T-ball.... or dirtball?

I was Joy's designated driver/cheerleader on Thursday evening, and for once it wasn't raining, so I brought along my camera.
If there was any doubt she was related to Jacob, let all doubting cease. If I had pictures of Jake playing baseball, they'd pretty much look like this too. Only, add in some pictures of him chatting with friends, on the bases.



Sand is great for the glove...



Playing third base...


Playing shortstop



She's a bad influence...




But, she wasn't the only one tempted to stir up the dust, this little guy dragged his feet around all four bases...



He reminds me of Peanut's Pig Pen in this one...


Maybe next year instead of baseball, I'll sign her up for sandcastle building.

Updates

It's time for a little update, isn't it?
Well, the kids have been out of school for a couple of weeks now. I'm still trying to figure out a schedule that lets me get my study time in, them get their mommy time in, get my editing wedding pictures time in, and all of us get our sleep time in. It's not an easy juggle.
They are bored already and I feel bad because I haven't had the time yet to really help them do much out of the house stuff, except for t-ball nights and a couple of play dates.
Jacob has to have his bottom wisdom teeth removed, and that's been scheduled for July 8th. I hope he's feeling great by August for the High Adventure camping trip the scouts are planning on taking up by the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. That's a trip he is not going to want to miss!
We had his yearbook pictures done last week so that he wouldn't look swollen in them. I will be doing his graduation announcement pictures next spring. I prefer to have his images fresh and new, than ones done the year before, like some people do.
I have a horrible cold today and I'm taking things easy. Lucky for me I got a big paper out of the way before I came down with it. So I have a week to do some smaller assignments while I take it easy.
Lucky me, also, that I have Jake who can drive and take care of some things for me while I am not able to. Joy has a birthday party to go to tomorrow and so Jake took her out shopping for the present. He's so sweet! And I got to stay on the couch, still in my pajamas.
I finished up a math refresher course and begin a new one in two weeks, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, whew! But I think the next one might be.

So true...

I read this today...
"Be a best friend, tell the truth, over-use 'I love you', go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense, don't let those prayin' knees get lazy, and love like crazy."

Yesterday I shot my last wedding. I don't have any more booked after this.
It was a rainy day and much colder than I had planned on it being. The weather man told us that it would be upper 70's but I think the high was only 63. I was freezing. I'd worn suit pants and a short sleeved thin top, and as a last thought threw on a short sleeved sweater vest, but I should have grabbed my sued dress jacket!
I met up with the bride in the morning at her hair and make-up appointment and the weather was still dry when we left, but as I approached her house it began to rain and rained all morning clear up until the ceremony which was an outdoor ceremony scheduled for 5pm. They decided to go ahead with it around 5:30 and just after the bride walked down the isle the rain ceased for the rest of the evening! ARGH!
So pretty much it rained all through the portrait session times. I was sad because they had a beautiful 10 acre farm for us to use, and also her uncle's property as well as a horse drawn carriage! And because of the rain we only got to do a fraction of what we'd talked about doing, the night before.
Today my body is aching and hurting all over and I've had a migraine I can't get rid of, though I've taken a lot of pills to try.
I'll be putting up pictures on my business blog sometime this week.

When Eggs Freeze

Poor things, they didn't stand a chance once the bowl touched the side of the fridge.

We've had the flu going around our family since two weekends ago and I haven't had my turn yet. I'm worried it's going to hit me this weekend when I have a wedding to shoot. If I ever had to hope to get sick, it would be today.

The kids have one more day of school Today they were supposed to have an all school peace march but rain came and I am secretly happy about that. The kids wanted to do it, so I was going to let them, but I wasn't crazy about the school having them walking off the school property and having them participate in a march out in public for any reason, worthy or not.

The downside of the rain it that baseball was cancelled for the kids today too. Boo.

Got Fabric?

Right now I am supposed to be going through my coupons and setting up my shopping list for tomorrow, but I keep having something on my mind and decided to share it with y'all because I think that anyone who reads this blog has to have a fabulous mind and can appreciate the absurdity of the story I am about to share with you.

Yesterday my husband and I went out in the morning to run a few errands. We stopped at the church's garage sale the young women are having to raise money for girl's camp and scored Jaeden a new bike, yay! Then I took Joel over to Best Buy to pick up his birthday present, a new laptop to replace his that died a couple months ago. It was a little before 9am and they let us in the store anyway. We were in and out in 15 minutes. Then I drove across the parking lot to Jo-Ann fabric store to purchase some material to make my swim suit more modest. There was maybe one other customer in the store when I got there. I wasted no time in finding the fabric and color I wanted and was at the cutting table in two minutes.
Hmmm... no employees were around. I saw a ticket dispenser, but reasoned they had just opened and I was probably their first customer of the day so I didn't need to take a ticket and waste a piece of precious tree. I scooted to the end of the table and then I could see an employee stocking a shelf with items. I walked over to her and asked her politely if I could get some help at the cutting table. She was not happy with my request, and I could tell by her voice and face that I was bothering her. "Go over there and take a ticket and I'll be over in a bit to help you."
Okay, thanks.
So I go over to the table and notice the sign next to the ticket dispenser says something to the effect that I should take a ticket and continue my shopping and someone will call my number when they are ready to help me. Serious?
So I take ticket number 26 and stand around for a whole minute before "Pam" (yes, I read her name tag solely for the purpose of blogging about her and I find no shame in not changing her name) comes over to the table. Standing not more than three feet from me, she picks up a phone and announces over the speakers in the store that she is "now serving number 26 at the cutting table."
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
It took everything I have to not bust out laughing. I really should have walked out of the store at this time.
After composing myself I blurt out, "I am SO blogging about this."
She looks at me as if I am the one gone mad and sputtering out incoherent words.
Then I see she has caught onto my assessment of the situation and begins to explain to me in a very bored tone that this is the new way they are going to be doing things and she is just trying to follow protocol and get customers used to the new way.
I said, "I'm the only one in here".
She said, "We've had lots of people in here today."
I must have missed the 9am - 9:10am rush.
I asked, "in the last 15 minutes?" She informs me that I will be thankful for this when it comes Christmas season and the lines for cutting get long.
Uh, okay. Note to self: Buy Christmas fabrics at Hancock Fabrics.
She asked me about my project and we begin discussing how hard it is to find a swim suit that covers all the things we want covered. And the conversation is pleasant after that. She cuts my 12" and I'm on my way over to the registers.
The cashier is also stocking shelves but notices me on the way over. For explaining purposes I have created a diagram of what I can remember of the register area of the store. She is in green and her path is in green, I am the red "Me:)"
The cashier greets me and asks if I am ready to check out, "yep" I tell her. She then asks me to go around the shelving (diagrammed with red arrows) to the back cash registers as she cuts through them to get to her register to beat me there and greet me again.
Are you kidding me???
In my head I'm thinking, "What, is this to prepare me for the Christmas shopping season when I'll have to stand in long lines???"
As she checks me out the cashier asks me if I am on their mailing list, I assure her I am but also in my head I am thinking "I know what I'm lining my bird cage with this week."




I'm off to find some coupons I can really use!

Fool that I am

What was I thinking??? Oh my word. Ok, I got in over my head this week.
I had no idea what school was going to be like. It started on the 1st and I had five assignments due by the 4th. One was a room descriptive essay, which I will share with you at the bottom of this post.
I just finnished writting when all my essays are due and I can tell I'm going to be a very busy person for the next two months. Good thing I didn't take any more classes than I am.
I finished up my last session today and I have a wedding on the 12th and then I'm done with photography for clients. It's been painfully obvious to me this week that I cannot do both photography and school and be Mom all at the same time. It would be a different story if my kids were being watched by someone who would play with them and keep their minds going while I work on pictures. But they are not, and it's my job to do that.
I do feel good about this decision. I know at some point I may ache for a client, but I know I cannot do both. I just don't have those skills right now to toggle family, work and school.

Okay, now for my first essay.

Where My Heart Rests

Every house where love abides and friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home, for there the heart can rest.
-Henry Van Dyke
If you were to come to my home, the room that you would be greeted in is the room that I love most. This is the room where our family is introduced to family and friends alike. I spend hours each day in this room because all of my favorite things are kept here and I love that it stays the cleanest. Rarely does the clutter and toys of the children reach this far out of their rooms.
As they enter into my home the first thing that most people notice is our large family portrait that hangs over the oak fireplace mantel and the black wooden letters spelling FAMILY under it. This portrait was taken two Octobers ago at a visit to an apple orchard in White Bear Lake. We are dressed in reds and browns and are situated near the ground in front of an old red weather beaten fence. Our oldest son, the tallest in the family, smiles from the center of the family wreathed around him, his perfectly straight teeth hidden behind closed lips. Our youngest, a squinty eyed red head, sits on his lap. The other two children, a brown haired playful boy and a blonde sprite of a girl, flank his sides. My husband and I are situated behind our little gems leaning over them reaching our delighted grins into the picture. A picture of family harmony.
On the mantel below our portrait sits one of my treasures, a framed picture I took on one summer visit to my parents home in Utah valley. It's a black and white image of their hands entwined, holding onto each other with my father's hands taking a guiding position. This image speaks more to me of their love for each other than any image of them smiling at me would.
The floor in this room was a project we undertook a couple of years ago after having water damage from a leaky dishwasher. Hours were spent with my husband and I on our knees measuring, cutting and pounding the oak colored wood laminate slats together for three of the rooms in this house. I love that it looks clean even when it isn't and I love the way it complements our oak fireplace mantel and the wood trim around the doors and windows. I also love the time we spent together working on this common goal and we have something beautiful to show for it.
The oversized avocado green suede couch to the right of the doorway is still new and hasn't suffered the wearing abuse the children have doled out onto the other furniture. Often I will sit sideways on the soft fuzzy cushions with the southern facing windows behind it open and savor the sunlight that flows in through the white wood blinds and warms my skin. I will snuggle my back into the yielding cushions, close my eyes and meditate for the few short moments I can steal during my busy day, sometimes catching the faint scent of the old cinnamon apple pie air freshener baking in the outlet across the room. Sometimes my daughter practices her spelling words on this couch, sitting upside down with her legs dangling over the back of the couch and her head hanging down towards the cranberry and beige shag rug. Perhaps she believes that letting the blood rush to her head will make her brain remember.
From the corner you may hear a chirp, a chatter, or perhaps if you are lucky you will hear a wolf- whistle from my cheery little cockatiel, Rocky. Her home sits in one corner, a tall black cage with the door open and wooden playground on top. A beige cloth drapes over the back and will cover her cage to prevent drafts in the night hours. During the day she wanders freely over the cage using her beak to guide her way. Her wings are clipped so I never worry about her wandering too far. Her day is spent on the highest perch either chewing up the wood or chirping for me to come give her a ride on my shoulder while I perform some menial task such as folding laundry. She loves to hiss and attack the clothes as I spread them across my chest to fold.
In the dark corner on the other side of the fireplace some remaining photography supplies are beginning to gather dust. A pink fluffy bean bag chair used to cradle sleeping newborns, a roll of arctic white paper resting against the wall, a bag of black packaging boxes and silver elastic bows. I don't know when or if I will ever use them again. My dreams of photographing my life away slowly fade as I undertake this new adventure called "college".
Next to the front door is a little wooden tile painted in cream and gold with words saying, "Other things may change us, but we start and end with family." Pictures of my children dot the room, on the table, on the mantle and on the shelf.
A large vaulted ceiling creates tall white walls across the room from the couch with tall open doorways leading into the kitchen and family room, creating a great circle for the children to run races and play tag through. In the middle stands a pale white blank slate wall waiting for "the masterpiece" I plan to create. A lofty goal I have set for myself, I know. The black and gold rocking chair, camel recliner and honey oak table with cranberry and black iron lamp resting under this space only make the white space look even bigger and more empty. I want to create a wonderful image of my children, in a field, with warm and rich colors to display in this space. I want to create a work of art that makes one step back and realize that it is not only an art piece but it's also a portrait of the children who live in this home. Someday I will create this masterpiece but until then the wall stands blank.
On the fourth wall stands a faux aged cream colored armoire filled with all my computer things that I need and work with on a daily basis. On the top sits an old wooden red rooster with spindly black legs, a woven basket full of pens and pencils, and a fake ivy plant drapes it's dusty vines along the top and down over the edges. This is the one plant in my home that has not had several near-death experiences. Often the children are found sitting on my black rolling computer chair in front of the armoire, gathered around the computer screen and chattering directions to each other on what action to take in some game they've found on the internet.
On the wall next to them is a large picture of the LDS temple in Salt Lake City. It's granite spires lit in white with the golden sunset reflecting on the Great Salt Lake behind it. The temple is central to our family and religion. I have this picture in this room to remind, or rather reassure, myself and our children that our family is forever.
This room is where we greet friends and family and bid them to come in and sit for a while and visit. We share friendship, laughter, love, games and joy in this room. It's filled with my family even when they are out in the world and far from me. It is the room I find rest in and the first room my children enter when they come home and shrug off the world at the doorstep. They are greeted with safety and love as they enter this room and reminders that they will always belong. This is the room I love the most and where my heart rests.