How fun are these? Karma checks. You can leave them for people when they do good or bad things to you. I love it. To leave one as a surprise on a person's car or doorstep. Wouldn't it be so fun to get one of these... well that is if you have done something good. I thought there were so cute and clever, I had to share.
Here are just some of the photos I took of Ella the other day. I love taking pictures of little babies on the tummies. They are so cute and their little heads are so funny sticking up so tall on top of their little necks. I took a ton of pictures, but narrowed it down to these three. Hope you enjoy!
I am sure everyone has heard about Skinny Cow by now. But in case you haven't, then you can be in the same boat with me. Well, almost. I have heard about them, but I haven't yet tried them and I am dying to. I have to wait until my little one is drinking on her own, because dairy upsets her, but when we turn that corner, Skinny Cow and Diet Coke are the first things I will be eating/drinking. I have to wait a few more months, but if you haven't tried them yet, go out and do it and let me know if all the hype is true about theses things. 
I was reading CNN the other day and came across this story. Basically, this guy flew in a lawnchair for 193 miles in the air. Personally, I think this is crazy, but I have to admit, it makes for a fantastic picture. I had to post this, mostly because I love the photo. 
We are off to Salt Lake CIty, Utah to be with family. This will be the first time Chris' family has been all together in three years. Chris' parents are home after being mission presidents in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since they have been gone, they have had 6 new grandchildren, three of which they haven'te met (Ella being one of them). So, needless to say this is going to be a great family reunion in the truest sense.
Besides being with family, I am excited for Hannah to be with cousins galore! She will have a blast. 
I am excited to hit The Gatewall Mall in downtown SLC. It is a retailer's paradise. Beautiful surroundings, great stores (which I don't have here), fun for kids (a water 'spouting' fountain area) and Ben's Cookies. our favorite cookies hands down.
While I am gone, I might be able to post now and then, we will see what happens, but until I get back, keep having a great summer!
Yesterday was so nice here. Although it was hot, there was a nice cloud cover all day (which is unusual for us), so we went outside and enjoyed the shade and had fun taking pictures of each other. Hannah got a digital camera from her friend Mikhail and she played with it all day. Thanks Mikhail! She took pictures of Ella and I and would position things to get the picture she wanted. She was so funny. She would take my picture and say "say cheese" and "that is a cute picture." I think she might have gotten some of it from me... from all the times I take her picture. Well, here are some of the the pictures from our joint photo session. I would post her pictures, but she deleted them all. Yep, that's right, this camera is for kids, but it lets you download photos from it. So, cool! At some point I will post some pictures she has taken, but it might have to wait a bit.
Hannah is such a creature of habit. I am told kids do things out of habit, because it is familar and gives them a sense of comfort and safety, but when do you worry that it might turn into OCD? Well, I won't worry yet, but here are just some of her "OCD" moments.
Chris is now home in the morning when Hannah wakes up. So, when he leaves for works, Hannah asks him "where are you going?" he replies "to work to make some money." This is repeated every morning. Well, last night when Chris got home from work, Hannah asked "Did you make the money?"
Every night that i go running, Chris always tells me to be safe. So, now each time I go running Hannah says "have fun, mommy and be safe."
Each time Chris or I go workout/running, we come home and Hannah informs us that we need to take a shower because we are "stinky".
Each night when we say our family prayers, we ask Hannah whose turn it is. We conclude who's ever turn it is and Hannah says "because mommy/daddy said the prayers last night." Each night she has to tell us who said the prayer the night before. And when she goes to bed, she always says "I am going to cry just a little bit." which she does for about 30 secs, unless she is really tired and then I don't even think it lasts that long.
These are just some of the funny sayings Hannah says each and every day.
On a side note: I just got this Bumbo chair for Ella, and guess who fits into it perfectly. Ella is still not quite strong enough to sit in it yet, so Hannah uses it all the time. I keep reminding her that it is Ella's and soon Ella will be sitting in it. But until then our big girl is playing the part of a little girl.
Ella can finally hold her head up while she is on her tummy. I am so excited because now I can take a variety of pictures of her... pictures of her on her back, on her tummy and well that is it for now.
As a side note: With Hannah, I thought that her growing up went quite slow. But I have to say with the second one, Ella is growing up so fast. I can't believe all that she can do. Hold her head up, grab for things, laugh, grab her feet and put them in her mouth. Now I know what people mean when they say "babies grow up so fast."
How many of us are really good at keep our kid's baby books current for the first year or so and then, something happens and it is no longer a priority? Although the memories keep coming, we stop taking the time to write about them. It is hard work.... which is why I hestitate to even get this, but with Hannah starting pres-school this year, I figure it is a must. And it might help me get back into the groove of writing her memories down. This cute School Years book is super cute and might be just the thing to help me make sure I don't forget to capture the next fun stage of her life...the school years.
The thing about photography is that you have to learn how to take good pictures, but it doesn't end there. You also need to learn how to do the post-processing too. There are a lot of fun tool out there and so I decided to buy some great actions from Phaunt Actions. I love them. There are so many fun "looks" you can give your photos. Brilliant and bright, soft and subtle, urban acid, black and white and so much more. So, I have been having so much fun playing with my photos to see what I can create and find my own style. Here are just a few fun photos and I have been playing with.
The cool thing is that these photos were totally underexposed. They were really dark and now they are really light. The wonders of technology.
Deep down, have you always wanted to see the biggest ball of string or the Museum of Bad Art? Come on, you know you do. Well, Hampton Landmarks can help you find these national treasures. Summertime usually means family trips and more and more of those trips are in the car these days. I came across this great website where you can search for unusual and fun country landmarks. They show you where to find real national historical site and the crazy ones you didn't even know existed. Check it out the next time you head out on the road.
After 3 years, Hannah finally had her first haircut or should I say trim. And luckily it was a success. I thought for sure she would cry through the whole thing (she is at the stage), but she did great. I think it was because she got to sit in a little red car and they put in a Winnie the Pooh movie (her favorite). She was very cooperative and her hair looks so much better. It isn't in her face anymore and because we took off some weight, it is even more curly than before. 
The 4th of July is still my favorite holiday. I think it is because everyone is celebrating the same thing together. Most holidays are private family days, but not this one. Everyone gets out and does the same thing...swim, BBQ, watch fireworks, picnic, etc.
Our day went something like this. We went swimming at our friend's pool, (some of the pictures are of their daughter) which was nice because it was 105 degrees yesterday. Then we came home and everyone had a nap (except me). Then we got ready and went out to dinner and headed over to the fireworks show. It was at our high school's football field (which was really nice) and it was fun for Hannah at first. She danced and ran around with the other kids. Then things changed drastically. I questioned whether Hannah would like the fireworks and as soon as the first one went off.. the answer became perfectly clear. She hated them! She started crying hysterically and saying "I want to go home". She buried her head into my chest and just cried. She wouldn't look at them and just cried and cried. I have never felt so loved and needed. She was clinging to me. I just reassured her it was fine and plugged her ears (I think the noise was the worst part). By the end she was still clinging to me, but had stopped crying and was watching and when it stopped, wa-la, everything was back to normal.
We came home and the neighbors were doing their own fireworks. She was very nervous. She watched one and then went inside the house and watched the rest from her bedroom. She sat at the window in the safety of her room and enjoyed the rest of the fireworks. It was so funny.
Here are june's memory cards for the girls. Click on the images to read them better.
The 4th of July is my favorite holiday of the year (besides Christmas). I just love the celebration of red, white and blue, Fireworks, small town parades, BBQs, and the very reason for the holiday... our independene and freedom.
Oh, and these cute cards are another new favorite. I love circles and the illustrations are just so bold and big and fun. Kinda like the 4th!
Well, if you haven't noticed by now, Hannah loves to dress up. Today, in her dress-up outfit, I asked her "What Princess are you?" and she replied "Snow White". I don't think it gets old taking pictures of her dressed up like this. It is always so darn cute. 
But it is so hard with this one. All the hype has won me over and I am definitely coveting the new iPhone. I really, really want one of these. (but i have to come to terms, that I won't be getting one anytime soon). I am not usually one that is big into having the latest phone. I just need something to use when I am out and about, but this little guy is so much more than a phone and that is why I want one.
The one piece of news I read that is controlling my obsession is that they say not to buy the initial iphone, because Apple will be releasing a second generation within months, so to just hold on until then when it will be better and they will have worked out the kinks. Not, that I have a choice, but then I will wait!
If you are like me, figuring out something to eat for dinner each week is the hardest part of the job. I hate sifting through hundreds of recipes and trying to determine which meal will be best for the fam. Well, Yahoo Everday Meals,, just made this part of cooking easy as pie. Each week, they randomly select a week's worth of meals and wa-la, a menu for the week! The recipes come from all different sources... Martha to Kraft and Epicurious to Rachel Ray. Thanks Yahoo, for making my job that much easier.
Posts
All Comments
