picture shoot

I took this little baby picture shoot last Thursday and I thought that the pictures turned out darling. What a cutie - patootie!!! The older sister is gorgeous also and that always makes for a nice picture...enjoy!

1st annual trip to Lake Powell

We took our first annual trip to Lake Powell with the Armstrong family this past weekend. We had such a GREAT time. Thanks Armstrongs for bringing your boat down and letting us have such a wonderful time together. Our boys haven't stopped talking about what fun it was to camp and boat with you guys. You guys are AWESOME and we can't wait to make it a tradition.


Here are some of the kids and Darrel enjoying some time in the tube. Zachary DID NOT like the tube or being in the water but being such good parents we "forced" him to do both.
After a fun day on the water Zachary was plum wore out.
This is the view from our campground spot. BEAUTIFUL!!! It's funny though, during the day it was hot, hot, hot, and at night it was really cold. It was cold from the minute the sun went down until the sun came up again, but the minute the sun came up it was HOT...and I do mean from the minute the sun came up.
Walking along the ridge of the rock where we stopped to swim, fish, make sand-blobs and throw them on the rock, jump off the cliff, tan on the boat, eat snacks, etc.
This is the fire ring that Alex made the morning after we arrived at the campground. We left home about 4:30 and got to the campground on Thursday night about 10:00 - Alex woke up at 5am the next morning and put this little fire ring together. He was pretty disappointed when we told him that we were only allowed to have fires in the BBQ area. It turned out to be fine, although a fire when camping would have been pretty fun. We had to roast our marshmellows over the BBQ thing. Oh well, it was still fun.

Some sandcastles that Zachary made with Alyssa. She was so good with Zach the whole weekend. She played with him without being asked and really watched over him the whole time. She is an angel girl.
Here is our campsite. It was a great campsite except for stickers that were everywhere buried in the sand. We had them all over our shoes. They punched holes in our air mattresses, through the tent even. When you stepped on them they were SO painful. Other than that...great view, great place...fun!!!
The little boys went fishing...didn't catch anyting, much to their disappointment, but had a fun time trying.

FUN weekend!!

Playin in the rain

A couple of weeks ago we had some rain - not a lot - but when it came down it came down in BIG drops and soaked everything for about 10 minutes. The boys were in the middle of their homework when it actually began to rain so they decided to get on their coats, ignore their work for the time being, and really enjoy the Nevada rain. I decided that rain is such a "few and far between" phenomena that I would just let them have some fun in the wetness for awhile. They had a blast. They ran in the rain, jumped in the rain, rode their bikes in the rain, I'm telling you it was a rain-fest at our house. I had to get my camera capture this pure rain happiness to share with you. But, you have to promise me that you will ignore my yard and all its messiness. I wasn't looking at the yard when I took these pictures, I was only looking at the boys and trying not to get the camera wet while I took the pictures. So, I didn't notice the yard until I decided to post the pictures. Oh well, cest la vie - you only live once, right?!!

Fun Weekend

Thanks to Amanda I had a fabulous weekend in North Carolina. We got to go out to eat, shopping, get a pedicure, sit around and watch movies, see family, and take Diesel to the lake for a very fun outing. I had a wonderful time, even though my body didn't fully adjust to the time change in the two days I was there. It really did feel like I was getting up at 4:30 in the morning to get ready for church on Sunday. But I would do it again in a heartbeat. I had such a great time and Amanda was truly a fabulous host. I've posted just a few pictures from our weekend.

me and zach

There are so many other things I should be doing right now, and here I am, blogging. Ah well. I have lots of friends here for Zachary today and he is having a great time. This morning I went for a walk and to the park with Zach and his friend, Seth. Later Seth was joined by Will and Owen and now they are all at my house. I have to say, I love having a bunch of little boys around. I know that you're rolling your eyes right now and saying "right" but it's true. Little boys are just a lot of fun and around here it's the more the merrier. I have a house that is just right for little boys to play and I just don't worry a lot about the mess. Zach loves having friends and I love that all these personalities just work together the right way. All these boys get along so well and I hardly ever have to intervene in their playing.

The other night I was laying on my bed watching t.v. and Zach came in to see what I was doing. He noticed that I was holding my little camera and he wanted to take pictures with it. I let him take one picture of me and I took one picture of him and then he wanted a picture of both of us. I put my arm way out and he scooted in close and after a few tries we got some cute pictures of the two of us together. After I uploaded the pictures I was struck with the difference in eye color between us. I have brown eyes and his eyes are green or blue depending on what he is wearing, but more often green than blue. Also, they are so light. Half the time they look see through. I have always loved Zachary's eyes because they are different than mine, Darrel's eyes, and both of my boys. We all have brown and then Zach was born. He is such a fun little boy and we are very blessed to have him in our family.

Happy Anniversary

I know I have pictures of these two together but I guess I don't have any on this computer. So, you'll just have to see the pictures apart. My mom and dad are celebrating their 37th (I believe) wedding anniversary today. They are the best parents ever and I am very blessed to have them in my life. I just wanted to send a shout out to my mom and dad today. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

This post is for Joy

Here are the glasses that Johnathan and Darrel got from Zenni optical. I had them turn to the side because it was really hard to get a picture of Darrel's glasses without rims. You couldn't really see them on his face. Johnathan looks especially handsome in his, if I do say so myself.

just for fun

We're going to play a little game. This is purely for my curiosity so please indulge me. Joy e-mailed me a picture that she needed me to shrink so, since it was such an awesome photo, I commandeered it for my own purposes. (I hope you don't mind, Joy) I know these are kind of small but if you click on the pictures they should come up pretty big if you need more information. Anyway, I buy filters periodically for photoshop and sometimes this is somewhat costly. I do like what they do to pictures, however, so they are (most of the time) well worth the expenditure. I have put the original photo in the top left hand corner and then added filters to the other ones. Here's the game...pick your favorite and let me know. This will probably determine how often this filter is used to enhance pictures by yours truly. Now, keep in mind that some filters look better with different colors, with faces, without faces (in the photos), etc. That means that every so often I will put another picture up for discussion and we will see what you all think. Have fun!

I know, I know

I'm slacking again. I'll get on this afternoon and post something while the boys do their homework.

one of the things I did on my Memorial Day

Here are just a few of the pictures I took of some very cute kids on the morning of my Memorial Day. We had a good time and got some great shots. Enjoy.

and they said it couldn't be done....

but I DID IT!!! Well, actually, technically we did it. Darrel and I together accomplished the impossible task. Darrel probably even did more than I did, but I want the credit too. I can't believe we accomplished what I thought to be impossible. I am totally kicking myself that I didn't take before and after pictures so you could see the dramatic conclusion and it would seem so much more dramatic if you saw the before picture. Now, you have to keep in mind that this is totally still a work in progress. We still have much to do with selling and organizing and de-junking, and de-cluttering, but still, you can't build Rome in a day. This was a monumentally huge project for us both physically and mentally. And we did it!!! I PARKED MY CAR IN THE GARAGE....LOOK and be proud. Now, I want some good comments for this one dang-it!!

One big long rambling post coming up

I don't know how long this is going to be. I don't know if I have that many things to say. This past week was a whirlwind of activity at our house. We had a couple of games, a preschool graduation, getting back on track at school, day camp preparations, 5 sacrament talks to prepare, etc. We were out of town last week at Darrel's parent's house. We had such a great time. We always love getting together with his family. But this time was especially cool because his sister who lives in Maryland was there with her three kids, (one of whom I've never met in person) and his sister who lives in Oregon was there, another sister is living with his mom and dad temporarily until their house sells in Illinois, and another brother came up from the valley (Phoenix) to see everyone. It was a very packed house but we all had a wonderful time. The boys love going to Grandma and Grandpa's house because there are so many things to do outdoors. Johnathan spends the majority of his time riding the four-wheeler, Alex played with his cousins, mowed the lawn (riding lawnmower), and helped out Grandpa Buzz. Zachary was all about being outside with his cousins and for the first time had minimal parental supervision outside and was loving it. They all built a fort in the horse pasture, played on the merry-go-round and got very muddy when dad and grandpa Buzz fixed the sprinklers and were testing them out.

The sisters and sisters-in-law pretty much stayed inside, chatted, watched the little kids, and I took a BUNCH of pictures for Father's Day surprises. I went out at least once pretty much every day to take pictures. We did get some dang-cute pictures though (see previous posts).

Preschool graduation went well. The kids were SO CUTE!!! They are just so funny. Some of them are so different when their parents are around. It's interesting to see the change in their little personalities. Not in a bad way, just a change, usually they are way more outgoing when their parents aren't around then when they are. I made a dvd for the parents of all the pictures I had taken through the year. I thought it turned out pretty nice. I didn't get a title or picture on the front, though, I was a little disappointed that I ran out of time to make that happen. Next year I'll have to start my end of the year preparations a little sooner.

This week I start my summer fun classes. I have a lot of them filled so we'll have a house full every Tuesday for awhile. I'm excited though, it will be really fun. I have some way-cool crafts planned that even I am excited about. This Tuesday it will be all about color. We're going to use eye-droppers and water mixed with food coloring to drop onto coffee filters. We're also going to paint and do other fun things with colors and color mixing. Fun, fun, fun!!!

This week I also have pictures four times this week. Two sports teams, one family, and one set of sisters that are all here visiting from different places that want a picture to give to their dad for father's day. It's going to be another busy week.

Alex had his last soccer game yesterday. His team lost 0-4...it was pretty sad. The kids were pretty disappointed to lose their last game but they vowed to all be on the same team next year and keep trying to get better and better. The kids on the team are all very sweet and they played really, really hard. They have a soccer team party next Saturday (combined with a birthday party for one of the team). They are all looking forward to getting together just for fun and not for competition.

It's starting to get really hot here. I mean REALLY HOT!!! It hit 100 yesterday and it's supposed to be over 100 for a couple of days yet, before it cools down again. I have a feeling that it's only gonna get worse from here on out. AAARRRGGGGG! I'm not ready for the hot, hot! I knew it was coming but it doesn't make it any easier. I'm in envy of Joy right about now, sitting pretty up in Washington. Maybe we'll have to visit up there sometime.

Anyway, I guess this qualifies as a big, long rambling post. I'm sorry it doesn't include any pictures...maybe next time.

just a bit longer...

for you to wait. I would love to post a big, huge, rambling post about something, or nothing at all, but I can't just yet. I have a haircut (hopefully) today, I have to call all the boys about day camp tomorrow, get the stuff ready to teach for day camp, go to the party store and get some pinatas to decorate for day camp, go to Micheals and see about a craft for my summer classes that start this coming Tuesday, write a talk for church on Sunday, attend day camp tomorrow and Alex's last soccer game, go to Johnathan's baseball game tonight, etc, etc.., I'm glad that Seth is coming this morning to keep Zach entertained. Zach would be pretty cranky with me today if he didn't have a friend coming to keep him company.

OK- so I'm off to start my busy, busy weekend.......

I'm sorry that I've been MIA when it comes to posting, I've been busy, busy, busy. Tomorrow marks the end of another year of preschool. Preschool graduation is first thing in the morning. I've been waiting for this day for a long time and yet I can't believe it's here already. These kids are so cool and I've really enjoyed being their teacher. Tomorrow is going to be bittersweet for me. Next week starts a whole new round. I'm going to start summer craft classes next week. I already have a majority of the little kid classes filled up. It's going to be a crazy summer. I have two team pictures next week also. Like I said, crazy (but fun) summer. I'll post more when I have time and add some pictures...which is also the best part of a post from me.

While in Arizona three of my sisters-in-law asked me very nicely to take some pictures of their kids...here are some of the pictures I snapped.

Here in Arizona

Because Darrel had to work later than anticipated last night, we didn't leave for Arizona until around 8:00pm We arrived here about 2:30 this morning. We are SO tired. Hopefully I'll get a nap this afternoon. This morning I have been playing around on photoshop so I thought I would show you some of the fruit of my labors...enjoy. These are pictures from our trip to San Diego a couple of weeks ago.

sorry it's late...the family photo

Let's make it clear here, that this is just one of the photos I picked...this is not the DECIDED on photo. I just wanted to get a family photo out here so people could see these gorgeous people.

sorry, I just had to show a few more