Some Ethan Love

WOW- two posts in one day! "It's a mother's Day miracle!"(have you seen that cell phone commercial? pretty funny! if not, I am sure that made no sense) Ethan needed some love here on the blog and I have had these photos edited for quite a while now (they were taken during General Conference earlier this month). Sweet little Ethan- he is at such a fun stage right now. He just waddles around, smiles and babbles all day (and eats- my GOODNESS this boy loves to eat!) And doesn't that first shot make you laugh out loud? Those HUGE eyes are so very Ethan- now I understand why that guy in the grocery store made the 'eyes popping out of his head' comment. But in a good way, of course. This is such a typical Ethan expression- I love it! Though I have to admit, there is something about his big eyes and expression in that shot that reminds me a tiny bit of the Chucky doll. But I googled 'Chucky doll' and after seeing a few pictures that totally FREAKED me out(big mistake- what was I thinking googling 'Chucky doll'?), I have concluded that no, he looks nothing like Chucky. Phew... So sorry, Ethan.

Don't you love the pose he struck in #3? He is a little poser- it must be something in the genes. And the last shot is totally out of focus, but just look at those toofers! I love his teeth- or Chiclets as I like to call them. He looks like an adorable little Roger Rabbit. (Did I actually compare Ethan to Chucky, Chiclets's and Roger Rabbit in one blog post? Sheesh... some mother I am!) Seriously though, this kid is a cutie pie.

Enjoy!

Li'l GQ

Jace is overdue for a haircut, but I thought before I cut it I would take advantage of his luscious locks in some photos. I love Jace's hair this long- he looks so handsome! But it seems that every time we get out of the car or when he gets up from a nap, he has this wild sprout of hair in the back right side that nothing but a full out drenching in the bath will take care of. So before I cut it, I wanted to get some shots of him with wet, long hair because I think it looks so very GQ-ish. Poor Jace- he is such a good sport with my picture taking and primping. I am sure that it won't be too long before he really puts his foot down and getting good shots of him will be virtually impossible.

So here is my little model- don't you just love those brown eyes? He definitely got Tim's gorgeous eyes.

And for those photogs or photo enthusiasts, here is some tech info:
35mm 2.0 lens at f2.5, ss 1/80(gosh, I love this lens for that reason!), ISO 200, window to subjects left. Ran a few photoshop actions, curves layer, burning on the right side.

I know Ethan has been a little left out lately- I will post some shots of him soon.

Out Of Hand

For the last several months, Jace has developed a pretty serious obsession with all things Superhero, and although I think it is pretty hilarious, I will admit that it does worry me a bit and wear me out a lot. It all began after he read a few books about Spiderman. Then suddenly his Spiderman shirt that he got as a hand-me-down became his prized possession. He would insist on wearing that shirt every day, but, the mean mom that I am, I refused to let him. On those days when it was either in the dirty hamper or freshly laundered and hung up in the closet, he would constantly take inventory and 'check' on his shirt. I would find him just staring into his closet, where he had pushed all the shirts hanging up in front of it to the far right so he could see his beloved shirt. I am sure he was just dreaming of wearing it again.

A few weeks later he discovered the Batman (also from a library book... Hmmmmm...) And to make up for my cruelty over the spiderman shirt, I decided to make him a little homemade Batman costume using some old black material that I had laying around. Oh boy... as if he wasn't obsessed enough already! Well now this is what he runs around in all day- everyday. The other day I found him out on our back porch just like you see him below- yelling at the top of his lungs: "I.....AM.....BATMAN!!!!! " I thought it was hilarious, but I am sure some of our neighbors did not! I love watching his imagination at work- it is so fun! But after having a conversation about Batman and Spiderman not being real (which he was in tears over, because he wanted to be a REAL superhero), I am wondering if it is possible for a kids imagination to get out of hand? Am I crazy to wonder that? I am all for encouraging kids to develop their imaginations, but have just been thinking about this lately. I am probably just a worried because his tendency to obsess over things so much reminds me of myself and my own tendency to obsess (which can be both good and bad, I think). Anyways, here is my little Caped Crusader in action. He definitely makes a cute Batman!
"I....AM.....BATMAN!!!!"

"Is that the Joker I hear?"

His wall climbing skills

I think this picture illustrates the extent of the obsession: This is an empty can of hot cocoa that had a spot of chocolate stuck to the bottom. Jace dropped something in it and it made these funny eye markings. Now Jace is convinced that that is Spiderman's face and he refuses to let me throw this thing away. I have tried to put it by the garbage a few times, but Jace rescues it every time. Silly kid...

By the way, I got lots of comments from people about our date night post, so here is an update. Last night was my turn and we did Karaoke in our office. It was a BLAST!!! We even took some video footage of our solos and a duet we did together- it has got to be the funniest thing I have ever seen. I was thinking about posting it up here to give everyone a good laugh, but I am not sure I am ready to put myself that far out there. You all would never look at us the same... it really reveals what total GOOFBALLS we are! Maybe I will get up the nerve after I come to terms with my singing voice and the fact that I will never be an American Idol contender... So sad...

Take care everyone!

Letter to my boys...

My dearest Jace and Ethan,

Looking at this photo, I can't help but feel so grateful for you two little boys! This is what my life is really all about- being a mom. Being your mom. I am so blessed to have you both in my life and to be able to spend each day with you. I get so easily distracted by life sometimes that I forget how precious and fleeting this time is that I have with you. And my biggest fear is that I will blink and realize that I did not cherish it enough or that I spent more time complaining about the frustrations than enjoying all the great things about watching you just be kids. I know that someday, Jace, you are going to stop asking me to help you build and knock over your big circle of dominoes or 'check out' your latest cool trick again. And you, Ethan, will stop doing your cute little toddler dance or bringing your shoes to me asking me, in grunts, finger points, and eyebrow furrows, to put them on your feet. It is all those little pieces of your unique personalities mixed into everyday life that make being a mom so special. And so, instead of complaining about messes or yelling at your sassiness or growling in frustration over some of the very frustrating things you do sometimes, I am determined to try a little harder to just enjoy being a mom. To play with you while you still want to play with me. And to spend less time worrying about myself and my 'to do' list and more time just enjoying being with you. I love you both so much! You are my everything!

Mom

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

No, I am not talking about Christmas, you sillies. I am talking about spring in Virginia! It seems that there is so much fuss about fall being so beautiful out here (and it is beautiful), but in my opinion Spring is even more beautiful. Somehow over the course of the winter I forget that Virginia really is an incredibly beautiful place to live. I think it may have something to do with the millions of dead trees you see everywhere and grounds covered in dead, crunchy, yucky-dull-brown-colored decomposing leaves. But all the yuck makes spring seem even more amazing. Blossoms of purple, pink, red, yellow, and white are everywhere right now. And the air is crisp and the skies are so blue. And the birds are chirping (I love opening my windows in the morning when I clean up my kitchen- it makes me feel like Cinderella.) Ahh... I love it.

Well there is this one tree in particular that I love out here. I heard recently from a client of mine (who happened to have one of these trees in her yard) that they are called red bud trees. In the spring their buds turn this beautiful magentaish, plumb-colored purple. It is the most beautiful color- I wish I could make a shirt out of that color. Anyways, I really wanted to take a picture of one of these trees, but they ended up being a bit harder to come by than I anticipated. I was worried that their color would change soon, so I knew I didn't have much time. So one Thursday evening on our way to mutual I brought my camera along to get some shots. There are a bunch of these trees down by Monticello off of rt53. Of course it had to be raining that day, but did that stop me? NEVER! So I got a plastic baggie to protect my camera, and bundled up in my winter coat. Well the only tree that seemed to be accessible was right off of the road and it was right during rush hour, so after a few minutes of standing out there in the rain and having very little light and feeling like a complete MORON snuggled up against a tree in the rain with a big lens sticking out of a plastic bag, I called it quits. But I did manage this shot that I liked. The color is much more beautiful in real life, though.

I was a little bummed that I didn't get many shots, so I decided that the next day I would hunt down one of these trees on our way to the library and I would take a branch home with me for a little photoshoot. It took me FOREVER to find one of these trees that was not on someones personal property, but I finally did. And the garbage man drove by right as I broke the little branch off and I felt so stupid and nervous and guilty, like I had done something really bad. I had to keep telling myself on the way home "it is just a tree branch... BREATH". But me and my tree branch had a great photo session together. I finally got to use some of the fabric squares I bought months ago as a backdrop for florals. Aren't they pretty?

Ooops, I forgot to mention this other blossom. Borrowed from the tree by the Fluvanna Library. Who am I kidding- STOLEN. Sheesh, no wonder I was feeling guilty! It is a wonder that I can sleep at night! Perhaps I need to go talk to my bishop...

More of the stolen blossom. It doesn't look quite so beautiful now that I think of the level I stooped to in order to obtain it. That drop represents a tear- a tear from this poor blossom, longing for it's mother tree, thinking of the great leaf it would never become. I am a monster...

These are the tears of grief from all his brother and sister blossoms, back on the tree at the library. So sad...

But doesn't the texture look nice?

And here are a few shots taken of my beloved Pleasant Grove truck. Before I found and stole the blossoms.

Have you ever seen a more beautiful, rusted hinge? I think not!

I have often wondered why Tim's old Tercel does not have a passenger side-view mirror, but I think at long last I have discovered where it went! Haha, just kidding honey!

Hope you enjoyed these! I have lots of pictures of the boys that I will post soon, but I will likely get to it next week. I am swamped this week, which might explain the goofy ramblings above...

Take care everyone!

Date Night

For Tim and I, date night has been pretty hit and miss with us since having kids, especially since we have lived in Virginia. There always seems to be a million excuses preventing us from actually planning a date and most of the time we are just tired and want to veg on friday nights. But recently we were reminiscing about the good old days back in Logan, UT when we were poor college students but we still managed to plan dates. These dates, which usually involed little money but lots of creativity, were so much fun! From candle-light picnics in the living room to sledding down old main hill on $2.00 sleds (which were really just long sheets of thick, rolled-up plastic with holes cut out of the top for handles), we had some of the funnest dates! And I have to give Tim props for the most creative date nights- he is amazingly creative, my husband! I consider myself very fotunate! I will admit that I was not too thrilled about his idea to sled down old main hill ("But I don't have snow gloves" "It's too cold" "Our sleds suck" "We are too old to go sledding"), but it was one of the funnest things I have ever done. I will never forget that date.

Anyways, enough reminiscing. So Tim and I decided that we need to start having a weekly date night. And since getting a babysitter and going out every friday is not in the budget, we knew we were going to have to get creative. Tim took it upon himself to plan our first date. All day friday I kept asking him "So what are we going to do? Did you rent a movie?" But he refused to tell me. I noticed when he got home from work that he had a little plastic CVS bag, which had me completely baffled. "What in the world is he planning that would involve something from CVS?", I thought. I had my doubts about this one, as I usually do. So we got the kids to bed and Tim brought over his little bag and pulled out a package of paint brushes and kids paints. Then he grabbed a roll of old drawings from work and announced that we would be painting portraits of each other. Just imagine me with a very smug look on my face that said "Are you kidding me?" I am sure a "Hmph" or two came out of my mouth. I am by no means a painter. I have never painted anything in my life unless it involved scrapbook paper or old wood frames. But he insisted. Well first off, I knew that if I was going to paint a portrait it was not goint to be with Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Purple kids paints. How do you make a proper skin tone out of those colors? So I pulled out my extensive supply of Craft paint (which apparently Tim had no idea existed) and we donated the kids paints to the Art for Jace Association. Then we turned on some good music, grabbed all of our supplies, sat accross from each other at the kitchen table and started sketching.

Well, once again, Tim proved me wrong with his amazing creativity! I have to say that this was probably the funnest thing I have ever done! I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life! Watching what we were each coming up with was such a blast! I am sorry I doubted you, honey. And now I have no idea what to plan when it is my turn next week. My brilliant idea to rent Spiderman 3 just isn't going to cut it anymore. So I have my thinking caps on (And if anyone wants to send me secret ideas, you can email them to me. I am open for suggestions!)

So here are our masterpieces, signed by the artists. We think they are both pretty darn good, so we thought we would put them up on the blog for you all to vote on. Which is your favorite? We would love to hear what you think about our art! I hope they give as good a laugh as they did us!

Here is Tim's painting of me. Hhe had a little trouble with skin tone, so don't you worry- I have not recently had a bad accident with the self tanning lotion. But have you ever seen more beautiful hair highlights?:



And my painting of Tim. Clearly I had a little trouble with head proportion, but I thought the added chest hair(which Tim was a bit upset about- he goes to great lengths to hide his chest hair) was a great touch:

And does anyone else see the resemblance between Tim and Yao Ming? Tim thought my picture looked like Yao, so I googled some pictures of him and boy was he right! I will never look at Tim the same again...

Hope you enjoyed those! Please be sure to VOTE!

Free polls from Pollhost.com

Which is your favorite?

"Mandy" by artist Tim Carroll "Tim" a.k.a. "Szzzzz" by artist Mandy Carroll

Our Nations Capital

Easter weekend, our family headed up to DC to see some sites. This was our third trip to DC since we have lived here and we STILL have a million things left to see. There are so many great attractions there, and with two young kids we MUST stop at the Air and Space Museum and the Museum of Natural History EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. We don't mind, though. I am just as much a sucker for gems and dinosaur bones and Tim for planes and rockets as Jace.


First stop, The Museum of Natural History. I was shocked that Jace actually held this giant grasshopper- he is usually afraid of this kind of thing. Though he does have ambitions to be a 'bug guy' (among many other things) when he grows up, so maybe he is just preparing himself for a future occupation. I hear it is a tuff industry...

This is the Hope Diamond- the largest blue diamond in existence. It was very big and very beautiful. It is crazy that in person I thought it looked blue, on this picture it looks green, but they say when it is not so strongly lit, it is actually ruby red. It is on my wish list for next Christmas. I wonder if it would change colors to match my outfit? Although, being worth nearly 1/4 of a billion dollars, it might be a few Christmases before I find this bad boy in my stocking.

We stopped for lunch on the lawn. We actually went to see if we could climb the monument, but apparently it is virtually impossible to get tickets. So we had to settle for some pictures at a distance. I love this first one- that kite totally makes the shot!

The boys, posing for mommy. I think they are both chewing on rocks, actually, a suitable past-time for all ages amongst boys. Come to think of it, Tim may have been chewing on rocks as well...

After lunch, we headed to the Art Museum. I absolutely love this Rembrandt painting...

And Tim enjoying a bit of Monet...

Here is what Jace thought of the Art Museum...

Outside the museum. The trees were just starting to bud- I am a bit bummed that we missed the cherry blossoms by one week YET AGAIN, but it was still beautiful. Maybe next year we will be on time...

Tim and Jace waiting in line to go through the first commercial airplane.

Who needs amusement parks?

And last, but not least, another one of Jace's dreams: being an astronaut. We are a little more enthusiastic about this potential occupation than the 'bug guy'. No offense, Mr. Orkin. If only astronaut suits had impressive wing spans like Buzz Lightyear, I have no doubt that Jace would forever be determined to become one!And that concludes our exciting trip to our nation's capital. I was hoping to round it out with pictures of our stop at Sonic in Fredricksburg on the way home(which i was really looking forward to), but unfortunately the kids had just fallen asleep and we didn't want to stop and wake them. Now THAT was a tough decision- you have no idea how much I was craving a Lemon-berry slush and those jalapeno things... Mmmmmmm...

I Love This Kid...

If you missed American Idol last night, you have got to check out this performance! If you saw it, watch it again! I liked it last night, but watching it again today I almost cried! I love his voice and all the emotion he sings with- gives me goosebumps! I am excited to see what great things this young Utahn does!

GO DAVID A!!