Just playin' at home...

Here are a few pictures I took of my boys playing around at home... I needed some recent ones of them! Monkey Man was happy to jump off of the couches, climb on the stairs and do his animal impressions. I can hardly believe he will be three in 4 short months! They really are buddies and Turtle is exceptionally patient and tolerant of Monkey's  constant rough housing and bugging... but he doesn't seem to mind one bit... in fact he loves it and is constantly laughing at his big brother! (Unless, it's a "sharp" pain, he doesn't complain much.) I truly love these boys and can't imagine my life without them!

    

Please Pray for the Nelson Family

Please Pray for the Nelson family. I use to be in their ward/lived in the same neighborhood, and have been following their blog. Today brought devastating news that their 8 month old only has weeks left to live after fighting cancer. You can read their story HERE. There's not much to say, but my heart is full and goes out to them. Please keep them in your prayers...

Can't wait!

Can't wait to see this kid's face in a few hours!

That's my brother who's coming to visit!!!! He's the bomb-diggity and we're gonna have us some fun!  I miss my sibs so much! Only 3 more to get out here! :D

Exhale...

Alrighty! I think I have my life under enough control that I can commit to blogging again! The TEENS are in school. The BABIES are happily entertained. And here I am, sitting at my laptop checking out the people who are checking me out (I do that) and have found some new followers and readers! It's oh so exciting that even though I've been a BLOGGING SLACKER you still love me... well, my blog anyway!

Some random thoughts I've been wanting to share with you...
*How does Walmart get so crazy!? I think they should take my $ and put in some traffic lights. Or something!
* Teenage boys eat. ALOT!
* I do love a full house. And I thoroughly enjoy the quiet moments. Esepcially if the babies are sleeping!
* Did I tell you that I finally watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? I can't remember. Well, I did and I LOVED it!
* My side businesses are picking up and it's so exciting! But a little intimidating.
* When are they going to have a Blogging Convention here in UTAH? For real! Who do I need to talk to to get that party started?!
* Why do I have this need to always have a HUGE project to work on?
* How did I land such a sexy husband? That attribute wasnt even on my list of wants! Go ahead and gag, but he's hott!

* I still haven't potty trained my 2 1/2 year old... and don't care.

* I'm totally into Thank You cards right now!
* I discovered Provo Crafts. What a gem!
* I don't have any time to craft.
* My home is mostly in order and I love it. It feels pretty cozy.
* My home is not cozy when it's a mess. Which it usually is after 2pm.
* I have finally put music on my iPhone. My current favorite is Beyonce's Halo.

It's going to be a good day, today!

A Giveaway.... but not mine!

I really really want a fair chance at winning these babies... 250 customized 5x7 cards! So here you go... give me another entry, Carolyn! :D

School Started

School started last week. That shouldn't have meant a thing to me, alas we inherited (haha, that's so not the right word!) two teenage boys the weekend before and now we're on the public school's schedule. I guess it's not so bad!

It's going just fine, all things considered. Adjusting: yes. Succeeding: time will tell. I really think this change will be a good one.

Being a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant and a Photographer has been keeping me happily busy enough. There is something truly satisfying to have my own accomplishments and successes. Life is Good.

I read New Moon again. I could hardly stand to put it down. It amazes me how incredibly sucked in I got... again! Needlesstoday - I am giddy for the release of the movie version on November 20th! Did I mention that DH got me the series for my birthday? He did. And he's the best!

We will be visiting our wonderful friends in Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend who just had a beautiful miracle baby boy! :) I have availability on Saturday night (the 5th) for a photo shoot if anyone in the Henderson area is interested!

The boys are good. Monkey is coming up with the silliest lines. Yesterday, he asked me where his uncles went, and I told him they were at school and he responded, "Wow. I didn't even know that! That's crazy!" ... he cracks me up!

I suspect I will be blogging more often! Hopefully, I'll eventually get back to blogging daily - but not promises from me just yet! :)

Hope you all are having a great week!

Big Changes

This has been quite the eventful summer! And by "summer" I mean, everyone else is out of school, though nothing but the weather has really been different for us! However. We had some big things happen this weekend, and will now have DH's 2 youngest brothers (ages 14 & 16) staying with us for a while because some big changes have occurred and we're trying to help with the transition. If you know me, you know they lived with us for over 2 years, and after some hellish disagreements on all sides it all hit the courts... anyway, this will definitely be a more "pleasant" experience all around.

So again, please be patient with me while we adjust to these new circumstances! I will be back soon!

Have you seen this?

Found it on Team-Twilight... so clever! I found it hilarious and entertaining! I think you will too...

Oh. Yes!

Just had to share!!

Opportunities

I have been ridiculously busy as of late. I barely have time to blog... and running 4 blogs takes a lot of work, so I have to rotate my attention to each of them. Many opportunities have come our way this summer, and we're running with them! You may remember this post, and yes, I have become a Beauty Consultant, and its going AMAZING! I can hardly believe it. Among many changes within the extended families and trying to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible before it gets... you know... COLD. (Because in Utah - it gets cold, and stays cold for most of the year. But I do love Fall.)... I've just had to prioritize and blogging has had to take a back burner. :)

Fear not, I will be back.

in the mean time...

My In-Laws.

fascinating new life...

I realized I hadn't shared these photos yet! This giraffe was one day old when I took these! A newborn giraffe! That is not something you see everyday! And it was amazing!  Here are a few of my favorites, but to see more visit my photoblog!

Alicia's Photo Challenge: SHARE!

Hello, hello! Are you ready to share your favorites from last months challenge?! I sure hope so! I'll be completely honest: it may take me a few days to get the next challenge up. But it is coming! To learn more about Alicia's Photo Challenge go HERE.

Okay, so last months challenge was: get familiar with your Post-Editing program, and try some different effects and filters. Learn how to crop your photo. Learn how to increase the contrast and balance it with brightness.

Simple enough. It was hard picking my favorite photo since I do a lot of post-editing! But there was one photo in particular that I loved the results.

This picture was taken when my oldest was 6 months old (about 2 years ago) when we were visiting my family in Hawaii. I wanted to develop it and put it up in our home, so I played with it first. I was amazed how great my skinned looked after a little smudging work on GIMP.

If you participated in the challenge, link up! Remember to visit one another and leave some comment love! It's always a great feeling to have a little support and hear words of encouragement!

I'm still here!

I haven't forgotten about you! I'm still here and I apologize for being late on the next photography assignment! We've been taking advantage of the local zoo and aquarium (yes, there is an aquarium in the middle of this desert! And it's pretty cool, if I may say so myself!), the pool, and the opportunities that knock! I have been keeping busy with my Mary Kay business (did I tell ya'll I'm a Beauty Consultant now?), and I LOVE it! I have learned lots about myself and can feel the growth of doing things I didn't think I could do! I've just been busy busy busy! Which is new for me. Yes, so busy in fact, I have very very little time to blog! I KNOW! I'm telling you! This is new for me too! lol. I've been spending a lot more "quality" time with my sweet boys. They are growing up too quickly, and even though I am home with them everyday, I feel like I am missing it! I know you understand!

I have some pictures to share from the zoo... a one day old giraffe, and baby snow leopard! A.DOR.A.BLE!

But now I need to get to bed. So have a FABULOUS weekend! And I will get working on some good stuff to share with you!