Copper Moments Photography

weekend away with the family

2012-01-04T21:34:00.000-08:00

This last fall my husband and I decided we had to stop talking about how we were going to teach our girls to ski someday and actually plan a trip to the mountains and take them skiing. They weren't getting any younger, and as I mentioned in the previous post, time is going by so fast and they are only getting older. ( I suppose so are we.)

I pulled out the laptop and went to the same website we always go to when planning a vacation, VRBO. It proved successful again and we found a perfect little cabin in Greenwater that would work great for a weekend skiing at Crystal Mountain.

I probably should mention that it has been 7 years since Robb and I have been skiing and although we knew this to be true we didn't really evaluate what this would mean when we got onto the mountain. We headed out early on Friday morning straight to the mountain. Once there we got the girls registered and signed in to lessons and being the optimistic pair that we are, we headed straight for the summit. This was sure to be an adventure and I have to admit there was nothing that would have prepared me for the complete meltdown I would soon have.

Luckily for me and all the others on the lift, I remembered how to get on and off of the chair lift. This is where my memory on what I was doing pretty much came to a screaming halt. It was as if I was dropped off at the top of the mountain having never been skiing before. I was at a complete loss. I couldn't remember a thing and I started to freak out. I didn't know where to go but I had to make a decision, right or left, knowing that one way would take me safely to a blue run and the other way would take me to a not very happy double black diamond future. It was at this realization that I completely fell apart into a mess of blithering crying right there on the slope. It was right at this moment my cell phone rang. (I should also probably mention that by this time Robb had already headed down the mountain ahead of me and I was laying in the snow afraid to move any further for fear of what was ahead because I couldn't remember for the life of me what I was doing.)

So I was laying in the snow, a complete mess, and my phone began ringing. I pull myself together to answer it and who should it be but my dad who proceeds to ask me "what you up to?" At that I completely lost it again and he quite calmly demanded that I pull myself together. He reminded me that I am a great skier and I just need to point them down the hill in a pie and it will all come back to me. I don't know why but, after I calmed down, I believed him and stood back up and slowly began to head down the mountain. It wasn't but a couple hundred yards and I was already starting to remember what I was doing and feeling better. By the time we made it down the mountain Robb and I both agreed we were complete fools to try to go all the way to the Summit on the first run and needed to stick to the basics for a little while (at least the first day) until we felt comfortable on our skis again.

After we came to our senses and went back to the basics, the rest of the day went great. We picked the girls up from their lesson at the end of the day and all headed back to the condo. They had a fabulous day and were both moved up to the next level for the next day. All together it was a success and although we were all exhausted, we were already looking forward to the next day.

After three days on the mountain we all wanted to stay there and keep skiing. The girls moved up two more levels and Robb and I were finally comfortable again on our skis and thinking about the next time we would be able to get back up to the mountain. One thing for sure . . . . we will be coming up again soon.

they grow so fast

2012-01-04T21:03:00.000-08:00

I have heard the saying since I was young that time flies by too fast. I never really understood it as well as I do now as a mother. Every time I look at my girls I realize just how fast time is flying. Not only as they grow taller and enter into higher grades in school, but also as their personalities become more developed and fine tuned and I really get to see the people they are becoming.

Ever since I myself was in grade school I have detested school photos. Now as a mother and a photographer, I love that I get the opportunity to give my girls "school photos" that really represent who they are at this point in their lives.

This year we were blessed to be able to do our little photo shoot at a lovely event venue in Sequim, Washington. Fern Hollow is a beautiful 2.5 acre estate that can accommodate up to 200 people for weddings, family reunions, corporate retreats and much more. It is a truly magnificent venue. You must check it out.

So here are a few of my favorites from our photo shoot. I love that a different portion of their personality is represented in each of these photos.

fall family photos : ryan and amanda

2011-11-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

Fall . . . when kids are heading back to school, football is in full swing, leaves are changing color, the air is starting to crisp, and the holidays are just around the corner. It is also the perfect time of year for family photos. I started the season with a wonderful couple, Ryan and Amanda, and their three beautiful children. We met at one of my very favorite event venues. Fern Hollow is a beautiful 2.5 acre fully landscaped estate at the base of the Olympic Mountains and just steps away from the Dungeness River. It was the perfect place for me to capture them all enjoying the gorgeous weather and each other. Thank you Ryan and Amanda for having me capture your family in this beautiful setting. It was a truly beautiful afternoon.

stepping out on their own

2011-10-23T17:28:00.001-07:00

College is such an exciting time for all those involved. Exciting for the parent as they watch their child embarq upon the adventure and exciting for the student who is stepping out on their own and making adult decisions like what classes to take or what snack foods to keep in the dorm room for those late night study sessions. Parents worry about the decisions they will make, the people they will meet, the grades they will get and so much more.

Recently I was lucky enough to get together with Megan, Mary Beth and Ashley the day before they all headed back to college for their sophmore year. These three would make any mother proud and reassured. They work together to be an amazing support system for each other, encouraging each other to buckle down when necessary, to enjoy life always and to be kind and love others in all that they do. We had an amazing time exploring Pike Place Market and downtown Seattle. Thank you girls for letting me share a little time with the three of you and capture a little bit of your relationship. Best of luck this year and in your future.

1st day

2011-09-21T07:55:00.001-07:00

I have come to the point in my parenting life when my oldest doesn't want me to take her photo on the first day of school. As we arrived at school she all of a sudden became super embarrassed and wanting nothing to do with having her photo taken. I of course was taking them anyway and take them I did.

At first it was a struggle, but eventually I was able to snap a photo of both of them without any visual signs that they didn't want me there.

I have two beautiful girls that I am so proud of and I can't wait to see what the year is going to bring. It is so amazing watching them become the independant beings they are. What a joy to be a parent.

a trip to the general store

2011-09-19T22:02:00.001-07:00

There is nothing quite like a photo shoot of a 1 year old and Bekah was a fabulous example of why. I met up with her and her mother for an afternoon photo shoot in the quaint little town of Port Gamble. We had a wonderful time. From our trip to the general store . . .

to watering the flowers . . .

Bekah was a joy to photograph.

three blind mice?

2011-08-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

We grow up with nursery rhymes. We all know them but don't remember how we learned them. I remember reciting 'three blind mice' as a child and even reading it as an adult to my girls. I always felt sorry for the mice. The mean old farmer's wife who cut off their tails; She deserved to be ran after, didn't she? Well, I began to rethink this logic last night as the girls were shrieking on their top bunk and my husband was hunkered down on the floor by the bottom bunk trying to find one of the sneaky little devils that had been brought into the house by one of our feline members.

At first he wasn't sure he believed there was one in there. He was sure the girls were over-reacting. But then he saw it and he was instantly on a mission, as if letting the mouse win would somehow define him as a father. We couldn't have that now could we? Of course looking back at him hunkered down throwing blankets everywhere and lifting mattresses, I am not sure what exactly he thought he was going to do if he saw it. I think he may have had visions of snatching it with his bare hands. . . right! That would have happened. I wonder if he envisioned it biting him after that?

Turned out that thing was faster than lightening. It didn't take long for my husband's quick wit to set in though. As he was tossing blankets he yelled out to me . . . OK, so I was hiding in the other room. . . "Grab the vacuum." Yes, we resorted to the vacuum. Helpful in multiple ways - suction is faster than those darn things can run, it has a long bar so we didn't have to actually touch the thing, and the most important reason of all that it was the perfect weapon is that it wouldn't kill the mouse. Our girls would have no killing.

With vacuum in hand we were poised by the door waiting for it to try to escape, and try it did. In one swift motion the vacuum bar came out and mouse was sucked into the vacuum.

Daddy - 1, Mouse - 0.

on our way to being 'old macdonald'

2011-08-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

If someone had told me years ago that I would have a farm, I would have told them they were crazy. I wanted to be a city girl; live in a high rise, have a job as an attorney in some tall building, dinner parties and late nights out with friends . . . . not exactly how it turned out and I am so glad. Loving my life on the farm for sure.

I love being able to get out into my garden and see the results. I headed out there the other day with my iPhone to play around with my instagram ap. Loving the depth of the results. So much fun. I will definitely be playing around some more with this.

Now our farming doesn't stop at the garden, oh no. Last year we decided it was time to add chickens to our family and add chickens we did. We now have 8 lovely hens and 1 rooster we could quite possibly live without.

And our family of hens wouldn't be complete without Lemon Drop, and all of her feisty glory.

Not only is having a little farm fun because of all that our girls are learning and the stress relief we get by working in our garden, but it allows us to share the overabundance with family, friends and even those we do not know. What an amazing thing we are able to teach our children!

signs of life

2011-07-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have been holding back. Not wanting to come right out on my blog and say it. The more I think about it, the more I wonder why. Everyone knows it. So here goes. This summer, the good 'ol Pacific Northwest has left a little to be desired in the weather department. I will jump on the "gorgeous place to live" bandwagon, but it has been a difficult one to ride this spring/summer. Last night I exclaimed to my husband in response to him telling me it was our friends' anniversary, "No, that is in July." Ooops. I guess I hadn't looked at my calendar lately.

Once I came to accept the fact that we have probably seen our summer, I decided it was time to focus on what the highlights have been. By far, the brightest highlight of this season has been our two baby hummingbirds we have been blessed to watch grow from little itty bitty babies to full fledging flying birdies. It is amazing. I am not sure what more glorious sign of spring life there could be than watching two baby birds take flight for the first time. I was like a proud mama giggling with glee as the they took off and flew towards our porch. These photos don't really do them justice. The next is about the size of a silver dollar and about 3/4 of an inch high. So tiny. Opportunities like this remind me of why we live where we live. Love it!

Janet Evanovich

2011-06-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

I decided to take a break from non-fiction books. Actually I decided to take a break from any novel that I had to put too much thought in to read. I needed something light and airy that would make me laugh. I was able to find that in Janet Evanovich. Her novels are a little quirky, but definitely funny. Are they for everyone? Definitely not.

At this point I have read all of her Stephanie Plum series, all of her Full series as well as select others she has written. One of the difficulties with her novels I find is that if you haven't read previous ones in a series, it would be difficult to fall into later books as they all tie together. Even some of her separate series connect in some way or another. That said, they were the perfect solution for what I was looking for.

I am currently finishing up the last of her novels written with Charlotte Hughes in the Full series and am then moving back to some more advanced pieces of literary work. I may actually read Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time. Stay tuned to hear what I thought.

Gayle Blais Designs

2011-06-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

My sister has an amazing artistic eye for design. Actually, she just has an artist everything. Most recently, however, we have been blessed to see her artistic abilities extend into designing childrens dresses. She has made dresses for my two girls over the years, taking paterns and adjusting them to the girls as well as to her liking. After doing this for a little while, she started to get a ton of ideas of her own and patterns just weren't cutting it. She began to draw up some of her own designs. Now, all of her designs are 100% hers and they are nothing short of AMAZING. One of her first models, other than her own lovely daughter, was my oldest. The dress she decided to make for Olyvia was perfect for her.

A Fabulous Day. A Fabulous Family.

2011-05-10T23:04:00.000-07:00

Not long ago I had the great pleasure of spending some time with a beautiful family. We wandered around downtown Poulsbo admiring the creatures along the shore as well as the magnificent boats docked in the harbor. A true pleasure to see a family so full of life and love.

2011-05-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

Fun! That is what I had spending time with Elya to take her senior photos. I first met Elya in 2006. I was going to be leading a group of high school students on a mission trip to Puerto Rico and she was a team member. My first impressions were of her quiet nature and respect for herself and others. The more I have gotten to know her I have seen her outstanding moral character, courageous attitude, fun loving spirit and impeccable kindness. My girls have grown to love her and I know when she goes off to college this next fall, she will be missed by my entire family. Elya, I know you will do magnificent. Thank you for letting me capture a little bit of you in these photos.

dicey's song by cynthia voigt

2011-04-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

After reading this much talked about and honored book, I must say I wasn't as impressed as I expected to be. I admit that I read it without having first read Homecoming not realizing that this novel picks up where that one ended. As I began the book there were a lot of questions I had that weren't answered until I did a little research into the content of Homecoming.

That said, the book was a pleasant read. Not overly complicated which was refreshing. Although character development was light, I have a feeling some of that was done in the previous book. The story picks up with 6th grader Dicey and her 3 younger siblings as they are taken in by their grandmother after having been abandoned by their mother in the previous book. Dicey spends the majority of the summer caring for her siblings and upon connecting with their grandmother now has a new role to learn.

** A heartwarming & uplifting summer afternoon read.

spring is here - new school style

2011-04-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

Yay! We may not be able to tell by the weather we are having, but spring is officially here. This last weekend my husband and I ignored the blustery rainy weather and got out in the yard to get some stuff done. And get stuff done we did. All the pots are planted, vegetable seeds are started, the fence for the old garden space is removed and ready for recycling and the concrete pavers are moved and have reestablished themselves as a nice little patio in front of the chicken coop. Other than the small little mishap with the tractor tire, we did rather well this weekend, and I am excited to get the garden built next weekend. I will be sure to share some photos of said garden once there is something to take a picture of.

I probably cannot bring this post to a close without mentioning the little mishap with the tractor and what we learned from it. Hmmm? What did I learn? I learned that old school is for the birds. Our tractor is by far the best purchase we have made and it continues to pay for itself over and over and over. However, one sharp turn with a bucket full of concrete pavers and the result, a flat tire. :( Although a little bummed, I jumped into problem solving mode and said lets just call and see if any place is open to get it fixed. We were of course 10 minutes too late for that option. I didn't let that deflate my mood and was quick to suggest moving the pavers old school style with the wheel barrow. I tell ya, after one trip moving about 10 one foot square pavers approximately 100 yards, I am so new school. The remaining 44 pavers were moved by way of Dodge truck.

Happy spring every one!

how i planned your wedding

2011-04-04T06:31:00.000-07:00

Invited by my mother, I went to Eagle Harbor Books on Bainbridge Island to hear Susan Wiggs and Elizabeth Wiggs Maas read from their new collaboration. As many of you know, I have always loved weddings. Every part of them from the engagement to the planning and execution. I have an especially fond love for capturing these most amazing events so that they can be reminisced over for years to come. So, even though I have been married for over 14 years and am not in any way planning a wedding I was excited to go and hear the perspectives of this mother and daughter as they planned Elizabeth's wedding. At the time of the reading I had only heard excerpts from the book that my mother had read to me as I had not myself purchased the book yet. Since that time, I have acquired the book and read it in its entirety.

How I Planned Your Wedding is a exceptionally well written fun read. You get to hear Elizabeth's voice and Susan's voice as they encounter the many areas a bride unfolds during the process of planning her wedding. Hearing both the perspective of the bride and that of the mother of the bride adds a new dimension to this book that I believe will be well received. It reads like a story, but is filled with all the great information a bride is looking for as if told to her by her best friend. Oh, and it is hilarious.

*** I give this book a three star rating because it is very audience specific. If you are in the midst of planning a wedding, about to become engaged, or recently married you will love this book. I highly encourage you to pick it up either as a great tool as you embark upon the wedding industry or as a reminder of all that you went through while planning your wedding. The sneak peak we get as readers into the mother daughter relationship that is shared is wonderful.

the true and outstanding adventures of the hunt sisters

2011-02-04T19:18:00.000-08:00

According to Merriam Webster, a sister is, first and foremost, a female who has one or both parents in common with another. Later in the lists of possible definitions Merriam also says that a sister could be a girl or woman regarded as a comrade. Curious, I then wondered what Merriam would say about a comrade. Turns out a comrade is an intimate friend or associate, see companion. So I did. Merriam informed me that a companion is one that accompanies another. Now I realize that for each and every word there are multiple definitions available and for these words I did read through the lists of possible definitions. But none of them embodied the definition of a sister more than Elisabeth Robinson's book 'The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters." The love hate relationship that surrounds all sisters. Whether you are yearning to be like your sister or struggling to be your own person, you have a deep rooted relationship with this person. A relationship so rooted that if something devastating were to happen to them, you would forget about everything and give up everything to be by there side.

In this wonderful, easy to read novel, Robinson takes you on an adventure many sisters hope to never have to see. Written as a series of letters from the perspective of the older sister (starting the year of her sister's birth and then picking up 20 years later) the novel chronicles their lives as Maddie fights a fight of all fights, leukemia. It is a peak in on their relationship, reading Olivia's private thoughts as she pours them out onto paper in letters to her sister, mother, father, business partners, best friend, ex-boyfriend and lover.

**** I am going to give this book 4 stars. Kind of a high rating for a pretty simple novel and one that only took me a few days to read. I chose 4 stars for a couple reasons. First, I think the way the author chose to write the book, as a series of letters, really allowed you to get inside the relationships in the story. This is HUGE in a book that really is about one of the most magnificent of relationships that can exist. For those that are sisters it was like a reality check and for those of you that aren't it is a clear glass window into what it is like. Second, as a sister myself, it was wonderful to put a literary picture to a relationship that is so hard to put into words. If you are a sister, pick up this book and get ready for the possibility of an overload of emotions. This is a great book to remind you how important it is to remind your sister you love her. Kristin, I love you!

two days is not enough

2011-01-30T18:44:00.000-08:00

I want to know who's idea it was for the 5/2 split to a seven day week. Was any rational thought put into it? I realize a mother's work is never done but it is ludicrous to think that two days is enough to catch up on housework, go through your kids rooms to see what they have stashed in there throughout the week, do all the grocery shopping and meal prep for the upcoming week, wash and fold all the laundry, balance accounts and pay bills, help with the outdoor chores including stocking wood sheds, gardening, cleaning animal pens and the list goes on. This isn't even taking into account any time spent relaxing, rejuvenating, and getting refreshed for a new week.

This weekend definitely started off on a high note for me. I was naively optimistic on what could be accomplished and in all reality I should have known better. Saturday morning I woke up to two bouncing girls in fabulous spirits and decided to take advantage of that attitude and head outside to get some wood stacked while Robb was working. With an eager tone to my voice I told the girls we were going to have a great day, to get dressed and grab their coats and shoes because we were heading outside to surprise daddy by stacking some of the wood he had split the previous weekend. Out we headed. My youngest was quite excited for what she exclaimed was a helping adventure. My oldest started being excited but had not heeded my previous suggestions to bring a coat and therefore within minutes of being outside was "freezing" and demanding that she be allowed to go inside. I calmly informed her that was "not" going to happen and away I went stacking wood. All our neighbors know how she took that. As if the demands weren't enough, she insisted on screaming them at the top of her lungs in a dramatic exercise of her willpower. Again, ever so calmly, I explained to her that we were staying outside and I was bummed that she wasn't having any fun with us.

Obviously having missed the signs, after lunch the girls and I embarked upon the Bermuda Triangle of grocery stores (Costco, Wal-mart, Central Market). It was now my Ellie's turn to kick it into full gear and proceeded to see how patient I could be. Between waiting until we were at the back of Costco on a busy Saturday to exclaim that she "had to go potty right now" to the repetitive complaining that she didn't want to be in the cart nor did she want to walk while we were trying to make our way through Wal-mart. Three and a half hours later we finally pulled into our driveway. Now to unload all the groceries, get them put away, make casseroles for the freezer for the week and get dinner on. Oh, and I need to switch the laundry.

The weekend has come to a close and almost all the laundry is washed although not all of it is folded, there are bills that need paid, checking accounts to balance, tax documents to pull together and I would still love to steal away some time to read. This brings me all back to my original thought, who's idea was it for a 5/2 split to the seven day week?

the gravedigger's daughter

2011-01-28T16:43:00.000-08:00

After many tough months working my way through this literary work, I can happily say I have finished. It has taken me a little while to wrap my head around what I actually thought of this book. Was it well written? Yes. Was it good enough to suggest to any of you? It really depends on what you are looking for in a book when you pick it up to read it.

This book follows the story & life of Rebecca Schwart. She is the youngest child in a family of 5 who escape a Nazi ridden Germany to arrive in the United States with high hopes. Many, if not all of these hopes are thrown aside year after year as tragedy after tragedy overtake this young girl. This book brought many tears to my eyes and I don't think there was any point where it brought a smile to my face. I was never able to rejoice with Rebecca as she was never really given anything to rejoice over. As an adult woman she continually struggles with her past and never seems to be truely happy although she does seem to achieve contentment with where her life ends up.

*** I give this novel 3 stars for literary genius alone. I find Joyce Carol Oates overly tragic and at times down right depressing. Would it have been too much to ask, to bring some true joy into this woman's life? That said, the ability to draw on history and establish a very true character was amazing. I do not doubt for an instant the truth in Rebecca's character. Ms. Oates' ability to establish her characters in a way that truely represents the psychological impact of the events in their life made this book a worthwhile read.

with us always

2011-01-19T08:49:00.001-08:00

Here we are, in the middle of winter, and I find that I must continue to remind myself every day that God is in everything. He is in the fun, sun and glorious warmth of summer and yes, he is in the cold, wet, and cloudy skies of winter. He is everywhere, always and at all times.

a fabulous gift

2011-01-03T20:52:00.000-08:00

Recently was given the opportunity to photograph a brand new little princess. My girls are 5 and 7. Seeing as it has been awhile since I have had a little infant in the house, each and every infant session is so special. Devany was a delight and her parents were wonderful. Thank you for asking me into your home to capture these fluid moments for you.

just around the corner

2010-12-20T13:23:00.001-08:00

Christmas is just around the corner and with it approaching so quickly I have realized that I have left you all out in the cold. So many adventures these last few weeks from Thanksgiving extravaganzas to the ultimate Griswold family excursion to get our Christmas tree. It would take too long to share it all, but the adventure to procure our tree is one that I cannot go without sharing.

As many of you know, living in a small space in the past has encouraged us to step outside of the box when it came to setting up a Christmas tree and last year brought us to hanging our ornaments on cedar bows that we hung around our window. Robb and I loved it. However, our oldest child informed us that this year we "needed" to get a tree. Finally we succumbed, thinking that we could probably find a nice 3' tree at a local Christmas tree farm that would fit nicely in a small space but would allow them to have the tree they really wanted. We then made the fatal mistake of watching Christmas Vacation with our girls. Upon the conclusion of the film, our oldest declared "I want to get our tree like Clark's family." Ugh! "Really?" I asked with a wrinkle in my forehead, trying to persuade her with my facial expressions. She hung strong, exclaiming that she wanted to have "frozen eyeballs." We thought about this scenario and realized the decreased cost between a $5 permit and a $40 tree and decided, why not?

Those two words really are not quite as simple as they often seem. Why not? Well, looking back now, I can think of a lot of reasons why not. So lets begin.

After agreeing to hit the woods Griswold style looking for the perfect tree, we chose a date, invited the grandparents and waited. A day didn't go by that Olyvia wasn't asking "When are we getting the tree, Mom?" Finally the day came. We had chosen a Saturday with the plan to get up, have breakfast, get dressed and head out. No set time or schedule, just to play it moment to moment. Grandma and Papa showed up around 10am and we all loaded up into our truck and headed towards Jefferson County. We arrived at the ranger station in Quilcene and Olyvia took her $5 into the ranger station and purchased herself a Christmas tree permit. She was so proud and excited. I loved it. Leaving the ranger station we headed to Lord's Lake Loop Road, at least I think that is what it was called. Really all I know for sure is we were in the woods, driving on dirt roads. :)

After awhile we started to see snow on the ground on the sides of the road. I have to admit that got me a little excited. Started to feel like a real tree hunting expedition. We came to our first clearing and noticed that there were quite a few cars parked in that area looking for trees, plus it wasn't raining yet, so we decided to continue driving and looking for the next clearing. Driving . . . . driving . . . . driving . . . we came to a T in the road. Took a left only to turn around about 300 yards down that road and then head back the other direction. After about 15 minutes heading up this road, all the while gripping whatever I could get my hands on sure that at any moment our truck was going to pitch itself over the edge, sliding into the icy lake below, we came to a flat spot. There was about a 30 second time span between coming to a stop and deciding, after opening the doors, that there was no way on this good green earth we were getting out of the truck in this particular location. Heck, I am surprised the truck wasn't spinning around with the rate the wind was whipping between the trees. You could barely see 50 feet down the road as the snow was flying thick. We had driven into a blizzard. Hindsight tells me I should have let Olyvia out, frozen eyeballs would have been immediate. Probably a good thing I didn't though, not sure how that would have gone over.

Back down the road we headed, deciding we should just go back to the first clearing we saw and take our chances that the perfect tree was there. Grandma was sure it was there. I was already starting to loose my luster for the entire excursion. For my kiddos sake, however, I slapped on a smile and down the mountain we headed. 20 plus minutes later we are back at the original clearing, we park, get out and guess what? Yes, it is raining. Must be the perfect time to tromp around in the wet underbrush with a 5 and 7 year old to find the most magnificent tree.

All bundled up and ready to begin the search!

Lots of potty breaks were necessary for the little ones. Ah, the fun of helping a little one go to the bathroom in the woods on a 45 degree incline in underbrush while it is raining!

The clearing we stopped at is of course not flat and happens to lay on both sides of the road at a 45 plus degree angle. We decided to head down the hill and begin our trek to look for the perfect tree. I have already realized that I am going to have to abandon my idea of the perfectly symmetrical full and bushy tree for a more sparse tree. Grandma says that allows for the ornaments to be more properly displayed. We wouldn't want to hide the ornaments with branches. It would however be nice to have enough branches to hang the ornaments on in the first place. Just saying. At this point I am also realizing that I am starting to focus too much on the negative aspects of the many trees we are coming across so I start to focus more on the positive aspects. "Wow, that one looks great. It has branches."

Every tree we came to there was something. It would look great on one side but when we got around to the other, there was nothing, or the base of the tree and top of the tree were aligned while the middle represented a spaghetti noodle having just been thrown on the ceiling to test for doneness, or my very favorite were the ones that looked perfect and were over 15 feet tall. That should fit nicely in our 800 square feet. After 30 minutes of realizing that none of the trees were going to be perfect and that we just needed to pick one that would work, Robb found one that would do. Didn't seem to be too large while having what appeared to be a symmetrical branch layout. We were pretty happy with our choice and Robb chopped it down and drug it back up the 75 feet of incline necessary to get it back to the road where we parked. Ellie held the tree while we waited for Robb to run back to the truck and bring it to where we were at. Tree was loaded into the truck, wet coats were shred, heater was cranked and we all loaded back up for the drive home.

Proud hunter with his catch.

This probably should have been a sign for us that this tree was a little large, but we just figured "Eh, Ellie is small that is why the tree looks to big."

Finally warming up a bit as we entered back into Quilcene proper I turned around to say something to those in the back seat about where we should grab some lunch. Just as I did I watched our tree fly out of the back of the truck and slide along the road coming to a stop halfway in the lane and halfway on the side of the road just as a semi truck swerved out of the way missing it by inches. I calmly exclaim "Our tree just flew out the back of the truck in front of a semi. We should probably turn around and get it." Pulling to a quick stop on the side of the road, we wait for the semi to pass and then whip around to go and save our tree before the next car comes. Robb jumps out, going to save the tree and more securely affix it to our vehicle, while the rest of us realize that the "it will do" tree has exited our vehicle right in front of a Christmas Tree U-Cut Lot, as if a sign. We ignore the sign, load the tree back up and are off again. The tree has only suffered minor road rash.

After some lunch at Loggers Landing, we head home and Robb unloads the tree so that it can dry out before we put it into the house. He comes upstairs and exclaims that we may have to do some pruning on the tree. It won't even stand up all the way in our garage. He estimates it is over 10 feet tall and possibly 5 ft wide. Argh! It really did not seem that large when we were getting it. I mean, we didn't even have to dig the thing and it took him barely anytime at all to chop it down. What will we do? Deciding to address the issue tomorrow, as any lover of Scarlett O'Hara would, we decide to go Christmas shopping.

The next day we end up having to cut 4 ft off the bottom of the tree, 1.5 ft off the top of the tree, and prune in all the branches about 1 ft to get the tree to a manageable level that would fit into our house. We were successful and are now blessed with a most magnificent, although extremely sparse, tree. The memories were worth every minute of our wonderful adventure.

a princess halloween

2010-11-27T14:15:00.001-08:00

Better late than never I suppose. :) Here are a few pictures from our fabulous out and about on halloween. The girls made the most perfect Ariel and Thumbelina.

nothing quite like a fresh hair cut

2010-11-18T07:15:00.000-08:00

That says it right there. There is nothing quite like a fresh hair cut to give you a little attitude and brighten your day. I am not sure what it is. It doesn't even need to be drastic; The feeling of the hairdressers hands running along your scalp as they shampoo and condition, the sound of the scissors snipping away at the dead ends, the relaxing feeling of product being smoothed through your hair, the hum of the hair dryer and the way your hair falls into place is unmatched. You can be in your most down state, and this little ritual can put a smile on your face. If it has been awhile for you, I highly recommend taking an hour and treating yourself. It will be worth it.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-01T22:23:00.001-07:00

Halloween has come and gone and what we have left are our memories and the photos we were able to capture. A week ago we managed to make it up to Sequim for a trip to the pumpkin patch and had a great time.

We were joined by friends this year and had a great time snapping some photos of them as well as their little baby Bekah.

I sure hope everyone had as great a time as we did. I will try to get some snaps of our Halloween adventures in the next day or so.

Laughter of children is medicine for the soul.

2010-10-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

My children bring me great joy. Now don't get me wrong, we have our fair share of stress and frustration just like any parent does. That aside, there is nothing more fabulous than when they are happy. Ever since they were small little baby beings I have loved the sound of their giggles and laughter, signs that they are truly happy and worry free.

Since our girls share a room, we tend to put one of them in our room to fall asleep and then move them into the same room together. Last night as I was going into our room our youngest started a full out giggle. I asked her what she was giggling about only to realize she was asleep and couldn't answer me. She had a huge smile on her face, all cuddled in her blanket and was just laughing away. It melted my soul and in turn brought a smile to my heart. How amazing what a small little being can do to a mommy! I love it.

Afternoon with friends.

2010-10-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

One of the few wonderfully sunny Sunday afternoons this last August, we were able to go and walk around Port Gamble and Poulsbo with our wonderful children and some good friends of ours that were visiting from California.

It turned out to be a wonderful afternoon. After taking a few photos of Shawn and Sofia, my fabulous husband of course had to step outside of the box and try something over the top.

Of course immediately after I snapped the photo, he proceeded to fall off and practically take out the little white fence behind them. It was about that point we decided to head to Poulsbo for a little walk and some lunch.

Having great friends is priceless. Thanks to Shawn and Sofia for a great afternoon.

Leavenworth Half Marathon Accomplished!

2010-10-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

Wow! That is the most craziest thing ever, but I did it. I seriously want to go crawl in a hole and cry my eyes out but I did it. Not only did I finish, but I ran the entire Leavenworth Half Marathon. Who would have thought that even possible? OK. . . my mom, my husband and my friends all thought I could do it. But in my own mind I was slightly skeptical. Not anymore though. Was it hard? Heck yes. Probably one of the hardest athletic accomplishments of myt life but fully worth every one hundred and fifty nine minutes of it. That is right, 159 minutes to run pretty much 13.5 miles of hills. CRAZY!

That was Saturday morning. Then as if that wasn't enough, we couldn't leave Leavenworth without a fabulous lunch and some much needed exploring, so walking around we did. For the next 4 hours we ate, explored, shopped and visited with friends. It was a great afternoon. When I finally could not possibly walk any further, we found our way to our vehicle and settled in for the ride home.

Yay for me! I am definitely patting myself on my back and once I can walk upright again I might even think about doing another one of these.

Fabulous Afternoon at Edgewater Beach!

2010-09-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

I was so blessed to be able to spend some time a recent afternoon taking photos of this wonderful woman. I first met Erin years ago through her daughter. Megan went on a mission trip I led to Puerto Rico in 2007. As I have gotten to know Megan I have learned a lot about her Mother. Erin is a wonderful spirit full of love and kindness and I wish her much happiness in her life. So many great adventures ahead.

Allison & Timothy join together on a cool August morning.

2010-09-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

What a pleasure it was to spend the day with Allison and Timothy, capturing the fluidity of the day. We didn't let the damp or cold weather stop us from sealing the essence of the day into numerous photographs. Thank you both for choosing me to be there with you.

They were surrounded by many family and friends showing their support.

Ultimately, however, the day was about joining into a relationship between them and God forever. What a wonderful relationship it is sure to be. Congratulations to you both.

Painted Valley Farm - Summer Horse Camp

2010-09-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

Olyvia decided to participate in the Painted Valley Farm Horse Camp for a week this summer. It was a great decision and she had a fabulous time.

Friday the family was invited to come and watch their student show off their new skills. Grandma and Papa as well as Auntie, Uncle and Cousin all came to watch Olyvia. When you get those three together, they are quite the little threesome.

Seattle To Portland Bicycle Ride

2010-08-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

My husband decided this year that he would register for and ride in the STP, Seattle to Portland bicycle ride. He and my mom would leave Seattle at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning and proceed to ride 100 miles 2 days in a row, making it all the way to Portland, OR on Sunday evening. My dad, the girls and I decided that as fun as that sounded (ARGH!) we would skip the bike ridding part and just spend the weekend camping in Chehalis area. This would give them a place to camp for the evening as well as letting us get away and have some fun.

The girls wait for their Grandma and Daddy to cross the finish line.

Here they are!

Is summer really coming to an end? What did we do this summer?

2010-08-31T19:59:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe that summer is pretty much over. With school starting tomorrow I have to admit I am going through a little shock. There simply was not enough time to do all that I wanted. That said, we did have a busy summer especially July.

We started the month off spending the 4th of July in Poulsbo. The weather wasn't nice enough to enjoy the lake and with busy weekends ahead we decided to stay home. On the 4th we headed over to our friends house to spend time with them and their new little one.

The next weekend we headed to Butte, Montana for a celebration of the life of Jack Fechter. Jack was an amazing man. I grew up next door to him and his wife and they played the role of grandparents in our life. It was an very long drive, but we had a lot of fun while there.

The girls splashed around in the pool we brought and set up at our camp sight. This was after our 1/2 day excursion all over Butte looking for a new tent because ours was mold infested and there was no way on this good green earth I was putting any of my belongings in it, let alone sleeping in it. We gave it a Young family funeral and tossed it into the dumpster.

After the afternoon Celebration of Life, we were heading back to our campsite and kept passing all these fabulous looking old homes out in the fields. My mom insisted that we stop and go and take some pictures by them, even with the obvious signs indicating it would be preferred if we didn't. So, for the sake of a few photos, we ignored the "Keep Out" sign posted, climbed over the fence and trekked out into the field.

One of the other days we decided to investigate the National Folk Festival. I won't go into the details of the festival here, but I don't see us attending it any year in the future. However, even though the festival itself wasn't our cup of tea, we did have a good time exploring the bustling metropolis of Butte.

Mom's Cornbread (with a twist)

2010-08-10T20:04:00.001-07:00

I don't make it often, but tonight I whipped out my mom's Ranch Style Corn Bread recipe to go with chili. Now I love this corn bread, but I wanted to mix it up a bit so I made some additions and it ended up making it even more fabulous. So I decided to share it with you all. Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 425* Sift together 1 c flour, 1 c cornmeal, 1 t salt, 3 t baking powder. Add 1 egg and 1 c milk. Combine until moistened. Stir in 1/4 c melted shortening, 1 c fresh roasted corn cut off cob, 1 - 4 oz can diced green chilies & 1/8 c chopped green onion tops. Stir until combined and pour into greased 8" round cake pan. Bake for 20-25 min. Yummmy!

Fabulous July 3rd Wedding

2010-07-31T11:02:00.000-07:00

Avid rock climbers, Rhiannon and Jason's love for climbing is overshadowed by their love for one another. It shines in their faces and in every aspect of how they treat one another. It was amazing to be a part of and I thank you both for choosing me to capture these moments for you.
I look forward to keeping in touch and hearing where your lives together take you. Congratulations.

Rhiannon & Jason Preview

2010-07-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

It was so great to watch these two exchange vows to each other. Their love for each other so evident in every way. From how they stand next to each other to how they talk with or about the other. I was so blessed to be able to capture their fabulous day and when I saw this photo I couldn't help but share it. To me it is a perfect example of them. Rhiannon and Jason, I look forward to sharing all the other photos with you soon.

Best Friends Forever

2010-07-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

An intriguing book about the friendships we establish as children and the impacts they can have on the rest of our lives. This story follows the life of Adelaide Downs and her friendship with Valerie Adler. It shows how their friendship blossomed through Jr. High and High School culminating in an exchange their senior year that forced a chasm in their relationship that wouldn't be addressed until 15 years later when Valerie returns to attend their High School reunion. As the two are forced back together after an accident the night of the reunion, they begin to see who each other really is and how the life of their good friend is not as wonderful as they had always thought it was.

This book is a reminder that when we analyze our friends we often only see what we want to see. We have a tendency to ignore the difficulties our friends have in order to see their life as so much better than ours. It is an amazing story, well written while not being pretentious or heavy.

*** I give this 3 stars not because it isn't worth reading but because it is written for a very specific audience. I encourage anyone out there who has had a best friend in their lives that they can go years without seeing and then fall into each other's footsteps the second they reconnect, to read this book. If you are looking for something light and easy to read for the summer, this would be a great choice. So grab your beach towel, sun screen and this book and head out for a weekend at the beach. You won't be disappointed.

Running in the Morning??? Insert sad face here.

2010-07-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

I have always heard that running in the morning is supposed to be invigorating. I have decided that whoever thought that up lied. Yep, they lied. I do not make this statement without having tried it at least once. Since I started training for the half marathon, I have been running at night. It is wonderful after a busy day to unwind and have time just me and my tennis shoes. Friday we arrived late to our campsite and by the time we had dinner and the girls all tucked into bed it was 10pm and we decided that going running so late was probably not the best idea so I reluctantly agreed to go the next morning.

I was awaken from a fabulous sleep by my most wonderfully chipper mother so I pulled myself out of my warm bed, pulled on my running clothes, socks and tennis shoes, brushed my teeth to get rid of the morning breath and headed out the door. I later discovered I had put on my sports bra inside out and had two different socks. Two of the many reasons why running in the morning is not the best idea.

Now I am exhausted, have my clothes on inside out, two different socks on and away we headed. As we ran along the 3 mile route I began to realize that I was in the minority. It seemed that everyone else that was out was loving their run or walk in the brisk morning air. Everyone we came across was smiling and chipper and greeted us with cheerful tone. The whole time I just kept thinking that I could still be in bed.

I suppose the only good thing was that I got to go with my mom. That definitely made it all worth it. As much as I have realized ruined early in the morning is not my preference, I would do it again to go with my mom. Even if I ended up running in clothes that were inside out.

Leavenworth Half Marathon

2010-06-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, a half marathon this coming October. Watch out Leavenworth, here I come.

I have to talk big, because otherwise I fear this race will eat me alive. If I put my psychological game face on and attack this head on I know I can conquer it. I have started running and next week am meeting with a trainer to get on a weight lifting regiment to get my body ready for this. I have aways to go but I am ready for the work and excited about it also. I will be sure to keep you all up to date on training progress. Right now I have a ways to go but I was able to go out and run about 2 1/2 miles with hills last night. Given that I haven't worked out at all in the last two months, I am optimistic. Tomorrow heading out again and I am actually excited. Gives me time to think, contemplate and be with myself, nature and God. If any of you out there reading this have run a half marathon or marathon, please comment with your tips and suggestions for training. I love to hear all points of view and any tips you have.

Congratulations Graduates of 2010!

2010-06-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

Each year brings with it a new set of young adults embarking upon new adventures. This year Robb and I were blessed to know so many graduating both from high school and from college. You have already met Megan and Annelise in previous posts. The ones I want to share with you now are two young women we have known since junior high school and in May graduated from Washington State University. Both have academically excelled in their degrees and I am so excited to see where they will go from here. Thank you Kerrie and Emily for asking me to come and share in your special day.

Best of luck you two. We love you tons.

Paulene & Chris wed on a fabulous Kauai Beach.

2010-06-05T19:08:00.000-07:00

I was so excited when Paulene told me that her and Chris had decided to say I do on a beautiful Kauai beach. Marriage is most definitely an adventure. What better way to start the adventure than to search out the perfect spot. The bride, groom and a few close friends headed out on Saturday afternoon to investigate the eastern part of the island for the perfect beach. The first spot wasn't right for the wedding, although it allowed for some fun driving in the mini van and a slight distraction when the guys saw the dirt bike racing track. Heading north they were sure to find the perfect spot, and find it they did.

We followed the paved walking path down to a short dirt path that led us to a remote and beautiful Donkey Beach. They new almost immediately this was the spot and after some more exploring made the decision that there was no need to keep looking. They had found the place they would say 'I do.' I was so happy for them and excited to see how it would all come together in just a few short days.

It was no surprise at all that Paulene was a most beautiful bride and Chris a most handsome groom.

The entire day was magical as two best friends pledged to spend the rest of their lives together.

Paulene & Chris were extremely lucky as they had a great group of family and friends that flew all the way to Kauai to celebrate with them. It was so wonderful to get to see all the people there that represented so many facets of their lives. Family that has known them their whole life, friends that have known them since childhood and those they have met as a couple. I couldn't be more happy for the two of them.

Congratulations to the both of you. I look forward to many years as friends with the two of you. Thank you so much for letting me capture your day for you.

Where is summer?

2010-06-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

I realize this is not a simple question to answer but I couldn't help but ask. I also realize it has been awhile since I have written and wanted to fill you all in on what has been going on. Our family recently became parents to 9 little chicks. They are most fabulous and we love them. This last weekend good friends of ours came to help us build out chicken coop and it is well on the way to being completed. Love it. Work is busy, girls are wrapping up their school year and we are all excited for summer. And so we come back around to summer and I can't help but mention the fact that it is June and the weather has been so wet and groggy lately. I really need some sun. Had some sun today which was lovely. Took my lunch break and sat outside in the sun while I read. It felt wonderful. Went on a walk with my girls and spent a little time outside in the yard. Just love the sun. Then the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in. Figures.

Have a bunch of pictures to share with you all and definitely need to get a post in here about our fabulous trip to Kauai to photograph the wedding of a dear friend. It was magnificent.

'A tree grows in brooklyn' by Betty Smith

2010-05-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

Last night I brought to a close the long number of months I have been working on reading this magnificent piece of literature. I have to admit that it took me a few months just to get to the point in reading it that I didn't want to put it down. This was probably largely because of the busy life of a mother but also because of the depth of the novel. This novel delves deep into each character, setting up the history of each so you can better understand their thought processes and the reasons for their actions.

I would definitely recommend this book. Because of the depth of the novel, I wouldn't recommend it to someone looking for a light read. This isn't the right choice for that. But to someone who wants to get into the life of a character, or someone who wants to learn about a time in history that is most definitely so very different from their own, this is the book for them.

**** I would recommend this book as a inspiring read. Read it if only to peak into what it would be like to truly have nothing and yet have everything at the same time.

A Happy Easter For All.

2010-04-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

This year our Easter was wonderful. Some previous time spent with family celebrating our risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

We met up with the rest of my family for breakfast at our church followed by a wonderful service. We then headed home for some time just the four of us to enjoy the morning and pack up some changes of clothes before heading over to my parents' house for lunch, egg coloring and an egg hunt. The girls were very excited.

Us adults had a lot of fun watching the three cousins decorate hard boiled eggs. All of them did such a great job and we managed to only get involved when the risk of dying the floor came into play.

Lunch was magnificent, my mother did a fabulous job and I would say the girls favorite part was the egg hunt in the yard. There wasn't one part of the day that didn't go off wonderfully. I can't say there is any other way I would want to spend an Easter.

This isn't to say that there weren't catastrophes. We had one injury at the very end of the egg hunt when Olyvia walked straight into a tree branch, stabbing her eye and causing it to immediately turn red and water. She managed to throw a smile on though even though she was pretty sure if she removed her hand her eye may fall out.

Annelise W. - a brisk morning on the waterfront

2010-04-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

Annelise and I met up Saturday morning for her senior portrait session. The weather was sunny but extremely brisk. Our hands were frozen and we had to take a few brakes to rub them together and get warm, but I very much enjoyed visiting with her and hearing about her upcoming plans. She is extremely talented and is being rewarded with a full academic scholarship to college this fall for cross county. Wow! I am excited to hear how it goes as she makes the transition from her hometown to college. Many exciting things ahead of her.

Megan H. in Downtown Poulsbo

2010-04-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

I first met Megan over 3 years ago. I have had the pleasure to travel with her, to study scripture with her and to just be a part of her life. She is such a wonderful young woman. Her smile captivates you while her spirit warms your soul. Although the weather didn't shine on us, our time was definitely bright. We spent time walking around in downtown Poulsbo and along the waterfront visiting and joking as I attempted to capture her fluidity.

Her next five months are going to be busy as she graduates from high school and embarks upon the adventure of college. I am so excited for her.

Thank you Megan for choosing me to capture this special time in your life. I look forward to being there for you throughout the years.

Beautiful Baby Sophia.

2010-04-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

Even as an infant, just barely a week old, Sophia knows what she wants. She is a strong willed and beautiful baby and I was so lucky to get to visit her home and take some pictures of her. Her mother, a co-worker and friend, asked me and I was more than happy to do so. We had been hoping for a sleeping baby but when I arrived at their home was met by a very much awake and alert little one.

Thank you Carly for letting me take some photos of your princess. I am excited to watch her grow.

Eleanor Roosevelt

2010-03-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

Eleanor Roosevelt has been quoted as saying "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

What an amazing thought. To believe that we hold the future in our dreams. Our individual futures can only be as big as we can dream. The bigger we dream and the more we believe in our dreams, the more amazing our futures can be. We all need to grab ahold of our futures with full force and dream, dream, dream.

I leave you all the following thought provoking question. Do you allow yourself to believe in the beauty of your dreams?

A Saturday Morning with the Nyman Family.

2010-03-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

This is the Nyman family. Recently I was asked to take some photos of their growing family and I jumped at the chance. Their 3 oldest may seem familiar from photos taken this last summer. I had such a great time taking their photos there is no way I would have turned down another opportunity to do so.

The boys had to steal a minute for some photos of just the two of them.

Here are a few more of my favorite photos from the morning.

Attacking the Gym!

2010-03-11T10:30:00.000-08:00

Yes, that is right. About a month ago I decided to make the leap and join the local gym. I was a member when my girls were babies and loved it but the time and money involved just didn't seem worth it. So, for the last 3 years I have been attempting free exercise - walking and running on the roads. This seems like a great idea, unless you live in the Pacific Northwest. I have realized that unless I want to be soaking wet, muddy and cold most of the time I am exercising, I need to join a gym. I know, a revelation.

I have been trying to get to the gym at least four days a week for 1-2 hours each visit. There are definitely specific teachers that I like and others I could do without. I try to focus on the purpose of going to the gym and not on who is teaching each class. That can be tough. Do step teachers realize how important it is to cue properly? Do they really want to see me fall flat on my face when I try to change mid step because they didn't cue in enough time?

The days I do cardio box and step are by far my favorites. I get drippy sweaty which is totally disgusting, but the classes are a blast and the people are great. The other days I do weight classes or cardio which are great but more done because I have to than because I enjoy them. Gonna throw in some yoga this weekend - relaxing and stretching should help with my flexibility.

I will keep you all posted on how it goes. So far, I am feeling better and loving the indoor option.

Papa to the Rescue.

2010-02-25T20:55:00.000-08:00

That is right. Papa came to the rescue. Yesterday I received a phone call at work from Olyvia's teacher. She told me that Olyvia pulled out her tooth while looking in the mirror in the classroom. The problem was that the mirror is over a sink, of course, and that tooth had gone down the drain. Olyvia was quick to inform everyone that this wasn't a problem. She explained that her daddy and Papa were plumbers and they could fix this. So she insisted that her teacher call me to see if her daddy or Papa could come and get her tooth. Here daddy was out on a job of course, but Papa happened to be in the office and so I informed her teacher that I would see what I could do. She told me that time was important as Olyvia wasn't allowing anyone to touch the sink and the janitor was waiting to clean it but Olyvia had told him that he couldn't until her tooth was recovered.

I told Papa the problem once I got off the phone and he went to her rescue and recovered her tooth...too cute. No matter how much those two pick on each other, they sure do love each other.

Maggots in Flour.

2010-02-13T19:29:00.000-08:00

As I sit and type this I have a total feeling of disgust for flour. I have just gone through a process of throwing out all the flour in this entire house which included white flour, whole wheat flour and whole wheat bread flour. It is all gone. You may ask why, or maybe you wouldn't and you are applauding my action. Either way, what I am about to tell you will most likely disgust you.

This afternoon my youngest got the fabulous idea that I should make a pie after she had a talk with my sister who exclaimed she was making a pie or had made a pie. Either way, the result of the conversation was Ellie explaining to me that I "needed" to make a pumpkin pie for her. Once home from our day of run around, I decided that since I had all the ingredients for a pumpkin pie, I would go ahead and make her one. Together the two of us put all the ingredients for the filling into a large bowl and with great care and decisiveness...wait, who am I kidding? Let me rephrase that. With great speed and vigor, Ellie proceeded to stir the filling. If you had ever wandered if Evaporated milk, sugar and pumpkin can fly...I assure you it can. We cleaned up the mess and continued stirring. She was slightly slower this time. The filling was ready.

I gathered the ingredients for the crust, opened my flour (having just purchased it one week ago) and started to measure it into a measuring cup. As I was doing this, I saw something in the flour. I looked into the bowl and realized that I didn't just see one something but a whole lot of somethings. As I began to scoop these somethings out of the flour and put them into a bowl to better analyze them, I realized what they were. This is where my stomach started to churn and my hate for flour started to build. They were some sort of maggot like wormy thing. And there were at least twenty of them that I had scooped out of the flour. I don't even want to know how many more were in there. Then I started to wander how they got in there and were they in there the last time I used the flour? Most likely. . .OK, sick feeling getting stronger. Then I got to thinking that they were probably little eggs in the bag of flour and they had recently hatched and were eating the flour as their food.

I really can't type anymore or I may vomit. The result of this discovery is that I decided I didn't want to take a chance on any of my flour and I threw it all away. You may be wandering what we did with the pie filling....we baked it in the pie plate without a crust. It turned out wonderful. I may never make a crust again.

Children are amazing.

2010-02-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

Recently good friends of ours welcomed into their lives their very first baby. Watching them adjust to the new little one and seeing an infant again reminded me of when I became a mom and got me thinking about our role as parents. What an amazing thing!

As a mother I realize that I am not perfect, that no mom can possibly be. This realization has also brought to light the fact that as children (and sometimes even as adults) we expect our parents to be perfect. We often give them a hard time, especially as teens. We expect more from them than we should. I fear that as a teenager I most likely fell into this camp. I am very greatfull to my parents for putting up with me and continuing to see that I learned what I needed and put me on a path to become the woman I am.

So I send out a resounding CONGRATULATIONS to all you new parents or soon to be new parents. What an adventure you are embarking upon. Enjoy every minute of it and don't be too hard on yourself.

A Day With My Girls.

2010-01-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

Today was quite a day. When I went to pick up Olyvia from horse lessons today I was informed that she didn't ride today because she was too upset over Jackson. Jackson is the horse she has been riding and who she loves very much. Today she witnessed Jackson being loaded into a trailer to go to the clinic because he is very sick with colic. She was totally distraught over the whole thing. She isn't totally clear on what the outcome will be and was insistent that she will need to call and check up on him. My heart was so sad for her.

From there I got home and we took Button to the bathroom. She of course proceeded to get into something that made her smell completely horrid. We gave her a bath. What a treat that was. If you have read previous posts of mine about what I feel my role in taking care of a dog is, you know that bathing them is definitely not on my list of duties. However, my lovely husband is out of town today and there was no way I was going to leave this task to my 6 and 4 year old so I dove in. Literally. By the time I was done it looked like my bathroom had at one point been filled completely with water and I smelled like wet dog shampoo. I decided not to change. Just went and doused myself in some VS perfume and called it good. Nothing quite like dog smell covered up by Victoria's Secret. Fabulous! I call it 'Scent of Mom.' If only that was marketable.

After we had her somewhat dried and pretty much on her bed, I then thought I wasn't having a fun enough day so I would take the girls to the grocery store. By this time it was just after nap time, although no naps had been had. In the car at the store I was very firm in stating that the girls would be getting nothing in the store. We were only purchasing those items on our list and that is all. My youngest was OK with this. My oldest however seemed to think it important to explain to me over and over and over and over that she was STARVING and NEEDED something. I stuck to my decision though much to her dismay and by the time we got back out to the car with the groceries she was practically whithering away to nothing and I had of course forgotten 5 different things that were on my list. ARGH! There was no way I was going back into that store with my two girls in tow and the dog in the car with the rest of the groceries. That would definitely not end well.

Now home from the store, more laundry to do, groceries to put away and really all I want to do is cuddle on my couch with my girls....maybe we can paint nails. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that.

No More Babies.

2010-01-19T07:47:00.000-08:00

I don't have any more babies. Last night my husband and I are making dinner and in the blink of an eye our youngest daughter is on the counter sitting there and munching crunchy noodles. I didn't think much about it until my husband said, "did you see that? Ellie, get off the counter please." She then got down. "Now get back up there." She vaulted herself up onto the counter and started munching away at her crunchy noodles. I couldn't help but start laughing. She is definitely out little monkey. This morning she climbed into, yes into, the fridge to pick out her own yogurt.

Above all else this has brought it home for me that I no longer have babies. My beautiful girls don't need my help as much as they used to. They are getting more and more independent as the days progress. It is sad but at the same time, oh so exciting. I love to watch them grow and learn more things and they are so excited to show me all that they are learning. I can't wait to see they next thing one of them comes up with.

It has been too long.

2010-01-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

I really need to get a post up here. I just realized we are almost a full month since my last post. The holidays were busy but wonderful this year. We spent a lot of time at home which was fabulous. Over New Years we were able to get a ton of stuff done around our place that I have been wanting to get done forever including cleaning out the garage and taking loads to the dump and recycling.

There are definitely stories to tell and when I can steal away a few minutes I will post something longer. Maybe something about the things I was able to get Robb to get rid of. I mean do we really need magazines from the early 90's? I don't think so. Or how about glass etchings he made in grade school. He loves them so much he keeps them hidden in a box in the garage so you can imagine how beautiful they are. That doesn't even scratch the surface of what we were dealing with when we battled the garage.

He is on to making me shelves now. Finally! A project he has been talking about for a couple years now. I am getting to the point that I almost don't care what they look like I just want them up. I need shelves to put things on. I am so happy though that he is getting to it and taking the time to make sure everything fits right. They should be wonderful when they are done and I will make sure to get some pics up once we have them complete and filled. :)

Dead Pig Smell - Yum! Yum!

2009-12-14T12:59:00.001-08:00

TAKE NOTE: When you take a container out of the fridge that has obviously been in there for WAY too long and what used to be pulled pork is now unidentifiable, no ordinary person would open it because there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON TO OPEN IT. My husband is not an ordinary person and my office now smells like dead pig. Grrrr!

2009 Young Family Photo at Kopperskogen

2009-12-13T20:40:00.000-08:00

I finally got to taking our family photo today. We started with the typical "everyone stand and look pretty for the camera" photo . . .

But in the end we decided it just wasn't us and went with this instead . . .

Julie & Julia

2009-12-13T15:57:00.000-08:00

What a fabulous movie. Great story, fabulous food and some amazing acting by Meryl Streep as Julia Child. Julie & Julia really delivers. I heart warming look at a woman reaching 30 and searching for who she is. In her search she reaches out to do something. Not just something, but to make every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook. As we watch her take this challenge on we are taken back to Julia Child in the 50's when the cookbook is born.

For you guys out there, it isn't just a "chick flick." Robb and I both enjoyed the comedy intertwined in both the lives of Julie and Julia. Plus if you have ever known someone who sets a goal for themselves and is determined to see it through, then you will be able to relate to many parts in this movie.

It is a definite must see in my book.

Yum! Yum!

2009-12-13T15:45:00.000-08:00

"Mom if you are going to write yum, do it right. It needs an exclamation point so people know you are saying it loud." No better way to express the fabulous cookies the three of us made. When I say "three" I use the word very loosely. What actually happened is I mixed, rolled, cut, scooped, baked, cooled, mixed and mixed and spooned and baked and cooled some more all while the girls continually asked me if they could sample just one. The sample requests started as soon as I had dough in the bowl and didn't end until they got one after all the cookies were made.

They abandoned me somewhere during the first hour of cookie making after the decorating was done. They had no interest if there wasn't decorating of cookies to be done. They ran off to their room to enter into pretend world. They sounded like they were having so much fun that I made the mistake, mid cookie baking, to glance into their room. Scary! (Note the exclamation point.) That really is the best way to explain it. It is almost as if they knew I was preoccupied and so they thought "now is the time for our room to suffer a natural disaster because what can she do about it? She has to watch the cookies baking in the oven." I quickly brought them back to reality when I told them they would not get any cookies until their room was cleaned up. This meant that the animal hammocks had to be put back up in the corners and the animals needed to be in them, the art stuff put back away, ponies and barbies and clothes (clean and dirty) needed to be put where they belong, new clothes put away, shoes in the closet, bed made. . . the list goes on. This seemed to work as a great energizer until Grammy stopped by and suggested they needed the energy only a cookie can provide. Thus they got a cookie and all ideas of cleaning were quickly out the window.

I entered into the picture the plastic garbage sack. There was hysterical crying and running and really the quickest feet I have seen in awhile. The room was cleaned with the help of mom, Grammy and the garbage sack.

Long story short, we got the cookies made and the room cleaned out. It was a win win day.

Cookies Take Two

2009-12-12T12:04:00.000-08:00

About to embark upon the adventure of a day of baking cookies with my beautiful daughters. I will definitely fill you all in upon completion. :)

Looking forward to Christmas Eve.

2009-12-07T10:52:00.001-08:00

I realized this weekend that I have yet another reason to be excited for Christmas Eve, other than the fact it is the night before Christ's birth. This will be the first year since our kids were born that we are going to have dinner at our house. In fact, it may very well be the first Christmas Eve that we have had dinner just us since Robb and I were married over 13 years ago. I am so excited. The girls and I will be able to get dinner ready, get all dressed up for service, go to service and then come home to a fabulous dinner just the four of us. Then the girls will be able to take baths, get in pjs, leave out goodies for Santa, say our prayers and thanks for our many blessings and get all tucked into bed at a decent time. I almost can't express with words the excitement I have for this. I didn't even know it was possible.

How about you? How do you normally spend your Christmas Eve? Are you busy like we have been in the years past, visiting family and friends near and far? I would love to hear how you spend your holidays. What parts do you look forward to?

New Moon

2009-12-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

The new movie in the Twilight series is out with mixed reviews. I am not one of the avid readers of the books, but I admit I did see the first movie (only after I could get it on demand and watch it in my own home) and actually enjoyed it. Was it an epic? Definitely not. Did it entertain? Yes. Isn't that what a movie is supposed to do?

For all those out there that were upset that it didn't follow the books exactly, did you really think it would? I tend to set my sights low when a movie comes out after a book. Books are always so much better. Plus if you go into it just expecting an entertaining movie and not the book you are usually much more satisfied.

I think there is only once that I have read a book, seen the movie and they were almost identical. In fact I remember being in the movie theatre, having forgotten that I had read the book, and I thought I had seen the movie before. Amazing.

What are you thankful for?

2009-11-28T14:29:00.000-08:00

What an amazing holiday. I truly love Thanksgiving. I love to have a holiday dedicated to remembering all that we have to be thankful for. I think too often we have holidays that have been taken over by the consumer world and I really love that Thanksgiving is, above all else, a holiday to say Thank You.

I encourage you all to look at your lives and see all that you have to be thankful for. Family, friends, a home a job, there are many reasons to be thankful. Even when we feel like our world is being turned upside down, it can be helpful for us to focus on those things we are thankful for.

I am so thankful to God for my girls. My girls get bigger and bigger each year and I am thankful I am able to watch them grow and watch them experience so much. With each new thing it is as if I am experiencing it for the very first time. Love it.

I am also thankful to God for my husband. He is amazing and wonderful and I love each and every day we have together. I love the life we have together and the life we are building.

I am thankful for my entire family, my work, for the outdoors, for gardening, for crafts and time with friends. Thank you God for truly blessing my life with amazing things and for giving me a holiday where instead of focusing on the things that I feel are going wrong or the struggles I might be facing, I can rejoice in all that I have to be thankful for.

Claira Mae

2009-11-24T22:00:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of Claira Mae. She is the daughter of a childhood friend of mine. I have included a link to a message from her mom about the current struggle she is going through and I urge you to all pray for this beautiful little child and her family.

Friends : Megan & Amanda

2009-11-13T00:12:00.001-08:00

There really is nothing like a good friend.

Amanda

2009-11-12T23:30:00.001-08:00

Being a senior in high school is such an exciting time. One part of your life comes to a close while another new and exciting part waits just around the corner. This last weekend (as you saw in a previous post) I was blessed to take pictures of Megan out at Scenic Beach State Park. The experience was made even better because Megan brought her good friend Amanda with her. It was great to see these two together who have known each other since 7th grade. They are on such a journey together and I wish them both the best.

Here are a few pictures of Amanda. A truly wonderful young woman.

The Gum Novelty

2009-11-12T08:28:00.000-08:00

My oldest daughter came to me the other day at the office and asked me for a piece of gum. This isn't an odd request. In fact it is something she asks every time she comes to the office. I am pretty sure that gum is a drug of some sort that her body is addicted to. I came to this conclusion quite abruptly. The other day when O came to me asking for a piece of gum, this is how the conversation went:

O: Mom, can I have a piece of gum please?
M: Sorry honey, I don't have any gum.
O: But mom I really need some gum. please?
M: O, I don't have any gum so I can't help you.
O: I need something to chew.
M: I have carrots or apples in my lunch. You can have some of those.
O: I don't want carrots or apples. I want gum. I need gum.
M: You don't need gum.
O: But mom, my teeth are soooo bored. They need gum.
M: . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

How am I even supposed to respond to that? I wasn't even aware that teeth could get bored.

Megan at Scenic Beach State Park

2009-11-11T22:06:00.000-08:00

This last weekend, despite the weather, I headed out to Scenic Beach State Park to meet up with Megan and her mom to take Megan's senior pictures. The weather didn't cooperate as much as we would have liked but we were still able to get some beautiful pictures and we tried to have a little fun along the way to keep us warm.

Megan is a wonderful young woman. I wish her the best as she finishes her senior year and embarks upon the fabulous journey in front of her.

Meet Noah.

2009-11-06T11:31:00.000-08:00

I recently came across Noah in a blog by Me Ra Koh and it tugged at my heart. Here is an excerpt from that post.

Dr Tom Curran is a radio personality, and he is in the process of setting up a 24 hour (live) online Rosary where people around the world can meet together online and pray. One of the prayer requests last night was for a family in Michigan where 5 year Noah is in the final stages of his 2.5 year battle with Neuroblastoma…a particularly vicious form of childhood cancer with a 0% chance of survival. (If you’ve read the amazing book Gloria’s Miracle you know how ruthless this disease really is.)

Well, Noah is probably not going to make it to Christmas so the family is going to celebrate the holiday this coming weekend. Apparently, Noah likes Christmas Cards and receiving things in the mail. The request was sent out to have people flood their mailbox with Christmas Cards encouraging Noah in his final struggle! If you could take a moment to send him a Christmas Card in the next few days, it would really be appreciated!

The news about Noah’s early Christmas has spread through a number of radio stations. I encourage you to join those sending Noah Christmas cards. What a great way to show our children compassion and love towards others. I have included Noah's address below. It was given to the Catholic radio show as well as many other blogs.

Noah Biorkman

1141 Fountain View Circle

South Lyon, MI 48178

My prayers go out to this family during this struggle.

Halloween - Jury is still out.

2009-10-30T07:15:00.000-07:00

I have not yet decided if I really like the Halloween holiday. I suppose you could say the jury is still out. The costumes that are out there for purchase are overpriced and in most cases either cheesy or sleazy. Nothing I would want to wear and definitely nothing I want my girls to wear. Getting lucky this year, or so I thought, my oldest daughter found a costume of her auntie's from when her auntie used to dance. She was sold immediately. :) Then my youngest decided she wanted to be a gypsy. This seemed easy to me. I could grab some scarfs or scraps of material and sew them around the top of a skirt, add some jingly bracelets and necklaces, a head scarf and she would be the most fabulous little gypsy. So we discussed this and she looked at me with these big wide sad eyes and said "mom, that's not a gypsy." Huh? What do you mean that isn't a gypsy? Sounds like a gypsy to me. So we tried a few more suggestions and it was obvious that what I was thinking of as a gypsy and what was in her little head were two totally different things. So with that we headed to the costume store.

We ended up with what I believe is a perfect compromise. It isn't a gypsy, but our Ellie was the most precious and perfect Dorothy there ever could be. :)

Making an Investment in Your Memories.

2009-10-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

The idea of choosing the right photographer to help you capture the moments in your life that are of the most importance can seem daunting. My goal is to make this decision an easy one for you. I encourage you to look through the galleries on my website as well as glancing through my blog so that you can get an idea of who I am.

I offer three basic portrait packages.

Essential ~ $200
1-2 hour session
1 location
30-50 images
$75 print credit

Exquisite ~ $350
1-2 hour session
Up to 2 locations
30-50 images
$100 print credit
11x14 metal canvas

Extravagance ~ $500
3 hour session
Up to 3 locations
50-75 images
4x6 hard cover photo book (incl. 24 photos)
$100 print credit
16x20 metal canvas

Please contact me for further pricing information including wedding packages.

CONTACT
Jessica @ 360.620.7526 or coppermoments@comcast.net

Nighty night nap time.

2009-10-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

I have definitely been blessed with two totally different children. My oldest has never been too fond of naps. I can't remember a nap where I didn't have to rub her back or her feet or her face or arms. She just loves to be sung to, cuddled and for me to run my fingers along her skin. There have been quite a few times that I have actually fallen asleep doing this only to be woken up by her exclaiming to "keep rubbing mommy." And so when my youngest came along I was sure nap time would be the same process. I was wrong. My youngest LOVES her naps. In fact she gets quite upset and sad when she doesn't get them.

This year is my sweet E Claire's last year of preschool. They meet 3 afternoons a week from 12:30 until 3. I am not sure whos idea it was to have it in the afternoon right at her nap time, but she doesn't like it. Every morning she will ask, "Is it a school day today?" If I answer yes I automatically get a sad face and the retort "that means no nap today, huh mommy?"

Now don't get me wrong she thinks school itself is fabulous but she loves her naps WAY more. On school days I will pick her up and she asks me if I have her blankie because she needs "nighty night nap time." I figure this is my ballance for my O who doesn't want anything to do with naps or going to bed at night.

Gotta love their differences. :)

Hood River, Oregon

2009-10-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

Another fabulous weekend with my wonderful girlfriends has come and gone. It is hard to believe that we have been getting together every year for 6 years now. This year we all met up in Hood River, OR where we found a great little house right in town. It was the perfect size for those of us that made it this year. It was clean, well stocked, and easy to find. The owners were great to work with and the cost was amazingly reasonable. We will definitely keep this in mind if we ever head back to Hood River.

One thing I have discovered is it takes WAY more time to get groceries in a store you have never been in than in a store you are comfortable and familiar with. It took me over an hour to get all the groceries for the weekend and I was by myself. Totally insane. Next time I will definitely contemplate getting the groceries at home and taking them with me.

Friday night everyone arrived. We had some great appetizers and snacks, drinks and visited. After heading to bed and getting a great night sleep we were ready for the day Saturday morning. We had cinnamon marble bread french toast with butter syrup, bacon and scrambled eggs. It was all delicious. We all got ready and headed out. We were blessed to have Kathy's little one Rebecca with us. It was so much fun. She is such a good baby.

Saturday we explored downtown, visited the Harvest Festival which included dodging in and out of the rain, had lunch in a cafe and snapped lots of pics of each other as we had a blast. What better fun could there be than hanging out with girl friends?

Saturday night we were back at the house for a fabulous dinner that had been cooking all day in the slow cooker and games and more visiting. Simply it was an amazing weekend and I can't wait until next year at Long Beach/Ocean Shores.

Bert & Loni

2009-10-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

Here are our two new additions to our family.

Loni

Bert

Two cute little sleepy kitties.

Ellie, Bert & Loni

Nightmares.

2009-10-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

My oldest had her first nightmares last night. It was such a sad moment. She woke up and came in our bedroom with tears covering her face. I pulled her up onto the bed and she cuddled on my lap crying. I asked her what had happened and she just told me that there were scary dreams about spooky things. So we laid there and talked about all the good happy things she could dream about for the rest of the night while her daddy rubbed her back. These were some of the suggestions that came up:

1. Butterflies.
2. Wild horses
3. Unicorns
4. Rainbows
5. Disneyland (This was a top choice for Olyvia. She said it was probably the best idea.)
6. The beach
7. Being on TV with Rachel Ray (Another very good idea in Olyvia's book.)
8. Cuddling with mommy (This was one of my favorites.)
9. Fields of flowers.
10. Her new kitties.

After this discussion she was in a much better mood and ready to go off to her bed and dream about Disneyland and Rachel Ray.

Testing my patience.

2009-10-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

I really am not sure if I am winning. In fact, I am pretty sure that I am loosing the test my oldest daughter is currently putting me through. It is as if she knows when I am on my last nerve or can no longer take the arguing or screaming or fits because it is then that they get worse or louder or totally unbearable. I know that this is not only a test for me but a lesson for her as well. Each moment is a teaching moment. How I react is going to teach her how she should behave in the future. I understand that. My question is how do I survive the process?

Time all to myself.

2009-09-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

I tried to have free time all to myself last night. I made two big mistakes. The first was thinking I could get some free time to myself and the second was actually attempting it.

I decided to take a bath and maybe even work a Sudoku or read some of my book that I haven't been getting to (A Tree Grows In Brooklyn). I ran a nice hot tub while listening to my youngest beg over and over and over again to please come in the tub with me. Lip out and everything. I asked her ever so nicely to please give mommy just a few minutes of quiet time in the tub and then she can join me. I admit I was probably begging just a little. My sanity needed the time.

As I lower myself into the tub ever so slowly enjoying the nice hot warmth of the water, I hear my oldest say "where are the kitties?" This may seem like a normal questions, except that we have a pretty small house and if they can't be found chances are they escaped to outside and that would be bad. I listen for a little and am hearing no sense of urgency to find the little kitties and so out of the tub I go to assist in the hunt. I ask my wonderful husband if he has looked in the cubby and under the desk to which he replies "yes." So I skip those locations and look everywhere else. This included walking around outside wrapped in a towel with my husband's slippers on calling our two new kitties. The humor in that is that they probably don't know their names yet so I am not sure what good I am doing by calling their names. Back upstairs I go. Again I ask Robb if he looked under the desk and he replies "yes." I look in all the cubbies, under the beds, in cupboards, under couches and everywhere else I can think of except under the desk because Robb is adamant that he checked there.

By this time I am starting to get frustrated. My bath water is getting cold I just know it and the amount of time I have for some alone time is slipping away while I search for the kitties. I decide for the heck of it to look under the desk. Guess what? There they were looking up at me with their big eyes all sprawled out enjoying some lazy alone time. With that I stood up, practically fuming. So upset that precious minutes from my alone time had been stolen. I went to the bathroom and locked myself in. Lowered myself back into the tub and sank all the way under the water. I didn't want to hear anything except my own breathing for as long as possible.

New Kitties

2009-09-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

I think I was on something. That is the story I am sticking to. I could go with "I was drugged by their cuteness" because that would work also. Either way nothing could have prepared me for the cat poop massacre that I just had to deal with.

I suppose my first mistake was trying this new crystal cat litter. It is HORRIBLE. It doesn't clump and it doesn't stick to poop. And as far as I am concerned that is a definite necessity.

Picture this . . . Robb walks in the bathroom while the girls are in the shower and asks them if they pooped in the shower it smells so bad. I tell him it was probably his cat (Bert has already had a few that could peel paint.) and he says "Wow! Some cat." He then proceeds to go about doing whatever it was that he was doing before he smelled the atrocity. I then go into the bathroom and it still smells horrible. I ask him if he cleaned the box and he says "No."

No? Why the heck not? I tell him he either needs to clean the box or finish making the bed with the fresh sheets I just washed. He of course chooses the bed. I head to the bathroom and get in there just in time to witness Bert trying to cover up his poop with the horrible crystal cat litter and it isn't working and the poop is getting thrown all over the toilet and the walls. I go in really quick like and scoop him out of the box while trying to not get any poop on me. I then notice these little poopy paw prints heading out of the bathroom. I realize that those have to be Lonni's since I am holding Bert. I yell to Robb to grab her and sure enough Lonni's paws are covered in poop. I check Bert's and his are also. I hand the two cats to Robb and tell him "You get the poopy paws if I have to clean the poopy walls and floor."

So that is how I spent my Saturday evening. I cleaned cat poop off the toilet and the walls in our bathroom. I wonder what the week has in store for me. I can't wait. Maybe after I get over this little poop incident I will post some pictures of the little trouble makers.

My answer in a not so golden wrapper.

2009-09-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

Ellie started school this week and since Monday I have been wondering how it was going to go. I wasn't worried about whether or not she would have a fun time or if she would make friends. I knew that she would have a fabulous time. What I was concerned about was if having school right during her normal nap time would be such a good idea. I have learned the answer to my question. No!

I learned this while in Walmart this evening. Ellie and I stopped there on our way home from gymnastics to grab a few groceries (laundry detergent, bleach, silk). I didn't even make it into the store before sweet Ellie turned into psycho screaming Ellie. It was a pleasant experience for sure as I zoomed around the store gathering the few things I needed and flying towards the checkout as fast as I could. Went right for the self check, avoiding any unnecessary contact with other humans, paid and went straight for the car.

The one positive . . . fastest trip through Walmart ever.

Sam Murdoch

2009-09-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

I was recently given the fun opportunity to take pictures of the girls' past babysitter and her boyfriend.

Proud Mom Moment

2009-09-23T17:38:00.000-07:00

I would have to say that one of the proudest mom moments ever is seeing my beautiful girls excited for their first days of school. They both talked about it weeks before it happened building up to the big day. This year was a really big year for Olyvia. It is her first year of all day school.

Here she is on her way to her first day in Mrs. Hawkins' first grade class.

There were a few kids that were still clinging to their parents but my daughter just reassured me everything would be just fine with a quick, 'love ya mom.' My cue to head out.

It was all old hat for Ellie as she started her first day of her last year in preschool with Teacher Sue. She too was extremely excited and after a quick picture outside of her portable. . .

I had to chase after her to catch up with her.

After washing hands and signing in, she went straight to the rug with her friends.

I really feel blessed that my girls are so comfortable where they are at and that they are establishing a love for school and education at such an early age.

I wonder. . .

2009-09-18T13:20:00.001-07:00

Recently I have come up with some great ideas for things I wanted to blog about. You may notices that my blog has not been bombarded with new posts lastely which may lead you to ask, "where are all these great ideas?" Excellent question.

All these fabulous ideas I have gotten have either come while I am driving down the highway and can't stop to write them down or when I am just about into lovely dream land and don't want to get out of bed. I think to myself that I can remember the idea if I just repeat it to myself multiple times. Then I sit down to blog and instead of the wonderful amazing idea that I had running through my mind earlier, you get this.

So, I appologize for my inability to remember these great ideas and I promise that I will try and keep a notebook with me at all times, even under my pillow if necessary, so that you don't miss out on any wonderful tidbits I might have to offer.

Toffee

2009-09-17T12:57:00.001-07:00

We have had a loss in our family. Something we hate to see our children go through is the loss of a family member. Robb and I had our first experience with telling our children that their pet kitty had disappeared. There were a lot of tears and our youngest exclaimed "Don't be sad sissy. She will be back tomorrow" as our oldest shed buckets of tears.

Olyvia wanted to know all the details but I had to tell her that I really didn't know. I explained that she could have been caught by a wild animal or she could have been sick and wandered off, but that I just didn't know for sure. Watching her struggle with this was sad for me as her mother. I could see her trying to grasp the meaning of it and then all of a sudden she stopped crying, she looked at me and explained to me, quite matter of fact, that Toffee had gone to find her mommy and would be fine because if she was lost that is what she would do.

And so our wonderful kitty went to find her mommy. She will be missed, but we enjoyed all the fun times we had with her.

'Night' by Elie Wiesel

2009-09-13T20:05:00.001-07:00

'Night' by Elie Wiesel is an amazingly powerful true story of a young Jewish boy who is taken from a ghetto with his family to a concentration camp as told by Elie himself and translated by his wife. The book details the horrors of seeing his family ripped from his life and his father murdered by the Nazi soldiers. I was crying in the first chapter and there were parts of the book where I was actually sick to my stomach and had to take a break from reading. That said, it is definitely on the top of my "best books" list and I would highly recommend it to anyone, especially those searching for a first hand perspective on the atrocities that occurred at the hands of the Nazi's during WWII.

***** A definite must read for all.

This book was highlighted on the Oprah book club and her website offers some great resources.

What have I read?

2009-09-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

Earlier today someone mentioned that, while on my blog, they were surprised not to see more posts on books I have ready. I then realized she was right and I couldn't believe it. So I have decided that I really need to do something about that. Plus, by sharing my love for reading I can hopefully encourage another to read a good book.

I am going to rate books on a 5 star scale in relation to all books I have read. Should it happen that I read a book I don't want anyone to have to suffer through it, it would receive zero stars. I will also try to give a brief explanation of what I thought of the book. I would encourage anyone who reads my reviews of the books to comment, especially if you disagree. Many people will have differing opinions on the same book and I love to discuss those in a outlet such as this so others can review the debate, read the book and then make their own opinions.

Enjoy and happy reading!

Michaud Family Photos

2009-09-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

Rencently I had the amazing opportunity to take photos of a friend's family. They hadn't had family photos in a while and had asked me if I would take them and I was honored. The family is a very close and it could be seen in how they interacted with each other and how the kids interacted with each other. It was pure joy to see it. Here are a few of the pictures from the evening.

A beautiful day at the beach.

2009-09-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful evening it was. I met up with Sara and her wonderfully spunky daughter, Hanna, at the beach. It was great to see her and Hanna enjoying each other so much in such a beautiful place. Hanna was intrigued by everything and I loved following her around and capturing her beautiful personality as she went.

Leilah turns 3!

2009-09-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

We had a great time last weekend at my niece's 3rd birthday party. My sister decided to hold it at Silverdale Waterfront which proved to be the perfect location. The kids could play on the playground, there was concrete for them to draw on with chalk, grass to run in, and beach to explore. Plus it was a beautiful day. I was able to get some precious pictures that I want to share with all of you.
Is she a beauty or what? Oh, and she loved the watermelon.

The Neighbor Kids.

2009-09-01T00:33:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun last Saturday when I was able to take pictures of our neighbor's three kids. They are such beautiful children. I took some bubles with me to help them be more at ease with the idea of someone taking a lot of pictures of them and it worked like a charm for the girls. The son was a little tougher, but upon promises of a tractor ride and a visit from the neighbors' dog he became a lot more excited. They were so much fun to shoot and I can't wait to get an opportunity to take some more pictures of them.

Ashley & Dan's Wedding in Virginia

2009-08-24T22:07:00.001-07:00

On August 8th Ashley and Dan were married at the Historic Kinloch in Supply, Virginia. What an honor it was to be able to photograph my cousin as she wed such a wonderful man. It was wonderful to watch the two of them over the few days that I got to spend with them. Their relationship is truly wonderful. I look forward to sharing all the photos with you. Here are a couple of my favorites.

"WOOOSAAAAAH!"

2009-08-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

That is what I have to continue to repeat to myself as I lay in bed with my oldest daughter and try to get her to focus on reading. She loves books. She loves being read to. The problem comes in when she has to read. She knows how to do it but her personality just doesn't help her in this situation. Her mind wanders, her eyes wander, her feet twitch and there I am trying to get her to focus and pay attention long enough to read the first word. Did I say first? Yes, first word.

Last night she picked out a perfect book. It was a Level 1 Fancy Nancy book. I paged through it quickly to make sure that she wouldn't have too much trouble reading through it. After a quick glance I knew she would have no problem. We climbed up into her bed, tucked ourselves all in and I opened the pages, reading the author and illustrator to her. Then . . . the first page.

I tell her, "Ok, sweat pea. Your turn." She grabs a strand of her hair and looks at the page. I wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Finally she says, "That word is too hard. Can you read it?"
I reply, "No! You can read this. I will give you a hint though. It is a silent e word. What happens to the vowels in a silent e word?"
She quickly tells me, "Oh, so I just say their name, right?" I quickly affirm her thought and tell her to give it a try.

Now, the word she is trying to say is Before. She says the sound for B and then waits. She says the sound for e and then waits. She says the sound for f and then waits. She says the sound for o and then waits. Finally she says the sound for r and then waits. And waits. Playing with her hair. Then she exclaims that she is just too hot and needs to get out from under the covers. So I get her out from under the covers, nicely ask her to take her hair out of her mouth and tell me what the word is. "I can't remember" she exclaims.

By this time I am starting to get a little frustrated. It has been over 10 minutes and all we have read is the title, author, illustrator and the letters B-e-f-o-r-e and one of those letters is silent. I tell her to try sounding it out again only to say the sounds a little closer together this time.

Her fingers go into her mouth and she is looking at the ceiling. Examining what, I am unsure of. I ask her to focus and read the word. "But mom, I don't know how to read." Oh my gracious I am going to explode. I exclaim to her that she does she is just choosing not to at this moment and she needs to pull herself together and read. Again we go through sounding out each letter.

Now if you haven't done so already I want you to sound out the word Before slowly making sure to say the vowel names in their place. This is what was happening. Then I would ask, "OK, now what word is that?" She would exclaim with an exhausted expression, "I don't know mom. I can't read." What, but she had just said it. Can't she hear the word? But then I got clever to her and realized it wasn't that she couldn't figure it out. . . oh no, it was that she didn't want to. She wanted to lay there and have me read to her.

After almost 25 minutes working on the word Before I decided that she was way to tired to continue and told her we were done for the evening and could read another night. I think really that was an excuse I used so that I could get out of the room before I totally exploded. My patience level was about at the end of a frayed rope.

I wonder if there is a way to skip past the "learning to read" and get right to the "able to read?" I am sure this will be some sort of great bonding experience for my girls and I, right?

Gonzales Ramseyer Wedding.

2009-08-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

Wow! What an amazing last few days. I was given the fabulous opportunity to photograph the wedding weekend of my amazing and wonderful cousin Ashley and her fiance Daniel. They are an amazing couple. Up until this weekend I hadn't had the opportunity to meet Daniel yet, and now that I have I know just what a perfect couple the two of them are.

They were a blast to photograph and I can't wait to get the pictures up for you all to see.

Happy Birthday Olyvia Renae!

2009-07-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

Turning 6 has to be pretty amazing. What a great age to be. There is playing, food, cake, friends family and presents. However, after the blessed event we have decided not to combine Olyvia's birthday party with our summer bar-b-que again because she tends to get a big head. Her comment to us the morning of July 11th was, "when are all my people going to be here." The task of teaching humility and graciousness is upon us.

She was extra excited though and it was such a delight to watch her in her excitement each time a new friend arrived. She would go running up to them and attack them with the biggest hug ever and then lead them to show them everything there was to show them.

Robb did a great job at being host and I tried to remain focused to make sure everything went off without a hitch and that I took pictures to capture the day. A task in itself with kids running every direction and adults everywhere. It was great fun however and everyone seemed to have a nice time. Weather was wonderful right up until the thunder clapped and the rain poured around 7pm. By then, however, most of the party had dispersed.

The Cakes

My wonderful husband stayed up late with me helping me to make the cakes. He made all the frosting and then was my assistant in getting them decorated.

Fourth of July Fun!

2009-07-20T23:15:00.001-07:00

Another year has past and 4th of July is here again. The weather was amazing as we found ourselves spending the entire day on Friday out on the boat on Lake Cushman. Saturday we decided to hang out at Lake Kokanee so the girls could more easily get in and out of the water. We all had a blast.

Looking up the lake at sunset from the boat.

Ellie making a silly face at the camera while out on the lake in the boat.

Leilah Grace caught for a quick picture while she was sitting on the back of the boat watching all the stuff going on. She was being so observant.

Leilah and Ellie went with Robb in the tube behind the boat for a slow pull. It was so cute to watch them. When Leilah was done Olyvia got into the tube and the girls went with dad on a fast ride. It was so great watching them. They were soooo excited right up until the tube flipped over and into the lake they went. I was a little freaked out until I saw all heads bob above the water line. When they got in the boat they were wide eyed, but soon recovered and thought it was cool that they had had their first "wipe out." Ellie was quick to let us know that she didn't want to do that again for a little while.

Olyvia trying out her new birthday present, a brand new bike with no training wheels.

Our little fisher. She was very serious about trying to catch something, even though she didn't have a hook or bait on her line. :)

Shower Police.

2009-07-19T23:33:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been in the shower and gone to turn off the water only you missed getting it completely shut off? All of a sudden ice cold water is shooting out at you from the shower head and you are simultaeously trying to jump out of the shower while also reaching through the ice cold water to get it shut off all the way. For some reason this happens to me a lot. I am unsure why. Maybe the shower police don't realize that I don't want my shower to give me the same reaction as if I jumped into a lake filled by glacial meltoff.

Michael Jackson's 'Man In The Mirror'

2009-07-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

Candy Disaster

2009-07-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

Not sure what I was thinking but I decided to have a wonderful day with my two beautiful daughters shopping for the groceries and stuff that we are going to need for this weekends birthday party. Michaels was our first stop and it went rather well. Then to Gymboree to exchange something and you could tell they were getting a little more difficult. My mom was with me and thought of the awesome idea to bribe them with the fact that we would be going to Costco and they could snack on all the samples for lunch. They were excited about this and that managed to get us out of the store and back to the car without any huge arm flailing instances.

Once at Costco we discovered that there were no samples to be had anywhere. Great! So, to get through Costco we tell them we are going to Central Market next and they can have a tortilla when we get there. We manage to get out of Costco with minor disagreements and we are headed back to Poulsbo.

At Central, glad I had a list, we make our way through the store rather quickly except for the candy isle. We are on the bulk candy isle for over 20 minutes going through the different lists I have of the specific candies I need for the cakes, counting out the candies, labeling them and closing each of the bags. All the while fighting the girls from climbing on the bulk bins, pulling candy out of the bulk bins with their hands, pushing the cart into me, into grandma, and into strangers. By the time we were done and at the checkout I was ready to be home. We get the groceries paid for and head to the car. As I am unloading the groceries into the car I notice that there is no candy anywhere. I check all the bags two or three times and once assured that there are no candies anywhere leave my mom at the car with the girls while I run back into the store to recover my bag of candies. I get to the checkout to discover that there is a different bagger there. I ask about my candies and it is as if I am talking to a wall. The checker helps me by translating what I thought was a perfectly understandable question. "I just bought a bunch of bulk candy but it didn't get put into my grocery bags. Is it here?" After some assistance by others around him it is learned that he put it into the cart of the guy that was behind me thinking it was his candy. He is told to see if he can catch the guy in the parking lot so he heads outside. He then stands outside the door looking completely lost. I head back to the car to get my receipt. By this time I am livid, but trying to keep calm reminding myself that this is a learning experience for my girls. So I calmly explain that I am very frustrated because it turns out that the candy we spent almost a half hour picking out is gone. I take my receipt and head back into the store. I ask the checker what I am supposed to do since i paid for all this candy by weight and it is now gone, all while I am fighting back the tears that are welling up in my eyes. She says to just go and try to get what I thought I had and "we'll call it good."

And so I blaze back to the bulk bins, like going faster is going to make the process easier. So there I was crying in the bulk food candy section recounting all the candy. It was a pitiful site. I now have what I think is what I started with as best as I can determine from my receipt. I just hope I didn't forget anything. It sure would be interesting if the bunny cake had no eyes or the horse cake had no ears. I guess we will see on Saturday.

Lake Ozette

2009-07-07T23:36:00.000-07:00

Yay! The summer is here and we can finally get out and do some hiking. Although I have to admit that we haven't gotten out as much as I wish we had. Our most recent hike took us way out west to Lake Ozette where we hiked out to the ocean. The girls did fabulous. They hiked the entire way without being held. Three miles out to the ocean, a couple hours of hiking around and eating lunch on the beach and a 3 mile hike back to the trailhead. Over 7 miles of hiking and they were great.

Grandma and Papa came with us which was a lot of fun and helped on the way home when Papa relieved Robb from some of the driving. Luckily we had gotten a hotel room on Friday night so didn't have to do the entire drive and hike in one day but it still made for a long day. The girls loved picking up shells as we walked along the rocks in the low tide. We still have all these shells in a dish in our garage. The girls want to find somewhere in our yard to put them. Possibly in one of the flowerbeds.

My little graduate.

2009-07-07T23:25:00.001-07:00

The last few weeks have been so busy I finally realized that I haven't been keeping you all as up to date as I would hope. One of the most poignant moments in the last few weeks was when my oldest, Olyvia, received her diploma from Kindergarten.

I can hardly believe she is old enough, but old enough she is. Tomorrow will be her 6th birthday. She is so excited she has been counting each day since the 1st of July. This evening as I was tucking her into bed she says to me, "Mom, tomorrow is day 8! My birthday." A huge smile across her face, her hands in tight little fists and her whole body shaking with excitement. Then she continued "and then day 9, and then day 10 and then..." a squeal of glee, "day ELEVEN!" I asked her "what is day 11?" She exclaimed with astonishment, "Mom, my party." Oh yeah, that's right. I had almost forgotten.

Poulsbo Elementary did something that I really liked this year. Instead of having some sort of graduation ceremony where they all get into caps and gowns, they had a picnic and all family was invited. It was great. Here are some pics of the girls playing and enjoying an afternoon picnic to mark the end of Olyvia's first year of school.