Locks of Love

After over a year of waiting, growing, crying and braiding the day finally came for Hannah to donate her lovely golden locks of hair. "My hair deserves to be cut off" she exclaimed after a frustrating battle with her brush. So today I took her in and she has been all grins ever since. I tried to find a clever song to go with this post-all I came up with was "Hair"...no thanks. So we're going to go with Blondie's "Dreaming" since Hannah is a blondie and has been dreaming of this day for awhile. :)

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas

Check the tongue...Reminds me oh her baby pictures.:)

I am determined to get Christmas cards out this year...on time. So I decided we would take advantage of the Tucson snowfall. Well-the Tucson foam snow fall that the local mall sprays out every Fri/Sat night at 6:00pm. We had fun! In fact I just decided to go with the whole silly picture thing, because well-the silly pictures were so much more fun. I tried using my camera timer and tri-pod to get a family picture HA HA HA! As you can see to no avail.

Shoot em' up!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Hannah and Noah especially enjoyed themselves. We spent Thanksgiving day with my family, had our traditional turkey dinner(YUM!)and spent the evening playing games. It was stormy most of the day which made it feel so seasonal. A treat here in AZ. Friday we headed out to shoot guns with the Hillmans, Snells, and Greens, and let the kids play on their go-kart/sand rail. They had a blast. Here are a few pics.

Noah and Oliver testing the boundaries of speed.

Uncle Kelly helping Noah not to shoot his fingers off.

Something about this seems so unnatural...

Cute Tyler ready to goooooooooooooooooooo!

Asher and Caleb... Caleb looks pretty chillin...

Tyler and Rhys

Here's me...Don't I look like an authentic woman of the west... Don't let the picture fool you-I'm pretty sure if it came down to my hunting abilities we would be living off of prickly pear and mesquite beans. I'm really more of the gathering type.

Jared on the other hand would make sure we didn't starve. :)

Ethan is a great shot. No starving for the Snell family... They have two great hunters!

Uncle Dan helping Hannah. After the first shot she reloaded and shot again by herself. You go Hannah!

Is it me or does she look a little to natural holding that gun?

Well it was a fun day despite holding my bladder for four hours. (Which is a great feat when your pregnant). I drank a liter of water on our way out NOT THINKING about the absence of a toilet, and just have not mastered the outdoor thing. It was fun seeing the uncles bond with the niece and nephews over firearms, and watching the kids peel donuts in the dust. Can't wait for next year!

-Mel

Everything Baby

I had a fun baby shoot this past Friday. Babies and weddings are my favorite. I went a little crazy with feet shots this time- I love baby feet... It's pretty fun having the opportunity to take pictures of so many cute babies. This is Ryder...isn't he beautiful!!

I turned down my first job this week too. It was a referral for a Senior Picture. I went out to the home to preview my subject and the area-and it went downhill from there. The mom was really degrading towards her son, picked out a horrid outfit for him (and I mean horrid) and argued with me about my location concerns, and suggestions. I called her back the next day and cancelled. I felt such relief.

On the home front baby is already at the center of our world.

The crib is up, Hannah's baby dresses are washed and the craigslist searches have begun. I found an awesome brand new (used for three months) pack in play/bassinet/changing station for cheap! PERFECT for our summer plans. Though I had to drive out to Saddlebrook in Catalina to get it. I ended up getting lost three times before I found the place. I realized after the fact, had I typed in the address into our navigation system that I never use I would have had no problem finding it. If there ever was a person who needed a navigation system it's me-and yet I never use it. Jared uses it all the time-and doesn't need it at all. Just thinks it's cool. My friend gave me a really nice jogging stroller-it has a place to plug my i-pod into, and speakers. WOW... I'm really behind the times. Baby stuff has gotten pretty advanced-and expensive-YIKES! Have you seen the prices on some of this stuff? I am so grateful for generous friends and craigslist. Baby had fun playing last night while I was reading Secret Garden to the kids. Noah was able to feel her move around. The best part of being pregnant this time is getting to experience Hannah and Noah experiencing the pregnancy. :) Noah likes to dance with my growing belly, pat my belly and cuddle my belly. Hannah can't wait to have a living doll to dress and play with, and love. I'm wondering how long it will take before the novelty wears off.

Jared and I celebrated our 12th anniversary Saturday by taking a family trip to Karchner Caverns, cleaning out our garage and ending the night with family movie night in the park. I think I'm finally caved out. We went on both tours-which was great because there are age restrictions on the one so it would be another 7 years+ before we could go again. Karchner was neat-but I've gotten to the point of seen one piece of cave "bacon" I've seen them all. Spelunking is fun- cave tours not so much. The kids had a great time though. No pictures...they don't allow cameras...

Next post I'll have video of the kds dancing to this song. They LOVE it! Here is preview...

The song begins to play. Hannah and Noah come barreling down the hallway, sliding into position.

Hannah: Let's DISCO!

Noah: YEA!!!!

Twirling, sliding, jumping, bouncing off the couches and something they like to call the dolphin move which consists of Noah on the floor on his side jerking his body back in forth while moving around in a circular motion-Looks like seizures to me- but hilarious! Are we human....or are we dancer.... We're something....:)

-Mel

Could This Week Get Any Better?

In some ways I think I'm going to jinx myself by writing this... But I don't care, I want to shout it from the roof tops THIS HAS BEEN AN AMAZING WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have had five successful photo shoots, went hiking with Hannah and Noah, found out I'm going to have another beautiful baby GIRL, and met one of my favorite authors Nancy Turner. Does it get better?! YES! Our neighbors who have been joining us for FHE, are taking the discussions from the missionaries, coming to church on Sunday, and came to enrichment with me last night. I also ordered those super cute boots I posted about, found the kids Christmas outfits (on sale) and am loving my maternity jeans(which by the way I'm considering making a permanent fixture in my wardrobe), belly bands are awesome.

Jared ran in the Stake 5k with Noah on Saturday. WAY TO GO BOYS!!

Fun Fall Photo Shoots

My super cute helpers. They threw the leaves in the air while I shot pictures, and helped get the kiddos to smile and laugh. We went on a short nature hike later with friends that joined us after the shoot. Madera Canyon is magical right now. To bad they're not in coordinating outfits...

Our sweet baby girl....20 weeks!!! I scheduled an early appointment so Hannah and Noah could come. They thought it was pretty neat to see the baby, heart, brain, spine and girly parts... Noah was slightly disappointed. Hannah was thrilled. She's ready to get her baby girl clothes out of her baby doll drawer. I balled on the way home telling them how lucky this baby was to have them as her brother and sister. Noah asked Hannah-"Is mom crying?..." Hannah responded with a "Yep, she's just feeling a little emotional ." Thanks for understanding Hannah.





Me and Nancy....

My friend arranged for Nancy Turner to come speak at the book club. I had the pleasure of meeting her, having her sign my used trade copy, and listening to her tell stories about her family, life, and the ups and down of getting published. It was so great...

Pretty great week, and it's not over yet.

Tired, Ornery, and Blissfully Happy,

That's how I'm feeling right now. I'm a little tired, and ornery enough to say what's on my mind to whomever is present stranger, friend, acquaintance, teacher-it doesn't really matter...(There is a certain feeling of liberation, and discomfort in this.. Want a glaringly honest answer about something-give me a call...Wait-please don't...

But I also feel very happy. Blissfully so.

The problem with blogging is that it has somewhat taken over journaling for me. So when I get behind a few days my mood is sometimes so different I can't really capture the emotions I felt towards the events past. But I will try.

Last week went by so fast-It began with Hannah coming down with some freak bug that caused her a nights worth of vomiting and a days worth of boredom. I spent most of the week making last minute preparations for out ward Halloween party, filled in the gaps with photo shoots, school projects and emotional realizations that my little girl was getting baptized. Friday came and I...

Okay Friday was a weird day.

I volunteer at the kids school a couple times a month teaching an art history lesson. This time around we explored Picasso. The kids loved the slide show-had fun learning about cubism and totally freaked out gluing their profile face drawing to their whole face drawing. Mainly the girls had the problem. The horror of their monstrous creations were apparently to much to bear. I really should have known better after the pop art incident last year...(a little girl who painted a photo sketch of herself in green called herself ugly and began to sob uncontrollably.) Oh well, we'll learn Monet next time and paint pretty water color lily pads.

I got home at 2:00 and had a million phone calls about the ward party to make and messages waiting for me. I was so distracted on the phone that I completely forgot to take Hannah to her piano lesson until 4:30pm an hour and a half after the fact. That evening Hannah and I made a cheesecake together and prepared for her special day. I felt pretty accomplished getting all the weekend chores done that night, and awoke the next morning full of energy.

We had a wonderful morning together. I began preparations for a family luncheon. (The bread and cake turned out great) My Alfredo- not so great despite the three packages of cream cheese, 1/2 lb of butter and package of Parmesan cheese I used for the sauce) Oh well... We had such a nice time visiting with everyone and I know it made Hannah feel so special. She told me it felt like her birthday but even better.

Her baptism was beautiful. It's one of those moments that I will remember always-I hope she does too. I feel so grateful for the gospel, for the atonement. She is so beautiful-and now she is an achievement day girl. She is very excited about that.

The ward Halloween party was SO FUN! Everything went smoothly, and everyone had a great time. No one broke any limbs, the police weren't called, and we only had one minor concussion and that was at the end of the night. The Bishopric didn't catch pneumonia from being in the dunk tank all evening. All is well, all is well.

I'm ready to refocus my energy. I feel like I've been so focused on preparing for upcoming events, and lots of photo shoots, that my domestic enjoyments have fallen way to the wayside. We have plenty of food storage but no real groceries- does that make sense? Hannah was thrilled to watch me sew her button back on her jammies and can't wait for another baking lesson. That is where my heart is right now. I have all these home projects that need to get done too. Every time someone says they have recommended my photography services to a friend I feel both dread and honored. Jared says embrace it- I'm not sure I want to. I enjoy it- I really do. I love it! I love it more when I'm doing it for service or for the love it, rather than getting paid. I love shooting weddings, receptions and children. I think I need to maybe only do two shoots a month rather than two a week. I rescheduled three of my shoots this week-and am so glad I did. Speaking of pictures here are the highlights from our week.

Sweet Gabriel was born on Monday Oct. 20th to my brother Sean and his wife Amy. This picture is from our photo shoot this past Tuesday.

Hannah's Baptism

The ward Halloween party

My nephew Zane- ARG!!!

PS- I love this song...

Bruises by Chairlift

Ahhh Mexico...

I love our trips to Rocky Point. In fact I have based my entire claim to being a beach person on my experiences there and have found that in reality I'm a Las Conchas beach person. This trip was longer than past trips and yet not long enough for me. Next year we're aiming for a week.

This year we revisited old traditions and had a handful of wonderful new experiences. We had The Hillman's, and Jareds parents with us, and it was beyond neat to have Maryn fresh from her mission sport her Spanish fluency. She got such a warm reception. In fact after the Hillman's left we revisited one of the restaurants we had patroned before with them and was playfully asked asked where was the Mexican girl?

Rocky Point changes every year- It's starting to be compared to places like Cancun, and while my heart sinks with every new condo high rise I'm also grateful for the boost in the local economy. During breakfast on our way out of town our waiter Benny shared with us a little of his background that I found interesting. He moved to Chicago from Veracruz when he was in middle school. He learned English finished high school and returned to Mexico and joined the Mexican Navy for seven years and was eventually stationed in Rocky Point. While in the Navy he was a diver certified in underwater welding. (He hates the water now-and has no desire to dive for recreation). He mentioned the difficulties the Navy faced trying to fight the Mexican Mafia. He and his wife were happy in Rocky Point where there is plenty of work and opportunity to raise a family. He proudly displayed pictures of his three year old daughter on his PDA phone and expressed his excitement about all the growth and progress of the area. He loved the summer months because he meets tourists from all over the world who are discovering the area. It was at that point I felt ashamed of my selfish yearning for days of old when Rocky Point was exclusively Arizona's beach.

Rather than go on and on about each experience I'll show you the highlights through pictures.

Kelly cooked up the yummy shrimp we bought.

Kelsey's Coach purse gonga!Clam Digging!Sand Dollars too...I caught a crab! and it caught me...Banana Boat!!