What I have been up to...

It's frustrating when I get behind on my journal/blog writing. Facebook is partly to blame for this. Hmmm FACEBOOK. I was a hater...but...it has been interesting and even a little fun. Weird revisiting characters from my past and in some strange cyber dimension having them co-exist in my present.

Currently I am planning Hannah's 9th birthday-I'm taking she and two friends to the Chantily Tea room then to see a play at PCC "Romona Quimbly" more to come next week.:)

I am training for a 5k or half marathon-(I'm thinking 5k) that is in CA in January. Part of my training is running three days a week and walking Sabino Canyon two days. Sabino Canyon is my reward for getting up super early and running. I'm really looking forward to CA. I miss Malea and her family and am ready for some "culture". Plans include The Getty, The Grove and Griffith Park. WOW all G's.

I just finished preparing sharing time for tomorrow. I really like teaching, and Bradeigh has been a great sport in Primary.

Everyone except me,(not sick) has just gotten over a bad cold that plagued our family for the last two weeks.

I have a domestic goddess for a daughter. She is eight and can sew and bake. I am eating her latest creation as I type this. Peanut butter cookies, with melted chocolate over the top and sprinkled with powdered sugar. YUM! They are Delish(as Noah puts it). I opened the stove for her put the cookies in and took them out. That's it. She had a peanut butter cookie recipe she followed then came up with the rest on her own. Oh-I also helped her microwave the choc. chips-burnt chocolate is no good. While I'm bragging I would like to add that she get's straight A's in school and plays the piano beautifully.

Which brings me to my next what I have been up to turn brag report blog post. I just had school conferences and Noah is at a 6th grade reading level and excels at everything but handwriting,(which bothers me more than the teacher apparently..."next year they move to cursive then after that they type everything." He is becoming a great guitarist and can make Bradeigh laugh like no other. Video of this to come.

We have been camping and are planning more camping in the next two weeks. We love our little pop up camper and getting back to one of our loves-spending time together outdoors.

I've been taking lots of pictures. I turned a couple jobs down in September. I'm learning that it's better to do that than resent a hobby that I really enjoy. October is already filled with shoots-the pre holiday rush. I'm looking forward to these. Lot's of Madera Canyon shoots. :) I picked the dates and offered the time available. I think I like this approach better than random scheduling whenever time allows.

Bradeigh is adorable as ever-she happily accompanies me everywhere, only asks to be home by 7:00pm. Loves cuddling, scooting, rolling, rocking on her hands and knees. She laughs primarily at Noah and yells out for him to entertain her. It's hilarious.

I have to say I love this stage in life. So much to stand amazed at.

4 months already!!!!!

Well Miss Bradeigh is just full of personality-especially in the morning. She rolls herself all over the place, gives us an occasional giggle-(but really makes us work for it :)) She is happy as can be unless she's in her car seat after 7:00 pm. That is her getting ready for bed time-which is great if we are home but no so great if we are still out and about... As cliche as it is to say-I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW FAST SHE IS GROWING. I have to admit I postponed tummy time as long as possible-but it didn't matter she learned to roll and scoot despite my efforts in stunting her progress. I remember when Hannah and Noah were babies-I'd hear women talking about trying to sabotage their babies progress-pushing them down when they began to walk. I thought they were crazy- first of all why would you try and sabotage your baby's development-second of all it's so exciting to watch them learn and grow-not to mention personally gratifying. Well now I find myself pulling Bradeigh up to a sitting position watching her balance exclaiming "good job baby" only to push her over and think, wait not yet. All I can is that I'm so so grateful I get to stay home and not miss a minute.

An American Mind

I'm decluttering again. I have this big black filing cabinet that we have been toting (hauling)around for the past 10 years full of stuff we never look at. So today I decided to tackle the project. In doing so I have come across a lot of neat odds and ends. In many ways it's a history of things I felt were important-things I thought I may need to reference to in the future-things I would want if libraries and the Internet were no longer available. Basically if I had to flee to a cave but had time to bring along this filing cabinet and had to teach elementary school science and art and almost every church auxiliary program- I would be prepared. Well, after ten years I'm ready to part with the contents in this filing cabinet. (Did I mention I have a decades worth of warranties too). YIKES! On to my great find...I have a chapter on women from the book Theodore Roosevelt: An American Mind. The chapter ends with this statement:

"The woman's task is not easy-no task worth doing is easy-but in doing it, and when she has done it, there shall come to her the highest and holiest joy known to mankind;and having done it, she shall have the reward prophesied in Scripture; for her husband and her children, yes, and all people who realize that her work lies at the foundation of all national happiness and greatness, shall rise up and call her blessed."

Did I Mention...

BRADEIGH LAUGHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was like the sound of angels descending upon or home. Really!

I was tickling and kissing her and just being goofy, and she gave out the sweetest little laugh you can imagine.

I threw my arms up and yelled out SHE LAUGHED SHE LAUGHED!!!!! She got startled and hasn't laughed since...

Fave pics of the week

Having fun with Lightroom...

Ruby having fun catching the water...

Hannah giving Malea the blanket and burp cloths she made.


A little foster baby I took pictures of. Hopefully she will be with her adoptive parents permanently after this week.

Little Lucy SO SWEET!!!

I have a million cute shots of this baby. SHE IS SO ADORABLE!!

CRAZY Fun or just plain CRAZY?

What do pretty tutus, hallucinations, Marble's, a whirlwind trip to Utah, Bird's, a dog named Ruby,newborn smiles, 16 hour car rides, He-Man and rattle snake rabbit sausage sandwiches have in common. Answer: Our week!



Our whole week has been pretty full. Full in a great wonderful crazy way. Malea had a beautiful baby girl Lucy last Tuesday, so we drove to Cali to see the new addition and steal James and Sadie away for some Arizona fun. But I'm getting way ahead of myself.



The Marbles came to visit(I have ZERO pictures)! It was wonderful to see them. It helped to lessen the blow of not going to Utah this summer. We had a great time and only wish we could have had them longer.



Jared went on an overnight trip to Utah for work. (They flew)



That night I was startled out of sleep by the sound of air conditioner blowing up. The motor was so loud it was making our entire house vibrate. I turned the air off and the sound went away. The next day everything was fine. Crazy!



I had three photo shoots. I'm getting lots of use out of the tutu's!



We are dog sitting for our neighbors. Ruby is really very easy to get along with-and she loves water. LOVES IT! Bailey,(our dog) doesn't even mind the company.



We drove out to LA Friday night and spent Saturday with the Bird's. It was great to visit. I just really wish we could have spent longer catching up and enjoying some of our favorite LA sites. While we were there Jared and Morris went downtown to a sausage deli of sorts. They had Rattle Snake Rabbit Sausage- Chicken and Veal- and one or two other "different" types of sausage sandwiches. Little Lucy is adorable-I'm so grateful we were able to make the trip. It has been so fun having James and Sadie here with us.



Jared is awesome-he did ALL the driving. We had fun catching up on the week and musing over our future. I really love long car rides with Jared. We also had fun listening to hours and hours of He-Man episodes. They are hilarious!



Well-here's to a week that really couldn't have been busier. Somehow I feel great satisfaction in that.

Baby Couture

I had fun today. SO MUCH FUN!!!

I used Bradeighs crib for a mini studio-the natural light that comes from the window worked great. The tule was a whole new sensory experience for her. It was hard to keep it out of her mouth. :)

I love the tutu's!(came today) I love my new camera lens! I love my new ADOBE LIGHTROOM program!(both came a few days ago). I was silly with anticipation everyday-watching out the window for the mail carrier. I would track the packages online-(don't you love how you can do that now).

Hannah had her last sewing camp class today-it was fun-but happy it came to an end. Let me clarify-I am happy it came to an end. (Hannah is reading over my shoulder...)

Time to feed baby and go to the library.