Happy New Year!

New Year's was pretty calm this year, just like last. We pretty much did the same thing and it was great. Alan and I hung out and watched TV in our room while the kids played. We took naps, made pizza and snacked on veggies, chips and dip all night. We watched "The Croods" as a family and when it was time to ring in the New Year, we handed over some pots and pans to the kids so they could make their noise. Zach almost didn't make it, I thought we had lost him for a minute there, but he got up and carried on with us for the 10 minute count down. The kids ran out and back in and we all headed to bed.

We ended a great year, with hopes for another great one. I am personally thankful for my family and the time we get to spend together. I know I am not perfect and spend much time wasting moments, so I plan to work on that this next year. In the past, I think I would have set too high of expectations and when I failed, I would stop. This year I plan to just incorporate more small things like movie nights, date nights, dinners etc. There will be trials and hard times, but this coming year will be a good one!

[gallery columns="2" ids="9014,9015,9016,9017,9018,9019,9020,9021"]

Oops

The new Blendtec is truly awesome, but oops, make sure the lid is on tight! HA HA!

I heard a very loud noise in the kitchen, to come out and see this mess. Alan and I just laughed, it reminded me of the movies where the blender gets ALL over, but the actors don't really have to clean it up. We did. It was all over the place.

Tubing at Soldier Hollow

Today was a FUN day! For part of our Christmas gifts to the kids we told them that we were going to take them tubing and that next year we plan to take a trip over Christmas break rather than celebrate Christmas in the traditional way we've always done it. When we first mentioned this, they both looked sad, almost like they wanted to cry. Questions like "will we still get presents" were shouted out and we asked them "what did you get for Christmas last year?" to which they couldn't tell us. We then asked how our first trip as a family to Lake Powell was and they "got it." We shared our savings jar with them and told them they will have no thoughts of gifts when we are having fun spending time with each other on a trip. We really want to encourage making memories together and not just getting gifts and stressing about how go who what. We figure since we aren't celebrating the day for religious reasons, there is no need to continue on a tradition that we grew up with and it's nice to know we can start our OWN traditions for our little family.

So onto the fun, we took the kids up to Soldier Hollow to go tubing. It was a blast, we all enjoyed ourselves. Alissa had fun trying to stand up and dance while being pulled up the mountain, while Zach and Alan were off going down the bigger bumpy hills. We stopped at a little diner in Heber on the way home and really just enjoyed the day. That's not to say it didn't come with hic-ups like Zach throwing a fit about Alissa sitting on the seat wrong and almost losing dinner or me getting my usual anxiety on the ride up, but I'm learning to enjoy the over all picture rather than focusing on the few things that don't go just right.
[gallery columns="2" ids="8922,8923,8924,8925,8926,8927,8928,8929,8930,8931,8932,8933,8934"]

Christmas Day

Christmas was pretty "normal" for us. The kids woke up earlier, as usual and waited until the time we told them to wake us up. I had two unexpected panic attacks the night before, so I was pretty tired and not feeling it. Alan, like usual, was great and offered to go out and make the kids breakfast so I could get some more rest. An hour or so later, I wondered out into the living room to see the kids had gotten into their stockings and were ready for the rest. We went light on the gifts so we could tell them about our plans to "change" our Christmas traditions (see tomorrow's post) and then they spent time nicely playing and it was a pretty chill day. We headed over to Mindy and John's and exchanged gifts with them. My mom is awesome and gave me the "Love is a daily discussion" wall art that she's had for many many years. I love it, it reminds me of childhood and it's a good reminder that no love just comes with out work, it's a daily choice we make. Mindy and John gave us a BLENDTEC! Ya, probably my favorite thing...no more "chunkies." The kids got some fun stuff from everyone and the kids went off playing. We did a puzzle, hung out and headed home about bed time. Christmas (day and season) is about family and I'm glad we got to spend time with everyone.
[gallery columns="2" ids="8937,8938,8939,8940,8941,8942,8943,8944,8945,8946,8947,8948,8949,8950,8951,8952,8953,8954,8955,8956,8957,8958,8959,8960,8961,8962,8963,8964,8965,8966,8967,8968,8969,8970,8971,8972,8973,8974,8975,8976"]

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve, we went over to Mindy and John's house for a nice dinner, but before hand we were busy making mashed potatoes, candied yams and cookies for Santa.

The kids spent the evening running around and being wild like usual and the adults hung out and chatted. Alissa and Amber put on a wonderful Christmas Eve Yoga show for us, we opened jammies, sang Christmas songs and made it home in time to put the treats out and get the kids off to bed.
[gallery columns="2" ids="8913,8914,8911,8910,8895,8907,8908,8896,8897,8898,8899,8902,8903,8904,8905,8906,8909,8912,8915,8916,8917"]

I am now 33!

Well I'd love to say something like "wow, I can't believe I'm 33 years old" but really, an age is just an age. Admittedly, I spent my birthday feeling very anxious, but not because of my age. As you see, the night before we had Jordan, Madi, Lexi, Holly, Tim and Tyler at our house. That night as I was getting ready for bed, I saw an update from Holly saying that Chantelle had the flu on her birthday (the 21st) and how she now had it. Now I know that the kids go to school and interact with all sorts of sickness that they bring home, but something about that put me in to anxious mode. I spent most of my birthday in my room feeling anxiety and trying to relax. Alan had made plans for some people to come over to play games and kept asking me if I wanted to cancel. I didn't, I wanted to enjoy that time, but anxiety makes it hard some times. I am grateful for Alan for always being there for me and trying to make my day a good one. I came out to balloons and fun cards from the kids. Alan had gotten me a tea pot and I love it, I love him for knowing what I'd love. As the day ended, I got myself up and got ready for family to come over and I'm glad they did. We had fun playing a game. I am truly grateful for those who take the time to join me on my birthday, as it's such a busy time of year.

[gallery columns="2" ids="9028,9029,9030,9031"]

Cousin time

Holly had told me she wanted to stop by and drop off a gift for me, so I asked if Jordan, Madi and Lexi could come over and play for a bit. The kids had so much fun. The girls played in the basement, while Zach and Jordan when on an adventure outside. They came back freezing cold, so I made them some hot chocolate and they all started making the fun iron beads. They spend about 2 hours just making different things. The girls made "Best Cousins Forever" necklaces, while Zach and Jordan made Minecraft goodies. When Tim came to pick them up, they kept going for 45+ minutes more because they were enjoying themselves so much.

[gallery columns="2" ids="8994,8995,8996,8997,8998,8999,9000"]

Family Christmas Party

Scott and Kim hosted the family Christmas party this year and while I am always snapping away, I tend to keep my camera home some times. Amy snapped this picture of Grandpa Stan, his three younger kiddos and our spouses.

We had a good time this year with family, good food and a fun "piratical" white elephant game. I got a $20 gift certificate to a movie theater and I'm excited to take the kids to go see Frozen over Christmas break.

Wow, they just keep on growing!

Six months ago, I decided to start the kids heights on the door in the laundry room. I really should have been doing it for years now, but now was a good time to start too. I waited patiently as six months passed and measured their heights. My goodness, they just keep on growing and FAST! Zach grew nearly 2 inches and Alissa over an inch. Can we just stop time and keep them "as is?" Some days it's hard to imagine that one day they will be out growing me and for a mom's heart, I just want to stop time!!

[gallery columns="2" ids="9024,9025"]

Otto loves "kittyjuana"

Some times at night we this is how we entertain ourselves. Otto goes NUTS over his drugs.

Comphy Cats

These are both pretty rare moments. Tiss seems to only want to be close when she's been outside and then she'll come up and be super sweet with us. Most of the time, it's just to crawl under the warm covers and SOMETIMES she's pop her head out and snuggle for a bit. Sometimes.

Otto, while a very sweet cat, has stopped really hanging out in our bed, which is kind of sad so when he spent some time snuggling up against my leg, I felt the need to get a picture of his sweetness.

[gallery columns="2" ids="8848,8849"]

Bad hair cut

Since Zach has had long hair, which has been years now, it seems like we can't find a place or someone who can give him a cut that takes his long hair to shorter with out messing it up. They either go to short, don't live him with the sweeping bangs or just get it all wrong. So when Zach asked me for a hair cut for the 100th time (more like "I need a hair cut" minus the asking) I decided to take him up to Great Clips because it was close and I haven't found "the one" yet. When he was done it looked great in the front and I was surprisingly optimistic that we had found "the one." Since it was late, I told Zach to shower and get to bed, only to notice after his shower that the back of his hair was totally messed up.

Darn, she wasn't the one.....
but I did try and fix it, which made the whole thing look a lot better!

[gallery columns="2" ids="8841,8842"]

First big snow

Whenever we get that first "big" snow storm of the season, you can count on Alissa going out to play in it. It started with the kids helping Alan shovel the walk ways and she just stayed out and played. She caught me taking pictures of her and ran up to the window to throw snowballs at me and actually scared the crap out of Tiss!

The kids blog

The kids really wanted to start their own blogs, so I figured what the heck?!

Alissa Sleeping

I always love finding the kids sleeping in weird positions and Alissa is generally the one to do that as she is usually going going until that moment she falls asleep.

Cats

The cats like to be where we are. They followed me into the office the other day and just relaxed.

My pretty kitty

Alissa had a doctors appointment during school and she had made kitty ears that just looked so cute on top of her pretty little head. I sure love this bright eyed girl.

She also has been toting around a very old and not so good digital camera and taking pictures with it. She wanted a picture of me taking a picture of her. I wonder how hers turned out?!

[gallery columns="2" ids="8852,8853"]

Zach and Otto

I walked in to ask Zach a question and Otto was sprawled out on his back with his big belly just hanging out. We learned from "The Cat Whisperer" ie: the guy from "My Cat from Hell,"  that when cats open up their belly, it is a sign that they are comfortable with their surroundings. We have no doubts that Otto is comfortable with us, but he just looked so darn cute looking up with his big belling up!

This is why we love this girl...

For Alissa's field trip, they were heading to a symphony and were supposed to dress in "best dress."  Alissa was so excited to wear the dress Auntie Amber made her for the wedding, but we don't own any fancy shoes so she threw on some leggins and sneaker and was ready to go. This is why I love this little girl! I never ever want her to lose that sense of "self" she posses, that uniqueness that makes her so great!!! She doesn't care what others think and she stomps out into this world doing what she wants and how she wants. We love her so much!
[gallery columns="2" ids="9003,9004"]

Decorating the tree

I always like decorating the tree and getting the holiday decorations out. This means that I get to enjoy it all for just about a month before it all goes back into a box for the next year. The kids like it and it's clear that Tiss likes it too!

[gallery columns="2" ids="8875,8876,8877,8878,8879,8880,8881,8882,8883,8884,8885,8886,8887,8888,8889,8890,8891,8892"]

Oh Otto and Tiss

These two are silly kitties! Tiss can get up high and Otto can't, so it's fun to watch the fun they have together while Tiss sits there with her "ha ha" attitude, while Otto tries to figure out ways to get where she is.

[gallery columns="2" ids="8749,8750,8751,8752,8753,8748"]

Which two don't belong?

 Zach and I got the chance to do some running around with Holly and Jordan. Like always, Zach and Jordan have a lot of fun together being silly and enjoying their time together. It was nice spend some time with them. The funny is, they are both wearing Old Navy jackets and jeans.

Kitties eating

They just looked cute eating with their tails curled "just so." Well, their tails might have been moved by Alissa and I, but we'll pretend they were just like this ;)

Zach turns 11!

For Zach's birthday, we were down at my moms to celebrate my grandma's, Ben's and Zach's birthdays. My uncle Dick and uncle Bruce came and we spent a nice little weekend with family.

We drove down on Friday, Saturday we went to lunch at a Chinese buffet that my grandma likes and that was close to her place. We spent the rest of the day just hanging out as a family. We went and visited my grandma the next day. I love the visits where she remembers who I am. Her mind is going foggy with long term memories (depending on the day), but her short term memory is pretty shot. It's interesting watching the circle of life and I'm very grateful that I've had my grandma in my life for all these years. I'm grateful that the kids will remember her and that Zach will have his own special memories because of his Pup Pup.

While we were there, Ryan showed me an old scrapbook of my dad's life. It was the first time I'd seen it and it was strange. It's strange to think our parents had "lives" without us in them, because all we know are lives with them. I looked at my dad as a boy and then young man and it didn't look like "my dad." I was trying to look past the age, at the eyes or smile, and it was just strange. I feel so blessed that enjoy blogging and putting our memories in the same place so that we can remember them for years to come. My kids will show their kids some day and they'll have those same feelings that I do when I look back at family history. It's pretty great that we are able to preserve our memories with pictures and videos.

Now a little bit about our baby boy, Zach, who turned 11 years old while we were there! It's hard to imagine that time has gone so quickly and that he's now just so big.

He loves (from him) : "Pizza, Rachet and Clank, Minecraft, all my friends, Terraria, my family, my stuff, where we live, my Legos and some of my toys, school, myself, cookies and that's all"

We love him because he's witty and silly, caring and sweet, creative, helpful, handsome, lively, sensitive, independent, responsible (as much as an 11 yr old can be) and he's just a good boy. We are very blessed to have him in our family. He brings a calm (when he's not arguing with Alissa or talking back) and helps me remember what's important when he so lovely asks "are we going to read tonight?" It's those reminders that he values and really enjoys those times with Alan and I. He loves his family and we love him!

[gallery columns="2" ids="8816,8815,8814,8813,8812,8811,8810,8809,8808,8807,8806,8805,8804,8803,8802,8801,8800,8799,8798,8797,8796,8795,8794,8793,8792,8791,8790,8789,8788,8787,8786,8785,8784,8783,8782,8781,8780,8779,8778"]

My girl

As I start back into photography, I have been keeping my eyes open for some good spots to take pictures. I found one amazing spot tucked on a small hill near my house and Alissa and I took a walk the other day to look at another place I've been eying.

The spot I thought would be cool, ended up not being so great, so we walked across the street to a field with some cool weeds. Here you will see the many faces of Alissa. You'll see the "I don't want to do this anymore" face and then lots of her cute squishy little nose when she smiles. I love that!

New Shoes

Alissa was in need of new shoes and Twinkle Toes are the "thing" right now. These things cost so much, so after a long search, we found the cheapest pair we could find and just over a week later, the sides are piling away from the shoes. Lovely, so glad they are falling apart already.
[gallery columns="2" ids="8567,8568"]

A weekend with Mindy's boys

Over the weekend I got the chance to watch Mindy's boys while she went with John to CA for some fun. I am not going to lie, it was hard. We stayed here the first night and lost some sleep because Jordan kept moving and making noises and ended up getting up around 5:30am. From there I decided we needed to spend our time at Mindy's house because Ben was also having a hard time breathing with the cats here.

We packed up the boys stuff and headed to Mindy's and by the end of the day I was pooped. I put all the kids to bed and was asleep by 10pm! I don't remember the last time I fell asleep so quickly and didn't wake up at all during the night. It was awesome.

I had a lot of fun while watching the boys too. Jordan was my little buddy and followed me around a lot. We read stories and took pictures. He was just so sweet and I was reminded how precious they are at his age.

Zach and Ben did what Zach and Ben do...they played video games. At one point I had to pretty much force them outside. Really, it was like pulling teeth. Zach didn't want to jump on the trampoline because there was a bug and I told Ben we could go in once he decided to play for 10 minutes. We were outside for about 40 minutes total, it took him that long before he'd play.

All and all we had fun. I was reminded why we only have two kids and why I love having older kids, but I didn't want to say goodbye to Jordan because I knew he'd care less about me the next time he saw me, ha ha!
[gallery columns="2" ids="8764,8765,8766,8767,8768,8769,8770,8771,8772,8773,8774,8775"]

Veterans Day

On special holidays, some one in the neighborhood puts flags in everyone's yards. It was a beautiful day out and everyone was out enjoying the warmth. Otto has a spot that he was just loves, Zach and Conner were outside while Conner read a story  he wrote to Zach and it was just so amazing to soak up the sun in November, even Tiss is enjoying the sun!

Tiss likes covers

Tiss is always pretty hot and cold. Some times she's your best friend and MOST of the time she's not. When she's been outside or feels like it, she loves to make her way under the covers (I say "make her way" because it's fun to make her try for it and not just open the covers for her) and snuggles so sweetly. Today her little head and feet were sticking out and it was too much...adorable!
[gallery columns="2" ids="8759,8760"]

Otto in the Dryer

Alan was doing laundry and found this little cutie in the dryer. I would think this could become problematic if we didn't check and turned the dryer on, so we'll remember to close the dryer door from now on.

Alan turns 33!

For Alan's birthday, Mindy watched the kids the weekend before so Alan and I could have a fun night out. I had it's all planned out, but Alan ended up having to work earlier in the day and came home not feeling the best, so we had a night in with dinner and watched "World War Z."

On his actual birthday, he turned 33! It's fun to think that soon we will have been together more years of our lives than apart! I sent him a text every hour at work telling him why I love him, made tacos for dinner and he got banana cream pie for his "birthday cake." He got a single serve coffee maker and I'm excited to use it to make my tea (of course he likes it because he likes his coffee).

He continued the "celebration" into the next weekend with a little guys night that I set up because it had been SO long since the last one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALAN!

[gallery columns="2" ids="8724,8532,8533,8534,8535,8536,8537,8538,8539,8725"]

My designs!

A couple months ago, I got an email from Pro Digital Photos to do some custom work for them. I knew they were a local lab, but I usually don't take custom jobs because if I'm not feeling creative, it's hard to work with someone's schedule. I didn't respond right away and I got another email. This time I decided to just listen to what they were wanting. They needed 25 holiday cards for their 2013 holiday card collection. We needed the extra money, so I decided to go for it and I am SO GLAD I DID! I got the chance to go into their shop in Pleasant Grove for the first time and I was so impressed. Not only is their store incredibly cute, so much so I wanted to move in, but the cards and their prints are beautiful. I met the owner and another girl who were so nice and lets be honest, it feels GREAT to hear people in real life tell you how much they love your work. It's kind of like "oh ya, I really do have an amazing talent and people love my designs." It just felt like I'm now a part of something really cool. I got to take home some of the designs they had already printed and it's awesome to get hands on products of MY designs!

Halloween

Okay, I've tried over and over to upload the Halloween pictures and over half of them aren't working, but that's okay, they'll work just fine for my blog book ;)

We had a fun Halloween. I went into Alissa's class for their Halloween party and ended up meeting and chatting with a lady in our neighborhood the last half of the time while the other moms did their activities with the class. The kids had a blast with BINGO, word finds, egg walks and more.

After school, the kids were pretty anxious to get out and go trick-or-treating. Zach and his friends ran from house to house getting pictures with "this mom and that mom" and they were itching to go. As soon as I gave the kids dinner and took MY pictures, Zach was off. It's weird to be a mom when the time comes when they would rather be with friends. It happens, I know, but it's new and different for this momma!

Alissa was running back and forth from our house to Katelyn's house and we had some drama unfold for a little bit. Mindy, John and the boys wanted to come over, but I didn't know the plan. I knew Zach wanted to be with friends and Alissa wanted to go with Katelyn. Alissa and Katelyn had the plan to go out and Alissa was waiting over at our house, when she saw Katelyn's dad and Katelyn drive away. We assured Alissa that if he said she could go, he wouldn't just leave with out her. Non the less, Alissa was in tears. A few minutes later, they pulled back in and then it was time for Katelyn to have tears. She was sad about her clown smile and it looked liked the girls weren't going to go out and Alissa would be "stuck" with mom, Mindy and the boys. When all seemed to be lost, Katelyn and her dad walked over to take Alissa with them down the road to a few houses.

Mindy, John and the boys showed up minutes later and we waited until Alissa came back and headed out. Half way through, we saw Zach and his friends and Zach joined us for the rest of the night. At the end of the night, the kids got to divvy up their candy and trade it in for some predetermined alternatives. Zach wanted money and Alissa wanted stuffed animals, so it all worked out great. Zach only kept 4 of his candies and Alissa chose to keep all 10 that we told them they could keep. It was a fun night.
[gallery columns="2" ids="8693,8694,8695,8696,8703,8704,8705,8701,8707,8699,8700,8698,8697,8706,8714,8713,8712,8711,8710,8709,8708,8702,8715"]

Pumpkin carving

We had fun over at Mindy and John's carving punkins. Grammy and Grandpa Greg where there and they turned out great. Alan came along with us this year and we sat in the garage and created our fun pumpkins. Alissa's was a kitty, Mine was the traditional jack-o-lantern, Zach's was a Minecraft creeper and Alan's was an owl.
[gallery columns="2" ids="8495,8496,8497,8498,8499,8500,8501,8502,8503,8504,8505,8506,8507,8508,8509,8510,8511,8512,8513,8514,8515,8516"]

Fun with Aunt Amber

Alissa has been wanting to do Yoga with Amber again. Amber came over for lunch and then waited for Alissa to get home from school, I kicked the boys out and they did yoga! Alissa did great and Amber is a great instructor.

After they were done, they did some singing! Alissa wrote down all the words to a song she's been liking and along with that song, she's been tapping her hands all over the house. She taught Amber the tapping and I was cracking up because by the end, Amber was just tapping without doing it "right".

[gallery columns="2" ids="8478,8481,8482,8483,8484,8485,8486,8487,8488"]

When he GETS IT!

Earlier this month when we went to parent teacher conferences, we found out that Zach was struggling with math. Apparently this year they switched the work books for 5th graders and even the teacher admitted that the other teachers and herself were struggling with teaching it and understanding it.

Today Zach emptied out his backpack and his math scores were really low. As a mom, it's hard when kids are struggling in any way, shape or form. I've been thinking of what I can do to help, but he's been doing so well with after school stuff. He gets home and is great. He whips out his homework, gets it done, does dishes, cleans his room and is off to play. We used to struggle with homework, so I've wanted to take a more standoffish approach this year. I figured as long as he was doing his stuff smoothly without arguments, then I'd let the cards fall where they may.

Well, when I saw a stack of homework with low scores, I immediately wondered what I could do that wouldn't cause stress to his every day homework time. I decided I'd have him give me his work when he was done and I'd correct it while he was off getting his other stuff done. This way I could figure out what he wasn't getting and try and help.

He's working on the FUN stuff right now like 3 + 3 - (5 x 2) - 1 x 5. I love that stuff and I knew if he understood how to do it, he'd like it too. So after I corrected, I sat down with him and went over the steps that were laid out on his paper. I showed him how to do EACH and EVERY step, one step at a time and how EASY it was when he did it the right way.

After he got going, man, he just GOT IT. We started out with tears because he kept telling me that he knew what he was doing and I kept explaining to him that if he knew what he was doing, the answers would be mostly right, not mostly wrong. As he worked the problems the right way, his whole demeanor changed and he was smiling and saying "this is so easy!" I sat with him through 16 problems and we talked about how things can become fun and easy when we know how to do them and by the end, he was all bubbly and proud of himself for kicking maths butt. As his mom, I just watched him and even got a little teary eyed because I saw that spark when he GOT IT.

It was a good reminder to me that my kids might be going through life seemingly happy like they get what's going on, but a little help and encouragement from mom can go a long way!

by the way, the answer to the problem above is -9 ;)
[gallery columns="2" ids="8458,8459,8460,8461,8462"]

Sick day

Over Fall Break, Zach got a little cold. He had a cough Saturday and it turned into a sore throat on Sunday. It wasn't horrible, but we made it a nice relaxing movie day. I love our couches because you can rearrange them into one big couch and it's so comfy...PLUS, both kids can be on it and not be TOUCHING!

The kids watched all sorts of movies like "The Witches" and "Charley and the Chocolate Factory" (the new version). I loaded Zach up on vitamin C and gave him some tea to sooth his throat and thankfully it didn't get any worse.

Hee Haw Farms

It's been quite a long time since we've hung out with Ian, Sarah and the kids. Alan got a text from Ian inviting us to Hee Haw Farms and of course we wanted to go! We went with them two years ago and this time they had their little guy, Gibson. It's always a good time getting together with them and for sure something that needs to happen more often!

We did things this year that we haven't in the past. They had big old bails of hay to run and jump on, pony rides and rabbit holding. Of course the slide was a huge hit like all the times we've been and the corn maze didn't get us lost for over an hour this time! Good time!

[gallery columns="2" ids="8416,8417,8418,8419,8420,8421,8422,8423,8424,8425,8426,8427,8428,8429,8430,8431,8432,8433,8434,8435,8436,8437,8438,8439,8440,8441,8442,8443,8444,8445"]

It's offically Fall

Although I am saddened that summer and warm weather is (mostly) over, It is BEAUTIFUL out right now! The tree right outside of my office window just turned orange and I have to admit that this time of year is certainly beautiful.

Alissa does Yoga

On Mindy's birthday, Aunt Amber showed the kids how to do some yoga into a head stand. Alissa has been at home practicing to see how long she can stay up and is excited to do more yoga with Amber some day!

New lens, quick shots

Sometimes life gets rough and we struggle. It's all part of life, but Alan and I have had to sell somethings that we really loved like his motorcycle and one of my lenses. Because I'm trying to jump back into photography, I did need a lens to replace the one I loved, so I bought one from a girl on I Love Photography forum. Otto was the only one around when I got it and wanted to test it. He's a handsome cat! Then Alissa came home and I grabbed one of her too. I hope I get the chance to use it more through photo sessions.

Party in Alissa's room

Alan and I mention some what often about how it's very cool that we have little creatures living with us, who love us and who share their lives with us. Alissa really forms great bonds with our cats, especially the male cats. Bob and Otto seem to be fairly the same in that they both put up with Alissa's torture and make special bonds with her. But lately, we have found that Tiss loves Alissa's room because there are lots of places to bundle up in. Tiss loves boxes, drawers and places where she's protected. Otto loves Alissa's bed. We love these little creatures! I also love the little things I find, like Alissa covering her door in cute pictures and taping mini studded animals to her door. Someday they will be replaced with posters of cute boys and other teen stuff. I'll take the kid stuff a little bit longer, thanks!

[gallery columns="2" ids="8397,8398,8399,8400,8401,8402,8403,8404,8405"]

Alissa's ouchy

Alissa seems to be prone to getting ouchies. She had what looked like a little pimple on her knee and the next night it was looking pretty dang bad with red working it's way up her leg. So that evening we did a little "surgery" on her. She was scared because Alan kept joking about burning her with the needle and having to pop an infected ouchy on her leg. I'm also guilty of saying it was either this or the doctors could chop her leg off.  It was all in good fun and It all worked out in the end.. We applied a warm wash cloth and she got a little pinch and Alan was able to squeeze soft enough to get some of the puss out (gross) and the next day it looked a lot better.

[gallery columns="2" ids="8389,8390,8391,8392,8393"]

Alissa reads to me

I wasn't feeling well this night. I hopped out of the shower and was drained and ready to hit the hay. It was my turn to read to Alissa, but my body just didn't want to. The kids really count on this time with mom and dad at night, so I told Alissa she could come read to me in my bed. I rested on her shoulder and she was so sweet to keep her voice low while she read. If you know Alissa, low is not a setting that we hear often and that's perfectly okay...but that night, she quietly read to me, sweet girl.

[gallery columns="2" ids="8338,8339"]

Bangs

Going along with my last post on finding peace, I discovered a pretty great program called Dressing Your Truth. I think I have mentioned it before, but the basis of the program is identifying your true nature and then dressing it to match. It was pretty eye opening to me and really helped me step into my own skin and really validated me from years of self doubt. I've met some amazing girls through this, I am more confident than I can ever remember being and It just helps you be OKAY with who you are, for just THAT.

So while we have felt a little trapped in out lives lately, I decided to make a bold move and cut my own bangs. It's one thing I can control and I love the change. A year ago, I would have never done something like this and if I did, I would be freaking out about it. But I welcome the change, realize hair grows and with the support of some wonderful girls, I feel great about the change.

[gallery columns="2" ids="8306,8307"]

Finding peace

The past year or so has been hard. We moved into a new house and had to make some hard choices. Alan and I went through some things that threw us in a loop and I personally dealt with some pretty life changing things. For the first time in my adult life, I felt very alone because I had to separate myself from some friends who had been a big part of my life for many, many years. One friend moved away, another had crossed some lines that Alan and I weren't comfortable with and this little group I had turned to in hard times, no longer existed. It was painful, it was hard..it is STILL hard. Losing something you have known for so long is never easy.

In the midst off all of this, I learned some pretty good life lessons.

#1 I learned that It is not my job to fix what I view as "other people's problems" and even though I may or may not agree with the choices they make, it's their lives to live and their choices to make, no mine.

#2 In realizing that, I realized that I can't keep the stress and drama of others' lives on my shoulders. I get to make the choice each and every day to focus on finding MY own peace and that has brought me a lot of peace. I no longer let others actions, words and drama keep me down. I just simply can't do it anymore.

Those two things have been so valuable in finding peace in my own life. It isn't until you step away from things that cause you stress, that you can find that peace in your heart.

Along the way, I have opened my eyes daily to things that make me feel calm and at peace and here are just a few...

Being out in the warm sun on my deck, finding random hearts that remind me to love my life RIGHT NOW and just for fun...chocolate chip smiles.

[gallery columns="2" ids="8292,8290,8291,8289,8293,8294"]

Crazy hair day for Zach

Alan helped Zach with his crazy hair day because I'm happily asleep in the morning when Zach is up and getting ready for school and I'm grateful that Alan grabbed some pictures. At 7:45, when Zach comes into my room to let me know he is leaving, I noticed he's hair looked like it was slicked back with water or something. I thought maybe he had done it on his one but it turns out that he had tamed down the hair Alan helped him with! Zach's got some pretty rad hair though!

That's a big sandwich

I was gone for some reason and Alan made the kids some double decker sandwiches for dinner. They were in heaven, I'm sure!

Picture day

It was picture day at school, which means I have to get a picture of them before they head off to school and then I of course need to pull up the pictures I've taken on picture day for the past few years to see how much they have changed. I love seeing them grow and change, but can it just STOP for now so I can keep them young forever?! I mean, look at Alissa in first grade and her little baby face and Zach's sweet face that it still sweet, but he's growing into a handsome young guy. Stop growing kids...just stop! I love these two!