Farewell, My Friend

Ben sold his beloved car last week. Below is my interview with him about this occasion:

Alicia: How long did you have your car?

Ben: Um....6 years, no, maybe 7.

Alicia: When describing your car, what color would you say it is?

Ben: It's maroon!!! It's not purple if that's what you're implying. I'll show you the title of the car, it's says it's maroon. (This was a long time fued between Ben and I).

Alicia: Okay, for the sake of the interview, I won't argue, but it seems to have a purple shade to me. Next question, what was your favorite thing about the car?

Ben: Hmm...that's a hard one. [pause] It got me where I needed to go.

Alicia: Dig deeper...what else? Did you like the stick shift the most, stereo, look of the car....what?

Ben: I don't know. It just got me where I needed to go?

Alicia: Moving on, what's your favorite memory of your car?

Ben: Our first kiss. No wait, probably our second kiss. Ya, definitely our second kiss! [Ben blushes].

Alicia: Good answer! What's your favorite trip you ever took in the car?

Ben: Let's see....probably Idaho Falls. That was fun, right?

Alicia: Very fun! Will you miss your car?

Ben: Not really.

Alicia: [Exasperated] WHAT???

Ben: Well, I'm not going to cry about it. (I cried about it the morning he drove off).

Alicia: Honey, there's nothing wrong with crying. Why don't you take a moment and go ahead and cry and then you'll feel better.

Ben: No, I don't feel bad about it at all. In fact, I'm just happy someone was willing to buy it.

Alicia: Okay, how do you feel about now driving my car?

Ben: [Shrug] It's fine I guess.

Alicia: What would be your dream car?

Ben: [He says this in all sincerity] To drive a car with less than 100,000 miles would be nice!

Alicia: Well, at least you don't have to drive a van!

My First Solo Photo Shoot

I just finished retouching the pictures from my first photo shoot! The newborn in the pictures is Levi and his mom is Alisa. He only weighed 5 1/2 lbs!!! He was also a c-section baby and had perfect tiny features. It was a lot of fun, but more stressful than I expected. There's a lot of pressure to capture each happy little moment and expression.

If you want to take a look at the pictures, go here. Please give me as much feedback as possible! I'm trying to figure out what my 'style' is and what other people like. The more comments, the better!

As always, thank you to Sarah for letting me borrow her equipment!!

18 Months Old!

Sadie turned the big 1 - 8 last week! It's hard to believe that it's been a year and a half since she was born, but at the same time it feels like she's been part of our family a lot longer than that, too. She's definitely revolutionized our lives with now new priorities, activities, and challenges. The first year was pretty tough, but life lately is pure joy. She's well-behaved (for the most part), happy all the time, becoming more social, going to sleep more happily, starting to sleep through the night again, playing more independently, and understanding us more and more. Whatever stress and difficulties she put us through the first year, she's more than making up for lately! Although she is a lot more spunky and emotional than Ben and I - she's the perfect fit for our family. I think she'll help to lighten us up and I know she'll keep us laughing through life. She is such a blessing!

(My favorite thing about Sadie is her bright eyes and her smile which she generously shares.)

(Sadie shown above dancing to 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'. She definitely inherited Ben's dancing genes!)

(Sadie has a slight obsession with carrying the laundry basket around the house and depositing treasures into it. )

(Above, Sadie is shown carrying my ForEyes bag as if it's a handbag. Again- she deposits all her little discoveries into the bag for safekeeping)

(Sadie can be seen above having a pensive moment.)

(Here Sadie is shown playing out back. Since our Utah trip she loves to run through the grass and 'outside' is one of her favorite words.)

(The face shown above means it's bedtime. Another delightful day in the life of Sadie is over. Many more still to come!)

(Pictures courtesy of Sarah's camera! Sarah - Thank you for always sharing what you have. Me and the D200 are in a love affair - I barely put it down all day yesterday!! Ben's feeling jealous.)

(Don't worry though - I treat it with the utmost care and kindness!!)

Look-a-Like Contest

These are the four grandkids on Ben's side of the family all born in the same year. Who do you think looks the most alike? The upper left corner is Logan, upper right is Sadie, lower left is Jadyn, and lower right is Derek.

My vote (you may wonder) is that none of them look a like. I think they are each uniquely different and I can't seem to pick out many overlapping physical features. It makes me wonder if my genetics teacher was telling the truth in class!

Trampoline Fun

Ben's family has had a trampoline for many, many years and it continues to provide hours of entertainment for us whenever we visit. Sadly, I did not get a picture of Cliffie doing her famous 'swivel hip' maneuver, but just know that she's got moves that are unbelievable for someone in their sixties! One day, hopefully, I'll get them on video!!!

Above: Natalie is shown doing her midair split. She is the highest jumper I have ever seen.

Aunt Desiree shown on her way up.

Desiree on her way down. (Note: Desiree, I hope you don't mind me posting this picture :) (Additional note: no one was injured in the making of this photograph - but it's still best NOT to try this at home.)


Ben is still able to effortlessly and gracefully do his flips and other stunts.Ben is shown above rejoicing that he did not break any bones.

Marissa rocks out as we wait for fireworks to begin.

Natalie's Homecoming

We always look forward to our yearly summer Utah trip, and this trip was especially neat because Natalie, Ben's little sister, just returned home from serving a mission in Rome, Italy. We were able to be their for her homecoming talk in church on June 28th. Ben's Aunt Nancy and Uncle Richard, who have been serving missions in the beautiful and wonderful place of Tampa, Florida, also gave their homecoming talks in church the same day.

Sidenote: Ben's family has a smart neighborhood setup - his grandma is their nextdoor neighbor on their west side, Nancy and Richard are on their east side, and his Uncle Vince had a house just adjacent to them. So, they all live in the same ward, mow each other's lawns, share their things, and get to visit with each other often. Cliffie has two other sisters and they live close by, too. But not close enough to be in the same ward.

Anyways, my estimation is that there were an extra 80 to 100 people in sacrament meeting that day to support Nancy, Richard, and Natalie. Many of them drove 3 or 4 hours to be there. His family is super supportive like that. We were able to visit with Ben's cousins, aunts, uncles, other relatives, and family friends. Joseph, Julie, and Christy also came to Heber. It was a really neat day.

Interesting facts about Natalie:

• She is an excellent cook
• Studying Interior Design at BYU
• Huge fan of BYU football
• Has put up with having 5 older brothers
• Loves children and is so good with them
• Currently works at a bank
• Has been diabetic since she was 15 months old
• She is the girl version of Ben
• Sadie looks a lot like Natalie did as a little girl
• Has been studying Italian for many years, even since before her mission

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

The past ten days we have spent visiting with family; enjoying their soft grass, cool nights, and magnificent scenery in good ole' Utah. At the beginning and end of the trip we visited with Christy, Joe, Julie and Quatro. The first day we went to a park by Ensign Peak and threw the frisby and football. Sadie absolutely loved and laughed her way through the hour we spent there, so on our return visit we took her back again. The park sits high against the hills and overlooks all of Salt Lake City. It's really breathtaking and the park is surprisingly unused.

(Above Christy and Sadie are seen on the ball field. Look at the view!)

(Joe tosses a ball to Ben. That's what brothers are for.)

(Joseph seen here smashing a ball to left field. He is in his element in the moment.)

(Cliffie came along for the festivities on our second visit. She was so kind to watch Baby Joseph in the shade so Julie could play, too.)

(Note here: I've never been able to get a fabulous picture of Cliffie and Sadie - after hundreds of attempts. This is the first picture I took of Cliffie and Baby Joseph and I think it's great. Why can't I get one like this for Sadie?)

(Sadie shown above loving every moment of the fun. She must have run a marathon this day. I think she thought we were having a giant Easter egg hunt.)

(Meanwhile Baby Joseph had fallen asleep. What a good baby he is!)

(Family Picture)


Much more of Utah to come! Still retouching the pictures....standby.