The Bat Cave

I didn't mean for this blog to be about much other than me and the family, but why not take advantage of a great place to keep track of the occasional thing we think is too cool. Like this home theater Bat Cave that had Trevor drooling and telling me we had to save these photos at all cost.

Find the company's site here.

Keeping Up

"Anything you can do I can do better,

anything you can do I can do too."

I have had mixed feelings about posting anything about the beloved leader of our church, Gordon B. Hinckley, but after seeing so many beautiful tributes to him I thought I should briefly mention and honor an incredible man who is leaving behind such a wonderful legacy. While I will miss him, I am really not sad because I know he is in a much better place and is reunited with his wife and Heavenly Father. I just hope I can bring a bit of his sweet spirit into my life and share it with my family and others.

Some thoughts for me

Putting these thoughts out into the universe makes them a little more concrete and makes me feel more responsible

Things I've learned in the last year or so:

-I really, really love my little family. Even when I want to ring their necks

-I need sleep to be able to function and to have a remotely decent memory

-How to make our marriage really click. I'm not sure how, but something about the seventh year was really good for us. Not that it was at all bad before. Whatever it is I'd like to keep it up though!

-I am at a point in my life that if I want to improve an area of my life, I really have to focus and put effort into it. I'm still learning how to do this.

-Quite frequently it is better just to keep your mouth shut

-Do not mess with my kids or their heads.

-I need to be more organized. I even bought my first planner.

-Boys are very different from girls. Men are very different from women. This is life.

-I need to put more emphasis on spirituality in my life and share that with my kids

-Karma is very real

Some things I'd like to work on for the next year or so:

-Manage my time better
Make a schedule and stick with it
Stop putting off the inevitable. A lifetime of procrastination is not a good thing.
Try and get the not-so-fun stuff done by 11am (laundry, cleaning, etc.) so that I am free to enjoy the rest of the day and use the night to get me stuff done. (This is new as of today . . .)

-Be a better Mom:
Drop everything when one of my kids asks me to read to them (within reason!)
Get down on their level and just be with them. Play more.
Try to help them open their minds and expand their horizons by introducing them to new things
Follow their lead

-Cook more often and try to involve the kids - we all enjoy this!

-Continue to focus on local, natural, and organic.

-Finally get SOBS up and running. Make it a success.

-Work on my photography skills. Maybe even find my style.

-Get more sleep so I don't look like the walking dead
Be in bed between 9 and 9:30 each night and use this time to read. Lights out by ten.

-Read more. I love it and can't believe I've let it slip.

-Increase my level of spirituality. Truly make it apart of my daily life.

-Do a Family Home Evening every Monday night

-Actually use my reusable bags. I even keep them in the car and still forget. It is ridiculous.

-Make puff pastry from scratch

-Get outside more

-Take up Yoga. Find my center. All that good stuff.

-What I put out into the world is what I will get back. Once again, Karma.

-Expand my horizons. Continue learning more about the world around me.

I might add to this as I realize other needs, we'll see how this goes . . .

The kids wanted to see the horses but it is freezing. Fortunately I remembered this photo.

Ryder

Skylar's cute cousin was blessed the same day.

Flying

Love this one.

Hallie

I couldn't resist snapping a couple shots of Skylar's cousin. Can you believe how incredible her coloring is?

Cash

Another friend's child from our recent trip. Cute little Cash is a thumb sucker, just like my Anna. Photographing another toddler was much easier than a wee one, I am definitely in a "photographing my kids rut!"

Gotta love where thumb suckers try to put their fingers!

Skylar

Our friends blessed their new baby, Skylar, and they let me take a few pictures to help commemorate the day. She is gorgeous, congratulations you two!

Despite much trying on the parent's part, I got the only smile! I get bragging rights because this was the exact opposite of every other moment spent with her, even though it required me holding my camera at the side of my head.

A new blog

Due to circumstances that have me toying with making our family blog private, I have decided to try out doing a second blog: one that is still us, but with less information. Since I can easily copy and paste posts and then remove some writing or more personal pictures, this would be an abbreviated version of our life, but would still keep those that don't want to deal with the password informed. Plus, it is fun to get back in touch with people through blogging, and I don't want to end that.

And yes, this blog seems to focus more on me, but I just want it to be less personal when it comes to the kids - it isn't a narcissistic-obnoxious thing (at least to me!).

Because I would like to become a better photographer (New Year's Resolution), I might occasionally beg friends to let me photograph their kids or try to shoot something non-kiddy. Blogging is the only way I have ever kept track of pictures, so this will allow me to look back and critique myself without distracting from the family blog. Photography is still just for me, but I've realized that I am in a "my kids rut", and I need to think outside my little box to get better in general and to do a better job documenting our life. A challenge can be a very good thing. These occasional pictures will be posted here, plus I'll post a few pics that are overkill on our family blog, so there will be some variety between our blogs!

This is just a temporary experiment, so let me know if you are actually checking both, or just one or the other by leaving (always enjoyed) comments. If it turns out to be more of a pain than just a few extra minutes, I'll give it up, but I might as well give it a try before I get serious about a private blog.

I threw up some pictures from the last couple of months because I couldn't have a blog with nothing on it!

Look Closely . . .

Some quick pictures for a neighbor

Isn't she gorgeous?

Typical boy, hating pictures, until . . .

The best buddy showed up and helped to lighten the mood!

Hiding from the Mommy Monster

The one place you don't want the kids is the dining room, and of course that is their favorite place to play. I walked in on the two of them hiding from me (the Mommy Monster) and eating crackers in their little fort. They are really starting to have so much fun together.

They know that if they stay in the middle we can't reach them, so they were teasing me by sneaking out while I pretended to attack.

His face as I scared him.

Coming back for more scares. . .

. . .And he got them! This time I scared him so bad that he actually grabbed his heart! Don't we all love that love/hate relationship we have with fear and living on the edge?

The Pre-Thanksgiving Hike

Crossing a beautiful suspension bridge to get to the trail.





There were so many stairs and wooden walkways, it was amazing.

It was incredible to realize how much time and effort must have gone into building them these stairways.

Taking a well-deserved break.

The variation throughout the hike amazed us. We felt like we were in the tropics at some parts.