A Trip to The Beach

With Seth's schedule and the ever-closer approach of the end of school, a new job,

a move (possibly somewhere far away), and all of the changes that will come with it,

VACATION

is just something that isn't really in the cards right now.

So, every time daddy has a day off, we try to pack it full of fun adventures.

We do a pretty good job of making the most of our time together as a family,

and of course I always take the pictures to prove it

...as if we were on vacation and these things may be once in a life time...

even though we could go back today...or tomorrow...or any day!

And I am good about posting them on the Project 365 blog...

because that is just about all I have been able to keep up with...

but usually 1 picture of my 20 favorites is just not enough to share these experiences.

(Not to mention that this blog is looking like a whole lotta black and white,

and my goal for this year is to bring color into my life.

I have been aquiring colorful furniture, colorful, flowers, colorful clothes for everyone in the family, colorful accessories, so I am going to get back to colorful blog, too!)

Last week we headed to the "beach" (the Great Salt Lake).

We tried to go early, but we didn't get there until the sun was already high

...not really great for pictures...

but the sky was blue and the beach was gorgeous and three little people and their favorite daddy

LOVED playing in the water.

And I loved it too...but from a different perspective.

I loved watching the exploration, the excitement, the fun and the love through my lens,

and I wanted to bottle it up and squeeze those moments close to my heart.

I got a little teary as I watched them play...because I love these 4 more than anything else!

these sandy toes are about the sweetest thing ever!

she was in heaven...she hasn't been to the beach since she could walk and play and enjoy and she loved it!

and these pointed tippy toes and lifted skirt make my heart so happy!

-LOVE-

internet and other tidbits

for the past couple of weeks, my internet communication has been limited to what I can do on my phone (which, by the way...I am new to the whole internet phone thing and wow - how did I ever survive without it?), or what I can do on a super de duper slow internet connection that may or may not go out at any given second...like right in the middle of uploading a blog post or a bunch of pictures or even a facebook status.

But on Tuesday, something fabulous happened! This little family of ours finally caught up with the rest of the world and now have our very own high speed internet connection - cable internet - and a wi-fi network that has a full signal everywhere in the house! Oh.my.goodness - it is amazing! Who knew that fast internet could make such a difference!?

So yeah, now is the time to expect more from me, blogging friends! I am actually pretty up to date on Project 365, but haven't been able to upload the images, so check here in the next day or so for a lot of updated pictures! And there are some really really good ones...so feel free to browse back a bit.

I will also be able to update our picture site, which is now a part of my smileabunch photography website, since I am about 6 months behind there. To access our family pictures, click on family and friends in the bottom right corner of the home page and it will take you to a place where you can enter a password. If you would like the password, email me or leave a comment with your email address and I will send it to you (as long as I know you and you aren't a stalker - stalkers will just have to get by with the blog pics)! It won't be up to date for a few weeks, but I am determined to catch up! :)

Finally, I have a lot of fun announcements (and maybe even some super fun giveaways) coming down the pipe on the smileabunch photography blog with the start of full pricing coming on August 1. There are only 2 weeks left to get a session and a disc for $125...so give me a call and book one before the schedule is full.

Sometimes

like when I am sitting next to my husband watching fireworks from the middle of a wheat field out of the back of our car surrounded by 3 loud squirmy children who have his giggle and my eyes...

or like when the kids are napping and the dog(s - Roxy is visiting) are conked out snoring next to me on the couch and the sun is shining and the air conditioner is blowing and the gorgeous wildflowers on my table (that I picked out of my mom's garden) keep catching my eye because they are just so darn beautiful...

or like when little miss wakes up from her nap and all she wants to do is snuggle momma...

or like when the other little miss giggles like crazy from the backseat because she hears the big brother and sister laughing and she wants to  be just like them...

or like when the greatest man I have ever known prays for me to be successful with my photography in our prayers at night...

or like when I stand on the front porch of my sweet little house and feel like I am standing in a flower shop because I am surrounded by flowers on every side...

or like when I am singing the star spangled banner in church and I get so choked up I can't sing another word because it means so much to me be free to choose how I will live and worship and work and play and be...

sometimes in these moments I wonder if I might be dreaming this life

because it almost seems too good to be true

but it is never a dream, just a perfectly wonderful life

And yes, the rest of the time my life is filled with

someone throwing a tantrum on the kitchen floor

or pinching their sister for the umpteenth time today

or ripping pages out of books

or playing toss across the kitchen table with their watermelon cubes

or wondering when I am ever going to get a break,

or a date night with my husband,

or a bigger house,

or a vacation...

but you know what?

I like that part of my life too.

I'm not sure why I share this with the whole wide blogging world.

It is not to say my life is perfect...or to say that it isn't.

Mostly just to say that I am happy with this life I have

and to remind myself that there is a lot to be happy with.

Dinner Conversation

Chloe : "Mom, are you going to get married at wheeler farm?"

Jen: "No, I already got married, but not at wheeler farm."

Chloe: "Where did you get married?"

Jen: "In the temple"

Morgan: "When we are big, we can get married in the temple too."

Jen: "That's right Morgan."

Morgan: "...But you can't marry me, Chloe, because I am not 3. You'll have to find someone who is 3."

Good thing we cleared that up!

Now is the time...

If you have been wanting to get pictures done by me,

but you have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to come along...now is the time!

For the past few months I have been offering discounted (about 50%) introductory pricing,

and it will be ending on AUGUST 1, 2010.

You can see all the details at the smileabunch photography blog.

Availability is limited and I am currently booking for late July.

We are busily enjoying some summer fun, but hopefully I can carve out some time to update this blog soon.

Plenty of stuff happening around here, just no time to blog about it!

And please keep your fingers crossed that my next post is not out of sheer embarassment like the last one! ;)

Glad it could entertain you though...and yes, we do know our neighbor well and he is just about the best neighbor you could ask for...so it wasn't really scary as much as embarassing!

this morning I woke up...

to a cell phone ring.

it was my next door neighbor

I didn't make it to my cell phone in time, but when I saw the name on the missed call, I knew.

So I ventured out in the backyard looking for a very curious little 5 year old boy.

I didn't see him in the yard and I didn't see a little black doggie.

So I went, fingers crossed, down into his bedroom.

No boy, no dog, no ripped window screens (whew!).

So, embarassed and feeling like the worst mother ever, I returned to the back yard, and yelled over the fence. Sure enough, one little boy and one black doggy came climbing back through a hole in the fence.

Immediately one little boy and one black doggy were banished to the couch for a lecture.

"Why shouldn't I go outside, mom? I had Callie with me."

"Well, Morgan, what if (neighbor's name inserted here) wanted to still be asleep right now and you are in his yard making a bunch of noise?"

"It was fine mom, he was watching a movie."

"How do you know that? Did you go in his house?"

Out of sheer humiliation, I did not call the neighbor back to apologize.

A few minutes ago, he called to make sure Morgan had made it home safely and I heard the whole story...

Morgan had followed Callie through the doggy door and my neighbor woke up to a little 5 year old boy peeking over the foot of his bed (not to mention the extra dog).

Half asleep, he told Morgan to go home because his mom would be worrying about him.

A little bit later, Morgan returned to "get Callie" out of the neighbor's house while he was watching the morning news.

Worried that I probably have no idea that Morgan isn't still asleep, neighbor called me...

I went looking...child and dog were found...child and dog were punished.

Child and dog will be punished again.

Apparently my "job" starts before I even know I am supposed to be awake!

Friday

Yesterday was Seth's day off.

We did a lot of stuff (errands, mow the lawn, etc), but the most important stuff...

Took a morning walk together (including Callie) at this lovely park/trail in Holladay.

BBQ-ed hot dogs and had a picnic lunch outside.

Picked up Bucca Di Beppo take out, spread blankets all over the living room floor and had a "picnic dinner" in the living room while we watched a movie.

Of course, popcorn was involved.

Seth's days off are like holidays.

Happy.

Thursday...

After 2 phone calls were interrupted by screaming children, we learned and role played

how to properly interrupt mommy when she is on the phone.

"excuse me..."

Gladly, it is working.

We went to Old Navy and Carters to get some random stuff

that I forgot when I did our summer clothes shopping.

We stopped at the distribution center for Seth.

And we (finally) got the wire from Michaels to turn our portrait frame into a landscape one so that I can hang up the 16x20 picture that has been precariously perched on our entry bench for over a month. Since the kids were fairly well-behaved, they each got to pick out a colorful sand pail.

I love summer.

Finally made it to the library for some new reading material for the kids.

Back home for reading books, lunch, naps and playing outside.

Whipped up a very random, very Greek dinner:

I was craving lemon rice...so I started that...and I had a bunch of asparagus that needed to be used asap, so I steamed that. And then I was at a loss.

Called my mom for inspiration and she suggested mixing the asparagus with the rice and adding some feta and canned chicken. Decided not to, but the mixing idea and the canned chicken inspired a new creation: Greek Chicken Salad Toss.

diced tomatoes, chopped asparagus, feta, canned chicken and Greek dressing

It was fabulous...and I am clearly quite proud of my concoction in the face of another night eating corn dogs or quesadillas.

Remembered why I really need to get back on the meal planning bandwagon!

Ate popsicles while sitting on the tailgate of the car...which the kids thought was fabulous...but was really meant to motivate me to unload the stuff out of the back of the car.

Books and books and more books.

Goodnight for kids.

Sherlock Holmes for the hubs (and kind of me, though I can't admit to actually watching it because it is one of those intense movies that I can't get sucked into or it will give me nightmares) and working on updating my portfolio on the website for me.