Worth a thousand words

Jackson's New Teeth

2012-01-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

Jackson got teeth last week. After MONTHS of putting things in his mouth and chewing on everything, they are finally here. My little boy is growing up.

And here are some more just because he's so cute!

This is his Michael Jordan look.

Tiffanie

2012-01-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

Tiffanie is Jeremy's niece. Well, that makes her my niece too by marriage. It still seems weird to call these them nieces and nephews when they were around long before I came into the Knowlden picture. Anyway, back to Tiffanie.

She is a senior this year. She knows what she wants.

She wants to have fun.

She wants to look vintage.

She wants to play her music.

She wants to be western.

She wants to rock the big belt buckle. And she does.

And she wants to remember all of that about her senior year.

The Wedding Adventure

2012-01-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Jeremy has a sister named Tammy. Tammy's husband died five years ago. A couple of years ago, Tammy decided to start dating again. She joined the older single scene and went at it with vigor! Fast forward to a few months ago when Jeremy saw his sister post something on Facebook about what an incredible time she had on a date with an incredible man. Being the sleuth that he is, Jeremy read every comment accompanying this post to find a first name of this incredible man. Mark. Then he looked at her friend list and found all her friends name Mark. There were three. And then he called his sister because he suspected which Mark it was, and we already knew him!
Mark and his family moved into my ward/neighborhood ages ago. They had many children (13). They were a wonderful addition to the area. I was friends with many of their children. With time, they decided to move to another area of the valley. Coincidentally, they moved to the area where I had just received a job to teach school. I taught their youngest daughter in 6th grade. Years after that Mark's wife passed away. Mark joined the dating scene too.

Mark and Tammy met. I believe they first met in March of 2011, but didn't date until October. It didn't take long after that. They were soon engaged, date to be married set for March, then changed for January. They didn't need or want a lavish event, but they both wanted it to be fun. And they wanted to document the event. They asked many of their family members and friends who owned cameras to bring them and take pictures all night long. They asked me too, and also wanted a few pictures of just them.

After we were finished eating at the luncheon, which in part consisted of Jeremy's FAVORITE wedding food,

Tammy and Mark told me they were ready for pictures when I was.

But we didn't go anywhere. They wanted pictures with the decorations set up in the church gym. They were cute decorations, but I'm not an indoor flash photographer. I prefer photographing with natural light. Sometimes that means indoors if there is a good light source, but there isn't inside a gym.

After a few pictures inside, I convinced them to go outside for a few. But it was cold outside and they had things to do and people to talk to, so it lasted maybe ten minutes. And then we were done.

And I was left somewhat frustrated. Not frustrated with them, but frustrated that I didn't get to take the best pictures I know how to because I didn't have the right setting or enough time to do it. Frustrated that my camera, though wonderful as it is, isn't better and frustrated with the lack of accessories that I don't have. Did you read that part Jeremy, sweet husband? :) (A note to you: Sometimes it doesn't take a lot of time to get good pictures, but if you're going to have your pictures taken, and it's more than just a snapshot to you, set aside enough time to make it worth it.)

The day was wonderful. Tammy and Mark now have someone they can love here on this earth until they return to their spouses in heaven. We loved visited with family and friends. I'm now a "step-aunt" to 13 kids that I was once "just" friends with. There was great food. We danced the night away. Congratulations Tammy and Mark!

Temple Photos Market?

2012-01-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

Someone suggested to me that I could sell images of the temple that I have photographed on etsy. I'm not an "etsy person." I don't know how things like that really work. I don't know if there's a market out there for these photos. Could I sell just the file and the customer could print it themselves? How do you ensure copyright after something like that?

I'm not asking if you would buy my photos, I'm asking what you know about this stuff. Extra cash flow earned for doing something I love could always be nice. :)

Baby Maycee

2012-01-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

I still can't get over how tiny Maycee is. It's hard to remember that my Jackson was once that small....well, he never actually was THAT small (remember 8 lbs.10 oz.), but you know what I mean. It was so much fun to move her delicate body into the pose, touch her soft skin, and even listen to her cry. I love babies!

This looks so warm! Makes me wish they made them a little bigger!

And of course we had to get a few with her big sister!

Sister tea party. And don't forget their friends! Max and Lamby insisted on coming (I bet you can figure out which stuffed animal is which)

Thanks again to Jenny for providing a few of our props and costumes!

Jamie's Senior Photos

2012-01-12T18:41:00.000-07:00

Jamie.

She didn't care if she had senior pictures taken.

She likes climbing trees more.

But she was doing it for her mom.

Her mom said she had to get them taken before she got her hair cut.

Mom said her grandma would want pictures of her long hair.

So we went to take pictures.

The End.

p.s. For not caring about pictures, she sure is photogenic.

She's laughing so hard because she thought I said that one time I accidentally picked up dog poop in my hand.

I did not, I repeat, DID NOT pick up dog poop in my hand!

Happy New Year

2012-01-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

He didn't fuss when I put the hat on him. And he knew exactly where to put the noise maker since everything goes in his mouth these days.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Jackson's First Christmas

2012-01-03T11:16:00.001-07:00

I fully understood that Jackson wouldn't remember his first Christmas and that we didn't need to make a big deal about it and spend lots of money on him. And then I realized something. He wouldn't remember, but he would expect to look back at pictures when he was older and see what he had done. The pursuit for the perfect picture began.

First, I knew I had to have a Santa picture. Everyone needs to have their picture taken with Santa. We had an amazing Santa helper that came to our house so I could take pictures. When he left Jeremy tried to look at the pictures I had taken and there were none. I hadn't put my memory card back in my camera. Santa was nice enough to come back again! Thank you Santa. Truly a Saint!

Second, my mom once had a doll, her "Suzanne doll." She had a pretty Christmas outfit. She was a large doll. When I was a baby, she took the outfit off Suzanne and put it on me for Christmas. My uncles still talk about that night and how cute I looked (as if anything has changed). Jackson is about the same age I would have been around Christmas. My mom was nice and found the outfit and we dressed Jackson up to continue the tradition.

(my uncle that once held me in the same outfit!)

Third, my family would always read Luke 2 together on Christmas Eve, as I 'm sure many others do as well. We would always act it out when we were little. (I was sometimes frustrated that as the only daughter, I always had to play Mary. Sometimes I just wanted to be a shepherd!) Since Jackson is a baby, what better part for him to play than baby Jesus! We got dressed up and took the picture.

I'm pretty excited about the great results I got this year and the future memories Jackson will be able to see.

Next year we'll see if we can get a crying picture with Santa and life will pretty much be complete. :)

JD & Summer

2011-12-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

They were up for anything. We walked everywhere, in the cold, and they stopped wherever I told them to stop. Every crazy or strange suggestion I had, they just did it. With smiles on their faces.

And that is what made it so much fun!

Not as easy as they make it look!

JD isn't sure if his legs have ever bent this way before, except maybe as an infant.

I didn't have to ask twice for them to kiss, though. :)

The Calls

2011-12-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

I got to take pictures for this family a couple of weeks ago. We went to main street Magna, a very happening place. Ha ha. We were stared at wherever we went, as if they had never seen people get their picture taken before. Though they don't live in Magna now, they once did and are familiar with all the unique places there. We joked about taking pictures by "The Grub Box," a classic burger joint.

Personally, I love the "old stuff" down in that area that makes for the perfect backdrop.

We started with "Mom and Dad."

And then we had some fun with Aubrey.

I may or may not have blackmailed Aubrey into coming to church and Young Women in exchange for taking these pictures......but I probably did.

2011-11-18T13:57:00.001-07:00

We waited a little longer to take pictures this year and ran into some unplanned snow. Everyone was game, so we headed out on an adventure in the snowy goodness.

(because I'm a sucker for sun spots)

The kids thought it was great when the trees shook and snowed on us. Everyone got a some snow, including me.

And then of course just the boys:

Finally got some really good smiles out of this one thanks to his parents! Poor kid was freezing most of the afternoon.

I can't believe how old this one is getting! (Need references of his aging? Check here and here)

And he still gets excited about doing and seeing new things!

Two thumbs up for a fun snowy afternoon!

Almost 4 months

2011-11-03T10:59:00.000-06:00

To many, these next photos may all seem very much the same with just a few differences: facial expressions, camera angles, etc. To his mother (that's me!), yes, they're very similar, yet each shows a different part of my boy's personality. Gosh I love this kid!

The first 3 shots were all taken in sequence but look at how that boy changed each time!

Oh the smile!

This kid always has something in his mouth lately, so I had to include this one!

Pregnant Pictures

2011-10-05T16:51:00.000-06:00

Some people requested the "lovely" pictures of me while pregnant. I didn't take a picture every week as some do. In fact, I hardly have any pictures except right near the end of it all. Reasons why:
#1 I don't think I'm that interested in seeing my growing body
#2 I don't ever plan on comparing one pregnancy to the next
#3 I'd rather be on the other side of the camera
#4 I am pretty much always on the other side of the camera
#5 No one else thought of taking a picture me so I didn't bring it up (refer to numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4)

But upon special request, here are just a couple of the pictures I have of me. All taken within the last "year" (what the last month feels like to a pregnant woman) of my pregnancy.

These next ones were actually taken THE DAY I went to the hospital to be induced.

And here's Jeremy being funny. His belly doesn't stick out even close to as far as mine does.

Declan

2011-09-26T14:35:00.000-06:00

I made it known early on that I would be the photographer for this new baby, whenever he happened to come. I was lucky enough to make it there 4 days after his birthday! He has the thickest hair that looks like it has been tipped with blonde, beautiful peach fuzz all over, the funniest old man wrinkles, and that brand new baby smell. He's also my boy's new best friend! (Isn't it great when mom can make decisions like that for their children? I'm sure it's what they want anyway.)

Meet.................Declan!

2011-09-15T17:02:00.000-06:00

Pretty much a look of "I know I'm doing this well. So what."

Cousins

2011-09-01T15:11:00.000-06:00

Due to differing nap schedules of the kids and the organized nature of their parents, all three cousins were never photographed together. But we did get two cousins together. Brilya and Jackson are about a month apart, though the difference doesn't seem all that big when it comes to size. Check it out for yourself!

When I look at Brilya, I see the very essence of "girl." She has the loveliest eyelashes. That caused me to look at Jackson, and I realized that he's all boy. Because of that, I laugh that the day we photographed these two together, Brilya was wearing her girly tutu outfit and Jackson was in camo.

Two more of Brilya before I leave you today.

Abigail--age 2

2011-08-24T15:39:00.000-06:00

Abigail has to be the smartest 2 year old I've ever met. She expresses herself as no other toddler can and picks up on everything! She's so cute when she adds "please," which sounds a little more like "peas" sometimes.

Her parents are encouraging her to speak in complete sentences these days. "Put it in a sentence," they say. And then she does. What?!?!?! She understands what a sentence is? Her dad says her longest sentence is "I want to watch a movie about Peter Pan please." Instead of having an "owie", she states "I have an injury." What 2 year old do you know that refers to getting hurt as having an injury?

This girl loves to play outside, so what better place to take pictures than the backyard!

Brilya Shines!

2011-08-24T14:35:00.000-06:00

Another new niece! Good thing I have my own baby right now or I would want my own! She's definitely a cutie. She's just over 2 months, wide-eyed, curious, all-girl, and coos with the best!

My "Little Peanut"

2011-08-24T14:30:00.000-06:00

(typical concerned expression)

2011-08-02T11:40:00.000-06:00

I've always wanted to take this shot. I wish I could say the idea was my own, but alas, it's just a copy of an idea by someone else. I'm pleased with it though!

2011-08-02T11:38:00.000-06:00

My New Guy

2011-07-20T10:58:00.000-06:00

I have other things I could probably post, but none of my waking (or sleeping) thoughts revolve around anything else but my sweet Jackson.

I'm excited to have a live-in model, though I must admit that right now it makes me nervous to do too many pictures. That's only because with every move I make for him to pose or be in the right spot for lighting or on different/cute blankets, I'm afraid he'll wake up. And since I know the effort it took to get him to that state and how he'll only be hungry upon waking, I'm very careful.

In our lives for 2 weeks now, I am proud to present the little guy! We sure do love him!

Hayley's senior photos

2011-05-22T15:41:00.000-06:00

I have to admit, I was extremely nervous about doing these pictures. I knew I would end up with something that looked great to ME, but would I end up with something that would also please a graduating teenage girl? We went out by the Great Salt Lake by Soltaire. There's a great run down railroad car and abandoned building. It was a little windy and by the end we were fighting off the gnats and mosquitoes, but it was fun. Hayley was a natural at posing, though she did not want to show her teeth while smiling.

I saw Hayley's mom at church today. She said that Hayley loved many of the photos! Sweet, sweet teenage girl success!

Today's the Wedding!

2011-05-19T10:38:00.001-06:00

Congratulations to my good friend Cynthia (or as Jeremy likes to call her like a Chia pet, Th-Th-Th-Thia). Today she is marrying Jake. What a fabulous day! Hopefully it stops raining for a few moments during pictures.

I'm so excited!
Probably not the same way she is, but all the same....Have a wonderfully happy day Thia and Jake!

All You Need Is...

2011-04-09T18:07:00.000-06:00

This is how I feel these days....meaning I think we need more love and I feel very big!

The Watsons

2011-03-26T13:10:00.000-06:00

I took these clear back in December for my brother and his wife's family. With the best of intentions, I meant to post them sooner. This is still sooner than later!

We took them at the Benson Grist Mill out by Tooele. Lots of fun backgrounds and places to explore. They were a brave bunch to say "cheese" in that cold December weather with no coats on! I was more than satisfied to be behind the camera so I could keep my coat on.

Fun at the SL Library

2011-02-16T17:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Jenny and Kelli,
My friends. My mentors.
I like you!
Love, Holly

The Whittles

2010-11-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

Adam and I were in the same district in the MTC. In fact, we were briefly "companions" during some practicing time. No really, we were literally without our companions teaching a practice investigator, just us and that guy. Don't worry it was allowed and appropriate.

We are fortunate enough to live close to each other now and I was lucky enough to get to take some family pictures. Admittedly, it is a little hard to call him "Adam" and not "Whittle."

Way cute family. Each child has such a unique fun personality! I mean, look at those adorable faces! You can just see their individuality shining forth! And they were true champs as it as pretty cold out this Saturday.

(And I'm now in love with this bridge and love the way they fit into it!)

And one last, individual picture, because you HAVE to love his eyes!

Growing Kitty

2010-11-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

As Fui gets older and bigger, I thought I'd share some more about our life with him (though he's no longer "officially" a boy since he recently visited the doctor).

Fui still sleeps with us. He'll start off the night by nuzzling up in my neck. Eventually he'll move around, but if we stir at all during the night, he'll come right back. Before good ol' Daylight Savings time, it was so funny how Fui knew when it was time to wake up. His internal clock knew that 6:30 is the time (Jeremy gets up then), and he was usually awake and ready to go by then. He'd move around some, but the second an alarm went off, he'd meow constantly and persistently until someone got up with him. If we waited past 7:00 on the weekends and no alarm went off, that was WAY too late! He'd let us know. Sometimes by biting my face. All that changed with the time change. Fui still thinks that the 6:30 time IN HIS MIND is correct. Unfortunately that means 5:30 our time. His favorite thing to do when we won't get up with him yet is to bat at the blinds in the room. We have unsuccessfully tried to train him proper behavior in the morning for us to sleep longer.

Fui not only catches the flies in the house, but he kills them and eats them too. I love the easy, no clean-up! Fui is also a mouser! He's caught and killed THREE! I'm so happy knowing we've got mouse insurance. And as fun as the real cat toys are, Fui loves a good tin foil ball best. We clip his front claws about once a month. This just seems to make Fui more aware of the power of his teeth. They are pretty strong. (Apparently cats lose some of their teeth like humans. We noticed some fall out and better, sharper ones grow back in.)

He always wants to go outside. It's his favorite spot during the day. He'll usually play out there after dark too. Children don't seem to be Fui's favorite, but he's fairly tolerant of them. He'll put up with the playing, tugging, and carrying around for a bit, and then he will go find a quiet place to hide. Jeremy thinks maybe we should have thought differently about naming our white kitty after a Polynesian football player.

Down By the Railroad Tracks Part 2

2010-10-18T18:16:00.000-06:00

I'm lucky enough to have a "regular client". She's pretty young so I'm sure I'll be taking her pictures for years to come.

At least until she starts complaining that she sees more of the camera than her Aunt Holly.

But for now, she doesn't mind.

Her mom requested the railroad tracks and so even though I had just been there, we went back again. This time I had the morning light to work with. It was lovely! We didn't spend long as Abigail was hungry and tired (proven when I picked a wild sunflower for her to hold, but she wanted nothing to do with it). But she loves taking walks, hearing her parents sing songs to her, and she loves Fui. But then who doesn't?

Without further ado, Baby Abigail!

Down by the Railroad Tracks

2010-10-14T19:41:00.000-06:00

I've taken pictures of these boys before, but this time I got to do the whole family! These guys kept ME smiling the whole time. I thought it was my job to get them to smile. They're just so much fun and I hope that one day I have such cute and well behaved boys! (Jeremy says he wants some girls too, though.)

Let me share some things about these three adorable boys.

Carson is a very good brother. When asked to smile, sometimes it can be a little fake, but then he blows you away with the real thing! He tells THE BEST jokes (Why do flowers have forks? --No pause-- Because they have spoons.) I asked him if all the girls loved him at school. He easily answered yes.

Ian is a good kid. He gets excited about the simple things. That's when his smile comes out that will just kill ya! He thought "hiding" in the tall weeds was the best game ever! I love all the silly expressions he makes. And he's a great jumper!

Last of all there's Braxton. Such an adorable little boy. He has the cutest run! His parents trick him into going places by telling him he'll find a puppy when he gets there. (I wonder how they can sleep at night!) All he was interested in during our time together were non-existent puppies, not looking at the camera, and rocks.

And because this isn't a long enough post yet, here was our culminating activity. We were just trying to tie Kevin up on the tracks, but the boys got themselves into a knot.

Pretty Sunflowers

2010-10-07T16:59:00.000-06:00

We live near empty fields....for now. Gradually those empty lots are disappearing as homes are built, but for now there's still some empty space. In this empty space of tumbleweeds and the dreaded monster weeds (they truly are evil and scary!=monster), we also have a scattering of wild sunflowers. I love when these sunflowers come out to play. They're so pretty. I needed to share.

The Coolest Thing I've Done This Week

2010-10-05T19:54:00.000-06:00

Today I would like to share the coolest thing I've done this week. Inspired by The Office.

Some background.

There's this episode of the office where there is a newly installed police radar gun outside the Dunder-Mifflin building complex. It seems drivers were going a little too fast for Angela (surprise, surprise!). So, after many 911 phone calls by Miss Martin, the police finally installed a radar gun. But, as Pam explains, “it’s probably caused more traffic problems”. Why you ask? It seems the staff has found a new way to kill time. Racing, on foot, past the radar gun to see how fast they are running. Michael clocks in at 12 miles an hour. He screams, “beat that Carl Lewis!” Then we see Dwight take his turn. He clocks in at 13 miles an hour. Now Michael is peeved! It’s Oscar’s turn next, but Michael jumps in front of him to steal his turn and try to beat Dwight. Just then a car goes by and the radar gun clocks it at 31 miles an hour. Of course, Michael claims this speed as his own. And ~~because he’s the boss and~~ because he is Michael, game over!

I've always loved this clip. When I recently discovered a radar gun in my own neighborhood, I knew my chance had come! I took Jeremy up with my camera and we commenced. We ran down the street. We weren't prepared to run while cars actually passed by. If we had been, our speeds would have been much higher than what follows.

Maybe next time.

And there will be a next time.

Beat THAT Michael Scott!

Kyson

2010-10-01T16:28:00.000-06:00

Here are just a couple of the individual pictures of Kyson (part of the three kids). It seems my focus that day was "parts." Hands, feet, ears, close-up face. Babies are so cute because they're such tiny people, so why not look at their tiny parts?

And then there was this photo. Maybe it isn't the type of photo you would make a huge print of and put up next to all your family pictures, but COME ON! This facial expression is HILARIOUS! I love it. Just love it.

Three Kids

2010-09-27T16:33:00.000-06:00

Three kids. 3 kids. THREE KIDS.

Needless to say, it was somewhat difficult to maintain the attention on me and my camera. They did what they wanted. And when I got the eyes of one child on me, the other two inevitably would not be looking my way. I mean I wasn't really too concerned about the smallest of the three, but why bring that up? That means that I couldn't control just TWO children! Yes, let's remember it as three so I can maintain my excuses.

I know none of them are looking at me here, but I'm a sucker for sun spots, so you get to see it anyway. Oh lovely sun! It was looking at me!

Like

2010-09-14T20:46:00.001-06:00

I like Kara and Cory.

Kara and I decided that to like someone is better than loving because you HAVE to love others, but you can choose to like them.

Now Jack is part of their family.

I like Jack too.

Previews

2010-09-03T20:28:00.000-06:00

When you go to the movies you get to see short snipits of other movies coming out soon. I like watching the movie best, but I must say, I'd be pretty disappointed if I didn't get to see the previews too! It's usually a pretty good indication of the quality of the movie coming out....sometimes not.

I got to take pictures with my friends Kara and Cory and their baby boy, Jack. Here's hoping that the preview IS an indication of quality and that the other results pan out well too!

The Third Annual Art Show

2010-08-30T17:58:00.000-06:00

Last Friday I hosted the Third Annual Art Show. (We may have missed doing one of these years, but it's the third time doing it and deserves having the title.) The "Art Show" is the day when we, my fellow artists, invite others to meet in a central location and appreciate art while snacking on yummy food. I meant to take more pictures this year, but my memory card was full.

Here are a few photos (SOOC p&s) of the event and the fun!

Holly's display (that's me)

Jackson's

Jenny's on the window, Adam's on the table

More of Adam's

Kelli's (using some amazing technical method of transferring her photos to metal shingles)

And the pictures I didn't get :( I'm borrowing some previously taken photos. While everyone is amazing and had their own excellent displays, most comments I heard were about his. And they were amazing so why not? These are just some of the things he showed.

Praying Mantises

2010-08-12T09:15:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I went out to water my flowers. They were looking a little dry. In turning on the hose, I saw this little guy scrambling away from the droplets of water. I had seen a much smaller praying mantis earlier this year and thought, "oh, cute. He's all grown up now."

As I continued to water, trying somewhat to avoid this guy because he obviously didn't enjoy the bath, I then discovered this guy.

I called them both boys, but now I'm now calling them husband and wife. What a lovely family! Aren't we lucky!

2010-08-10T15:48:00.000-06:00

Old photos found.

Old photos edited.

Old photos want to be shared.

Old photos below.

Old photos now happy.

Time On My Hands

2010-07-28T14:58:00.000-06:00

With no work and apparently a lack of better things to do with my time, I sifted through some photos and discovered these ones that I had never edited due to the whole computer crash and loss of Photoshop. I figured that I would do some editing. It was fun for me to see how the photos changed. And because I'M interesting in it, shouldn't you be too? Check out the original SOOC shots here.

The Great Salt Lake AGAIN!

2010-07-28T13:58:00.000-06:00

My friend wanted to take pictures out at the Great Salt Lake. She thought I could teach her something about photography. Ha ha! :) It was still fun.

It was also interesting at least being back there during the daylight (if you call sunset time "day") after so recently experiencing it at night. Almost the EXACT same spot as before. Different focus/angles.

Practically the Coolest Thing EVER!

2010-07-26T14:11:00.000-06:00

So let's just start off by saying that I have amazing friends that share ideas and knowledge with me. In this case, Adam was the teacher. He didn't seem to mind, or didn't let on that it bothered him, that I knew next to nothing about the technicalities of camera use or photography. He just shared and shared and shared! (All very interesting stuff)

I've seen Adam's pictures like these that he has done previously. I always gave him a hard time that he must have taken the photos during the day. I knew that wasn't the case, but it's more fun to tease.

Wait, let's back up. Did you hear that? Do you think you didn't really read that? These photos weren't taken during the day.

THESE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN AT NIGHT!

THAT IS THE MOON LIGHTING UP THE LANDSCAPE NOT THE SUN!

I took these photos and I still look at them and can hardly believe it. So crazy to me. Basically, it was all about tripod use and opening my shutter for long periods of time to let lots of light come in. It's practically the coolest thing ever! (thus my title)

It was fun just experimenting. You can tell that the shutter was open for a long time due to the lighting that just glows, or in other cases of the cars driving by and you see a line of their tail lights. Or even the planes I caught flying overhead that now look like shooting stars.

And then we played around with other aspects. I believe Adam called it ghosting. He would stand in the frame for part of the time the shutter was open and then move out.

Then he pulled out his cell phone to create this lighting while attempting to move around quickly so he wasn't caught in the same place long enough to be photographed.

The bugs were out and biting and since they preferred Adam over me, I said we could wrap up our session and call it good after these last shots of the train. (I know there have already been plenty to look at, but at least you didn't have to get bitten by bugs to see them!)

There's always so much to learn from everyone! Thanks Adam!

My 4x6 problem

2010-07-20T15:59:00.000-06:00

I've realized recently that I have a real problem with taking most of my photos vertically (meaning 4x6, meaning it's width is shorter than it's length). I don't know why exactly, but there must be something about how I can arrange my subject in the shot vertically better than horizontally. But no matter the angle, Baby Miley is adorable!

Here's the one shot of the set that isn't vertical. Better enjoy it while it lasts!

50 mm

2010-07-18T22:26:00.000-06:00

We went to an outdoor movie at the capital and I brought my camera. It seemed to me that most of the photos I had shot recently were all with my p&s and I missed my DSLR. It felt so good to use it again. I also used my 50 mm for the day. I usually have my zoom lens on because, as the name implies, it zooms (duh) which sometimes makes shots more accessible, but ever time I use my 50 mm I remember it is my first love....well, as far as camera lenses go. Yay for my 50 mm!

Kittin'

2010-07-15T17:05:00.000-06:00

Okay, so it's really kitten, but I couldn't help myself after the last couple of posts. We've now had Fui Vakapuna for 2 1/2 months now and we just love him! We just call him Fui for short. Arnell tradition (my family) is to name our pets after BYU athletes. Jeremy let me continue the tradition. (Not to mention that Jeremy was extremely nice to let me get one considering he would rather have his dog at our house, but I've already discussed that here.) These photos are not recent and even looking at them now makes me miss those days when he was so tiny, but it is fun to see him grow too.

Fui loves me. I tell Jeremy that Fui loves him too, but he shows it in different ways. Anyone else already feel like I'm posting something about our child. To continue the trend, here are some facts about Fui:

*My favorite thing about Fui is how he loves to cuddle right up in my neck by laying on my chest. We will sleep like this.
*Fui loves to play. He chases balls, strings, socks, plastic bags, flies, twist ties, fingers, toes.
*He loves to tear up tissues. He finds most of his tissues to play with by jumping in the garbage can and fishing out used ones. Gross. I know.
*He can jump so high!
*He starts out playing really nice by not using his claws until he gets really into and then I come away with wounds.
*Going outside in the back is one of his new favorite things. He won't wander around the entire yard, just the part against the house and under the deck. He hates coming back in again.
*He is curious about going outside in the front, but is too scared of everything that is out there.
*He loves running loose in our unfinished basement.
*He purrs and purrs and purrs.

I sure do love him!

Hikin'

2010-07-13T16:26:00.001-06:00

(Anyone notice a theme for today yet? Don't ask me how I suddenly got motivated for more postin'.)

Ensign Peak (Maybe based on today's theme I should call it Ensi'n Peak). It's an easy hike. That's good. It means I have a place to go when I get in the mood to do something outdoors but I don't have much time. Thus, here's my brief post of hikin'

(our house is somewhere out there in this view)

Shootin'

2010-07-13T16:15:00.000-06:00

I like to go shootin'. I pretty much always go with my friend Louise. She is my shootin' buddy. (We've also been muddin'.) I'm wearing my shootin' glasses that my friend Louise gave me the first time we went shootin'. Yes, they are my BYU sunglasses. They are for lookin' out of to see my targets that I'm shootin'.

Today's post is brought to you by the missing "g". Because every "ing" should lose it's "g".

Cruisin'

2010-07-13T16:02:00.001-06:00

I've been putting posting off. Of anything and everything. I'm lacking motivation. So here is my lacked-motivation-post.

Cruisin' in the Caribbean 2010! The adventure was more fun than the pictures portray! (We went with Jeremy's brother and his wife, Larry and Stephanie respectively. You may see them in pictures too.)

Here I am upon departure. I know I look excited.

Jeremy looks a little more excited at least. Though the smile is probably just to humor me and the camera.

I don't swim on ships. It must be a disease. Symptoms? Two cruises I have been on. Two cruises I have failed to don a bathing suit and take a dip in the swimming pools on board. (Neither did I get in with other clothes on nor nude.) I'm sure it's a fun part of the trip. Especially when they have a water slide! We meant to go. Best of intentions. All thought, no action. Here's a picture of the possibility that could have been.

But I did participate in many cruise ship adventures besides swimming. This was a dance class. I danced with Larry while Jeremy and Stephanie sat in the audience and watched. Pretty lame of them right? :)

I tried sushi for my first time. It was free. (Well, besides the cost of the cruise itself.) I'll try a lot of things when it's free. It's hard to pass up such a great deal! One of the three I tried was okay. Oh wait, hold up, I tried two of them. One of them was okay. I know I said I'd try free things, but one of those was gross enough looking at it that eating it wasn't an option.

Another food I was willing to try based on it's "free-ness." Escargot. We got two plates for our table in the dining room. Might as well, right?

Verdict--The butter/garlic sauce they drench it in is fine. It's the rubberiness of the creepy crawling thing that really does me in. Thank goodness I will not be having a craving for this expensive dish at a later time when it's not free.

Pineapple Fanta. Jeremy claims it is the best. Made with that real sugary (or Lesli, "surgar--Rrrr matey!") goodness, not our imitation grossness of high fructose corn syrup. Honestly I couldn't tell the difference, but Jeremy loved it and that's what matters, which is why I let him drink half of mine. Aren't I a good, thoughtful wife? ;)

We went snorkeling a lot. That's all Larry wanted to do. Well, that and eat. I don't currently have any of us snorkeling so you'll have to miss out on seeing our first stop in the Cayman Islands. We snorkeled 3 out of 4 ports. Our second stop was Cozumel, Mexico. We swam with the dolphins! What an exciting, once in a lifetime adventure! Sorry we didn't pay the $30 per picture or the $70 DVD price to show you proof of us in the water with the dolphins. Here's a picture I took before we went in. It's all you'll get. After we were done, we went snorkeling in that water on the other side of those rocks.

Our ship. Larry would say over and over how blue the water was. We would tease him. A lot. But it was true. It was....or is. (Oh, and Jeremy didn't really want to have his picture taken with the boat, but I made him because it makes it oh so much more interesting. Don't you think? Be sure to tell him that.)

Roatan, Honduras. My favorite stop!

We went here...

for some more snorkeling, of course. The water, once again, was very blue, but clearer here than other places. The beach was such a white sand. We saw SO MANY FISH!! We even saw a barracuda in two snorkeling stops.

Last stop was Belize visiting Xunantunich. I've always wanted to go to Mayan Ruins so this was cool. Of course, since it is something I've always wanted to do, this is where I got sick. I must have been seriously dehydrated. I managed to down 2 1/2 bottles of water to keep from passing out so I could make it through the ruins. I did it! I traded Jeremy the camera for his bottle of water, so most pictures at this stop were taken by him.

(one of those bottles of water)

This is one view from on top. That's Guatemala over there in the distance. Too bad they don't have a sign marking it, but I guess I can still say I've seen the country.

Of course we were greeted every night by a new towel animal. We figured this had to be the marshmallow man from Ghostbusters. Anyone else have a guess?

And, of course, I'm a sucker for sunsets, so here are a few, including one of our group taken by someone else who didn't know how to use my P&S camera so you can see us, but not the sunset.

There you have it! In all it's "basic-ness". Can't wait for the next one (cruise). But to where will it be?

Hmmm........

SOOC (Straight Out Of the Camera) Part 1

2010-05-29T22:04:00.001-06:00

As you have probably read, our computer crashed. We bought a new computer (great deal too!), but I have yet to install a photo editing program. But it has been over a month since I've posted pictures, so today (and probably some in the future) welcome to my photos SOOC (Straight Out of the Camera). The photos come from a lovely outing with two young women from my neighborhood. I love the tracks by my house, so that was our destination for the day.

These are purely my ideas of composing with only adjustments made on my camera of setting exposure levels, aperture, etc before taking the shot. No fancy additions from a computer. No crops. No contrast adjustments. Or color enhancements. No actions. Nothing. Just the pure art of photography!

Lost

2010-04-25T21:53:00.000-06:00

The computer. It's gone. It won't boot up. I blame myself. Don't know exactly why it happened. There is no life for now. It is dead, hopefully just hibernating. Still a laptop and Internet to use, but it doesn't have everything I long for. No place to download photos, no place to edit photos, no access to previously downloaded photos. Trying to find options to fix the problem.

Hoping everything isn't.

Lost.

Santa Cruz

2010-04-13T17:40:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I feel so slow at editing pictures and then the moment is past. Spring break was so long ago, but here are some more looks at our adventures. This post is all from Santa Cruz.

Redwoods

2010-04-08T16:47:00.000-06:00

YOU KNOW HOW REDWOODS ARE REALLY REALLY TALL AND REALLY REALLY WIDE?

This is my first time seeing redwoods. It was in Big Basin, so not the same experience as Yosemite, but still pretty cool. I just hated the small, winding road we traveled to get there.

I love the moss!

Yet one more thing that is taller than I am. At least it is also wider!

We are just getting into this time period in my history class so I was excited to see the reference. Something I can share with my students, comparing the age of this tree and that era together.

Spring Break

2010-04-07T17:15:00.001-06:00

My spring break in California wasn't that much warmer than Utah (though there was no snow), but ya gotta feel good about waking up in the morning to see a palm tree out your window! More to come!

New curtains and my AMAZING mom

2010-04-06T17:49:00.000-06:00

Ever so slowly we add things to our house. Most recently I wanted to add curtains. I sewed one set of curtains for our living room and then, after the long hassle of it all, decided to buy them for the kitchen. Those horrid vertical blinds were previously hanging by the patio door. They were long overdue for removal. My mom and I bought some curtains. The curtains were too long for where we mounted rod. We had already made many adjustments (primary hanging to see if we liked it, previous sewing to make it shorter, ironing). My mom REALLY didn't want to take the curtains off the hooks all over again when we discovered that they were still just a little too long. We had previously discussed unhooking them another day and doing the hemming then, but then I turned around and saw my mom had decided differently. She had set up the sewing machine by the curtains/door and just hemmed them at the bottom, hooked on and all. I laughed and laughed. I was told not to laugh so much so I didn't make my mom and laugh and mess up. I still laughed some more. I ran for the camera to document the funniness of the event. Even though you weren't there in the moment, I hope you see at least some of the humor of this that I did.

Are you a dog person?

2010-03-30T14:38:00.001-06:00

I will probably get murdered for this comment, but, I'm not a dog person. Don't get me wrong, I like dogs. I think they're fun to play with, walk (occassionally), and pet. And sometimes they're good at obeying commands. But I don't want a dog as a pet. I prefer cats. Endearing characteristics to me are they don't put their muddy paws up on you, they bury their own poop outside, they clean themselves, they're quiet, and if you don't want to play with cats, they are perfectly okay with that.

Jeremy has a dog. I knew this going into our marriage. He knew that I liked cats. His dog stayed at his brother's instead of coming to our house. I've had many a guilty moment for doing this to the two of them, but not enough to change the situation, I suppose.

This last weekend Jeremy's brother was out of town and Jeremy's dog and the brother's puppy came to stay with us. Jeremy's dog dug under the fence and the puppy ran away. We found the puppy, luckily, I guess. After that, they stayed leashed up outside. Jeremy decided that his dog Gwen could come in the house if he cleaned off her paws first. I DO love her as an animal and as Jeremy's pet. She minds okay. I dealt with it. I took pictures.

.....I still don't think I want a dog as a pet.

March 08

2010-03-22T17:26:00.000-06:00

Revisiting memories from March 2008.

Forgotten No More

2010-03-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

I found some photos that I hadn't posted yet. Now that the snow in the picture doesn't make me feel quite so cold anymore.

You've seen her before, but she's back for some more, here's Ellie!

2010-03-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

I met this boy at a party. He's one of those cute ones that you can play the "smile at him and he'll hide his face and then come and do it all over again" game. Adorable.

TWO broken elbows

2010-03-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

I don't have a lot of great pictures of the tragedy, but I wanted to document the event. Jeremy broke/cracked both elbows. The doctors say a cracked elbow is a common injury, but not both arms at the same time. Many people have accused me of being too violent. At church someone told Jeremy that just because he said "I do" doesn't mean he has to put up with this kind of abuse. The real story? Nothing other than church ball. I'm sure many of you could have guess that. I myself have limped away from games with a black eye, bruises, jammed fingers, scraped knees, and more. Church basketball is dangerous. Players are mean. Refs don't call anything. So really this is just the same old, same old.

Jeremy was playing in a particularly violent game 1 1/2 weeks ago. The refs weren't calling anything. Jeremy was going up for a lay-up and got hacked from behind. He fell down hard and landed on both elbows because he didn't have enough time to brace himself.

The call? Ball out of bounds on Jeremy.

The other team inbounded the ball as Jeremy struggled to get to his feet and call for a sub to come in for him.

The game got worse from there, though I don't think anyone suffered as much physically as Jeremy did. One player, on Jeremy's team, decided that if the refs weren't going to call anything than he was going to REALLY foul. He proceeded to clothesline the opposing player (who was the bishop of the other ward). The refs talked to both captains, told them to talk to their players, and that they were going to call a tighter game.

The call? The player that was fouled got to proceed with the game by inbounding the ball.

Uh, I'm not the best at seeing all fouls, but even I know that should be a technical foul.

Fortunately, this is a quick recovery, so days of brushing Jeremy's teeth, helping him dress, eating off his plate like a dog, and no driving for him are limited.

And no, Jeremy can not currently do the chicken dance. I'm sure you're all disappointed.

The 2nd Annual Chinese New Year Party

2010-02-16T16:43:00.002-07:00

Jeremy and I loved celebrating the Chinese New Year so much last year that we knew it was a MUST to throw another party this year. It's true that some have dubbed it as the "Panda Express Party" but that's only a small....well, a huge part of the whole dealio. I can't say we're very authentic, but it's still fun. Here are the details of our party:

Chinese New Year sign check

yummy Chinese food check

chopsticks check

money envelopes with coinage check

more yummy Chinese food check

Yep, that's about it. It really is about the food. Other than that, it was a regular party, you know, wii games, talking, making fun of your mom.

I just wish that I had gotten a picture of Wes using chopsticks because Adam just doesn't do them justice ;)

I'd like to give one last shout out to all my fellow roosters out there! You really rock....or cockle-doodle, if you know what I mean.

2010-02-12T14:37:00.003-07:00

So I still don't have any new pictures. Hopefully that will end soon. But to tide me over until then?

Tots!

Potato-y goodness. Crisped just right. Add som ketchup and slat. Yum.

Some questions you might be asking:

1. Why did this happen?

2. Who did it?

3. Did you still eat them after they were on a gross restaurant table?

Answers that don't explain much:

1. Who knows.

2. Once one person started, we all joined in.

3. You bet your bottom dollar we did! And enjoyed every bit!

P.S. Shout out to Napoleon Dynamite! "Gimme some of your tots."

February '07

2010-02-04T17:08:00.000-07:00

I haven't taken pictures since last month. That doesn't seem like a huge revelation considering there have only been four days of this month so far. But because it feels like so much longer, I felt like I needed a change. A way to really kick off February! And then I found this photo:

This was taken in 2007. Ah, the memories. My friend and I expertly, and oh so slyly, kidnapped another friend's bear, Bernard. We went around town with Bernard photographing our adventures. He was very much the victim (doesn't he play his part well). We left this picture on our friend's car promising "I" (we couldn't let her think it was the two of "us") would be in contact soon for ransom purposes. We then created an letter, wonderfully crafted of course, outlining the details. She was never to see her bear again unless she accompanied "me" on a date and actually acted like she was enjoying herself and made me a scrumptious dessert for after the date. If she refused, Bernard would be shaved, tortured, and pulled apart at the seams. In order to give her reply she was to say the closing prayer at FHE in which she was to pray for Bernard's safety. Any negotations were to occur in said prayer.

It was a crazy adventure, but oh so fun. I'm very sad to say that life got in the way. Unfortunate events made it so that she did not get to say the prayer at FHE. A heart-breaking day caused us to take pity and give her Bernard back early for comfort. But we still went on our "date." We still ate a lovely dessert. We still have super memories of fun times!

Love your stinkin' guts Bernard!

Jamie Squared

2010-01-23T11:11:00.001-07:00

Disclaimer First: I updated my post editor, which is supposed to be easier, and have been frustrated ever since. I don't have the patience today to figure out how to get the photos in the place I want them to be without doing it all over again. (Gosh, there isn't even a spellcheck these days!) Everyone except me could probably care less how the photos are placed, so I've now decided that it's all cool. And now, on to our previously scheduled program.....

This is my friend James. When we both attended the singles branch, I would always introduce James this way....even though he had attended longer than I had and people already knew him. James was in charge of break-the-fast and linger longer. He ALWAYS provided great food. My favorite was Nachos! (What kind of cheese doesn't belong to you?) James would always let me request when we would have nachos again. So when James and Jamie, (or Jamie and Jamie = Jamie Squared, or is it more mathematically correct to call them 2Jamie), requested that I help photograph their wedding, how could I say no? It was a fun day and the company was even better! My only frustration was my own camera. I usually take pictures outside or with lots of natural light so a day inside without good lighting and without a good flash felt very limiting to the quality I could get in some pictures. Jeremy, I guess it's time to invest in a flash for me ;)

Poor Jamie. She certainly got the worst of it!

Couldn't Help Myself

2010-01-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

I know Christmas is over, but I took this picture earlier and just had to show you. It's one of my new favorite ornaments (besides my BYU ones)!

Here's Jeremy too! Every day I come home from work and go to the "office" where Jeremy is working. It's so pleasant and feels just right to sit down in the same room with him. Doesn't matter if we talk or if he's on phone calls because we're in the same room. (Everyone, let's hear that collective "ah") I couldn't tell you what day this picture was taken because every day is the same....and because he's been wearing that shirt for the last 4 days. Seriously.

Christmas Time with Abigail

2010-01-02T10:24:00.005-07:00

Lucky for my family, my brother and sister in-law came to visit for Christmas and of course brought little Abigail with them. Here are a few things I learned about my "technical niece" of 6 months:

She loves having people sing songs to her, especially ones with actions
When my dad quacks at her she smiles wide
She loves putting anything and everything in her mouth
She is definitely the center of attention on both her mom and dad's side
She doesn't like wearing bows much
She LOVES cats (though our cat is very much afraid of her)
She makes such a cute addition to the family

Temple Square Christmas lights

2009-12-28T10:14:00.004-07:00

It has been so foggy around here lately but I had no idea it could make the lights downtown look so cool! I loved the effect. It was hard to take my eyes off the temple and the way it made the whole night sky shine! Enjoy!

Gotta love the floating lit up Christmas balls. Obviously I had some fun changing the color of it. :)

Las muchachitas bonitas

2009-12-03T21:44:00.012-07:00

Two adorable girls were my project last Saturday. Brielle and Allyssa came over ready to smile (don't let the first picture fool you). After awhile saying "smile" produced silly faces and silly phrases that would make them laugh. I loved it all from their cute smiles, fancy dresses, and talking with their mom! I have so many favorites from our time together it was hard to choose which ones to post, but I couldn' resist this fake pouty look. Hilarious to see their smiles still coming through!

Heather and Zach

2009-11-27T12:26:00.004-07:00

What better way to spend our anniversary than at the temple! We were happy to spend the day with our niece Heather and her new husband Zach. Congrats to the two of them!

BEST EVER!!!!

2009-11-03T18:02:00.004-07:00

This is Kaden. We know we should believe everything a 4 year old says. He says that I make the BEST airplanes EVER! Don't be jealous now. (I'm also the BEST teacher in the entire UNIVERSE too, but that comes from a different source and a different story). Don't give up your aspirations. Keep practicing and trying hard and you'll keep improving. You can be good too. But news flash for ya, position for BEST EVER is taken already.

Don't even think you're going to take that from me.

(take off position)

Temple Marriage Night

2009-10-29T15:56:00.007-06:00

For a Young Women (YW) activity, we had the girls dress up in wedding dresses and fill out paperwork about what they would like their wedding to be like someday and the qualities of a man they would like to marry. I got to take pictures. While it was fun, I realize, once again, what kind of photographer I am. I don't enjoy being stuck to one location. I would never survive in a studio. I felt hampered, so restricted. It was a fun night, though. Each young woman received a copy of her picture at a special program (Young Women in Excellence) about a month later.

Love looking at these old dresses with all the ruffles, puffed sleeves, and lace. I guess it's all making a come back again. Everything does. Not my style, though.

Brielle and Kaden

2009-10-05T16:24:00.009-06:00

Look at those eyes just stare back at you!

Our Young Womens class decided to have an activity on photography, so I took a couple of shots to print off to show them things that would make their photo look better. Either way, it was a fun excuse to photograph my friend Michonne's children! I forgot how active her little boy is, but had fun taking some action shots too!

Hello Wilbur!

2009-09-21T18:49:00.005-06:00

I have a few absolutes when I go to the Utah State Fair. I adore looking at the photography exhibit. I get excited watching the rides (it was raining when we went so I missed out this year). I laugh at the games and displays everywhere. But most of all, I love seeing the animals! I love that you can pet them (and hand sanitize later) and love watching the kids pet them. I have a love/hate relationship with the country smells! I love how the goats nibble at your clothes when you stand too close.

So here's to Zuckerman's Famous Pig and all the other wonderul animals at the fair!

Wedding #2

2009-09-21T18:29:00.007-06:00

With a family as big as Jeremy's, it would make sense that there are a lot of nieces and nephews too. This year they have decided to reward us with FOUR weddings! It was Robby and Tonya's wedding this last Saturday. Jeremy and I made it to the wedding dinner and sealing, and admittedly stole away for the BYU football game instead of attending the reception. (If someone would have told us how awful the game was going to be, we might have decided differently.)

For those of you keeping track, that's two weddings down, two to go.

McKenna also got baptized that day because family was in town to see it. It was a very special day as two wonderful ordinances were performed for people we love!

"HELLO!" say Jeremy and Holly.

Ellie and Kendyll

2009-09-17T16:45:00.004-06:00

I'm always looking for fun new models. I originally asked Ellie to go with me and her sister Kendyll came along too! With new models, it always takes awhile to get warmed up with the idea of someone taking photos of you, but by the end they were naturals. Thanks for fun times!

JD and Summer's Wedding

2009-09-11T16:36:00.008-06:00

Jeremy's nephew, and thus mine too, got married this summer....to Summer. She's definitely a fun girl and if you doubt it, it's proven in the third picture. A bride who decides to wear yellow cowboy boots under her dress can be nothing other than uber cool!

I love these two dancing pictures. Different people, but both in their own worlds sharing great joy.

Chalking

2009-09-08T16:43:00.004-06:00

One of the many signs of summer is sidewalk chalk. What a great fun! These two love to do outlines of people. Why is it that when you trace someone it looks like they have no neck? It really isn't my best look.

Technical Niece

2009-09-01T18:35:00.005-06:00

Jeremy is #9 out of 10 kids, so naturally by the time we were married he already had lots of nieces and nephews. I think they are all great, but at the same time, it was more difficult to consider them MY nieces and nephews since I just married into it.

BEHOLD, MY FIRST TECHNICAL NIECE!!!

I'm happy to announce that I now feel like a real aunt because MY brother and sister-in-law had a baby. Meet Baby Abigail! Though she was born back in June, I'm finally getting around to posting these pictures due to my forever long postings about our vacation. She was a real jewel! I already know I'm the favorite aunt ;)

Temples

2009-08-31T21:21:00.009-06:00

Here are the two temples were were able to visit on our trips. Unfortunately, our timing wasn't right to enter either, but they were still very beautiful and the spirit of the Lord is so strong outside His house.

BOSTON TEMPLE

D.C. TEMPLE

This is the sad story of our trip. If you don't like sad stories, don't read on. It was almost too much for me to bear. Take a look at the following two pictures. What do you notice different about my face? That's right, in the second one I'm not wearing my sunglasses. "Why?" you ask. Tragically I lost them somewhere in D.C. My beautiful glasses I got from Chicago last year. It is pretty devastating still! Everyone cry a tear for me.

Jefferson Memorial

2009-08-29T13:57:00.006-06:00

All of us absolutely LOVED this quote. If only our political leaders today would have this same conviction AND SHOW IT!!

Arlington National Cemetary and Iwo Jima

2009-08-29T12:22:00.004-06:00

Abraham Lincoln

2009-08-26T22:02:00.005-06:00

Out of everything we saw in D.C., by far, my favorite was the Lincoln Memorial. There is such a reverence and awe for a man who overcame great odds in his life, who continued on after failures, who faced many trials and hardships, who valued our nation so much he would fight members of the nation itself to preserve it, and who had the courage to free a race. Thank you.

Korea and Vietnam

2009-08-26T21:50:00.007-06:00

Though being part of the armed forces is not something I feel I could do, it does not decrease, in fact it increases, the gratitude I feel for those who do serve our country. Freedom is not free. We have many to thank for our freedom. May we stand up for those freedoms today!

"Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met."

The Washington Monument

2009-08-25T18:17:00.011-06:00

Hail to our first president!

This is the view from the top. They have some great look-out windows. I was grateful that, unlike Bunker Hill, they had an elevator to take us up there. I think there's a law that you can only climb up ONE set of hundreds of stairs per vacation. Phew!

Notice the color change in the bricks? That's because construction stopped due to lack of funds and other things. It took 40 years to build it.

White House and Capitol

2009-08-25T18:08:00.005-06:00

Here it is. I should be clever and witty about it.....but I'll save you the pain of reading my lame jokes.

A Brief Break

2009-08-20T18:31:00.005-06:00

As I post lots of pictures of THINGS I realize how much more I love taking pictures of PEOPLE! So just in case you're feeling the same way, here's a few of Jeremy. Sure the pictures are still from our trip, but no real significance to the place they are taken.

Ahhhhhh. I feel better already!

Two Roads Diverged....

2009-08-18T20:09:00.005-06:00

...and I'd rather not take either of them.

So the first picture (courtesy of Jeremy) is of Old Beacon Hill. This is some of the last original cobblestone road left in Boston. I began walking up it for the experience and soon ended up on the sidewalk alongside it. It's so rough and uneven. I can't even imagine going down it on a wagon/carriage. Can we say ouch?

This is a picture down waiting for the metro. After riding the metro around Boston and D.C. I quickly learned that I'm VERY grateful for SLC/Utah and the ability to travel by car exactly where I want to go. I understand this way is probably more environmentally friendly, but put me behind on the wheel of my car and call me lazy all you want and I'll still be happier!!

The Freedom Trail

2009-08-17T17:12:00.009-06:00

These are pictures taken along the Freedom Trail. I'm realizing I don't have much of the actual historical things found along it, but you're probably not interesting in those anyway.

First up: be grateful for our awful roads because it could be worse.

"That's where the Boston Massacre took places," Jeremy says while pointing at the center of the road.

Old North Bridge: leads to where "The Shot Heard Around the World" occurred.

Where everybody knows your name!

Interesting how the Bunker Hill Monument looks like the Washington Monument (which you'll see later). The experience was quite different, though. This consists of 294 steps. All of which you climb yourself. I don't consider myself a wimp, but it kicked me! The stairs are numbered so you know how close you're getting to the top. You start out great and you start getting tired and think you must be at least half way up by now and turns out you're only on step 75! I tell ya, though, coming down was even worse. Our legs were shaking from the experience and it hurt to climb and go down stairs for days after. The view was pretty though. Good thing I had the camera because Jeremy says he's never doing it again.

This is how pews were really done back in the day. It wasn't just a row. People actually had their names on their pew. I bet people got just as offended in church if someone took their pew as they do today!

On the Road Again

2009-08-17T09:46:00.008-06:00

These pictures are just pictures. There was nothing particularly special about the place. It held no memories for Jeremy. I just wanted the picture. So here's to the stops along the road!

The area is filled with so many charming colonial homes. Ah, tender.

I Saw Dead People

2009-08-14T09:24:00.008-06:00

Basically, we went on a US History vacation, and history denotes the past, thus, we were surrounded by dead people. Jeremy and I wondered why anyone would want a skull on their tombstone, even if it had wings. That just can't be good.

A shrine to John Hancock. I guess tradition back East says forget the flowers, put coins on graves/monuments to show your gratitude. Whoever first did it really started a trend, because there were pennies everywhere!

There were several more graveyards along our trip, but I couldn't bear to take pictures of all of them, so this will have to suffice. I'm sure you're disappointed.

The Holocaust

2009-08-11T22:37:00.008-06:00

I have absolutely a THOUSAND of pictures to blog from vacations, etc. I'm going through all my photos and trying to get them ready. I thought I would just end up posting a ton later, but I hit upon these ones of the Holocaust and suddenly found a strong desire to share these now. There was a memorial in Boston and we were able to go through the memorial/museum in D.C. too. So as I continue to prepare my other pictures for viewing, ponder this.

"First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me."

--Pastor Martin Niemoller

Consider the meaning of a number.

JoCeLYn

2009-07-21T13:50:00.009-06:00

Jocelyn is one of the Young Women in my ward. She was nice enough to model for me. Her favorite quote of the day was "If it feels like I'm getting really close to you, it's because I am."

I try to do new and different things and her is my attempt today. It was her favorite image, so I thought it would be fun to make duplicates on the same page.

This obviously isn't Jocelyn (at least I hope it's obvious to you). This friendly horse trotted right on over to the gate when it saw us pull up.

McKenna's Many Faces

2009-07-20T14:43:00.002-06:00

Burraston Pond

2009-07-20T14:29:00.009-06:00

Jeremy's family loves going camping and they love it best at Burraston Pond, so we went for a weekend of fun. I had my first fishing experience which I found enjoyable (even with all the waiting around for a fish to bite just to lose your worm).

The fire's smoke through the trees with the sun. Beautiful! Difficult to breathe.

Yep, I held it! I managed pretty well with the whole fishing thing, though chose not to worm my hook or gut my fish. Maybe next time.

The size of the one that got away. Just ask Jeremy.

Old Stuff

2009-07-13T17:31:00.010-06:00

I saw a picture online of an old barn and ever since then my mind has been obsessed with old stuff. Thus, I was so excited to go to small-town-ville in Idaho for a reunion because I thought I'd get the perfect opportunity for such pictures. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to actually stop at any of these places and really go at it. That means that all of these photos were taken from the car window as we drove by. So when you start questioning, "Why did she take the shot from this angle?" or say "I would have done it differently," just remember, I didn't have many options at the time.

And if you think that maybe I've had my fill of "old stuff" now, you're wrong. If you know of any places nearby open to me, let me know! (Preferably a place I can get out of the car and not just drive by.)

Family Reunion

2009-07-13T11:19:00.008-06:00

We went to my family reunion in Idaho. I think my choice of pictures is quite interesting. Forget the relatives! The only one I got was my cousin's son, Kyle. I couldn't help it. He was just so cute!

Look at the car wash we saved ourselves by letting my parents drive!

Who could ask for anything more than a giant tub of Cheese Balls!

My Dad

2009-07-13T10:28:00.003-06:00

I made my dad "model" for me. He was such a good sport about it, even though I know it made him a little uncomfortable. He's pretty awesome. He's gone through a lot, but I'm so grateful to have him for my dad!

Bear Lake

2009-07-11T22:45:00.006-06:00

We were up in Idaho for a family reunion and made sure to take a trip to Bear Lake for some water fun. Good times with family, fun photos, and no sunburns!!

4th of July Celebrations

2009-07-08T15:07:00.011-06:00

I decided to have some fun with sparklers and longer shutter speeds so I gathered friends, sparklers, and a lighter. Everyone had a great time writing their names backwards and creating other designs. (Oh and I LOVE the street light in the background!)

Regular ol' flowers have to be one of my favorite fireworks EVER! I don't know if it's the thrill of holding it in your hand awhile only to throw it up in the air to watch it spin to the ground in an array of color, the fact that they're pretty cheap, or what, but it's pretty great! And everyone loves the chance to be a pyro!

These last two photos are actually from our 4th celebrations. We went to a lookout near our house with all our family and watched the firing off of legal and illegal fireworks across the valley. Quite the show! My brother-in-law brought glow sticks too which kept every big and little kid entertained!