Go Speed Racer! Go!

Noah is our little speed racer. He likes to run everywhere. When he's not running,(like in the crosswalk) he is skipping. He is just so darn cute-it drives me crazy. I can't contain myself from kissing his cheeks and tickling him. Luckily he loves to be tickled and he doesn't mind the kisses yet. Now he is an official bike rider. This came after a few really bad parenting moments on our behalf and a little convincing to give it another go around. Once Noah could see he could do it-he was off and the rest is history. He runs/skips home from school everyday opens the garage and is on his bike. I've decided the rule is pick ten weeds then ride. Our yard is looking great! We went on our first family bike ride on Monday. We rode down to Sanctuary Cove. Noah wants to ride so fast-part of me gets a kick out of it the other part of me is hollering behind him to -Slow Down!, Don't worry about doing tricks-focus on the road! Noah-do not cut your sister off! Get the idea... All the while stifling laughter and shooting looks of accusation towards Jared.

The Wedding

I photographed my first wedding last Saturday. I was a little anxious about it-wedding pictures are important and I could just see my self tripping and breaking the camera or cracking a lens before the wedding. Jared of course the master of soothing words gave me a comforting hug and said you'll do a great job. Don't worry. My wonderful husband also went out early that morning and bought me another 2GB card despite my assurance that there was no way I'd shoot through the one GB card I already had. THANK YOU JARED-my insightful, persistent, thoughtful, amazing husband! Halfway through the aisle walks I had to change cards.

I could bore you with the hour by hour take-but if your that interested click on the link and you can see the whole thing frame by frame. http://picasaweb.google.com/mel620/HopkinsWedding Or you can view the condesed version in my Wedding Faves album http://picasaweb.google.com/mel620/WeddingFaves.

I will say I arrived at 11:30am at the amazing home of the grooms older brother in Vail AZ, and didn't leave until almost 8:00pm. I will never again wear highheeled boots for a wedding shoot. Especially one where I'm running up and down two flights of stairs for eight hours. (But I looked cute...until the end of the day when my eyes were bloodshot and I had dried snot on my nose.) And I would love to invest in another camera body so I don't have to change lenses all the time. That being said- I almost forgot how much I love photography. Photojournalism more specifically. It is a privledge to be let into someones life, and then capture it. I felt part of the family-it's strange now to have gotten such an intimate look into someones life and then just be done. The real reward was when the mother of the groom came over to view the pictures and got really emotional and embraced me after the first few slides came up. She made me get emotional too. She shared many things with me that afternoon about why some the pictures meant so much to her, that caused me to reflect later. When I was a girl I dreamt of traveling to the most war torn beat down areas of the world documenting the horrors of humanity for all to see-somehow changing the world. I thank my Heavenly Father for giving me a family and a life so blessed and the opportunity to document the most special moments in someones life rather than the most horrid.

All in all there are a handful of shots I'm really proud of and another handful or so that drive me crazy and I can't for the life of me figure out why some frames have blurry spots-(besides depth of field and aperature setting) I am wondering if my cheap lenses have something to do with it.

I was told that there is more work coming my way-we'll see. I had alot of fun, and if I get to do it again-Great. Until then I think I'm going to take the plunge and paint my bedroom... My dear friend Malea is coming to visit with her family in a couple of weeks and Jared and I embark on our Hawaiian adventure April 4th. I've been sick this week, but am on the mend. Being sick has helped me drop a few more pounds-board shorts here I come!

All for now,

Mel

Trekking, Artists, and broken down suburbans, Oh my!

Saturday, Jared and I participated in our Stake Youth Pioneer trek as a Ma and Pa. It was a great experience. I love watching the youth in action. Their ability to take charge and lead is nothing less than awe inspiring for me. I kept thinking-this is what I want for my children, to be able to lead, be of good cheer and ready to tackle with enthusiasm any obstacle in their path. Sunday in Relief Society our lesson talked a little bit about cheerfulness. I thought, it is these amazing mothers examples of being cheerful even during trials that help form these kids into who they are and will become. That's not to say that we put on a smiling face when we are down trodden- but rather really hold onto faith and the Lords teachings so that when trials arise we don't preoccupy ourselves so much with them that we fail to notice the joy and beauty that surrounds us. Anyway I'm in danger of blabbering on a bit now... The experience for me reinstituted the kind of mother I would like to be- to raise up my children to be faithful, happy, prayerful, physically and spiritually strong individuals. I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given to learn and grow. I am especially grateful for the examples I have around me.

On another note- I have been teaching Art History to Hannah and Noah's class on Tuesday afternoons. We have studied the Pop Art and the advertisement success of Andy Warhol. The simplicity and perspective of Diego Rivero and today we are learning about shapes and pattern through the example of Gustav Klimt. I have had so much fun with this. For Pop Art I printed of pencil sketching photographs of all the kids then had them paint themselves using "unrealistic" colors. Not the best example of pop art but the kids liked it and the results were still pretty cool. For the Diego Rivera project they had to draw themselves looking into the picture at what they saw before them-(mountains). In preperation for today Jared spray painted card stock gold while I bundled color palletes of oil pastels and cut out black rectangles of various sizes. Should be fun!

The Suburban isn't starting again! Ugh Ugh Ugh-(pulling my hair our, pulling my hair out, pulling my hair out) We'll see where that takes us...

The kids and I took a bike ride afterschool yesterday to Sanctuary Cove at the base of Sombrero Peak. It was so nice, on the way back the kids stopped to pick wildflowers. Gotta love Tucson. :)

More Photo Fun!

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!

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?

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

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.

Gem Show Pictures