Ever since I began taking photography a little more seriously, it has become quite the past time. Jared and I have been staying up really late,(think after midnight) playing with photoshop. It's been really fun- but I've stared and scrutinized the same pictures now for days. Time to get new subjects. It's nice that Jared is so excited about all this. He's very cute. I'm lucky to have so much support. Honestly, he gives me way more credit than I deserve, and sometimes I think he's more excited about the pictures than I am. I love that I have been able to revisit this hobby- (and have such nice equipment this time around to revisit it with). Though there is a huge learning curve involved with Digital SLR's. Unfortunately technical reading -or listening, is not a strong point of mine, so I've been reading and re-reading alot. (It took me three days to finally figure out how to live view shoot with my camera). If you scroll down to the end of the page you can view my slideshow.
On a side note-The kids and I have been getting down to Fergie's "Clumsy". LOVE IT!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
A Weekend of Love, Dry Ice and Lots of Fuzzy Feelings
Saturday Jared worked and the kids and I began our day before dawn getting ready to make a jaunt out to Vail. The Hopkins family asked if I would take pictures of Seth and Michelles wedding that is scheduled for March. I was really hesitant at first, having never photographed a wedding before. Sanford assured me I'd do a great job. Jared thought it was a great opportunity to finally start up a photography business. (He's been after me for years to do it). So I took a deep breath and agreed. I placed an order for a really nice digital camera ( Canon EOS 40D) that I found on Ebay and began researching lots and lots of wedding sites. I found sites that had amazing pictures and some that were just horrible and some that weren't anything special. That made me feel better. I had Seth and Michelle over to discuss thier personal style and made an appointment to visit the wedding site with them and take some engagement photos. Which brings me to our early morning trek out to Vail. I dropped Hannah and Noah off at my parents house and visited for awhile until it was time for me to meet Seth and Michelle. Their wedding is at Seth's brothers home nestled at the base of the Empirita Mountains in Vail. OH MY GOODNESS! I had so much fun. SO MUCH FUN! Here are a few pics from our photo shoot. Aren't they an adorable couple?
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After the shoot my mom, Amy, the kids and I took a drive out J-6. It was nice to visit and catch up. Amy had some really fun news!...
Sunday
Sunday was busy. We began our morning with a lesson from Jared on the wonders of dry ice. He brought some home from work to show Hannah and Noah. They were eating breakfast at the counter when he quietly began to fill a pitcher with water, sugar, vanilla, then the key ingredient dry ice. The kitchen was soon filled with "What are you doing Daddy?"," Let me see?"," What is that?"," Oh wow!"," Look at that!"," Cool!", "Is that poisonous?". Even Bailey was curious.
It was ward conference-correlation, baptism preview and new beginnings. We were at church from noon to 7:00pm. Despite it being a long day, it was a day that really filled my bucket that I felt had been running dry. The sacrament talks themselves inspired lots of reflection and feelings of gratitude. I began really thinking about my testimony and how prayer and following the promptings of the spirit had impacted my life. I was already hopped up by the influx of PMS horomones, so trying to control the flow of emotions was a struggle. I made it through Sacrament, Sunday school and Relief Society without to many tears. Then came ward correlation, and the Bishop asked if I would bear my testimony. Of all the days... I made it through without much display of waterworks. I was very grateful for that. There is nothing worse than not being able to communicate my thoughts because I'm crying.
Hannah is really excited about getting baptized this year, and had been very excited about the Baptism Preview. The Bishop spoke, then Jared. Jared gave a really nice overview of Baptism then had Hannah get up to demonstrate with him how they would go into the water-having the right hand available,(if needed) to plug their nose. Aparently water up the nose was of big concern with most of the children. When I asked Hannah what she had learned later that night, she responded that ,"I can plug my nose so I don't get water up it". The weekend ended on a very warm and fuzzy note.
I love my family, I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given.
-Mel
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Sombrero Peak
Jared and I hiked Sombrero Peak this morning. It was a fun hike, a little of everything. This hike has been on my list for awhile, it's nice to be able to check it off. Now, I'm officially tired.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Magical Days
Sometimes a day comes by that is pure magic. This was one of those days for me.
It began this morning at 5:00am. The alarm went off and I rolled over not ready to greet the day. I drifted back into dreamland where the workout class that I was supposed to meet at 5:30 had been canceled and a volleyball team was practicing in it's stead. The alarm went off again, I pulled myself from slumber realizing I was on the verge of being late. I threw on my clothes and headed out the door. I arrived to the class just in time to join in the warm up. Counting myself thier were five of us. Mandy, my faithful walking partner and good friend; Lisa another good friend who happens to also be 5 months pregnant, my neighbor Chris and Frida who's son was on Noahs soccer team this past season. After a few warm ups and excercises, Bree the instructor informs us we are going to play a modified version of freeze tag. Rule one we skip rather than run, rule two we have to perform the given excercise of her choice when tagged until our teammate can unfreeze us. So here we were five grown women skipping after one another as fast as we can, laughing and tagging one another as though we were six years old again. I found myself trying to use my once highly effective evasive manuvering twists that proved to be not as effective or evasive as I remember them to be. After a good round of freeze tag we moved onto duck duck goose. It was so fun to run around that cafeteria without a care in the world. For that hour of play, I felt transported back time. One of those moments in life I was really happy I had gotten up for.
I took the kids to school and volunteered in Hannah's class for an hour or so then met my mom for lunch. I returned to the school at 12:30 to sign the kids out early so we could join Mandy and Lisa for a field trip to the gem show.
The gem show is a huge deal in Tucson. Every February-March rock and gem dealers from around the world gather here to show off thier specimens and sell to thousands of jewelers and rock hounds alike. This year we had the opportunity to visit a section of the show that Mandy's family leases out to various dealers. The kids were so excited. The first table we stopped at was full of calcite crystal. The kids immediatly noticed the small pieces of calcite littered on the ground. They asked the young man behind tht table if they could have them. Sure he replied. No sooner had I expressed our gratitude and how much he just made thier day, a shepish grin claimed the corner of his mouth and he quickly scooped up a handful of crystals from behind the table and offered them to all of our children. Squeals, giggles and gasps of delight greeted the mans act of generosity. At almost every table we visited a new treasure was offered. One table was of particular fun for the kids. A display of cut rocks were seperated by classification and soaking in water so a buyer could get an idea of what the stone would look like when polished. Hannah was drawn to the orbicular ocean jasper. The next table had the jasper in it's natural form uncut. Noah, Hannah and I began the search for one we could purchase. We finally found one we could all agree on. I brought it up to pay for and was told that we could have it and all the young ladies could have one as well. Could this trip get any better? Crystals, ocean jasper, tumbled stones, desert roses had filled the pockets of our nine children. We took the kids back to Mandy's families area and had a little snack and rest. Lisa and I went out exploring once more with Hannah leading the way. Hannah oogled the opals and wala- a beautiful opal was offered up. Hannah could hardly believe her good fortune. Then we rounded the corner and found what we had been looking for, a pile of geodes. Mandy had told me about this place. Geodes could be bought by the pound, and thier were several people in the area that had the equipment to cut them. Hannah picked out two, one for herself and one for Noah. We paid three dollars for the two of them. Next we went on the hunt for a saw... Not long after our search we found someone to cut our geods, a very nice gentleman from Idaho who was missing his six year old grandaughter, who he proudly shared, at age four was shining and polishing rocks right along side him. Hannah's geode was the first to be cut. All the kids gathered in anticipation. The stone was cut. He held it together and asked her to move forward so she could be the first to see what was inside. She stepped closer and he opened it up. In unison we all gasped, is was a heart full of crystal. "Oh my goodness, well would you look at that", he exclaimed. His wife came running over to see what all the fuss about, and offered up the same reaction with an added "just in time for Valentines Day." Hannah of course was grinning ear to ear. She loves hearts, and Valentines Day. Noah and Hyrums geodes followed and both having impressive displays of crystal formations did not dissapoint. We decided this was a good note to end the afternoon on, and headed home. Hannah smiled to herself and reflected,"I know what my happy thought will be for tommorrow." This day was special gift.
-Mel
*Please excuse any misspellings-spell check isn't working. Sad I know...
*Pictures to come- that's not working either.
It began this morning at 5:00am. The alarm went off and I rolled over not ready to greet the day. I drifted back into dreamland where the workout class that I was supposed to meet at 5:30 had been canceled and a volleyball team was practicing in it's stead. The alarm went off again, I pulled myself from slumber realizing I was on the verge of being late. I threw on my clothes and headed out the door. I arrived to the class just in time to join in the warm up. Counting myself thier were five of us. Mandy, my faithful walking partner and good friend; Lisa another good friend who happens to also be 5 months pregnant, my neighbor Chris and Frida who's son was on Noahs soccer team this past season. After a few warm ups and excercises, Bree the instructor informs us we are going to play a modified version of freeze tag. Rule one we skip rather than run, rule two we have to perform the given excercise of her choice when tagged until our teammate can unfreeze us. So here we were five grown women skipping after one another as fast as we can, laughing and tagging one another as though we were six years old again. I found myself trying to use my once highly effective evasive manuvering twists that proved to be not as effective or evasive as I remember them to be. After a good round of freeze tag we moved onto duck duck goose. It was so fun to run around that cafeteria without a care in the world. For that hour of play, I felt transported back time. One of those moments in life I was really happy I had gotten up for.
I took the kids to school and volunteered in Hannah's class for an hour or so then met my mom for lunch. I returned to the school at 12:30 to sign the kids out early so we could join Mandy and Lisa for a field trip to the gem show.
The gem show is a huge deal in Tucson. Every February-March rock and gem dealers from around the world gather here to show off thier specimens and sell to thousands of jewelers and rock hounds alike. This year we had the opportunity to visit a section of the show that Mandy's family leases out to various dealers. The kids were so excited. The first table we stopped at was full of calcite crystal. The kids immediatly noticed the small pieces of calcite littered on the ground. They asked the young man behind tht table if they could have them. Sure he replied. No sooner had I expressed our gratitude and how much he just made thier day, a shepish grin claimed the corner of his mouth and he quickly scooped up a handful of crystals from behind the table and offered them to all of our children. Squeals, giggles and gasps of delight greeted the mans act of generosity. At almost every table we visited a new treasure was offered. One table was of particular fun for the kids. A display of cut rocks were seperated by classification and soaking in water so a buyer could get an idea of what the stone would look like when polished. Hannah was drawn to the orbicular ocean jasper. The next table had the jasper in it's natural form uncut. Noah, Hannah and I began the search for one we could purchase. We finally found one we could all agree on. I brought it up to pay for and was told that we could have it and all the young ladies could have one as well. Could this trip get any better? Crystals, ocean jasper, tumbled stones, desert roses had filled the pockets of our nine children. We took the kids back to Mandy's families area and had a little snack and rest. Lisa and I went out exploring once more with Hannah leading the way. Hannah oogled the opals and wala- a beautiful opal was offered up. Hannah could hardly believe her good fortune. Then we rounded the corner and found what we had been looking for, a pile of geodes. Mandy had told me about this place. Geodes could be bought by the pound, and thier were several people in the area that had the equipment to cut them. Hannah picked out two, one for herself and one for Noah. We paid three dollars for the two of them. Next we went on the hunt for a saw... Not long after our search we found someone to cut our geods, a very nice gentleman from Idaho who was missing his six year old grandaughter, who he proudly shared, at age four was shining and polishing rocks right along side him. Hannah's geode was the first to be cut. All the kids gathered in anticipation. The stone was cut. He held it together and asked her to move forward so she could be the first to see what was inside. She stepped closer and he opened it up. In unison we all gasped, is was a heart full of crystal. "Oh my goodness, well would you look at that", he exclaimed. His wife came running over to see what all the fuss about, and offered up the same reaction with an added "just in time for Valentines Day." Hannah of course was grinning ear to ear. She loves hearts, and Valentines Day. Noah and Hyrums geodes followed and both having impressive displays of crystal formations did not dissapoint. We decided this was a good note to end the afternoon on, and headed home. Hannah smiled to herself and reflected,"I know what my happy thought will be for tommorrow." This day was special gift.
-Mel
*Please excuse any misspellings-spell check isn't working. Sad I know...
*Pictures to come- that's not working either.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Groceries
"You sure have been doing alot of research about grocery shopping lately, maybe you could do some actual shopping..."
Now if you know Jared, you know this was said with a huge grin and twinkling eyes. We spent quite of fews minutes laughing together at what appears to be an outlet for OCD behavior. I assured him there was a reason for the madness- cleaning out the refrigerator, freezer and
reorganizing the pantry was all in preperation for executing the plan....
So I decided to give the plan in our book club book the High Cost of Eating a whirl and see if my own shopping habits have really cost us. So far I'm not convinced. Part of the plan is to compare prices of items you buy regularly. I decided to also really take a look at how much we consume and throw out. So I'm on week two of not doing any major gorcery shopping. We did buy milk (2 for 4.00) and some bananas (30 cents a lb) to suppliment our dwindling supply of ready to go food. I baked our last chicken breast last night and plan on using the last of the year old frozen stew meat tonight. I've been on a bread making kick for the last couple months and have been grinding wheat from our food storage. I'm sold on that. I love the bread and it makes our home smell yummy. It's funny how something that appeared so intimidating can end up being so routine and satisfying. I have to say I've lost a couple pounds not buying and consuming what sounds good-rather finishing off what we have in the fridge even if it's only lettuce peppers and carrots. Then again I've always been a salad and bread person...Now the part that is trying my wonderful husbands patience is me not buying anything until it is on a really good sale. Then stocking up. Well the ads came out yesterday- not very promising. Looks like we'll be eating a lot of asparagus...
We are planning a trip to Hawaii and I'm trying to prepare and save for some shore excursions-like flying over Kauai in a powered hang glider, and scuba diving in Maui. I think Jared will be thanking me for this endeavor in frugality when he's gliding past waterfalls and coastline and diving next to Manta Rays. Bring on the asparagus and tomato soup. Time to lose some weight and save some cash.
-Mel
Now if you know Jared, you know this was said with a huge grin and twinkling eyes. We spent quite of fews minutes laughing together at what appears to be an outlet for OCD behavior. I assured him there was a reason for the madness- cleaning out the refrigerator, freezer and
reorganizing the pantry was all in preperation for executing the plan....
So I decided to give the plan in our book club book the High Cost of Eating a whirl and see if my own shopping habits have really cost us. So far I'm not convinced. Part of the plan is to compare prices of items you buy regularly. I decided to also really take a look at how much we consume and throw out. So I'm on week two of not doing any major gorcery shopping. We did buy milk (2 for 4.00) and some bananas (30 cents a lb) to suppliment our dwindling supply of ready to go food. I baked our last chicken breast last night and plan on using the last of the year old frozen stew meat tonight. I've been on a bread making kick for the last couple months and have been grinding wheat from our food storage. I'm sold on that. I love the bread and it makes our home smell yummy. It's funny how something that appeared so intimidating can end up being so routine and satisfying. I have to say I've lost a couple pounds not buying and consuming what sounds good-rather finishing off what we have in the fridge even if it's only lettuce peppers and carrots. Then again I've always been a salad and bread person...Now the part that is trying my wonderful husbands patience is me not buying anything until it is on a really good sale. Then stocking up. Well the ads came out yesterday- not very promising. Looks like we'll be eating a lot of asparagus...
We are planning a trip to Hawaii and I'm trying to prepare and save for some shore excursions-like flying over Kauai in a powered hang glider, and scuba diving in Maui. I think Jared will be thanking me for this endeavor in frugality when he's gliding past waterfalls and coastline and diving next to Manta Rays. Bring on the asparagus and tomato soup. Time to lose some weight and save some cash.
-Mel
Monday, February 4, 2008
Book Reviews
So I've a read a couple interesting books in the new year.
Hugh Hewitts book about Mitt Romney- A Mormon in the White House
Pretty good book. I enjoyed reading about Mitt Romney's life and family, the Olympics, but snoozed through the chapter or was it chapters devoted to his term as govenor.
Lehi in the Wilderness
Good read, enjoyed the pictures. Helped me visualize Lehi's family's trek and undertakings after leaving Jerusalem. I also enjoyed reading about the authors experiences exploring the Middle East wilderness.
Beating the High Cost of Eating by Barbara Salsbury
Eh-Don't waste your time. If you can borrow it-skip to chapter 10 and glance over the appendix. The first nine chapters are about advertising gimmicks-nothing new there.
The last few chapters and appendix basically encourage you to meal plan around ads, and tips how to stretch your budget. I have friends who have knocked a good $40.00 off thier grocery bill using some of the strategies. Buy house brands, shop ads, stock up on good deals, have a pantry and freezer. That's it in a nutshell.
I have a confession to make...
I've never read a Jane Austen book. Loved the movies based on her books. So I have a nice anthology of her work sitting by my bed.
-Mel
Hugh Hewitts book about Mitt Romney- A Mormon in the White House
Pretty good book. I enjoyed reading about Mitt Romney's life and family, the Olympics, but snoozed through the chapter or was it chapters devoted to his term as govenor.
Lehi in the Wilderness
Good read, enjoyed the pictures. Helped me visualize Lehi's family's trek and undertakings after leaving Jerusalem. I also enjoyed reading about the authors experiences exploring the Middle East wilderness.
Beating the High Cost of Eating by Barbara Salsbury
Eh-Don't waste your time. If you can borrow it-skip to chapter 10 and glance over the appendix. The first nine chapters are about advertising gimmicks-nothing new there.
The last few chapters and appendix basically encourage you to meal plan around ads, and tips how to stretch your budget. I have friends who have knocked a good $40.00 off thier grocery bill using some of the strategies. Buy house brands, shop ads, stock up on good deals, have a pantry and freezer. That's it in a nutshell.
I have a confession to make...
I've never read a Jane Austen book. Loved the movies based on her books. So I have a nice anthology of her work sitting by my bed.
-Mel
Finger Rock Trail
Saturday Jared and I along with some friends hiked the Finger Rock trail in the Catalina Mountain Range. What a work out! Jared and I attempted this hike about ten years ago. I remember it being a grueling hike that took every ounce of energy from me back then. Well- I must be a little more woman now than I was back then. It was tough- really tough. But not as bad as I remember it. We didn't make it to Finger Rock (which apparently you have to bush wack to get to) but we did make it to the Linda Vista Lookout Point which was beautiful. The first mile of the hike was really nice. We hiked along a nice riparian area, lots of flowing water and desrt foliage. We hopped along rocks crossing the stream and had several nice lookouts along the way. This is where we lost our way. Somehow we followed the trail that followed the stream that wound through the canyon bottom. Luckily the trail ended abruptly and we were forced to figure things out before we lost to much time. We saw some hikers on the trail above us and made our way back. We stepped over the pile of rocks that was meant to block the path of the trail we took and continued on the correct trail that seemed very obviously marked in retrospect. Still not sure how we missed that one- must have subconciously chosen the easier path because the right one was way more work. THEN we began to ascend a very steep grade for the next couple miles. Jareds GPS gathered that we ascended over 1000 ft. in a mile while scrambling up granite, climbing over boulders, stepping up the switchbacks. Really fun though. The nice thing about hiking in a group is that there is never lack for conversation. Let me tell you, you can really get to know a person trudging up a mountain with them for a couple hours. I enjoyed having the opportunity to hear so many fun stories and experiences. I loved the hiking, the excercise, and of course the views, but what I enjoyed the most was getting to peek into the lives that were around me a little more deeply. On the way down I lost the sole of my shoe. It was a sad moment. I've had these hiking shoes for about 10 years now. In fact they were with me the first time I hiked this trail. I guess it's fitting that this was the last trail they trod. Time to move on....and time to go shopping! Though I have to say hiking shoes are expensive and I can think of a whole lotta other shoes I'd like to spend the money on. The way down seemed almost harder than the way up due to the steepness. I just wanted to run to loosen up my muscles- but there was no way to run. The entire hike took about five hours. Two days later my legs still feel like rubber and I'm hoping they will recover for our Sombrero Peak adventure on Saturday. The hike was great. I'm glad we did it. I hope we can fit a few more in before summer.
Love,
Mel
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