2012 Highlights and Lowlights

Let's start with the  Highlights:

 

 

Max gets contacts

 



Caroline finally grows enough hair for ponytails

 

We finally remodel the half-bath

 

Brian runs his first Ragnar & actually enjoyed himself

 

Brian loses 30 pounds

 

I realize my dream of seeing Monument Valley

 



Skiing in Telluride on St. Patrick's Day and making some new friends

Hiking in Zions

Going to see Brian Regan in St. George, and then running into him afterwards at Appleby's

 

Every day is a highlight with this girl

 

The Earth, Wind and Fire concert

Brian & I eat our way through Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee

I attend the JinkyArt workshop

 

 

Jake goes to his first EFY in Provo

 

 

The 4th of July at Coronado, of course

Marlee returns home to us parasite-free after spending 3 weeks doing humanitarian work in the Amazon jungles of Ecuador.

Sunday nights when The Walking Dead was on

When Jake was riding the bus home when Toro Camp was over

Haboobs

Brian becomes one of only three Board Certified Orthodontists in Mesa

 

Max moves on to Junior High

Max gets a cell phone

Jake moves on to High School

Jake plays in his first High School football game

I go on a girls beach trip with my mom & sisters

 

Marlee does a fabulous job in the Distinguished Young Women program/competition

Marlee is chosen as a National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist

We extend our attic storage space (life-changing)

Brian runs the St. George Marathon & manages to finish even though he pulls his hamstring at Mile 3

Our October Break Seattle trip with the older kids

Coming home to find that the babysitter had broken Caroline's binky habit

Finding some new additions to our Halloween collection

Thanksgiving with our Mason peeps

Brian's concert tour of a lifetime

 

Max's last day of A-hour

Watching Jake's face as he realizes his last Christmas gift is a trip to Japan with his Dad

Lighting up the neighborhood on New Years Eve

 

And now for.....

Biggest Disappointments of 2012:

Obama's win

 

My eyesight - I finally broke down & got a pair of cute reading glasses

 

My body in general

 

April Fools joke failure

 

Teenager chore participation

 

Pinewood Derby

 

shattered dreams

 



Marlee's Varsity volleyball coach

 

Lack of hot chicks at EFY

 

My garden

 

Our tooth fairy

 

I'm still in Scouts

 

Gus still can't get his urine stream IN the toilet

 

 

 

Most Annoying Pets of 2012:

 

 

Kitty - for reasons too many to mention

 

Turbo



His poops are huge & he does this...

 

to my garden

 

 

Cutest Things Caroline Does:

 

Rubs her silky blankie edges



Her careful coloring

 

 

Her drama queen faces

 

 

 

Kid with the most cavities in 2012:

 

Gus  -  9 cavities

 

 

 

Brian's 2012 Concert List:

 

Muse

 

Young The Giant (2)

 

The Cult

 

Death Cab For Cutie

 

Earth, Wind & Fire

 

OMD

 

Echo and The Bunnymen

 

China Crisis

 

The Cure

 

Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera)

 

Donny & Marie Osmond Christmas Show

 

 

 

Favorite TV Shows of 2012:

 

 

The Walking Dead

 

Downton Abbey

 

 

 

Favorite 2-year-old of 2012:

 

 





 Caroline!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

 

Why is it that Valentine's Day these days seems to be more about elementary school class Valentines & parties than anything else?

I'm too busy putting the kids' Valentine crap together to bother with Brian! My poor, poor neglected sweetheart!!!  :)

 

 

So here's what we came up with this year....

 

 

We decided not to do this one. A little too disturbing. He looks like a cerebral palsy victim.

And then there's these guys....

 

Jake & his favorite Freshman girl, Yaz.

 

 

They're just adorable, right?

 

 

 

But here's what's really adorable.....

 

 

Melts my heart. :)



pink-eyed peanut

 

We've got pink-eye.

 

And I don't hate it.

 

It's a sure ticket home, without the misery or vomiting. I mean, who's going to send a kid like this to Nursery on Sunday? And guess who gets to stay home with her? See what I mean? I'm always up for a little break in the routine & a good excuse to not have to attend something I don't want to. You can't argue with it. It works for me.  I don't even mind when the other kids get it & have to stay home from school. It's fun.

And sometimes it's just fun to wake up with your eye glued shut every once in awhile.

I think I need a vacation.

 

 



Our 2012 Christmas card

 

 

 

 

Ta daaaaah!

 

 

 

 

Then the inside folds out to this....

 

 

 

 

 

And this on the back side....

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know Bahama Bucks sells snowballs?

60 snowballs in a styrofoam cooler for $12.99!  I was like, "I'll take 120!"  And we used every single one doing this shoot. For Family Home Evening one night. And yes, here in Arizona we have to buy our snowballs.

 

We got more of them to attack our neighbors with when we were delivering Christmas goodies.

 

Oh what fun!

 

 

 

Here are my favorites from the shoot:

 

(Watch Caroline, so happy & cooperative at first, not really knowing what's going on, until she gets plastered. I know. We are so mean. But all for a good cause. :))

 

 

 

 



Captain America and the Hulk

These are two of my adorable nephews.

 

 

Kellen

 

 

 

and Blake.

 

 

 

Also known as

 

 

Captain America and the Hulk.

 

 

 

 

We had a little photoshoot awhile back.

 

 

 

With a few of their favorite things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I thought this one would be perfect for a school picture.

 

 

Now who wouldn't want a karate-kickin' school picture?  Who???

 



The Man Cave photoshoot

 

This group of young men, also known as "The Man Cave" guys (after their basement hangout at one of their homes, which happens to be down the street from us), all graduated from high school last May and are one by one leaving on missions.  Several of these guys are in our ward & I could swear it was just yesterday that they were on their bikes on our street corner with their backpacks on waiting til everyone was there so they could all ride to junior high together. 

 

But just after graduation & before they all started going their separate ways, one of their moms thought to get a group picture, and asked if I could do it. The problem was, the following night at 10:00 was the best shot at having almost all of them there (one was out of town). So I left a space hoping to take a shot of the missing guy later & photoshop him in.  

 

So, can you tell which one was photoshopped in?......* 

 

I'm not so good at this sort of thing, so it was a photoshop triumph for me. And also just fun being a part of the Man Cave for a night.

Such a cute group of boys!
And I think they'll be glad to have these one day.


*Answer - bottom right :)
 

 

 



 

 

Another chapstick bites the dust....

I found this the other day.....

My bill for some screen-cleaning by Zane.

 

I must say, he does pretty good work.  I don't know what we would do around here without him.

 

Anyone need a good screen-cleaner?  I think he's available.

 



Merry Christmas!

All Gus wants for Christmas is.....

 

.... his two front teeth.

 

 

Not really.

 

Whenever I say this he's quick to tell me that's NOT what he wants for Christmas.  Like, why would anyone ask for teeth for Christmas?  He wants a red Razor Flash Rider, of course!



senior pictures jumpstart

 

For October Break this year, we took the 4 oldest to Seattle, where I tried to work in a little photoshoot with my favorite senior and take advantage of some real fall scenery.

 

 

How this girl is about to turn 18 and leave my nest I'll never know.

 

Doesn't it go by in a blink?



What's in my bag

In response to questions about what camera, etc. I use......

I'm a Nikon girl. It's what I've always used & I'm too invested to change, even if I wanted to.  I shoot with a Nikon D700.  My favorite lens would have to be my Nikkor 70-200 2.8G, but obviously can't be used in every situation.  Same with my Nikkor 85 1.4. Such beautiful lenses, but when I need something wider I have to use the Nikkor 24-70 2.8G. The 24-70 has a great, practical range, but I don't love it.  It's not as pretty.  I also have a super-wide, a Nikkor 16-35 4G, which can really come in handy & is fun to play with.  And then a 50 1.4G, which I use quite a bit, usually for indoor & low-light stuff.

I never use an on-camera flash.  But I do use strobes in my garage/studio.  I have 2 Profoto & 1 Elinchrom strobes & use a big (5 ft?) Octabox, among other light modifiers.  My backdrops are usually seamless paper rolls.

And for post-processing, I use Lightroom & CS5 & a random assortment of actions.  I still have so much to learn!!!


And of course I can't do a post without a picture.....

 

Caroline couldn't decide which hair accessory to wear today.

 

 

This has been a daily activity as of late.

I've got me a girly-girl and I'm  loving it!