What I've missed.

So Kirsten came with me on my walk today. We walked for two hours. Other than a few blisters on our feet it was painless and fun. She's great company. She was firing questions at me and it made me realize that I've had a fairly uneventful life. Here's what I've been missing:

I've never been in a car crash.
I've never been stung by a bee.
I've never broken a bone.
I've never danced onstage. (The same can't be said for singing or acting though.)
I've never been scuba diving.
I've never been to Disneyland.
I've never been on television or had my picture in the newspaper.
I've never run a marathon.
I've never been to the opera.

I think I'll be okay if I never do get around to experiencing these things. Especially the bee-sting & the car crash. I wouldn't mind going to Disneyland or learning how to scuba dive though.

Sickies and Sunburns

The weather in Utah is an absolutely crazy phenomenon. We were having 80-90 degree days. The kiddos were playing in the sprinklers. We had our swamp cooler running constantly. Summer vacation started off feeling like, well - Summer.

The news reports said it would cool off this weekend. They were right.

Today it was a damp and chilly 50 degrees. I wore a sweater to Beth's baby shower.

Oh, and tonight I have a scratchy throat and am sneezing like crazy. Sickies! Goes well with the sunburn I got when I went on my walk yesterday. Fun stuff!

We made it.

Well, we made it through the first day of Summer vacation.

Brandon watched Elijah so that I could go for a walk. He slept in, watched TV and played a little Guild Wars.Kirsten bugged Brandon, slept in and went to Achievement Days. She says she worked on her room a little, but I'm not seeing the difference.
Little Vern didn't sleep in, but he did help with some cleaning. He also played Star Wars, watched X-Men 2 and played trains with Elijah.
Elijah ate pizza, played trains with LV, had a nap with mommy and danced to my mp3s.
His bonk is getting better. The swelling is almost gone and it's mostly in the yellow stage.

All of the kiddos came with me on a walk to the park.

Vern came home tonight not feeling well. Hopefully he's sleeping off his headache. His back has hurt enough lately that I'm worried that he's not going to be able to sleep. Days like this I wish we had a hot tub.

Besides, it would be a great way to end our day.

Go Taylor!

I couldn't go to bed without sharing my happiness that Taylor Hicks is the American Idol this year! I'm so glad he won.
Hooray! And Goodnight!

Been Busy

I've been taking lots of pictures lately for family members, and that has kept me busy. I'm hoping to get through proofing a bunch tomorrow that we took on the weekend, so there'll be some to share soon.

For tonight though I think I'll share a quick little list.

Five things that made my Tuesday:
1. We went to the airport with Kenyon this morning. Have fun in England Kenyon!
2. Brandon had a great day at Lagoon with his friends from school. What a fun way to celebrate the beginning of Summer vacation. Man, I wish we had field trips like that in my day!
3. Vern helped me transfer a bunch of my iTunes stuff to my mp3 player. Now I almost have everything loaded on there that I wanted. :)
4. I downloaded the family pictures we took after Kenyon's farewell on Sunday and am happy with how they turned out.
5. Taylor did great on AI tonight! We tried and tried but couldn't get through on the voting lines. I'm taking that as a good sign. Go Taylor go!

Double Bonk Baby

Elijah has had a rough 24 hours. Or at least his cute little noggin has. Last night he got whacked on the forehead with the heavy end of a lightsaber and recieved the scariest looking bump I've ever seen. We were really worried, but we just watched him all night and he seemed to be okay. It was looking much better this morning. Much of the swelling had gone down and he was left with a big L shaped bruise.

Then a little while ago he was walking into my bedroom and fell on his way through the door. Yep, he bonked his bonk. Poor baby.

Breaking Tradition

It seems that I don't blog on the weekends of late.
I sat down here with that in mind - hoping to break that tradition. I don't believe that there's more to say on a weekday. Maybe there's just a little more time.
In any case, here I am - trying to figure out if I have anything to say.
No, not really.

Just some random thoughts.

I have been doing just about everything to music since Mother's Day. Cleaning, cooking, walking, playing - I even go to bed listening to mp3s. This was a great gift! Thanks Vern :)
I've been getting out of the house more since it's been so beautiful outside. Our neighborhood is great for walking, and Slurpees are just minutes away. Mmmmmm... With everything green again and some snow still up in the mountains I've really noticed what a pretty valley we live in. I forget sometimes, I think. This is the view of the Wasatch mountains from the yard.
Another one of those makes-me-smile shots. Elijah has a great laugh. He's extremely ticklish too. Vern just has to look at him funny and he starts laughing in anticipation. This little guy is so much fun!

Making Faces

I have no idea why this picture makes me laugh so much, but it does. I wish he hadn't made the mirror so dirty while playing, but the faces he was making at himself were priceless.

Catching Up

Wow, it's been days since I last blogged. Let's see, what's been going on?
Friday: Kirsten's patriotic program (held at an outdoor pavillion) was wonderful. She sang her solo beautifully, acted her part well and danced her heart out. What a great way to close the performances for this year. Here she is getting ready to head onstage.
Saturday: We played a bunch with Julie & Kyle. That's my kind of day!

Sunday: There was a big Petersen family barbeque for Mother's Day & my FIL's birthday. It was a nice way to spend most of the day. The only bad thing about Sunday was that I didn't get to talk to my mom. I'd been looking forward to it all week and then it didn't happen. I thought about her all day and hope that she had a great day and somehow knew I was missing her and thinking about her. In all the years we've lived so far apart I've never missed the Mother's Day phone call. :( Hopefully she'll understand and we'll get to talk soon.

Today was another hot, Summery sort of day. We finally broke down and let the kids run through the sprinkler. They had a blast. Vern got the swamp cooler up and running, which made a nice difference in the house too.
There's just handful of days left of school for the kiddos. I'd say we're ready for some Summer fun.

One last dance

Well, my kids have one week left of school, and Kirsten is in one last recital this evening. It's their patriotic program. There will be no ballet pictures this time. Her ballet class isn't performing tonight. Her clogging class is and there's also choir and modern jazz. She was so excited when she headed to school today. I wish I could join in the excitement but have been battling a killer headache. Hopefully I can beat the headache and go be the photography mom one last time.

And since it's a pretty, sunny and hot sort of day here I thought I'd share a little sunshine. This is a favorite from when Vern & I went to Thanksgiving Point.

America, you got it wrong.

Dead wrong, dawg.

If you don't watch American Idol disregard this post. If you do then I'm betting you're shaking your head tonight too. Ugh.

Sunshine on a cloudy day.

I've been slacking in the blogging department again. Sorry, I haven't been feeling well.
Maybe some day I'll blog about the stuff going on in our lives, but today is not that day. Right now like I said, I'm not feeling well. This poor blog needed something though. Maybe a picture? Let's see...
How about a wedding day shot of Josh and Jill. It's their anniversary today! This was the first official wedding that Vern & I shot together. We were both still shooting film. Wow, I wish I knew offhand how many years it's been. I think it's their fourth anniversary. Yeah, four years sounds about right. I think it's safe to say that Vern's little sis and our favorite brother-in-law are doing well. I hope they get to celebrate!
We shot 15 or so rolls of Portra nc 36 that day, as well as some rolls of Ilford BW. Some things never change. lol I guess we never knew how to only take a few...
It was a stormy sort of day for a wedding, but we had an hour right when we needed it where the clouds broke above us and we had beautiful sunshine. Vern took this shot that shows the storm in the rest of the valley, while the sun shone just for us. It started to rain as we broke to head to the reception. We got wet as we ran the last little bit to the car. Talk about little miracles and answers to prayers. I love that he caught proof.

Have a great day!

Perfectionist Tendancies? Who Me? LOL

I wish I remembered where I first saw this, so I could give credit to the person who led me to this site. Sorry, whoever you are - and thanks for the link! It's a personality-type quiz that is both simple and in-depth. It is lots of fun if you like this kind of thing. I do. :)
My results were INFP. (I had a hard time when it came to choosing between the S & N -both fit to some degree. So maybe there's some ISFP in me too.) The opening line/title for the INFP set had me laughing though. It's perfect. Ha! Here's a bit of what it says about INFP personality types:

INFP
Questor/Healer — "I Never Find Perfection"
INFPs present a calm, pleasant face to the world. They appear to be tranquil and peaceful to others, with simple desires. In fact, the INFP internally feels his or her life intensely. In the relationship arena, this causes them to have a very deep capacity for love and caring which is not frequently found with such intensity in the other types. The INFP does not devote their intense feelings towards just anyone, and are relatively reserved about expressing their inner-most feelings. They reserve their deepest love and caring for a select few who are closest to them. INFPs are generally laid-back, supportive and nurturing in their close relationships. With Introverted Feeling dominating their personality, they're very sensitive and in-tune with people's feelings, and feel genuine concern and caring for others. Slow to trust others and cautious in the beginning of a relationship, an INFP will be fiercely loyal once they are committed. With their strong inner core of values, they are intense individuals who value depth and authenticity in their relationships, and hold those who understand and accept the INFP's perspectives in especially high regard. INFPs are usually adaptable and congenial, unless one of their ruling principles has been violated, in which case they stop adapting and become staunch defenders of their values. They will be uncharacteristically harsh and rigid in such a situation.

INFP Strengths
Most INFPs will exhibit the following strengths with regards to relationship issues:
* Warmly concerned and caring towards others
* Sensitive and perceptive about what others are feeling
* Loyal and committed - they want lifelong relationships
* Deep capacity for love and caring
* Driven to meet other's needs
* Strive for "win-win" situations
* Nurturing, supportive and encouraging
* Likely to recognize and appreciate other's need for space
* Able to express themselves well
* Flexible and diverse

INFP Weaknesses
Most INFPs will exhibit the following weaknesses with regards to relationship issues:
* May tend to be shy and reserved
* Don't like to have their "space" invaded
* Extreme dislike of conflict
* Extreme dislike of criticism
* Strong need to receive praise and positive affirmation
* May react very emotionally to stressful situations
* Have difficulty leaving a bad relationship
* Have difficulty scolding or punishing others
* Tend to be reserved about expressing their feelings
* Perfectionistic tendancies may cause them to not give themselves enough credit
* Tendency to blame themselves for problems, and hold everything on their own shoulders

I showed you mine, I'd love to see yours. :) It takes just a couple of minutes and I'm curious about what your results will be too. :)

Only 10?

Now this is a challenge I can finish in a matter of minutes. Sophia posted this challenge on her blog: "List ten food cravings that you easily cave in to! If there was one offered, you’d never turn it down."
1. Pepsi/Diet Pepsi.
2. Warm spinach dip. With chunks of sourdough. Mmmmmmm...
3. Caramels.
4. Still warm french bread. Mmmmmmm...
5. Vachon Flakies!
6. My SIL Wendy's chicken enchiladas. Yum.
7. Vivian's cream puffs. (TDF)
8. The vanilla bean cheesecake at TGI Fridays.
9. Fresh corn on the cob. (With real butter & lightly salted please.) Mmmmmmm...
10. Ice Cubes. Not the kind you make with water. These:

No sweetie, I didn't forget.

It just took me a bit to get to Kirsten's Easter program pictures. She's waited patiently for me to get around to uploading them. We finally got a peek tonight. Fun. :)
I'm still bummed that they didn't allow flash photography. It ended up being kind of cool to work with the stage lighting without my trusty flash. A challenge, but I'm always up for that. I had to try a few different things, but am mostly pleased with Kirsten's latest mini-album. lol (I have got to learn some self-control.)



One more - to the relief and excitement after a job well done. They did two performances that night and did an awesome job.
This was a program that shared the story of Easter - complete with it's full meaningful, spiritual message. It was beautiful.

Full Sun

Mid-day is the worst time to take pictures. Well, for most portraits anyway. The high-overhead sun casts harsh shadows and blows out highlights if you don't meter carefully. As a mom taking a picture of her own child though, does it really matter? Um, no. I couldn't resist grabbing a shot of Elijah at the park after lunch - full sun, socks & all. I do wish I'd pulled the socks off, but hey, you can't have everything.