Spring has Spring

I just took these shots from my yard. Spring is really here!!!


We are going to go have a picnic now.

Easy tips to take great photos of kids

I think most of you have seen this but incase you haven't, I wanted to post this here. I got asked to speak at a photography conference last weekend. I taught a class about tips to help you take better photos of children. It was really basic and full of good guidelines that can help photographers of any level. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend downloading the PDF version of my presentation. You can find it when you Click Here.

Here's a shot triptych (series of 3 photos) that I am in love with now. Oh, actually I'll post two triptychs since I love both of them.

Messy Face

Check out MomShots for my most recent entry into the iheartfaces current contest.
Oh, OK. I'll post it here too.
Twist my arm...

Look Mom, I made a triangle!

Because they are just so cute...

Well that and I wanted to try out using Photobucket to upload photos.  I've been editing a bunch of photos from Olea & Adam's photoshoot and wanted to try this upload really quick before I pass out from exhaustion.

Here goes nothin'!

And here's the Flickr version: Notable size difference & mystery solved. Looks like I'll be using Photobucket a bit more often!

Happy Anniversary Olea and Adam

Today is Olea & Adam's 5th wedding anniversary.  They let me take a bunch of photos of them.  Aren't they just the cutest?!?  

Some New Photos

What do you do on a cold Winter day?

You make cake!

What do you do when mom is on a diet and doesn't want to subject herself to temptation stronger than she can handle?  

You make cake in a cup!

I found this recipe and modified it because I have this problem where I never think a recipe is good enough as is.  Also because I don't have any cocoa powder!

I omitted the afore mentioned cocoa and added extra vanilla, cinnamon, and raisins.  I also added about a tablespoon of oatmeal.  Next time I am going to try it without the oil and use applesauce instead.  I will also add more spices because I'm a spice cake nut!  Maybe even grate in a baby carrot or two.  I think it will be divine.

For a cake cooked in the microwave, I was really impressed how quick, easy and yummy it tasted.  That's a good recipe to keep around when you're jonesing for some cake!

Not to be forgotten, this little apple eating ragamuffin wanted me to take pictures of him.  He's so cute and scrubby.  Someone needs to throw him in a bathtub!

My Beautiful Grandma

I wish I had a digital copy of a picture of my grandma Allen (my dad's mom) when she was young.  I don't think I have any, actually.  She was such a beauty.  She still is such a beauty.  I hope I age half as gracefully as she has.

I was going through some shots from this summer's reunion in Moab, UT and found these two shots.  I hope I can get some better shots of her this summer in Idaho.

Countdown to 5... Day 2

I'm feeling all sentimental today. I was remembering what I was doing 5 years ago. I was working. I was working all day and even stayed late. I got home around 9 and ate dinner, watched TV and then decided to go to bed. Ben was working too. He and I were both working fools. Errr, he still is. He came home after midnight and I remember listening to him get dinner when all of sudden I hear a pop and my water broke. Anyway, I don't feel like recanting the entire story right now. Maybe tomorrow.
I have this wonderful little boy and he is turning this giant number tomorrow morning. I am so thankful to be entrusted to be his mother. I am truly blessed.

Countdown to 5... Day 3

Countdown to 5... Day 4

Can you hear him laughing?

Countdown to 5... Day 5

Similar picture to the first, but with a new expression.

Countdown to 5... Day 6

Invitation

We are giving these to Ulysses' classmates tomorrow at church. Can you believe he is in CTR 5 already? Hopefully some kids will show up and he can make some new friends!

I'm going through a weeklong shock.

Uly told me today that even when he is an adult he will still be my baby. He knows how to melt my heart!

Countdown to 5...

Uly is turning 5 years old on the 30th. That is only 6 days away. Yesterday Uly and I took some picture of him for his birthday. This is one that he and I both really like. As I go through and process them, I will post them here on this countdown to Uly's fifth birthday.

Learning to Read

Uly just read this sentence. I am so proud of him sounding out these words and memorizing the others like "the" and "to". It took a long time but he tried and tried and tried and we didn't have to use the computer to sound it out. He sounded them all out on his own. I think this kid might be reading by the time he goes to Kindergarten.

I found this great website called Starfall.com. It is a fantastic resource for learning how to read.

Good Song...

I may have posted this song previously.  I probably have posted this song previously.  I'm not going to check.  I love it so much it's worth sharing twice.  I can literally listen to this song 20 times in a row... and I have!

The thing that just gets me is that I lived in San Diego for 10 years and never heard of this guy. I wish I had. I would have loved to see him back when he was a small fish in a big pond.

***Edit*** So I didn't tell you who this is. How silly! This is Jason Mraz singing the song called "I'm Yours". It is off his album entitled "We Sing. We Dance. We Steel Things." I just bought a copy of the just song off of Amazon for $0.79. Cheaper than iTune by $.020!!! Yay, now I can finally put it on my iPod and listen to it over and over and over again to my little hearts content!

Sunset

One of the coolest things about our new house is the incredible view of Utah Valley.  We could live in a tent for all I care as long as we have a view like this one!

I wanted to participate in this SkyWatch Friday thing but I didn't unload the pictures of my camera in time.  

Snow Fun

Just some winter photos for all y'all who don't live near by - which is pretty much all of y'all!

Uly & Gar sledding down our really, really steep driveway.

There is a green belt type trail next to our house.  We get to watch people run, walk dogs, ride horses and walk on the trail.  It is really fun to walk on.  We went for a walk yesterday and again today.  There is a really fun hill that the boys really enjoyed climbing up and then jumping and rolling down.

Uly and Gar love to eat snow.

Gar climbing the hill.

Mag is trying to climb the hill.  Uly and Gar are playing in the background.

Uly jumping off the top of the hill.

This is our house from the trail.  The windows upstairs are the living room/kitchen and dining area.  The windows downstairs are the master bedroom.