Farewell Goldi- Long-Tangled-Locks

Isn't she a beauty?! I have to TREASURE the moments that she listens, looks, & smiles all within the click of my shutter. I wanted you to see how long her hair has grown. She's loved it long. She takes it out of the ponytail so she can feel it brush against her back. The curls on the very ends are tight and easily tangled. She doesn't like it brushed. Which means I've been ready for a hair cut.

Jessica still wants LONG hair and I concede. It really is pretty. But we bid farewell to the curls on the ends. I had Jolie (our friend & hair dresser) trim it up about 5 inches with an undercut. It's still beautiful, but let's enjoy this last glimpse of her very long locks.

It's Here

I decided that I want to start reading again. So I pre-ordered my final installment of the Twilight series AND purchased TheHost . I kept waiting for my book to arrive. Amazon is usually so quick. So I got online I realized that they weren't planning to send the book until August when they shipped the other one. Silly me!!! I'm NOT that kind of patient.

This book claims to be "science fiction for people who don't like science fiction." I just know that I enjoy the author. So I paid extra for shipping and almost immediately this box was on my doorstep. Now I've waited FIVE days to even open the box because I knew I didn't have time yet to get absorbed in a new book. But now it's time. Shhhhhhhhhhhh! Mommy's reading now.

"Mom, do I have school today?"

I'm so sad that I have to answer, "no." Jessica misses her friends, her teacher, & her special time to play. I'm sad too because Jessica has been blessed with a fabulous preschool experience. How wonderful that I've had friends who would teach my daughter in their home.

Jessica actually got cheated out of her last week of preschool because we took her to Moab instead. I was able to see her practice the program and sing all her cute songs. This was Jessica's last day of school - the swim party. Hopefully that explains her terry apparel & her wet hair.

I also would like to wish Sara a Happy Birthday!!!!

Falling - In Love at First Sight

I have ONE girl. "The" Princess & "The" Angel. Why is my daughter the only one who's had stitches? You can still see the spot where they glued her back together. She is also the one with the red/purple stork bite (ie. blotch) on her forehead that fades in and out.

Last night I heard her screaming her head off - typical evening drama. I kept on folding my laundry. Jon carried her down to me with blood all over her teeth and set her on top of my freshly laundered whites. I remained calm, but wanted the screaming blood gusher OFF the clothes. She goes a bit hysterical at the sight of blood, so it took a while to get the story from her. I also think that her trip to the ER last December is still to fresh on her mind. I was able to find out that she bounced off our bed and apparently nailed the thick wooden frame. OUCH! Her upper lip got real swollen. Her teeth are not wiggling, so that's good. But she did scrap up her gums a lot. Almost looks like bite marks.

I wrapped frozen peas in a dish towel to ease the swelling. I spoke very softly which also helps ease her pain. I assured her that she was fine (and kept rotating the cloth so she couldn't see any of the blood). I explained that her body knows how to fix it. We just needed to keep it cold for a little bit. She wanted to curl up and cuddle with daddy which is where she fell asleep.

So when my new lens (Nikon 85mm f/1.8) arrived from the UPS guy, guess who got to be the subject of my experimentation. Her lip is still puffy and purple which is what we needed to capture, but it's hard to notice when I'm so easily drawn into her deep blue eyes. It's not hard to fall in love with this lens. I've heard rave reviews and I'm hoping to get out and play with it soon.

Jayson Update

It's been a while since Jayson has been featured on this blog. You might remember him like this:

This was just before he turned 3 months. Look at the gobs of gorgeous hair. I was constantly saying, "he's going through a growth spurt." I don't think the spurts have ever stopped for us. A week or two before his 4 month check up I weighed him at over 16 pounds.

Here's some never before seen footage of sweet 3 1/2 month old Jayson:



I decided to let him try some rice cereal.

He ate it alright, but I wasn't committed to getting the high chair out of the garage. I only gave it to him a few times. His head was growing very fast and I didn't notice (until later) that his hair was thinning fast.

You'll remember these precious lips:

Here are some of the other favorites of Jayson in his "I [heart] Mommy" shirt.

He was discovering his hands - holding them, batting toys, and clenching. Gotta love it when he catches hold of mommy's hair.



Just check out those baby rolls. Yummy!!!

Now watch the hair just disappear.

At his 4 month appointment, Jayson weighed in at 17 lbs. 4 oz. We are going through clothes like crazy. I went shopping before my Utah trip and got a few more sized 9 months.

There are 9 days that I don't have a photo of Jayson. It's like I woke up one morning and realized that HE IS BALD. He kept a patch of mohawk in the back, but it's gone now.

I also discovered that he has an adorable button on his round belly.



He is working on his core strength. He will hold head up in the car seat or hold his feet up in the air for long periods of time. That's helpful during a diaper change.


He enjoys playing with toys and pushing up with his strong legs. He totally looks like I gave him a buzz.


He had his first trip to the zoo. He looks especially bald here, but I'm happy to report that the new stubble is making it's way in. And he will still be a red head. He is just over 5 months and well over 20 lbs. It's a FULL TIME job growing these babies of mine. I still haven't started solids (although I did get the high chair out of the garage to clean it).

She Loves Pink & Purple

& I Love Her!

Forty-nine & Holding

I remember when my mom turned 29. Then she was 29 and holding for years. When she had daughters in their twenties, she decided to be 39 and holding. She'd rather just be counted as one of the sisters, but she resigned to be 49 & holding.

What a treat to celebrate my mom's birthday! I was in Utah for a photography workshop. Laneea & baby Dylan traveled to spend time with us. Celena got away from work just in time to enjoy the birthday festivities.

We started out with pedicures. Mom's favorite part is the heat wraps & foot massage. I had to agree since my feet were achy. Celena & I got the giggles when they got out the exfoliating brush. WoW - ticklish!!

All the other girls went with the white tip. I opted for the solid pink with white flower. We totally have mom's miniature baby toenail.




Next we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. We each ordered cheesecake and then past them around to share a bite of each.

Mom- Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake
Me- Snickers Bar Chunks and Cheesecake
Laneea- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake
Celena - Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple Cheesecake

I usually get Oreo, but Snickers was good. Mom now has me addicted to the rich, creamy chocolate mousse.

The baby boys slept through lunch & then nursed and pooped during shopping. We visited Grandma Pope & returned home. We later sent Dad on a take-out run for dinner. Mom got Chinese & I got my THIRD helping of Cafe Rio. Yum!

Sticky Garlic Chicken Skewers

3 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed
2 T honey
4 T ketchup
4 T Worcestershire sauce
2 t Dijon mustard
2 t hot pepper sauce or pinch cayenne pepper + 2 t water
Salt & pepper to taste
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into thin strips

Soak 12 (10-inch) bamboo skewers in water for at least 20 minutes.

Mix garlic, honey, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, hot pepper sauce, salt & pepper. Toss in chicken and stir until well combined. Cover & marinate 20-30 minutes or overnight.

Thread marinated chicken on skewers. Cook on grill 5-6 minutes.

Recipe found on internet and credited to: Ainsley Harriott's Low-Fat Meals in Minutes.

***********

We have come to love this recipe. I would never have tried it based upon the title. Jon was searching for ways to use up our Worcestershire sauce (we either have too much of it or don't have it at all). It made a wonderful BBQ. My sister-in-law, Angela, has been trying to contact me to get the recipe for Fathers Day. We were gone ALL DAY yesterday. The recipe ended up in Jon's pant pocket because I was supposed to call her back again on the way to our ward activity. Sorry I didn't get it to you sooner. So after several games of phone tag, here's the recipe for all to enjoy.

So Happy Together

Our Moab Trip

On Memorial Day we spent all day in the car driving to Moab, Utah. Jon has been wanting to go to Moab for the mountain biking (ie. Slickrock). Jon has also been advocating more family visits to National Parks (see past post to Joshua Tree). We even started collecting pins and have a passport that can be stamped at all the National Parks.

I wasn't overwhelmingly excited about sleeping on the ground in a cramped tent with a 4 month old. So I did a little "Google-ing" and found a campground with little cabins. They also had a pool which was SO nice for the kids. Also nice for the kids was the playground, tetherball, chess & checker outdoor sets, & mini putting green. My sister and her family were easily swayed to join us.

We spent a couple of mornings exploring Arches National Park. We even watched the film at the visitor center and learned that the soil is ALIVE. We had to do something educational since I pulled my kids out of school :)

What a fun trip!!!

You Say It's Your Birthday

Today was the last day of school. Thirty-seven minutes before the morning bell sounded, Jacob came to me in his underwear and asked, "Can we celebrate my birthday today?" I guess it isn't fair that he has a summer birthday and doesn't get to share it with his friends at school. He misses out on the birthday bookmark, the singing, and the goofy hat. But what he mostly wanted was for me to go buy doughnuts (which I usually spell donuts)for the class.

Despite the fact that Jacob wouldn't get his shoes on or comb his hair in a timely manner, I turned all soft and agreed. I walked the boys on campus and asked the teacher if there were already a billion treats on the agenda. I went to the grocer (who didn't even have 2 dozen donuts in their case yet), and the local donut shop (who only accepted cash and didn't have any donuts with sprinkles). Finally I drove the distance to Krispy Kreme. This is what Jacob requested by brand. Those marketing agents know their stuff. I was able to use the drive thru window to order 2 dozen donuts with sprinkles, 22 Krispy Kreme hats & napkins to go.

Let me be the first to wish you a Happy Eighth Birthday!!!!

One Weekend Wiser

A Million THANKS to Amanda & Holly who were the instructors at the Picture Life Workshop in SLC this past weekend. I'm a huge fan of their photography. These women are impressive, talented, & inspiring. What a pleasure for me to meet them and learn from them.

I've always LOVED taking pictures, but it's been in the past couple years that I really started caring about taking pictures well. We bought our first SLR camera just before Christmas in 2005. I used it as a glorified point n shoot while lurking for HOURS in the photo gallery at 2peas (which is where I originally found Amanda's beautiful photographs). It's just been these last couple of months that I've gotten serious about learning manual mode.

I'm also pretty much self taught in Photoshop Elements. What a pain. I read Scott Kelby's book, online tutorials, etc. I was beginner enough that I couldn't figure out how to create a new layer or toggle between the edit screen and the organizer. Forget about color correction, B/W conversion, and what's a burn? I couldn't locate my tools nor did I know what most of them did. When I'd look at a photo, I couldn't diagnose what it needed, but it needed something. Anyway, I've trudged along and in my opinion improved over time.

So I thought I was pretty creative when I used the bath house at our campground in Moab to take this picture of James. I loved the color and texture of the wood. I liked that James was in his swimwear with Moab colored dirt on his elbow. His eyes were a bit red from the clorine and his skin was sun-kissed. We quick-styled his hair and the photo shoot was on.

So I'm going to hang my pride out to dry. Here is the photo straight out of camera (SOOC) + sharpened for web:



Here's my original edit as posted previously:


And here's a re-edit attempting to apply techniques from my workshop:

I love all the color minus the redness in James' face.

Don't Write off this Blog

I've been having WAY too much fun. Need time to process it all. I've written a dozen entries in my head, but haven't been near my computer. Check back later. I've got lots to share.

Blow Pops for Photos

Seriously

My little charmer with his rosy cheeks has a very short attention span when it comes to mom's photography practice. He wants to pose and flash his winner smile and then be done. I want him to give me a chance to capture a different mood, but it's a challenge. In the first photo I told Jacob NOT to smile and just wait so I could adjust my settings. The settings weren't adjusted correctly and it was quite overexposed. Then he gave me two quick smiles (with better exposure) and then he was done. I played in Elements to salvage the first just because it's different.

Artistically I love all the glass chimes in the window and the colorful reflections on the glass. I love the texture of the wood and concrete. From a mom's point of view, I love that Jacob is wearing his Jr. Rancher Badge from Arches National Park in the middle of his shirt. His hair is sweat styled from his hiking adventure that morning. And I do love his adorable smile.

Age Nine

I love that his hair has stayed so white all these years.