Being Productive is Over-rated

Our decent computer bit the dust last week, and it needs to be rebuilt.  My sweet hubby dragged our ancient computer out of the garage, and set it up so we could have access to the Internet, but unfortunately, that is all I have access too.  I have taken a ton of pictures lately, with the intent of blogging, but they will all have to wait.

Last month, I visited my sister with my kids.  My husband stayed home alone for several days.  As I drove home, I started thinking about how nice it would be to have some time where I stayed home alone, and my husband took off with the kids.  Of course, as a mom, I don't get vacations.  Even when my husband takes time off work, it is for us to take vacations as a family.

We currently have two cars.  (I know it seems like I am heading off on all kinds of tangents, but bear with me.  I am heading somewhere with all of this.)  We have a van that we bought used in 2001.  It is barely hanging in there for us.  Hubby used to take the bus to work every morning, but he got sick of the horrible commute, and decided to buy an old missionary car with some stock he sold.

This month, Hubby's family had their annual reunion.  Once we decided to go, we had to figure out a way to get there.  I didn't feel like our van was a reliable choice for the 12+ hour drive, and our little car only fits 5 of the 6 of us in it.  I arranged to borrow my parent's van for the trip, but then, driving home from my sister's house, I came up with a brilliant plan.

I asked my husband how he would feel about taking the kids for the week, and letting me stay home.  ALONE!  He really loves our family time, and it has been a long time since we have seen his family, but he recognized that I would really appreciate some time to be by myself.  He also really owes me.  Last year, he left me for a week to go spend some time with his brothers at Six Flags.  So, my very brave husband drove 12 hours in our good car with 4 kids, and let me stay home.

So, what did I do for my week of alone time?  I worked my butt off!  I spent the week cleaning.  Our house hadn't been thoroughly cleaned since we put in our yard.  There was a very thick layer of dust covering everything.  I organized the kids bedrooms, and I even braved my fears, and painted my kitchen.  It was a very productive week.

For the first few days, I had the time of my life!  I listened to my music.  Ate what I wanted.  Slept when I wanted.  And I didn't hear a whiny "Mo- ooom" once.  It was a lot of fun.  But by day 3, I was done.  I missed my husband, and my kids!  My house was much too quiet, and there was no one to hug me!  I continued to get a lot done, but my life felt very empty. 

My family was supposed to get home last night.  They got a late start, and then the "good" car that they were driving started acting up.  I got a call from hubby a few hours ago, and he let me know that every time he stops the car, he has to have someone jump the battery in order to get the car to start again.  He has to stop one more time to get gas, and it is 2 in the morning.  We are both a little worried about him finding someone to help him jump start the car in the tiny towns he will pass.

Hopefully, my family will be back together again in the next few hours. 

Dinner in the Canyons

We have lived here for 5 years, and we finally took our kids up to the canyons for the first time last week. Hubby has a co-worker, who invited several friends up for a cook-out. We roasted hot dogs over the fire, and hubby and the kids went cave exploring. The kids had a blast, and they ask to go back every day. Unfortunately, Allen was at a scout camp when we went, so he didn't get to enjoy the fun. We'll have to take him sometime soon.

I took several pictures while we were up in the canyons, but I just realized that I didn't take a single picture of the things we were doing. That is definitely something I need to work on. Pictures are great, but they tell the story about what is going on. I need to get more "story" in my picures.

The campsite that my hubby's co-worker picked was right next to this very fast river. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little afraid for my kids safety. (In her defense, I think it was the last campsite left in the area.) They were well behaved though, and they didn't try to go past the boundaries we gave them.

Many of my favorite memories involve having dinner in the canyons with my family. I need to work harder to create those kinds of memories with my family. Thanks Mo for inviting us. It was great to finally make it to the canyons, and to meet all of you.

My Niece

I went and recruited my niece for a little photography practice. She was very willing!!

I had a really tough time whittling down the pictures. There were so many great ones. As I look through my favorites, I realized that they are all close-ups of her cute face. We did get some pictures with her dancing around, but she was so fast, that many of them were just a blur. Thanks for letting me use your kids, Nae.

By the way, if anyone has any critiques on these, or any of my photos, I would LOVE to hear them. Hopefully there are some things I am doing right, but I am sure there are many things I am doing wrong. Helpful hints are always welcome. :)

Pictures with Cousins

About a month ago, my family and I took a trip to visit my sister. We had fun hanging out, and playing and watching movies, and of course, I had to try to get a lot of pictures. I was really struggling with the light, and I got frustrated. I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I wanted to, but here are a few of my favorites.



My niece is almost nine, and she and Makenzie had a blast playing together. They spent most of their time playing in their "fort" in the lilac bush. (Of course I didn't get a single picture of that.) Makenzie LOVED having another girl to play with, and it was so much fun to see the two of them being creative together.

I love the Jack-O-Lantern smile that so many elementary kids have. My niece is getting braces soon, so this smile will no longer be the same. She is such a cutie, and she reminds me so much of her mom.

My nephew is the only boy in his family. Hopefully he enjoyed having some boys around to play with. I love his big, blue eyes! All of my sister's kids got her eyes. The kids were all watching TV when we first got there, and so I took the opportunity to get some pictures.

And finally, my youngest niece. She has me wrapped around her little finger, and she knows it! I asked if I could bring her home, and I was told I could if I didn't spoil her. It would never work. She is tiny, and so very full of spunk! My sister's first comment when I showed her these pictures was, "Oh, and of course I didn't do her hair today." I think she is adorable.

I had to get a picture of her cheezy smile!

This is one of my favorites! I love my sister's smile. (She has always had a great smile!)

And of course, I have to have some pictures of my kids, because, well. . . it is my blog.

Allen was helping me out with the technical stuff. We noticed that when things were in the shade, I could kinda see them, so he shaded his face to help me try to figure out the lighting.

I have realized that each of my kids have a very unnatural face that they pull when they are having pictures taken. Michael has "the wave".

And Makenzie had many, many pictures of her flowers. (If you look closely, you can see she has a smudge of yellow under her nose. She loves smelling the dandelions, and she loves painting herself yellow.)

And finally, Morgan! His smile will be changing soon too. Both of his front teeth are loose. I will really miss those baby teeth!

Thanks for letting us come up Kelly. We had a blast, and we are looking forward to coming up again.