family christmas card

I realize that just about anyone reading my blog will be receiving one of these in the mail, but at the rate I'm going, my cards might not arrive before 2010 December 25th, so I'll post here just in case.

Family Christmas card shoots are miserable challenging, but I thought this year I'd try to take advantage of one of the more violent funny pictures we took that day.

May your Holidays be filled with peace :)

*Card supplies by DigitalScrapbookMemories

'tis the season...

...to make toffee! This weekend I taught Kenyon how to make my mom's famous holiday toffee. It is delicious and Kenyon loves it. Today when he got home from school to find that it was all gone, he made a new batch...all by himself...

And it is delicious!! After making it he said that he hoped it was okay that he shared the recipe with a friend today at school. I think he thought it was a secret family recipe because I told him how difficult it is to make it turn out right and how my Mom is just about the only person in the world who can make it perfectly! Just in case you're in the mood for toffee, here is the secret recipe:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp water
2 Hershey's chocolate bars

Bring the first three ingredients to a boil on med-high heat, and burn slightly, until it is about the color of a brown paper bag. Pour onto a cookie sheet, spread, and while hot, top with the broken up candy bars. When the bars are melted, spread the chocolate and add nuts, if desired. Let cool completely and break into pieces. It's fantastically delicious...just one more reason to hit the treadmill!

And by the way, this little fella is still ruling the roost here. He's pretty much the center of our lives. Tonight Kaden said, "He's like our new TV!" Yep. we LOVE the little guy!

contest entry - autumn beauty

This week at iHeartfaces, the contest is "Autumn Beauty" and I just had to enter this picture of my neighbor's gorgeous, newly adopted little buddy. Isn't he just beautiful? I love him so much and I was lucky enough to help a tiny bit with his family's adoption so I feel like he's a little bit "mine" too! :)

To see all the other beautiful entries, visit www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com!

pleeeeeease?

Ummmm, Dad...

Today when we came home from school, there was something curious sitting on our counter...

Mom said she didn't (ahem) know anything (ahem) about it...

 

We got it out and found it to be just about the cutest little thing we have ever seen.

His name is Dax...

You know, Dad,

Studies show that pet care teaches kids all about RESPONSIBILITY...

 

So our question for you, best Dad in the whole world, is, CAN WE KEEP HIM?

PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE?
(Mom says she guesses it's okay with her if it's okay with you.)

my little sidekick

Some day I'll miss these long days Kolby and I have to spend together, just the two of us.

Today I let him choose out an outfit to wear so we could go take pictures of him. His first choice was, of course, his Batman costume, but when I said no, this was his second ensemble of choice. After he got all spiffied up, he came in, hands in pockets, and said, "Hey Mom, do I look like Bruce?"
"Who is Bruce?" I asked.
"Bruce Wayne!"
Of course. I should have known...

a little peek

This is my cousin, Kristy and her cute family. Don't you want to see all of them!? Visit my photoblog...

halloween

I know, I know, Halloween is in the distant past, but, as with everything in my life lately, I'm about a week behind. So here were my three little Trick-or-Treaters in '09. But... my adorable little pirate wasn't thrilled with my costume idea for him (get a load of that bird I sewed on his shoulder!) and opted for a simpler idea...he attached a black rectangle to his back and wore a sign on his front that said, "I'm a refrigerator magnet." (When did my little boy who has always been game for anything, grow up to act like a teenager!? Aaaaarghhh!)

holy costume, batman!

Just another Batman costume picture, right? But if you know this kid, you see the significance of the costume. Kolby believes he actually is Batman. If you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he'll tell you, "Batman." On the first day of preschool he told his teacher that his name is Batman. Right now, as I type (it's 8:30am,) he is wearing his Batman get-up and holding one Batman toy in each hand. Sigh...my (super)hero.

His Dad is not usually one to believe in buying costumes for Halloween (AKA he's cheap) (sorry, honey, you know it's true,) but he came home from the mall with this one. He said he just couldn't resist. I'm so glad he couldn't!

Once again, I know it's not a contest winner, but I just had to join. Iheartfaces is too much fun!

To see all the other wonderful costume pictures, or to join the challenge yourself, click on the button:

my little buddy

Now is he cute, or is he CUTE!?

You just gotta go see the other pics of this little guy on my photo blog...

sun washed autumn bliss

Somebody stop me! I can't stop taking pictures of this beautiful little town I live in. Sometimes when you look around, does your heart just want to burst with thanksgiving for the gorgeousness that makes up this world!!??

Even garbage day is beautiful!!

They say New England is beautiful this time of year. Hard to believe it could be any more beautiful than little old Springville!

undaunted

I haven't read Gerald Lund's newest book, Undaunted, about Hole in the Rock, but after this weekend, I can't wait to devour it!

This last weekend Clint an Amy had plans to go to the world famous Bryce Canyon and we totally invited ourselves along went with them.

We endured enjoyed the long fight drive to get there, swam, got a good night's rest, and loaded up early the next morning for one of the longest drives on a dirt road I have ever taken an adventure.

I seriously thought we'd never get there but We soon arrived at Hole in the Rock and watched as other tourists shook their heads in awe at our stupidity in taking so many little boys on such a treacherous hike started our hike.

We really were amazed, thinking that early settlers of the area had to blast this hole through the rock so that they could lower their WAGONS through this pass and down to Lake Powell. You just can't appreciate how difficult this must have been until you've been on this incredibly dangerous terrain. I would have been a dead Pioneer.

We almost made it the whole way to the lake, but then I begged and pleaded with everyone to turn back helped everyone see the reason in turning back before the kids tired out.

After we made our way back to the top, we dragged our tired, exhausted bodies climbed back into our beautiful cars and gave a prayer of thanks that we have things like air conditioning, four-wheel drive, and cushioned seats. We truly gained an appreciation for what those settlers did.

After 3,000 more hours on the same blasted road another jaunt back on the same dirt road, Clint allowed Kenyon to drive the jeep everyone safely and legally buckled in, we arrived at our second incredibly dangerous and treacherous destination: the Slot Canyons.

Right at the beginning of this little hike, we found a very dangerous, very poisonous, very terrifying looking baby snake, resting in the bottom of one of the crevasses and it started to make me panic totally impressed the boys. I then freaked out to Kent, telling him we were running out of daylight and that I was NOT hiking back through these snake-infested slot canyons in the dark asked if we should perhaps think of turning back while we still had daylight, but everyone lied to assured me that we would come out the other end and safely loop back to our cars before nightfall.

It was an incredible hike through the slot canyon. We saw such amazing rock creations and were loving every minute of it until we RAN OUT OF DAYLIGHT told you so and had quite a terrifying, panic-inducing an adventure trying to find our way back to the car.

Kyler was a crying, screaming, panicking mess bit nervous, but we eventually made it back to our cars, and once again counted our many blessings. Needless to say, we slept like rocks that night.

The next day was blissfully peaceful much less adventurous, but beautiful and breathtaking nonetheless. Some of the kids were raving, grouchy lunatics a little tired from the day before, so we kind of took it easy. First we hiked up a small waterfall at Mossy Cave, and then we got a free park pass from a stranger and all crammed into one tiny car decided to go into Bryce Canyon to see the sights.

The sky was just absolutely incredible this day. It was so blue that I even heard the weatherman talking about it on the news that night. I was so glad we had been out to enjoy and notice it!

Gosh we had a great time. What an adventure. Thanks, guys, for letting us horn in on your party inviting us along! Cousins are the absolute BEST!!!

super skinny bodies

Because I've been studying the world of photography lately, I have been watching this story with great interest. Here's the controversy...

This is an honest to goodness ad. Can you believe it? In my experience with Photoshop I've learned some tricks, and I'm pretty sure I could make just about anyone look just like this ad. Yikes!

According to Extra!, ' On Thursday, Polo Ralph Lauren released the following statement about the retouched ad: "For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman's body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately."'

I hope everyone reads this story, because it really says something about the way women are portrayed in the media. They're just not real, and I think we need to fight for some more real women in the media. Yay Dove! I just love their latest commercial featuring women of all shapes and sizes, embracing their beauty for all the right reasons. We need to learn to be more forgiving of ourselves! (Though, admittedly, I've been known to Photoshop myself on occasion:)

kolby's girlfriend

This is Kolby's girlfriend. Since Kolby has been sick for a week, he hasn't played with her in six days. Kolby is going through withdrawal. Yesterday we were sitting in front of her at church. Kolby was the best he's ever been. He just sat backwards in his chair and stared at her the whole time. I think he's in love, and I think it has a lot to do with her adorable new haircut (or maybe it's her sparkly eyes!) Anyhow, absence has certainly made his heart grow fonder. To see more pictures of Kolby's girlfriend and her beautiful family, visit my photo blog.

autumn eye candy

Kolby has been under the weather this week, so this morning we went on a field trip to hunt for photography treasures. Here are all the wonderful sights we found... (and by the way, all of these spots would be fantastic for photo shoots...let's DO IT!!! Visit my website at www.photobykimber.com)

I love clever people!

Happy Autumn everyone!!

where have you been?

I know that not everyone is wondering where I've been. Most probably don't even know I've gone missing from the blogging world for a couple of weeks. But I have had a few kind friends and family members ask if I was still around. I am, I've just been a bit busy...I've been doing a little of this...

And a little of this...

And some of this...

And this...

All for the Hobblecreek Barn Boutique - a TEN day boutique -ing marathon!

Oh..and a whole lot of THIS...

For the Springcreek 13th Ward Pinewood Derby. (It was a slow car, but it looked cool.) (But not quite as cool as that Wii Remote car...darn Widtfeldts :)

good news, bad news...

The bad news is Kyler has been sick all week. The good news is, he lost his FIRST TOOTH!! The bad news is it could be Swine Flu. The good news is, the Tooth Fairy left him $1.00 and he was SO excited!

you ROCK!

Why is it that the crazier my life gets, the more inclined I am to take on silly, meaningless projects??!@* The other day as I was driving around town, I saw THIS beauty at a yard sale for only $8.00 and it just SPOKE to me...

And it's been speaking to me all week. So, even though I have 1 million (literally) things I need to be doing this week, I finally heeded its call this morning, and now it looks like THIS...

 

Haaaaaaaaaaaalleluhah!!

Isn't she PRETTY!?

I'm seeing all kinds of photography potential here!!

I'm envisioning a beautiful Christmas wreath and viola...the perfect Christmas card picture!!! (Anyone want to pose for me!?)

four wheelin'

We took an awesome four wheeler/jeep ride in the mountains behind our house. The view was incredible. It's always fun to see the world from a new perspective. We drive around that city all day, every day, going about our business, not even realizing what the big picture looks like...

You know those confounded (awesome) windmills I'm always talking about? There they are, at the base of the mountain on the left. Cool, huh? They look pretty small from this perspective.

How many boys can fit in one jeep?

It was a bit dusty!

I know my camera and I have worn out our welcome when we start getting THIS look...

How do people live without mountains!?

contest entry

Okay, I realize this is no contest winner, but I couldn't resist adding this cute picture of my baby as he headed off to his first day of preschool (and I then enjoyed two hours of a blissfully empty, wonderfully quiet, surprisingly clean house:)

To see all the other (much more deserving) contest entries, visit iHeartFaces

happy birthday!!

This is Little Miss A. TODAY is her birthday!! She is my beautiful cousin's daughter.

Guess how old she is today! 

If you'd like to see more pictures of her and her gorgeous family, (and I know you do,) click here to go to my photo blog!