Corn Belly's and Daddy dates!!!

We went to Corn Belly's this weekend, it was $1.00 opening weekend. We had so much fun. They have a princess section this year and Emma was in Heaven. Cayden loved the haunted dog lizard thing. I kept telling Emma it was scary and that she didn't want to go in, but she kept begging so daddy took them both through, and she thought it was so cool. It is just dark inside and you can hear the dog breathing, so there are no scary things inside. Cayden and Emma both loved the slides and the bouncy pillow. We had a lot of fun, Chuck has been really busy lately so it was so nice to spend some good family time together. Chuck took the day off on Friday to spend with us because I had 2 photo shoots and the Relief Society broadcast on Saturday so I was gone most the day.


We will not sit next to each other for a piture no matter what you bribe us with.







Saturday the kids had a Daddy Date with their daddy. Of coarse their are no pictures cause mommy wasn't there to take them. They got to spend the whole day with him and they had a blast. In the morning he took them to the park and then they had a picnic at the lake and fed the ducks. Emma kept telling me that daddy wouldn't let her get in the water, she was a little upset about it. Then they went to grandma's to play on her tramp. Chuck went out and jumped with them and played games with them. They came home for naps and after naps they went to Cabela's to see the animals and then went to Corn Belly's again. Since it was only a dollar Chuck figured he would take them again. I am so glad that they got a whole day with their daddy. They adore him and have really missed him lately. I was happy to get home, I always miss them when I a gone for a whole day. But, My photo shoots went great and I am really happy about them.

Uncle Benny and Auntie Rachael

Ben and Rachael came and stayed with us for a couple of days while Mom and Ron were in New York. My kids just idoloze Ben. Cayden wants to do everything that he does, eat everything he eats, and wear everything he wears. Cayden will even pick up little phrases that Ben says and start saying them all the time. Sometimes, like when it is, "What the Heck," I am not so happy about it. Emma is in love with "Benny" and wants him to hold her all the time. Ben is the youngest so he is not used to babies, so sometimes he doesn't know what to do with her. She will walk around the house saying "Benny, I need you" when she can't find him. He is so sweet and good with them. They also love Rachael so much, and have so much fun with her. She can always make them laugh. We loved having Benny and Rachael with us and we always have so much fun when they come to visit.

a few fun updates!

I have been so busy trying to get this business going that I have totally neglected my blog. We have been doing well. Chuck has been working like crazy to get ready for his commitee meeting with his graduate meeting so we haven't seen very much of him lately. He had his meeting two days ago and it went really well, he is still on track to be graduating in 2010. It has been hard for me and the kids, sometimes I feel like a single mom, but I guess that's pretty normal when your in grad school.

Emma is doing great she is so funny right now, she is obsessed with being pretty. I have tried really hard to not focus just on her looks. I try not to just tell her she's pretty but comment on things that are more important, like when she is being loving or making good choices. Anyway, she still is loving that she is pretty. She loves it when people tell her she is so pretty. And she will tell me everyday after she gets dressed and ready "Mom, I am so pretty today, I go show Cayden how pretty I am." And in her prayers last night she prayed that Heavenly Father would bless her to be pretty, and bless mommy to be pretty. I tried to have a talk with her, that this is not important, and we should pray for things that help us be a nicer person and more like Jesus. I don't think she get's it. Maybe this is normal for a girl. I hate how society makes girls so obsessed with their looks and I don't want her to be that way, espcially at such a young age. I hope I can teach her to feel good about herself for other reasons. Besides that she is just two, fiesty, bossy, independent, and emotonal. I swear she acts like a teenage girl sometimes. I adore her and have so much fun with her, but I have decided that one girl is enough for me. Boys are so much easier, she is so dramatic and emotional about everything. It makes me feel sorry for my mom who had a home full of 4 girls, hello estrogen.

Cayden is fun as ever, he loves school, and primary. He is really thriving intillectually right now. It seems like so many things that I have been trying to teach him are finally clicking, and he is getting it. He is a great big brother and for the most part is really good to Emma. I have a problem I NEED ADVICE on. Cayden is fabulous when he is at home with us or at school or church, he is kind and pretty obediant. But when he gets with his friends he is a little stincker. He and his friend ran away from the church the other night while I was at enrichement. They escaped and ran all the way home in the dark by themselves. He will lie when he is with his friends, which is a big deal at our house. He never lies except when he is with these friends. And last night he was at his friends house and they were playing out in the front yard and he threw a rock at a car. It made a dent the size of a quarter and scratched off a little of the paint, the people want us to pay to get it fixed, so that is like $200 bucks down the drain. I am making Cayden give me half of his allowence for 2 months to help pay for it. He said he wasn't trying to hit the car, he thought he could throw it over the car. I told him that I know it was a mistake, but we still have to be accountable for our mistakes and that is why he will have to help pay for it. Anyway, all this naughty stuff only happens when he is with his friends. I don't know what to do. I want him to have friends and be social, but I get irritated when I think they are having a negative impact on him and his behavior. Has anyone had this problem. I told him that if he can't make good choices when he is with his friends then he can't play with them, he is grounded for a week cause of all the stuff that has happened in the last couple of days. I told him that at the end of the week if he can show me that he can make good choices when he is with them, then he can play with them again. Am I too protective that I don't want him playing with friends everyday. I want them to be home and to be spending time together and with me. I want them to learn to love to be home, and not always having to go somewhere else to have fun. I want our family to be the biggest influence in their lives, not their friends. All the other kids in the neighborhood are out playing everyday, and sometimes Cayden is sad that I won't let him go out and play with them. I just don't want him to be playing everyday. Anyway, if anyone has any advice I would love some help with this matter. I guess this is just the beggining of many years of friend troubles.

Other than that I am doing well, I miss Chuck, he is so busy and is gone late a lot. Business is going well, I have 8 bookings for the next couple months, so I am excited about that. I only want to do 2 photoshoot a week, tops. I would love to do a Sat mor or evening, and one weekday evening a week. Any more than that would take me away from my family too much. But I really enjoy it, and I hope I can keep getting better as I have more experiance. Chuck was realeased as the Stake Sunday School president, they are reduing a lot of the stake auxileries. We were happy that he would be home more now. The day that he was released they called us both as ward missionaries. We go on visits one evening a week, it will be fun to be companions and go together. I am a little bit intimidated, but really excited to have a chance to share the gospel with others. Anyway, I will try to not let to much time go by before I update again, probly not many people made it past reading the first paragraph anyway, so am just rambling to myself now.

Urban Rain Photography my new business

As most of you know, I have always loved photography. My hobby started in college when I did a little business taking people's engagement pictures. Since then I have loved it and always wanted to start my own little business. Timing has never been right and I have always had little babies at home. Anyway, I can't get pregnant and my kids are getting older so we have decided that now is as good of a time as any. So I am officially starting my business. It is called Urban Rain Photography, and I am so excited about it. I really love photography, and capturing the special moments and looks in a child. I will be doing, infant, baby, children, and family photography. I would also love to do engagements but I don't want to do weddings. I would love for everyone to go check out my photography blog and let me know what they think about it. The link is www.urbanrainphotography.blogspot.com I hope everyone will go take a peek. I really want to build up my portfolio and get some more experience, and I would like to pay off my new equipment as soon as possible so I am offering a deal to friends and family or anyone referred by them. Until the end of the year I will do a 1 hour photo shoot for $50, I will retouch 10 to 15 of the best pictures and give you the CD of the Images. You can do with them what you wish. This will really help me to get some more experience and hopefully it will help others as well, because that is so much cheaper than going to a photographer and having to pay a lot for your prints. My prices will go up at the first of the year. This would be great for anyone wanting to do Christmas card pictures as well. Anyway, only hire me if you like my work, go check out my blog. I hope to get a real website soon, but I need some more examples for my gallery first. Hopefully I can help some of you. I am really excited and I hope that everything goes well. Thanks for all the support from friends and family, I love you all.

A little Late

This is a couple weeks late, but oh well. On Labor day weekend we went to the Lake with Chuck's aunt and uncle. Aunt Genie and I have always clicked, I feel like we are kindred spirits, even though we are years apart in age. We can always talk about anything, she is so wonderful. The boat was having hard time so we took the kids to the beach and floated in the raft. The kids were so happy to just be in the water. Genie loved watching the kids play. Genie was recently diagnosed with Lung Cancer, there is really not much they can do for her, and she was given 6 months to a year left. This was a rare day for her that she was feeling well enough to go out. I was so grateful for the chance that I had to talk with her. She is such an example of strength and hope. She has been through so much with her health and this has been just the icing on the cake for her. Through it all she has never lost faith. She has so much trust in our Savior and even though it is so hard to think of leaving this life she feels so much peace. I am grateful for her example in my life, I hope if I am ever faced with such a trying circumstance that I will handle it with as much faith and grace that she has. I know that her life is in the Lord's hands and I am grateful that we know that whatever happens is will be God's will. This has really made me think of how grateful I am for the atonement and the this gospel. How blessed I feel that we have a knowledge of life after death. That we know that death in not the end for us, we will see those that we love again. It is so comforting to have this knowledge.

Happy Birthday Amy

Happy Birthday to my Sister in law Amy. Amy is so special to me, she is one of my dearest friends and I truly feel like she is a sister, not just an in law. I here are some of my favorite things about Amy.
1. Amy was the one that reached out to me and made me feel really welcome when I joined Chuck's family. She made me feel like I wasn't an outsider.
2. She has always been there for me. She is the one I call when I am crying and upset. I can talk to her about anything and I know that she wont judge me.
3. She has one of the most giving and kind hearts of anyone I have ever met. She loves to serve others and is always thinking of thoughtful things that she can do for others.
4. She is one of the most fabulous mom's that I know. She is always laughing and playing with her kids, she makes sure they get a lot of learning time and she teaches them about Jesus and the Gospel. They are always doing such fun and creative things.
5. She had PCOS before I did, so when I was diagnosed with it, she helped my so much to understand what was happening with my body. She made me feel like I wasn't weird and different but that others understood what I was going through.
6. She has really good taste in everything. Her house is so cute and I can always call her for advice on anything from clothes to perfume.
7. She has never been critical of me. Even when we have had a disagreement she never makes judgements about who I am. She is always so accepting.
8. She is one of the strongest women I know. She struggled with infertility for so many years, and was so faithful through it all. Now her husband is in Afganistan and I know it has been so hard for her and her girls, but she has been such an example to me of strength.
9. She is so forgiving. She never holds a grudge, she will be upset for a couple of days and then she will let it go and never bring it up again.
10. She is a fabulous writer and I think she should write a book. I keep telling her too, but she doesn't listen to me. Even though i am always right. =)

I love you Amy, you are my best friend, sister, and confidant. You have been such a blessing in my life and I will always be grateful that we are sisters. I love you. Remember, the sun will come out tommorrow. It will.

Kids pictures

I'm never happy with the pictures I get of the kids at Kiddie Kandids so I decided to try some on my own. I think they turned out pretty good.

First Day of School!

Cayden and Riley are in the same class, it is so nice to be able to carpool to class

My little man started preschool yesterday. I have mixed feelings about this. I will love getting some time alone with Emma a few times a week, and I am excited for him to be making new friends and learning again. I am also sad, I think it was my sister Amy who made me realize that this is the begininning of the end. He started school last year and I didn't feel this way at all, but this year I feel a little bit of heart ache that he is leaving. I am realizing that this is the start of him being away. Soon He will be with others more than he is with me, his teacher's and friends will spend more time with him than I do. He will never just be home all day with me anymore. I know that most moms look forward to the day when their little ones go to school and they will have time for themselves again, and I am looking forward to that, but it is bittersweet. He is growing so fast and getting so smart and kind and funny. It wont be very much longer that he likes me just because I'm his mommmy, and that he want's to be with me all the time. I will have to earn his love and affections. I hope I am the kind of mom that he will still like to play with and spend time with, even as he grows up. I am so proud of him though and I know he will do great this year. Emma is really excited to have mommy and Emma time every other day, she has never really gotten consistent time alone with me, so this will be so good for her. Yesterday we played with her babies and put her babies in the baby stroller and took them for a walk, she pushed them the whole time. She is so motherly and sweet. Anyway, Cayden started school and we are so excited for this next year, I know he will grow and learn so much

A princess now.

So a couple of nights ago I was singing Emma a song before bed. She loves the hush little baby song. The end of the song goes "You'll still be the cutest little baby in town." After I finished this is how our conversation went.
Emma- "I am not the cutest little baby in town, I not a cute little baby."
Mom- "Ok, are you the cutest little big girl in town."
Emma- "NO mom, I am a princess."
(She has a book called "Princess Baby" so I asked)
Mom- "Oh, are you princess baby."
Emma- "NO, I not a baby"
Mom- "OK, I will call you princess Emma."
Emma- "NO mom, I am beautiful Princess Emma"
Mom- "Well Ok then."

Last night we were at my moms and Rachael kept saying you are so cute Emma, and Emma would get this mad look on her face and Say "I don't like that." It wasn't until Rachael would call her beautiful that she would be happy. I honestly don't konw where she learned all this. I have not raised her to be this way she just came out like this. She is so funny about this whole princess thing. It's funny because she doesn't just say things like this, she really thinks she is the boss of all of us. She bosses Cayden around all day and does not like it when I tell her what to do. She is so fiesty and independant, and I love her for it. My mom says she is just like me when I was a toddler. I guess I am in for a long road with this one. Maybe cause she is just like me I will be able to relate to her better, but I feel a lot more empathy for what my mom went through with me.