Holy Late, Batman!

I know that Halloween was a few weeks ago, but I am finally getting around to putting up the photos of the boys. Hopefully this post will be the introduction to me getting back on the blogging bandwagon.


We spent Halloween this year at the UVA Lawn once again. For those that are not familiar with UVA, there are rows of doorm rooms that line a grassy area on the backside of the Rotunda. They were built by Mr. Thomas Jefferson himself and certain students get invited to live there(apparently it is a huge honor, as they are really old and have community bathrooms that you have to go outside to get to- not my idea of fun!) Every year the students and some faculty members hand out candy there- there are tons of people! And the doors are all really close together so you can get lots of candy in a short amount of time, an idea which Jace really caught onto this year.


We went with Sonya B. this year and her little cowboy, Sam. Earlier that day Tim had a sinus procedure up in Warrenton that we were at all day, so we had to come straight from there. I remembered to bring the boys costumes but I forgot my camera. And I must say it was actually kind of nice! I got to enjoy what was going instead of walking around with one squinty eye and the other looking through a camera lens. But thankfully Sonya took a few shots for us. And you even get to see me in a frame- a rarity! The rest of the shots were taken on Nov. 1. I dressed the boys back up in their costumes so we could go show our neighbors their costumes and take some photos. Speaking of their costumes- I probably spent 14+ hours making these things. Crazy, right? Who spend 14 hours on their kids Halloween costumes? Yes, I am crazy indeed. But it was worth it- I couldn't resist doing the dynamic duo. Have you ever seen a more adorable Batman and Robin? You better say 'YES' or I will have Batman get you with a bat-a-rang.


Other updates: Jace turned 5 this week- can you believe it? Man, he is getting old fast(as am I)! And I played hookie from church today because I have a horrible cough. Really, I don't think I have ever had such a bad cough. I have probably only gotten 3-4 hours of sleep the last two nights because I just can't stop coughing- it is miserable! My jaw and my abs/ribs are so sore, I am tired of laying on the couch and I am running out of movies to watch! And I am a little nervous because I am scheduled to have surgery on my bellybutton this week and I am worried about how they are going to work on my belly button if my stomach muscles are constantly contracting from coughing. Can you cough when you are put under? I wonder... By the way, the surgery is for a hernia I got above my belly button after my last pregnancy. I want to get it fixed before I have #3 because I was told it will get worse.


Oh, other BIG news for me- I got this lens last week and it is AWESOME! This is the mother of all sports lenses- if you watch any sports you have probably seen the guys with the black and white lenses- this is that lens. Only I got it in black because the the white one was on back order. I haven't had tons of time to play with it yet since I have been sick, but I used it on my last session and it was amazing! It is really fast to focus and the bokeh at 135-200 is beautiful! And it is super sharp! The vibration reduction is such a cool feature- Tim took a shot at night inside at 200mm with a shutter speed of 1/15 and it was still pretty sharp. Seriously, that is amazing! Typically you need to have your shutter speed 2xs your focal length(in this case 1/400), so to even attempt shooting at 1/15 is unreal! Yep, this is going to be a great addition to my arsenal. And such a great sports lens for when my boys start sports! But man it is huge- the weight doesn't bother me, but it is LONG! It is about finger to elbow length with the hood on. It looks like a bazooka! I hope it doesn't scare away the kids I photograph! I will try to get out and do some test shots with it. I want to compare it to my 85 and see the difference in color, bokeh, etc.


Anyways, I better get going. My bag of cough drops and that indentation in the couch are calling my name. I wonder what movie I will watch tonight...


I will try to post again soon! Enjoy the photos!

A Wicked Halloween

I saw this on Youtube last week and fell in love with it! I have this new obsession with makeup so I am so excited to try this out this Halloween. I don't have the supplies that she has, so I am sure it won't look as good but oh well. Make sure to watch it until the end to see the transformation (and the bonus Wicked song!)- love the glammed up witch!

Enjoy and Happy Halloween! Check back for photos of Batman and Robin!

Tagged

Has it really been a month and a half since I last posted? That is really sad- I probably don't have any blog followers anymore and I am sure I am just talking to myself right now. But I will go ahead and give my lame-0 'I have been busy' excuse.

Quick update- the bathrooms are done and they look great! I will try to get around to posting my before and after pics, right after I clean the now dirty bathrooms and take the after pictures. But considering I have a few sessions to edit, two Halloween costumes to make and a Primary Halloween party to plan it might not happen this week.

Now, on to the tagging. I have been tagged a few times and despite my good intentions, I rarely follow through with them because of my horrid procrastination habit(which is also the reason you have still not seen our beach pictures- or the Gettysburg photos from last July 4th, etc.)
Anyways, so when my good friend Mel tagged me I was determined to sit down and do it immediately knowing that otherwise it would never happen. So here goes:

Six Quirks of Mine

1- I have a really bad habit of picking at my toenails when I am either sitting at the computer or watching TV. I know it is disgusting- but I just cannot seem to leave them alone, especially when I am under stress. Hey, at least I pick at them with my fingers and not my teeth. Tim bought me a gift certificate for a pedicure at a really nice salon last Mothers day and I have still not been able to use it because I can't seem to grow my toenails long enough. And I would be so embarrassed if they called me out on my toenail picking habit, exposing me for the weirdo that I am. Oh, and if my toenails are not available I will bite my fingernails instead.

2- I have a really bad habit of leaving cupboards open- it seems like I have shared that before. Not very interesting, but it is definitely a quirk of mine. Watch you head if you ever walk through my kitchen!

3- I know I have mentioned this before, but I make this horrid oinking noise to scratch my throat. I do this several times a day, especially in the summer and fall when I have allergies. I honestly feel sorry for my husband and am sometimes surprised that he is still married to me. I wonder if he knew about the noise before we got married? How did I keep it hidden from him? Poor guy... It even annoys my kids- Jace asks me why I sound like a pig.

4- I am a complete slob and a clean/anti-clutter freak at the same time. Sounds nonsensical, but it is true. I do not pick up after myself at all- I will leave my dishes at the table or my desk, leave clothes lying on my bedroom floor, pile things up in places rather than put them away. But it is only a short matter of time before the clutter starts to drive me crazy and I go on a cleaning spree. Oh, and if I ever knowingly have company, I have to clean my house. Even if someone is just coming by to drop something off, I will clean my house. I know I shouldn't care if my friends see my house kind of messy and the rational part of me really doesn't care, but I just cannot stop myself. The urge to clean and de-clutter takes over.

5- Apparently I like to make my life as difficult as possible. Wouldn't it be easier to just pick up after myself? Doesn't it take just as long to hang up a sweater as it does to throw it on the bed or in a pile? The answer is yes, but that doesn't seem to change me. I do this with all aspects of my life, not just the messes. I was hoping that doing Yoga would cure me of my bad habits, but so far it is not helping(I am, however, more flexible and can do a mean tree pose!)

6- I am mildly Arachnophobic. I refuse to go into our crawl space or even put my head under our back deck for fear of the spiders that could be hiding above me, just waiting to attack. I once had to pull something out of our crawlspace (it was only about two feet inside) and I literally almost had a panic attack. I am always worried for Tim when he has to go in the crawl space. Sometimes when it is dark and I am walking through the house I have horrid visions of poisonous spiders crawling after me- I have to run to get away from them even though I know they are not really there.

Now for the other part of the tag, I am only going to do a few because I don't know if I could think of 8 things in some of these categories. So here goes:

8 things I am passionate about...
1. My family
2. My faith
4. Photography and art
5. Business
6. Marriage (if I wasn't a SAHM and a photographer, I would be a Marriage and Family Therapist- I love studying relationships!)
7. Okay, I can't think of anymore...

8 words or phrases I use often...
1. Jace (in a very firm voice- I am sure I say this at least 100 times a day)
2. Cool
3. Awesome
4. Seriously (I type this one a lot too!)
5. You are driving me crazy!
6. Whatever (Hmmm, I am starting to feel a lot like Alicia Silverstone in the movie clueless...whatEVER)
7. Good job!
8. Stop it or knock it off, often followed by a "RIGHT NOW!"

8 places I would love to visit...
1. England
2. Italy
3. Greece
4. Paris
5. New York
6. P.E.I.(I stole that one from you, Mel! Someday we will go there together, my bosom friend!)
7. Some small tropical island that isn't too famous or touristy, with Tim of course;)
8. Bismark, North Dakota. Who doesn't want to go to Bismark?

8 things I currently need or want...
1. A new pair of designer jeans
2. Several sweaters- a closet full, if we are talking wants. But I only need one or two;)
3. The Coastal Scents Neutral 28 eyeshadow Palette
4. A D700 or D3
5. The Nikon 70-200 2.8 VR lens
6. New couches
7. Money for all the things I want to buy
8. To stop wanting all this stuff that is not going to really make me happy!!!


And if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged!

Twilight Trailer Spoof

I know a lot of my blog followers are into the Twilight saga, so I had to share this here. Kind of cheesy and I know it is mocking the movie that I am actually very excited to go see, but I thought this was hilarious! Especially the last 10 seconds...

Enjoy!

My Son Nate

Sorry no photos to go with this post, but I have a little Jace quirk I need to document before he outgrows it and/or I forget it.

The last few weeks Jace has developed his first 'real' imaginary friend (oxymoron, I know, but hopefully you get my gist- this is the first imaginary friend that has lasted more than a day). This 'friends' name is Jace. "What?", you say, "How can that be?" Well, you see, the real Jace has recently changed identities to a mysterious boy named Nate. Yes, my son now goes by Nate about 75% of the time. We don't know very much about this sudden obsession with being the mysterious Nate or where it(or he) came from, but we do know this: Nate is 10 years old and his best friend is Jace, or the boy that used to be my son. Confusing? You have no idea! Oh, and a new development is that Nate has two sisters, named Carla and Kate. So Nate(Jace) spends most of his time talking about himself and his new name and how cool it is to be 10 years old. And playing with his best friend, Jace, of course. Last week whenever I would put him down for a nap he would ask me to make a little bed on the floor for Jace, who was sleeping over again (no wonder he hasn't been napping very well- I knew sleepovers were nothing but trouble! And I knew that Jace boy was a bad influence!)

Of course, like any smart parent would, we use this new obsession to manipulate him into doing things like cleaning his room or eating all his dinner. Because, as we all know, 10 year-olds always clean their rooms and anyone with a name like Nate will certainly eat his vegetables. I know this probably won't work for very long, but oh well- It has been working like a charm these past few weeks!

We have been back from the beach for a few days and we had a blast! And, contrary to what Jace and I both thought, none of us were eaten by sharks! I have lots of photos (including some SWEET silhouette shots that I promised) so I will try to put those up later this week.

In other news, our great bathroom remodeling extravaganza begins in exactly 5 days and 9 hours- I am so excited! After living in our home for over 3 years, we are finally getting around to doing our bathrooms(floors, paint, new sinks and faucets- the works) and I can't wait! Seriously, to this day our master bathroom (which is not very masterful- quite tiny in fact) doesn't even have a toilet paper holder. I never wanted to buy one or install one because I knew our bathroom needed a full makeover and I hadn't decided what finish to get. So we never got one- our poor TP roll(or rolls, I should say. Many, many rolls...) has been just sitting on the back of the toilet for 3 LONG YEARS! So pathetic, I know. But that will soon come to an end. We bought all our bathroom accessories yesterday and the new toilet paper holder- Mmmm, it is LOVELY! Now I just hope that this project doesn't take too much longer than we have planned- though I am sure it will. So perhaps you should check back for that post in October. Or November.

Dropping The Ball

Jace started Preschool two weeks ago and I have quickly realized that I am a bad school mom. When I dropped him off the first day, I saw dozens of parents with cameras and video cameras who probably got there 10 minutes early to document this important day in their child's life. What was Jace's mom doing? Oh, she was running late and didn't even think to bring the camera (if I had just forgotten it, maybe I would feel a little less guilty, but no- it never crossed my mind to bring the camera) That was ball drop #1. I did bring my camera when I picked him up(hence the photos above), but it totally felt like I missed 'the' moment. Then last Thursday when I picked him up, his teacher handed me the class newsletter which I took home and set on the counter. In my defense, I did intend to read this newsletter, but it got lost. Ball drop #2. When I picked him up from school the following Tuesday, he immediately told me how mad he was that all the kids brought their 'pets' to school for show and tell but him. Ouch. Hello, mom, pick up that stinkin' ball! I totally made him miss his first show and tell- a very important first! And now Jace has a cold today so he couldn't go to school and is going to miss next Tuesday because we will be in VA Beach. His teacher must think I am a total loser. But really, this whole being a school mom thing is just so new to me- I have no idea what I am doing! But I am determined to sign up as a classroom volunteer to redeem myself- I wonder if they have a PTA in preschool? Well, hopefully I learned my lesson and will at least read his weekly newsletter as soon as I get it.

So we are headed to VA beach on Monday-Wednesday. I am super excited! We are camping, which many of you may think is crazy, but we absolutely love this camp site- it is right on the beach and has access to power and showers. And I am determined to get some really great silhouette type family shots of us so I will be sure to post those sometime in the near future.

Until then, y'all have a great Labor Day weekend!!!

Celebrity Look Alike

Ever wondered what celebrity you look like? Well, someone showed me this awesome site where you upload a picture of yourself and it will scan your face and tell you what celebrity you resemble. So I gave it a try and by golly, guess who I look like? I am 83% Angelina Jolie- yeah, baby! What a confidence boost! But then I tried to put in Tim's face and it came up with Jodi Foster. Hmmm, so maybe it is not so accurate. Seriously, I know I don't look like Angelina Jolie(what if I died my hair brown and got lip injections? Hmmm...)but this was totally entertaining! So, give it a try and tell me who YOU look like?
http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/tryFaceRecognition.php



Mel- if it doesn't come back saying you look like Brooke Shields, then it is definitely faulty! And Erica, I put in two different photos of you and both came back with Giselle- not suprising to me though!




By the way, here is the photo I got for the Angelina lookalike:
http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/face-recognition-results.php?temp=3dc77a84i3c9m311&server=Server25&database=2&startYear=1800&endYear=2005&loadMethod=myFiles

And here is my husband as Jodi Foster:

http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/face-recognition-results.php?temp=78f77a849yj01a47&server=Server17&database=2&startYear=1800&endYear=2005&loadMethod=myFiles

BTW, sorry to those of you who have visited my blog in the last few days and saw the 10 different Youtube vids- something is seriously wrong with YouTube! I tried adding those to the blog weeks ago and they just barely showed up. Strange...

Have fun!

Have you seen this?

For all you Harry Potter fans out there, have you seen the new trailer for Half-Blood prince? You can check it out here: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?vid=261978

I am so excited for this movie- this was by far my very favorite of all the books! Apparently this show was supposed to come out this November, but has been moved to July 2009. Bummer! Well, to anyone who hasn't read the HP series, this will give you a chance to do it (AHEM: Mom, Ang!) A definite MUST!

Real Brotherhood Begins

Friday night we were going to have a family movie night which Jace was really excited about (because that means he gets to stay up late). But just before we were going to start the movie, we heard a thud and a shrieking Ethan scream from the boys room. When we got to the scene, there was Ethan standing with a small, bloody cut under his eye and nothing around him except for Jace looking awfully guilty and his full sippy cup on the floor. Jace quickly fessed up, admitting that Ethan wanted his sippy cup and so he threw it at his face rather than hand it to him. Of course in an effort to teach him that we do not throw things at our brother, we had to pass on the movie night (which Jace was devastated about, poor kid!). And Ethan was left with a gash on his eye and a bruise the following day.

Not a very exciting or dramatic story (which I am thankful for!) but I had to write it down because I am sure it marks the beginning of many black eyes/bruises/cuts to come as these two boys grow up together. Ahhhhhhhhhh, boys. Fun, fun! I will be sure to take a picture when Jace is on the receiving end of the injury. I don't think it will be much longer!

Just a few photos of E a few days after the incident- and I threw that last one in there because I thought it was so cute. Enjoy!

Just a random pictureless pity-party post that you do not have to read if you don't want to...

How's that for a long title? Tonight I am bored and kind of depressed and feeling frustrated with myself and all I really feel like doing is wallowing in self pity and venting. Do you ever have days like that? Well, I do! (And oddly enough it seems to always come at the end of the month- hmmmm....) I just got done venting to Tim (thanks, hun) but I just felt like writing and getting it all out of my system so I can move on. I spent some time today looking at some other photographers blogs and I should know better than to do that when I am PMSing feeling down. I have been feeling very creatively frustrated lately anyways, like my work has reached a plateau and I want to improve or do something different and more creative but I don't know what. And looking at the amazing work of other photographers which is far from uncreative just makes me feel like a giant LAHOO-ZAHER! Does any one else ever feel just really annoyed with themselves, like there is something seriously wrong with them? I am feeling that way. Sometimes I swear it is like I have two personalities that are polar opposites. The 'good me' and the 'bad me'. The 'good' me is very positive, very motivated, super-duper ambitious, has great intentions, starts projects(sad that even good me doesn't usually finish these projects but she intends to!), makes written out 'to do' lists and intends to complete each item on that to do list in a timely manner, is occasionally productive, organizes her time, doesn't waste too much time surfing the net and also manages to spend quality time with her kids. Oh, and she will refrain from reading entire Book 4 in a few days because she has too much to do this week. The 'bad' me, my nemesis, is negative, unmotivated and even, at times, down right lazy, very timid when it comes to following through with her ambitions, is very unorganized, very unproductive, spends 90% of her time thinking, stressing and worrying about the seemingly millions of items on her to do list (not the one she wrote down- that is only 'good' me- bad Mandy doesn't write down her to do lists- they just float around and around in her head, feeling much larger than they actually are) and only 10% of her time actually doing those things. Oh, and she can't seem to keep her mouse off of that Internet explorer icon at the bottom of her computer screen. She spend hours looking at blogs, reading the latest drama on ILP, researching the new IPOD nano, then buying the IPOD nano which was probably not in the budget because she convinced herself that she needed it because listening to good music will help her be more creative (doesn't that sound like a business investment to you? I wonder if I can write it off?). Then she proceeds to spend way too much money and time downloading MP3s and ripping her CDs onto her computer to put on said IPOD when really she has lots of editing and WORK to do. (Hopefully when that thing gets here I won't feel so bad). Lastly, she doesn't kid herself- she knows there is no way she will be able to keep away from that book this week. Yes, as embarrassing as it is to admit, this is (or should I say these are?) the real me- and I can't seem to figure out how to get rid of bad me or at least minimize bad me's influence on my life. I want to be more organized with my time, my kids, my business, but bad me just seems to prevent me from moving forward. And I don't know what to do about it.

Tim has agreed to start having weekly planning meetings with me to help me organize my time and help me get moving on some of my marketing projects. Hopefully that will help- I am the type of person that needs to be held somewhat accountable to someone other than myself to keep me on task. Kind of sad that I can't seem to stay on task by myself, but that is just how I am. And I have been thinking for months that I want to do some sort of monthly creative project where I just shoot something fun, some idea I have, just for me. I think this would help a lot- I just need to stop thinking about it and DO it. Maybe I will tell good Mandy to write it on her to-do list.

Okay, I think I am done venting for now. I know this was a very negative post and I hope you don't think the worse of me- I just wanted to write how I felt. And I promise this was not an attempt to get you to feel sorry for me or to stroke my ego- I know I am very, very fortunate to have the life that I have! Sometimes I just lose sight of that- I am human! And if nothing else, perhaps this will be beneficial for posterity purposes- someday my great-grandchildren will read this and either think "Wow, great-grandma Carroll felt that way too?" or "I am so grateful to live in a time when there is a cure for PMS" or "Curse you, great grandma Carroll, for giving me the 'bad me' gene!". Hopefully it is not the latter.

By the way, I just finished eating a half a box of Milk Duds and a half a box of Hot Tamales(I would've eaten the whole box, had I not eaten the other half Friday night!) Gross, I know, but all that sugar has made me feel much better already. But it looks like I will be doing Yoga and running in the morning.

Thanks to anyone who read this whole thing. And now I will thump my chest, raise my fist and shout:

Here's to the banishment of the bad me in us all! Give me a 'Hurrah'!

Sweet Little Devil

Tonight we were just hanging out on the couch, enjoying our lazy Sunday evening when I noticed some really odd behavior from Ethan, or my 'sweet little devil' as I have been referring to him lately (sometimes without the word 'sweet' attached to the front, if I am really being honest). Ethan was running around and playing in the kitchen (one of his favorite pastimes- which once resulted in an incident with a steak knife which I will not go into frightful detail about other than to say this: our what-we-thought-were-well-hidden sharp knives have now be re hidden.) Anyways, I digress. So tonight I noticed a strange noise from the kitchen- it was very quiet and I couldn't put my finger on what it was (and I was too lazy stand up and take the five steps into my kitchen to find out- hey, our couch is very low to the ground!) When I called for Ethan, he came running around the corner and sat in the middle of our living room and began to suck on his toes. "Hmmm," I thought, "Isn't he way past the toe sucking phase?" Then he began to lick the bottom of his feet. Strange. Then he ran back into the kitchen(at which time the odd noise from the pantry returns) then came back into the living room and began sucking and licking his feet again. By this point I was really suspicious- what on earth was he doing? That is when I caught the smell- a strange, STRONG garlicky odor. THAT got me off the couch to go investigate the mystery afoot in the pantry. And there, to my horror, was a large bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch powder spilled ALL OVER OUR PANTRY FLOOR!!! I have to give props to Ethan, though- he LOVES ranch dressing and I am amazed at how quickly he thought of stepping in the powder and then licking his feet- smart kid!

So hopefully you can forgive me for calling my own child a devil. A sometimes very sweet devil- who occasionally tastes like ranch dressing.

Grown Up Qualifications

This morning while I was editing photos, Jace walked into the room eating a piece of toast. When I asked him if he made that toast all by himself, he very proudly stated: "YEP!! I can wipe my bum, tuck in my own cape and make toast all by myself! I must be a grown up!" I had to write it down I thought it was so funny. Congratulations Jace, you really are a BIG BOY!

Sorry to all my blog followers for my negligence- I have been super busy and frankly just needed a little brake from the blog. I am sure all you bloggers can understand how time consuming it is to keep your blog updated! But don't worry- I will get back on the saddle again soon (hmmmm, I don't think I got that saying right, but you know what I mean!)

Ansel turns 45

So Jace has been walking around today saying it is his birthday- and he is 45. Hmmm, I have no idea where that came from. Silly kid. Tim is out of town for a few days on a scout camp out leaving me home alone with the boys again tonight. So I promised that since daddy went camping (and since it is Jace's 45th birthday!) we are celebrating by doing our own camping trip. This means setting up Jace's little tent in the living room, roasting mallows over our stove and watching a movie. That is my idea of camping!

For those of you that follow my photog. blog, you may remember me mentioning the old Polaroid camera I found at a garage sale a few months back. Well, I finally got around to pulling it out yesterday. I wanted to put a photo of Jace with it on my new business blog(which, btw, you must check out- it ROCKS!). This camera is freakin' awesome!!! I haven't actually put film in it (it came with a few packs of film- though I am not sure if they will work since this thing is so old). But I can't wait to give it a try! I was reading the manual and it was so hilarious- it is so 1960's! There are photos of a lady in the manual showing how to use the camera and she has the classic bouffant hair, flipped up at the ends and a nice collared dress on(think Leave It To Beaver). One section was talking about composition and said to 'be sure your subject is centered' and 'be careful that you don't chop off someones head!' Heaven forbid! I guess they didn't know about the rule of thirds back then. Anyway, here are a few shots of my little Ansel Adams with the sweet Polaroid. He is a natural, I tell ya. He had a real knack for operating this camera, even when there was no film in it!

Hope you enjoy these! I will try to get caught up on my posting this weekend- I am way, way behind! Have a good one!

Vacation Part I.

Although we have been back from our Utah vacation for about a week, I am just now getting to posting these photos because: 1- I have been suffering from a serious bout of jetlag (that two our time difference just kills me!) and 2- the thought of sorting through the 526 photos that I took during our trip (and that is after deleting MANY from my card in an effort to minimize the dreaded sorting!) is extremely daunting. Not to mention that perfectionist me can't seem to put up photos on the blog without editing them at least a little bit.

Anyways, we had such a great trip! We left the Richmond, VA airport at 5ish on Wednesday, June 11th. Here is a shot taken of Mr. E at the airport drop-off area while we waited for Tim and Jace to drop off our car. Forgive the motion blur of Mr. Bear...

The flight from Richmond to Minneapolis went really well, but when we got to Minneapolis we found out our plane was delayed because of weather issues. And the kids were very tired at this point, which does not bode well for a good second flight. And that is how it went- our second flight was a NIGHTMARE!!! We were stuck on the runway waiting for the go to take off for about 45 minutes and Ethan was very, very unhappy. He was beyond tired and I knew that the only thing that would make him stop crying was to fall asleep, but I also knew that he would not fall asleep until the plane started to move. So he and I spent those 45 minutes crying (No, I am not kidding: I was actually crying- though not quite as loudly as Ethan). Here is what Jace thought of that plane ride- I couldn't agree more, buddy!

But somehow, we survived. And the next morning we packed up and headed to my family's cabin in Central Utah. I was totally expecting it to be green and beautifully spring-like up there, but it looked like winter still. But we didn't mind- we don't get much snow out here so it was kind of fun to see a few patches of snow (by the way, I am surprised Jace is still alive after all the dirty, gritty snow he ate!). Here is Tim, Jace, my dad, Angie(my sis) and Mason getting ready for some fun on the four wheelers. Take a note of Tim: eating pistachio's- a Whitehouse family favorite. It is absolutely disgusting how many pistachios we ate during this trip! You know those huge bags you can get at Sam's? We downed that whole thing in less than 3 days... Can you say gull stones?

Despite the lack of greenery in the trees, the view up top was gorgeous! One of the things I love most about Utah- the wide open, blue skies. This shot makes me want to sing: "The hills are alive... With the sound of music...(Ahhh..ahahahhhhhhhh!)"

A fam shot (minus Ethan). Nice job, Ang! Good thing you can't zoom in because I look really gross in this photo!

Jace and his cousin Mason (who the entire time called Jace "Batman", much to Jace's delight I am sure!)

Jace looking an awful lot like Audrey Hepburn in Angie's sunglasses. Beautiful, Jace, beautiful!

One of the 70 shots I took of Tim rippin' it up on the four wheeler...

Tim and AudreyJace.

Later we headed down to the resevoir to do some fly-fishing. Tim is a bit mad at me for posting this picture and not posting the shot of me in my equally attractive get-up. But I think he is crazy- I am totally thinking he should become a model for Cabella's! While brousing my Cabella's catalog recently, I read that they were looking for tall, strong men who like to flex thier muscles and look great in neoprene. A love of outdoors and wearing Gap shirts are a plus. Don't you think Tim fits that description well?

Gearing up...

Zach(my bro) and Tim trying the inlet.




The inlet did not prove to be a great spot for the fish, but Tim managed to catch this water snake with his BARE HANDS!!! Pretty amazing, huh?! Just another thing to add on the resume for Cabella's.

Though Tim and Zach didn't catch any fish, guess who did? ME!! Well, with the help of my dad and Jace. My dad did the cast on this one (I have a problem getting tangled up in all the fishing line) then I stripped it in and hooked the fish. Jace then rilled it in so I could take a picture. Isn't she a beauty? Don't you worry, no animals were harmed in the making of these photos: we set her free. Though I do wonder if the two other fish we caught next were just her coming back for more...

And that's all for now. Vacation Part II. will be coming up soon- to see a sneak peek of our trip down to beautiful Blanding, check out the business blog!

The best dance ever...

For any So You Think You Can Dance fans out there, if you missed last nights show, you have got to watch this dance! It is amazing- I have already watched it like five times today. Even Tim liked it, and he is not a big fan of watching dance. And if you have not seen So You Think You Can Dance, Wednesday nights on Fox, my friends- 2 hours of wasted time very well spent!

Enjoy!

Ball

I am sure that most fathers dream of their sons excelling in sports, but for Tim I think this dream goes to a whole new level. He often jokes about our kids playing in the NBA, but I know that he is only partly joking- deep down a part of him just longs to see his son/sons playing for the Utah Jazz, becoming the next Jeff Hornacek or John Stockton. I remember how excited he was when Jace's first word was basketball- much better than, say, dad. As with most of Jace's obsessions/phases, the basketball phase didn't last long- he is now much more into playing superhero's and drawing pictures of batman than sports. But fortunately, little Ethan loves balls and is quite the little athlete, so the dream is still alive! Seriously, Ethan has some major skills with the ball! You should see his chest pass- it is incredible! When aiming his little basketball at my head, he hits the target every. single. time. And he has a near perfect swing with his plastic baseball bat, so baseball can be his fallback sport. Yes indeed, we have high hopes of this little guy- if he can just get as tall as his dad or taller he will be a shoe-in for the NBA. We will be sure to give you all some box seats when he signs with the Jazz.

These were taken yesterday, when I found Ethan playing with the basketball in this bookshelf. I thought it was so cute! And if you look at that last shot, he is actually pointing at Tim who is watching basketball trick clips on YouTube and saying 'COOL' (referring to Ethan, not Tim, though Tim was probably thinking that exact word).

And, seeing all the attention Ethan was getting with his cool tricks, Jace was not one to be shown up by a 1 year old! Here he is showing off his improving wall climbing skills- check out that height! With hours of practicing this, every day, I am convinced that it is only a matter of time before he actually starts crawling on the ceiling. I will be sure to get a shot of it when it happens and post it here on the blog. I am quite nervous about our upcoming plane trip because Jace cannot seem to keep from climbing on things. I have been reminding him everyday that he CANNOT climb on the back of the chairs, or on the windows in the airplane this week or the police will GET HIM and put him in jail. Hopefully my scare tactics will work- and we will not have to bail him out of jail on our vacation.

By the way, it is currently 8:30 in the morning and it is already 90 degrees outside!!! We are in for another record hot, humid day! Sheesh, I can't wait to get to Utah on Wednesday. We picked a good week to leave Virginia!

The Heat Is On

Sorry about the long absence, everyone. As you can see from the exotic photos above, we were on vacation in Hawaii. It was soooo beautiful- just look at those crystal clear waters. The kids just loved Honolulu...

BWAHAHAHAH! I WISH!! I am totally kidding. No, my friends, these photos were taken at the only-slightly-less-exotic-than-Hawaii Lake Monticello Main Beach (just a few minutes from our home) on Memorial Day. The water is much browner than it appears in that last photo- definitely not a REAL beach and certainly no Hawaii. But the kids sure didn't care! How I wish I was as easy to please! We originally had plans to go down to Virginia Beach for the weekend, but I ended up shooting a wedding reception on Saturday night (which is a story in and of itself that I will not go into right now!). I think Tim was pretty frustrated with me because I booked all of my weekends up in May/June and he is dieing to go to the beach.

This spring has been amazingly moderate out here, even for Virginia. We have had months of perfect weather with very little humidity- just how I like it! But these last few days have reminded me just how miserable the summers can be out here. Last night I went outside to go for a run and I about suffocated from the humidity- it literally felt like a sauna! I have never sweat so much in my whole life. And this week I have been refinishing some furniture and Minwax and humidity are a bad combination! After spending a day and a half outside, my dressers still were not dry. So I had to put them back in our bedroom even though they are still sticky on the surface. I hope no flies get in our house and land on them because I am sure it would be the death of the poor insects.

The reason we were refinishing the dressers is because I am kind of on a decorating kick right now. These last few weeks we have redone our bedroom and my office. I will post some before and after pictures when I get completely done, but that may not be for a while because I am still having issues with the curtains in my office and we still haven't decided what artwork we want to put above our bed. One of the architects in Tim's building is retiring, and he had a few solid wood bookshelves he was trying to get rid of. They were nothing fancy, but not particle board so I thought I could paint one black to go in my office. So I brought it home and painted it yesterday. But after putting it in my office, the whole room now smells like my grandma's basement- old and musty... Lovely- Minwax fumes in the bedroom and musty fumes in the office. Anyone want to come over to my house for dinner? So I don't know what to do- I washed it off with a damp, soapy cloth before painting it (which is when I first noticed the smell), but I thought that painting over it would take care of it. I didn't paint the back or the bottom, maybe that would help? What about spraying tons of Lysol on it? Or maybe the only solution is to buy new and avoid things that have been sitting in a tight office space for 40 years.

We officially have LESS that a week until we leave for Utah! WAHOO!! We are so ready for a vacation- and I looked at the weather for Utah next week and it is going to be 77degrees and dry- hard to imagine! We especially can't wait to see our families- Jace has not seen his grandparents for a full year! He is so excited- he asks me every morning "Are we going to Utah today?" Sorry bud, hang in there a few more days!

I will try to post at least once more before we leave- last months post count was pathetic!
Until then!

Robot

Yesterday morning Jace came into my room looking like this and said "Look mom, I'm a robot!" I am not sure how having buckets and stacking cups on your head, hands and feet makes you a robot, but I thought it was hilarious anyway! This kid has quite the imagination!

Exhaustion...

Don't let this sweet face fool you... I am sure you think that a boy with such a sweet smile is a perfect little angel. But this boy exhausts me! This last month has been pretty rough for me and Jace. I don't know if it is the constant shrieking("MOOOOOOM!!!! Ethan took my TOOOOOY!"- followed by a thud and wail from Ethan) or the constant DEMAND for attention("Mommy, watch this..." "Mom, what did my cape look like?" "MOOOM, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT ME!"). And I am not exaggerating when I say constant- I can barely get a 30 second bathroom break in without Jace demanding ALL of my attention. But I am at a loss about what to do about it! On one hand, I feel that giving him 100% of my attention all the time is just ludicrous- he is not the only child in this family and I have things to do sometimes! He needs to learn that he cannot always have attention! But on the other hand, when I don't give him the attention he is demanding, I feel horribly guilty. And it seems kind of crazy to deny him attention just for the sake of teaching him a lesson. It makes me feel cruel. Can you feel my internal struggle? Well, if you can't, let me tell you it is rough! It has gotten to the point where some days the minute I hear Jace's voice in the morning I just want to crawl under my bed and hide- I am just not sure I have the energy for it! Sheesh- 4 year olds are tough! Someone please tell me it gets easier- even if that is a lie! Because if I heard it gets harder, I might just have a full out breakdown. And we are nearing the point when I want to start thinking about adding a third, but I am quite terrified! I just don't know if I am cut out for this motherhood business. And seeing my kids picking up on all my bad habits and imperfections is terrifying! Want proof? Just look at Jace biting on his nails in that last shot- a complete Mandy nervous habit that he has picked up from me. And there are many more, much worse habits.

Okay, now that I have made anyone without kids TERRIFIED to have children, I do have to add that being a mom really is the best thing in the world. It has just been one of those months. And I am sure it will pass... for a while... until another one of those months comes around. And I break down again.

It is a good thing kids are so resilient, huh!

I love these shots- taken at Pleasant Grove last month in front of an old, rusty gargage bin. Perfect boy backdrop, huh! I will post the ones I took of Ethan later.

Some tech info for the photo enthusiasts:
shot with D300, 85mm 1.8 lens, ISO200, 1/800ss, f2.5
In Photoshop, I did a slight levels adjustment (pulling my midtones up), ran a light color action(peta's), a slight S curve, some burning (I am LOVING my burn tool lately!) and a final softlight layer.