12of12 | April

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01. It's her ritual to wake up every morning and head straight for the fridge. Problem is she stands there, for who knows how long, trying to decide what to have for breakfast.

02. Sweet Lola was not feeling well today and slept from 9pm-12:30pm, but once she was awake she did not stop.

03. I had this weird moment while at Target when I found this cute shirt (i mostly just loved the colors) and realized it was really something I should be buying for Bella and not me. Now that I have a teenager who fits in the junior section where I am suppose to shop??

04. Tess and her friends blowing bubbles. Something Lola couldn't get enough of.

05. I was in my car a lot today. My usual target/costco run, plus many others.

06. I've just started reading this book, The Fire Starter Sessions by Danielle LaPorte. My friend Gerri told me about it and I looking forward to it kicking me in the butt.

07. While we sat and ate pizza I couldn't help, but notice his cute springy striped socks.

08. When there is a party with face painting Megan is the first one in line. She is determined to keep it on for her first soccer game tomorrow too.

09. Adam and I ventured out for a walk with the puppy. Truth be told we weren't able to get as far as we wanted, but we went farther than we ever had. Maybe a mile round trip?? The puppy is not a walker.

10. Finding signs spring along the way.

11. Bella and a few of her girlfriends enjoying the sunset.

12. Family movie night in bed. We didn't fit very well, but I sure enjoyed listening to them laugh.

I can't believe we are already four months into 2013. I must admit, it is nice having the winter, sort of, behind us. I'm ready for the change.

Hope it was another fantastic day. Happy Weekend!!

12of12 | January

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01. On our way

02. Ice formations on the window -- it's cold out this morning.

03. Bagel day -- not even the snow will stop us.

04. Getting a workout with the girls dancing to Just Dance 4.

05. We decided to go sledding up in the canyon. The hill/slope was really small so it was hard to get any really speed, but when you did, you had a long trek back.

06. Five sets of boots

07. Bella didn't last long sledding. She spend the last bit in the car trying to warm up.

08. Megan and Tess had the best time. They didn't even know they were frozen till we left.

09. How could Adam and I resist going down together.

10. A new toy. I got the Bamboo tablet with some of my amazon gift cards for Christmas. Thanks all! I'm really looking forward to playing with it and learning illustrator this year.

11. View sledding (iphone)

12. Saying good night from my studio.


The majority of my collage is from the beginning our our day because, sadly, I accidentally erased 1/2 my photo card. Deep breath. I don't have the words at how bummed I am that it happened. I really don't get it. My camera changed the date back to 1/1/2000, so somehow the photos got missed when I went to import them. My heart hurts every time I remember a photo that I can't get back. Deep breath.
I am choosing to let it go -- there' s nothing I can do about it now. Sigh! I hope you all had better luck than me.

Actually I really hope you all had a great day. I know we did. Always fun when the 12th lands on a Saturday.

So I'm mixing it up this year and trying a new link system. You should easily be able to share your link and choose the photo you want to put in the thumbnail. If you run into any troubles let me know, I will make a tutorial (have been unable to find one).

12of12 | May

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01. Adam came home from taking the girls (and two friends) to get bagels and related how on the outs he was this morning sitting at a table with 5 girls. Supposedly they didn't stop talking long enough to eat and he couldn't get a word in edgewise. He felt he was on the outside, no longer apart of the conversation that ebb and flowed with laughter.
02. Our day was filled up and my lazy morning in bed only made me behind schedule. I ran to the grocery store and got home just in time to drop the food on the counter and head to Tess' art show.
03. This was one of Tess' pieces she had on display at the art show.
04. We were in the car a lot today.
05. Soccer :: there were two games that overlapped one another. I don't mind having them back to back, but I hate only getting to see half of each.
06. Tess and her friend enjoying the mother's day card Adam was making for his mom.
07. The first watermelon of the season. Delicious.
08. When Megan and her cousin Olivia get together they always end up switching clothes and copying each others hair styles.
09. We met at Robyn's new place to celebrate Mother's day. The first of many celebrations to come -- I hope. :)
10. I'm either getting too old or out of shapes (i hope it's neither). After channeling the kid inside I jumpped for a few minutes with Bella and it took my legs sometime to recover.
11. I saw this photo on Robyn's dresser of her with her siblings and of course loved it. I always imagine my boy would look just like that if I had a son.
12. Heading home.

I love at the end of the day when you've been taking photos the whole way along and thinking you didn't get enough or it wasn't a great day for photos and be pleasantly surprised with what you captured. I suppose your day can be full enough that you forget all that you've done. It was enjoyable to look back at my day and remember it was a great day, full of togetherness. I hope you all had a great day as well. Don't forget to share. :)

family dinner

There hasn't been a time in our life when one of us wasn't busy for some reason or another, but once we threw kids into the mix and their schedules, we knew making sure we had family time was crucial. So we have always made dinner time an important part of our day. Of course there are bound to be times when something comes up and we are unable to make it happen, but for the most part we have done our very best to plan everyone's schedules so we can all sit down at the dinner table and have that time together.



My favorite part of dinner time is you never really know where you'll end up once you get started. The conversations twist and turn and before you know it you're talking about the Pledge of Allegiance or what phenomenon means. Case in point: after Tess finished telling us all about the mountain men she's learning about in school Megan chimed in and completely changed the subject, "Dad tell us what your favorite thing is about us, each of us." He happily took on her challenge and then like magic, everyone took their turn -- not a grumble in the bunch.

It was quite interesting for me to hear everyone's responses, each description just as true as the next. Me, being the last, had tougher shoes to fill because I wasn't allowed to say what anyone else had said. I loved it and loved the collection of favorites we ended up with, but mostly I loved getting a better understanding of my girls and how they saw each other.

here's the list.

Dad
M- Smart and intelligent
T- let's you do things mom doesn't
B- spends time with me
G- listens and wants to understand

Mom
M- soft skin and sweet
T- helps me when i need it
B- teaches me how to be a mom
A- all we've shared in our 16+ years

Bella
M- smart
T- helpful
G- thoughtful
A- mature

Tess
M- adventurous
B- encouraging
G- tries hard and won't give up
A- compassionate

Megan
T- crazy
B- always willing to try new foods
G- love for life
A- original


I know this is precious time not all families are able to have whether one parent works or kids are involved in activities, so I am extremely grateful we have been able to pull it off thus far. It has been an invaluable part of our family life and I look forever to it each and every night.

Now if I could just incorporate some new recipes. I feel like I've been in the "recycling recipe mode" since Christmas.

thanksgiving weekend pt.2

SATURDAY


We went to the movies. All the girls had read The Invention of Hugo Cabret and they were very anxious to see the movie Hugo. I must say, sitting next to Megan in a theater seeing a movie of a book she has read, hence knowing what comes next, is not what you'd call the best movie viewing. The girls loved it, Adam not so much, though we both agreed the cinematography was fabulous. I think it was a wee bit long, got slow in some parts, but I enjoyed it.


Afterward we went for a bit of window shopping and milling about. I already had to return some things believe it or not.


We hit anthropologie,


and of course barnes&noble.


Almost at once it turned to dusk and then really that's when the magic started. Yes it was chilly out, but all I wanted was to stay for a while surrounded by the lights and Christmasy atmosphere. I could tell I was not the only one.




We drove home in the most magical light and watched the light fade along the horizon. What a lovely afternoon/evening we had together as a family.


As we watched the sliver of a moon follow us home, it was the perfect end to a most delightful holiday weekend.

family hike

As I sit watching the snow pile higher and higher as each flake dots the ground I reflect upon the delicious fall we experienced this year. There was a moment earlier in the season where I thought our fall had been lost to us, but luckily it came back with a vengeance and the last few weeks have been nothing short of a delight.

Fully aware our time was limited we took complete advantage of the weather and our proximity to the mountains and spent as much time outside in the canyons as possible.
















[Saturday, 22 October | the photos with me in them were taken by adam]

Oh, Great Pumpkin...

While I would have loved and even hoped for a beautiful evening with the sun setting in the west, what we got instead was an ominous night, very much in line with the spirit of Halloween. I could almost hear Linus yelling, "Oh, Great Pumpkin, where are you?" It really couldn't have been a more perfect evening to help set the mood.

Fall is very much at the door. Although it already looks like autumn, our mountain dotted with color, the ground littered with leaves, for some reason the warm 90 degree weather has confused my mind into wondering if it's really going to turn. With the onset of this week I'm wondering no more, the change has begun and our sweaters and boots are now what we are grabbing for.

It's delightful, is it not?

I envision this weekend with apple cider, fires, and pumpkins coming to life. I love this time of year.

goodbye august

We enjoyed many movie nights,


and far too many trips to the local bread store.


We spent time with cousins at Lolo's work fair, where Tess won a $10 gift card to cold stone,


and celebrated my nephew, Landon's birthday.


We had a good time up in the mountains camping, the girls enjoyed a daddy daughter one too,


and a fun weenie roast with friends.


We played lots of games, they won,


and spent time in the garden after it cooled down in the evenings. (this photo counts for my 52photoproject | week 18| in the garden)


The girls started school, but then I already told you that. Of course I didn't tell you that they were matching that first day. Their shirt says, "we stick together". When they saw the mouse on top of the cat on top of the dog holding a "bff" sign they just had to have it. I love that they are the best of friends.

And we watched the craziest thunderstorm Sunday night. The noise alone was enough to make you take pause, but it was amazing the way the sky lite up. I haven't seen an electric storm like that in years.


Anyone else baffled that it's already September?

a day together

Adam had the day off due to Pioneer Day so we celebrated with

a mid-morning breakfast


a canyon drive


an afternoon tickle fight


a late afternoon sequence game


& an evening of crepes


There's really nothing more I can say that the photos don't already convey. It was a lovely day--together.

Happy Monday :)

52 photo project | week 12 | summer treat

Always such a busy time right when you get back from being out of town. This week has all been about getting laundry done and getting back into our routines that I haven't had a chance to even upload all my photos, let alone have a look through them.


[self portrait using camera timer]

This photo, however, did catch my eye as I recall what a happy day it was for all of us to be together, blissfully unaware of what was going on elsewhere, making sand castles at the beach. It was definitely a treat--the best kind of treat I can think of.

Looking forward to sharing it all with you.

Have a great weekend!

over the weekend | farmers market

I have to laugh when I look back at my post from last night. I don't know why i ever think it's a good idea to be blogging in such a vulnerable state. Thank goodness for a new day and a clear head--I woke up this morning feeling totally refreshed and in control of everything.



Over the weekend we made our way to the farmers market downtown. I always find it enjoyable to roam around and see local artists, live musicians, fresh produce, and taste homemade goodies. I would definitely recommend going and going hungry. It's seems like every time we turned around there was something else that looked phenomenally delicious. My other recommendation would be to go early. I read you want to go early enough to get the best produce, but really you want to go early enough to beat the heat. I'm thinking fall would be the perfect time to go, of course then you might miss out on all the flowers. Go now & go then--I'm certain that will not be our last visit.

The other thing that made me extremely happy was to see my two oldest walking around with their cameras taking photos of stuff that stood out to them. Looking forward to pouring over their memory cards as soon as I have a moment.

fhe | downtown outing

I was out taking pictures for one of my favorite seniors yesterday and I had such a good time I suggested at dinner we all go back downtown and enjoy the sites, the excellent weather. It actually took no convincing at all--we've all been excited about finally being able to get out.





























We had the best time hanging out and roaming around, but really, how could we not? It's finally spring, we are all together enjoying temple square, talked with two missionaries (with delightful accents) who gave us a sound demonstration of the tabernacle, met a cute old man full of compliments, and we topped it all off with nielson's custard.

good times!