We are back from the dead!

Wow, watch out for the flu this season! It knocks you out flat for days! Thursday around noon it hit me, and I was down for the rest of the day. Michael got it on Friday and we were both worthless. Luckily Reece had only a half day of school on Friday so he could be our little slave boy and take care of us, as well as tend to Maya and Mason. What a weekend for Reece, what a trooper. He spent his weekend getting Maya and Mason food, clothing and drinks. He was also sweet enough to entertain them the best he could. Luckily today I was functioning at about 80% so I could relieve him of his slave duties, so he could go to school.

It is bad, don't get me wrong, when you have the flu. But, when you have 3 little ones, a dog, a cat, and 6 chickens to take care of as well, then it gets nasty! It is times like this that I reflect back and say, Thanks Mom and Dad! I know times were rough when you were raising us, thanks for stickin' it out!

Love you mom and dad!

Quick Flight to L.A.

I was asked to fly to L.A. to photograph a family before their wedding anniversary party. I flew out at 10am from Salt Lake, shot for a couple of hours, and flew home on a 4pm flight. I got into L.A. , and saw the groups of people walking to the beach, and drove past Venice Beach (my favorite beach), I wished I had a couple more hours there in L.A. No, I wish I had a whole week there with my kids and hubby. Next summer, no Disneyland or Sea World for us, give me a week at the beach!

The family I took the pictures for had been married 70 years. They built the house they lived in probably 60 years ago, most of the other homes around them have been torn down and replaced with large mansions. Chris O' Donnell lives right across the street from them. I attached a picture of him in case you don't know who it is.

I wish I had my camera out during the car ride, but I didn't. So, I got it out for the plane ride. Here are a few shots from the plane.

Peace offerings from the earth

This year I have battled with the earth and tried to get it to produce some sort of vegetation that is edible. I started all my seeds months ago inside the house, most popped up and were doing well, others didn't make it. When it was time for my little plants to brave the outdoors, I carefully tilled the earth, made sure it stayed moist, got neat little hoses that would trickle water right to their roots, made sure there were not nasty weeds that would crowd them, etc. I also planted some seeds right into the soil; carrots, beets, radishes, cauliflower, and onions. To my dismay, I watched as the birds pecked away all the seeds, and despite the nifty hoses, the brave little plantlings scorched. At this point, I threw my hands in the air and said, "forget it!"

But, the earth has come to me with a peace offering. It is as if it is saying, "Don't give up on me, I will do better to produce for you next year. Here is a gift to enjoy, it isn't much, but it might help you remember what great things I can make."

The peace offering worked, I won't give up on my little plot of earth that I call a garden. I will weed, and till, and water, and plant, and weed some more, all in hopes of some edible vegetation.

Maya discovered the peace offering amongst the weeds, she proudly modeled the 2 squash.

Simpsonized!

There's nothing like playing on the computer when you aren't feeling well. I "simpsonized" the kids. I'm not sure why the format is all crazy. Adrian, you've got to try this!

1st day of school

It's official, summer has come to an end at our house. No more late nights riding bikes on the street with all the neighbor kids. No more lazy summer days, going to the park, the pool. No more working on our tans.

It is back to strict bed times, homework, chores, reading every night, rushing kids off to school in the morning, remembering to send lunch money, and worst of all.....a routine!

Of course I took the traditional 1st day of school pictures, and of course I said, "just one more shot" maybe 10 times.

Back to School

Well, it looks like Reece isn't the only one going back to school this Fall. I just registered at the local Community College. I will just be taking one 3 credit internet class this semester, then only 3 more classes till I have an associates degree.

Stephan and Kelly

I just had to share a picture from a recent wedding I went to. This is Michael's cousin Stephan and his new wife Kelly. The vow's were so touching, I was crying while taking the pictures. I have been to a lot of weddings (as a photographer) and I have heard a lot of vows, but never have I heard anything that was so obviously straight from the heart. Good luck in your new life together, you are a beautiful couple!

Reece's creative card making

Reece made a thank you card for my brother Brandon. I'm so proud of what he came up with, I think he did an amazing job. He is also starting to have quite the sense of humor as well as being creative, he is always doing things to see if I will laugh, as you can see in 2 of the pictures.

Maya's Birthday Invitation

I have been having this overwhelming desire to be crafty. This is Maya's invitation to her princess birthday party. She wanted the princess theme, and I didn't want to go and buy a pack of invitations from Walmart with a Disney Princess on them like everyone else does. I wanted Maya to be the princess on the card. With inspiration from my friend Sarah, this is what I came up with. I love it! Thanks Sarah!

You can click on the image to see it in more detail.

Free?!?!? You got my attention

I think Michael is going to kill me, I will pick up anything on the side of the road that has a free sign on it. This was my latest find, you can't beat free!

Are you prepared?

Well, the stress of a great disaster is ever looming over our heads. Michael and I decided that we needed to be prepared in case anything ever happened. So, here is our 6 month supply of food, of course it doesn't stop there, but it is a start. We are quite proud of ourselves. Take the poll on how prepared you are. Also, if you are interested, click here to get to the link for this food storage. Tell them Marisa Johnson sent ya, (they will send me a free can of soup). Also, if you would like information on Provident Living, you can click here.

ABC Adventures

These were really fun for the kids. Each of them have their own adventure, when you are done watching, you can make your own. Mason's is the cutest (not that I'm choosing favorites or anything).

Link To watch Reece's adventure, click here

Link to watch Maya's adventure, click here

Link to watch Mason's adventure, click here

People pay to do this?

Wow, the stress of family pictures is almost overwhelming! We woke up at 6am to get ready for our family pictures, left at 7, started shooting at 7:30am. You may be asking yourself why we put ourselves through such torture. Well, being a photographer, I knew that was when there would be the best lighting. It is the price I'm willing to pay for good light.

Pictures? Not my family!

Recently I have attempted to get my kids pictures taken. Yes, I am a photographer, but it is so incredibly hard to take good pictures of your own kids. My friend Megan Knorpp took these pictures of my kids, they are the only shots that they actually behaved for, so you won't be seeing any other shots from this sitting. But, if you would like to see more of Megan's work you can visit her website by clicking here