I am Me (everyone else is taken)

Making Progress...

2012-02-06T09:21:00.000-08:00

(Kitty: "Just act normal...just act normal...just act normal...")

If there were sound, you'd hear a little growl...(and it's coming from kitty...)

I'd call this a success!

bark bark bark bark bark

2012-01-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

Meet Kodak Jepperson...

the eight week old Labradoodle who is the newest member of our family.

We are all so THRILLED to have her in our home!

...well, MOST of us are thrilled...

(That's Koconut's favorite feather by the way)

Let's hope these two learn to get along. Lately they've been fighting like...well...cats and dogs!

(The girls in the chicken coop aren't too sure about her either)

(The fish actually seem to like her better than they like the cat :)

(Yes, we live in a zoo...)

It's not easy photographing a slobbery, clumsy animal

who wants to snuggle whenever you get on the floor!!

But the good news is that she tires out easily.

...It's probably because she wakes up at 5:30am...

Don't you just love her!?

Project 52: Week 1

2012-01-18T21:53:00.000-08:00

I'm starting up late on this, but I want to try taking at least one photo a week this year, trying out some kind of a new technique or set up. (Or maybe I'll just take a shot of something fun.) Here's one I took of Kaden this week. (But don't tell Kenyon...because that's Kenyon's guitar :)

This is a lighting technique I've been studying called "Rembrandt lighting," where one side of the subject is in shadow. Very moody and thoughtful.

And here's a set up the kids wanted to try tonight...making the studio look like a bed. They were having too much fun. I'll miss this some day...

(Note to self: use a bigger backdrop)

Having fun can be so exhausting.

Best Face of 2011 Photo

2012-01-09T15:32:00.000-08:00

I am entering this photo in the Iheartfaces weekly photo challenge: Best Face of 2011."

It's one of my favorite pictures from this last year. Love this little cutie!

Our December...

2012-01-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

Kaden completely blew me away at his Christmas violin concert.

When the orchestra started playing, I expected a horrible screeching noise to issue forth.

Isn't that what 6th grade orchestras sound like? Nope. The sound was absolutely beautiful.

I cried through the whole concert. I'm so proud of Kaden for learning to play the violin.

I think it's pretty cool.

***

Kenyon, #24, has been a force on the Springville Jr High team.

We've had so much fun watching him, even if the team has yet to attain their first victory...

I'm the mom...win or lose, I love watching them play.

Only 12 guys made the team this year. Kenyon tried out with confidence and made it.

We were all so excited for him.

Go Springville Red Devils!

Kenyon's adoring fans (Thank you Larissa, Davis, Mom, Dad, Lance, and everyone who

travels the distance to watch Kenyon play.) You sure make great athletic supporters...er...

***

We took our annual overnight trip to Salt Lake to eat at the Lion House, (the long line is worth it to us - sorry Camie and Jeff!) see the beautiful lights at Temple Square, stay overnight at the Marriott, and ice skate at the Gallivan Center. Fun times.

***

Now that it's time to put it all away, I thought I'd post some pics of how it all looked this Christmas.

At the rate I'm going, it may not get put away until Valentines Day, so let's keep the sparkle going, what do you say!?

***

We had a yummy Christmas Eve dinner, followed by scripture reading

and a (very) late night showing of the latest Harry Potter movie.

Sometimes when I read blogs of other people, I feel like maybe we're missing something.

Everyone's families seem perfect yet at our house, there is still a whole lot of sibling rivalry going on. But Christmas Eve is my favorite night of the whole year.

I think it's pretty much as close to perfect as our family ever gets.

***

And then there are the wonderful early morning hours of Christmas...the magical moment when everything that was supposed to get done has somehow gotten done.

The house is lit, clean, wrapped, and silent...

***

...and then, of course, comes Christmas morning...

Our Christmas Card this year

(front)

(back)

Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year.

***

And finally, a BUNCH of pictures from our annual Mutual Dell

~~Griswold~~ Jepperson Christmas Vacation:

(We sure missed Uncle Clint this year.)

Tooo much fun...

***

And THAT is our December in a ~~nutshell~~ bunch of photo collages.

Better late than never...

2011-11-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

Halloween night was a blast. It's the first warm Halloween I can remember. Funny thing was, the kiddos only trick or treated for a little while. They had more fun answering the door at home!

Let's do it again next year!

Happy Halloween...

2011-10-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to say. Just LOOKING at these pictures cracks me up. I love you Kaden!!!

all cooped up

2011-09-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel all cooped up?

(Thunder, Kaden and Ham)

Well apparently so do these gals, because they keep escaping!!!

Any ideas on how to keep them from flying the coop?

Hard to believe they started out this size...

(Back to front - Thunder, Sheba, Ham)

(Chasers)

(Thunder)

(Ham)

And that's little Sheba Kaden's holding (sniff, sniff)...

What we thought was a terrible cough developed into a cock-a-doodle-doo.

She turned out to be a he and we had to return him to the farm.

We sure loved her/him, though!

We replaced Sheba with Pepper, who also developed a loud cock-a-doodle-doo.

We now have Marcia.
We hope she stays cock-a-doodle-doo-less.

Having chickens is an adventure every day.
We get to experience all the miracles of life through these girls.

The Help

2011-08-31T14:06:00.000-07:00

I loved this book so much I read it twice (and want to read it again.)

I saw the movie with family last weekend and enjoyed it more than I can say.

If you haven't read it, you must.

If you haven't seen it, you must!

One of the overriding themes of the book is the importance of teaching children to know three things:

(I get a lump in my throat when I read these words.)

summer's out for school!!

2011-08-29T23:25:00.000-07:00

Kolby started first grade, and was excited to ride his scooter to school and eat lunch with the big kids. Kyler started third grade, and insisted on wearing a mohawk. Kaden started sixth grade and is obviously too cool now to hold up fingers indicating his grade. And Kenyon started ninth grade, and hated that I brought out the camera.

Off to Jr. High

Waiting to leave for the Elementary School

Who is the most excited? Kaden? Kyler? Dad? (ha ha) Kolby?

ME???

Dad biked to school with Kyler and Kaden

And I followed alongside Kolby on his scooter. I had to run to keep up. It works out great!
I get a workout and Kolby thinks he's as big as the big kids.
We've done it every day since school started last Monday. Love it!

Getting tricky!

He did tricks all the way there and then 10 feet from the school, he hit a bump, landed on his head, and somehow ran over his own finger. Ouch.

I didn't think he was going to do it, but he pulled himself together and went to class.

SUCH a cute first grade class!

Kyler didn't fair much better. While going off a jump, his bike ran into a garbage can and Ky flipped over the handlebars. But he also pulled himself together enough to go to class.

Looks like third grade is going to be SERIOUS. Look at all those books!

Kaden thought I was the coolest mom at school because I was snapping away at his sixth grade class.

NOT!

Ahhhhhh... I stopped to smell the flowers on my leisurely walk home.

Our after school snack. Pina coladas.

All in all, a good time was had by all.

Oh, except for poor Kenyon...

...who got a terrible migraine on his first day of ninth grade.

(I guess it's a good thing I didn't go track him down in his
classes to take pictures of him like I wanted to!)

Happy school year, everyone!!

July is a time for...

2011-08-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

...celebrating, laughing, being together, and being SO thankful for all we have.

Uncle Jeff is too funny on the Doodlebug!

M&B having fun in the water...

Sooooo much fun. Nothing better than family!

As a final salute to July, we took a quick trip to Park City for some school shopping and together time.

Ridin' the SLIDE

Kyler decided he wanted to bungee jump instead of slide.
The slide is a bit (okay a lot) terrifying to him.

My boys...

Some scenery on the drive home.

to family and friends near and far...

2011-06-26T21:34:00.001-07:00

Something HAS to be done...

2011-05-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

...about the GANG problem in our neighborhood!

Does it get better than this?

2011-05-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

I am grateful to be a mother of four ~~little~~ boys who make me happier than I think they know.

I woke up this morning to a bleary-eyed Kaden who had gotten up early and fixed me breakfast in bed...a fried egg on wheat toast with orange juice (it was delicious.) And on the tray was a magnet with his cute face, a bookmark, and a card.

A little later, as I was getting ready for the day, Kenyon came in with a big glass of pina colada he'd made especially for me, and he gave me a big hug. (I don't always get hugs from my 14 year old, so it meant more than anything.)

Kyler gave me his gift of another bookmark (it's a good thing I love to read!) and a fill-in-the-blank paper he'd completed at school that made me laugh with joy. According to Kyler's paper, I am 26 years old, I weigh 90 lbs :), I love cleaning, and I play with him a lot on the trampoline (note to self: do that more!)

Kolby made me a clay flower pot with little plastic flowers - yellow because he knows that's my favorite color - and a note that brought tears to my eyes:

"My mother has a green thumb,

she loves each flower and tree.

But she says her most important job

is to grow a beautiful me!"

And my honey even spoiled me with flowers for the yard and a delicious Sunday dinner, which he cooks for us every Sunday, but still, it was wonderful. Love you, dear!

Okay, does Mother's Day ever get any better than this? I doubt it.

And speaking of things that don't get any better, we paid visits to two of the greatest women in the world tonight.

Kathy, thank you for raising a son who is such a good father and husband, and thank you for being my mother too. You've been through so much this year and you've been so strong. The thought of losing a son is beyond my comprehension. You are an example to me of constancy, love, endurance, and kindness. I love you.

And Mom, how can I say thank you for being my mom? I honestly don't know. Perhaps I should have made a bookmark or a clay pot, because those things sure made me feel loved today. But I guess that's the thing about Mother's Day. It's impossible to repay or properly thank a woman who gives life, direction, encouragement, love, and guidance. I guess all I can do is try to emulate who you are and be at least half as good at being a mother as you. I love you so much!

Happy Mother's Day!

most photographed kid in america

2011-05-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

It must be Spring or something, because my camera won't stay in its case!

This one...

2011-05-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

...was feeling left out of that last post so...

(This one was totally his idea. I love it!)

Yay for...

2011-05-02T22:09:00.000-07:00

...skinny jeans :) :)

random

2011-04-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I've blogged, and so much has happened. I'm going to get all caught up soon but right now it seems too overwhelming, so I'll just post some random-ness.

I made these invitations last night for an upcoming Relief Society meeting. I'm posting them because, of the 63 projects I've made this month, these are the only things I can legally post since I'm bound by nondisclosure documents for my work projects.

And for another something random, here's Kolby, trying out a new photo backdrop for me, wearing his Christmas pajamas from three years ago and sporting an arm band from Jungle Jim's he's been wearing for weeks.

The other day, while buzzing Kaden's hair, we thought this mohawk was hilarious

And finally, one more random picture. More details to come about this...

thoughts and prayers

2011-02-01T15:03:00.000-08:00

Just want the two of you to know that my every thought and prayer is with you right now...

our little christmas

2010-12-25T22:21:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Eve dinner, which Kyler, Kolby, and I prepared

while Dad, Kaden, and Kenyon were snowboarding at Snowbird...

Our traditional Christmas Eve pajamas...

(They really wanted "feetsy pajamas" but poor Kenyon is a bit too big.

Even with the "feetsies" cut out, he was getting a serious wedgie.

But at least he was a good sport and let me get a few pictures.)

Christmas Eve scripture reading...

Kolby listening intently to Christmas Eve scripture reading...

6am Christmas morning, waiting anxiously to go downstairs...

You'll shoot your eye out....

Chillin' later at Grandma and Grandpa's...

Getting even more spoiled with presents from Grandma and Grandpa...

And now there are five tuckered out little boys in this quiet, ~~somewhat~~ disheveled little house...

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night :)

Catching up

2010-12-22T11:10:00.000-08:00

I wish I were better about blogging. So much happens in our daily life and I think to myself, "I really should blog about this!" But I never seem to have the time to sit down and actually do it. Today I have a minute. The presents are all bought, wrapped, and placed under the tree. The refrigerator is stalked with egg nog and 7-up for Christmas Eve, eggs and bacon for Christmas morning, and various other delicious, traditional treats, and we're all packed and ready to go to the Marriott in Salt Lake for our annual ice-skating, swimming, temple square tour overnighter. Now we're just waiting to go.

So...here are a few things going on around here....

Kyler gave his 2nd grade country report on Botswana...

Springville turned into a winter wonderland...they even closed school yesterday. The boys thought it was the coolest thing ever to happen to them! You'd have thought it was Christmas day around here!

A few of my favorite Christmas card houses around town...

And the boys got an early Christmas present because they cleaned the house for me last night :)

Silly straws and a hot chocolate maker. Yummy!

Well, I'm not all caught up, but that's a start. I'm going to try to do better. I know no one out there cares, but I do! I want to document all my family's good, bad, and ugly...so here's to the holidays and lots and lots of blog-worthy material!

Merry Merry!

chinchiladas

2010-11-23T23:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had dad's delicious enchiladas.

Kolby said, "I'm full of my chinchilada."

He is such a funny little dude. Love him!

wax museum

2010-11-22T23:32:00.000-08:00

Guess who Kaden was for the 5th grade wax museum?

I especially like the added touch of the basketball shirt. :)

a man of many...

2010-11-20T23:44:00.000-08:00

...emotions

who is this stranger?

2010-11-20T23:39:00.000-08:00

...and when did he get so old??

quote

2010-11-18T19:21:00.000-08:00

We are sitting here as a family on a chilly Thursday night watching Alice In Wonderland. I'd heard such bad reviews but I must say that I do not agree. I love it. My new favorite quote is from the movie:

Hatter: "Have I gone mad then?"

Alice: "I'm afraid you have. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll let you in on a secret:

all the best people are!"

funny text

2010-11-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

I didn't take any Halloween night pictures because we were too busy keeping warm and dry from the hurricane that blew through that night, but right before Halloween, Kent took Ky and Kolb to the BYU Bean Museum for trick or treating and he sent me this text...(his words are below the pic.) I laughed and laughed.

"Smile Kolby."

"I am smiling!"

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

You can see what Kyler and Kolby were for Halloween. So cute!

Kenyon was a Frenchman, with a beret, scarf, and mustache. He wasn't supposed to go trick or treating. We had told him last year was his last trick or treat year, but then we gave in when all his friends were going. Our rule was that they had to all be wearing costumes, they had to be polite at the doors, and they had to watch out for little trick or treaters. I think they did pretty well. I heard positive reports from neighbors, but perhaps next year I can lock them all up at my house so they don't become obnoxious Halloween teenagers. I'll even offer them all a pillowcase full of candy if they'll just stay home with me :) :)

Kaden's was my favorite costume this year, but you'd have to live in our little city to fully appreciate it. He was a road construction worker with a "slow" road sign attached to his back. Springville roads have been a MESS since early Spring. Everyone laughed at, and fully appreciated Kaden's costume. He was a hit! I love that Kaden is always willing to do just about anything. He's a good boy.

dax

2010-11-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

Sometimes in the morning when the kids are all gone to school and I need a photography subject to check something on my camera, Dax complies...

what I'm working on

2010-10-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

...this beautiful family of girls (who also happen to be my adorable nieces) I'm almost done G&J!

wordless wednesday (for tomorrow)

2010-09-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

provo craft imagine

2010-09-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

Today has been the launch of the amazing new machine by Provo Craft - the IMAGINE and so I think it's now legal to post pictures of some of the artwork I've created with it!

The Imagine is a new and improved version - deluxe of the Cricut. It prints AND cuts the image. It's really an incredible little machine! It's being launched today on www.hsn.com. How exciting!!

my baby...

2010-09-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

My baby started KINDERGARTEN

(Sniff*Sniff)

(and hooray!)

When I picked him up he gave me a great big hug and said, "I don't want to go home and go to sleep tonight. I just want to stay at school!" (Good sign!)

His teacher knew just how to make him happy his first day. On his table, at his spot, was BLACK PLAY DOUGH!! Life doesn't get any better than that!

He also said, "Mom, if you were in Kindergarten and you had Mrs. Morgan, you would LOVE her!"

I totally agree.

cute little photo clients

2010-08-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

These adorable kiddos are over on my photoblog if you want to check them out...

the photography business is booming!!

(Anyone want a sitting??)

And I'm in the process of editing my very first engagement shoot! Woohoo!

artwork!

2010-07-27T20:12:00.000-07:00

I've had the privilege of designing some items for Provo Craft, using the Cricut. I've designed a whole lot of fun projects lately, but I can only post a few of the ones that have been released. The rest will just have to wait...

Billionaire Cartridge:

Celebrate With Flourish Cartridge:

Lovely Florals Cartidge:

Nursery Rhymes Cartridge:

jordan's on his way to canada

2010-07-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

We were so impressed as we listened to Jordan's farewell talk today.

He will be a wonderful missionary in Canada. Good luck Jordan!

The field is white and all ready to harvest!

Best of luck, Jordan. We sure love ya!

bee sting

2010-07-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

While helping with a service project,

Kenyon had an unfriendly encounter with an angry bee's nest.

Can you guess where he was stung?

Poor kid...right on his kisser! He couldn't even smile for a picture :)

clint-this post is for you

2010-07-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

...and we hope it makes you smile :)

(my FAVORITE!!)

exploration with cousins

2010-07-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

I love it when kids pose themselves for the perfect picture!

Kyler thinks he's so old...

Nik said, "Will you make sure you show this picture to my mom and dad!?"

The boys thought this was a "human-eating plant."

Why is it that everything is better in the summertime??

wedded bliss!

2010-07-06T10:22:00.001-07:00

I loved loved loved being a part of this beautiful, perfect, fairy tale wedding.

Brother of the bride - Landon, you look good holding a bridal bouquet :)

Sister of the groom - Lindsay, you're so cute!

Mother and Niece of the groom - adorable...

Brothers of the bride - so handsome!

"Grum Grum" of the bride (and my beautiful mother!!!)

Uncle of the bride (and my amazing brother!!!)

And anyone looking at this picture who knows this man, knows the

wonder and significance of this picture in front of the temple. {LOVES}

Niece and nephew of the groom - so cute.

Father of the bride (skype-ing from Santiago Chile!)

Sooooo loved and sooooo missed, but still a huge part of all the excitement.

Grandmother and uncle of the bride, brother of the groom - and bride (it's complicated :)

all speaking to father of the bride. Thank goodness for Ryan's computer skillz!

Mother of the bride, sharing the excitement with father of the bride...

Incredible photography team of the wedding party!

Hugs of congrats from father of the groom!

Hugs of congrats from little brother!

Hugs of congrats from big sister

(she and her husband are sister of the bride and brother of the groom - isn't that so cool!?)

(I told you it was complicated :)

"Hugs" of congrats from father of the bride!

The world goes on all around, but for two people...

time stands still.

Brother of the bride

(So good lookin!)

The beauty and wisdom of the GRAND mothers!

Mr and Mrs Chase!

Note to self: learn to pose people like this!!!

BIG thanks to the awesome photography team who let me tag along and were even willing to share their knowledge and tips. I couldn't believe how generous they were to me. Thank you!!

Lacey and Cory, may all your days be as happy as this one!!!

the reception

2010-07-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous is the only word I can use...

My kids were in heaven with this one!!

(Especially this kid.)

Beautiful buckets of fresh flowers (sigh)

Incredible ice scuplture with bowls of shrimp and strawberries with lime curd that were to DIE for!!!

And finally, my favorite picture from the reception:

Mother of the Bride with the incredibly talented caterer, Mary Crafts

I sincerely hope they weren't discussing price here! :)

dancing fools!

2010-07-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

The party on the dance floor was the place to be.

We handed the camera over to the little guys (Kyler and Kolby,)

and then we danced the night away.

I have no explanation for this...they must have been playing Abba.

Toooooo much fun!!!

Then we wished the bride and groom a happily ever after and sent them on their sparkly way...

May your fairy tale never have an ending!

Love you guys so much.

i'm turning into a butterfly

2010-05-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

As I was tucking Kolby into bed tonight, one of my bones cracked. Kolby said, "What was that?" I said, "My bones cracked because I'm getting old." He said, in all seriousness, "Maybe you're just turning into a butterfly!"

Wonder what he thinks I've been up until now?

photo-a-day (sort of) day 2

2010-05-10T21:30:00.000-07:00

The Spring blossoms are fading fast...

photo-a-day (sort of) day 1

2010-05-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

Frostbite on my Gerber Daisy :(

happy mother's day to me...

2010-05-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

When the boys got home from school I told them that I was ready for my

Mother's Day gift from them.

All I wanted was a picture of my boys.

You would have thought I'd asked them to go to school through the Summer vacation.

They whined, they tried to find excuses, they fought the whole way to the scene, and then they cried about the sun being in their eyes and the stickers they had in their shoes.

Between exclamations of "He's TOUCHING me!" and "Your breath stinks," I actually caught a couple of shots I liked and I was thinking this was working out okay and I was going to get my Mother's Day gift after all.

...and then my camera's battery died.

WHAT THE HECK?

We were just warming up...these shots weren't even good ones. They were looking right at the sun!

I take hundreds of pictures of people.

My battery has NEVER died.

SHEESH.

Happy Mother's Day to me...

bad news, good news

2010-05-04T15:15:00.000-07:00

Bad news...leukemia.

Good news...cousins.

Spring Delights

2010-05-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Kolby and I went searching today for Spring delights.

We found the most amazing sight...

What could be cuter than an apple orchard full of deer?!

A little boy on an old abandoned train track is a pretty cute sight too...

I LOVE you, Spring!!

praying for uncle clint

2010-04-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

Kent's brother Clint was unexpectedly diagnosed

with leukemia this week and we just want him to know how much we love him.

Keep up the fight, Uncle Clint.

You're kind of our hero.

We're praying for you so hard, our knees hurt.

We love you.

photo by kenyon!

2010-04-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

On Easter Sunday, a few things came up missing:

my camera, my fake grass, the colored Easter eggs, and my 13 year old son...

Today when I opened up my pictures, I discovered what they were all doing.

Yes, I think he has discovered (as have I,)

that being BEHIND the camera is a whole lot more fun than being in FRONT OF the camera!!

I love it!!!

(Oh, and this is the son I BEGGED to sign up for 7th grade photography...

wish he would have listened to me!)

we took a hike

2010-04-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

...and it sure was fun. Actually, it was our second hike this weekend, but I didn't take the camera on the first one yesterday.

We live on a mountain, and it's so much fun to explore. Today we took a hike to what the kids like to call "the white sand," but is really a lime pit above our house.

It STINKS to be the youngest. His legs are so much smaller than everyone else's!

Hubba Hubba

We live right there.

My windmills!

Sledding on the white sand!

The view from up there...WOW! (Love Kolby's face..."aNOTHER picture, Mom??")

He has such an expressive face...love it!

Love this face too, but it doesn't let me take its picture as often!

This one asked me, "Is this a good pose mom?"
(And has anyone noticed that Kolby has that shirt on in every picture on my blog???
I promise he has other clothes, this is just his shirt of choice most days.)

THAT'S an expressive face too. (And he said, "Mom, do NOT put that picture on your blog!!) Bwaahaahaaaha (Oh, and he ALSO has other clothes besides that white jacket.)

Yay Spring!!! Life is good.

apple orchard

2010-04-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

I took these pics of some of my adorable nephews a couple weeks ago and haven't posted them. I came across them just now and remembered how excited I am for warm weather (and for those apple trees to blossom!!!!!) Amy, I might be at your house 24/7 when the blooms appear!

spring fever

2010-03-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

...I've got it, and I seriously NEEDED a trip up the canyon today!

Can't WAIT for warm weather!!!

my boys

2010-03-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

Love these kids...always willing to try out my props before a photography client comes!

miracles and earthquakes

2010-03-11T18:45:00.000-08:00

My dear sister, her wonderful husband, and their awesome son are living in Santiago Chile, just 200 miles away from the epicenter of the recent earthquake.

Today Lisa sent us word that according to Fox News, because of the massive 8.8 earthquake, "the city of Concepcion moved at least 10 feet to the west, Santiago moved just shy of 1 feet, and even Buenos Aires, in Argentina, moved an inch. One NASA scientist says the quake probably shifted the Earth's axis and made days slightly shorter. The Chile quake was one of the strongest ever measured and the giant waves that followed left almost 500 confirmed dead and at least 260 others missing."

The aftershocks have also been terrifying. Just this morning there were three, measuring 7.2, 6.9, and 6.0. I wake up in the middle of the night with worry over my sister and her family every night. I hope and pray that they (and all the people in Chile,) will be safe and comforted.

The day after the earthquake, my sister sent the following letter:

Dear Everyone,

I am writing to let you all know how very grateful we are for your prayers, concern, and love. Please keep praying! We need the Lord's help and guidance in order to do all He would have us do to learn what He would have us learn from this earth quake tragedy, and to minister in the way He would have us minister. During the past few days, we have witnessed many events which serve to remind us that the Lord is in charge and that as missionaries and members of His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are performing His work, and as President Monson teaches, "When we are on the Lord's errand, we are entitled to His help." I want to share with you a few miracles that will help you to understand our profound feelings of gratitude.

When we were set apart for this calling, Elder Scott of the counsel of the twelve apostles taught us many important lessons. He spoke from personal experience when he was a Mission President in Argentina. One message that he shared with us is this: "At times, during your mission, you will be awakened in the middle of the night or the early morning hours with thoughts of specific things you should do for certain missionaries. Do not ignore these thoughts. They are promptings from the Holy Ghost who will communicate with you in the stillness of the night or the peace of the early morning hours. He will speak to you then because that is when you are still enough to hear." Elder Scott further instructed us to keep a notebook beside our bed so that we could record these precious promptings. He said that by the next morning, we would be likely to forget the promptings if we didn't write them down.

We have been astonished at the fulfillment of Elder Scott's prophetic words. We have received many promptings in the exact manner that Elder Scott described. We are so thankful that Elder Scott taught us how to recognize and act upon these precious promptings. Had he not taught us, we may not have given these promptings the attention they require.

Nearly two and one half weeks ago, I was awakened at around 4:00 AM by just such a prompting. I did not hear a voice, but the thought was as clear as if it had been in the form of spoken words: "There is going to be an earthquake. Prepare your missionaries." I sat up in bed and immediately remembered Elder Scott's counsel. That morning I told Larry what had happened. He immediately set to work organizing our missionaries to prepare for an earthquake.

In talking with our office missionaries to arrange for them to put together a list of everything we would need to prepare...in both Spanish and English...we discovered that the Lord had also let two of our office missionaries know of the possibility of an earthquake (in the form of dreams) and the need to prepare our mission. We set a goal and arranged our schedule so that we could visit every apartment in the mission to check for safety and to review with our missionaries what to do in case of an earth quake. What a wonderful experience we have had as we have met with them and shared scriptures with them about being spiritually and physically prepared. "...if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30). We instructed every missionary to have a "go-bag" (36 hour kit). We reviewed our emergency action plan with them of where to go and what to do if they had phone service and in case they did not. We gave everyone a paper with all instructions in English and Spanish, and we reminded them that "this life is the time to prepare to meet God" (Alma 34:32-34). We shared with them our thoughts and feelings about the need for spiritual and physical safety. Some of them became frightened and asked us if we knew something they didn't know. We smiled and repeated "...if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." We didn't want to unduly alarm them, but we did want to impress upon them the need to be prepared. We tearfully reminded them of our recent transfer conference where we had shared our feelings about our dear Elder McKay Burrows who was unexpectedly called home in January while serving his mission in Romania...how he was prepared in every way to meet God. We reissued our challenge to "be prepared" in every way. Then we knelt with them in their apartment and dedicated each apartment, asking for a blessing of safety and security to be upon every apartment.

When the earthquake came, we were prepared. We did not experience the panic that many felt. We knew we were prepared. Because of the words of the Lord's chosen Apostle, Elder Scott, we had listened and heeded the quiet, but clear promptings of the Holy Ghost. We were blessed with peace in the midst of chaos. We learned an important lesson: our preparation helped us to avoid panic and fear, but the Lord, in His wisdom, allowed us to experience enough discomfort to know that He has all power. He is in charge. We are nothing without Him. We are dependent upon Him for every breath we take. Only He can save us from death and destruction. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is our perfect example. If we follow Him, we will be saved through obedience to the laws and ordinances of His Gospel.

As the earthquake became more violent, the mission home groaned and wailed. The power died, so the whole city was black. The windows made a hideous screeching sound, and flying objects banged against swaying walls. The printer/fax machine, books, book ends, and fifty-pound television burst from the entertainment center and crashed to the floor, cabinets emptied, drawers flew open, the refrigerator moved, water sloshed out of the toilets, the floor jolted up and down as we ran across it trying to hold onto the walls to keep from falling down, and the piano toppled over like a small toy. As we made our way to the back yard, I remember thinking, "God is all-powerful. He is our only refuge from this horrible mess." I prayed and prayed for Him to still the earth. When we reached the back yard, we watched in terror. By the light of the moon we could see the swimming pool water form giant waves and crash out onto the rocks. House and car alarms screamed into the night...some from being crushed by falling debris and others I guess from the bizarre movement of the earth. I am not sure if the intense rumbling sounds came from the earth itself or from everything else that was shaking so violently. Finally, it stopped. When the calm came, we had to sit down because our legs were weak and unstable. My legs stayed wobbly all day and night yesterday. Today the muscles in my legs hurt like I ran a marathon. The aftershocks have been extremely unsettling. Each one begins like the one last night started. We just close our eyes and wait to see if it escalates or dies down. I have never experienced anything like this!

We were awakened this morning by a very strong after shock. Larry jumped out of bed and yelled, "Welcome to another glorious day in Chile!" We just had to laugh. We moved a mattress into the floor in our bedroom and made Landon sleep in our room. He was in his room with the door locked the night before and we couldn't wake him up. He never locks his door, but he was playing a joke on Larry because every morning Larry wakes him at 5:30 AM for seminary by tickling him unmercifully. So Landon had decided to stop him. When we couldn't open his door, in the middle of the quake, we thought he was trapped, so we screamed and banged. Landon thought that everything was falling off the walls because we were banging so hard on the door. I think we scared him more than the earthquake did!

Today, we attended a strong ward where Larry was invited to speak. The entire chapel and beyond was filled. People were so humble and so teachable. Larry taught the importance of doing the small things. He taught about Jesus Christ and the opportunty we have to love one another and to share what we have with others. It was a great blessing for us to be with these beautiful Chilean people. Some have lost their homes...or at least parts of their homes. But they are strong and they want to serve the Lord. (By the way, Wilcox's the Hermana that used to work in the mission home called us and asked us to let you know that she is safe. We thought it was so sweet that she wanted you to know that she is safe. She loves you.) He taught of the scripture in Luke 21:11,13 which says, "and great earthquakes shall be in divers places...and it shall turn to you for a testimony." He also welcomed the sweet young woman who was in the congregation with the missionaries...her first time attending church...and then he invited her to be baptized from the pulpit. He asked her to please invite us to her baptism, and she said, "I will." The Lord always knows what His people need. Landon was reading in Alma 15:17 today. He said, Mom listen to this. This is what is happening here in Chile just like in happened in Ammonihah. The people were humbled and "checked as to the pride of their hearts and began to humble themselves before God, watching and praying continually that they might be delivered from Satan, and from death, and from destruction."

Our hearts are filled to the brim with gratitude for all of the blessings we have received in the Chile Santiago East Mission. We see miracles every day. In the midst of great pain and suffering, we can always find our Savior. He stands with His arms open, pleading for all of us to humble ourselves and come unto Him. He loves us. He invites us to accept His gift...the atonement. He invites us to repent. He wants us to love one another and to serve one another. He wants us to bring our families and those we love to Him. We can do it. We can do all that He asks, no matter how difficult it may seem. "With God all things are possible"

OK, sorry this is so long. I will end now. We are having a devotional tomorrow for all of our missionaries to talk about the last week of Christ's life in preparation for Easter. We want to remind our missionaries to teach and preach with increased vigor and animo of Christ. Last Monday in our office meeting, Larry suddenly stopped in the middle, and said, "During the prayer, I had a very strong impression that March 2010 is going to be our best baptizing month we have ever had in this mission." Now we know why he received that feeling. We are going to prepare to bring many souls to the waters of baptism in March. Please continue to pray for us and for the people of Chile. Please pray for the missionaries to have strength and courage to do all that is being required of them, even in difficult times.

We are so thankful that the tsunami did not turn out badly in Hawaii. Who would ever think that an earthquake in Chile could threaten the shores of Hawaii? Thankfully, the Lord is in charge. He is the one to whom we must turn for refuge from every storm. He has the power to save us.

Con mucho amor,

Lisa, Larry, and Landon

I believe in miracles! I know that men who can converse with God walk the earth today just as they did when Jesus Christ lived. I know that if we are striving to live a life close to the Savior, we too can receive personal revelation. I believe there is much to learn from tragedy and strife. Sometimes difficulties are the only things that make us rely on and cling to a Father in Heaven. I pray for the people in Chile, that they can rebuild their beautiful country, that lives will be spared, and that Heavenly Father will watch over and protect them in these difficult times. I pray for more miracles and I pray that we recognize the miracles that come.

This letter has circled the world! On Sunday I found out that it had been published in my congregation's newsletter, and I wasn't the one who'd submitted it! Today, an old friend emailed me this beautiful poem she had written for a class, patterned after one by Tennyson, and inspired by the events in Lisa's letter. It so wonderfully expresses the experience that I wanted to share it. I hope it's okay with Amy that I'm posting it here:

Los Preparados

-Amy Burton Moore

A gasp at four a.m., a dream ---

So real --- a clear voice it did seem

With warning firm and prompting deep!

She woke her husband from his sleep.

“To each of them, we must declare

It’s imminent; we must prepare.”

Thus both began with urgency

One hundred seventy-one to see.

A plan to meet, a plan to bring

A pack of every needful thing.

“Each servant of the Lord prepare,

Then bless each dwelling place with prayer.”

Two short weeks passed, then dark event ---

The heaving highways crack cement,

A screeching howl, tumultuous noise,

Proud buildings topple like mere toys.

Objects hurling left and right ---

Chaotic temblor through the night ---

But though destruction rages, hear:

“Thou art prepared, thou shalt not fear.”

Mid screams beseeching for God’s grace,

Cities crumble, surge, displace.

Power immense blasts from the crust

Of shifting plates in mighty thrust.

Towering waves devour the shore

And weeping men their God implore

To halt destruction in its path ---

Force raging earth to cease its wrath!

The hundred seventy and one

Ask humbly that God’s will be done.

“iUn milagro! Dios nos ha preparado ---

Afirmamos que El nos ha salvado.”

Their faith in God, in Him prepared,

The hundred seventy-one are spared.

Though quaking perils ’round them came,

They feared but God and called His name.

And He their mortal cries did hear

And thus prepared, they did not fear.

just for fun

2010-03-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

Because I haven't posted in a while, I thought I'd post a snapshot

of life at our home tonight. (I'm gonna miss this one day, right?)

We had tuna melts for dinner,

read the scriptures for a minute,

watched survivor together while eating Dill flavored sunflower seeds,

(and Kolby fell asleep,)

then Kenyon did the dishes,

Kaden turned in early because he got up at 6am to play bball with Dad,

Kyler got his story in,

Dad left for a late bball game,

and now the house is quiet...it's just Dax and me...

Life is good. I know it's cliche, but I am blessed.

hands on contest entry

2010-02-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

I'm entering this picture in the iHeartfaces (coolest blog on the Web) weekly contest. This week's theme is "Hands-On Fun," and it's all about hands. . .

I have a picture of me as a baby and in it are my mom's hands. I love that picture. Her young hands, holding me so tenderly, remind me of how much she cared for me then, now, and always. I love to see mom's (and dad's) hands in baby pictures, just love it!

Can't wait to see all the hands-on fun at iHeartfaces. You should go see too!

thoughtfulness

2010-02-22T15:31:00.000-08:00

Shelly, such a thoughtful friend, gave me this gift as a thank you for taking her gorgeous baby's pictures. Shelly knows I'm saving for a camera, so she created this savings jar to help me. She even started my savings with a first deposit. Wasn't that just the most thoughtful thing!? My rule is that if the money goes in, it can't come out until it goes toward a camera. For Valentines, Kent, thoughtful guy he is, contributed some money to my jar in lieu of flowers. Isn't that also so thoughtful!? Even the kids are in on it. I leave it in the kitchen and I've noticed they've been putting a few coins in every now and then. Thoughtful, huh?

I'm surrounded by thoughtfulness. I hope I can be thoughtful as well.

a morning funny

2010-02-16T07:39:00.000-08:00

I'm ~~grumpy, tired, groggy~~ not much of a morning person,

so I appreciate a good belly laugh first thing, to start the day off right.

This morning, Kyler looked out the window at the cold, gray, rainy, gloomy weather and asked,

"Mom, has it been six weeks yet?"

I said, "Six weeks since what?"

"Since Warthog's Day."

Bwahahahahahahaha.

models

2010-02-09T15:54:00.000-08:00

No one is immune. No one, I tell ya...

...not the boy home sick from school yesterday,

...and especially not the beautiful neighbor, over for a playdate today!!

nope, not even the cat...

Chances are, if you come to my house, I'll sit you down and take your picture.

(In manual mode, of course :)

mom's gone crazy

2010-02-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

Kaden walks in the door, home from school.

Instead of "Hi! How was your day?" it's,

"Take your coat off, sit down, smile!"

i'm taking the plunge

2010-02-06T16:14:00.000-08:00

(and it's a little scary.)

I'm locking down my camera and taking the full manual challenge.

I've been shooting exclusively in manual mode for a little while now, and I'm loving it, but I have a lot to learn. I've been stuck in an aperture mode rut that I haven't been able to get out of, but NO MORE!

The camera I'm saving $$ for has no auto settings, so I have to prove to myself that

I can do it!

Today the big boys headed off to the ski slopes with Dad to try out their new snow boards, so I took the little boys to McDonald's and then on some photo taking adventures.

(They were thrilled.)

McDonald's toys are the BEST!!

(And by the way, McDonald's playground is an AWESOME place for pictures...perfect lighting, lots of happy children, food, free wi-fi, and unlimited refills of soda. What more could anyone ask for!?)

We went searching for some northern exposure and found this cool old warehouse. (Okay, it wasn't north facing, but still...)

(I'm also trying to master the art of textures!)

The boys were acting a little goofy.

Wow! Kolby's shirt is a mess. Did I mention we went to McDonald's?

Sheesh! Did he get any

in his MOUTH??

Doesn't it look like they get along so well???

(Ha!)

(This is the kind of shot I love but that Kent thinks I took by mistake.)

They wanted me to get a shot of those cool old windows that look like they have bullet holes in them.

The boys suddenly got bored and would NOT pose for another picture. I just wanted one shot with the brick wall long and behind the subject, at an angle, but they were done, so

I gave the camera to Kolby...

not exactly what I was going for, but for a four year old, I'd say he did pretty well!

(I guess that's how I look from his perspective :)

Then we found this cool little cove that had some amazing fall color still lingering!

It would be a terrific setting for a family shoot if I could manage to properly expose it.

Beautiful color really DOES exist in February!!

Climbing the tree proved difficult, as it was covered in slippery moss!

(Oh, and Ky says it smelled bad.)

So MANUAL MODE??? Bring it on! No more aperture mode for me!
(YIKES)

i need help deciding...

2010-01-10T16:07:00.000-08:00

...which "face" picture to submit to the

weekly contest.

The rules of the contest this week state that the picture has to focus on the face and has to have been taken in December or January. I've had so many beautiful faces to photograph in the last two months, I don't know which one to enter. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your help!

(Oh...the entry is due Tuesday night.)

By the way, you can click on the collage to enlarge it for a better look. Thanks!

iHeartfaces

2010-01-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

I'm putting in my last minute entries for the:

logo contest.

(Click here to see all the incredible entries.

You'll be amazed, inspired, and uplifted by visiting iHeartfaces...I guarantee it!)

*I am submitting these photos into the I Heart Faces logo photo contest. By entering, I am granting I Heart Faces LLC permission to consider my photo for use in the marketing and promotion of their website.

our last hoorah!

2010-01-03T21:39:00.000-08:00

The holidays are over.
WHERE did the time go?
Our last big hoorah was our annual overnight trip to Mutual Dell with the Jeppersons and it sure was a hoorah.
We had so much fun
eating,
sledding,
snowmobiling,
eating,
~~sleeping~~,
playing games all night,
eating,
laughing,
and eating.

A good time was had by ~~all~~ everyone but poor Grandpa who got terribly sick. We hope you're feeling better, Grandpa. Thanks so much for the gift of togetherness.

I believe Amy is saying here, "NO pushing..."

...but no one really listened.

Once again I went a little crazy with my camera...

I can't help myself when I have so many subjects at my mercy!

My New Year's Resolution: DO MORE OF THIS

snowmobiling at grandma and grandpa's!

2010-01-03T18:22:00.000-08:00

The peeps:

The machines:

The tubes being pulled behind the machines:

I don't know if this is such a good idea considering how these two were fighting this morning...

christmas morning!

2009-12-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas morning was delightful.

6am and waiting to go into the Christmas room (it's so exciting!)

Everyone got what he wanted...

Mom and Dad gave each other the same present :) Waffles, anyone!?

Mom needs a long Winter's nap...

Happy Holidays everyone!

santa's been here!!

2009-12-24T22:30:00.000-08:00

...and the kids don't know it yet!! It's all so exciting...I sure wish this peaceful feeling would last.

I heard the two oldest boys plotting to set their alarm for the middle of the night so they could get a good peek before anyone else, but...

Clever Santa...he wrapped up the whole room, so there will be NO PEEKING!! :)

Merry Christmas

Ho! Ho! Ho!

holiday tradition

2009-12-22T20:27:00.000-08:00

One of our traditions (that we stole from the Laycock family :) is to go to the Salt Lake Marriott the week before Christmas to partake of the wonders of the Holidays in the city.

The view from our hotel room...overlooking the skating rink.

Nothing like ice skating the week before Christmas!

This year we were lucky enough to have cousins with us and we had so much fun. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures until after they left, but we sure loved having them. We road TRAX, ate at the yummy Lion House, and swam in the hotel pool. Too much fun. Let's do it again next year!

family christmas card

2009-12-16T09:03:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-11-23T21:16:00.000-08:00

...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

2009-11-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

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?

2009-11-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-10T20:10:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

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

halloween

2009-11-06T13:55:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-10-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

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 t~~o 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

2009-10-12T22:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-10-07T13:50:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-09-28T13:56:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-09-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

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'

2009-09-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

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!!

2009-09-03T15:37:00.000-07:00

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!

wordless wednesday "heartbreaker"

2009-09-02T15:16:00.000-07:00