"A Happy Family Is But An Earlier Heaven."

new outfit + already curled hair = PHOTOSHOOT!

2012-02-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

I signed Addie up for violin lessons and she starts next week! And yes I totally pushed for this one, I"ll admit it! We pick up her violin today afterschool. I feel another photoshoot coming on!

Hungar Games Trailer

2012-02-03T10:01:00.000-07:00

Aubree Ditching School

2012-01-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

Aubree stayed home sick today so I made her pose for me. She wasn't that sick.....,

Our Saturdays

2012-01-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

Our Saturdays and Mondays are filled with Basketball for Aubree and Austin and indoor soccer for Aubree. So much for a break during the winter! Aubree has a great coach this year in basketball so I want her to soak up every minute of it. Austin is LOVING basketball and still has it until the end of February (and he just started swim lessons!)
Also check out my photography blog on my latest newborn shoot!

Sledding For The First Time

2012-01-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

I know its sad, but this is the first time we took the kids sledding. They have been begging us for years, but David and I hate the cold. So we finally gave in and the kids had a blast. Theirs a hill near our house and from the rode it looked like the hill of death, but it wasn't bad once you got close. I stood at the bottom to get my action shots. I added some snow through photoshop (it wasn't really snowing, but it looks cool!)

Addison

2012-01-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

This was Addie's birthday present to me was letting me do a photoshoot. She tripped and fell as we were walking over to our spot so I thought we were done for!

Friday Walk

2011-12-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

I love Aubree's looks that she does when she's posing for me. She knows exactly the look that I'm going for.

It finally warmed up to 55 one day and I have been itching to go outside and take some pictures. I was halfway down the rode when Aubree caught up to me and wanted to go. I told her if she was coming then I was going to make her pose for me. (wondering how I was going to do that with the hot pink shirt, purple sweat pants, and hair that hadn't been brushed in days!) Luckily she grabbed her new sweater as she was running out the door to catch up with me!
So these are some of the pictures that I got.

Cheney 2011 Album

2011-12-29T14:12:00.000-07:00

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Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great Christmas this year!! Aubree did throw up early Christmas morning, but I think it was just nerves. The girls woke up at 11:30pm and asked how much longer. Ummm...like 8 more hours!!! I told them they could open up presents when it was light out. So from 4am on they would come into our room "How much longer?" (I don't think they went back to bed!) Finally when they saw some daylight, they burst into our room "Okay its time!!" I told them not until Austin was up. SO 30 seconds later they burst into our room again."Okay he's up!" I love it.

2011-12-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

The girls begged and begged to have their own room so we finally gave in and moved the office downstairs. After all of that work with taking apart the desk, setting up Addie's bed, hauling everything upstairs or down.....THEY STILL SLEEP WITH EACH OTHER!!!!! SO they have their own rooms during the day and Addie sleeps with Aubree at night...ridiculous!
I found this fram at DI with the weird Jesus painting and thought it would be perfect for a chalkboard (since their was no way to get the canvas print out anyways!) I bought the pom pom's from Martha Stewart and they were pretty easy to put together. I hauled the doll house bookshelf upstairs that I had painted blue to match the playroom, but Addie needed something else in her room and it wasn't getting much use in the playroom. Theirs still some odds and ends I want to add but its done for now.

2011-12-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

Treated myself to some Florabella actions for Christmas. Just messing around.

Blue Man Group

2011-12-12T10:47:00.001-07:00

David and I saw Blue Man Group last night and it was so cool. Aubree was going to go with me, but built a new fort that day so she wanted to stay home and play. She totally missed out and would have loved it! It was so funny!!! If they are in you area I would highly recommend them!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things....

2011-12-08T15:05:00.002-07:00

My camera. Oh how it has changed my life.

My lens:) My new best friend. Don't ever buy a kit lens...EVER!

PINTEREST :) Addicting is my word and THANK-YOU to whoever invented it!

NEED TO BREATHE! My new favorite band! The opened for Taylor Swift and now the whole family is hooked! Its all we listen to in the car. Check out "Something Beautiful" Austin knows all the words (in his own little way) and sings along.

Unbroken was the only book I read this year that I gave five stars to. I haven't done that since Hunger Games.

My favorite blog right now is I HEART ORGANIZING

This is my favorite picture right now. Another favorite is the Vanilla Black and White filter from FloraBella Designs

My favorite cleaning supplies are MRS MEYER. YUM! My favorite scent is Basil and Lemon. You can buy it from Amazon or Target and sometimes Wal-Mart.

The last thing on my list is Shutterflys new custom path. You can finally do what you could only do in Photoshop (which takes a PH.D!) . Its the closest thing I've gotten since I quit paper scrap booking. You can now customize your page EXACTLY how you want it and their embellishments and papers are a lot better. The only thing I wish is that I could have that layered paper look, but right now you have to use their page ideas.

Killing Lincoln Review

2011-12-07T09:51:00.001-07:00

Killing Lincoln: The Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We listened to this on the way home from Arizona. I love history and their was a lot I didn't know about the assassination. Okay basically all I knew was that he was assinated. Even Aubree enjoyed listening to it!

View all my reviews

2011-12-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

2011-12-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

2011-11-29T14:18:00.002-07:00

2011-11-29T14:11:00.002-07:00

2011-11-29T14:04:00.002-07:00

AZ Trip

2011-11-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

I took 240 pictures so get ready for a lot of posts!!! The trip was awesome with no major mishaps (Addie got the flu the night before Thanksgiving, but other than that...) The weather was awesome and it was great hanging out with my brother and sister who I haven't seen in 2 years! CRAZY! and pathetic.

Crossed Review

2011-11-19T21:34:00.001-07:00

Crossed by Ally Condie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm crossed (excuse the horrible pun) between a 3 & 4 rating with this one. Their were times when I couldn't put the book down and their were times when I was getting bored but then something would happen that would make me want to read it some more. (Isn't that pretty much like every book?) But to be honest at the end I wasn't racing to amazon to buy the 3rd one (or maybe thats because it isn't out yet!)

View all my reviews

2011-11-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at shoot all manual on my camera! YEAH! Its not so scarey anymore! Still learning though...
Anyways. We snuck Austin on Jr. Stallions basketball. (It said Kindergarten and he is technically kindergarten age...) But he loved it! When he saw me with my camera he'd really start showing off. Probably getting sick of all of Aubree's basketball pictures!

Aubree's Award

2011-11-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

Aubree submitted one of her photos for the Reflections Program (which I hate btw!) and received an award for principals choice and judges choice. The theme was Diversity Is.... and I hate spending time on these things so one day she was out taking pictures of the yard and showed me the picture that she took and I told her lets use that for Reflections and call it good!

Austin's Swim Lessons

2011-11-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

Austin LOVES swim lessons. They just ended last night so I grabbed my camera. As soon as he would get out of the pool he would ask me when his next lesson was. He passed his class and his next level is with a bunch of 8 & 9 year olds!! They practice in the deep part of the pool!!!!...Next to the diving boards!!! So I might bring him some floaties just in case....

Family Binders

2011-11-15T09:33:00.001-07:00

This has seriously been 3 months in the making! I first saw this idea on I heart Organizing. I have made one before learning from FLYLADY, but after looking at the one on I Heart Organizing it got me inspired to take it to the next level.
In my binder I also have a folder for our Netflix movies, and gardening articles, a project folder that I mainly just put my paint swatches in, I also make copies of any fliers on book reports due, Reflections programs..things like that.
Both girls have their own and love it. They know what needs to be done each morning and each evening and no more asking them "Did you put your clothes away?" They love checking off their chores and homework. Their is still some tweeking to do, but for now its done. The girls also have a folder for any special papers they want to keep like artwork or a report card. So far its working! I went to Jen Jones Etsy store to have her custom make me the check lists. That was a little stressful trying to come up with a check list on how I wanted it and I still need to change it after using it a couple of times, but Jen jones was very patient with me. I don't know how many times I emailed her with changes (and I still got some things wrong!) I glued a clip on top of the binder so their pens are always handy. (I found one on pinterest that you can buy, but I forgot to repin the site and now I can't find it!)

Here's a better picture of the print outs. Aubree's is similar except she has Uniform laid out, UTIPS, and a few other things. They each have their own list of Saturday chores, too.

Sock Bun

2011-11-14T15:27:00.001-07:00

I saw this idea on Pintrest and had to try it! It works better with Aubree's hair since its so thick, but I can do it in Addie's too. Its so easy! Here's the link

2011-11-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

Aubree's 11th Birthday Party

2011-11-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

HOLY COW!!! I never thought I could fit all 18 girls in my house but we managed!! (3 couldn't make it...THANK_YOU!!) It was 2 1/2 hours of screaming, dancing, and more screaming! I told Aubree this was her last one. Now Addie wants a big party like Aubree's. I just turned and walked away.

2011-11-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

2011-10-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the last of my roses before winter hits

REALLY?!

2011-10-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

Aubree has always been one we can't figure out. She loves to hiking and exploring. She will eat anything in front of her friends (bugs worms, you name it) And she collects things which brings me to my picture.
SERIOUSLY!!!! I found this on top of her jewlery box (which she proudly bought with her own money from the DI). Was she meaning it to be for decoration? A couple of years ago she dug up a dog skull in one of the fields (which for Aubree is a huge score on her part!!!) and get this: was hiding it in her drawer for who knows how long!!! Everytime we go for a walk she always brings home weird things: Anything metal, horseshoes, weird looking long sticks, car parts..stuff I don't even want to mention and she tries to sneak it in the house to put in her collection box. So when I saw this, I just had to shake my head and laugh. It will be gone though as soon as she gets home from school. I just refuse to pick it up!

Thought this was funny

2011-10-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

Took this picture last week during one of my photo shoots. I am now posting all of my photography on a different blog. Its called Sense of Wonder photography. Cheesy, I know, but it comes from a quote I really like and it goes really well with children photography. (and it was 7am when I was making the blog and I really didn't want to spend a lot of time thinking about a name!!! and my first 2 choices were already taken so there.)

Wheeler Farm

2011-10-23T10:47:00.002-07:00

Kaitlee Maxfield

2011-10-18T20:05:00.001-07:00

Shane and Rahndi

2011-10-18T17:12:00.001-07:00

2011-10-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

I took pictures of my friends baby yesterday. I realized their is still a lot to learn and I am not ready to go public yet!! (I took 529 pictures and fried my SD card. Thankfully her husband was able to save them! But it really made me realize I still have a lot to learn!)

Fall Soccer Season

2011-10-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

Fall soccer season is OVER!!! Yeah! They were 1st place in their division with several shut-outs (meaning the other team never scored!) On this particular game I decided to take pictures instead of video and really wish I would have recorded it because she had a very good game!!

Aubree with her best friend Mia

On their way to soccer practice. They all live on the same street!

2011-10-07T14:21:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Aubree and I went on a 6 mile hike up Big Cottonwood canyon to Dog Lake. Every time I go on this hike we always run into a moose! We saw it 3 different times! The views were incredible and it was a lot of fun spending time with Aubree who LOVES the outdoors. Even after hiking for 4 hours she saw a rock she wanted to climb. So I pulled over and let her climb half way and then she started climbing the rock of death ( I didn't know this was the rock she wanted to climb!) you literally needed professional gear to get up this thing and she started climbing it like no problem! Now I'm really nervous when she grows up and she tells me she's going to go hiking because NOTHING scares her!

Taylor Swift Scrapbook

2011-10-06T08:17:00.001-07:00

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Taylor Swift Concert

2011-09-29T11:33:00.001-07:00

Holy Cow!!!! Words cannot describe the AWESOMENESS of this concert!!!!!! It was 3 hours of Broadway-like shows, screaming, singing, and lots of picture taking (300+!!!) I tried all morning to change my playlist to play Long Live, but its not working!!!! GRRRR

I'm loving my camera!

very close to where we were sitting

Her stage was fantastic! She changed her wardrobe 8 times and I don't know how many times the set changed. While she was changing she would have her band play songs and dance. My favorite was a ballarina dancing to a violinist. So pretty!

I think this is my favorite picture. She played 3 encore songs.

I told David I wasn't leaving until she sang Love Story (David was done at 2 1/2 hours so he was out in the hall). Good thing I stayed cuz she ended with Love Story. Here she is "flying" in the Romeo and Juliet balcony. And to think I would missed this photo opp!

This Should Be Your Motto!

2011-09-26T09:42:00.002-07:00

Source: d30opm7hsgivgh.cloudfront.net via Kara on Pinterest

What I Am Loving In My Yard Right Now

2011-09-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

Didn't think this was going to turn out when I took it, but HOLY COW!

Took this while I was on the phone with my sister

Totally have a crush on this rose right now!

And this one

And maybe this one

This one is brand new in the garden... I just can't stop

The Best Gift I Have EVER Received

2011-09-23T12:01:00.001-07:00

It finally came in the mail today....I have been wanting one ever since I bought my camera, but they sell out to quickly....I just happened to be on her website and saw that they were back in stock and bought it without even blinking an eye!

Seriously! Who takes the time to do this!!! I didn't even want to open it! I want all of my packages wrapped like this from now on!!!!

What!!!??!! She hand writes a thank-you card!!!!!

Its a camera bag.
Jeanne Oliver Designs

2011-09-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

My friend told me of this AWESOME website called Pinterest. Whoever invented this website I want to give them a little hug. Its a pinboard where you "pin" up cute ideas that you see. So when you bookmark a page, but all you see is the title of the bookmark? In this website you have pictures!! Okay I am really terrible about explaining things so you will just have to go to the website. Its really overwhelming at first and shame on you if you knew about this and didn't tell me!!!! Once you get the hang of it, become a follower and then you can create your own folders and start saving all of those cute ideas that you find!!!

The Weekend

2011-09-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

David took Addie to the game on Saturday. He came home without a voice and a bruised ego, but had a great time with our middle child who sometimes gets neglected with all of Aubree's soccer games and Austin taking up most of David's time.

Addie has decided to go back to soccer (after her coach boosted her ego a little bit!) but has to quit piano since its right in the middle of practice (any maybe because she's been begging to quit!) I'm so sad to see her quit piano!!!! I'm hoping she'll want to start back up again in a year or so. She also started tumbling!

Sunday Mornings

2011-09-15T16:35:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing to do every Sunday morning is to get up early and enjoy my quiet backyard. I always take my camera with me. Sometimes I'm a little lucky.....

Aubree's Game

2011-09-12T20:28:00.002-07:00

Consignment Stores

2011-09-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

I bought this tool box at DI for $5.00. It was originally $10 and I told the guy I would pay $8 and he gave it to me for $5...okay...

Still messing around with the look and where I want to put it. I eventually want the bottom filled with old bottles.

Over the weekend I went to Home Again in Sugar House (my new favorite store!) and found this old drawer (which I totally could have found something like that at DI, but whatever) David asked me "What in the world are you going to do with that!" I really didn't know at first but I hate my ledges so I thought I would start there. The bird cage was half off at a flea market and the tea pot was 75 cents at DI

I have been hunting for a pitcher like this except I wanted it in its original tin color, but it was half off at Gardner Village over the weekend so I couldn't pass it up.

The quilt is also from a flea market that I thought was really cute. I got it for $20. Its more of a throw, probably would fit on a toddler bed, but I just have it draped over a chair for now.

Roses from the garden. They are really bright since I just fertilized a couple of days ago.

A trash can from Gardner Village also half off. The lady asked me what I was going to do with it and I still have no idea, but I'm a sucker for that color!

One of my favorites. The crate is from Home Again, same with the cute yellow pots and the jar is from DI

I've been messing around with my ledge for weeks now. I think I've rearranged it 3 times in the past 6 weeks! I spray painted the star white since I have way too much brown in my house.

See? I'm a sucker for this color of blue! This phone actually works! I bought it at an antique store in Murray and the glass is from an antique store in Tooele.

UPDATED WALL

2011-09-06T12:12:00.001-07:00

This frame has been sitting in my basement waiting for the perfect picture for it. I had to paint it twice because I didn't like the spray paint white I had originally painted it with.

After 4 years I decided I needed to update the canvas boards and I can't find my picture for the before shot..UGH! But this is the after, good enough I guess. I pinned the new material over the old one and just taped the new pictures over the old ones.

Now I am on the hunt for a vinyl letting saying to go over the top of the white frame. The wall is still BLAH!

2011-08-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

This is a rare occasion at my house so lets just all take this in for a moment.....

It lasted about 10 seconds, but I caught it!

Night Road Review

2011-08-31T08:17:00.002-07:00

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I haven't read a really good book in a long time! I've been reading a lot of fantasy lately and this was a good change. A story about real life and motherhood and everyone's worst nightmare....

View all my reviews

2011-08-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

When Austin was just a baby we have been talking about holding him back since he has a later birthday and he's a boy. But now that its the year when he should go to kindergarten its been really hard!!! I know I will never regret it, but when I took the girls to school and saw the Welcome Kindergartners! sign I got kinda sad that Austin might be missing out. So another year of preschool here we come! This year I signed up Carson, the little boy I babysit.

Sorry for the hands. You have know idea how many crotch hold pictures I have!

Austin also gets to be in the same class as his cousin Levi.

2011-08-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

Floral arrangements from the garden

More Pictures of the ducks

2011-08-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken 2 weeks ago and I can't believe how big they have gotten!

Its Easter at our house!

Okay I guess they are worth getting up at 2am to make sure they haven't run out of water!

1st day of school

2011-08-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

My big 5th grader!

My big 2nd grader!

Funny how we bought so many pairs of jeans for the new school year and then come the first day of school we were scrambling to find some nice pairs of shorts!

Not too happy I'm making her pose

This teacher has been asking for Addie before she started kindergarten!!! It was pretty surreal walking into her classroom with Addie.

So excited to start 5th grade. (I'm really nervous about this year. I've heard good and bad about her teacher.)

One last Weekend

2011-08-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

We went on one last outing before school and the craziness of soccer started. We drove up to Midway and found a great hiking spot.

Aubree is my outdoor girl. After we were done hiking I let her play in the water while everyone else went back to the car.

Afterwards we went to a little touristy shop for some ice cream

They had old fashioned toys for the kids to play with

This is the front of the ice cream shop

I love Midway. My dad's side of the family is from here. Someday David and I would like to retire here.

Updating My Wall

2011-08-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

These were taken in the shade and I'm still learning how to use my camera so the lighting isn't perfect. Their were several that turned out that had better lighting, but I love Addie in this picture.

Ahhh, my sweet girls....who will be locked away when they turn 16!!!

I have been debating whether or not to post these pictures since I'm using them for Christmas cards, but oh what the heck! In the first 3 minutes of this shoot, I had them all posed and Austin just kinda looked up at me, rolled his eyes, and walked back to the car and shut the door. Needless to say I was able to coax him back with a bribe from Kravers and a "If these pictures don't turn out I'll just keep on bringing you out here until they turn out perfect!" kind of a threat.
It worked.

Aubree's First Triathlon!!

2011-08-20T07:23:00.002-07:00

Aubree competed in her first triathlon for Stansbury Days. I was really stressed out so my filming was horrible!!! First they had to swim a lap, then bike 3.2 miles, and finish with running a mile. She was in the 10-12 category so she was running against girls going into 7th grade which I didn't think was fair. That being said...she was the 3rd girl to cross over the finish line!!!! Since they do it by time she placed 5th in her division (the first 3 were the mammoth 7th graders!) and the girl who placed 4th beat her by 8 seconds. We are so proud of her especially since she didn't even want to do it in the first place!! A friend of hers said that while Aubree was running the mile she heard Aubree scream "I am never doing this again!!!" She placed 15th overall out of 80 kids boys and girls. Her time was 25:25

She was being really grumpy right before this picture. I actually wanted the grumpy face and I think she knew that.

Here she is just finishing the bike race. She has to put her bike back and start the mile run.

Off to the finish line!!

Right after she crossed the finish line.

These are the girls on her soccer team.

2011-08-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

My friend who cuts my hair had this sitting in her driveway. I asked her what she was doing with it and she said ,"Oh I'm chucking it. That thing is ugly!" Ummm no. So I took it home and in 3 days had it looking like this:

I finally found a white paint that I like. Its from Martha Stewart and its called chalkboard. Since I got the table for free I decided to splurge on some knobs from Anthropology.

I'm Not Old Enough To Have A Daughter in Braces!

2011-08-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

Aubree got her braces on yesterday and was really excited...up until this morning. All of her adult teeth are in so we figured we might as well just get them started.
I still have my dang springs so my smile is forced...it literally hurts to smile because they rub on my sores...and maybe I should've done this picture in black and white...UGH!

Random Pictures

2011-08-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

On a walk with Grandma and Grandpa around the corner from our house. Aubree likes to collect things off the side of the road.

Playing pool with Grandpa. This is what they did everyday they were here. It was Aubree's favorite

Grandpa showing them a new way to play tick tac toe

Austin showing off his reading skills

2 ABOVE: The kids at Dairy King in Heber. This is their favorite restaurant. You would've thought they were at Disneyland!

2011-08-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

While my parents were visiting we broke out the campfire.

So proud

2011-08-12T16:59:00.002-07:00

My uncle has a hobby of collecting old pioneer cabins that my ancestors lived in. While David and I got away for a night this is where the kids slept and they loved every minute of it. Aubree was in heaven. She was constantly cleaning it and collecting wildflowers to put around her little house.

Its very cute inside with TONS of antiques that I wanted to try and sneak in my bag...but I didn't...but I wanted to.

This is my uncles truck. I was snapping pictures like crazy so I could hang some in my son's room.

This is where the girls slept. i thought it was very cute until the next night I had to sleep there.....Addie wanted to go home, but Aubree wanted to stay (we still had soccer games in the morning) so the only way I could get Addie to stay was to stay with them myself. David took Austin home and drove back up the next morning. I don't think he's ever slept in a sleeping bag so I don't think I would be able to convince him to stay with me. Needless to say, I did not get any sleep!

Uncle Bruce

2011-08-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

I had to pause from our events from last week to post on the ducks. Now to get back to Park City: My Uncle Bruce is one-of-a-kind. He is a true blue all American cowboy. He works at the Homestead in Heber doing all kinds of things . One of the things he does is rob the train as its coming through Soldier Hollow. While we were in town he wanted us to come and watch.

Aubree was the only one brave enough to take a picture. Addie and Austin were to scared after seeing the train robbery!

This isn't a costume. This is how my Uncle Bruce is all the time!

He also does campfire stories every Friday night at the Homestead with his partner Annie.

He would brand your birthday onto a piece of wood

For 2 hours we listened to Bruce (everyone else calls him Sparky) sing old cowboy songs and tell old cowboy stories that were pretty funny!

Went to the pet store for rabbit food.......

2011-08-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

All last week Aubree has been trying to catch baby ducks at the lake. So we go into the pet store to buy more rabbit food and they had these baby ducks for sale. Aubree and Addie started shrieking and begging. They were 2 for $8 so I tell them we'll get 2. Then the pet store asks if I would take the other one because they don't like being alone. FINE!!! Its only my marriage on the line!!!!

Seriously?!

Park City Tournament

2011-08-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

The girls played their hearts out with a total of 3 games and a 5 minute overtime game. We made it to the semi-finals and lost in overtime from a penalty kick. Aubree did great and of course I didn't get any of her goals on tape!! Sometimes I get sick of watching the game through my camera lens!

A Little Bit of Heaven

2011-08-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

My parents have been visiting from AZ and boy what a week! I took over 400 pictures!! They came up just in time for Aubree's big soccer tournament so we spent a lot of our time in Heber and Park City (My 2 favorite places!) I was going to post pictures in order of events but I couldn't wait to post these. We took a drive up through Snake Creek in Heber which was always a favorite childhood past time, but I don't remember coming to this particular spot. I have to go back, especially in the fall. The pioneers that settled this area planted the apple trees.

A deer had just passed in front of Aubree and they were racing through the trail to see if they could find another one.

This one's for you Robyn!

2011-08-03T10:01:00.001-07:00

I had a good friend ask me to take bigger pictures of my yard. Their is a reason why I don't do this and after taking these pictures I can definitely see why!!!! Their are parts of my yard I HATE! Way too cluttered!!! We also have a lot of bare spots and a lot of weeds. So I like to only do close ups. So this my dear friend is just for you!!

My white hydrangeas. I spent weeks putting special fertilizers on them to get them to bloom pink. All that work for nothing!!

This was really early in the morning so the lighting is off.

Leading into my favorite area of my yard

See!! We still have a lot of bare spots. When David and I get more motivation we want to connect the pathway and the firepit area with more flagstone.

I love having different sitting areas for different times of the day where their is some shade.

YUCK! I hate my front yard!!! Their is too much green!! Their is some color here and there but its not big enough yet to see this far away.

Since I'm the only gardener in the house, everytime this year I'm getting burned out. I'm ready for a smaller yard!!

From Our Garden....

2011-07-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

I think I have posted this picture before, if I have...I don't care! This was taken about a month ago. My lavendar is in full color now and the raspberry bushes are peeking over the fence.

Delphinium

I bought 3 starts last summer and these are going crazy!! They're huge!! Once a week I cut a bunch for vases.

I was walking around the yard early one morning (without my camera!!!) and saw this butterfly roaming around so I ran inside to grab my camera and was lucky enough that it was still there!

Have I mentioned how much I love my camera!!!!

Yarrow

Day Lilies

2011-07-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

I have 32 daylilies in about 12 different colors. My roses look like crap right now because of the heat, but my daylilies are in full bloom.

2011-07-26T07:25:00.001-07:00

Check out Aubree's arms and Austin's stomach! (They just don't have any fat on them so everything shows! I do feed Austin I promise!)

We went to the Gateway to play in the sprinklers and ride the trax and twin bro tagged along. My kids are finally to the point where we can go somewhere and enjoy ourselves.

BELOW: Austin was way to into his Italian ice to look up.

Raspberries

2011-07-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite thing in my garden right now is our raspberry bushes. We have 3 raspberry bushes and 2 blackberry bushes. I pick raspberries every morning and (sometimes at night if I want a snack!). I've been getting 2 1/2 cups every morning from just one bush! The other one is just starting to send out new berries. You would think I would be making a ton of jam, but between Aubree and I, there is never any left over! The white dish is my latest antique find from our local antique shop (which I have complained about in the past because I didn't like how the owner set up his store, but he has been forgiven...mainly since I found some GREAT stuff which I will later post about...because you know me!) The lavender is also from my garden. I"m trying to fill up a cute tin with dried lavender that is taking me longer then I thought!

Senior Pictures Photo Shoot

2011-07-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

My first photo shoot! I was asked to take some senior pictures and I'm gradually getting my name out there. I'm still really nervous about it (I had a really bad experience a couple of years ago and I'm still scarred from it!)

Latest project and DI find

2011-07-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

I took these pictures a few weeks ago and have recently bought a new table for this area so this is a little outdated.

Love this tea pot!!!! I was at DI and just happened to glance over my shoulder and the DI worker was putting it on the shelf so I snagged it. And the best part?! On the bottom it says ITALY. YEAH! And what was even better?! It was only 75 cents!!!

I also got these seashells for $5 and it also came in a cute metal tin that I'm going to put my dried lavender from the garden in. The egg crate was $5 also from DI and their were 3 of them. I even had to scrape the poop off from the chickens!

I wish I would have taken a before and after. The frame was an actual Thomas Kincaid frame for $10 and it was GOLD!

I didn't clean the frame really good apparently since the paint cracked but it was the affect I was looking for so it works!!

2011-07-19T16:17:00.002-07:00

This is what we have been doing the past 2 weeks. My kids LOVE swim lessons and were so sad when they were done! Aubree has been swimming in deep water since she was 3 and is my fish. She has one more level to go and then she wants to try out for the comp swim team. Addie could not swim in deep water before these lessons and now she can!! And Austin is going to be just like Aubree. He would get so excited when we would turn the corner and he could see the building. Everyday he would scream"There it is Mom!!! Theirs my swim lessons!" His teacher wrote on his certificate: "Already swimming underwater and diving!! Awesome swimmer!"

Miniature Roses

2011-07-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

We had a huge space on the side of our house that we didn't know what to do with and my father in law suggested miniature roses. It was in the dead heat of July but we decided to do it anyway. We planted 10 bushes and 5 new ones a couple of months ago and I love them! They're so cute! What I love about roses is they are full color Spring-Fall.

My Roses

2011-07-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

Ebb-Tide

Sexy Rexy

Madri Gras

Black Magic

Dream Come True

Julia Child

We have topped off with a total of 37 rose bushes this year! All of the caines died last winter so I had to cut everything down all the way to the bottom! We added 4 new mini's, 3 shrub roses, and 2 flora-bundas.

2011-07-13T05:57:00.000-07:00

I was checking out my garden early one morning and felt something brush up against my leg and totally freaked out! So for the 4th time in 3 1/2 years of living in this house we have kitttens in the windowwell...again! This time the kittens are older so they have been our "pets" for about 6 weeks and we didn't even know it. I called animal control (I should get them on speed dial) and we had a really hard time getting the kittens. The mom was pretty tame, but once she figured out what we were doing we couldn't keep her in the box so sadly they had to take the kittens without the mom...I don't really care!

David's Trip

2011-07-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

Since David didn't take a camera on his trip (So many terrible things I can say....) I had to steal these pictures from my friends blog. David also got to go on the trip with 2 of his really good friends (AND WIVES....more terrible things I could say....) so David's in some of the pictures or hiding from the camera. At least you get an idea of what he did:

4th of July Weekend Part 3

2011-07-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

Dave and I went to Sundance to hear the Utah Symphoney. Their is a picture of Dave and I but my smile is painful to look at. (Literally, it hurts to smile because I still have these dang forces in (permanet bands) and they dig holes in my mouth so it hurts when I smile)
Anyhoo.... If you haven't been up to Sundance for a concert you must go!!!

SIDENOTE: So I go in the other day to get my forces off (not the braces) because they told me I only had to wear them 4 months. So I was literally counting down the days to when I could eat and not have 10 sores in my mouth. But as luck would have it, my ortho told me 10 more weeks!!!!!

4th of July Weekend Part 2

2011-07-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

The kids love to go swimming! Whats great about this year is Dave and I can relax on a lawn chair while the kids play.

Austin thought he was being funny by turning his head everytime I wanted to take a picture.

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

We drove up to Kamas and went hiking. It was beautiful weather and we found a great hiking trail.

Aubree loves being outdoors and loves to go hiking

Addie on the other hand does not. Here is her royal highness being carried pretty much the whole time

When your happy and you know it clap your hands!

Austin's turn!

Happy 4th!!!

2011-07-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

Waiting for the parade to start

Does this surprise you at all?!!

The kids with their cousin Levi

Addie, Aubree, & Livvy

After all of the events for the day, I took the girls to our usual spot to watch fireworks. Austin stayed home and can you guess why? "because they're too loud and scarey!"

Sunsets

2011-06-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

All 3 were taken on 3 different days

BBQ With Friends

2011-06-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

We had some friends over for a BBQ on Saturday and rented a waterslide for the kids. They played on it all day long and had so much fun!

Miss Karma's Summer Program

2011-06-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

Austin was able to participate in Miss Karma's Pre-K summer program. She teaches it with her sister. During the school year for 2 years, Austin would throw a fit every morning when he was getting ready for preschool, but not once did he do that going to Miss Karma's class. Sometimes he would be the one telling me it was time to get ready to go. But sadly the school ran out of funds and Miss Karma found out Thursday morning that it was the last day of the summer program. She had been working so hard with the kids for their little program that they do and now they can't do it! They still had one more week left and the district didn't approve it. So luckily I had some roses blooming and we were able to give Miss Karma her favorite color to thank her for a wonderful summer program!

2011-06-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

We rode the Trax down to Temple Square yesterday. I wanted to try out my camera on the temple. I need something for my wall. I still didn't find what I was looking for for my wall. I'll try back in the fall. But it was fun to practice!

I need to figure out what this rose is because it needs to be in my garden!!!!

From Our Garden....

2011-06-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

2011-06-26T21:16:00.002-07:00

David shook hands with Mitt Romney on Friday. He went down to Hires where he was doing a speech and was on the news for a couple of seconds.

Visiting Cousins

2011-06-24T10:23:00.001-07:00

My sisters kids were in town so we drove down to spend a couple of hours with them. We haven't seen them in a 1 1/2 years so it was great getting to know them again.

I didn't dress Addie....don't ask

This one I wanted to sneak in my car and take him home! This is Charity's newest and it was the first time I had ever seen him...it was hard saying good-bye

I took over 200 pictures in 3 hours so these are just a few....

My Peonys

2011-06-21T17:21:00.000-07:00

YUM! I planted these last year and I finally get to see them bloom!!! I have 6 bushes and only 3 of them bloomed so I can't wait until next year!

2011-06-19T08:27:00.000-07:00

I had a day off from babysitting and the kids didn't have any summer school so we went to the zoo. I thought Austin would really like the zoo since, well of course the zoo wouldn't have dinosaurs...I guessed wrong!! Its their new exhibit and they were EVERYWHERE ROARING AND MOVING!!! So Austin again wanted to leave within the first 30 seconds, but it took me an hour to get there so he just had to pray the dinosaurs weren't going to come after him (or somesome else might!....Like me!!!)

He still refused to put down his hands so Aubree had to feed him his cotton candy!!

He finally snapped out of it for about 15 minutes.

I told Austin that might be him if he doesn't stop crying!!!! (By this point I had listened to him scream, "I want to go home!!" for about 3 hours so I was fed up. I didn't want him to ruin the trip for the girls so I made him stay. I think next week I'm going to try a farm (and call ahead to make sure their aren't any dinosaurs!)

2011-06-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

peony, hydrangea, snow in summer, wildflower

snow in summer, columbine, pansey

I love making flower arrangements around the house especially when they are free from my garden!

Reeder Reunion

2011-06-15T15:42:00.000-07:00

Its FINALLY warm enough to go swimming (And the high was only about 75!)

Cousin Ava

Aubree and Allie (Out of all the girl cousins, these two always stick together at every reunion)

Same with Kate and Addie

This picture must have been downloaded by mistake!

Another Reeder reunion! They like to get together twice a year and this was the summer one.

Dino Park

2011-06-13T14:48:00.001-07:00

Baby Dax even came along! (I babysit him and his older brother full time)

We had a day off from Summer Camp and I didn't have Carson so we drove up to Ogden to visit the Dinosaur Museum. Austin wanted to leave within 30 seconds (it took me an hour to get there!!) Sometimes the dinosaurs "roar" and that totally freaked him out. He covered his ears and wouldn't put them down. I even had to feed him his sandwich and he ate his frys off of the ground. Finally he realized they weren't real and we were able to have a nice day.

Sunday Treat

2011-06-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

We saw this hot air balloon going through our neighborhood. I thought I missed out on the photo opportunity since it landed in a field and deflated, but by chance I decided to pull over and let the kids watch it and it took off again and this time I was ready!
The last picture was taken from my front porch! I love the views out here!!!!

2011-06-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

The horse picture was taken when it was getting dark so I set my camera to a really high ISO and it still turned out great!!! (It was taken at the same time that I took the sunset which was right across the street!)

I'm thinking about blowing this one up and hanging it in my house. Still haven't decided.

Sorry! I can't stop!

2011-06-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

Playing With My Camera

2011-06-09T02:38:00.000-07:00

New rose we planted over the weekend

Front yard

Snow in summer starting to bloom.

Strawberries and raspberries going crazy!

No Comment!

Back yard with DIY patio gone bad!

Peonies getting ready to bloom

OH......MY......GOSH

2011-06-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

This is not a picture downloaded from the internet.
This is what I have been wanting for years.
This my friends.....
IS SITTING ON MY COUNTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!