Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Chellie's Awesome Tutus

I have been such a slacker lately... about a week ago I received these fun tutus from Chellie.   She does such a good job at making these cute outfits for little girls (but, as you can see from the last picture, my little boy loves them just as much), so I arranged a deal with her... She was to make these for Liv in exchange for the "cupcake" blanket I gave her.  Although, she broke the rules... I asked for two tutus and some money, but she went the extra five miles and also embroidered two matching shirts and, my favorite, a pair of flip flops which had large white flower and polka-dotted ribbon... I want a pair now!!  When the package arrived, I think Liv was overwhelmed by all the fluff.  But once she figured out just what was in it she was full of smiles.  My two kiddos love to put on their tutus and dance... it's the funnest thing!


Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Back to School

Liv started preschool this last Monday, and it's been quite the adjustment for our little family.  We definitely all enjoy sleeping-in, and so it's been a rough couple of days.  I learned long ago not to ever wake Gary boy up, yet now I do it every morning.  I'm sure we will all adjust and on the weekends be waking up earlier than we would like, biological clocks are a very interesting thing!  But it is worth it to watch Liv be so interactive and excited once more!  I'm excited to watch her further grow in knowledge as the school year progresses!  Plus, it's such a treat to hear Gary whine when I take him away from the school because he wants to stay too... I hope that means his transition to school days will be a slide! 

Friday, August 22, 2008

Hawaii Part Four

We were really anxious to get back to our kids after being away for nine days, but Grandma and Grandpa Young kidnapped our kids... okay, not really.  They had to go to Springdale, Utah because Todd's Grandma Young had a plumbing problem so their services were needed.  In the end we waited two hours before we finally got to see them.  The kids were all smiles... Gary ran straight to his dad and would not come to me.  Turns out when his Great-Grandma Young asked him if he was excited to see his mom, he replied, "No, just Dad!"  I'm actually not surprised :)  They are such buddies!   On the other hand, Liv made up for it with warm smiles and big hugs!  While we were gone she drew pictures of the family, but her mommy had a frowny face.  When her Grandma asked why, she said, "Because she misses me!"  Precious!  After reuniting, and finally getting my hugs from Gary Boy, we gave them their gifts we brought back from Hawaii... they were so genuinely happy, like Christmas!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Hawaii Part Three

I've been trying to decide how I want to tell you all about the trip.  We did a whole lot, which is why it went by so fast, but I'm not sure how to hold your attention for that long.  So I'll just tell you the highlights of each day...
  Saturday we arrived in Hawaii
 time afternoon, we checked in to our condo which happened to have boogie boards already in there.  Probably someone else's purchase they couldn't take home.  
 Our condo is conveniently located right across the street from a beautiful beach.   So 
right away Todd was ready to experience sand between his toes, so to the beach we went!
  Sunday  was pretty laid back, being the sabbath and all.  We rented our snorkel gear and hit a nearby beach.  Todd loved it from the start, and was diving down right away... a natural
 fish!  In the afternoon/evening we drove around trying to find surfers (Todd's desire).  We saw a beautiful rainbow, complete and breathtaking!  When we found the surfers we watched from an overlook.  It was amazing because it started to rain on us... but it shouldn't be called rain, because it's more of a mist!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Hawaii Part Two

I think the best part of the trip was watching my husband enjoy snorkeling, especially when we found all these turtles!  On Tuesday we took a boat ride to Molikini (a vent crater for the volcano) and Turtle Town.  We saw at least ten turtles, five of those up close!  They are such magnificent creatures!  The fish are amazing, I'm starting to understand why people want saltwater fish in their aquariums!  But I have to say, Todd was definitely my favorite fish!!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Hawaii Part One

Our trip to Hawaii was fantastic!  We were able to do so much, but it went by too fast, as trips often do.  I still have some editing to do, but I thought I'd post the beautiful flowers I was able to capture.  I love how colorful Hawaii is!  There are so many exotic bright flowers... it's so pretty!  The trees are equally amazing, but I don't have so many shots of those.  So enjoy these for now, more to come later...

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Nineteen Minutes

Before I get to the good stuff (AKA Hawaii) I wanted to report on Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult... 
This book/story sent me on quite the emotional ride.  At first I became obsessed with school shootings that actually happened.  I researched those of Columbine High, Virginia Tech, and eve 9/11.  I took a trip back to the day of Columbine, watching the reporting of it as I sat with my friends in class.  I was in ninth grade - shocked, but probably not fully understanding what was going on.  As a parent now, though, I wondered why and how?  I was amazed to learn that the shooters of Columbine had even done a video called "Hitman for Hire," teens protecting the bullied by taking down the jocks, for a school project... how could the teachers not wonder enough to further investigate??  But as my anxiety rose, I finally climaxed at the conclusion that there must be some efforts to recognize and thwart these troubled students, or else there would most likely be even more.  Thinking of m high school time, where we were like any others with cliques and other varieties of social status, there were a couple times we had a handful of police officers along with rumors of bomb threats.  Whatever their reason was, I'd like to think their presence was the actual defense of preventing any such violence... Then again maybe I'm still being naive??
I really did like learning so many points of view, because while I was asking the whys and hows my thoughts would also turn to the families.  I'd listen to (since I did "read" this via audio book) Lacy's, Peter, the shooters, mom, view that my heart was softened and broken.  Gary boy has some physical flaws - he's pigeon toed and has a wandering eye, the doctors won't try to fix it until age six or seven.  Because of this I worry about bullying - he's so cute that I hope that will stand out more, but still I worry.  And what will or can I do if that is the situation?  I also can understand Lacy's confusion - this is her little boy.... looking at Gary or Liv's precious little faces and how innocent they are I know that's what I'll always see, always.  So to try to believe they are capable of any wrong is impossible.  Not that I'm saying I believe my kids will grow up to be mass murderers, of course not, but I guess what I've learned is in the end my children will make their own choices, and I will always love them even if their choices break my hear, just as Lacy had.
I don't know if I would recommend this book to someone.  It was an incredible trip, but only if you're prepared for it!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

A Tag Before I Go

I have been tagged by my friend Jennie, and so I figured I'd do it before Todd and I head off to Hawaii! This'll probably be the last post I leave you with since tomorrow morning we head to Salt Lake where we will buy me a new Mac laptop and hang out with friends before we take the flight with my family Saturday to beautiful Hawaii!

So the Tag is all about three things... 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, and 3 surprising facts about myself...

3 Joys
- Liv
- Gary
- Todd

3 Fears
- being slowly squished to death
- loosing a child
- not having chocolate

3 Goals
- go back to school
- stay sane until the end of the day
- take my family to the LDS temple

3 Obsessions
- pictures
- scrapbooking
- getting home videos to DVD

3 Surprising Facts
- I was an avid nail biter until just recently
- My house is usually cluttered, thanks kids
- I'm mostly crazy ;)

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The Named

This was a book I happened upon by chance... not knowing what to read next I walked by a book called The Dark on a stand at the library. Reading about it got me interested, but then I found out it was the second book in a trilogy. So I looked up the first book, The Named by Marianne Curley, and really enjoyed it. It's not the best writing, but the story's uniqueness kept me hooked. Then the last quarter of the book became very suspenseful and quite the page turner. So now I'm hooked and have already started the second book! I don't know how to tell you about the story without giving anything away since there are a lot of twists and turns... so I'll sum it up like this: As the Goddess of Chaos strives for disorder by altering the past in order to have complete dominance of all worlds the Guardians of Time with their special gifts come together to thwart her attempts. A prophecy is given, a traitor is discovered, nine are revealed, time travelers will meet in battle, and destinies will come together! Good stuff :)

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Cupcakes for little Scarlet

I love this blanket! At first the color combo was too Neapolitan ice cream, but as it came together I was in love! This pattern is fabulous! I hadn't braved it yet, because it's another special one that is tied to my mom. She used this pattern to make a lavender and white blanket for Liv as a newborn, so I felt funny about it for a long time. BUT I have overcome this awkwardness and have now made my own beautiful work of art! Yay!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Sunday Spotlight

Getting the shot - I love how patient and helpful my husband is. I often get great ideas of where I want to take a picture... that doesn't mean it's always the most opportune location! For example, the other day Todd and I took the kids into Zion National Park for an afternoon of hiking. Our last stop was at the end of the Narrows where the river cuts through the canyon. The kids love to throw rocks here and it's incredibly beautiful! Anyways, there's this large rock in the center of the fast moving river, but, of course, it'd make for a great picture! So my kind husband wades out to is waste carrying the kids so his "crazy" wife can get her picture! It's so sweet! And in almost every picture I take of the two kids Todd is almost always behind me getting them to look in the general direction of the camera & smile!
p.s. Of course the kids never did both look at me and smile at the same time so I never did get the "perfect picture" for this one... still it was fun in the making!