This is my sister-in-law's (and my brother's too I guess) photography business. I probably should have waited a couple of weeks until after she takes the pictures of my kids to show off and advertise with, but I guess I can just do it again then. But if you are looking for a photographer for any occasion you need to check out her blog. They just bought the nicest camera ever and she's a pro with photoshop so you really can't go wrong. Not to mention she really doesn't charge enough (don't tell her I said that) so that's an added bonus for you! She does an amazing job! Anyway, you should totally go check out her blog! Just click on this button to get to her blog.....
Monday, September 7, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Friday's Fabulous Five
1. On Monday (my big cleaning day) I got SO MUCH DONE!!! I was so happy about it. I had this goal to just keep going and not stop and sit down and I did SO good all day, felt great!
2. On Tuesday night I got to sleep the ENTIRE night!!! With no interruptions. I still can't believe it. That's as good as teh first night the baby sleeps through the night.... it was great.
3. On Thursday I got to watch my cute little Luke hold hands with his little brother Noah and walk him to the car for me. They were so adorable!!
4. Living in the basement has it's perks, I have been so thankful for the Air Conditioning and how cool this place stays!! It's quite refreshing (no matter how messy the place is) to walk in from driving around in our a/c-less car, and have this 68 degree place to cool off in. Couldn't be more grateful!
5. I went over to my Mom's today and got to play the piano!! Sounds silly probably, but the chances I have to play the piano are so few and far between!! We have a keyboard, but it's just SO not the same as a piano. I loved getting out my old books and singing to all my old Michael McClean songs.... felt so good. If my boys hadn't been destroying her place it would have been even better :) but I did cherish the moment!
2. On Tuesday night I got to sleep the ENTIRE night!!! With no interruptions. I still can't believe it. That's as good as teh first night the baby sleeps through the night.... it was great.
3. On Thursday I got to watch my cute little Luke hold hands with his little brother Noah and walk him to the car for me. They were so adorable!!
4. Living in the basement has it's perks, I have been so thankful for the Air Conditioning and how cool this place stays!! It's quite refreshing (no matter how messy the place is) to walk in from driving around in our a/c-less car, and have this 68 degree place to cool off in. Couldn't be more grateful!
5. I went over to my Mom's today and got to play the piano!! Sounds silly probably, but the chances I have to play the piano are so few and far between!! We have a keyboard, but it's just SO not the same as a piano. I loved getting out my old books and singing to all my old Michael McClean songs.... felt so good. If my boys hadn't been destroying her place it would have been even better :) but I did cherish the moment!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Losing our Girls
So yesterday really sucked. I hate to be so blunt, and I am not sure the details would even do it justice, it just really stunk the place up. My attitude was bad, I had no motivation, Luke was a pill, I was tired, the allergies are flaring up, the a/c in the car is not working, we didn't have any food and I didn't want to go shopping..... it goes on, all my whining and complaining. You know the kind of day I'm talking about I'm sure. I'm certain we all have them and yet they still seem so devastating at the time for some reason. I feel like I used to have these days figured out, and I was really good at getting on top of it all and making the most of it while keeping in mind that tomorrow would be better. I'm not sure what's happened (other than the pregnancy/lack of sleep stuff), but I have almost no control over my emotions on these kinds of days and I just end up being mad. Okay, so anyway. This post was not supposed to be about my day.... I was just going to mention it to make a point later.
Here's the story:
Charity and Kelly had asked me since the first day of school if they could walk home. I am not comfortable with the idea of them walking so far, but I thought that a nice short little walk (part of the way home) might be nice for them. So I told them that if when they met up with each other, I wasn't there, they could START walking home. We talked about which way they would go, and it all seemed okay. Well, yesterday I was a few minutes late picking them up since I pick up Nate RIGHT before. When we pulled up to the school, and our meeting spot by the tree, they were nowhere to be found! We drove up and around assuming they had started walking, but we couldn't see them there either. For TWENTY FIVE MINUTES we drove up and down the streets that they would be on, back to the school, Nate went through the school, back to the playground.... we were obviously starting to get panicky. The annoying thing was that our car was really low on gas as well, and it didn't seem logical to stop looking for them to go get gas, but we didn't want to run out of gas either. We called Steve to see if he could aid in the search and he was willing (what a good uncle!). So we continued driving. I have to admit I was just really freaking out inside. I had had such a rotten day already I couldn't imagine something really terrible happening to my girls and being able to handle it like an adult. It was awful. I said a lot of prayers. Bradley actually suggested that we offer a prayer too, and said a very sweet one. He was very cute about "we won't stop looking for them until we find them? right Mom?" I don't know if he was more concerned about when he could get out of the hot car, or finding his sisters :) but it was cute. Kids are so clueless in these situations I think :) Just oblivious to the fact that I am wondering if I will ever see my daughters again. So, just as we were about to go home and see if there was some gas in one of my Dad's gas tanks, I got the feeling to turn down a street that is NOT in the direction of home, and not on their route, but for some reason I thought they might go that way. I know now that it was the Spirit, but to be honest, I was feeling pretty awful that I had not been a better mom all day and been more in tune to the Spirit. I remember, right after turning down this street, saying a little prayer apologizing to Heavenly Father for not having the Spirit with me that day and at such a crucial time and when I needed it so bad. I started crying because the stress of my bad reactions to the day and this scary situation mixed just seemed overwhelming to me. I was sure that I was the reason I couldn't find them and that if I had been closer to the Lord I would have found them much sooner (it had almost been 40 minutes by this time). Well, I headed up a street that was again, WAY out of the way, explaining to Nate that I didn't think they would be that way, just a way to get home, and then not even a whole minute later we looked up the road, and there they were!!! I don't know if I've ever been more excited to see my girls in my entire life!!! (well, that's probably not true, but you get the idea :)) They came over to the car and asked where we had been and we asked them the same thing. They were pretty hot and tired. We tried really hard not to be too scary to them when we were asking them why they were SO far out of the way (it really wasn't their faults, just a miscommunication) but man, it's tough to think that your kids could be gone. Especially after reading about that girl who had been abducted and then found after 20 years!!! They were funny because I guess they had waited in one spot for a while not knowing which way to go, and then with some "help" from a friend they decided that if she could walk them to Rocket Park, that they would be able to find their way home. The kicker, however, was that this friend needed to take her back pack home first. She lived completely the opposite direction from Rocket Park :). And my girls would be completely lost in the area that she had taken them..... it was interesting. We've decided that starting to walk home is not my favorite idea and will be doing some rethinking in that area. They were so cute to think of Rocket Park, and actually not scared at all that they had gone so out of the way. I'm glad. At least they weren't freaking out and crying like me :) And I'm glad they have each other.
So anyway. I guess what I want to remember about this experience is that sometimes we are closer to the Lord than we think. There was no reason for me to think that they would have gone down that street, and there were tons of different directions that they could have taken. I'm so glad that Heavenly Father still felt like he could prompt me even though I was such a putz. I'm grateful for this little miracle, and I think it will definitely be a reminder as to why it is so important, as a mother, to be close to the Spirit. I don't think it was me, I know that Heavenly Father was there and I know that he led us to the girls. I'm grateful.
Here's the story:
Charity and Kelly had asked me since the first day of school if they could walk home. I am not comfortable with the idea of them walking so far, but I thought that a nice short little walk (part of the way home) might be nice for them. So I told them that if when they met up with each other, I wasn't there, they could START walking home. We talked about which way they would go, and it all seemed okay. Well, yesterday I was a few minutes late picking them up since I pick up Nate RIGHT before. When we pulled up to the school, and our meeting spot by the tree, they were nowhere to be found! We drove up and around assuming they had started walking, but we couldn't see them there either. For TWENTY FIVE MINUTES we drove up and down the streets that they would be on, back to the school, Nate went through the school, back to the playground.... we were obviously starting to get panicky. The annoying thing was that our car was really low on gas as well, and it didn't seem logical to stop looking for them to go get gas, but we didn't want to run out of gas either. We called Steve to see if he could aid in the search and he was willing (what a good uncle!). So we continued driving. I have to admit I was just really freaking out inside. I had had such a rotten day already I couldn't imagine something really terrible happening to my girls and being able to handle it like an adult. It was awful. I said a lot of prayers. Bradley actually suggested that we offer a prayer too, and said a very sweet one. He was very cute about "we won't stop looking for them until we find them? right Mom?" I don't know if he was more concerned about when he could get out of the hot car, or finding his sisters :) but it was cute. Kids are so clueless in these situations I think :) Just oblivious to the fact that I am wondering if I will ever see my daughters again. So, just as we were about to go home and see if there was some gas in one of my Dad's gas tanks, I got the feeling to turn down a street that is NOT in the direction of home, and not on their route, but for some reason I thought they might go that way. I know now that it was the Spirit, but to be honest, I was feeling pretty awful that I had not been a better mom all day and been more in tune to the Spirit. I remember, right after turning down this street, saying a little prayer apologizing to Heavenly Father for not having the Spirit with me that day and at such a crucial time and when I needed it so bad. I started crying because the stress of my bad reactions to the day and this scary situation mixed just seemed overwhelming to me. I was sure that I was the reason I couldn't find them and that if I had been closer to the Lord I would have found them much sooner (it had almost been 40 minutes by this time). Well, I headed up a street that was again, WAY out of the way, explaining to Nate that I didn't think they would be that way, just a way to get home, and then not even a whole minute later we looked up the road, and there they were!!! I don't know if I've ever been more excited to see my girls in my entire life!!! (well, that's probably not true, but you get the idea :)) They came over to the car and asked where we had been and we asked them the same thing. They were pretty hot and tired. We tried really hard not to be too scary to them when we were asking them why they were SO far out of the way (it really wasn't their faults, just a miscommunication) but man, it's tough to think that your kids could be gone. Especially after reading about that girl who had been abducted and then found after 20 years!!! They were funny because I guess they had waited in one spot for a while not knowing which way to go, and then with some "help" from a friend they decided that if she could walk them to Rocket Park, that they would be able to find their way home. The kicker, however, was that this friend needed to take her back pack home first. She lived completely the opposite direction from Rocket Park :). And my girls would be completely lost in the area that she had taken them..... it was interesting. We've decided that starting to walk home is not my favorite idea and will be doing some rethinking in that area. They were so cute to think of Rocket Park, and actually not scared at all that they had gone so out of the way. I'm glad. At least they weren't freaking out and crying like me :) And I'm glad they have each other.
So anyway. I guess what I want to remember about this experience is that sometimes we are closer to the Lord than we think. There was no reason for me to think that they would have gone down that street, and there were tons of different directions that they could have taken. I'm so glad that Heavenly Father still felt like he could prompt me even though I was such a putz. I'm grateful for this little miracle, and I think it will definitely be a reminder as to why it is so important, as a mother, to be close to the Spirit. I don't think it was me, I know that Heavenly Father was there and I know that he led us to the girls. I'm grateful.
Sunday
Sunday had an interesting morning. It was Stake Conference, so we were trying to get ready faster than usual. We were so good!! We were all ready to go and loaded in the car by about 9:30. We had wanted to get there early enough so that we could sit where we wanted :). And we do have to go all the way to the "Turtle building" for conference. So anyway. We were all buckled in, ready to go, and what do you know, the car wouldn't start! So annoying since just Monday we had had the same problem and bought a new battery on Tuesday. So we opened up the hood (it had actually been smoking a little when Nate would turn the key, right by the battery, so we were sure it was something with the battery), and Nate started fiddling. I just kind of sat around trying to talk myself out of just wanting to stay home and tried to think of some other solutions assuming Nate would not be able to fix the car. We woke up Steve thinking he could jump us, or drive us (it would take a couple trips) and got to joke around with him for a while. It was one of those times where you feel frustrated, but you're trying to just deal with what comes. I think we handled it well. So around 10:00, Nate had it! He had totally fixed the problem and the car started!!! I was so happy, and so impressed!! He's really good at figuring things out for someone who doesn't know much about cars. Makes me proud. Apparently the wires connecting the battery were not flesh with the terminal and were kind of exposed..... who knew (since the car had been running just fine for almost a week). So anyway, we left to go to Conference and we were about 15 minutes late which really stunk considering how early we had gotten ready. I just hate the thought of being late when it wasn't our fault. But then you have to look at it positively and realize that we would have missed half of conference if we hadn't been ready early.... so either way. Conference was really nice, but I have to admit I had a really hard time concentrating simply because of the heat! I was SWEATING the whole time. The kids did well. They were in and out to the bathroom and drinking fountains for the first half, but sat mostly still the rest of the time. Which was nice considering I didn't need any more beads of sweat dripping down my face.
Luke and I had a moment that I wanted to record. I was trying to find ways to entertain him and started folding a fan. He thought it was an airplane so was disappointed and asked for a plane when I was done. I consented but halfway through folding it I realized that I was making him a paper airplane! duh. So I decided to continue, but explained to him that he could not throw the airplane until we were outside. I showed him what he could do with it, but kept repeating that I did not want him to throw it. It was risky, believe me I know, but I thought it would be a great teaching experience for Luke either way. There were only about 15 minutes leftover, so I thought it might be possible for him to keep it to himself. He started asking me what would happen if he threw it and I said that if he threw it, it would get lost and he wouldn't have one anymore. Then he asked about if he were to throw it up in the ceiling. I told him it would get stuck up there too.... He was testing the water a little but not once did he throw that paper airplane. I have to say that I was almost in tears when we were done because he had actually done what I asked (you can see how unlikely this normally is and if you know Luke....). It was amazing!!! So when we walked out of the door I announced to him that he had done it and listened and we clapped and then he got to throw the thing around a little before we went to the car. It was cute to watch him enjoy the airplane, and it seemed like he realized how cool it was that he listened. It made flying that airplane so much cooler :) I kept telling him how good he did the whole rest of the day, just to reaffirm in his mind that what he had done was right. I know this must sound weird to all of you, but it was special for me!! And such a huge thing for Luke.
So when we got home Nate and I were talking about how glad we were that he tried to fix the car rather than just calling it quits and going back to bed. We decided that Heavenly Father had given us that opportunity to show that we would put forth the effort and make going to conference a priority, and not give up. Kinda like how I gave Luke the opportunity to show me that he could make a good choice. Just a little analogy. I'm glad that we had that experience and that we were able to receive the blessings we did and go to conference. I know it's not life or death or anything, but it was special to me.
Luke and I had a moment that I wanted to record. I was trying to find ways to entertain him and started folding a fan. He thought it was an airplane so was disappointed and asked for a plane when I was done. I consented but halfway through folding it I realized that I was making him a paper airplane! duh. So I decided to continue, but explained to him that he could not throw the airplane until we were outside. I showed him what he could do with it, but kept repeating that I did not want him to throw it. It was risky, believe me I know, but I thought it would be a great teaching experience for Luke either way. There were only about 15 minutes leftover, so I thought it might be possible for him to keep it to himself. He started asking me what would happen if he threw it and I said that if he threw it, it would get lost and he wouldn't have one anymore. Then he asked about if he were to throw it up in the ceiling. I told him it would get stuck up there too.... He was testing the water a little but not once did he throw that paper airplane. I have to say that I was almost in tears when we were done because he had actually done what I asked (you can see how unlikely this normally is and if you know Luke....). It was amazing!!! So when we walked out of the door I announced to him that he had done it and listened and we clapped and then he got to throw the thing around a little before we went to the car. It was cute to watch him enjoy the airplane, and it seemed like he realized how cool it was that he listened. It made flying that airplane so much cooler :) I kept telling him how good he did the whole rest of the day, just to reaffirm in his mind that what he had done was right. I know this must sound weird to all of you, but it was special for me!! And such a huge thing for Luke.
So when we got home Nate and I were talking about how glad we were that he tried to fix the car rather than just calling it quits and going back to bed. We decided that Heavenly Father had given us that opportunity to show that we would put forth the effort and make going to conference a priority, and not give up. Kinda like how I gave Luke the opportunity to show me that he could make a good choice. Just a little analogy. I'm glad that we had that experience and that we were able to receive the blessings we did and go to conference. I know it's not life or death or anything, but it was special to me.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Swimming at Aunt Heidi's new place
On Saturday we were taking some of Heidi's furniture down to her new place, and she invited us to stay and swim afterward. We all had such a good time together the whole day and being able to spend time with everyone. The kids had a blast in the pool. They were so happy about their goggles :)
Noah had a lot of fun, but preferred standing, walking and sitting on the steps over having me hold him. He likes the independence I think. He was surprisingly not too traumatized by the several times he stepped off the edge and went all the way under while I was not looking. (this was like milliseconds long, btw, just so you aren't thinking I was totally neglecting him, it was just like turn your head and there he goes kind of thing :)) But he really didn't seem to care as he was coughing up the water. I made him keep his shirt on so he didn't get sunburnt and even with all my talk about sunblock that whole day, I totally forgot to put any on his face!! He got fried, but just as usual it was gone in the morning, thank goodness.... I don't need to feel guilty any longer than that.
The big kids loved the floaties, Kelly demonstrated to all of us why they are indeed called "floaties". She's so funny. She spent most of her time with Aunt Heidi "learning to swim" and actually did really well after her 3 hour lesson :) Impressive, Heidi hasn't lost the touch!! I'm still very embarrassed that my children do not know how to swim, considering I taught it for 3 years. Oh well, I need to get over htat I guess.
Charlie and Grandma Hatch were buds.
Charity spent most of her time freaking out about how deep the pool was. She had a lot of fun learning to swim from Aunt Sarah. She did pretty well once we were all out of the way :) All of my kids surprise me with how comfortable they are in the water though. That is a huge thing to me because I always worried that I would have one of those kids that was too scared to get in.
Bradley spent most of his time with Uncle Brent and Daddy. He had SO much fun. It was really fun to watch him getting around in the water. He loved his goggles too, even though they were totally cheap and let water in :) He keeps asking me "what kind of day could we go there again?" He really had a good time.
He didn't even let a bloody nose stop his fun.
Luke and Nate were total buds the entire time. Everytime I looked over at them I just couldn't get over how little Luke looked. He had a lot of fun, even when Nate was dunking him in the water against his will :) He's a good sport. He liked doing Ring-around-the-rosies with Noah too. He was trying to make it extra fun for him I think :)
I played a little with Charlie over on the steps (since his parents were playing with mine). he liked the tube :) He's such a funny little guy.
Noah did like doing Motor Boat. He would laugh and laugh, and try to dip his head in but not too far..... the water in the ears thing wasn't his favorite.
Near the end everyone was just showing off all their tricks and new ways to swim. It was so much fun. Hopefully it wasn't too much work to Heidi, and she invites us to her nice new condo again.
Thanks Sarah, for all the cute pictures!! And Thanks Heidi, for the fun time. Maybe next time we can get the sun to stay out while we are in the pool :)
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