The Haynes Family

Mission Bay

2011-08-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we spent a couple of days in San Diego. Rob's sister and her husband rented a condo right off of Mission Bay and invited us to go with them. It was a perfect vacation! The bay side ended up being so kid friendly. It wasn't swarmed with people and there wasn't so much wind. The kids had a blast and played in the sand all day everyday. Because we were right off the bay I was able to put Jovi down for all of her naps and still come out and be apart of things out on the beach. It was so nice!

We met up with some friends that were out there at the same time and they brought their surf boards and Rob was able to surf for the first time. I'm still so sad I didn't get any pictures. I was feeding Jovi behind an umbrella so I didn't even get to see him get up. Such a bummer! Besides going out for dinners we kept things pretty simple and just relaxed on the beach. It was so hard to come back home to this miserable heat. We are definitely beach bums!

3 months

2011-07-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is already three months old.

Can you believe how chubby she's become? I swear I produce cream.

Nolan was the same way...chubby, chubby, chubby.

I adore it though. More chub for me to smooch on.

She is just the happiest little girl.

Always smiling. Even when she's crabby she's oh so sweet.

She has recently found her hand and is absolutely enthralled by it.

She just stares at it.

She's starting to find her voice as well.

All day long she blows little spit bubbles as she grumbles and coos.

Recently she has stopped sleeping through the night.

I had a few weeks of bliss.

I know I shouldn't complain, she is only three months but it's killing me.

Especially, because I know she can do it!

Oh, well.

With our without sleep we've never been happier,

thanks to our sweet, little Jovi girl.

(Do you see those eyelashes? To die for!)

Our wonderful weekend.

2011-07-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

We went up to the cabin last weekend with a lot of Rob's family to celebrate the 4th. We had such a wonderful and relaxing time. Jovi did amazing! She slept through the night the whole time we were there and took all of her naps. Nolan had a blast playing in the dirt and spending time with cousins. We were expecting to go to the Heber fireworks but, sadly, they were canceled. On Monday night when we got home we did go to Rob's sisters'. She lives right by Schenpf farms so we were able to watch their fireworks. They weren't as good as Heber's (nothing is as good as Heber's) but we were just happy we got to watch some fireworks.

I wasn't able to spend as much time taking pictures up at the cabin as I would have liked. Even though Jovi did amazing, newborns are still quite time consuming. So here are some of the few pictures I did get.

(this last picture was taken by my nephew and I think it's my favorite)

Swim Lessons

2011-06-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of swim lessons with Auntie Heather. Nolan is going to be quite sad. He has quite the crush on Aunt Heather and talks about her non-stop through out the day.

He was the only boy in his class so those poor girls got teased quite a bit. He figured out the first day that they didn't like to be splashed so what do you think he spent the next two weeks doing? One day after class I was talking to him about it and told him it wasn't very nice to splash the girls and he said, so innocently, "but Mom, I like to splash the gowls (girls)." haha! He's such a flirt already.

We will definitely miss getting out of the house, especially to go swimming but I definitely won't miss having to get there by 8:30 am.

6 weeks

2011-06-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

I took these today because this little lady is already six weeks old.

So hard to believe!

This week has been a good one.

I could tell we were getting close to the six week mark

because I've been starting to feel somewhat normal again and not so overwhelmed.

She's starting to breastfeed much faster so I don't feel so glued to the couch.

Most nights she goes about five hours in between feedings.

One night this week she went seven hours which was wonderful (thank you Baby Wise)!

She has been so happy and so smiley lately.

She's also starting to coo and talk to us a bit, which we all "Oooo & Ahhh" over.

We couldn't adore her more!

Squeaky Clean

2011-06-02T16:30:00.000-07:00

Nolan 3.5 yrs, Jovi 4 wks.

Nolan's not the only one that can't get enough of this cute girl.

Thanks for all the sweet comments. It's nice to know I'm not the only one that has rough days.

"Just relax."

2011-05-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

Nolans new favorite phrase to say to me.

Yesterday was the first day that I seriously started questioning my ability as a mother. It started off great! I felt rested, Jovi was down for a nap and Nolan was playing great by himself. I put on an exercise dvd and not more then ten minutes passed and Jovi woke up early from her nap. I bounced her back to sleep on our ball put her back to bed and 10 minutes later the same thing. I bounced her again almost got her back to sleep and Nolan starts pestering me for my phone. I say No because he's seriously addicted and Jovi starts crying. More bouncing, more pestering and more No's. This cycle continues all morning long except Nolan's determination has now moved onto watching a movie, again it's a big fat no, because TV time is for after naps and it's not even lunch time yet. More crying, more bouncing, more arguing and lots more frustration. By this time Nolan's getting defiant...with everything. Now I'm breastfeeding, he knows it so more pestering. Finally, Jovi's down for a nap and I cave and give Nolan my phone so I can finally take a shower and have some peace and quiet.

I wish I could say that I got things under control in the shower but honestly it didn't happen. Things got a bit better but it was still a rotten day. It wasn't until last night when everyone was in bed that I realized that all of this was my own fault. I woke up with a list I wanted to accomplish and when things didn't turn out like I wanted I got frustrated and took it out on my boy.

I know I am bound to have more days like yesterday and probably even worse but at the end of the day I learned something from it and I'm so grateful for a new day to do things differently.

Today there have been Yes's instead of No's, consequences instead of anger or arguing and fun instead of frustration.

My little beauty.

2011-05-19T16:48:00.000-07:00

I took these when our little Jovi was about two weeks old. I had plans for a newborn shoot but my little dear had some plans of her own and stayed wide awake the entire afternoon. These are about the only ones that turned out and I just haven't had the time or energy to do another one.

I can't believe she's almost one month old. Time has flown by! Things are starting to settle down and Jovi's on a great schedule and some nights even going 5 hours (which makes the biggest difference). I can't wait for the day when she'll sleep through the night. I'm definitely starting to feel the effects of the sleep deprivation, especially since I rarely get a nap during the day... welcome to the wonderful life of having more then one child!

Jovi is a very pleasant baby. She's been smiling since day one and on a good day she'll just look around and smile at everything. I love it! She's been a little fussy off and on lately and we think it's due to a sensitivity to dairy. She's super gassy and pulls her legs up in pain quite a bit. Nolan had a lot of that but way more severe. It's killing me going with out my cheese and greek yogurt but it's definitely worth it to have a happy baby.

She's a great sleeper but has to be put to sleep by bouncing up and down on an exercise ball. Seriously, nothing else will put her to sleep and I still can't bring myself to let her cry herself to sleep. It kills my back but I get a little workout every time.

Nolan's been so great with her. He call's her "Pretty Girl". He points to every part of her body and says "Look at her little nose...look at her little toes...."on and on and on. He doesn't have a whole lot to do with her yet but will want to hold her a few times a day and when he does he's super gentle and soft. He's adjusted really well, something I was quite nervous about.

I still can't believe we have two kids. It's hard work but so amazing!

Birthing pictures and delivery story to come. Just waiting on some pictures.

Sweet is life.

2011-05-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

Jovi Grey Haynes

April 22,2011

3:17pm

7 lbs, 15 oz

Completely and utterly adored.

Many more pictures to come.

That's right, we're doing it!

2011-03-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to take this parenting thing seriously and potty train my 3 year old. Surprisingly, it hasn't been nearly as difficult as I had thought it would be. The biggest challenge was just getting him to put a pair of underwear on. I spent all day bribing, manipulating, begging....seriously, everything and anything I could thing of. We tried candy...nope. A trip to McDonalds....nope. Pizza (his favorite)....nope. Notice how they are all food bribes? What can I say the kid takes after me and loves food. We even went as far as to tell him we could go to the store and get a new train...nope. Keep in mind, this is just to get him to try the dang underwear on! Finally we surrendered and I thought I'd just have to potty train him after the baby was born. Then later that night after his night-time shower, Rob just put a pair of unders on him without making it a big deal and it worked. Nolan didn't say a word and he walked right out to show me, as proud as he could be. Who knew it could have been that simple from the beginning. So that night we started and it's been great ever since. He's had his accidents but he's definitely getting the hang of it.

I just can't get over how stinkin' cute he looks in them. I seriously can't stop pinching his bum. It's so adorable. My baby's growing up and, although, I love it and this age is definitely my favorite, it really does make me sad.

Thank goodness for our beloved Iphones. Mines been snapping a lot more pictures these days, due to my camera breaking. We got a quote to fix it and we're still trying to decide if I should just get a new one, it's that bad. Yes, I'm devastated!

Basketball & Airplanes

2011-03-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

Last week was a fun one. Thanks to Rob's company seats we got to go to the Suns game. It was the perfect evening for me. We went to dinner at Cibo (the best pizza and crepe dessert I've ever had in my life!!) and since it took a bit longer then expected we didn't get to the game until half time. Perfect! Plus it was a much needed date with my hubby. Something we haven't done in months.

Then on Saturday Rob took Nolan and my brother to the air show at Williams gateway airport. They all had a blast! And of course, Nolan had to wear his aviators, despite them being a few sizes too big. Rob did an awesome job getting some great pics of the day, guess I'm not the only photographer in the family.

Thanks to our trustee i-phones for these images.

I do adore.

2011-03-06T11:49:00.000-08:00

This boy is finally letting me take pictures of him again. I think he actually enjoys it. He's become quite obsessed with pictures lately. We are always looking at the pictures and videos I have saved on my phone and I constantly find him on the computer looking at the pictures on my blog. Even though it does get a little tiresome having him beg for pictures all day long, I secretly love it.

We are still trying to get settled in our new house. Mostly everything is unpacked but I had forgotten how much stuff I got rid of when we moved from our house. I'm slowly finding things here and there but as for decorations and furniture I've found nothin! I'm sure it will come. I'm just extremely anxious to get it all done before the baby comes, which I'm coming to realize probably won't happen. We still have a list a mile long that we need to do for this baby and we are running out of time. Only 8 weeks left. I go through mixed emotions all throughout the day. At times I wish I was due next week but then when I get overwhelmed with all that we still need to do I wish she wasn't due for months. No matter how stressed or exhausted I am, I am always extremely excited. A little nervous (it's been quite a long time since we've had a newborn. I feel like I've forgotten everything), but very excited.

Nolan couldn't be cuter about all of this. He loves to talk about the baby. When we go shopping for her he'll often pull out an outfit and say "Mom, this is so cute!" It's adorable! He's always pointing out babies to us wherever we go. I'm sure he's going to be a wonderful big brother.

Now off I go to hopefully cross a couple things off our never-ending list.

Cookies = Love

2011-02-16T14:45:00.000-08:00

My mom was sweet and planned a fun Valentines morning of decorating cookies.

We then took some cookies to Rob's work and also enjoyed some lunch at the park. This was our "big date" since Rob had to work at Apple that night. Poor guy has had 15 hour days this whole week.

I sure do love my boys.

The Party

2011-02-05T23:08:00.000-08:00

We are in our new home and mostly settled! It's a wonderful feeling to be on our own again, not that we aren't so eternally grateful for Rob's parents' generosity these last two years but there's nothing like being independent.

It was definitely an extremely crazy week! Packing all of our stuff (I'm still can't believe how much we crammed into just two rooms) and having a birthday party in the same week is tough enough but then add being 6 months pregnant to the mix. I was definitely running off of stress. It helped immensely that I seriously hardly put an ounce of time into Nolan's party (and also my amazing mother that came over when I was too brain dead to do anymore packing). It was really a challenge for me to let go of all the fun details, decorations and food I was originally going to do but I knew it would put me over the edge and let's be honest, he's 3 years old, like he cares.

When we first found out that we could move in to our new place Saturday (which was the same day as his party) I was going to just cancel it but Nolan would not stop talking about his "Party with all the kids". It almost broke my heart at the thought of telling him there wouldn't be a party, so we moved it to Friday morning. I'm not kidding when I say I kept things simple. We ordered pizza and played at the park. I did make cupcakes, however, and also gave out little goody-bags to all of his friends, but that was it.

They all had a great time. Sadly, I took very few pictures (as usual). This time I had an excuse. A party with 10 three year olds running around can be a bit hectic.

I forgot the candles. That's his favorite part, too.

The only bite he ate. I guess he's more of a cake fan.

I love the huddle of kids surrounding the presents. It gets me everytime.

This is a good as it gets when we ask for a smile. Usually he won't even try to move his mouth.

We are making progress.

Some things we hope to accomplish now that he's three is getting rid of that blasted binky. Even though it is strictly for bedtime...it's time. I'm also hoping he'll come around to the potty. He's starting to want to go before baths, which is a huge step since he used to scream no at us. I would love for both of these to be done before the baby comes so I have a little over 13 weeks.

We do so love our boy. He really is such a sweet little guy. He's matured so much and is such a good little helper. He understands so much and I love the fun conversations we have throughout the day.

Nolan's never really had a nickname but I do often call him "My Sunshine". It's been our little song ever since he was born (as I'm sure it is for most parents). That song is so fitting. He truly is the light of our lives.

January comes too soon.

2011-01-24T21:58:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my most favorite pictures of this little boy that you probably haven't seen before. Some of them I've even forgotten about. This week, my once swaddled newborn, will be three.

I've been planning a big party to celebrate, because I just can't resist, which has caused me to be going through Nolan's little life in pictures for some decoration ideas (which have since been dramatically simplified due to us finding a home to rent and just finding out we can move in this weekend!!!) and I couldn't help but get sentimental. It also made me sooooo excited to be having another little chubby dear to smooch on.

I'm hoping that through all the chaos that this week will bring, I'm still able to make this guys day a special one, because to me it's the most special day of all.

*I've scrolled up and down these pictures ten times now. I can't get enough. I've even tried deleting just one because I know there are way too many pictures but I just can't. I love every single one too much.

2011, we love you!

2011-01-11T22:17:00.000-08:00

i-phone pic of our night out on our 5th Anniversary. Crazy! Believe it or not, I still actually like the guy...just a little.

I already love this year and can tell it's going to be one of my favorites.

A few reasons-

1. Rob graduated with his associates in Graphic Design (well, that was at the end of last year but it still counts).

2. Before he even graduated he got an awesome job as a web designer for a company in Queen Creek.

3. We have been looking at homes and hope to be moving in February!

4. Rob & I celebrated 5 years of marriage, still can't get over it.

4. The most exciting of all- Nolan will be getting a little sister.

It's amazing to me how life just has a way of fitting perfectly together.

Gratitude and excitement is all I feel... and it's definitely a good feeling.

Christmas

2010-12-30T08:46:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely Christmas this year! We spent Christmas Eve with Rob's family and because I don't have a flash for my camera yet I wasn't able to take any pictures. Bummer! We had a delicious dinner, followed by the family reenacting the nativity, then the kids cereal box exchange and ended with the adults white elephant gifts. There were some awesome gifts this year (like usual)! One that we brought was a duck phone that was carved out of wood (yes, it quacks when someone calls). The gifts we ended up with was a picker-uper thing which is perfect for me because it's just now starting to get uncomfortable to bend over with this big belly in the way and the other gift was two sweet Nacho Libre masks (too bad we didn't have those at Halloween).

Since my family now lives out in Queen Creek and we go over there to open up presents we decided to make the drive out there Christmas Eve and spend the night so we didn't have to get up an hour earlier then usual. Rob and I were awake at 6:30 ready to open presents. At 7:45 Nolan was still sleeping so after much convincing from my family we woke him up. It took him a while of opening gifts to get into it. But once he realized what was going on he was in heaven. I'm sure it helped that my mom spoiled him rotten! I was actually quite embarrassed when I saw all of his gifts from us and my parents combined. Luckily, he'll be keeping all the stuff from my parents at their house.

Huggin' his Mimi.

Because he's still obsessed.

My mom made my sister and I quilts. I got an awesome Levi quilt.

We spent the next day tying them both. Can't wait to use it at our next trip to the park.

This year we upgraded from the wooden tracks to "Thomas Tracks". My mom

got some at her house and ever since he won't even touch his wooden ones.

Later that afternoon we took a trip to the park to try out Nolan's soccer ball

and baseball & bat. After a recent embarrassing experience at a cousins birthday party

regarding a pinata & Nolan having no idea how to swing a bat, we quickly decided

that was a must present this year. Rob was showing him how to hit with two hands

and Nolan just wanted to hit with one hand, so after a couple of minutes of that he called

it quits and just went and sat down by my sister. It was hilarious! Too bad he takes

after my complete lack of athletic ability.

My 22 week pregnant self, which I didn't know my sister was taking. Probably a

good thing though cuz I'm not one for self-portraits. I'm hoping my new gorillapod

will help with that.

I love my boy!

Christmas is so much more fun as an adult! I get so excited thinking of all the

fun Christmas's to come and fun traditions to start as a family. We had a wonderful

day!

Just as we had hoped.

2010-12-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

my mother's blessing dress

This coming May we will be having a little girl of our own to fill this lovely dress (and hopefully, if it fits, be blessed in as well). We couldn't be happier or more thrilled. I can finally buy girl clothes without feeling ridiculous (I've had quite the stash for quite some time).

Halloween

2010-11-19T13:37:00.000-08:00

This is way overdue! I've been on the computer a lot lately with all the shoots I've been editing so blogging is the last thing I've wanted to do but the longer I wait to update the more things just pile up. So we'll start with Halloween.

We had our annual Haynes Family party and the slacker photographer that I am (I told you I've been burnt out) didn't take a single picture! I do have one picture of our costumes right before we went to our ward Trunk-or-Treat.

In case you can't tell what we were Nolan was Nacho Libre, I was Encarnacion and Rob was the chestery monk. The funniest thing to me about our costumes, besides Nolan's adorable belly, was the fact that Rob actually looked identical to the monk. Seriously!! You can't see if very well in the picture but his hair was all combed onto his forehead and he had the cheesiest mustache. It was hilarious!

After we went to our ward party we had a party of our own with a bunch of friends. Again, no pictures. I'm regretting not taking any now. There were some pretty sweet costumes. I love Halloween it is definitely my favorite holiday!

It's been a while.

2010-10-09T21:56:00.000-07:00

Nolan having fun making tracks in the flour while Nana was making pies one morning.

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted. Time goes by so fast when life is crazy.

I feel like Nolan has matured so much just in the last month even.

He has finally started talking, well at least words we can understand now.

It's been something I've been worrying about the last six months or so but it finally clicked for

him and now he doesn't stop. He coppies ever single thing we say and now we can

have actual conversations together, which is soooo fun. He also has a little lisp when he

says his s's. I know it's not gonna be so cute in five years but right now it's adorable!

He has gotten to be super cuddly and loving lately, which I love. He's always running

up to me yelling "Mommy" and gives me big old bear hugs. Melts me on the spot.

He is still obsessed with trains. His train tracks are still his most beloved toy.

I sure have a love hate relationship for those things though. They are very entertaining for him

but at least 15 times a day he'll drag me into his room to "Fix it" even though

a huge majority of the time his tracks aren't even broken. I am constantly fixing and

rebuilding new track ways for him. Drives me crazy! Even when the table is full of tracks if

I haven't used every single one he makes me redo it until they are all used. Exhausting!

He has a couple of bridges which he calls his "Big big bridge", the cutest thing in the world.

He got it from one of his Thomas books. Adorable!

This boy loves to eat! He is constantly saying "I's hungry". He will eat pretty much anything,

except for most vegetables, although he does love tomatoes.

Part of his nightly routine is watching Sprouts with Paco in his big comfy chair.

He has all the songs memorized and loves to sing along. After Sprouts, we read books and rock

in the rocking chair, his new thing is for us to rub his back and belly while he's laying in his crib.

This can be a very long process because whenever we go to leave he'll flip over and lift up

his shirt and say "Rub". It's just so dang cute we give in every time.

I can go on an on but I'm sure you are all very bored by now. I just wanted to document

some of things about this boy since I don't journal...ever. Sad, I know.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. I had a lovely day spent with my hubby.

Twenty five feels so old.

Giveaway!

2010-09-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

I'm having a giveaway over on my photography blog for a free photo shoot. So go on over there enter and then spread the word! Since no post is complete without pictures here are a few of my favorite pictures from some of my recent sessions.

Cousins

2010-08-27T17:41:00.000-07:00

Nolan has been able to spend lots of time with his cousins lately. I've been trading with my sister-in-laws so three days a week they get to play together. Today, since it was quite cool (ok, not so cool just cooler then normal) we went outside and had some fun in the treehouse. They are all so cute together, although, sometimes it can get quite chaotic. I just love these pictures because they capture so perfectly how they all interact with each other.

Nolan was done hugging. Hahaha!

This last one is my absolute favorite. I love Nolan's chubby hands wrapped around Clark. So cute!

Too bad Jack wouldn't sit down by the rest of the kids long enough for me to get him in the pic.

One lonely momma!

2010-08-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

Monday my mother offered to have Nolan spend the night while I did some photography stuff with a friend and since they live all the way out in Queen Creek now they only make trips out here when they have too. Which has caused my mom to keep over last night as well. Two whole days! Nice....yes!!! But also very sad!! I've already talked to him on the phone three times. I can't believe how much I'm missing my little stinker! Out of habit, I've walked into his room a handful of times to check on him only to find it empty and quite clean. Both very rare things. I have to say, Rob and I have been enjoying our new freedom, though. It's been so long since we've been able to go wherever we want whenever we want. But still... I'm meeting up with my mom later this afternoon cuz I just can't take it anymore and I'm running out of things to keep me busy. Not really, my to-do list is a mile long. I will never be caught up on it. I just miss my boy!!

On hot days like today I'm so glad there's a pool in the backyard.

2010-08-17T15:24:00.000-07:00

I never knew this trick of laying on the the pool deck to warm up. If only I had known that growing up.

A letter to a distant friend.

2010-08-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Blow Dryer,

I did so enjoy our meeting yesterday. It has been over a month since I last saw you. I have been replacing your void with rubber bands and flat looking pony tails. The frustration has been overwhelming as of late. I was just about to resort to the scissors when a special occasion required me to apply some much needed product and wipe off the dust collecting on your handle. I must say, you and the round brush make and excellent team. The results have inspired me to keep going on this never-ending journey. I promise to not let another month go by without feeling your warmth on my head.

Sincerely,

Tiffany

*The special occasion was my sister's birthday. I can't very well have ugly hair in her presence, not only because she's a hairdresser but also because she's Oh sooo stylish (check out her blog if you don't believe me).

After one last week in California....

2010-08-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

He's home for good and we couldn't be happier.

photo taken by Amy Clark

Nothing in particular

2010-08-03T22:38:00.000-07:00

I found these adorable pictures while rummaging through old folders. I thought they

were just too cute not to share. They sure put a smile on my face.

He was only 9 months old here and we were still living in our home.

I was obviously fixing something very healthy for dinner.

I can still remember how cute he was sitting on the counter so contently watching me cook.

I looked over and I couldn't help but die from laughter.

If only I could get him to eat his veggies like that now-a-days.

Some exciting news...(no I'm not pregnant...ha...I got ya good though rambling on about

Nolan's baby days, didn't I?!)...The exciting news is that

my photography blog is FINALLY up and running!!!

Thanks to the very talented Mary Plautz!

She's the designer behind it all. She's fabulous and very affordable.

Rob and I started remodeling the blog on our own and soon found out

neither of us were qualified what-so-ever. I happened to stumble across Mary's blog,

contacted her and she whipped it out in a snap!

Between some family emergencies and just plain life I've hardly had

a second to put in the details but it's done!

Go check it out HERE and tell me what you think!

I also have a new link to it on the side bar.

Keep checking in over there all week, not only for my most recent photo shoots

but to enter a drawing for a free fall photo shoot with me.

We tried to escape the heat.

2010-07-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

We joined some of Rob's family up at the cabin this last weekend to enjoy some nice weather. It just so happened that it got up in the 90's while we were there. No central AC in the house made for a pretty warm weekend. The kids didn't let the heat get to them. They had a blast feeding the fish, playing Don't Eat Pete and enjoying all the treats Nana bought for them.

As everyone left for home Sunday, Rob and I decided to stay another day. I'm so glad that we did. It was just the kind of relaxing I needed. We woke up Monday morning to see that it had rained which cooled things off quite a bit, thank goodness! Nolan and I went on a very long walk. I tried to keep turning him around but he was determined to scout things out. After lunch we all enjoyed a long, cozy nap. It was so nice to spend time up there just the three of us.

California Update: For those of you that haven't heard, looks like us moving to Cali isn't going to work out after all. Big surprise, right? Let's just add it to the list of things that just haven't turned our for us lately. We're bummed but actually quite relieved. California's expensive!!! Our plan now is for Rob to finish his degree (always a good idea) and he's now working with Apple (his favorite company) which we are both extremely thrilled about. Don't get too excited about us staying here, though...we're hoping next year when he finishes his degree he'll get a job in another state so we can get out of this scorching wasteland.

sparklers & watermelon juice stained tummies

2010-07-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

We decided to stay in the valley this year for the fourth instead of making our annual trip up to Heber to enjoy their amazing fireworks. Since it wasn't worth roasting in the heat we went against tradition and didn't see a single firework. This holiday just isn't the same without the magical display.

We did, however, enjoy two lovely BBQ's with both sides of the family. I was too busy playing host at the one with my family to take any pictures. I did manage to snap a few pictures of the small party we had with some of the remaining Haynes family members that didn't go up to the cabin.

How grateful we are for the freedoms we have that we take for granted everyday.

What to do when there's nothing else to do?

2010-06-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

Take pictures...of course!

With Rob being in Cali and the in-laws up at their cabin

Nolan and I had the house to ourselves.

We quickly ran out of things to occupy us so I decided to brave

the heat and take some pictures of my boy.

Gosh, he's a stinker!!

I'm not used to him having such an opinion...about everything!

In the past he was always so good to let me take his pictures

but this time after every picture I would take he'd shake his finger at me and yell "NO!".

(I have no idea where he picked that up.)

As soon as he finished scolding me he'd come sit on my lap so he could see the

picture of himself.

Ok.

Whatever you want my darling two year old.

Let's just say we didn't get too many that turned out.

I do love this one though.

It's a very classic Nolan face.

Another thing I'm not enjoying about this very two year old boy is

the climbing out of the crib.

It's ten o'clock and he is still not asleep.

Granted he had a 4 hour nap (which is very unusual for him)

but when it's the end of the day and my husband isn't here to back me up

I cave and he ends up sleeping with me

(which is good for me to get some extra sleep but also bad cuz there's another

night gone with nothing accomplished).

So off I go to get this child to bed...hopefully.

Have I mentioned recently how much I hate having my husband gone?

Goodbye, my loooove!

2010-06-24T21:54:00.000-07:00

This picture definitely wasn't taken in 2002. More in the range of 2005, not that it really matters.

So sad that it's one of the only pictures I could find of just us.

Yesterday was a sad day.

I said good-bye to my best friend (which happens to be my sister).

She's off to Seattle to start anew.

I've so enjoyed this last year we've had together.

Before we weren't very close. Now we are...and always will be.

I don't think it has quite hit me yet.

I'm sure I'll feel the pain at my next thrifting trip.

What will I do without my much needed second opinion?

What will Nolan do without his favorite aunt (not really Tessa;)?

Who will be my errand buddy...?

Or my sewing/project partner...?

Or the one I talk to about the stuff men get grossed out with..?

I'm starting to feel the pain.

Seattle's just too far...

And so is she.

The best kind of father.

2010-06-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

We were pretty certain Rob wasn't going to make it home for the weekend but due to his boss's generosity (and my many, many prayers) Rob surprised us Friday night. It was actually quite the surprise! He led us on a little scavenger hunt with a beautiful, pink peony (my favorite flower) left at every stop. We ended up at Nelson's Frozen Custard where he was sitting with my favorite ice cream. I honestly couldn't have cared less about the ice cream, my sweetheart was home!

Since I was sure Rob wouldn't be home for Father's Day I figured I had another week to find a gift (yes, I'm a horrible procrastinator). So Rob's Father's Day included breakfast in bed, all sorts of rubs, and my complete adoration which turned out to be quite enough for him. We were all just so happy he was home spending the day with us.

Lovin' the sun.

2010-06-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

I took this picture quite a few months ago while

Nolan and I were enjoying a walk together.

Most people would have thrown it out but for some

odd reason I love it (we all know I'm a sucker

for some good ol' sun flare).

Thanks for all of the offers of play dates!

Rob was able to come home for the weekend.

We were quite thrilled, although, two days is just

never enough.

I hate Thursdays.

2010-06-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

pictures taken last month while visiting Rob in California

Both Nolan and I are feeling the effects of having our Daddy gone this week. I think having Rob home and all to ourselves for the last few weeks is what's making this week especially hard. There is also a huge possibility that he may not even be coming home for the weekend. Just the thought is making me crazy. I've always believed myself to an independent person but lately I'm realizing it to be quite the opposite. I need my husband!

At the beginning of the week I can usually keep myself preoccupied by other things but by Thursday my motivation to do anything is gone and I'm pretty much just enduring the days until he comes home. Luckily, I have a very sweet son who's been crawling in bed with me in the middle of the night to keep me company. Sadly, it's effecting my sleep which is making this situation even worse to bare.

Let's just say if it turns out that he's not coming home I will be calling all of you for a play date so I can get myself out of the house.

*For those of you that follow my photography blog you may have noticed it's private. It's not a permanent thing, I'm just in the process of giving it a makeover and want the big reveal to be a surprise.

Family Pictures!!!

2010-06-07T22:25:00.000-07:00

We got our family pictures taken back in February by my dear photographer friend, Amy Clark. You can check out some of her photography on her family blog here. She's fantastic!!! I highly recommend her if you live in Utah (although, she is in San Diego for the summer and visits Mesa every so often). Anyways, she gave me the pictures back a few months ago and I just haven't gotten around to posting them. I had big plans of giving my blog a makeover and I wanted to showcase them then but it just never happened so here they are.

I love them! Amy captured my little family so perfectly. Nolan was awful, as can be expected from a two year old. He was definitely every photographers worst nightmare. Sorry, Amy!!!

I haven't decided on which one I'm going to blow up real big. My favorites are the last four. What do you guys think?

*I'm so excited to see that my hair has actually gotten longer! It's finally past my shoulders. I've been so tempted to chop it off again this summer. This has given my the added strength I need to let it keep on growing.

You'll always be BOB to me.

2010-06-03T18:50:00.000-07:00

pictures taken with crappy point and shoot

Last week we were able to go to a Diamondbacks game, thanks to my parents neighbors having some extra tickets. I thought Nolan would love it for sure but it turned out he was quite overwhelmed with it all. He pretty much just sat on our laps the whole time.

Even though baseball has to be one of the most boring sports to watch we still had lots of fun together.

Another cabin trip with way too many pictures.

2010-06-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a quick trip up to the cabin this last weekend with some of Rob's family and had such a splendid time. Nolan just loves his cousins!

Early one morning the kids were out with Paco by the pond and Nolan slipped right in. He was a trooper and didn't even cry even though it was freezing cold. I couldn't believe that it wasn't even 9 o'clock and he already needed a change of clothes. Somehow I didn't make it up with an extra shirt (I did bring an extra pair of pants just no shirt) so Clark was nice enough to share his Lightning McQueen shirt. Nolan loved it! All day long he kept looking down and he'd get so excited that Cars was on his shirt.

I love the time we spend up at the cabin. There were endless tractor rides, songs around the campfire and of course, a dance party (a must at any Haynes family gathering). Paco even pulled out his banjo one afternoon and the kids danced around the porch together and pretended to be pirates. I'm so glad Nolan has cousins that he's able to make such fun memories with.

So, there's this show called Lost.

2010-05-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

My husband is absolutely obsessed with it and has been for the last four years. He heard from one of his podcasts about Lost (I wasn't kidding when I said he was obsessed) that there was going to be a finale party at the Orpheum Theatre in LA and the tickets were going to be free so of course we got some and enjoyed the last and final episode of Lost with two thousand other die hard fans. It was such a blast!!!

When we first got to the theatre their were a bunch of people taking pictures so we walked on up to see what all the fuss was about and it was Michael Emerson (Ben Linus-major character in Lost). We were seriously not even two feet away from him. So naturally I grab for my camera only to find that it had no battery. I was absolutely devastated!! Our one famous person encounter and the photographer leaves her battery at home. I couldn't not have any pictures of this so we ran down the block to a super ghetto store and bought a cheapo disposable camera. By the time we got back to the theatre Michael Emerson had already gone inside. Rob did get some pictures with a few of the smaller characters though, Lium- Charlie's brother and the lead singer in Drive Shaft, and Radzinsky-the architect of the Swan Station.

After we got some pictures we went to our seats and Michael Emerson had a question and answer session with the audience for an hour and a half. I was so impressed with him. He is nothing like his creepy, manipulative character. He was so witty and had us laughing the whole time. Very enjoyable!

Then they finally showed the finale! It was so much fun watching it with a huge audience. We all cheered, clapped, gasped and cried together. It made the whole experience so much more enjoyable. We loved the final episode and are so satisfied with how it ended! We are so happy that we were able to go and celebrate the ending of something that Rob has been so emotionally invested in for so long. We are so sad Lost is over but we are excited to start watching it again from the beginning.

Our confused reaction during a commercial break.

I forgot how crappy the quality is of disposable camera's.

Rob really didn't paint himself orange for this event, he's just a bit more tan than I am.

I owe it all to you.

2010-05-13T23:29:00.000-07:00

Nolan and I celebrated Mother's Day without our Daddy this year.

Rob was & still is finishing a job up North so he wasn't able to

come home for the weekend. I was sad at first and then realized the whole

reason I was celebrating this holiday to begin with

was because of this boy. It changed my view completely and it

ended up being a lovely, simple day.

I owe so much to this little guy.

He has pulled me through some rough times.

He was the one that kept me going when all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and hide.

And he has brought more joy and fulfillment into my life then I ever knew was possible.

Not a day goes by that I don't thank my Father for this precious boy that is my son.

*Excuse this very delayed post. I'm not used to this single mom thing. I'm a little behind these days.

The coast

2010-05-06T23:40:00.000-07:00

We got to spend some time at the beach this weekend and it was beautiful! Nolan and I drove up to California Thursday to visit Rob for a long weekend. For those of you that don't see us on a regular basis, you may be unaware of our exciting news...Rob got a job with his friend, kinda out of the blue, and we're going to be moving to Cali!!! He's working for his friends' Dad setting up golf netting. Yeah, it's a totally different direction then we have been planning on but when this opportunity came about and when we heard we could move to California we jumped at the chance.

Rob has been going out there for the last month, working all week and then coming home on the weekends. We're hoping that we can make the move within the next month or two. We're kinda just waiting it out....which sucks! I'm ready to get there and start our new life already.

It was very encouraging to go visit and scout out places to live. Oh, to have our own home again!!! I'm already thinking of how I'm going to decorate...that's normal right?

We also celebrated Rob's 28th birthday while we were there. I felt bad because being out of town I wasn't really able to do all the little things that I normally do to celebrate and the fact that we spent all morning trying to find me a swimsuit because I forgot mine, didn't help either. But Rob is a sweetheart and didn't let it bother him. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach and ate dinner at Ruby's on the pier.

We are very excited for this new chapter in our lives. I know it will be hard being away from our families, something that we haven't done our whole married life but we know it will be so worth it. Plus it'll get me out of ugly, old Arizona....something that I have been dreaming about for years! Seriously!!

The cabin...in black & white.

2010-04-26T22:52:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a last minute trip up to Rob's parents cabin this last weekend and invited some friends to join us. We drove up Friday eveing and stopped in Payson for dinner only to find out the rode past Payson leading up to the cabin was closed because of a bad accident and wouldn't be re-opened until early the next morning. So instead of waiting it out we headed back to Mesa. It was a big bummer and the longest and most expensive Taco Bell trip we've ever had.

We did, however, decide to try the journey once again early Saturday morning and this time we actually made it through.

This weekend was such a delight. I was truly spoiled. Nolan spent the majority of it outside, I spent all of it in my sweats. The men made us some delicious pizza for dinner. We stayed up way to late laughing an I was able to take mounds of pictures of Hadlee (I think I actually took more pictures of her then Nolan this weekend...shocker). As if my baby hunger wasn't bad enough!

Thanks McConaghie's for such a fun weekend!

Cuttin' Grass

2010-04-20T22:20:00.000-07:00

The second this boy heard the lawn mower start he grabbed his shoes and ran outside to help his Daddy.
We were all quite surprised to see how diligently he stuck by Rob's side. It wasn't until the Pepsi break
that he decided he was done. Yes, he got a Pepsi, too. Normally it's only for Daddy but I made an exception
this time. Can you blame me...look at this kid?!

This pretty much sums up our Easter weekend.

2010-04-06T22:53:00.000-07:00

Candy.

Sugar comas.

Two easter egg hunts with both sides of the family.

More candy.

Snuggling on the couch.

Late afternoon naps.

Amazing spiritual enlightenment.

Not too shabby. How was yours?

Again?!

2010-03-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

This is all my Nolan has been doing for the last three days, which for a two

year old boy is quite abnormal. His diet has also consisted of only juice...by choice.

Which if you know my son at all, that is also completely abnormal. Sadly, he is sick...

again. It seems that this sweet boy has been sick at least once a month lately.

As soon as he fully recovers he catches something else. Although, this time

seems to be the worst yet.

Yesterday I caught him standing up on my bed staring longingly out the

window. He misses being outside and misses playing with his toys. Sometimes

he'll get a burst of energy and run around playing with everything in sight but

not more then ten minutes later he'll climb up on my lap exhausted.

Poor guy!

He sure is a sweetheart though. No complaints, no crying, just a cuddle session

every now and again and he's set. Hopefully he'll recover quickly and for good

this time because I don't know how much longer I can see my little dear in pain.

Until dark

2010-03-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

We cannot get enough of this warm weather. We went to the park almost

every single day last week. This time I remembered the camera and it just

so happened that we were enjoying the lovely trip with some cousins.

Nolan sure loves his sand...and horses, it looks like.

Just the two of us.

2010-02-24T20:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a very gracious aunt's time share

we were able to spend an entire weekend in Sedona,

just the two of us.

On the way up we stopped off at a casino and each waisted

away ten bucks...such a disappointment. We were sure we'd at least come

out of there 300 dollars richer. We then spent a few hours scoring some bargains

at the outlet mall. Our two hour trip quickly turned into five hours

but we didn't mind at all. It was all part of the fun of it being

just the two of us.

We finally arrived and sadly it was rainy and very cold, which lasted all

weekend long but again we didn't mind. We tried to not let the rain get the best of

us but after a morning of window shopping we gave up and spent the rest

of the day cuddled up in our room watching movies,

just the two of us.

The weekend was over all too quickly but we vowed to

not let another three years go by without some time spent together,

just the two of us.

Maybe we were made, we were made for each other.

2010-02-14T21:41:00.000-08:00

We celebrated this lovely holiday last night by attending a Jack's Mannequin concert, Rob's most favorite band. It was a blast! We started off in the very back where no one was singing or dancing, very lame. Being our daring selves we squished through all the way to the middle, pretty good for being old married fuddy-duddies, where we danced like fools and sang till our voices were hoarse.

The concert was exactly as I had anticipated...fabulous! Andy's piano playing never gets old. I was totally bummed when it was over and they hadn't played my favorite song but luckily they came out for an encore and it was one of the songs they ended with.

When the night came to an end, we just hadn't had enough time with each other. Lucky for us we are going to be extending the celebrations until this weekend with a 3 day vacation...just the two of us. Something that has been long overdue.

Train Invites

2010-02-06T12:52:00.000-08:00

Here are the invites for Nolan's birthday party. I didn't have any envelopes so I thought I would just make a postcard.

The train image is from a vintage Happy Birthday banner that I found garage saleing, we just scanned it. I brightened and changed a few of the colors and added the words and the cloud of smoke. I was going for a vintage train theme.

I found the postcard template rummaging through a bunch of my old magazine rip outs. You can download it here from Martha Stewart. I will be using this a lot in the near future.

I printed it off on off white paper to give it more of an aged feel. I used my home printer so I had to print each side individually and cut them out and then glue them together because they just weren't matching up when I'd print them back to back.

I wish I had made an extra to keep and show how cute they turned out. I loved them. I was wanting to keep with the vintage train theme for the party but a huge majority of the decorations I had planned just didn't get done. Feel free to download the images and use them for yourself. There isn'a a huge selection for train invites out there unless you like Thomas the Train, which Nolan adores but me, not so much.

The celebration

2010-02-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

We threw a last minute birthday party for Nolan and some of his friends. Of course it was train themed. All the kids had lots of fun, except for, of course, the birthday boy. I'm sure you could tell from the pictures. He wouldn't participate in any of the games and when he wasn't standing at the food table scarfing down chips he was throwing a fit. Well I guess that's what I get for throwing a two year old a birthday party.

I really could not have pulled this party off without the help of my dear mother & mother-in-law. They did all the behind the scenes work while I was being the host. Another thank you to my sweet friend Connie, who took most of these awesome pictures for me.

The heart of life.

2010-01-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

Two years ago today this took place and I've adored every second with him since.

4 years

2010-01-08T00:47:00.000-08:00

Wednesday we celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. I love being able to celebrate this at the beginning of a new year. We started the evening off with some dance lessons Rob surprised me with for Christmas (yeah, he's a keeper). We enjoyed some delicious Italian food and then hit the theatre to enjoy a very emotional "Blind Side". Let's just say I came out with mascara smudges all over my cheeks. When we returned home we watched this very interesting documentary on happiness. I highly recommend it.

As Rob and I lay in bed that night we started talking about our past years together. We laughed at how naive we were in the beginning. How much everything changed once we had Nolan but how we couldn't imagine our lives without him. How different our lives are compared to what we had always planned. As we both lay quiet Rob said, "But ya know, even though this last year has sucked, it has definitely been my favorite." And I couldn't agree more.

There's no one else I would want holding my hand as we shop for groceries or pinching my bum as he swears "no one saw" or comforting me at night when everything seems to overwhelming or winking at me just because he knows it's my favorite. And there's definitely no one else I would want to enjoy another "sucky" year with.

Rob, I love you. You are mine and I am yours...forever. Happy Anniversary, Darling.

December

2009-12-28T21:31:00.000-08:00

The month of December has flown by way too fast for us. I spent the majority of it in front of the computer, frantically trying to edit photo shoots for my families to have them back in time for Christmas cards. After I recovered from my computer coma I had a long list of holiday musts that kept getting longer and longer. I soon realized that there just weren't enough hours in the day to accomplish it all, so I scrapped the list and decided to make this Christmas a simple one.

Some of our highlights were-

Watching A White Christmas with Nolan because Rob refuses to watch it with me (not really, he was just at school, but he really has no desire to see it). I was pleasantly surprised that he actually liked it.

Making my ornaments for our annual Haynes' girls ornament exchange.

Making salsa for neighborhood friends (it was our first year giving away goodies and I quite enjoyed it).

Spending a weekend with my family at the Haynes' cabin. I still can't believe I forgot my camera. I don't have a single picture of Nolan playing in the snow for the first time. Huge bummer!

Nolan making gingerbread houses with Nana and cousins.

Spending a day baking with my Mom and being able to take home some of her famous cinnamon rolls.

Playing with cousins visiting from Utah.

Riding the train at McCormick Park. Since seeing Polar Express for the first time over a month ago Nolan has been obsessed with "Choo's". He was speechless the whole train ride, that is until it was over and time to get off, then he became quite the opposite of quiet.

Our one (and only) family picture of the season.

Every year we spend Christmas Eve with Rob's family. We eat a yummy dinner, act out the Nativity in their backyard and end with an awesome White Elephant exchange, which never disappoints.

Christmas day we spend over at my families. This year we convinced them to sleep in until 7:30 and it was heaven. I woke up at 6:30 thanks to a barking dog and I couldn't go back to sleep I was so excited. Christmas is so much more fun now having a child! I can't imagine what it's going to be like when we have a couple of kids that actually get who Santa is. I don't think I'll be able to sleep at all.

One of Nolan's favorites was this Cars toy that my parents gave him. He runs around the house yelling as he pushing this thing crazy.

My favorite was this train table. I was able to trade a photo shoot for it, so yeah, it was free! I knew from the second I saw it that he would love it. It made it even more exciting when not even two weeks later Nolan became obsessed with trains. We left it at Rob's parents so we wouldn't have to hall it back and forth. After we were done at my parents we came home and showed Nolan his awesome new toy. He also got a dump truck and Thomas the Train from Nana & Paco. I don't think we'll ever need to buy this boy a new toy again.

Through all of the gift giving and chaos of December we did have time to reflect upon the birth and life of our Savior. We are so grateful to have been able to spend time with those we love.

Forever on Thanksgiving Day, the heart will find the pathway home.

2009-12-01T23:48:00.000-08:00

This year it was my families turn to make the drive to Northern California to spend Thanksgiving with some of our favorite cousins. We had so much fun and ate way too much, thanks to my Aunt Julie's mad cooking skills.

We spent lots of time cooking, of course...

Soaking up the beautiful weather...

Loungin' around...

Snuggling...

Playing games. Lots and lots of games...

Having fun with cousins...

And kissing those irrisistable chubby cheeks.

I should have known a week would be too long for Nolan to go without finding some water to play in.

Our gracious host & hostess.

Me & the Hubby.

While we were their we took advantage of the close radius to Rob's mission and took a day trip up to Santa Rosa to visit one the families Rob was close too. It was absolutely gorgeous! I'm so sad we didn't have more time to make stops along the way for me to capture the beautiful fall trees and vineyards. We did, however, make a quick stop at The Plaza at Sonoma to let Nolan run around. Again, absolutely beautiful. We are already making plans to go back up there to tour the rest of Rob's mission.

Why do we live in this dried up dessert again? Someone please remind me.

Rob was so excited to visit the Browne's. They were a huge support to him on his mission. We were able to enjoy a delicious lunch and chat with them for a while. It was so fun for me to get to know them and be apart of something that Rob holds so close to his heart.

Yes, my eyes are closed. It's the only picture that was taken. What ya gonna do?

There are so many things in our life that I am grateful for right now. One in particular is Rob's employment. After he was hired to do tech support for I-phones he began interviewing for a job as a manager for Select Comfort and on our drive up he was offered the job. It was perfect timing. Within the last few weeks he's been offered five other jobs (when it rains, it pours) and while we were so grateful for the opportunities, none of them seemed to be "the right one". Just as Rob was about to pursue and start training for those other options he was hired with Select Comfort and has already started working.

We were so ecstatic and still are. With this job we won't only be able to pay the bills but we'll be able to save and eventually find a place of our own. My heart is so full knowing that we can get our life back on track and progress as a family. It's been hard for me having to put off having more children because of our circumstances but I know that the time is drawing near. And that hope can only fill one with gratitude.

Behind!

2009-11-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

I am so behind in everything in my life right now.

I'm behind on...

   laundry

   editing photo shoots

   Christmas presents

   ornament making (for our annual sister-in-law ornament exchange)

   cleaning

   organizing

   couponing

   blogging

Pretty much everything. Mostly due to the fact that I was sick, AGAIN, for four days! I was really quite annoyed. I couldn't have been sick at worse time, although, when is being sick ever convenient. I think it was strep throat this time around. I don't know what's wrong with me lately. I've never been one that gets sick and this last year I have been hard core sick at least four times. Probably stress.

With all the time I've spent laying in bed the last few days I started to notice how bland our room is, how bare the walls are and how badly I wished we had money for me to decorate with. I don't know why I just got the desire to make our room a little homier, after all we have been living with Rob's parents for the last 8 months and it hasn't bothered me at all. Probably because when you have an office, an entertainment room, a sewing room and a bedroom compiled into one room there's only so much you can do to make it aesthetically pleasing but I am determined. I am also determined to hardly spend any money in my new quest. How, you ask?

Well most of you know I am extremely cheap. I rarely ever pay full price for anything, which has come in extremely handy for us this last year. Even before my husbands recent unemployment, even in high school I have always loved to thrift. I love finding unique, vintage treasures. Well, thanks to some new friends in our ward I have entered the world of garage sales. I'm completely obsessed. Here are some some of my most favorite finds, I'll them do the talking.

lamp $1. picture $1 (I admit it's a little "Grandma Chic" but with a new coat of paint...adorable). cake plate $2. fabric samples (2 grocery bags full) $2

wire holder $1. vintage flower fabric .50

biased tape & tons of vintage lace $2 (I cannot wait to get sewing with these!!!)

vintage flower pins .50 each. necklaces .25 for both.

Can you believe that!!! Maybe it's only exciting and fabulous to me, but I don't care. I love it! I'm also very excited to start incorporating some of my finds into our room along with some other DIY projects I have in mind. I'll keep you posted.

*If anyone wants to get up bright and early with me every Saturday morning, I'm always looking for a garage salin' buddy.

**Please excuse the pictures. Awful natural lighting + lamp lighting = crappy pictures.

Wet

2009-11-11T22:39:00.000-08:00

At least once throughout the day Nolan will grab my finger and drag me out the door to go on a walk. It usually consists of the same things.

A walk to some vehicle to check out the tires (today is was Daddy's truck).

Then there is the occasional pause to stare at the passing cars.

Once the road clears we head to the backyard, where he will usually find one of many dirt piles to play in.

But today was a little different. Today Paco was outside. And Paco knows just what this little boy loves to play with most.

After a little carwash...

And a nice, refreshing drink (or should I say many refreshing drinks)...

The water disappeared.

Mommy knows just the right way to make this little boy cry the most.

Swim.Bike.Run

2009-11-08T15:23:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning we woke up extremely early and drove out to Casa Grande for Rob to participate in his first triathlon. He did an awesome job! Especially, for only training a handful of times.

I will definitely remember for future events that bringing an almost two year old, who was woken up very early to an event like this...not so much fun. By the end of the race Nolan was eating Cheez-it's off the ground that he had dropped earlier and I didn't even try to stop him. It was that bad.

I almost, half-way expected Rob to be crawling across the finish line on all fours, but to my surprise he ran all the way to the end.

One of Rob's old friends drove in from California to do the race with him.

We couldn't be more proud of our daddy. Rob has decided that his next run will be the 10k at London's Run in January. I think I might just join him. Anyone else???

A cause to celebrate.

2009-11-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

After a year of stress, worry, an endless amount of fasting & prayers, my husband has finally found a job! We couldn't be more relieved. We celebrated by having a steak dinner (thanks to Basha's, we saved over 30 bucks on these babies). Rob's parents are out of town, so it was just the three of us.

Words can't express the gratitude Rob and I feel, not only for this job, but to everyone who has been so supportive to us this last year. Many of you have helped us out by employing my husband with odds and ends jobs, others have prayed & fasted with us and the rest have been so encouraging. We appreciate all of you.

While this has been such a difficult, taxing year, we know, more then ever, that our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs. Through every high and low, we have seen the hand of our Father guiding us to the next step. Without the strength & peace that we have felt through the Savior, we know that there is no way we could have made it through this alone (or at least still married:). Our hearts are so full of love and gratitude.

Thank your for your thoughtful words of support. It is because of them, I feel open to share this with you all.

*Update- I guess I was, unintentionally, very mysterious with Rob's new employment. Drumroll please.....He will be doing tech support for i-phones!

Cirque du Haynes

2009-11-01T21:47:00.000-08:00

I love Halloween! It is by far one of my favorite holidays. This year we've had a busy week filled with lots of Halloween excitement. It started on Monday night, my mother-in-law threw a fun family party. It continued with a ward Carnival on Wednesday night and ended with a party we threw on Halloween. I love being able to dress up more then once. This year we were "Circus Freaks".

I was the "Bearded Lady", Rob was the guy who hammers nails into his face and Nolan was our little circus monkey, although he refused to wear his little hat so he was mistaken for pretty much everything besides a monkey.

At our family party the kids had a blast with all the fun games.

There was also a pinata that I missed taking pictures of because of a crabby child.

Nolan sneaked one of the apples the kids had already "bobbed" for. You can see the huge chunk already bitten out. He carried that apple around with him the whole night and actually made quite a large dent in it considering it was almost the same size as his head.

By the end of the night the kiddo's were tuckered out.

Sadly, I forgot to bring our camera for the ward carnival, but I definitely didn't forget take some pictures of the awesome costumes at our party. I was so impressed with everyone's creativity. That's what makes Halloween so much dang fun!

We had planned on having a pumpkin carving contest but these two were the only ones that ended up participating. Boy, were they into it.

It was so much fun to get dressed up and hang out with good friends, even though my husband wouldn't let me show Hocus Pocus at our party. Maybe next year.

Cars..

2009-10-20T22:47:00.000-07:00

also known as "kows kows" in our home.

Our "kows" only need one thing, spinable wheels. Yes, this boys' wheel obsession is as strong as ever. Color, shape or size is of no consequence.

Perfect day for a drive. Not an ounce of traffic. Problems arise around dinner time when hungry bodies fill the streets. Road rage is sure to follow.

No terrain is too tough for these "kows".

Oh, the thought of "kows kows"!

Between the trees

2009-10-17T23:37:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we went up north with my family to spend some time at my in-laws cabin. It was such a nice get-away. We enjoyed taking long walks, staying up late playing games and sitting on the porch. I got a little taste of fall with a few changing leaves, only to come home to 90 degree weather. Depressing.

A special thanks to my sweet hubby who for four days nursed Nolan and me back to health without one word of complaint. Now if only I could get rid of this nasty cough.

Love you inside out.

2009-10-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

My hubby and I had a little photo shoot for one of my birthday presents because since our son was born I can count on one hand all of the photo's we have of only us. Pathetic. So here we are.

That's right, our photo shoot consisted of us in the backyard with Rob holding out the camera Jr. High style. I'm still in love with them nonetheless.

Bet ya didn't know that this man has a glass of chawky moke (chocolate milk) before bed, every single night.

Or that he tears up in commercials. It's true, he cries more then I do. I adore it.

He also despises odd numbers.
Example: When turning down the volume to the television it has to end on an even number.

The list can go on and on but it will always end with his insane devotion to me.

Now I can count all of the photo's of us on two hands.

A movie in the park.

2009-10-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

I celebrated my birthday this last Friday. It was a wonderful day. I spent the morning thrifting with my sister, met my boys and family for lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for my party. I thought it would be fun to celebrate with friends and have a movie in the park but in the backyard. My dear husband set it all up, everyone brought a dish to share and we enjoyed "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Or I should say, I enjoyed "Breakfast at Tiffany's", no one else seemed to be enjoying it. Luckily for everyone else, it started sprinkling half way through the movie, so we stopped it and once it cleared up we put on a more recent film. I thought I'd be safe with a classic but looks like I'm the only one with any culture :) It was a lovely night filled with good food, good friends and good laughs.

Thanks to everyone who helped make my day so special.

Stich by Stich

2009-09-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

I've been a sewing fool lately with all the birthdays and showers that come with this time of year. I finally remembered to take some pictures of the projects I finished which makes giving them away a little easier. I should just take some time and sew something for myself.

Here is a tool belt I made for a good friend's son. He is in love with Handy Manny, so I thought a tool belt would be perfect. I had Nolan model the belt for me and I was a little nervous he wouldn't want to give it up but it irritated him so much he was relieved to get it off.

Don't be surprised if your son gets the same gift, this was a super simple sew. I think next time I might applique it with some tools or the initial of the boys name.

My other dear friend is having a little girl, very soon. So for her shower I made a burp cloth, blanket and onesie. Also very simple. Here are some tutorials all from the same crafty lady, that make it very easy if you'd like to learn how to sew these. The onesie, the blanket & the burp cloth.

I didn't even think to check the spelling of the name first, silly me. I soon found out that they are spelling it with a "k" and not a "c"...awkward. I felt like a huge idiot. I took it home and quickly turned it into this.

Nice save. Now I know to ALWAYS check the spelling first.

I also made a skirt for one of my nieces from this pattern that I didn't get a picture of. Also, very simple. I've got a couple of other projects I'm in the middle of that I'll show when they're finished, hopefully this week.

Warm Toes

2009-09-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

Rob surprised us yesterday by coming home a day early. We were thrilled. Sadly, he had to wait an hour for us to get home because I was walking the isles at Joann's oblivious to the surprise awaiting us. After dinner and bath time we decided to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. We laid on our quilt and watched the planes go by and eventually watched the stars appear. We love having our Daddy home but sad that he'll be leaving us again next week.

No cheeks to smooch on

2009-09-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight will be another restless night without my hubby laying by my side. He's been up in Prescott for the week and won't return until Thursday. No amount of gratitude for the work he's up there doing will replace the loneliness I feel when he's not here.

Darling,

Hurry home, my toes need their furnace and I need you.

xoxo,
Your Sweetheart

Oatmeal for breakfast

2009-09-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

A Dad's solution to any mess...

the hose, of course.

And that's just fine with him.

Brighter than sunshine.

2009-09-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

Today we woke up to some of Nolan's favorite cousins here to play for the morning. To make the day even more special, it started raining. So we made some hot chocolate and spent the morning out in the rain.

The puddles were sad to see our cousins leave and so were we.

If you want to see more pictures of this beautiful day, go HERE.

There is a light that never goes out

2009-09-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

Today I got to spend the entire afternoon with just my hubby. We went to 500 Days of Summer (very cute movie) thanks to a giftcard (nothing better than free movie tickets). We held hands the entire time. A luxury we don't get to enjoy too much of anymore. I'm usually holding a much smaller hand these days.

Hitchin' a Ride

2009-08-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

This boy loves to be outside.

Since no one in this house can say no to this adorable boy, we all end up taking frequent trips outside to roast in the heat. If he's really lucky he'll sucker one of us into giving him a "Paco Mobile" ride. This happened to be one of his lucky days.

The usual tour includes a ride past the horsie, who was being very shy today. And a quick stop to talk to the ducks.

I'm sure I speak for the rest of us when I say we can not wait till the heat mellows out. Then this boy can be outside all he wants.

Sometimes...

2009-08-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

we play in the dirt.

Sometimes the dirt gets in our eyes

and mouth.

Sometimes we climb on chairs.

And sometimes we take baths outside, purely for exploitive/photoshoot reasons and are bribed to behave with a sucker.

But only sometimes.

Family Reunion

2009-08-11T23:05:00.000-07:00

This last week we spent in Wolf Creek, Utah for a family reunion on my mom's side (she's one of ten siblings, let's just say there was alot of people).

It was absolutely gorgeous. The weather was perfect and I never got tired of looking at those beautiful mountains. We had lots of fun swimming, staying up late playing cards and having dinner all together.

Thanks to my mom who planned lots of activities for us, we had fun playing baseball and water balloon volleyball.

The kids enjoyed doing crafts.

Nolan had a posse of cousins following him everywhere. I didn't mind one bit.

And of course there was lots of food.

But I think everyone would agree that the Family Olympics was the highlight of the trip.

Every family had a team name and decorated a flag. For the opening ceremonies each family took their turn parading through the crowd as we all cheered. Every team was supposed to have some kind of costume but as usual my family was the only ones that got into it.

We were going for "70's/rediculous looking" athletes in which I think we succeeded. My sister and I spent the whole week before thrifting for awesome sports wear. We came across some old Toro uniforms (I've never had so much school spirit). The gray unitard my brother is wearing takes the cake though.

The races started out with the Dad's having to carry every child of their's across the finish line. The dad that had all of their children across first won. This became quite entertaining as the Dad's tried carrying more then one of their adult children across.

The next race each person had to crawl under your teams legs and make a bridge until you crossed the finish line.

Another fun one was every one took off their shoes and put them in a big pile. They lined up and when the whistle blew they had to find and put on their shoes, find the rest of their family and run together across the finish line.

Nolan wasn't too crazy about all the competition.

What kind of a family reunion would this be without a Fro.

So many cousins.

There was alot of other fun races inlcuding water balloons that caused an awesome fight (the camera was put up for that one). In the end, our family tied for first place.

Hello again!

2009-08-01T23:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. I took a little break from the outside world the last couple of months. No photography, no blogging...nothin. I feel rejuvinated and reinspired. We've had a busy couple of months. We had a farewell, a graduation, and a baby blessing all in Rob's family. We went up to Rob's parents cabin with my family for the 4th of July and watched the Heber fireworks, which are always so amazing. I was lucky and took a girls trip to Vegas with my sister, mom and aunt. Rob has been busy going to school and working with a friend doing custom trim, which has been an enormous blessing. Instead of boring you with mounds of pictures from every event (which you know I have) I'll just share a few random ones, cuz what kind of post would this be without any pictures.

Enjoying the freshly picked blackberries from the bushes out back.

Taking a trip in the "Paco Mobile" one Monday evening to get some icecream.

Getting a summer buzz.

Helping Daddy mow the lawn.

Loving the rain up at the cabin.

Waiting patiently for the Heber fireworks.

Just being so dang cute.

So much for just a few:)

Sickness & Mothers Day

2009-05-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

My poor baby has been sick for the past week. It first started off as pink eye and soon turned into some viral throat thing. He's got a nasty cough and has just wanted to sit and watch movies all day. We've spent most of our days like this...

Which I've actually enjoyed. It's not very often that'll he'll let me cuddle with him anymore. Through the endless amount of Baby Einstein , I was able to make some gifts for my mom & mother-in-law for Mother's Day.

It's a moisturizing hand scrub and hand towel. I got the idea for the hand scrub HERE and the dishtowel I saw HERE. I pretty much just drew my own rose design and hand stitched it on. I also had some time to sew up an apron for my mom, while Rob was having some guy time with my brothers.

I got the pattern HERE. I changed it a little bit. I used binding around the edges instead of using a back piece and I put a pleat in the middle of the apron, which I wished I wouldn't have made so long, oh well.

My sweet little sister made me this adorable book. It's all about me and being a mom.

My darling husband made me the cutest little coupon book.

These are just a few of my favorites. There is also one for a day all to myself, free errand running (with no complaints), 10 compliments and a few too personal to share ;) He sure knows how to make a girl feel special. I think he's starting to realize that no amount of money can buy thoughtfulness.

I just want to publicly say how lucky I am to have such a wonderful woman as my mother. I'm so blessed to have my mom be truly one of my best friends. I confide in her for everything. She is there whenever I need her. She is always so willing to do all she can to help me. She has showed me how to be a kind, loving and patient mother. She wasn't a perfect mom. She made mistakes, which I am now so grateful for. It has taught me that I can't expect perfection from myself. Even on my bad days, my child will love me. I know that I am bound to make mistakes but there is always tomorrow to strive to be a little better. Without her I would not be the mother I am today.

My Birthday Boy

2009-05-05T22:32:00.001-07:00

Friday was my hubbies birthday. He worked for most of the day and we spent the night with good friends at the Olive Garden. Afterwards we had some homemade cherry cheesecake and played some games. Sadly, I accidently erased the pictures I took. But I'll post some of the present I made for him another day. It was such a nightmare (it's my own fault for skipping a couple of important steps). Let's just say there was ALOT of unpicking that was done. It just shows how much I love this man...

and it sure is alot.

Presenting...

2009-04-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

After much deliberation I have decided to have a blog just for my photography. It's taken me a while to decide on a logo but I think I've finally come up with one that I love (don't be surprised that if in a month it's different, my likes and dislikes change almost daily). I think it'll be good for me to have a blog just for me and my family. Sometimes my photo shoots consume my life, I love it, but it'll be nice to have a place just for me to express my thoughts and share more of my family. I know it's very basic but I'm proud of it because I did 99.9% of it all on my own, which has never happened before (the other .1% is due to my very knowledgeable, patient husband).

You'll be able to see more of this family...

and also more of my cute nephew...

So check it out here and let me know what you think.

Seeing beauty everywhere

2009-04-07T22:43:00.001-07:00

What an inspiring weekend. I feel so lucky to be able to listen to our living prophet and his apostles. I felt so comforted as many of the speakers talked about the trials of people all over the world. It's nice to know that we are not alone in our struggles. Their words were so encouraging and uplifting. I don't think I've ever received so much from any other conference previous, it's probably because I was really needing their guidance. So many things really stood out to me, but one quote in particular has had my thoughts all week. I don't know who it was from (can't find my book of notes) but it was "Your future is as bright as your faith". That hit me so hard. I realized that no matter my circumstances I still have a responsibility to be diligent and faithful. Sometimes I feel that I have a right to feel frustrated and angry with where we're at in our lives, but that one sentence helped me see that it's not all about me. All of this is an experience and I can either learn and grow from it or I can stay stagnant in my anger. My whole perspective has changed. Isn't beautiful how only eight hours can be so life changing?

Some things I'm lovin' about this boy...

2009-04-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

Unlike most first time mom's, I am terrible at journaling memorable moments in my son's life. It's something I think about doing at least three times a day but never actually do. So I'm taking the time now to write down what I'm loving about this darling boy.

1. Nolan is absolutely obsessed with wheels. Anything and everything with wheels. He is so fascinated how they spin. Anytime we see a stroller, wheelchair, bicycle.... he will crawl as fast as his little arms will go and figure out some way to make them spin and he'll just sit entranced with his mouth wide open.

2. This little stinker is still not walking. I know, I know, some kids just don't walk till later. The thing is, he knows how to walk. He takes steps all the time. It's just not fast enough for him. He has to take his time and balance and it's just not worth the extra seconds. Crawling is easier and faster. I sure can't wait for him to start though. I'm sick of picking up my child and getting covered in filth from his worn out, dirty pants.

3. This boy has got moves! Everytime there's music playing, he dances. Every time he eats, he dances. Everytime he's happy, he dances. What more can I say...he loves to dance!

4. This little guy jabbers all day long, non-stop. It's adorable. His favorite words and sounds right now are Daddy, Aco (Paco, Rob's dad), Uck (truck), Wow-wow-Wow-wow... (as his voice influctuates up and down), Hey-hey-hey..., Mmmm (as he eats), and a whole lot of other noices I have no idea how to spell (you get the point).

5. Some nights around bedtime Nolan gets so tired he becomes "sleep drunk" (past the point of exhaustion when you involuntarily become slap happy). It is so darn hilarious when this happens. We won't even be doing anything and he'll fall over laughing for no reason.

6. We are done with the bottle! Yay! We have been for a while, but man, it is so nice. This kid couldn't love his sippy cup more, especially when it's filled with some orange juice.

7. Nolan loves for people to chase after him. Sometimes the excitement is so intense his little body can't take it and he collapses to the ground in shrieks of laughter.

8. This boy loves food. Whenever someone has food it must be shared with Nolan, he'll have it no other way. Even if he just had a full meal. I seriously have to cut him off when I feed him. He will eat until he explodes.

Every week this kid gets cuter and cuter. I am really loving his little personality. He is becoming quite the tease. It's so fun to have my buddy by my side all day. I am so grateful that I'm able to cherish and enjoy every day with him.

Be still and know that I am God

2009-03-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

These last couple of months have been quite a challenge for us. Because of this rough economy my husbands' business wasn't able to make it, which left him unemployed for quite some time. No longer being able to make ends meet we had to say good-bye to our home and move in with Rob's parents. I've really struggled with finding the words to write about our circumstances (hence the month of absence). I didn't want to write about it until I was in a place of complete acceptance for fear I would come across as a whiny victim. I have found that the path to that acceptance is a lot harder and longer than I had expected. Our world has been turned upside down. We've been stripped of our comfort and have been deeply humbled. Our faith is all that we have now. The faith and knowledge of our Savior. I had never had a full understanding of the depth the Atonement can have in my life until this experience. I have had to surrender most everything to Him and find peace in His comfort. At times I allow the loneliness and despair get the better of me and even in those dark hours I feel my Saviors arms around me. Before I had felt lost in the crowd and now I know that I matter. That my challenges and struggles aren't unnoticed. That I am loved. Everyday is still a challenge... but everyday it gets a little easier... and everyday I find more to be grateful for.

The Veggie Baby

2009-02-12T08:11:00.000-08:00

I found the greatest blog the other day. It's all about different recipes to feed your baby. If any of you mothers are at all like me you know how hard it is to keep your babies meals healthy and delicious at the same time. I especially have a hard time with this having a son that has dairy and wheat sensitivities. I feel like I feed him the same things every day, poor guy. I have yet to try out these recipes but I am very excited to add some flavor to my sons diet. Check it out here.

Our Birthday Boy!

2009-01-29T23:23:00.000-08:00

Just to warn you there are a ton of pictures! (What do you expect, our first child's first birthday:) I tried to make it a little less miserable by making collages.

To start out, a week before his birthday I took Nolan on a little photo shoot to get a cute pic for his birthday party invitations. It was a quicky but I definitely got some cute ones. It wasn't hard...look at this kid!

I had a hard time choosing which picture to use. But in the end I decided to go with a balloon one.

The invite-

I made the party super cheap and simple. I packed sack lunches for everyone instead of having subs which cut back costs on paper goods. We had water bottles to drink which we had from our water storage. I handmade the cupcakes, toppers and goodie bag tags. I already had the paper lanterns and the napkins, which I bought from Target on super clearance a while ago. The tablecloth I got from a thrift store and was waiting for just the perfect time to use it (I love how the red checkered print goes along with our picnic theme).

Our lovely guests...

I caught him getting into the presents.

Everyone enjoying their cupcakes.

The proud parents.

If you're wondering why the picture of Nolan and I was taken in front of a church building...well, as usual I forgot to hand the camera over and get a picture taken of me. We remembered later that day, after my cousins baptism. At least we got one.

My family wanted to be apart of the celebrations too, so on Monday night we had another little party with them. My aunt made a trifle...delicious. Nolan thought so too.

By the time Wednesday rolled around (his actual birthday) we were celebrated out. I did sing "Happy Birthday "to him but that was about it.

I am so grateful for this little guy. He has opened a part of my heart that I never even knew existed. This past year has brought us so much joy, not that there weren't rough times (cuz there definitely were) but the highs far exceeded the lows. He has brought such a light and peace into our home. I love him so dearly and am so grateful he's a part of our family.

Beadhead...just a little

2009-01-20T19:43:00.000-08:00

This is the face I get to wake up to every morning and the one that keeps me smiling all day.

Christmas, New Years and a little in between

2009-01-19T09:10:00.000-08:00

I'm a little behind this year (I still have our Christmas decorations up...embarrasing). So finally, here is what we've been up to this last month.

Nolan woke up at 4:45 Christmas morning and would not go back to sleep so we ended up heading over to my parents a little earlier then expected. He fell asleep in the car and he stayed like this until 9 o'clock.

When he finally woke up we all gathered around and watched him open his presents.

He sure enjoyed the attention.

But I think his favorite present was the this dog that my brother got. He loves this doggy!!! He freaks out whenever we go over there and shouts "Doggg" over and over.

After Christmas we were able to go to California with some friends and their family. We had so much fun. It was the first time we had left Nolan for more than a night. I was surprised that I didn't get too home sick for him. Of course I missed him like crazy but not as bad as I had thought. Probably because we stayed nice and busy. We rode bicycles around the bay, went on a boat ride and had so much fun. I forgot my camera most of the trip so I stole these from Chandra's blog.

We found this photo-booth at the mall and had the bright idea to try to fit us all in. It was a little tight but so fun. We were laughing so hard the whole time.

We got home just in time for New Year's Eve where we spent it with some other friends. Nolan made it all the way to midnight. I was shocked.

I love the start of a new year. Making goals and plans to better yourself. I think my focus this year is going to be on my relationships. To make new and lasting friendships and richen the ones that I already have. Thanks to all of you for adding so much to my life and bringing me so much comfort and joy.

three weeks ago...

2008-12-04T21:26:00.000-08:00

We were able to take some friends up to Rob's parents' cabin. We had so much fun. Sadly, I didn't take many pics of every one there. The only ones I got are from when Rob, Nolan and I went on a little walk. We found the coolest old car, jeep and trailer. Oh, how I wish there was cool stuff like this in the valley.

This is my new favorite picture.

He's so sexy playing his guitar.

Catchin UP

2008-11-22T21:08:00.000-08:00

How sad is it that I'm barely posting pictures of Halloween. I wonder if I'll every get caught up.

It's not a secret that Halloween is my favorite holiday. I dress up every year! I love it!!! This year we threw a party and to my surprise everyone dressed up. There were some pretty sweet costumes.

Nolan's first time having candy. He sure liked it.

I'm Poison Ivy if you couldn't tell. Not very many people did.

I'm already thinking of our costumes for next year.

2008-11-13T10:17:00.001-08:00

A big thanks to all the families that volunteered for me to take their pics. We've schedule some photo shoots and I'm getting so excited/nervous to see how it goes. For those of you that missed out on the two freebies and are wondering my rates I charge $50 for a sitting fee (which is however long it takes to get some awesome pics) and that includes a CD of a bunch of edited pictures for you to develop on your own.

I'm also in the process of designing some Christmas Greetings (flat panel picture cards) and birth announcements. I hope to have those up within the next week.

I'm so behind but still to come are pictures from our Halloween party.

Say Cheese!

2008-10-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

So I'm wondering if there are any of you out there that are wanting to be my guinea pigs for an hour or two and get some free family pics at the same time. I'm trying to start some photography and I'm looking for two family's that will be willing to let me practice on them so I can gain a little experience. If you are interested, just leave a comment and we can figure out a time that we can get together.

Enjoying every minute

2008-10-15T20:32:00.001-07:00

It's been so long since I've last blogged. This last month has been so enjoyable. I celebrated my 23rd birthday, soaked up every word of General Conference and have been just plain busy running errands.

I can't tell you how much I've loved the weather lately. Even though it's warming up again, it's been so nice to relax outside. I've forgotten how much I love to be outdoors. When Nolan was first born we were always taking walks and sitting on the back porch, but since the blazing heat we haven't been out much. My dream is to have a huge front porch that friends and neighbors gather to watch the kids play outside while drinking some lemonade.

I also love all of the fall decor that comes with this time of year. It's so warm and inviting. I love getting out the heavy blankets and cozy sweaters. I'm still waiting for the ok from Rob. He's just barely able to sleep with the covers on. I'm so obviously from Arizona. The second the weather gets below 90 degrees the winter clothes come out. We have to enjoy every second we can, right?

If only we had big beautiful trees like these.

Just me and my boy

2008-09-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

Nolan and I took a walk to our little community park (if you can even call it that) the other morning. He woke up pretty cranky and my brother had spent the night and was sleeping on the couch, so we went on a walk. The weather was so nice. And everything was so beautiful as the sun was rising.

This was Nolan's first time playing in the sand. I couldn't tell if he liked it or not. He kind of just sat there for a minute with his hands in the air like "this is so gross" ( he gets that from me, I can't stand sand. Rob could take a bath in it). Then the first thing he did was try to put a fistful in his mouth and after the fifth time of me moving his hand away I finally realized that he's just gonna have to figure it out for himself. Well he did. After some hilarious faces (which I didn't catch on camera, I was laughing too hard), he grabbed a handful and brought it up to his mouth but when he got about an inch away he'd just drop the sand, like he had remembered that it wasn't too tasty. He just kept doing in over and over again. It was adorable (I'm so easily entertained these days).

It's so much fun to watch him experience things for the first time. I love seeing his little personality and how he already has such distinct likes and dislikes. I still can't believe that he's already 8 months old. Sometimes I wish I could just stop time and keep him the same age, even for just a week. It seems like he changes and learns so much in a single day, which I love, but at the same time, before I know it he'll be off to kindergarten. Oh I don't even want to think about it. I just need to learn how to live in the moment. To really absorb every experience. Burn it in my mind. Sometimes at the end of the day I think to myself "what did we even do today?". Life is so busy that sometimes it just passes by. I guess that's why I cherish these little moments so much.

Just another lovely weekend

2008-09-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

I just spent an hour making a cute collage about our weekend in photo shop and another hour trying to get it to upload, of course, it wouldn't. So I'm just gonna do a quick post or else it'll be another month before I do.

Rob and I had a wonderful weekend. Mom my had Nolan spend the night on Friday so we had some wonderful time to ourselves. We got some dinner at Charleston's (one of our faves), rented a movie, slept in late, and took a trip to the swapmeet. I have to say I was very disappointed. Not quite what I was expecting. But we did find some beautiful strands of beads, which i am completely obsessed with. And Rob found some money clips which is also one of his obsessions.

It was such a treat to have Rob all to myself. That's something I don't get too much of these days.

Question...

2008-08-26T18:06:00.001-07:00

So I'm new to the blogging world and am not sure what the proper etiquette is. When someone asks a question on your comments do you go to their blog and answer or do you answer on yours? I've been faced with this dilemma many times and I'm never quite sure what to do. Someone please help me because I'm a little confused.

I-pod touch...anyone?

2008-08-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

We finally did it. We bit the bullet and bought a new computer. We've been wanting to for such a long time but, man, what an investment. It's been so nice to have a computer all day long. I am able to get so much more done. Boy, am I excited!!! So you'll all be hearing much more from me, now that I can blog whenever I'd like.

By the way, they gave us an I-pod touch with the computer and both Rob and I already have i-pods so if any of you are interested in buying one I think we're selling it for $250. It's brand new, in the package, never been opened. Just let me know if you're interested.

Happy late B-Day, Tazzy Girl!!!

2008-08-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

It was my little sister, Tessa's, Sweet 16 Birthday on the 12th. We went out to dinner with the family to Gecko Grill (her absolutely favorite restaurant)!!! It was lots of fun. For her Birthday party she's going to have an awesome slumber party at a Scottsdale Resort with 15 girls. That's the way to celebrate!!! (not fair, I know)

(weirdos)

Here are sixteen reasons why I adore my sis-

1. She is the most honest person I know. Seriously she won't even tell a little white lie to spare someones feelings. Example: I got her a necklace for part of her birthday gift, which I thought was totally cute. She pulled it out and was like "oh...cute...thanks" with the most non-expressive voice. I started laughing so hard!!! I knew right of the bat that she hated it. I told her she could take it back, no big deal. She felt so bad that she couldn't hide how much she didn't like it. There are so many more examples of her honesty. I truly admire that.

2. She never skips a day without reading her scriptures. If she ever sleeps over, even if it's one o'clock in the morning, she'll always ask to borrow my scriptures. That's dedication, which leads me to number...

3. She is soooo dedicated. If she ever puts her mind to something she will without a doubt do it. The summer we had a bet to see who could loose the most weight, she ran every single day and ended up loosing 20lbs and won the $125 bucks. (I think I ended up gaining weight...oops)

4. She is such a good cook. She makes dinner for my mom all of the time and she bakes cookies for the family every Sunday night. And she loves doing it!

5. She is so good with children. She would much rather babysit then hang out with friends any day. If I ever can't get Nolan to go to sleep, she'll try and in less then five minutes he'll be sound asleep. She's got the touch.

6. She's always so willing to babysit Nolan for us for free. Thank you so much!!!

7. She's got such great style. I used to be the one teaching her all about clothes and make-up and now I'm the one going to her for advice.

8. She's very compassionate towards people.

9. She has got moves!! I don't know where she gets it from because the rest of our family dances like morons.

10. She always pronounces words wrong. It's something that she gets from my mom and Rob and I actually tease her about it alot but it's cute.

11. She's so much fun. She's never afraid to be loud and crazy!!

12.She's very mature for her age. She notices things that most 16 years olds are oblivious too.

13. She plays the violin beautifully.

14. She was born sassy! When she was about two she had such an attitude. I don't know how it came about but her nick-name used to be the tazmanian devil (mean, I know). Through the years it has been shortened to Taz. Boy does it fit her.

15. She is extremely gullable. I'll just leave it at that.

16. She's the best little sista a girl can have!!!

Tes, I love ya babe!!! I love the time we spend shopping and just hanging out. I think it's true when they say that we picked our best friends to be our family, cuz you're sure one of mine. I love you, girlie-girl!!!

Here's one for you, Babe

2008-08-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

August for us means chaos. With the start of school means the start of swim season. Because of the nature of my husbands business we run around to lots of the different high schools all over the valley and provide them with a suit fitting (the kids try on the suits and we make sure they're in the right size). Then once we have the sizes we order the suits, wait for them to be delivered and then, with some teams, get them embroidered. As you can see, with twenty something teams, this can be a long, complicated process. After having all of this stress and working 10-12 hour days six days a week for two weeks, I'm still amazed at how well Rob handles it. Most people, including myself, would be a walking zombie but not my husband. He still comes home every night so excited to see his boy. Plays with him. Helps me with his feedings and bath time. If it weren't for me knowing and experiencing how chaotic and stressful this time can be, I would have no idea that Rob had had a long day.

I still don't understand how men do it. Providing for a family is overwhelming enough but then having to deal with the stress of work and cranky customers/clients and then at the end of the day having to come home and take care of all the responsibilities of raising a family, it blows my mind.

Sometimes I feel so guilty for asking so much from my husband. I get into that self-pitty mode where he has no idea all that I do, but in reality, I have no idea all that he does. He keeps it all to himself. Never once complaining or feeling sorry for himself. Always wanting to make my life easier. That's what I need to do this next week, I need to do everything I can to make my husbands life easier for a change. Even if that means taking the trash out everyday or picking the weeds that are so needing to be gone before we get another fine from our HOA. Kindly putting his ten pairs of shoes that are scattered throughout the house back in the closet without giving him a lecture. Whatever it takes to show him my gratitude for his endless service and love for our family.

So my hat's off to you men, who day in and day out do all that you can to provide and care for your families.

I've been Tagged by Whitney

2008-08-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

I've never done this before, so here it goes!

i am: quite opinionated
i know: I should live in the moment
i want: my husband to be happy in his profession. A happy husband = a happy wife.
i have: so many blessings I take for granted
i wish: I was a size 4 again
i hate: those stupid pinture bugs. I kill five every single day!!!!
i miss: playing Barbie's for hours
i fear: my husband will die too soon
i feel: great when my son sleeps through the night
i hear: the washing machine
i smell: baby lotion
i crave: cold cereal (weird, I know)
i search: for acceptance
i wonder: what my family will be like when they all get married
i regret: not making school a priority
i love: being creative
i care: that I'm not as kind as I know I should be
i always: jump to conclusions
i am not: a patient person
i believe: that either you control your attitude or it controls you
i dance: like an idiot
i sing: sometimes
i don’t always: know the right thing to say
i write: a to-do-list every day
i lose: poorly
i win: when playing cards with my family
i never: buy things full price
i listen: to the same playlist everyday
i am scared: of people in masks, including Mickey Mouse. I don't do well at theme parks
i need: my family, they are a huge support to me
i am happy about: this stage of life I'm in
i tag: anyone that reads this:)

Number 21

2008-08-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Nancy and Rusty (Rob's sister and brother-in-law)!!!! They are going to have a baby and we couldn't be happier for them. The baby is due in March and there is going to be one huge party when this baby is born!