Photo Blog Updated

My photography site has been updated with pictures from two of my latest sessions, so go check it out!

Here's a little preview:



Just click here to see more!!

As a side note, comments have been a little slow around this blog lately. Either everyone's busy or my blogging is super dull. Either way, I'm coming up on 500 posts pretty soon and there may or may not be a drawing for that based on comments. I'm just saying. :)

Our Dam Visit

(I promise, no more dam jokes. It will be hard, but I'll contain myself.)

On our first full day in Nevada, we decided to take the morning to go see the Hoover Dam. It was only 45 minutes away from where we were staying, so why not go see such an amazing landmark?

The kids weren’t exactly thrilled to be in the car again after our long drive the day before, but they survived.

Here you can see just part of the miles of backup we had to deal with as everyone was trying to cross the dam. The bridge being built in this picture is supposed to give an alternative route to the dam. That definitely would’ve helped cut down traffic.


The scenery was so beautiful!

And of course we took lots of touristy pictures.

It was a little busy which surprised me since it was a just a Thursday morning. I was disappointed that there wasn’t a big line drawn on the road dividing Arizona and Nevada as depicted in Fools Rush In, but my sister tells me that was just put there for the movie. I can imagine how much worse traffic would be if it were there all the time as people slowed down or tried to stop for pictures. Traffic across the dam was busy enough as is! There's this sign to mark the dividing line.


Jossy was fairly pleasant as we went across the dam, but when we walked back she suddenly sprouted horns and decided she didn’t want to do anything we wanted her to. Hence all the crying pictures. Crying or not, you’re getting your picture taken!!


So what do you do with such a difficult child? Leave them in one state while you hang out in another!



We stopped at an overlook on our way out. Matty likes to come up with his own strange poses. Jossy was just done.

What Happens in Vegas. . .

. . . gets published to my blog!

Because unlike some other people, I actually REMEMBER what I did in Vegas and have lots of fun pictures to share! :)

Let me start this series of posts by confessing that we NEVER travel. When Dan and I got married we went to the Grand Canyon in Arizona for 2 nights. We then moved into an apartment in Idaho. A few months later we got to go on an overnight trip to Portland, Oregon to see some close friends get married. Since that time, we haven't been outside of Utah or Idaho!! It's been nearly 8 YEARS since we went outside one of those states!!! To defend ourselves, the first several years of our marriage we were in college, living in government housing (or worse), and had a single income of $600/month. We just couldn't afford to go anywhere. Once we moved to Utah and Dan had a "real" job, I was 4 months pregnant and didn't feel like going anywhere. Same with having a little baby. The idea of traveling very far with kids scared the heck out of me. Even taking them to Idaho Falls to see Grandma and Grandpa always stresses me out. Last year we finally got brave enough and took the kids all the way (about an hour, ha ha) to Park City for our first ever family vacation. (No one said you can't have fun in your own state, right?!)

So when we started talking about what to do for Spring Break this year, the thought came up that we should go visit my old college roommate Lisa in Las Vegas. We've talked about visiting for years and felt like maybe we could do 6 hours driving now that the kids were used to 4 hours to Idaho Falls. (Note to self: 6 hours is not the same as 4. Period.) Besides wanting to visit Lisa and her family, we also really just wanted to go somewhere for once!!!

Matty was really excited to see "Lost Vegas." LOL We told him he would make a new friend there, Ian, who's his same age. The kids did awesome on the drive there (wish I could say the same about the drive back) and immediately made friends with Lisa's 4 kids. Matty and Ian became inseparable during our time there. Dan and I thoroughly enjoyed having time with Adam and Lisa after the kids were all in bed. We rarely get to hang out with other couples anymore, so it was great to enjoy a few game nights again!

To start off the many posts to come about our trip, here are just a few pictures of the kids playing at a neighborhood pond together one afternoon feeding the birds and ducks.

Only 24 hours together and already the best of friends!

It may take me a while to get around to writing all the posts I want to about our trip, but I will get there! There's just so much to share, I'd rather break it into smaller portion sizes so no one feels like they're gagging down a huge post of Las Vegas all at once. :)

You Know You're a Mom When . . .

. . . this is the only kind of bandage you can use because you have nothing else in the house.

90 Minutes of Craziness!!

I had originally planned to do Matty's friend birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese or somewhere like that, but decided I'd rather save the money and do it at home. I knew it would be a lot of work preparing but I don't think I realized how much work it would be during the actual party! I honestly don't even know how many kids we had. I think with babies and big kids and all, it was probably around 18 kids? I'm so thankful I had my sister Ardice and friend Bethany there to help!!!

We started with a little "Bunny Bunny Goose" as kids were showing up and "Pin the Egg in the Basket."

Next we did the pinata. I made sure everyone got at least one good hit at it, and that's exactly how many turns it took to break it. (It would have been much easier watching that thing break if I hadn't made it myself!) The kids loved it and had a great time watching even when it wasn't their turn. It was probably the quietest time of the whole party.
We took a break from our games to eat the cupcakes Matty helped me make and some ice cream. The kids got to have a "picnic" on the kitchen floor with a sheet under them for easy cleanup. (Thanks for the inspiration, Kristine!)

Then on to presents. Matty has only had one other friend party before, and that was when he was 2. Back then I asked that no one bring anything because he didn't know the difference and didn't need more toys anyway. But you just can't do that to a 5-year-old. He was in heaven with all the attention and gifts. He's played with everything nonstop.

Jossy was not so happy with the lack of attention she was getting. This is how she was as I was trying to take pictures of him opening his gifts.


We ended our party with some balloon games. Here's a still picture with the use of the flash . . .


. . . And here's one leaving the shutter open just a tiny bit longer, just to show how crazy it was!


When all was said and done and the last guests left, I had a HUGE mess on my hands, an absolutely SPLITTING headache that took 2 naps that day and a ton of Tylenol to get control of, . . . .and I had one happy little boy in the middle of it all.


I'd say the day was a success. :)

Stuffing the Egg

Matty really wanted a pinata for his birthday party. I just didn't want to pay the money for one when it lasts 2 minutes and then have to buy candy on top of that, so I made one instead. Thankfully he was fully happy with an egg-shaped one since his party had an Easter theme, so that's what he got. :)

The kids had fun helping me stuff it the morning of his party (with candy I had just bought for half off at Walmart. Love a good deal!)

He was so happy with his egg. I was just happy the thing actually dried in time!

Matty Turns 5!!

We had a birthday party for Matty with some extended family on Sunday. Less than a week ago, Matty found a picture of the cake I made him for his 2nd birthday and decided he wanted THAT one. So I replicated it, and he was thrilled!


We had a quick little Easter Egg hunt for the kids and their cousin in the backyard. (It's so nice to finally have a backyard for stuff like this!)


Jossy really wanted to help Matty blow out his candles.


He was then spoiled with games, Hot Wheel cars, and a movie which are probably his most favorite things.


We then made him close his eyes while we brought out his gift from us. (He has a sucker in his mouth.)


He's wanted a real bike for a long time and we felt he really needed one if we ever want him to learn how to ride without training wheels before going on a mission. ;)

Now if the the weather would just cooperate, maybe he'd get a chance to actually ride it OUTSIDE!!! (It snowed the day we gave it to him and every day since.)

Conference Activities

Listening to conference is always something of a challenge. We expect our kids to stay in the living room with us for all four sessions and be quiet. For the most part, they did really well up until the last half hour of the last session. They stayed quiet and busy with puzzles, looking at books, coloring, taking notes, asking questions, and playing card games. Matty has been expected to sit and be quiet for conference since he was a toddler, so there's no complaints and he actually looks forward to it almost as much as we do.


For the Sunday sessions, we like to play our conference M&M game. The kids do pretty well for the first two sessions on Saturday, but by the time we get to Sunday they get a little bored with it. So we make a list of words we want Matty to listen for and assign a color of M&M to each word. When Matty hears one of the words, we all get that color of M&M. The more he pays attention, the more candy we all get. We all have fun and it teaches Matty some important themes in the gospel.

In between sessions, Matty helped me bake cupcakes for his friend birthday party the next day. Love my little helper.

Easter Morning

It was a busy day with Conference, Easter, and Matty's birthday all on the same day. We started the morning bright and early (unfortunately) hunting for Easter baskets. The kids were very happy with their new toys and books. The Easter Bunny fills more of our eggs with Cheerios and crackers than with candy, thank goodness. That way the kids get something of a breakfast to go with the chocolate. :)


While waiting for Conference to start we lounged around and played.

Jossy is a little monkey and loves to hang upside down, a true acrobat in the making.

Dying Eggs

We dyed eggs on Saturday in between Conference sessions. The kids loved it, especially Jossy. When her egg was in the dye she would just keep saying, "Wow!" in a hushed voice. So cute!

I think it's a proven fact that sticking out your tongue while thinking helps you concentrate better.

Sorry for all the individual pictures. I would post them in a collage, but my computer isn't working right so I work with what I have. I'm just happy to be getting any posting done with how far behind I am. :)