Malu.

 

Malu. Malu. Malu.

We finally got some updated photos of Malu (my husband’s younger brother)!

This kid is ridiculously talented. I’m pretty sure I’ve bragged about him before, but you should hear some of the music he writes! And he’s a natural athlete. This kid can juggle a soccer ball like Ronaldinho. He’s a natural comedian – SNL material for sure!

Once, a classmate of his told him that he looked like Jacob Black, and he responded to her with a, “So, you’re saying I’m handsome?” Yah, he knows he’s tall, dark and handsome!

Enjoy!

Schools Out!

School is officially out. It’s going to be a party this summer!  My husband’s two youngest brothers are here and my youngest brother and sister are here visiting for the summer! We have ages 17, 15, 15 and 13. Oh yes, and I have two little boys of my own… :)

The key is order.  We went over the chores for the summer, and expectations, the rules… basically getting on the same page to have our home run smoothly and keep everyone contributing and having a good time! They’re all good kids though, so it really isn’t half as stressful as it could be.

I really do love summer time in Utah!

Just one of those days…

Today has been one of the days.

I realize that I don’t appreciate my husband enough.

The sunshine is hiding behind the clouds.

My car battery is dead, and I don’t have the energy to do anything about it.

I wasted away 2 hours of my life on the LOST Finale. I’m so relieved it’s over. Now, I can move on with my life.

I’m veryveryvery much looking forward to Girls’ Night tonight. Letters to Juliet should lift my spirits, and the grilled shrimp from Applebees will be icing on the cake. I need to recharge my batteries.

Just a little bit.

Then I can take on the world again.

Thanks goodness for Chocolate.

Like I said, it’s just been one of those days.

Elder Tyler Cram

 

My brother, Tyler, enters  the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah tomorrow. We got a few shots, just for fun, before he leaves. Believe  it or not, this field was covered in snow the next day (but it’s all melted and gone now… weird Utah spring weather!)

We are so proud of him. He will be a great missionary!

Walked and walked and walked and walked…

I’m exhausted.

I’m exhausted, because I walked and walked and walked.

Around the zoo.

With my kids.

And my brother and sister!

I am thrilled  that my parents and 3 of my siblings are here in Utah! They arrived last night and the time is already going by too quickly! 

The weather was cold.warm.cold.warm.hot.cold.warm.WEIRD.

Welcome to Utah, I guess! Summer is fighting and I’m on summer’s side! Let the good (even HOT) weather begin! I love summertime in Utah. It makes the 8/9 months of winter worth it.

Seriously!

He’s happy about it too. :)

But I’m exhausted. All that walking did me in.

But I would do it again tomorrow.  (But won’t, because Old Navy is having their $1 Slipper sale -or flipflops… whatever you want to call them!- and my brother, Tyler, is having a very very special day tomorrow before he goes into the Missionary Training Center on Wednesday!) Here’s hoping for good weather, but if it has to rain, can it be warm, tropical-ish rain, please?!

Kaua’i.

Here are a handful of my  favorite images from my stay on Kaua’i in April. Despite popular belief, it wasn’t your stereotypical vacation, after all, I was traveling with my two boys! According to Grace from Modern Family, that would be considered a Business Trip. :D

I was really just there visiting my parents and siblings.

They just happen to live in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I guess I have a thing for mountains. And GREEN. And Rain. And Sun.

And Warmth.

Please don’t forget the warmth!

I have so many images from Kaua’i but you’ll have to forgive me, I am not sharing them all. If you’re a personal friend of mine, you’ve probably already seen them on Facebook… or our family blog. You can see why I am trying to be considerate and not flood my social sites with the same pictures… it’s too much work.

I absolutely love the color of the ocean on a sunny day!

Just ‘cause

I don’t have a picture to share. I just wanted to say hello.

Hello!

I don’t “talk” enough here.  Or anywhere else, for that matter.

So here’s my kick-started attempt to let  you get to know me. I’m letting you into my life. 

Did you notice my revised watermark? I love it. Thanks, Shem for teaching me how to create a decent png! Seriously, I thought I was computer savvy, but I could not figure it out for the life of me! Believe it or  not, it was a simple concept, I just needed someone to show me!

I realize that I don’t write much on here because I am worried about what you all will think of me. It’s true. And I don’t want to offend anyone. But  I really shouldn’t be worried about something so trivial.  You’ll love me, not care about me, or hate me. And that’s okay. I’ve been inspired, and have decided to use this blog for more than just displaying my favorite photos.

Wish me luck. I can barely keep up on our family blog.

I’ll need it.

And I will be back soon. Like, really soon.

Someone (well, 2 someones) are going to win complimentary photo shoots tomorrow night at  our ward’s Relief Society Service Auction!  Stoked.

Girls Night… a photo shoot adventure.

  

Meet Tiffany, Brittani and Amber. They’re my friends. (Yes, I have friends and it’s awesome!). Sorry guys (if there are even any single men who read this, lol), these ladies are happily married with really really cute kids!

We decided to have a girls night and I suggested *ahem* that we have a photo shoot!  Each of their reactions were the same, hesitant,  “Uhhh… really? okay…” I had to get them as excited as I was!  All of these girls are super fun and beautiful! I knew they would have a blast  once they decided to!  I even suggested they watch a few episodes of America’s Next Top Model to get inspired… lol.

I know it’s a little difficult for moms to have all the attention, but freaking-A (what does that even mean, anyway?) they deserve it! I think we figured out that the last time they had had a photo shoot (that wasn’t with their children/family- just them!) was either their Senior Portraits in high school or Bridals when they had gotten married! They were so due. And I was itching for a photo shoot. It all worked out great!

We laughed so hard (you know when your head starts hurting because you’re using those random muscles in your jaw – yeah! That.much. laughing!) and just went with it. It  was so much fun for me to observe and capture the different personalities and see this side of them! And I was thrilled to get some stunning portraits all the while! We were anticipating some rain and darn it – the rain didn’t even come! We were (okay, I was) up for anything!

I’ll do it again. Hopefully, those who couldn’t join us this time will see how much fun it can be and want to be there next time (and I won’t even say I told you so…)

And hey! If this looks like something you might want to do with some of your girlfriends, let me know! I’m sure we can work something out! It’s really that much fun.

Really.

Really.

Fun.

A little something I wanted to try…

Megan’s Headshots {Utah/Kaua’i Portrait Photographer}

Here is Megan’s second series of headshots. Incase you forgot, Megan is my sister. ;)  You may have noticed that I am in LOVE with this lighting and white background. Yes, in love. I’m thinking of doing a Facebook Profile Picture “Party” (or something similar) with this set  up.  Waddaya think? I think it could be come crazy fun. But that’s me.  I would love to know what you think!