Creations From Everyday Life

Awesome was called this day.

It was kick a**.

Early, Jared left to take the scouts to EFY. But he didn't stay because we needed to get things done HERE. When he returned, he toted chocolate milk and dough-nuts. Good guy.

We spent about an hour working together to clean up the house. We had a couple coming by to see it between 10 and noon. And, although we already have an accepted offer on our house... our agent suggested we let this couple come through in hopes of a back-up offer.

They came, and left.

We decided to go to D.I. to see if they had a bike Jocelyn's size. You see, Jocelyn's bike is too big for her to ride with no training wheels. She's just not daring enough to hop on and go... let alone jump off when it's time to stop (like someone I know... Seth). Lucky for her, we found a bike! For 4 dollars. And Kate found a scooter (for $2 I think). We bought them both.

Jared had to go pick up the scouts and bring them back home. While he did that, Jocelyn watched some documentary on PBS about skunks... and Katelyn and Calvin helped me plant my bulbs in the back yard.

My bulbs came from Walmart last week. I was browsing the garden section and they had a bunch of clearance bulbs left over from fall. Instead of $4.00 a pack, they were $1.00. From my experience... bulbs still grow perfectly fine in St. George whether you plant them in October, or January. So we planted them today. Daffodils, Tulips, Hyacinths, and Crocus'.

When Jared got home, we went to Walmart to get a few things for Jocelyn's new bike. It needed new tubes, but what else would you expect from a $4 thrift store bike?! We got a few other things, and were quickly on our way home. Jared fixed Jocelyn's bike, and she was off... riding circles around and around the street. Kate hooked her scooter onto our wagon, put Tess in the wagon, and pulled her around. Tess loved this.

Tess is really thankful to have older siblings. Kate plays with her while Jocelyn is at school. This isn't the first time Tess has been pulled around the street in this wagon by Kate!

Jocelyn also likes to get Tess out of bed in the mornings while everyone else is still sleeping. I'm thankful for her helpfulness, because it usually means I get another 30 minutes of sleep. Jocelyn has even changed her diaper in the morning (and does a great job of it in case you were wondering)!

While the kids played in the street, Jared made sure my and his bikes worked (and tires were inflated). I went inside and made a picnic lunch. Then I packed up the truck. Jared put all of the bikes + the bike trailer that Beka gave to us in the bed of the truck.

We drove out to our lot to sort of celebrate our future "new" neighborhood.

Last week, I had joked that I was going to take some bulbs out to my lot and plant them around "my rock." My rock... is a rock that we assume they initially used to mark lots when they first mapped out the neighborhood. We've noticed that almost every lot (on our street at least) has a rock like this in the middle of the lot. Anyhow, this is MY rock. So... I said that I was going to go out and plant flowers around it since it would be F-O-R-E-V-E-R until I would be able to move there. It's funny now after everything that happened over the last couple of days! But, I wanted to go through with my crazy idea. For 1, who knows if this deal will even go through. and 2, if it does go through, it might be months and months and months before we get to break ground!!!

So I took my bulbs to plant around my rock!

Jared documented:

Tess tried to help plant... er... eat... the bulbs.

Good thing Tulips aren't poisonous. And good thing I didn't have Hyacinths with me (as they are).

Then I took over the responsibilities of camera woman. So, from here on out, if the pictures are crappy... it's my fault!

I have lots of pictures (not just from today) of Tess crawling away from me like this. It could be another whole post entirely.

$1 Tulips. Sweet.

Then the bike riding began. At first Kate's bike had training wheels. But she wanted them off so she could ride like Jocelyn. I was REALLY impressed. She did a great job, and worked real hard! She improved A LOT on her 2 wheel riding skills while we were there. Of course, there was a lot of space to practice too!

I had fun with shadows.

Calvin did a lot of this.

Then we were totally like the Brady Bunch and went out for a bike ride together. I had the bike trailer on my bike and pulled Calvin and Tess. Jocelyn rode her new $4 bike without training wheels. Katelyn asked for hers back on.. so that she could go the distance with us. Jared just hung back with the girls to make sure they were okay while I chugged along with the younger ones.

We rode over to our friends house to see how it was coming along.

Don't have a heart attack over Calvin playing right here over the drop off that is the stairs... without a rail yet.

HOLY CRAP THIS IS THEIR GARAGE. IT IS LITERALLY BIGGER THAN THE HOUSE WE CURRENTLY LIVE IN. **JEALOUS**

Yes. Everything you see is garage. In front of... and behind Jared. EVERYTHING with a concrete floor.

I want one of these patios...

Calvin, playing in Alex's backyard.

And then we rode back over to our lot and met up with some friends who came to visit.

Their kids + our kids played in a neighbors yard (err... bare lot), as the sun went down.

Came home.

Took baths.

Ate pancakes shaped like letters that spelled our names in cursive and hearts (I used batter and my cake decorating tips)

Watched "Robots."

Bedtime.

Good day.

...and we're all sunburned.

Sold.

So...

We just got an offer on our house.

Ever wonder what a Studio Tuesday looks like stuffed into my very small living room?

Picture courtesy of my 20D. See my big honkin' camera on the tripod? I love that thing. It gets double-takes on the street.

The Weekend.

We went to spend the weekend at a friends cabin. It was hardly roughin' it. We had power (via solar panels), and water (via a well)... and heat (via wood burning stoves). It was very nice. Although it was very cold (and rainy) outside... so we just stayed in. Above is a picture of Jamie crocheting with a head lamp on. I thought it was funny, so I took a pic.

Jocelyn did a lot of this:

Jared, Kate, and Calvin went outside for a bit between rain storms.

Tess did what she does best. She looked adorable the whole time.

And these were our views on the way home through Zion National Park.

...and then it got too dark.

I'm really thankful to have these...

newborn pictures for my portfolio.

Beka made the hat.

It Works!

Its Tuesday,

and my computer still doesn't work.

(I'm on Jared's laptop).

Studio Tuesday

Studio Tuesday (Jan, 27th 2009)

4:30pm - Jensen's

5:00pm -Frehner's

5:30pm -

6:30pm - Nell's

7:00pm - Chavez's

7:30pm - Quiroz

8:00pm -

8:30pm -Utley's

Absent.

So, most of my friends (and parents) know the reason why I haven't been blogging lately. and  believe me... I have a lot of material. It's because my brand new computer is broken. I can use it for photography/photoshop stuff... but it won't connect to the internet, and it won't work with any of our printers (we have 2). This has caused major disruption to my workflow, as I have had 2 CD's that I've burned for clients that i've been unable to print CD labels for listing the copyright release, and I have several sessions that I need to post to my Zenfolio gallery that I cannot.

Such is life...

This is why I hate reading.

I started reading Alas Babylon last night at 10:30pm.

I didn't pry myself away to go to sleep until 3am.

After I got Jocelyn off to school, got home and started reading.

I fed the kids lunch, and kept reading.

A friend came over for 20/30 minutes.... and then I went right back to reading.

Picked up Jocelyn, and kept reading.

Made some dinner. Kept reading.

Put the kids to bed. Kept reading.

Kept reading.

Kept reading.

Kept reading.

...and almost 24 hours later, at 10:34pm tonight, I finished reading.

It was a great book. I love to read. But I hate what it does to me.

My hair hasn't been combed. I'm still wearing pajamas and yesterdays socks. It looks as though the Atomic Bomb was dropped on my house. Plates, cups, food crumbs and toys are everywhere.

I think I'm going to bed.

Hopefully no one wants to look at our house tomorrow ;)

"Where Tuh - tee go?"

... is what Calvin asked on the way to pick up Kate from preschool?

Calvin: "Where Tuh-tee go? Where snowman go?"

Me: Grandma Tucky went home.

Calvin: Tuh-tee home?

Me: "Yes. Home to Kentucky... /kən-ˈtə-kē/" (pronouncing slowly).         

Can you say Kentucky?

Calvin: Yeah! 

             Ah Tuh Tee (ə-ˈtə-tē)

Me: Good enough.

I feel like...

...a mother bear emerging from the den, with new cubs.

A couple of days ago was Tess's first real time... outside... playing.

Yes she's been outside before, but usually in someones lap. Or she's sat down for just a moment on a blanket with some toys. But, now she can crawl, and that's a different story.

On this particular day, it was really warm. So I opened the back sliding door and left it open. The bigger kids went out to play. Tess crawled to the door way, and looked at me like, "Can I!" I motioned for her to go, and she was OUT!

Here she turned as if to say, "THIS IS SO COOL!"

To answer a few questions. Yes, she wore that same outfit for about 3 days in a row... which is why it has been in my last several posts. And, Yes, most of these pictures are over photoshopped because I just got photoshop and have been playing with actions.

Here she is discovering the sand box for the first time.

...has her eye on a rock that she likes.

And instead of being a normal baby in a sand box; eating sand by the handful... she decided to dive right in face first. No hands needed here!

Must have tasted good!

Dirty feet. How adorable.

Indian Snowflakes, and grazing.

Last night, I tried to tell this story at "girls night" and failed miserably because I couldn't stop laughing! Then I think everyone forgot about it, and the moment passed.

But, I took a picture so that I could blog it of course.

Last night, the girls (meaning Jocelyn and Kate) completely littered the house in pieces of white paper. Jocelyn learned how to make paper snowflakes at school, and she taught Kate. So, they really made a mess of it!

Katelyn was really excited about this one:

It's hard to tell in the picture, but she had fringed the edges of the snowflake.

"Mom. This is my Indian snowflake." -is what she told me.

__________________________________________________________

These next two pictures attest to where I spend a lot of time. On the computer. I'm sure you've noticed several pictures of Tess from this exact angle over the last week...

Tess grazes.

She kind of reminds me of a dog.

Whenever the kids have been eating, you will find Tess soon after scouring the ground for bits and pieces left behind by the older crew.

Here she is this morning.

I like how she looked at me like, "What mom?"

She's probably actually thinking, "Her and that darn camera."

(...and in case you are wondering, I'm trying to make up for all the blogging I didn't do in December.)

Playing with Photoshop

I just got Photoshop CS4 in the mail yesterday, so I've been playing around trying to figure out how to do things. So far, I really like it.

Thanks Dad!

... of course, now I'm fighting the urge to go back and photoshop everything I've done. I DID already go through and update the pictures on the main page of my website. I added a few new pictures, but mostly I just modified the coloring, and made the black and whites look a TON better.

I <3 Actions.

10 Months.

Can you believe she is already 10 months! I mean... in 2 more months, she will be 1!

This makes me sad.

She has developed quite the personality. Some days, I find myself saying that she is going to act just like Kate. Then, other days I find myself saying she acts just like Jocelyn. She's a mesh of both I guess. Definitely mischievous.

She is starting to be REALLY interested in standing. She pulls up to anything she can get a grip on.  This included ME as I was trying to take a picture of her. 

so... I thought I'd try to get a picture of her actually standing by herself.

She sits down very quickly. I think she still lacks confidence. Plus, I wouldn't want to fall on that hard floor either!

She hates naps/bedtime.

And yes, I need to lower her crib so that she doesn't go crashing out. So far she hasn't (knock on wood).

She has always slept through the night. She normally goes to bed between 8 and 9pm. She wakes up around 7:30am. Except lately she has started testing us. Last night around 11pm, she woke up. She could hear Jared and I talking and started to cry. Me, being the sappy mom that I am thought I'd go get her, and "top her off" and put her back in bed. She nursed, and then wanted to play. Jared and I wanted to go to bed! So, I laid her back in her bed. She screamed. And screamed. And screamed. And then stopped, and listened. And then screamed. And then listened. And then screamed. Jared and I thought it was funny, and tried not to chuckle too loudly.

Finally she decided that we weren't going to come get her, and went to sleep for the rest of the night.

She hates sleeping covered up. We have to make sure she has clothing that covers her arms and legs because she WILL NOT tolerate a blanket. She could be in deep sleep, and if I place a blanket on her she will kick her legs until the blanket is off.

She sucks her thumb.

... and although she hates blankets laying on top of her, she likes to rub them on her face.

She hasn't said her first word yet. Although Jocelyn claims she said "Ass," and last night Katelyn told me she said a full sentence (which I can't remember). She does babble, "hiss," and make lip smacking noises with her mouth.

This is one of her favorite toys:

 

Beka made it for her when she was brand new. It has always just sat in her bed. It has a scarf knitted to it, that isn't really a scarf anymore. It's just pieces of yarn, because Tess worked hard to unravel it.

I can't get her to STOP DIGGING IN THE DIRT. I've swept the living room floor 5 times already today, and it's noon. She knows when I'm sitting on the computer, and thus has maximum playing time before she is ratted out by Kate.

She sits in the cart at the store like a big girl.

She loves to wrestle with the dog when he's inside, and he's a good sport about it.

She loves to be outside. If a door opens, she is OUT. Yesterday it was fairly warm outside (50's), so I let her go outside and play with Katelyn and Calvin. I stayed inside and put away laundry, but made sure I could see her at all times from a window. I thought it was funny, because Kate and Calvin were taking rocks from the side of our driveway, and throwing them into the street. Tess would pick up a rock, taste it, and then try to throw it to the street too. (FYI...after awhile, I made them get the rocks from the street and put them back.)

She loves water. Baths are awesome. The sink is awesome. Pools are awesome. The dogs water bowl is awesome. Lately, our dog has been sleeping inside at night. Before bed, we fill up a bowl of water so that he can get a drink with his dinner. Tess usually beats us up in the morning, and Jocelyn usually gets Tess out of bed and plays with her. On several occasions, we awoke to Tess in the kitchen with the dogs water spread everywhere. We have since had a talk with Jocelyn about this.

She claps when she is up to something mischievous.

Above, I sat her on the kitchen table and she started clapping. My theory is because she knows she isn't supposed to be sitting on the kitchen table. If I catch her playing in the dog water, she looks at me and claps. If I catch her digging in the plant, she looks at me and claps. I think it is her way of saying, "Hey, look! I can clap! Isn't it cute? You can't be mad at me if I'm being cute!"

She chews the corners of books. This drives me CRAZY! Any book. If she sees a book, she will grab it, rotate it, and stick the corner in her mouth. Probably 1/2 of our children s books have chewed on corners.

She plays well alone.

Just yesterday, I found her underneath Jocelyn and Katelyn's bunk bed... chewing on a book.

She LOVES to eat "big people" food. She hates baby food, and will in no way eat baby crackers, jar food, formula, etc. I think her favorite thing to eat is bread sticks.

She went on a "date" to Olive Garden with Jocelyn and I on New Years Day and had a blast!

I'm pretty positive she ate an entire bread stick herself.

Floor Project: A Year Later.

This time last year I was 32ish weeks pregnant, and embarking on a total remodel of my house. New flooring through out, and new paint on EVERY SINGLE WALL. I was determined to be finished before the new baby came, because I knew I wouldn't have time once "it" arrived.

Here is the original post about the beginning of the project.

One year later, The big picture is done... but there are still random tidbits that still aren't finished.

Base Boards.

Other than the master bedroom, den, and hallway... they are still primer with nail holes.

Today for some reason... AFTER I finished taking down, putting in boxes, and hauling to the storage shed Christmas lights... AFTER I cleaned the house top to bottom because a Realtor was bringing someone by at 6pm... AFTER I went through the drive-thru at In-N-Out Burger and ate dinner in Jared's office at work... AFTER we all got home and put the kids in bed, I decided to do this for some reason:

Why all the tape and paper? I decided that I wanted to give spray paint a try, lol. I was sick of hand brushing everything. I found some spray paint that was gloss... that was intended for furniture and other wood projects... so figured, "hey... baseboards are made of wood!"

This particular strip in the kitchen is now finished. I admit it looks nice, better than the hand painted boards in the hallway. The house still smells like spray paint. And I don't know how the paint job will hold up against the kids... but at least it looks 300% better than it did before!

Hopefully I will have the motivation to spray paint the entire house (baseboards that is) soon! It will be nice to not worry about someone noticing them being unfinished as they look at the house. (Actually no one has noticed, and I've asked after the fact just to see and clarify that the project WILL be done before the house closes).

BUSTED!

I was sitting here typing my previous post, and saw this as I turned to look into the kitchen:

Lucky for me, my camera is usually sitting right here by my computer.

And I'm sure I was sending mixed signals. She usually gets a smack on the hand for this. But I thought I'd document the moment before pulling her away.

Who could stay mad at this cutie?

I registered for an,

advanced photography class at Dixie State College, if anyone is interested in taking it with me.

It is 2 Saturdays only, in February. The 21st and 28th, 9am - noon.

Here is a link.

Would you believe he put his hand there himself?

My mom bought him this sweet dress coat, and pants to match. The tie is actually green, and has soccer balls on it. This was the main reason why I chose to take this photo in black and white.

Despite everything, he looked adorable today. And my kids will probably be getting photographed a lot until the novelty of having a new camera wears off. Jocelyn asked me if I will take some pictures of her later. She's getting to the age where she actually requests to model!

It's about time!

Tell it like it is.

Jocelyn just asked me what the S.U.U. written on my sweatshirt meant.

I replied: "Southern Utah University. That's where I went to college. I bought it then."

She said: "You got that when you were in college??? And it still fits you???"

I don't know who loved this baby more.

Me. Or my camera.

and...

I now have a template for baby announcements (sized 5x7):

Grandma Tucky... I dare you not to laugh:

*inside joke*

(think Village Inn commercial).

Welcome, 3rd year of blogging...

I started this blog in the first week of January, 2007. In some ways, it seems like WAY longer than that. And then, in other ways, it feels like I started yesterday.

My blog serves several purposes. (1) 2000 mile bridge to my family in KY, (2) Journal, (3) self-promotion, (4) creative outlet.

It has had several face lifts.    Always changing.    Evolving.

I've slowly been working on turning my posts into a book. This has been really interesting, and has made me grateful for blogging. Through the process, I have come across MANY cute stories of my kids (things they say), that have cracked me up all over again. Things that I had completely forgotten about until I read them here.

Thank you blog for helping me remember my kids.

I think I like it best right now, (although my special Halloween themed page which ran about 3 days was particularly awesome).

The yearly New Year's party with friends was awesome too.

---I was the bartender---

Here's the pics:

Since it's hard to read at this size, the TV said 00:00:00 exactly in the lower right corner. Darn horizontal striping.