better. So that’s what I’ll try to do.

The responsibility mothers have today has never required more vigilance. More than at any time in the history of the world, we need mothers who know. Children are being born into a world where they “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).1However, mothers need not fear. When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children.

--Julie Beck, General Relief Society President

Update!

2011-11-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Family & Friends,

I don't want to alarm or shock anyone, but I think I just might send out Christmas cards this year.

However, my address book is a sad story and needs some serious updating. If you would like to receive a Christmas card from yours truly (because I'd love for you to have one), please send me your address through a Facebook message or just email me at jasmine{dot}shorten{at}gmail{dot}com. Thanks!

Yay for Christmas cheer!

Thankful

2011-11-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you noticed, but we had the luxury of having not one, but two special visits in October. Here you saw when my parents came to see us and then just last week we had Phil's parents and his little sister, Jaimie, in town. We couldn't have had a more funner October if we tried.

Although I don't think I would've forgotten, this past month did remind me how grateful Phil and I are for our families. We are both so blessed to have have loving, wonderful parents, which also equals loving, wonderful and doting grandparents for our children.

Not to mention the amazing aunts, uncles and cousins we are so blessed to have as well. One of the biggest blessings this life has to offer, I believe. So today I'd like to highlight how grateful I am for family.

Thankful

2011-11-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of kicking off the month of November and everything Thanksgiving, I thought I'd try to post a few things this month that I am grateful for.

Right now, I have to say it people...it's POWER! Not the sort of dictator-ish power in which I just made that sound, but the power that supplies me the juice to provide you these words right now. The power that lights up my darkest of hallways. The power that allows me to nuke my children's quesadillas. That sort of power.

I can't help but look around and not only feel so grateful that we were one of the few not to lose it, but to also remember what it was like to lose power (and even just for 18 hours) during the hurricane a few weeks ago.

And gee, while I'm add it, let's throw in a good word for water too. In fact, water, is harder to live without than power. (I hear it's kinda necessary for survival or something).

I am so very, very grateful for these modern conveniences that provide me a life of comfort, ease and the ability to check my Facebook page.

Happy turkey month everyone!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T18:27:00.000-07:00

Let it be remembered that on October 31, 2011, Halloween was cancelled. (Gasp/shutter/quite wimper) Thanks to what they're calling yet another natural "disaster" over in in the tri-state area the majority of citizens are without power. The ridiculously early snow storm that apparently rained down flakes of iron caused multiple branches to break off the surrounding trees simiply resulting in a mess of power lines.

Thankfully, we're one of the few (three houses in our ward) that I know of that still have power. Which has been extra nice because we have Phil's parents and sister in town and 55 degree weather and cold showers doesn't really spell hospitality.

But how does Halloween get cancelled? Your town cancels any sort Halloween fesitivites until this coming Saturday and tells you there's no trick or treating until then either. On the plus side, Phil got to stay home from work today because the train lines weren't running. So we did pizza and painted pumpkins...and I think we're gonna call it good.

(Frankly, I'm a little disappointed this whole thing has been delayed. I was quite looking forward to moving on to Thanksgiving and Christmas. So even thought we might go trick or treating Friday (they did get in our ward Halloween party and trunk or treat a couple weeks ago), the Thanksgiving decor and Christmas music come out tomorrow and nobody is stopping me!)

He Delivered

2011-10-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

My wonderful dad sent me the photos of their visit last week so now I can document our fun. Aside from the general hanging out, catching up, showing them around town, we took one day to visit Liberty and Ellis Islands. And because seeing the city from a distance just really didn't do it for them, we took another day to go into the city. Although I think we cummulitavely walked a marathon, we were able to cover Times Square, 34th St (Empire State Building and shopping) and made our way south to the financial district to check out where Phil works and to visit the 9/11 memorial.

Penny and Mom waiting to board the ferry! It was very rainy when we got there and later lightened up a bit. My mom had purchased a poncho at that little stand behind her. Sadly, her wearing it was something I never got to see.

Penny and I waving 'hi!' to daddy!

Ryder ridin' the ferry with Nana.

We made it! To Ellis Island Immigration Island --not Migration...like you might thing from the photo. That's a whole other island entirely. (we had to hurry, it was a hot spot for photo taking).

I can't help but looking at us all together in this photo and thinking how happy were the number or our ancestors who came through this same point. I LOVE THE U.S.A.!

Ryder and I finding out way to the potty while inside the museum. This building was very beautiful. I would love to go back someday minus kids so I can take some more time reading and looking at everything. It totally put my mom and I in the mood to brush up on some good historical fictions from this era. Know any good ones?

Move over Lady Liberty! There some other LAY-DEES comin to the island today!

I'm quite convinced my mom totally showed me up with her poses... I am not surprised.

My handsome Daddio

Times Square! Someone's excited!

A little lunch here. Very fun. Nice people and very cool things to see.

Awwwhhh....love them

Still in Times Square...and still excited!

Can you see the city just doesn't have the same effect on Phil anymore. The magic has just worn off for him ;)

The magic and excitement may have worn off a smidge for all of us at this point after we discoverd we had to walk FORevA to get to the entrance of the memorial.

We think it was worth it though.

In front of the memorial. Grateful we got to visit almost exactly 10 years later.

The Freedom Tower.

We still had a long way to walk back to catch the PATH to get home. The shortest route there was through a couple of buildings (thankfully). The final stretch was probably an uncovered 30 yards. Of course, there just happened to be a monsoon-like downpour when we poked out for the final haul. I have never been in a rain storm like that. And that's saying something here. Every man for himself! I was pushing Ryder. Phil had Penny (he bolted). My parents....all I can say is that once I was in the station I turned around and through my smeared make-up and sprinkled glasses I saw in the distance a blurry view of my mom bent over wiping her make-up off on my dad's shirt tails. This along with the hysteria only a downpour can cause made my mom and I laugh all the way from NYC to Hoboken. ~Sigh~ Still laughing about it now.

So fun, that week was. So fun.

Mom and Dad, I'm already planning our adventures for next time!

I Love (Leaf) Fall

2011-10-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

Do you ever ground yourself? You say something like, I can't do anything I actually really want to do until all of the stuff I need to do is done. Well, today I was SO grounded and I'm pretty sure if I was a teenager and paid the same mind to my mom as I'm doing to myself right now, I'd be in double-dutch.

But it's the holidays! So who cares! And so I shall spend my potentially productive moments making a "I 'heart/leaf' fall" sign until my hearts content and no one can stop me!* If you feel like you need a zest of fall spirit to your office or home bullitin board, download here.

I may not be getting much done around the house, but we did find time yesterday to halloween-ify our house a bit more with some owls. I'm pretty sure these are as simple as owls get. Penelope even enjoyed making her own until her stinker streak sat in and she emptied the container of crayons on the floor right before choosing to stay out of dodge for awhile.

Ryder was clever enough to make his owl a neck tie. In the back there was Penny trying to figure out whether or not she should put herself into time out after the crayon incident.

Instead she just kept poking this face around the corner.

And here is Ryder's owl with it's awesom neck-tie. Can you guess which one is mine (think looney).

* This one I actually got the idea on wonderful Pinterest. I purposely didn't go back looking for it because I didn't want it to be the exact same. I was going for simplistic and modern, which is fitting for my skill level. It was also my first time working with the gradient tool, which was very fun.

Back to Real Life

2011-10-16T16:58:00.000-07:00

They came and they went; gracing us with a 5-day long burst of delight. How fun it was to see my parents and get to show them our new stomping grounds. They were a joy to have in our home and I feel like their time here flew by way too quickly.

I love these two.

And just like any event worth capturing, I forget my camera on some our adventures (It was raining! So I opted for the point and shoot, but the battery was dead. I really did try.) Anyway, as soon as my daddio gets me some of his photos, a follow-up is an absolute must. It's totally worth the wait, I'd say.

Sadly, we partied hardy and on the morn of my mom and dad's departure, I was left with a frown and some funky head cold thing that made my noggin feel like an achy mess. I dealt with this by doing a big, fat nothing the rest of the weekend and now I must deal with the consequences. Upon the close of this weekend I must face my reality: a messy house, and a rather large stack of annoying stuff.

But it was fuuuuun while it lasted.

Hope is the Thing

2011-10-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

...And we’re back! Well, sort of. The ‘ol blog was in dire need of a makeover. I also changed the name. Sorry. I know that’s annoying. And although I liked Owl Notes, it was a name picked on a whim because it seemed cute and fun, but nothing that really held any personal relevance. Not that every blog should have a title chalked full of meaning--I just wanted something a little more relevant to the things and life I like to write about.

So I thought long and hard about what I did want to name this blog. Mostly because I don’t want to do this to you again (or myself for that matter) and decide in 4 years that I need to rename it just one more time. Luckily, I was smart enough to ask my mom for some ideas and she pointed me in the direction of a poem by Emily Dickinson about hope:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

The more I thought about it, the more perfect it was! Hope not only has a lot of personal meaning for me for many reasons that I can hopefully communicate through my blog over time, but I feel it is so appropriate for my life and everybody else trying to make it in this big bad world. From hoping that your jeans will fit to hoping that your kids will sleep through the night OR from hoping to raise children that love their Savior, Jesus Christ to hoping you might find a few moments in the middle of all of that to blog. I’ve realized my everyday life adds up to one big, ginormous hope fest!

These two being best friends--is something I hope for

As it should be. I think a big part of this life is centered around hope. Hope in our Savior, hope in our family and friends, and hope for the small things that make us happy. So, for as silly an unimportant as it is, I’m excited for this change to my blog.

The design isn’t quite finished. As I’ve explained before, I am sloooowly teaching myself how to use InDesign (a lot of hopes tied up in that one), not to mention figuring out how to make my blog look the way I want it, but I was missing actually writing on my blog--so it's just going to have to be a work in progress. Just like everything else in my life :)

Under Contruction

2011-09-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

Just testing. And figuring out a little redesign :)

Kind & Nice

2011-09-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

Oh man, it happened. Ryder had his first day of his first year of preschool last week. Although it may not be too exciting for most, it was for me.

When I was younger, going back to school was a big deal. Which perhaps explains why my heart gets all a flutter when I start seeing the leaves falling and yellow school buses driving by. So now that I have a child to live vicariously through, it can be a big deal again! ...sigh...:) I can't even imagine how exciting it will be when he actually starts attending kindergarten!

I think it's hilarious this was the shirt he picked for the first day...

just so there's no confusion, people.

One reason it was a big deal in our home was because the night before school started we'd have a special family home evening lesson and my dad would give us blessings. So great. And as I'm sure many of you have seen NieNie's take on the whole back to school dinner, I couldn't help Nienie-fy ours a little as well.

Phil and I wanted to pick a theme for the year that was simple and applicable. So we chose "Kind & Nice". It was originally "Kindness" but I quickly knew it had to be changed to "Kind and Nice". If I had a dime for everytime I've heard this phrase from my mom growing up ("you'll never regret being kind and nice") and how many times I've used it as a mom ("Are you two being kind and nice!!!"), I'd have like hundreds of dollars. Truly though, it is, I'd say, one of the biggest things I've learned from my mom (and that's saying something). I think it's because for as many times she told me to be kind and nice (especially in the difficult--I feel like being not nice moments) she showed me even more times through her example.

SO--that's where our theme this year is based. Thank you, mom for your inspiration.

If you think these two are cute separately, they're even cuter when they're together. Not to mention I love a man willing to wear a paper crown.

WE'D LIKE TO DEDICATE THIS SONG TO ANY GRANDPARENTS OUT THERE!

2011-09-12T19:56:00.000-07:00

Ya know, I know it's only because...

...I've spent months growing them...

...and several hours giving birth to them...

....and nursing them, feeding them, staying up with them...

...not to mention changing them, potty-training them...

....holding them while walking up hill in the snow--both ways...

...but I just can't help thinking my children are the cutest things on the planet.

REMEMBERING

2011-09-10T19:34:00.000-07:00

Just like everyone else, I'm sure, I have been pondering the tenth anniversary of 9/11. I remember getting ready for school that morning and hearing something on the radio about a plane flying into a building in New York City, not sure if I had heard correctly, I went and got my mom. We turned on the TV to see the horrific image of the second plane hitting the World Trade Center. The two freeze frames that remain crystal clear in my mind were 1) standing with my mom in her bedroom watching the news--both of us beside ourselves and 2) my friend Carli. Obviously, the first one makes sense, but I think the second one remains engrained in my mind because I remember arriving at school a few minutes later expecting all my peers to look the same way I felt and wanting so badly to shout to everyone, Did you hear about what happened? Can you believe it? I was disappointed to see everyone looked pretty much the same, going about their business as usual. Once I got to my locker, I even started prodding people about what I just witnessed on the news. I was suprised to find out some of my friends didn't even know about it yet. I would then try to explain what had happened, but I think my attempt to convey such...well, unbelievable news didn't come across as I'd hoped. Thankfully, seconds later my good friend, Carli, came up to me with an expression to mirror my own exclaiming, Did you hear about what happened? Can you believe it? I wanted to hug her. Maybe I did, I can't remember. But I do remember exactly what she looked like that day down to her silver beaded earrings (which Carli, if you're reading this, I never told you how cute they were). I was so grateful to have had a friend to digest the horrific events of that morning and what it could possibly mean for our future. Sadly, it wasn't much longer until the rest of my peers felt the gravity of the situation as well. I remember going to cheer class (I'm sorry to say that's true) and hearing all my friends talk about how all their guy friends and boyfriends might have to enlist in the army. It might seem foolish, but the truth is we didn't know. It was a scary and daunting thing and I'm grateful my experience with 9/11 was only that. I was grateful that all New York City was to me was a charged, unrelatable, far away place that I'd only ever seen in the movies as were, ironically, much of the events that happened that day.

Fast forward one decade later and not only am I much more familiar with NYC, but I have a husband who has an office view of Ground Zero and we live in the city that after NewYork, has the second highest number of fatalities from that awful day. I remember last summer walking past the Ground Zero construction site and couldn't stop the tears. I was overwhelmed with these sad feelings came on so strongly and so suddenly. If anything, I'm grateful that I could eventually relate if only by the tiniest bit to all that went on that infamous day.

Phil and I took a look at Life Magazine's "9/11: 25 Most Powerful Photos" (and explains the first two photos I posted) together the other night and although sad, it's a great way to remember all the things that you feel are important to pay tribute to for what happened.

There is something about this little blog that makes me feel sometimes that my thoughts are bigger than myself and sharing this makes me feel as I'm able to send out to the world all my gratitude and sympathies all those people who made sacrifices ten years ago. And that I haven't forgotten.

*********

On that note, I thought I'd quickly mention the hurricane for record purposes. Ya know, get out all the downer dolly stuff in one post. Actually, we faired really well in Hurricane Irene. Going off of our ward, we ranged from people who didn't have any problems to people who were dealing with power losses days later and some people still dealing with flooding. I'd say we were on the more favorable end. We lost power for 18 hours and water for 24 hours. After our water came back on we were on a boil water advisory for approximately 3 days. However, it was when our water came back that I decided as long as I could flush my toilet--I was a happy camper.

What I learned:

Get your food storage people! Phil and I have been slackers in this as we've been hopping from one small place to another the last few years. We've been talking about being better now that we're getting (well, kind of) more settled, but you never know what or when something is going to hit.
Now when I say food storage, I'm not just talking about food. Because I know that's what I think of when daydream of my awesome food storage supply. However, none of that means anything without water or power. The day before, when I, with the rest of NJ, was scrambling to get water and batteries was the first time I felt real, legitimate panic. It feels like a big pit in your stomach. I located jugs to fill with water--check. But it took me awhile to find batteries for our flashlights (thanks to Ryder all of our flashlights' current batteries were dead). So the water and batteries (heck, go get yourself a generator!) are very important.
Did I mention the water is important? It takes 3-7 gallons of water to flush your toilet. So, put that in your pipe and smoke it...no not really. One little handy tip I didn't know until it was to late was to fill your bathtub with water. Some friends also gave me the idea to fill empty rubbermaid storage bins with water as well.
A lot more things need power than you would think. I kept humiliating myself with thoughts like, we may not have A/C, but at least we'll have fans. Or, we might not have the televison but at least we'll have the Internet. Oh, we might not have enough water, it's okay we can drink milk too. Milk doesn't taste good warm, Jasmine! Shockingly, we were smart enough to get our laundry done and charge everything right before the pending impact of the storm.

What I want to remember:

Our wonderful friends. Both nights we were without water, or both power and water we had friends who invited us to dinner. I can't tell you how nice it was to get out of our lame house, laugh, visit, have friends to play with our kids, charge our electronics, have them store our food ....soooo nice. Now, I can say it wasn't that big of a deal, but when you're in it, you don't know for how long and there were some points it was really wearing on us and what can I say? I'm a babyhead. But these dear friends of ours truly lifted my heart and made me feel hopeful. They are/were such a huge blessing.
Oh to note: we also felt a tremor or two from the VA earthquake earlier that week. I believe the destruction tally resulted in one crooked cross-stitch :)

YAY FOR FOUR!

2011-08-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

So one might find it funny, ironic, totally lame...I dunno, you choose, that my previous post was about how much I love the rain and now I'm sitting here wondering whether I should blog about Ryder's birthday or our recent hurricane...

I decided to go with the birthday :) I'll post about the hurricane later, but to anyone who is interested. We're fine. We were some of the worse ones off in the area as far as loss of utilities, with no power for 18 hours (back on now) and no water (still waiting on that one). But we're definitely better off than a lot of other people who were in Irene's path.

Now, back to Ryder's birthday. I love this boy and wanted to give him a day he loved, so on his birthday, I just tried to fill it with his most favorite things.

1. Waffles for breakfast. We actually eat waffles for dinner most of the time in our house, so he was a bit confused as to why we were having dinner for breakfast, but quickly adpated and rolled with the punches.

2. Friends. We were going to have a little birthday play date at the park, but thanks to some rain (and some flexible friends), we had a birthday lunch with some our favorite people.

3. Cousins. Some of Ryder's little cousins called him to sing him happy birthday. I loved watching his face while he listened. We also got a few other special phone calls and Facetimes that day, which ryder loved.

4. McDonald's. After Daddy got home, we wanted to celebrate in style, so we went to any 4-year-old's favorite restaurant, Mickey-D's.

5. Ice Cream. Then after dinner we crossed the street to have some delicious ice cream at our favorite IC joint, Zita's. Yum, yum!

6. Candles and Presents. Of course. We sang to Ryder and he was finally able to open his present that he had been requesting for weeks.... a dragon. Who he lovingly named Sheena. We thought it would be fun to get him a dress-up knight costume to go with his dragon. Turns out, it was.

Ryder Roo, my love,
I can't imagine life without you! You are sweet and good and talking to you is one of my most favorite things to do. I keep catching little glimpes of the little boy you are going to turn out to be and although part of my heart breaks to see you getting so big, it's a joy watching you grow up. I love you!

NEW JERSEY DOWNPOURS

2011-08-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

So after living in Seattle for 3 years, my love for rain was confirmed. There is something about the rain that wakes up my soul and makes me feel cozy and safe. (unless driving in it :) So as you can imagine, I was pleased to discover that the Northeast gets a lot of rain too. However, there's a difference. I would decribe the Northwestern storms as consistent drizzling. Here: sporadic downpours. Is it bad of me to say (so far) I prefer the downpours? I can't help but loving the drama that comes with these storms that are often accompanied by glorious thunder. And thanks to that humidity, the rain here is warm and by golly, I like that too.

One thing I love about our new little place is that it has a front porch, so whether they want to or not, I make my kids come outside with me to watch the rain. Here are some photos we took of yesterday's storm while Penny was napping. It was a goody!

{and lastly, my overexposed photo of the rain that I thought was kinda cool}

Because of the climate, I have been informed there are a few items that are weather must haves for the Northeast.

You would think we already owned an umbrella, but we don't. Phil prides himself on not needing because apparently, if you're from Seattle, people who need umbrellas in the rain are gomers, but I think for here, even he would make an exception.

I'm totally using living here as a legitimate excuse to purchase some cute rain boots.

And finally, a down puffy coat. My friends tell me nothing else keeps you as warm as the down-puffy-coat to combat the freezing cold winters.

I guess I better go shopping {shoulder shrug}

LETTER TO MY SISTER

2011-08-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

Response to Letter 8/3/11

Dearest Autumn,

Thank you for your letter. I loved it. Things are really great here actually. I'm starting to feel like it's home. And enjoying the process of making it feel like it is. If you knew the hours I've put into planning how I want to organize and decorate it, you'd be embarrassed for me. But it makes me happy and distracted from the hard parts to moving clear accross the country, like missing my sister....

Unfotunately, this process of getting settled down has been keeping me so busy, that I forget to take pictures, or blog for that matter...but I did find this little gem:

You might recognize the little angel fact in this photo. It was one I took right before we left. Give her and the rest of your kiddos big hugs and kisses from me. I'll get to do it myself in a couple of weeks!

I am currently relishing in the fact Ryder and Penny both taking naps. Ryder has almost, if not completely X-ed out the 'ol nap, but I'd be lying if toward the end of the week, that little fact is most evident in his shrieking eel reaction to everything he feels isn't completely just with the world. So it was one of those, go lay on on your bed and if you haven't fallen asleep in fifteen minutes, you can come downstairs--I haven't seen him since. Speaking of the boy, his birthday is coming up soon and I don't know what to do for it. I want to make it a big deal because I feel like he deserves a little extra attention--but at the same time I don't really want to throw him a party quite yet. Ideas, I need ideas! I do know what he wants, however. A dragon. In red, of course.

As for Penelope Rae, it seems as though her cuteness increases so does her stinker streak. Currently, her favorite activity is climbing on top of the kitchen table, walking to the edge and yells, "shump! shump!" (jump, jump). The second I get within 3 feet, she, well, jumps. And yes, I've always caught her, but that doesn't take away from the fact that these incidents have taken five years off of my precious life.

I totally need to Pandora P&P music. I too shall listen to it while in the kitchen...making pb&j's. Also, I love you idea for your family picture colors. I can't wait to see them! Speaking of color, I just bought this chair at Target...eek! I'm a little nervous because the reviews online say the color is a bit greener and brighter than what it shows, but I kind of love it anyway. Sadly, it says it won't get here until September :( I think it's going to be for our playroom/office area. I'm trying to make it fun and bold--but a bit more sophisticated than your usual playroom. And by sophisticated I mean, a pretty playroom :) If you could just fly over here and help me figure out what to do with it that would be great. Thanks.

Well, now the boy is awake and his episode of blessed Wild Kratts is almost over.

I love you very much and miss you always.

Love your Savvy East Coast Sister (lol),

JazzyRae

OOOPS

2011-08-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

So there might be a small possibility that not only Phil, but myself as well, completely spaced our anniversary. Yesterday.

I had noticed a lot of people posting about their anniversaries and while I'm sitting there thinking, awh that's so nice, the day that commemorates our 6 years together just passes right on by.

Oops.

Dear Phil,

I am so grateful and happy for the life I have with you.

So much so, I'm a little preoccupied with it :)

I love you forever,

Jasmine

P.S. Don't you find this picture fitting?

FHE IN THE ER

2011-07-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

So while I was running around trying to clean up and get dinner ready I heard the usual squabbling between Ryder and Penelope--the all to familiar whine Penny makes when she's annoyed with her rather persistant brother. I heard the whiney complaints from Penny escalate and by the time I made it to the Living Room, Penny was in some serious tears and obviously hurt....and Ryder guiltily hanging out on the sidelines.

According to Ryder, "Penny just fell all by herself". At first Penny kept grabbing her mouth and going off of what little information I got from Ryder, I figured she fell and hurt her mouth. However, everything in her mouth seemed fine, especially given the amount our usual tough cookie was crying. After getting her calmed down somewhat, I noticed that she wasn't moving her right arm. I moved it and and checked it out and it seemed to just kill her whenever I extended her elbow.

After calling a pediatrician who recommended the ER (the last recommendation you hope to hear. Oh, we just need to to take her to the emergency room? Okay, no problem!) we swung by the train station to pick up Phil and then made our way to the hospital that is conveniently two minutes away from our house.

At first, the nurse and doctor both thought she dislocated her elbow (nursemaids elbow), which is something that they say is very common at Penny's age. Something that is easily fixed simply snapping it back into place and as good as new! But after "resetting" the elbow twice, Penny wasn't as good as new. She never stopped crying and she never moved her arm. After a second opinion, they took her to get an x-ray. Then, the x-ray didn't really show anything. The doctor told us that sometimes with the swelling and small size of the fracture, you can't see them in the initial x-ray. Still not sure what the exact problem was, the doctor treated her for a fracture, applied a splint with instructions to make an appointment with an orthopeadic pediatrication.

Later that night I did get out of Ryder that he had "yanked" on Penny's arm because he wanted her to follow him. So whether it was the yank or the fall that followed the yank that cause everything, I don't know.

It's all quite pleasant, really. I loved having to tell every nurse and doctor that asked me what happened, "I don't know what happened, because I wasn't in the room".

After brave Penny got the splint on she was able to calm down and get her regular disposition back. And hopefully, everything will go okay at the specialist and we'll get her all healed up and as good as new.

HUMBLED

2011-07-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

So I have a couple rough recordings of me singing some Christmas songs with my guitar. I --thinking it would be fun--asked Ryder to listen to one of these songs and to tell me who he thought it was. After listening for a few seconds he got his big sweet smile on his face and said, "Clara!"

Me: Clara? Who's Clara?

Ryder: Clarabelle!

Me: From Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Clarabelle?

Ryder: Yup!

...

Oh you don't know who Clarabelle is? Let me educate you:

Besides being best friends with Minney and Daisy, her Wikipedia page reports "Clarabelle's personality is similar to Goofy's. She can be a little clumsy but knows when to focus on what's important similar to Daisy."

If you haven't heard her voice, it sounds like...well, you get the picture.

I think it's safe to say I won't be auditioning for American Idol anytime soon.

MOVING: PHASE III AND IV

2011-07-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

PHASE III

So after we got all of our stuff packed up and in the moving truck, we went to stay a week with my parents for some quality time with loved ones before we made our way East. As it so happened we were able to see all of my family including Phil's grandparents in Ogden and my grandparents in Downey. It was a perfect way to spend our last week there.

Gracie, with her Uncle Phil. We sure love being an aunt and uncle :)

My sister and me.

Penny in the pool at Nana's and Pompa's

Our pretty mom and Nana

Ryder and the watergun:)

We made mini pizzas one night for dinner and here is Ryder taking orders.

Getting some quality time with my brand-new nephew, Tyler. So glad I got to meet him before we left! And yes, his hair is amazing!

Four heads are better than one! Especially when you're examining worms.

Can you find the girl in the picture? It's a little tricky because she's in disguise.

Big Tyler and Little Tyler :)

With Mommy

I also had more cute pictures from one more day with spent with Autumn and her family on the fourth (the day before we left), but for some reason I get get those to load right now :( I'll have to post those later.

PHASE IV:

"Livin' out of a suitcase"

We flew out the Newark on July 5th bright and early! The flight to Chicago went pretty well and we had about an hour to kill before the second leg of our journey which was a perfect amount of time to let Ryder and Penelope work out some wiggles. Our flight from Chicago to Newark seemed short and both Penny and Ryder took naps (yes!), but the last 20 minutes were SO bumpy. Both Ryder and Penny were crying and complaining because their ears hurt and I wanted to puke. It was good that last part was thrown in there because having a perfect flight would make things just way to easy, right?

We checked in to the DeBarry Inn (a fun little B&B). I wish I would've taken photos. We spent the first four days there and then moved over to The Grand Summit, which means we now have experienced every hotel here. Last week while we had Phil we went up to our house every day and did some work (I painted the LR and DR) and ran some errands. Yesterday, Phil had his first day of work (wahoo!) and I had to face the real world. Which here also means finding my way around (I need my GPS to get to the grocery store). So far, so good. Our stuff comes on Thursday--the day after tomorrow--less than forty-eight hours--Thursday. I can't wait! I know it will be overwhelming getting unpacked but to have our own beds, not having to go back and forth, and oh TOYS! Beautiful toys in which to entertain my children! I'm kind of excited about it :)

On a fun note. I found a desk on Craiglist. Not just any desk--an antique library desk. I sent cute, willing Phil out into the middle of nowwhere to pick it up. Not that I need any extra projects right now, but it was only $60 and it was love at first sight. All my favorite pieces of furniture have been love at first sight. I'll take some photos of it soon along with my plans for it (I'm still toying around with a couple of options).

Until we have our stuff again... and Internet in our house :)

MOVING: PHASE II

2011-06-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the movers came and packed all of our stuff into boxes and today they loaded it up on a truck and drove away. I spent the morning cleaning like a mad woman (hence no photos), while Phil took the kiddos to visit friends and run errands. There is something about having this part of the move done that makes me feel like the hard part is over. I think we've been anticipating this day for so long there was nothing left to feel but pure relief after that moving van pulled away.

Not to mention, I am SO happy to have our little family safely tucked away at my parents for a week while we wait for our stuff to make its journey eastward. ~Phew~

EXCUSE ME...

2011-06-24T22:26:00.000-07:00

You'll have to excuse me but with the hulabaloo of everything going on lately, I failed to mention something rather important. This little girl is officially 18 months old. (Which I'm quite certain were the fastest 18 months of my life to date). I always seem to lack the words to adequately describe Penelope Rae. So for now I'll just say she is joy.

We are so excited that her vocabulary is starting to allow a brief phrase or two of English because now we can more fully understand her thought process and in turn more fully understand her cuteness :)

And if you wouldn't mind humoring me, I'm going to jot down a few of her phrases that delight me to the core.

1. P: Kno-kno (knock-knock)
   Smitten bystander: Who's there?
   P: Ah-choo! (a shoe)
   SB: Ahshoo who?
   P: throws her head back and laughs

2. Yelling Yet Doe! (Let go! You can thank Ryder for that one)

3. Hey. Hay!

4. Walks over grabs your hand and pulls it until you follow her.

5. Huh-low!!! (Hello!!)

6. Me: Penny do you want ____?

P: No.

Me: Penny do you want_____? (Thinking she just doesn't understand so I'll repeat myself)

P: Nooo!

7. Uh HUH!! (yes.)

HERE WE GO!

2011-06-23T15:24:00.000-07:00

I think it's funny when I find myself sentimentally attached to certain possessions, such as...

...our Suzi Q

Here she is being shipped off to our new home. She's forging ahead, scouting the way, making the tracks for which we are to follow--{sigh}. Safe journey silver one.

For some reason this first step in our move has caused me to experience an upheaval of emotions. Scheduling our move has been rather rocky to say the least, so to see things--like them picking up our car--is starting to make me realize this whole thing is actually happening! As she (Suzi) was getting pulled away Phil looked at me and said So we're really moving across the country, it's really happening! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!! (that last part was me).

45 NUZZLES

2011-06-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

{Click to Enlarge}

For Fathers Day, our primary presidency asked all of the primary children questions about their dads and put them into a little book to give to their dad. I wanted to make sure we had Ryder's answers recorded somwhere.

Apparently, Ryder could use a lesson or two on units of measurement :)

IF I ONLY KNEW THEN...

2011-06-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

When I compare our relationship now to our courting days and I feel a little sheepish when I think of what little we knew of each other when we committed to this big life with one another.

However, I did know you were a great person and were going to be an amazing father some day.

I just never could've imagained how amazing.

(Sometimes I can't even help thinking cha-ching! Jackpot!)

Watching you be a dad has brought me some of the greatest joy this life has to offer.

And to my dearest Daddio:

Oh gosh, I think you're great dad and I feel so blessed to have you in my life. Thank you for all you still continue to do for my and my little family. I love you so very much.

Happy Father's Day!

BOOK OF MORMON MUSICAL

2011-06-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

I first saw this article:

A Latter-day Saint View of The Book of Mormon musical

on Facebook posted by one of my friends and have later seen it make the rounds. I thought I'd do my part to spread these words from Michael Otterson (Head of Public Affairs, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) in regard to the highly praised musical, "The Book of Mormon".

I'm sure I have shared with other members similar feelings of disappointment in regard to the popularity of a musical that I understand uses crude and blasphemous humor to make fun of the beliefs we hold dear.

Usually, these types of things make me madder than a wet hen, but for some reason I didn't feel the hurt and anger I usually do at such offenses. I've come to learn that feeling that way isn't worth it. There is a certain peace that comes when I see such darkness sweep society particularly when it is disguised as "entertainment"-- and that peace comes from what I know to be true. Good will always overcome the bad and light will always overcome darkness. Truth will always win out.

With that said, I am so grateful for this article. It makes me proud to be a Latter-day Saint. I love how Otterson focuses on true facts and statistics in regard to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint's relationship to Africa (apparently the musical takes place in Uganda) as well as the missionaries who serve there.

He also addresses the reasons why there hasn't been a bigger outcry from members. His answer is simple: it's because we're Christian. He quotes from the 13th Articles of Faith (a.k.a. what we Mormons believe)

“We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men…If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”

And well, the musical, "The Book of Mormon" just doesn't fall into the category of "things worth seeking after" for any reason.

13.1

2011-06-12T22:25:00.000-07:00

The fact I did this is still very surreal to me. Probably because for the majority of my life I thought there was no way, ever in a billion years, haha! you're kidding, right, nu-uh, no how was I ever going to run a half marathon. Psssh, I'm not a runner! However, after having Ryder, I found running was probably the most efficient use of my time when it came to working out. It was at that point I did the couch to 5k and went on to participate in a 12k (a little over 7 miles). It worked wonders for the baby weight and I found out once and for all, I didn't have asthma.

Fast forward to baby number two. Cute girl. But of course, some more baby weight to take care of. When they say it's a lot harder to lose the baby weight with your second, it's because it is A LOT HARDER to lose the baby weight with your second. But that's okay. I've got a plan--I'll start running again. And that's how I'd say this whole thing started.

My emotional twisty face

Knowing I'm completely hopeless without a running buddy, I decided to ask my friend Claire (who I had gotten to know last summer in Manhattan) if she would like to start running with me. I was just starting to get in the swing of things until I sprained my ankle sometime in October. Ewh. With that and the holidays we didn't start running again until January (and by we, I mean me. While I was babying my lame ankle, Claire did a whole 'nother half marathon).

We dutifully ran 2-3 times a week. We woke up early in the morning and ran the BYU track, working up to a solid 4 miles (I don't know about other runners, but the 3 to 4 mile mark is a huge turning point for me. If your can reach that, adding on the miles starts becoming more realistic). This was a great phase for me. I realized that it doesn't kill me to get up 6:15 a.m. to get up and run. Try as I may to accept that exercise is a daily thing (as opposed to a seasonal thing) it was really great to discover that if I were in bed by 10:30/11 p.m. I could wake up early to work out first thing in my day without feeling burnt out. My biggest hope is to get back into this routine once our family gets back into a regular schedule.

So we're just a runnin' with casual talk of eventually doing a half marathon. Which for me at that time were pretty big words (Yeah, ya know I'm gonna like run a half marathon...nooo biggy). Then March came. Looking at where we were in our training we had decided to do the Utah Valley race. Well, so did everyone else. In fact, spots filled up only a few days after sign-ups opened. Completely, unbeknownst (I like that word) to me, I go to a baptism one evening and some friends of mine in my ward who were hoping to do the same race were telling me how it was full. Luckily, one of the girls had called and found out you could still sign-up if you signed up as a group. It was a huge blessing to a) find out it was almost full and b) to find a group of girls that Claire and I could sign up with all in one evening. In hindsite, it was also a blessing to have to commit so quickly because who's to say I actually would've had the guts to sign-up given the opportunity to talk myself out of it. Now, there is something about spending almost $60 to sign-up that solidified my commitment. I was in for the long haul. It was good though and all of us got on the same training schedule and away we went.

Then graduation came. Not mine, Phil's, and Claire's husband, Nate's. And Claire told me they were moving to Layton for the summer. WHAT?!?! Booohooo.! Wahh! Nooooo! Even though she was still going to do the race, we had the last half (the most difficult half) of training to do on our own. Fortunately, I had those great women in my ward who let me tag along with them for some runs. And as shocking as it sounds, I did learn to semi-enjoy running by myself. Plus, if there was ever a time for me to do this it was now, while our family is in this rare inbetween school/job phase where I had Phil at home almost all the time so I could go running when I needed. Thank you, Phillip.

I experienced the most frustration around the 8 and 9 mile long runs. I thought to myself, why am I even doing this. Going by myself was getting old, it was so time consuming, I would worry and stress the entire day before every long run, oh, and that ten pounds I was hoping to lose throughout this process was sticking to me like white on rice. Fighting these thoughts, I sally-ed forth. I was so close and I knew if I couldn't do it within the ideal circumstances I had been blessed with, then I probably would never do it. So I sucked it up and did the 10 miler. It made me bawl. There was a slight miscalculation as to when I should eat (you forget that to run 10 miles takes 2 hours) and fatigued doesn't really describe how I felt after that run. BUT it was okay because, I did it and it was the last long run before the race.

The week of the race I went on a couple of small runs and tried to load up on carbs (that part was sooo difficult). Claire came over the night before the race, which was a very fun way to get the party started. We loaded up on carbs (chocolate) and water and watched a chick flick. We attempted to get a solid 5 hours of sleep before getting up at 3:15 (we had to catch the bus at 3:30). I failed miserabely at this. Too many emotions and thoughts running through my head. We caught the bus, drove up the canyon to the starting line and had to wait in the freezing cold for an hour an a half. They had a bunch of mini bonfires set up that helped a little. Luckily, we had carpooled with the ladies in my ward, so there was a lot of laughing, chatt(er)ing and trips to the porta-potties to keep us occupied.

Keeping a lookout for mommy!

6:00. The race began! Now, if I haven't mentioned it before. I don't run fast. Some might even say I run slow. This is where I tell you how wonderful Claire is. I think this was her 4th or 5th half marathon, including one full marathon and so you could see that if she were to apply perhaps an ounce of extra effort she could easily leave me in the dust. We probably averaged an 11 minute-mile pace throughout and never had to stop to walk. Now if it hadn't been for that all to unfortunate, but very necessary potty break at mile 6 with a que longer than a polygamist's clothesline, I don't think things could've gone better. I didn't even feel the first seven miles, even the next three weren't bad at all. Then, it got a little harder. Around mile 11 it was a straight shot to the finish line, which after talking about it with my fellow participants, is what made this last leg so dang looong. At mile 12 you could SEE the finish line. It just sat there taunting me. I swear they were moving it farther and farther away. Like a bone in front of a dog. Like a carrot in front of a donkey. Like chocolate in front of a pregnant woman. Okay, I'm done, but it was a mean trick. But oh how wonderful are the people who cheer for you! I love each and every one of them. Especially, my cute family. I have issues with getting emotional anytime I hear anyone telling me "keep going," or "you're doing great" that triggers intense waterworks. I had to find away to get a hold of myself or else I couldn't breath. Turns out crying and running don't mix. You can imagine how difficult that was for me when I saw my beloveds. Which explains the weird twisty smile/furrowed brow expression on my face in some of my pictures. Just so you know.

My time: 2:35. But would you mind if we just deducted like 5 minutes for that unfortunate bathroom business? Maybe? Making it a solid 2:30? You wouldn't mind, would you? No? Okay- great.

Now as for Jasmine's Personal Take-Aways from Running a Half Marathon:

-On a more spiritual note, I couldn't have done this without help. Besides great friends and a supportive family, I prayed. A lot. And I know Heavenly Father helped me do this. Besides praying for the motivation, I prayed for the health to tackle this goal. I went the entire winter without a sniffle and after watching runners get all the possible injuries there are to get, I know it wasn't just luck that I was able to keep up with the training, especially given my inexperience. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure I would've missed the sign-up completely had it not been for some helpful interference.

Ryder helping with the cool down stretch

-Never say never, but if I do end up doing another half marathon, it won't be for a looong time. It's a lot to ask of your family to give up every Saturay morning for two months. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure your body experiences the same benefits from doing consistant 4-5 mile runs. Plus, I've got room to improve on my time, so sticking to 5k's and 10k's for awhile sounds great.

-In the end, was it worth it? Yes! Because I met my goal. I was reading the list of New Year's resolutions I made and smiled when I saw "maybe try to run half marathon". And more than that, I'm at a point where 5 miles feels comfortable. That's what I feel I worked very hard for and what I hope to keep from this experience. I'm also very grateful for all the people who made this day such a happy memory for me.

OH THE JOY

2011-06-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

So today was Ryder's first swimming lesson. For me, these are the moments really make the motherhood thing entertaining.

He was so very excited. Now, if you know Ryder, he is rather warm and friendly--but there is this shy/bashful streak that seems to shine in moments like these. Although, he's completely happy to be in the big pool learning how to swim, you may start noticing a pattern:

(The photos aren't the best. They were taken from a balcony, indoors)

Oh, and the fact, he may not be the three-year old with the longest attention span in the world, may have had something to do with it.

However, he did start learning how to paddle:

...and how to kick his legs:

...And! (drum roll please) definitley last, but not least--Ryder learning how to do a backfloat!

Well...kind of :)

Oh man, that little boy kills me.

I thinks it's safe to say we probably don't have the next Michael Phelps on our hands.

ZOO TIME

2011-06-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

Today we got back from a little vacay to Seattle to which we (just Phil and I) took a mini-vacay within that one to Victoria B.C. There was much fun to be had. Last Saturday we went to the Woodland Park Zoo, which is quite fun when you have Ryder around.

For example, his encounter with the komodo dragon...

Or there's Penny who is getting cranky that no penguins are swimming by...

The orangutans are my favorite...

And these little monkeys are pretty cute too (kids included)...

And lastly, my attempt at being artistic at the zoo...

G&G SALVESEN

2011-05-28T23:32:00.000-07:00

While we were at my parent's house for Mother's Day a couple weeks ago, my grandparents came over for dinner. I was able to get a couple shots of them and while looking through them realized how important and fun it is to get photos of those generations before us. I think my grandma and grandpa are beautiful people, and there age makes them even more so. The photo of my grandma above is my favorite. Below are a couple of sweet moments as well.

Now, I'm just sayin' but if you were to see my grandmas photos of her younger years, I might say there is a noticable resemblence between her and I. I would be more than pleased to look like that when I'm her age. Here's hoping!

CHARMING WEEKEND

2011-05-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

See. I told you it was a charming weekend.

I tell ya, when we went up north for Mother's Day weekend, the photo ops just kept coming!

First, we went up to Odgen for a 5k at the bird refuge there. I joined my friend Claire who was training (still is, just from a distance :) with me to do the Utah Valley Half Marathon in June. And let's admit, me running is always an event worth documenting. It was such a fun morning to spend with so many cute people.

This photo makes me laugh when I see it. You have Ryder thrilled with "Chitters" (the bald eagle) while my mom dutifully cheers for the young racers.

Aren't I a lucky girl.

We lounged around that evening and enjoyed my parents pretty backyard and the nice weather.

This is another winner. My parents are always playfully competing for the attention of their grandchildren. Here you can see who is winning (and who is losing:)

I actually got a couple of other shots that I was really excited about and wanted to edit, but I'm waiting until I learn a little more about Photoshop to do so.

Speaking of Photoshop? Can I tell you a secret? I figure if you've read far enough to get to this point, then you probably know me well enough to know this is kind of, very, hugely exciting for me...I got a new computer :D I lovingly call her Macky. Phil said it was for my graduation present, heehee. And thanks to my wonderful Adobe-employed brother-in-law, I got the CS5 for a fantastic discount. AND it arrived in the mail yesterday! When I'm not snickering to myself in pure excitement I'm left a smidge overwhelmed with learning how to use these programs (Photoshop and Illustrator specifically), but it should be fun!! Wish me luck!

HIVES & HOUSE HUNTING

2011-05-16T21:37:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forward to blogging about our charming weekend before last filled with a 5k, fun company and a wonderful mother's day, but alas, I was derailed by the week that followed (last week) with Phil's trip back to NJ and NYC to find us a place to lay our heads after we move there. You see, since he has graduated I've had him at my complete disposal 24/7, and albeit wonderful, it has turned me into a complete pansy. So for Phil to leave me for four days was a smidgen shocking to my underworked mothering muscles. What? I have to change every dirty diaper myself?! Then, of course, a couple hours after dropping Phil off at the airport, Ryder gets severe diarrhea (TMI?). No problem. I force fluids and faithfully feed him the BRAT diet --but then he had to go and break out into a nasty case of hives. I hate weird unexplainable things like that. Poor, little boy. Luckily, he was a champ and the hives cleared up in about 24 hours. Oh and I started Weight Watchers that last week too, so the fact that I was hungry all the time may have added to my general crankiness. (More on that later...maybe).

However, I still think it was better Phil went on the house hunting trip than me. Things like this stress me out more than hives do. I'm happy to report he came home with two promising options. After going over the pros and cons to each place again and again, we made our decision. With a little bit of drama between then and mailing out our deposit this morning (seriously, do these things ever go smoothly?), we've finally got a little duplex lined up in our future place of residence: Summit, NJ! Wahooo! It's a cozy little place that will meet our needs quite nicely. Knowing where we'll be moving to brings us a lot of comfort and is allowing us to get more excited and better prepared for this next little adventure. So, phew! to that!

All in all, I'm happy to have that week under our belt. I'll be happy to report about our charming weekend soon. Heaven knows there are quite a few more charming weekends to be had before we leave.

I LOVE MY MOM BECAUSE...

2011-05-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

...she thinks I'm funny...

and a for a billion other reasons.

Mom, I love you and I'm so grateful that you're mine.

Happy Mothers Day to you and all the wonderful women I have the privilege of knowing.

A BEAUTIFUL DAY

2011-05-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday we got to go to my new neice's baby blessing. Her name is Rory or sometimes lovingly known as the Rooster, which is so cute, I can barely stand it. I love her and I love baby blessings. They always carry such a sweet spirit and it's so fun to see family and friends. What's not to love about that?

BLOWN OUT

2011-05-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

Have you ever sorely miscalculated your camera settings and taken a picture like this?

Yeah, me neither. But when someone else using my camera manages to turn a sweet moment into this, I'm left a little bummed. Since I'm currently introducing myself into the world of Photoshop (just Elements right now) I thought I'd see if there was anything to be done especially knowing I couldn't make the image any worse.

After some cropping and goofing around with the lighting and color correcting I did come up with this, which I figured was better than a poke in the eye and best of all, this fun little moment we had today at the park isn't completely lost.

I did try this technique on another ~~one of my~~ photo and it didn't turn out quite as well, plus, the editing I did in this photo didn't look as good around everyone else as it did Ryder, so it definitely isn't a consistent method. But worth a shot (hehe).

Anyway...kinda fun.

THE PERFECT BIB

2011-05-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

I actually made some bibs awhile ago for this little (and many times messy) face. Because you see, when it comes to toddlers eating habits, bibs are one of the few but necessary tools needed to aid making a large sized mess into a medium size mess. However, after Penny rips it off and throws it on the floor for the zillionth time they have become the bane of my existence (along with sippy cups--but that's another story).

However, this summer, I noticed my friend Claire had these cute homemade bibs for her daughter. I found out her mom had made them and after commenting on how much I liked it, her mom made one for me! I later found out that it was the perfect bib. It latched with a button so Penelope couldn't take it off, it was wide enough to cover everything and she had made them with a microfiber cloth to make for easy cleanup. I knew I had to have more! So I used the one Claire's mom made me as a pattern.

They were quite fun and easy to make. If you want the pattern, I'll make you one (you could probably make one yourself just by looking at it too). You just take some fun fabric (a great project for scraps) and purchase some microfiber cloths at the dollar store and there you go!

"You think I'm messy?!?"

GOOD TIMES

2011-04-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

So as I'm sure I've mentioned before (or maybe I haven't) Phil doesn't start his new job until July. Yet, he is all done with school. Which basically means for the next two months, we hang around all day twiddling our thumbs. But don't judge me too harshly because I have made an mild attempt within the last couple of days going through Ryder's and Penny's clothes and now my own. The sight of my bedroom right now could possibly make you shudder.

In a way, however, this break is good. It allows us to have the time to get everything ready for our move, spend time with family and to watch any and every bit of coverage I can find on the royal wedding. Oh, and yes, I have got more time to blog!

I thought I'd use this time share these photos I took a couple of weekends ago when some of us went up to my sisters one Saturday. All of my best photos just happened to be of my parents (with a little grandchildren on the side :) Whom I love to pieces. These are the times I cherish with my family. I will miss these casual days where we all decide to get together at the last minute.

CHA-CHA-CHANGE...

2011-04-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

Holding succor, balloon, & Mr. Rex's hand...while sleeping

(I feel like the two previous photos are very symbolic of my feelings lately:)

Man oh manny, I have been so overwhelmed lately with all of the changes we have coming our way that I've been left paralyzed by multiple thoughts swarming around in my head about said changes. Not really resulting in any sort of action, mind you...just a lot of thinking and planning.

I don't know if the end of a certain phase of your life could be more defined by graduating, moving and starting a new job. I think any other phase that can get any more defined than that is marriage or the entering and exiting of children. And those phases actually are given names, for example, marriage (duh), parenthood, empty nesters. If it were to have a name, what would this phase be called....ah, yes. Employed. Or perhaps, "income recipients", or workinghood. ANYway... back to changes...

There is something about all of these things happening that screams in my head "clean slate!" I tell myself, I'm going to be a better mom. I'm going to be more organized! We're going to get a fantastic financial plan and a budget and stick to it! We're going to eat healthier! We're going to set and keep more goals! Heck, I think we even need a family motto vinyl-ized to our wall! It's better than New Years.

Maybe it's just my personality, but I'm grateful for all of these thoughts because they allow me to get excited for all of these pending changes instead of focusing on all the insecurities that come with starting over.

Without further ado here is a few highlights of the last month along with a random thought here or there of my plans to rule the world (well, to rule my world:)

-So we put the 'ol condo in Seattle up for sell. And well, that's all I really have to say about that.

-We had some fun over General Conference weekend with Phil's family. We even did a little skiing. But not during conference, silly.

-I feel like I spend a lot of my free time running. And running. During a moment of pure insanity I signed up to run the Utah Valley half marathon. Our long run this week was scheduled for 6 miles. The only thing I keep thinking is that's not even half-way yet! Hopefully, I can wrap my head around the idea that a human can physically run for 13.1 miles before I actually have to do it. Don't even talk to me about 26.2. Crazies.

-We are also in the middle of finding a place to live over there in the NYC/NJ area. It will most likely be NJ. The East Coast is tricky in that you can't seem to nail anything down until a month or two beforehand, so I'm excited to get this item checked off our to-do list.

-I feel as though I've never been as keenly aware as I am now of the charge and responsibility of being a mother in today's world. The moments of feeling guilty for wanting to be acknowledged for something outside of motherhood have morphed into moments of feeling guilty for not making my days and time spent with my children count. Between the speakers at YW General Broadcast, General Conference and the many opportunities Phil and I have had lately to listen to other admiral LDS leaders the business world through different activities and firesides I've been very motivated to be a better mom and have been inspired with some specific ways I can do so. Actually doing them? That's another story. Lately I feel like trying isn't cutting it. For me, that still provides me enough excuses to get by with mediocre efforts. I need to stop trying and actually start doing.

-Let's just apply the aforementioned thoughts to service as well. The other area in my life I've felt a strong need to improve upon.

-If you come to my house, please don't look in any of our corners, cupboards or closets, because I'm pretty sure you won't like what you find. I have completely taken advantage of the excuse (if you can even call it that), "Oh we're just moving in a few weeks so why bother." I have shoved certain responsibilities (not limited to just household chores) into the dark corners of figurative and literal closets to be dealt with at a later time. Unfortunately, that "later time" is staring me in the face.

-Phil and consequently, myself, have been hugely blessed by a personal finance class he took this semester. The course covers everything from debt and budgeting to retirement and investments. All of which are incorporated into how you want to live your life and the type of people you want to become. He was required to set long-term and short-term goals in all aspects of your life, which I feel has really helped us in feeling more secure in how we choose to govern and lead our home. Do you wish you could have access to such valuable information? Guess what? You can! His professor has all of this good stuff right here!

-And last, but certainly not least, Phil graduated!!! Yay! Phew! Wahoo! There will be a graduation post coming soon. I was a dummy and forgot my camera. Thank goodness I was the only one who did :)

IT'S KIND OF A BIG DEAL

2011-03-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

I mean I don't want to make a bigger deal about it than it all ready is or anything...but what can I say, it's kind of a big deal.

What's a big deal you ask?

Penny can wear piggies!

It may have taken me 10 minutes to do my one-year-old's hair this morning and it may have taken me an additional hour to chase her around to capture this 'first' in about a bazillion pictures...but hey, you only live once, right!

Here she is flirting with her daddy who loved her new "do"

You needed some more angles? Me too. Here she is doing some dance moves.

On a more masculine note:

Not just anyone can make that shirt look masculine...

AUNT JAZZY

2011-03-14T13:51:00.000-07:00

This week, my sister had the fortunate event of welcoming a new baby girl into their home. Her name is Rory Jane, and I find her quite enchanting. Go here to see the new angelbaby :)

This blessed event meant I had the good fortune of taking care of my niece and nephew for a couple of days. Although, four is a bit more challenging than two, it was really fun getting to know my niece and nephew better. Especially, since I thought I knew them pretty well to begin with. Not to mention my kids are in dreamland whenever they're around. While they were at my house, the most entertaining and time consuming (which is a good thing) activity was the Play Dough.

I didn't account for little PennyBells feeling left out of all the big kid activities.

Later that week, we went to Autumn's to meet the new little princess, and perhaps while we were there took full advantage of the weather and their awesome backyard.

Here we have Gracie. Now, Gracie and I go way back. Thanks to a wonderful combination of timing and location, I had the opportunity to bond with this girl from the beginning. Plus, when she entered this world, I was the cool aunt who was young, hip and didn't have any kids yet. She was my only niece for quite awhile. Now, she's a whopping 5 years old and she acts like she's twelve. Always a complete joy to be around. If I had to describe Gracie in 3 words they would be: intelligent, compassionate and beautiful (in every sense).

(Did I mention hilarious? These photos were all Gracie...each "pose" was so unique and creative :)

This here is Jared. Jared is of the quiet sort who most of the time, you find him minding his own business. So I don't want to brag or anything when I tell you there may have been more than one occasion, while they were staying with us that we...snuggled. And if I were the type of aunt to kiss and tell, which I'm not, then I might tell you he kissed my shoulder while we were watching a movie. And those eyes! Those eyes may or may not have earned him an extra jelly bean or two. I hate to see what those eyes will get him in the future. If I had to describe J in 3 words, they would be: clever, happy and sweet.

(Please don't tell my sister I let her son play with a real shovel-- thanks.)

I feel so grateful to live this close to my sister. I just love her and her cute family to pieces!

Now, if there be any other siblings of our's that ever need us to babysit, you just bring 'em on over.

Here are a few more fun photos...

WINTER WRAP-UP

2011-03-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

For me, March is officially a spring month and therefore I'm declaring winter over. No matter what amounts of precipitation I still see from this day forward, I am done with winter. I mean, come on, we hit the 50's this week, Daylight savings is next Sunday, I woke up to birds chirping this morning, plus there has been an undeniable scent of spring in the air. Spring is here and no one can tell me different.*

With all of that said, it's only fair to give winter it's due attention with a wrap-up of all it's notable festivities of late.

We started out Valentine's Day weekend meeting up with family at the Gateway for lunch and a trip to Barnes & Noble for some Valentine books from Nana & Pompa.

Oh...I just love this shot. I dunno....I think she might be irritated that I'm taking her photo, or something.

We enjoyed a chill Valentine's day that included heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast.

Ahhh...my Valentine. Penny thought he was her's

...she was mistaken.

After that we spent spent a few days gearing up for Phil's week-long school trip (vacation) to the UK. Where he spent time in both London and Dublin.

He was able to spend his birthday skiing and and hanging out with family, who came in right before he left for his trip.

Cute brother and sister duo.

Phil and his sister, Jaimie, both have birthdays in Feb, so we had a dual birthday celebration.

While he was gone, we decided to have some adventures of our own. We finished spending time with Phil's family here:

Penny and Ryder getting in some movie time up at Wolf Creek.

Then went and spent one night with my parents up in Tremonton. Since Ryder and Penelope were such good sports while Phil was gone, after we got back home, we went to the toy store. Now, I'm usually a little...insistant on the toys Ryder gets, but this time instead of thinking how much use we'd get out of it, the quality and whether or not there was any learning value to it, I just let him get exactly want he wanted to get... Meet Mr. Rex:

Mr. Rex is a dinosaur almost the size of Penny. And Ryder LOVES him. I go back and forth between thinking this is cute and creepy.

We finished up the weekend anxiously awaiting Phil's safe return. We sure did miss him and hope it's a long time before he has to take off on any other school/business ventures (vacations).

*I'd like to apologize now to everyone in northern Utah. It is because of my previous statement we are most likely going to experience heavy snow storms this week. Sorry.....but no matter, right?!

HUGS & KISSES!

2011-02-14T13:05:00.000-08:00

Here's wishing you a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Hugs & Kisses

You and Yours!

(notice the glitter--like EVERYWHERE? Hmmm...owell.)

NOTHING BETTER THAN..

2011-02-08T20:49:00.000-08:00

There is nothing better than...

Snuggle-y Sundays!

WHATEVER

2011-02-05T23:23:00.000-08:00

That is a lot of cute for one chair.

Lately I've been going through a bit of a "whatever"phase. I have a list longer than my arm of tasks to accomplish, books to read and projects to start, but I'm lucky if I get through the day with a couple of rooms clean. I don't know if it's because of the winter doldrums or because I'm just lazy....(could be a possibility)... either way I'm hoping to snap out of it soon. However, here are a few thoughts or happenings that have occurred lately in my idle state:

We got a humidifier! You know you're in a little bit of a funk, when such a purchase is exciting and perhaps life changing. It's true though. I had this hideous cough that never went away, with no other coinciding cold-like symptoms, that seemed to thrive the second I layed down. Not anymore! Yay!

This angel boy of mine lately...hasn't been, what you might say...angelic. Going through a rough phase. Trying a few different solutions. Trying to figure out why. I still don't have the answers, whatever it is though I'm pretty confident it's nothing I'm doing wrong. Nope. It couldn't be...

I know, how could this boy do anything wrong, right?

Oh and I cleaned out my sock drawer. For reasons like this. Phil who rarely ever tells me to do anything demanded I throw these socks away. I just don't understand why? Maybe he should tell me to go get a pedicure as well...

Phil is enrolled in a personal finance class this semester and it has us all jazzed about figuring out our future budget after we graduate and trying to come up with a plan to efficiently conquer our debt from student loans and find a solution to our condo. I go back and forth between feeling excited and hopeful, to overwhelmed and depressed.

Yesterday we went to hang out at my sister's house. We hadn't been since before the holidays and I kept thinking why? Why don't we do this every day?

Gracie and Ryder laughing together while doing a puzzle. I think Ryder kept saying to Gracie, "You're a genius, girl!" and for some reason it would send them both into a fit of giggles.

So this is what Autumn and I do. Plop our kids in front of the TV, hand them a sucker and we go in the other room and talk. We're such good mothers :) Oh, and where is Penny through all of this. You will find her here:

on the stairs

Speaking of said sister. Do you remember this post? Look at what she got me for my birthday! I am so excited. Particularly because that fabric looks even better in real life than it does online. Hopefully, I can put it to good use sometime soon.

Aaaand, I think that about covers it!

NOTHING BETTER THAN...

2011-01-27T21:11:00.000-08:00

There is nothing better than

BATH TIME!

Here is step number one to our essential night time routine.

Photography note: I shot these in monochrome with my flash (If you could see my mauve and forest green shower, you would have too). I believe my shutter speed was 1/30 which really caught the movement of the water. Unfortunately the photos I felt comfortable enough to post on the web don't show too much of the water. I also had a very difficult time getting good photos with both of them looking at the camera, which is why I only have one good one of them together and a bunch from the night before I took of just P.

THE CAMERA

2011-01-20T19:52:00.000-08:00

After all of the hulabaloo I posted about getting a new camera, a few of you understandably wondered what I ended up getting. I got her:

A Canon Rebel XS:

She's pretty much at the bottom of the totem poll as far as DSLR's go, but oh how I love her. Where I'm such a newbie to the world of photography (I don't even know if I can even say I'm in that world at all) she's just what I need to start learning.

A couple of others have mentioned you also got a new DSLR and are figuring out how to use it. To that I say, let's learn together!!! Here are some things I've learned along with a few other random thoughts:

Right now I'm actually taking a free class from Mario Ruiz. He's professional photographer who is getting his MBA right now and kindly offered this class to any other fellow MBA students and/or spouses. This is where I first felt the desire for a fancy shmancy camera and learned terms like exposure and aperture.
Right after I got my camera I experimented with the very little knowledge I had + the owner's manual. One night I start browsing through Pioneer Woman's photography blog (I've read her other stuff, but never had a need for the photography posts--until now)--SO HELPFUL. I love her. She explains things so they are so easy to understand. If you just got a camera that you don't know how to use, go there. Fast.
I'm always confused to whether or not I'm "doing it right". Photography is SO subjective. Yet as beginners I feel we need some sort of way to check ourselves to determine whether or not we're using our new skill correctly. Obviously, there are shots that are obviously wrong--but I'm trying to make myself a little more comfortable in finding what I love and learning to go with it. This will be a lengthy process.
Shooting moving things (aka people) is SO difficult for me! With my kids it's fine because I can just shoot a bajillion shots while they sit there and play. Tinkering with all sorts of settings and modes. However--I went to a YW activity the other night thinking how fun it would be to document the event and was like shoot...they're posing for me and ...nope--that setting didn't work. "Could you just stay there for a minute-hehe." Nope...that setting didn't work...sigh.
Sometimes I like to think I can make any setting work as long as I find the right combo of settings. Especially where most of the photos I've taken during this past month have been indoors when it's been dreary outside, this idea has left me frustrated. Sometimes I have to accept the fact that THERE IS NO LIGHT and whip out the flash and be fine with it. That's the conclusion I came to at the YW activity:)
I'd like to say I'm a strictly a SOOC (straight out of camera. A term used for hoity-toity photographers who think you shouldn't edit photos and are usually talented enough to take photos that don't need editing.) photographer because I'm awesome, but no. I just have a LAME, lamers, lame-o, computer that can't handle Photoshop. I downloaded a trial version of Photoshop Elements (simplified version of Photoshop) and it runs sooo slow. So right now I'm stuck with Picasa for basic cropping and that's pretty much it. I will also look at my photos on Phil's computer and realize there are details I can see on his computer that I can't see on mine. One day, my friends, one day.
Speaking of SOOC. The theory interests my, but personally, I can't wait to get my hand on some great editing software. Can we say fun? I get the idea of reigning it in (PW talks about that too), but I shall always be pro editing.
Finally, storage. I have taken more pictures this month than I did all of last year. How do I store them? Get more drives? Online albums/storage archives? Tell me. I want to know.
Oh and I want this bag to carry her around in:

NOTHING BETTER THAN

2011-01-16T12:50:00.000-08:00

There's nothing better than...

A cute girl having a bad hair day!

(because they still look cute, with a little silly thrown in)

If you're wondering how this crazy "do" came about, lately I have been doing Penny's hair with a blow dryer and a small round brush. There was a little learning curve there, but now we've got it so it gives her just the right combo of bend and volume. Sorry, people, I can't help myself. Well, this day we were experimenting with "the flip" and I'm doing my thing while she's playing with everything in arms reach on the bathroom counter. Distracted with her busy arms and the job at hand I didn't see the full picture until I stopped and looked at her in the mirror. I gave a hearty laugh, so she started laughing and then I went and got the camera. The end.

NOTHING BETTER THAN...

2011-01-10T22:19:00.000-08:00

There's nothing better than...

A GNO (Girls' Night Out)!

Especially, when it's with two of my favorite girls :)

And especially, when you get a "special" invitation.

Because that's how I felt when my sister called to to tell me that her and my niece were have a night out and they wanted me to come :) :) :)

It began here

Where we ate this

I big time heart this mother/daughter duo (about to be trio)

But I'd be lying if I wasn't completely smitten, flattered, tongue-in-cheek during the few (many) times people have mistaken Gracie as mine :) :) :)

Later, we went here so Gracie could pick out her reward. (The reason for the GNO was because Gracie had worked really hard on her reading chart and math skills).

So this camera thing sure isn't getting old. At first, Autumn was a bit bashful (embarassed) that I kept lugging my camera everywhere we went and snapping photos.

But she eventually warmed up.

Isn't she great. And gorgeous. The camera has always loved her.

(Rory Jane, here is your mother rockin' (with you) the Toys R Us runway at 8-months! )

BABE UPDATE

2011-01-06T21:38:00.000-08:00

Now that those crazy holidays are over, I thought it would be a good time to document where my cute babes are at these days.

Ryder (or also lovingly known as #1): I love having conversations with him. I have never been so entertained than I am at his attempted efforts to conquer the English language and then use that knowledge to communicate with others. He loves to help and I love having an eager volunteer when I need something thrown away in the garbage can. As previously mentioned he just started primary and he also participates in a little preschool co-op. His interests include: peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, dragons/dinosaurs (particularly his dino jammies), rocking out to the guitar, running, and PUZZLES (I'd say this is the first thing I've seen him passionate about). I love you Ryder.

Ryder being silly modeling for me after I've asked him to look at the camera a bajillion times

Doing puzzles on Christmas morning

One day over Christmas break Ryder did every puzzle he owned in one sitting. So I took the opportunity to take some photos...:)

I love him and love the idea, but I wish a) I'd known a little bit more about my camera when I took them b) All the stuff in the background drives me nutso! SO. I'm thinking we may have try this photo op one more time with a more aesthetically pleasing back-drop.

Penelope Rae (or, you guessed it, #2): Penelope has hit a couple of major milestones of late. As you know she is now the big numero uno. She also mastered walking, albeit a bit wobbly (think drunkin' sailor). Thanks to a big brother she has even learned to run or sit down really fast when a large (brown-eyed) object approaches her at high speed. She also got her first hair cut (you know, a little mullet trim). When I think of how to describe her combination of charm and sass I come up with the word: SCAMPETTE (def. cute little girl scamp). Her interests include: moving, accessories, snuggle-housing (her own version of rough-housing), climbing stairs, daddy, eating whatever happens to be on the floor, Elmo and CHEESE (this is probably the first thing I've ever seen Penny be passionate about :). I love you Penny Rae.

Miss Walk-a-doo, herself

A few interactions with Bruce the Moose.

Cute girl and a really good (as in bad) example of what I believe they call noise in the photography world.

The haircut!!! (along with a possibly blow-dryed-with-velco-rollers styled-do. )

And how this happened, I'll never know. She wandered into the bathroom. I told Ryder to go in and get her. He took these instructions very literally and he came out dragging her with a sock in her pants.

***At this point I have no excuses for the massive amounts of photos I'm about to post of Penny, other than we spend a good portion of our time waiting for Ryder to wake up from his nap taking photos. And I thought my mom might enjoy seeing them. They do however epitomize Penny***

She moves a lot and therefore has to take a few 2-second breaks every once in awhile.

Snuggle-housing Elmo.

Love her. One of my favorite photos.

On the move

A girl and her gold flats. Need I say more. (Thank you aunt Lancy and Bethany!)

Static hair and chapped cheeks = Winter. Could someone PLEASE get this girl some lotion on those cheeks. I mean, seriously, who is her mother!?

Tender

One word: Scampette.

Wow, way to hang in there. Don't say I didn't warn you. As for the photography aspect. The lighting in these isn't great. And I'm still just using Picasa for minor editing. I figure, get the camera down, then add on editing. Also, I'm still working on getting moving objects, can you tell? Which is another reason Penny makes for great photography practice :)

GENDER NEUTRAL

2011-01-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Do you want to know what I think about when I have nothing else to think about??? Huh. Now that I think about it, it's actually lots of things. BUT one theme in particular that seems to frequent my thoughts is how I plan to one day decorate individual rooms in my future home.

One problem I typically run into in the midst of these glorious thoughts is knowing one day (it's inevitable) Ryder and Penelope will have to share a room. I know, I know. I should be worrying about sleeping habits and sharing issues. But no, I'm more concerned with how in the world am I going to conquer the ever-so-tricky "decorating childrens' room gender neutral" dilemma.

I was comforted last November when I was getting lost in IKEA with my sister. We decided to check out the textiles (fabrics) before checking out. I mean I knew IKEA sold fabrics, but I had never really taken a good look at them. My loss. They are so cool. Fun and unique. One particular pattern caught my eye was called Annamoa. What fun inspiration for a perfectly gender neutral room! I particularly love the color pallet along with the fairytale-like print.

Add in a little of there red & white stripey stripes...could be neato...

Check out other Annamoa fabrics here. So fun.

GIRLY BEAN BAGS

2011-01-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

So here is the other little project I was working on in December for Penelope's birthday. I had some scraps leftover from her bedroom and around that same time I saw a talented friend of mine make these for her little Penelope :)

And just like any other smart person would do, I copied her :)

Here is the link to the ones she did.

And here is the link to the tutorial I used to get the measurements and instructions for the actual bean bag part (although, I think mine are about an inch bigger).

I had so much fun making these. Perhaps a little more fun making them than Penny has had playing with them, but really, what do ya do?

Also--I am sorry for any picture-heavy posts. You all get to follow me in my experimentation with my new camera and sometimes I have a tendency to get carried away. Like now...
(Oh and any comments or tips are so welcome.)

Okay, so he's kinda cute.

NOTHING BETTER THAN...

2011-01-02T16:50:00.000-08:00

I know this attempted effort was quite the flop. But never a better time like the new year to try again!

There is nothing better than...

...You're three-year-old's first day of Primary!

I think he had a pretty good time. However, two seconds before I walked in to pick him up a fellow sunbeam accidentally squished his little hand between two of the metal chairs. So it didn't end on the best note :) I later talked to the teaches and they said he did pretty good, but may have had a tricky time sitting still during sharing time.

I was not surprised by this information :) Yay, for primary!

DEAR 2011

2011-01-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

Dear 2011,

You intimidate me. Never have I felt so anxious about an upcoming year and all of it's known happenings let alone the unknown. Although, I feel overwhelmed about Phil graduating (yay!), moving across the country (holy smokes!) and all that entails (yikes!) I am at the same time ready to hop on this wild ride and see where it will take us.

Last year at this time, I was holding a cute little newborn in my arms and feeling like taking care of her and Ryder was a big enough goal for me to take on for the coming year. Now, with two babes over one-year old, I'm feel much more like cleaning out, organizing and revamping...everything. Knowing we'll be moving this year and starting over really adds to these feelings. However, making sure I simplify and make practical goals to accomplish everything I want to...well, I guess that's task number one :)

Here we go!

Happy New Year Everyone!

And how cool is that today's date is 1.1.11. I bet 1.11.11 will be another goody.

TOY TEE PEE

2010-12-30T22:01:00.000-08:00

So about once I year I get one good hair-brained idea for a project. Two or three years ago it was this and last year it was this. The thing they all have in common: inexpensive, but a lot of work. But they don't start out that way. They start out by sounding totally awesome. This year's occurred when I was trying to get my gift for everyone figured out, a fellow MBA spouse posted a link on the MBASA Google Group (yes, there is one) about how to make your own Tee Pee. For any and all interested, it can be found here.

I thought they looked totally fun, and better yet, incredibly inexpensive to make. (Around $12-$15 per tee pee). Nephew & niece gifts--done and done. I thought I'd make one for my brother's kids and my sister's and of course, my own, which equaled 3 total.

Now, if you were to sit down and just make one, at my sewing level, it wouldn't be so bad, some would even say easy peasy... but three may have been a tad overwhelming. Luckily, they all seemed to be pretty well received, which made my day.

The most entertaining part of the whole experience was pushing my monster utility cart down the isle of Lowe's with my 15 pieces of 6' long PVC pipe.
Funnest part: drilling the holes :) And the sewing...not cutting.
Hardest part: getting the pipes in the pockets. Don't ask. But if you do decide to make one, they are very serious about the measurements.

DEAR DAISY DOODLE

2010-12-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

So I Santa brought me a camera for Christmas. I hesitate to tell you this, because then there might be some sort of expectation here on out in the photos I put on this blog, when in actuality, you probably won't even be able to tell the difference between past photos and ones I've taken with my new piece of machinery. So here's the deal, I'll continue to try and learn how to use my camera, if you promise to have low expectations--scratch that--no expectations.

With that said, I'd like to tell you about my mom's cat, Daisy, who we all lovingly call Daisy Doodle. In my efforts to figure out my camera, I was, well, taking lots of photos. Some people found this annoying.

But not Daisy Doodle. She was incredibly cooperative and let me snap photos of her all I wanted. So to you, dear Daisy Doodle--thank you.

'TWAS A MERRY CHRISTMAS

2010-12-28T22:49:00.000-08:00

We spent most of the week at my parents home, which is a Christmas haven to me. We ate like kings and made ourselves quite merry with holiday cheer.

My sister and her family came up on Christmas Eve day and Nana kicked off the evening with a Christmas treasure hunt for the grandbabes. Each "clue" had a little prize and an activity.

After a delicious dinner, we had my dad read the Christmas story while the grandkids acted out the nativity scene. Ryder was Joseph, Gracie was Mary, Jared insisted on being baby Jesus and Penny was an angel. Being the first time we tried this, I wasn't quite sure how it would go. I was left very impressed by how well everyone got into character (wouldn't you agree?)

(lol, Jared kills me!)

(A serious Joseph)

(A rather beautiful angel announcing the Savior's birth!)

Jammies, brownies and A Mickey's Christmas Carol followed until...

...Christmas morn! Need I say more?

Stockings! Look at little P, doesn't she look like a little elf or Who or something?

Bono. Uh...I mean The Edge.

Captain.

Thank you Nana and Pompa for hosting a wonderful and memorable Christmas!

ACCIDENTAL HIATUS

2010-12-20T15:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, I think I'm done. Done with my blogging hiatus, that is. I know most people usually announce hiatuses before they actually happen. Not me. But like I said, I think I'm done now.

In all truthfulness this hiatus was very accidental. Thanks to my self-inflicted December to-do list, I blinked and we were already three weeks into the month. However, if I push rewind in slow-motion, I think I can recall some of my thoughts, actions and events from the past few weeks...

We had a crazy, happy Thanksgiving that was spent with my parents and my brother's family. Delicious food and gratitude was had by all.

my brother holding Mr. E and Penelope, with her "look"

Ryder had a big role this year in our ward's Christmas nativity play. I mean this part was made for him! We were so proud. I mean, I don't like to boast, but he was the most dynamic and talented sheep I had ever seen. Well, maybe not, but he definitely was the cutest.

Sewing like a madwoman trying to get my niece and nephews' Christmas presents done. Originally, they were a cool, hand-made, inexpensive idea. Originally. I also felt in necessary to sew Penelope a birthday gift. I may have to post about these two projects later. This may or may not have had something to do with the hiatus.
Penelope got a never-ending virus (just congestion and a runny nose) that eventually led to a FOUR-day long fever. This had me stressed. Plus, a sad Penny= sadness all around. After this subsided she had an entire 3 days without an runny nose. Blast you, winter.

Have you visited the new lds.org yet? I am very impressed. Nice layout and even easier to navigate.
Ryder loves (with all his heart) being a reindeer. We didn't let him wear his antlers to church but he may or may not have attended church last week with a red nose.

I already now my next year's Christmas project. These ornaments I saw over at Say Yes to Hoboken. I haven't been able to get them out of my head. I hope to make lots (perhaps the whole alphabet?). I love the multiple colors and would think they'd be very kid-friendly as well. But that's next year.
And one of the biggest events of the month. This little girl turned one. There is something so relieving and great about getting a baby through it's first year. Her birthday week included making decorations for her party, putting the final touches on her birthday presents and a Christmas/Birthday pedi. In red. We were lucky to have most of my family there and even Phil's mom just happened to be in town for the big event. I'm so sad I didn't get better photos of her party. I kinda worked hard on it. But we got the girl and that's all the matters.

*** Penelope Rae, having you in our lives has compounded our joy in ways I didn't think was possible. I love you!***

The pedi

Aren't these two the cutest?

Oh, and I got two, yes TWO whole dates with Phil this week. On Tuesday we went out to dinner up in Sundance with the professor he's been TA-ing for AND we got to go to the MOTAB Christmas Concert, which was kind of amazing. I love you Archy...uh...I mean Phil!
Now we're headed into another week o' fun with Christmas knocking on our door. Can't wait! Merry Christmas everyone!

SPEAKING OF...

2010-11-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

...cool wooden toys, my sister and I went to the Bijou Market this last Friday in Provo (a bunch of local Esty Shop owners). They had so many cool hand-made items from jewelry to pillows, but the thing that caught my eye and that I can't quit thinking about is this little toy camera:

I mean, seriously, how cute is that? Can you imagine, come on cute babies, lets go on a photo shoot! So could someone please help me figure out how to make these cute, over-priced (well, maybe not because even as students I came very close to throwing down and extra $50 for two of them) little wooden cameras? My favorite part is that all the knobs turn, so you can change the "mode" of your camera or put it in "focus".

And speaking of...

...cameras, I'm taking a beginning photography class. Phil and I are thinking it might be fun to put my knew knowledge to use and get a nicer camera for Christmas. However, I don't know what type of camera to buy. It comes down to a nice point and shoot. I'm thinking like a Canon Powershot (something like this one) or a DLSR...I dunno, you tell me. So calling all photography friends (you know who you are) would you be ever so kind to weigh in on what type of camera we should get considering our personal situation.

I don't plan ever plan on being any sort of professional photographer. My entire goal is to learn how NOT to be an idiot behind a camera, like I currently am.
With that said, I love to blog and would love quality, clear, bright images. Yeah, baby.
I do like that cool "click" noise
As I've mentioned before, I plan on teaching myself graphic design and being able to take good pictures will probably come in very handy.
I don't find myself, at my current level ever wanting or needing to change lenses. Are there any other pros to a DLSR beside that feature opposed to a nicer point and shoot?

HERE COMES SANTA CLAUSE

2010-11-16T22:14:00.000-08:00

I'm not quite sure if I've been this excited about Christmas since I was a little girl. Now that Ryder is old enough to really get the concept of Santa (and hopefully, and more importantly, the birth of baby Jesus, right? Real meaning here, people!) Now, back to Santa...I really get now that being on the other end of Santa game is just as, if not more fun. However, it has been so very difficult for me to keep up the charade! Poor Ryder is going to know that Santa Clause isn't real at 3 years-old if I'm not careful.

However, it's tricky, getting your tykes something they'll love. Toy buying for me has always been stressful. I can not tell you the hours I'll spend in aisles of toys trying to find something that they'll love. Love as in they'll still want to play with it after two weeks. I can't stand throwing $20-$40 at a piece of plastic that will just sit in a corner taking up space.

Well, like I said, I'm excited--not stressed because due to an on-top-of-it sister who planned a very productive shopping excursion, I'm almost done. With R and P's stuff, anyway. Autumn and I like to envision ourselves during the month of December sitting on the couch sipping hot cocoa and watching White Christmas while everyone else looks for a parking space at Costco. It's a good dream. But most likely I'll be in line at Costco with everyone else. But again--back to Santa. So in my few years as a parent I'm starting to learn a few tricks of the trade, if you will. Here are a few:

1. Have a sister who spends hours on Amazon.com researching the best, most popular toys. I told her next year I am going to call her around mid-November and ask, "So what are we getting our kids this year?" If you want to do the same, let me know and I'll get you her number. If I had to choose, I'd say this was our (her) pick for the season:

Melissa & Doug 60-Piece Standard Unit Blocks

Why: They are a classic, well-made toy that kids never get tired of. This toy was got 208 reviews that averaged 5 stars. Plus, they have a really cool architectural set that goes along with it.

2. If they need batteries, then go to Costco and buy in bulk (or get a charger) because they will need to be replaced OFTEN. Maybe it's just my son, but he'll be running a battery operated toy and then a few minutes later, he'll be doing something else, but that toy...is still runnin'. I'm trying to steer clear of such toys in general. Mostly because I'm a hideous mom and fail miserably at replacing batteries. Plus, I find all the blinky-blinky, noise making of it all a bit chaotic and they lack longevity in attention and quality. But granted some REALLY cool toys need batts.

Something tells me this one needs batts.

3. I also love the idea of hand-made gifts. I'm hoping to make my neice and nephews a little somethin' somethin' this year (which shall be revealed after Christmas, if I succeed). I've also had the fabric cut and ready to go to make bean bags like these for Penny. I'm also a huge fan of putting an artist's kit together. I got one of those for Christmas when I was like 7 and I still remember it being one of my favorite gifts as a child. I've also thought of putting together a dress up kit (ie pirate clothes, hat, fake coins in a painted treasure chest that you can get at most craft stores.) And even bigger plus, is that these gifts usually are a bit more economical than others.

Quiet books make amazing hand-made gifts. Although they are quality and special, they're usually not the cheapest/easy route to go. You can find more about this one here.

4. I know I'm dreaming when I envision shelves filled with classic, wooden, toys that encourage imaginative play and will last until my babies have babies, but dream I shall. I also feel there is something about a room messy with quality wooden/hand-made toys that is a little less daunting than a room full of the plastic, blinky-blinkey noise-makers. Which is why I love Melissa & Doug. FAO Shwartz have some really great wooden, material-made items as well. And I'm pretty sure it's better for our environment:) Here are a couple of cool ones...

1. FAO Schwarz Fire Truck 2. Melissa and Doug cutting bread set

What about you? What do you want to get your kids? What are your toy preferences and tips? I mean in the end, it's really all about us, right?

THERE'S NOTHING BETTER THAN...

2010-11-14T21:07:00.000-08:00

(Peniscola, Spain)

So a long time ago, my parents, sister and I set out on a European adventure to go get my brother from his mission and bring him home. On our way to Barcelona we stopped in a beautiful city that sits on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This place was called Peniscola. I don't think there was really anything not to like about this place. So we stopped there on our way back too. One evening we were sitting in our hotel room starving, waiting for my dad to bring us back some dinner. In an effort to keep ourselves amused, I think it was my sister who came up with the idea to play, "There's Nothing Better Than..." where you essentially go around the circle and everyone has to finish the sentence. The only response I could remember was my mom's: "There's nothing better than...hearing the garage door open and knowing that it is dad home from work for the day."

So in a feeble attempt to express some gratitude during this thankful month, I thought I'd take this fond memory of mine and use it as a way to record some things I am so very grateful for.

My first one is boring, but true...

There's nothing better than...

...the fresh start of a brand-new week.

I feel like I'm always making these little goals in my head and no matter how much I fail to keep them, I always feel like when Sunday evening rolls around I feel motivated to start over, with a clean slate, and try again to be a little bit better this week, than the week before.

NEWNESS

2010-11-03T23:19:00.000-07:00

I figured it was about time to take down the 'ol New York heading, since we've been back now, oh for two months...

However, speaking of New York headings, it does remind me about some news. Good news. Exciting news. And far away news. And I couldn't think of a better way to kick off this thankful month then to share with you how SO VERY grateful I am for Phil and his hard work because...

....earlier this month Phil happily accepted an offer with American Express in New York City. {Insert: Pace Picante's "It was made in New York City. NEW YORK CITY?!?!" minus the "It was made in New York City" part" here}

And now for the actual news: We will be moving back to New York this summer. AND (I think) I'm excited. The fact that I've had a couple of months to process all of this, hasn't hurt either. After many, thorough discussions with my mom about how we will use the newest possible forms of technology to stay in touch and after continually reminding myself there will be no one actually forcing me to live on a fourth floor walk-up, I began to think I might really be able to do this AND actually enjoy myself in the process. It's been a tricky, yet somewhat liberating experience. I mean lets be honest, did we really think the Big Apple could keep me away? I mean, Jasmine+NYC=Destiny. Need I say more?

We're not quite sure where we will be living in NYC. Wherever it will be, we'll only be there for 16 months before spending a few months working out of the country (most likely in London or Brighton).

It's all quite new/scary/exciting. I will occasionally wonder who in the world gave us the right to get married, have the audacity to bring cute babies into this world thinking we could actually do a good job raising them and then to top it all off take our tiny brood and move across the country?? Crazy. Life is crazy. It's very late now. I'm going to bed.

OCTOBER WRAP-UP

2010-10-31T17:52:00.000-07:00

First of all:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Although, I'd be lying if I didn't say I have already easily transitioned into the warm, grateful goodness of Thanksgiving...perhaps laced with a little Christmas cheer.

My goodness, October was busy! In some ways it went by so fast and in others--it went by oh, so slow. Because of it's busy state, I wanted to make sure I hit the high points that I lacked the time to do so before.

Phil's case competition in Nashville, TN! Below is a picture of him and his talented team. They worked very hard and spent a lot of time preparing for this. They did an awesome job and I'm very proud of him (and very happy to have him home and a little less stressed :)

The complex inner thoughts of brilliant business minds at work.

Phil did get a week off from school this month (due to everyone interviewing and attending job conferences) so what did we decide to spend our extra time doing? Getting Ryder off of his binky and getting Penny sleeping through the night!!! Don't envy me and more importantly, don't judge me :) We had great success on both accounts. For Ryder we held a "Bye-bye Binky" party, which was a smashing success. Penny Rae, I believe has a 6 out of 8 track record for sleeping a full 12 hours thru the night. We are so proud of both of them. (And if I'm being really honest, I'm proud of Phil and I too :)

We did our annual run to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point...oh wait, no we didn't, because it was raining cats and dogs. But since we were already there, we went to their Dinosaur museum instead, which was still pretty stinkin' fun. And all Halloween spirit wasn't lost because Ryder got to make a hat with a boingey pumpkin hanging off of it.

I feel like the expression on P's face is a good representation for how she feels about my 1000 kisses/day

Every year the MBASA (BYU MBA Spouse Association) throws a Halloween Party. It's typically one the bigger events of the year, which is saying something if you know this group. Being usually totally lame in participating in such things, I turned over a new leaf this year and joined the family committee. I'm still pretty lame, but I'm making small improvements in the right direction. Well, for our Halloween Party I was in charge of getting the candy for the carnival games and coming up with the prizes for the costume and pumpkin carving contests. This had to be done for approximately 400-500 people all on a budget. Compared to the ladies in charge of this, I had the easy part. I purchased as much candy I could given our bugdet (about 21 lbs) and made these "spooky" little prizes for the winners.

The Apple Cider and Root Beer labels I got here.

Finally, Halloween Night, or that Halloween Eve Night! Our theme for the kiddos this year was "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz!" Ryder was Buzz Lightyear and Penelope was a Bumble Bee, or as my dad called her, a PeneloBee. We went to my sister's house in Eagle Mountain to trick or treat because it's a rockin' residential area perfectly designed for such festivities. Plus, it allowed the cousins to go trick-or-treating together. Despite wind and rain, this little Toy Story threesome (with the help of their cute dads) came back with a very respectable haul. The girls (minus Gracie, plus my dad) stayed inside answering the door and sipping hot cocoa :) It was a very fun evening filled with cozy, holiday fuzzies and good company. Just how I like 'em.

Isn't my sister's house cute? More on this later.

Enjoying the spoils of his victory, as any respectable Buzz Lightyear would.

FAMILY PHOTO SHOOT

2010-10-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

We had our second official family photo shoot about a month ago. So far we've had one with every new child, which I think will be a realistic goal for me. Getting our family pictures taken every year, might just be far too ambitious.

With our last pictures done amidst the vibrant greens that are so symbolic of the Northwest, I wanted to make sure our photos were taken at a place that is special to the season we find ourselves in now. That's how I came up with BYU campus. Crazy and clever, I know. A place that is very meaningful to Phil and I for so many reasons :)

I'm finding a few gallery canvas print deals going on and want to jump on them before they pass me by, so I was hoping if you could help me decide.

The big family one will be one of the following two:

I would also like to get a pair of Ryder and Penelope. Which one do you think? Full-body or head-shots? Oh, and if you by chance are a Nana or a Grandma, please make your requests now :)

Here are some other fun ones. The ones of us inside are in the Tanner building (aka: Phil's second home)...

Photos taken by: Susan Monson

THEY SAY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY

2010-10-26T15:02:00.000-07:00

So--Dad--we're gonna have a good time.

Let's start with a big:

HAPPY 55th BIRTHDAY!!!

to, seriously, one of the best men I know.

And to get this party going, we're going to throw out a couple more of these:

And for the main event, the 55 reasons why I love you more than anything and why I am so grateful for this day.

1. I love that you are tall (See above photos). 6'6'' to be exact. You never had to act intimidating when dates came to pick us up, you just were ;)

2. But really, we all know you're a big softy at heart.

3. I love, that thanks to you, I'm tall too :)

4. Everyone who knows you, respects you.

5. I love that I look like you. To the point that if someone you knew saw me, would come up to me as ask if I was your daughter...and not just in Downey :)

6. You were the best Trick-or-Treating partner I ever had.

7. That you are on-time. To EVERYTHING.

8. You are so handsome. Every time I see President Uchtdorf speak, he reminds me of you (again, see photo above.)

9. I swear you can fix or build anything.

10. You are the most responsible and dependable person I know.

11. I love your cooking.

12. Did I mention I love your cooking? I also love that you make me whatever I want when I come to visit.

13. You've been an example and an advisor to me in helping me to conquer hard things in my life.

14. From Rubbermaid bins full of my highschool memorabilia or my car, you have always been so great about storing stuff for me.

15. You're the best person to have a movie fest with.

16. I envy your organized food storage

17. You taught me that the only way to fix some things is with elbow grease.

18. Thank you for serving a mission

19. I love you for being the type of dad that after I drove home from the high school at 12:30 am, on a flat tire, you are a) standing out on the porch waiting for me (your fatherly radar was phenomenal) and b) had the flat tire fixed and taken care of before I woke up the next morning.

20. Because of you, I've been blessed to have access to a worthy priesthood holder my entire life.

21. Taught me the joys of classic rock

22. I'm so grateful to have you as an example to my son

23. You are one of the hardest workers I know

24. You never swear

25. You are a wonderful husband which allowed me to easily recognize what good husbands look like when it was time to find my own.

26. You taught me how to drive. A stick shift. Even if after we got home mom would ask us how it went. You would reply, oh fine, only to walk away and reveal a sweat mark that started at the nape of your neck an stretched all the way down to your lower back.

27. You are always working to become a better person.

28. Even though I've talked to both Phil and Autumn about partnering up with either of them to enter the Amazing Race. I've always thought in the back of my head, but if I really want to win, I'd go with dad.

29. I like your nose. And I'm glad (among many others) that it got passed to me.

30. I think your funny. So very funny.

31. You adore and take excellent care of mom.

32. I never hear you gossip and you rarely judge others.

33. You love to travel and are willing to visit me wherever I move.

34. You rarely complain.

35. You taught me that there is a difference between being worried and being concerned.

36. You have unwavering integrity.

37. You bring a new meaning to the term "magnify your calling"

38. You have always been a huge proponent for all of us getting our education.

39. You have helped all of us in paying for said education :)

40. I am grateful you passed on your ability to blow your nose to me.

41. You are always doing things that need to be done that no one else wants to do.

42. I know if I need someone on my side, your the first person to go to.

43. I love how you always write reminders on the back of your hand.

44. I can't count how many times you have helped me or me and my family move.

45. Pajama pants. Need I say more?

46. I love that you like things clean and organized.

47. When I think of adjectives to describe you, one that immediately pops into my head is humble. Any of your many accomplishments, achievements, etc, I've found out from another source besides yourself.

48. We share the same sense of smell.

49. I love that your a "catch and release" type of a guy.

50. I love hearing you laugh. Especially, your loud, huge-smile laugh.

51. I love that so many things in our home growing up, were made by you.

52. You are a fabulous Pompa and both my babies love you.

53. I love talking to you on the phone.

54. Did I say my babies love you? Because they really do. And so do I.

55. I love that when I woke up today super cranky because we were all sick that my mood changed immediately when I remembered it was your birthday and started feeling all sorts of happiness and gratitude to know that I get to have you in my life. Happy birthday, Dad!

HELP

2010-10-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

So, I need your help. I love graphic design. I've never known time to melt away like I do when I'm playing in a world of fonts, designs and color. However, I discovered this passion a little later than I would have liked and what I currently know in this area is pitiful. I crave to know more. I crave to have the programs and equipment necessary to learn what I hope to learn.

I know now isn't the time for such things while we're in the middle of Phil's MBA program. But while I'm patiently biding my time, I like to plan and dream. When I express these thoughts to Phil--this is all the response I can get out of him, "Why don't you just get a PC?"

{Insert: needle scratching record player sound here}

I mean seriously, can we say killjoy?

He argues that I can get everything I need in a PC to fit my needs for half the price of a mac. When the numbers shake out, he is right about the price and all I have to argue back with (in a high-pitched whiny voice) is, but artists NEED Macs!. Because that's what I am. An artist.

Like I said, what I know on the subject is pitiful. So I turn to you, sweet readers for information and research. Why is a mac better than a PC? Particularly, for artistic uses? I need specifics, facts, info, things that make me sound smart. Help.

Oh, and if you agree with Phil, that the pros to Macs aren't worth the extra mula...well, I guess you can add your two cents as well.

If you're wondering why I haven't done any research...this is my research.

MOVE OVER PROJECT RUNWAY

2010-10-10T10:16:00.000-07:00

Yup, I did a refashion...(isn't that what they call it?) I mean, I don't like to brag, but at this rate--don't be surprised if you see me on the next season of Project Runway wearing a slouch beanie and my thick rimmed glasses.

It all started when I was trying to figure out what I wanted everyone to wear in our family pictures we had a couple weeks ago. I was thinking dark blue and greens and well since Penelope is a little baby girl, finding something in those hues was becoming a bit tricky. However, one day I came up on this little jumper at Target.

On clearance, no less! Only, it was 2T, so something needed to be done. So I worked my skills, whatever they might be, and turned it into...something most difficult and intricate...a skirt.

And then because I just couldn't leave well enough alone, added another ruffle.

Now be honest. Do you think I should apply for project runway now? Or wait one more season to really perfect my fashion design abilities?

DAY DREAMING

2010-10-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

Why, hello, beautiful fall! You look lovely and I'm so happy you finally decided to grace us with your presence. Why? So we can all finally whip out our scarves, cardi's....and BOOTS. I think I have a minor boot fetish, which is good, because I think if I had money, it would turn into a major boot fetish. And if it were so, I know exactly what I'd be purchasing.

The last couple of cold seasons, every time I'd see a boot that I swear had a halo hanging over it, it would always be the same brand: MizMooz.

My first choice would be these:

I could also handle a pair of these as well, in gray :)