Bear Creek Park

I grew up playing at Bear Creek Park. It is the best park in town. It is a big wood play structure with lots of big trees to shade it. I will take better pictures of it next time. But the kids love it too.

Tanner was a tough one to catch. He was running around with new friends the whole time.

Running from aliens and bad guys and such. He is such a boy!

Insane

As you know, Nate and I are doing the Insanity workout program. We really like it. It is a good, HARD workout. I haven't lost much weight, only a pound, but I feel my endurance and speed are improving. I am toning up too. I've been doing it about 3 weeks. I am working out less with Insanity than I was in Idaho, by over an hour a day. If I add my hour long daily walk back in, maybe I would lose weight. I started adding some running into my routine though. I will tell you why below.

Tanner joined Nate for today's workout. :)

 I think Insanity is giving me the confidence to possibly take on this insane challenge. . .

The Grand Teton Relay. If it is divided up equally it is 15 miles per person, done in smaller increments. You run til it is done. It is a beautiful course and would be with some really fun friends. I am pretty sure I am going to do it, just need to officially pay up and commit myself.

Kid Time

Medford got a bit cooler since I lived here as a kid. They have a children's play place called Kid Time where they have TONS of activities for the kiddos. They do a music and movement program and crafts and have...well I will show you in pictures some of the fun things they have for kids to do.
They have a 3 years and under area. Ashlyn loved the ball pit. I just made this bow for here. Love the cork screw ones. I think I will make a bunch more. Oh, and see her two front teeth? Just broke through.

 Dallin played by himself at the lemonade stand for a good half hour.

Tanner was ALL over the place. He interacts with other kids a lot. Makes friends everywhere he goes.

 My cousin Chawna got a membership too. I think we will be at Kid Time at least once a week with Toki and Li, her two youngest. This is the water area.

 Dallin also likes to hoard the plastic food in a shopping cart. If you even come near it he screeches. 

Fun stuff!

Drew

 My nephew turned 1 recently.

 I got to take his pictures. He was the easiest kid ever to take pictures of. Always smiling.

 

See a few more here. 

Lovin' Oregon

I have been loving Oregon this time around. I didn't care for it when we were here in the winter. This time I love being outside. Love the beauty. The playgrounds. Having stuff to do. And people are more friendly than I remember them being when I was growing up here. It is probably because I have kids now. I went grocery shopping the other day and only had Ashlyn with me. She was dressed like the picture below. I think about 6 people/groups of people stopped to talk to me about her dress and headband, how cute she is, and one couple (lesbian couple, I think) even told me how beautiful they thought I was. Weird. My boys never got attention like this. Is it a little girl thing?

I am glad I am my kids' photographer. They are a tough crowd when they are together.

 

 Tanner, a typical boy. Riding a bike with a sword stored in the back of his shirt.

 

By the way, I completed my first week of the Insanity workout. It is strangely addicting. One of those workouts you have to psych yourself up for because it is torturous. But when you are done, the endorphins are flowing and you feel like you can do anything. I don't have too much to lose. I think 5lbs would be great, and do-able. I lost 1/2 inch around my hips and waist, and that was still eating ice cream every day. : ) I think I will cut out the ice cream and see how it goes next week.

Ashton photoshoot

I took pictures of this cutie before we came to Oregon. She was fun. Kept wandering off. She was just too cute though.You can see more at my photography blog.

 

Wild flowers

We made it to Oregon, and during my most favorite time of year. I love spring in Oregon. I grew up in the "forest", like Dallin calls it. I don't love being so far outside of city limits, but I DO love wildflowers. I think I will take the kids for a nature walk and photograph some flowers soon. They are only around for about 2 months. I took Aslyn out on the hillside and took some pictures of her in them.These purple shooting stars are probably most abundant where my parents live.

 

Some cuties

I know, a lot of photography posts lately. It's what I have been up to. Doing one more tomorrow before I hit the road, I mean sky. I am flying with the kids to Oregon on Wednesday. Nate is doing a clinical affiliation at Providence Hospital. He will come a week after us after finals are over. I am looking forward to a little break from Idaho. I get to hang out with family and oh yeah, I haven't mentioned, I am going to do the "Insanity Challenge" (the infomercial is cheezy, but you get the idea). Basically it is a 60 day workout program that is INSANE interval training. There is a nutritional plan that goes with it that I will follow loosely. Nate will do it too. I am hoping my cousin, Chawna, and sister-in-law, Paula will join me. ;)

Anyway, I got to take pictures of these dolls this weekend. Such cute girls. I have to say girls are my favorite to photograph.

 I was a little nervous to take these girls' pictures because the one below was the very first I took. When you tell her to smile, this is what you get. Adorable in it's own way, and definitely should be remembered, but not something you necessarily want to hang on a wall. Luckily we got "Rapunzel" smiles out of her later.

Pettingill's pictures

These are some of our best friends here in Pocatello, and they finally let me take their family pictures. It stinks that I am leaving before it gets pretty in Idaho. We went to this park that is beautiful in the Spring (hey wait it is spring. Idaho get with it!) and Summer, but all we got were dead branches. Oh well. They are a beautiful family so they made it work.

I am so happy this little guys knows me. I don't think he would give these smiles to just any photographer. Oh, well, I guess it was his best bud, Tanner, who was helping get those smiles. I bring Tanner sometimes when I think he can help kids smile. He can either help or hinder.
You can see my photography blog for a few more.

Still on a Dallin kick

I love the way little kids speak. In this video he is telling me what he wants for breakfast.

 

Hurry bunchies bunchies of boats.

Dallin these days

What a silly kid. Look at these faces. See these eyebrows? He has more expression that any kid I know. He has been a very independent 2 year old and he wanted to take his shirt of by himself. He got a bit tangled up though.

 I told the boys to get dressed and this is what Dallin came up with.

See this box he is sitting on? It is our "Bummer Box". We got the idea at our Parenting with Love and Logic class. If the kids misbehave and need a toy or anything really taken away it goes in the "Bummer Box", They will have to earn them back with chores.We have a few in there. Guess we will see which toys mean something to them.

Boys will be boys?

Ok, I know that boys are crazy, but this crazy???

Seems like all of the sudden Tanner and Dallin are misbehaving more than usual and it doesn't make any sense because Nate and I have been taking a Love and Logic parenting class for the past month and implementing what we are learning. I feel like we have been parenting better and a lot of it has been working. They did say in the class that it gets worse before it gets better.

I know it is silly to photograph your children's bad behavior, but sometimes you just want to be able to show them later the kinds of things they would do. Hey, maybe they just love getting their picture taken and know that doing something dumb will bring out the camera? ha ha

Anyway, Tanner and Dallin needed to take separate baths because Dallin has Strep on his bottom (for a second time), I know, too much information. We didn't want him to pass it to Tanner. Dallin wanted to be in the bathroom with Tanner while he took his bath and eventually ended up in the tub clothes and all.

  Then, I had just finished the laundry but it still needed to be put away. My boys had some friends over and they thought it would be fun to throw all the clean clothes down the stairs. In addition to those clothes they emptied their dressers onto the stairs as well as some dirty laundry. I know, I said I just finished laundry, but we dirty clothes very quickly around here. Took hours to put away because I made them do most of it.

 And Dallin likes to beat up his sister now. The other day in the car he had a toy gun and he shoved it in her mouth and made her gag and then cry for a really long time. She isn't very forgiving I am finding. I know, I am horrible for not stopping Dallin from pushing on Ashlyn's head. At first he was just pretending to give her a blessing.

And about an hour ago, Tanner told me that Dallin just colored on his wall with a crayon. This is their nap time, so I said I will take care of it after their naps. I go upstairs to check on them and Tanner was coloring on his wall with the crayon he took from Dallin.

 I made Tanner and Dallin handwash the floor for coloring on walls. I had to paint over the crayon and that would have been too much fun for Tanner.

Ashlyn video and other stuff

Has anyone else noticed that you video your younger kids much less than you did your first? I have significantly less videos of Dallin as I do Tanner and this is my first of Ashlyn, I think. She does this cute thing with her tongue.

 Babies are so angelic when they sleep.

 I love these blue eyes. I could look into them all day.

Nate caught Dallin copying Ashlyn sucking on her feet. Pretty silly.

First maternity shoot

I asked my sister-in-law, Michaela,  if I could take her pictures. I haven't taken maternity pictures before. She is gorgeous so it was easy. Never had to pose her or anything she is a natural model. She is about 27 weeks pregnant. I played around a lot with my editing. You may or may not like them, but I had fun.

See the rest at my photography blog.