Thursday, March 26, 2009

I don't know why, but the cat's are just funnier.

Here's another fun LOL from I Can Has Cheezburger.


HA!

Right? Or is it just me?

Maybe I'm not supposed to be pirating these.

Oh well.....

For some reason the cat ones always tickle me most.

Calling all mothers...........

I got to go to my book club tonight which is one of the highlights of my month. It's not even so much about the book - although I love to read and love the books we pick - it's about the fun conversations that always get off track and the company of cool, funny women, and the FOOD!

Yes, there I admit it, book club is mainly about the food.

My mom always says that she loves other people's cooking, and I used to look at her like, "huh?" because of course I ate only other people's cooking until I was married (at the tender age of almost 27) and had to be dragged kicking and screaming into domesticity.

But now I get what Mom meant, and I, too love other people's cooking. I LIVE for other people's cooking. Well, I guess that's overstating it a bit.

Anyhoo..... at book club tonight Wilda told me about this "The Mom Song" and emailed it to me as soon as she got home. We were talking about how we all turn into our mothers to one degree or another. Or, in light of this song, maybe we all turn into the same person - the generic mother figure.




So all you moms, or anyone who's had a mom, what do you think? Sound familiar?

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Okay, back to the babies.......

I've decided that I've got A LOT of beautiful friends. In fact, every one of my friends is lovely inside and out. This realization restores my faith in humankind. At least for a few minutes.

Anyway .....

I was editing more baby photos tonight and especially fell in love with this one of Jenna and her new little Allison. (And yes, those are her REAL eyes with no Photoshop color enhancement, or contacts or anything. Sickening, I know.)


But the feel of this photo instantly reminded me of the Liz Lemon Swindle painting, "Mary's Heart".


The first time I ever saw this painting, I had just had a new baby of my own, and was feeling overwhelmed with love for her. The painting affected me very strongly and I immediately teared up. And I realized that Mary loved her baby just the same way, and just as intensely as I loved mine.

It was a cool moment, an epiphany even. My friend Jenna, and all my friends who are mothers, are just as dedicated and selfless and fierce in their care for their newborns as Mary was. Cool realization, huh. I thought so.

And here's another sneaky peak of Allison........

Because she's just so nice to look at.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Just for a change of pace......

I'm going to get back to the sweet, sweet babies tomorrow, but my ovaries need a break, so I had to change things up a little.

My beloved Pioneer Woman was nominated for 5 Bloggie awards and the winners were announced on Tuesday. She won three catagories (no other blog won more than a single award) including best overall, best design and best photography. One that she didn't win was funniest blog, and because I didn't believe there was such a thing on the planet as a funnier blog than her's, I had to check it out. It's called I Can Has Cheezburger.

Here are a few sample LOLz from their blog:


And since I'm a closet Gerard Butler/Phantom fan:
(click on the picture to enlarge the fine print)

And here's a couple for dog people:


And my definite favorite.....



So although I still think PW is funnier by far, I guess I can see the appeal. Yea, I guess so.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Baby Love!

Isn't it the truth, babies always seem to come in clumps. And this week I got to meet 3 new little bundles of joy.

This little guy's name is Payson and he's 5 days old today. And boy, is he sweet! He was such a good sport about us moving him, changing his hat, changing his blankie, etc. He was so relaaaaaxed, which made it really fun for me. Even the best natured of babies tend to get a little disgruntled with the mauling and manhandling that I do to them, but not Payson, he just curled up and slept no matter what I did to him. It was a perfect session because we got a lot done and I didn't have to feel bad for making the baby cry.

And just like I said in my last post about really appreciating these fresh kiddos, Payson's mom really appreciates him. She had quite a bit of trouble getting him here, but she was willing to do whatever she had to to get him safely here, and boy, is he worth it!

Some of my favorite portraits are of mom's and their babies together, and these we took today are some of my favorites of all time. That "baby love" is such a beautiful thing, and I think you'll agree that this Mom is beautiful with this precious baby in her arms.



I just loved his long skinny, wrinkly little feet....



And his perfectly shaped, adorable little head....



And his soft, soft skin......



(Baby hungry much?)


So this is just a little preview - complete album to come. Thanks, Jolene, for letting me take up so much of your day, it was so much fun!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Fresh from Heaven

The older I get, and especially the older my own babies get, the more I seem to appreciate how precious and amazing these little people are - the ones who are brand new and so fresh from heaven.

My lovely friends Jeff and Jenna, after about a 14 month pregnancy, are finally holding their new little angel daughter in their arms. Whew, it's about time. I've been itching to take her pictures, but we definitely wanted Dad to be in them, so I had to hold off a few days so we could catch him home from work. (Although I did manage to sneak a quick shot the day I met her, before her official newborn photo shoot.)


Isn't she just scrumptious?!


And there's something special about a daddy and his little girl. It's obvious that Jeff is pretty much a goner over this kid and reportedly has the magic touch when it comes to getting her to settle down or go to sleep.


Jenna's got good ideas and is game to try lots of fun things, so we really had a good time. And sweet little babyAllison was such a good sport and even when we got her riled up, she settled down again pretty quickly.


One of the funnest parts was getting big brother Dallin in on the act. I've also taken his pictures a lot and I can't get over how big and gorgeous his eyes are. And even though he looks so much like his dad, the eyes are all Mom. Which is only fair, she ought to get some credit.

He was giving me all his funny faces.


He was so cute with his little sister and he's going to love having a new best buddy, confidante, playmate. Awww............

Well Jen, there's your sneak peak. Allison, you're a lucky little girl to have been sent to such a special family. I love you guys and I'm so happy for you.

This was just too much fun. Can we do it again soon?

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Ode to the Polar Bear

A couple of months ago, we decided to go sledding in the Great White North (uh, I mean the town park).

We were having a splendid time, even though it was pretty durn cold.



Daddy was practicing his special patented tongue-out-shove-the-child-down-the-icy-slope technique.


And enjoying himself quite a bit...


When along came a POLAR BEAR!!!

We knew not whence he came, but apparently he was hungry...


RUN, LUKIE, RUN!!!!



Where IS that Daddy when you need him?







(And, of course, Mom can't help because she's too busy documenting the attack for the authorities.)

We sure will miss that Luke, he's been a much beloved member of the family.

Oh, wait a minute....

It turns out the polar bear wasn't hungry after all....

He was just lonely.




Thursday, March 5, 2009

Oh, how I love Rocky,, uuhh.... I mean Marty!


When I was between the ages of 12 and 15, we lived in Provo at the BYU married student housing (my dad went back to school and got a Master''s degree that he then proceeded to NEVER USE! But I digress....)

There were lots of things I didn't like about living at Wymount Terrace, but there were lots of cool things, too. Like, since there were about 1252 kids living within a hundred yards of our appartment, there was always someone to hang out with. But also, we were close to campus and there are actually a lot of really cool things to do at BYU.

One of my favorites was the Marriott Center Theater. I used to love to go to movies over there - by myself most of the time ('cause sometimes you have to get away from 1252 kids). They had a huge candy counter and I would buy myself about $.50 worth of candy corns and sit back and enjoy the movie. My favorite movie I ever saw there was Rocky III. I don't know why. I've never been a big fan of Sylvester Stallone, necessarily, but I totally loved Rocky. Still do. Own Rocky I-IV on dvd.

We watched them all again a few weeks ago and Marty was diggin' 'em as much as me. (One of the things I love best about Marty is that we have the same taste in movies.)

So yesterday, as I was driving to Walmart, my phone rang and this very Rocky-esque voice says, "How you doin'. I wonder if you wouldn't mind marryin' me very much."

HA!

He's so dadgum cute. I think I'll keep him. (Marty, I mean. And my Rocky dvds, of course.)

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

The Humdinger - Part II

A couple of people have asked me if we'd gotten the truck painted yet, so I thought I'd do a quick post to show it off. We're really happy with the paint job, it looks great, but now I'm bugged that the bed doesn't have brush plate or trim.



The guy who painted it gave me a number for a company who does this stuff, but I don't think my "frugal" (notice I didn't say "cheap") hubby is gonna go for it. So this is probably how it will stay. And I will just have to learn to live with the heartache.

I pulled a horse to work the other day, and on the way home I was headed up the steep hill that used to kick the old GMC's hieney - it could only pull a horse up that hill at about 35 mph. Well, the new truck was cruising along at about 60 and all of a sudden it kicked into overdrive and we were going 75! At only 1800 rpms! Without even trying!

I have to say, this truck is just sexy. Am I sick and wrong for feeling this way about a truck? I don't care, it just is.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Senior Pictures

I had Miss T in my primary class and Achievement Day group when I first moved here 12 years ago. She was just a little kid!


(Backlighting, my new favorite thing - or is that a halo?)

And now she's all grown up and came to me a while back wanting senior pictures. So we went out to find a grungy old barn, a ratty fence, and a beat up old tractor. Don't you just love that kind of stuff!



We had fun and hopefully got some good pictures that are totally her.



I don't think these kids should be allowed to grow up. If for no other reason than it makes me feel old.

Oh well, she sure has turned out to be a lovely young lady!