More Photo's

It's been a beautiful fall, and everyone wants some pictures. Here's a few I've been working on.


The Hardy Family. I haven't done any editing to the Hardy pictures yet. I should probably wait to post them, but oh well.


The Hardy Girls



Jim and his girls.



Jaydee and Logan








This Pierce Family. I love these guys.

"Do I have lipstick on my teeth?" I love Anna!
This one is just funny. These kids love to have their picture taken.

The Pierce Kids

Tina, Kanin and Korbin - Kanin couldn't hold still for more than 1.5 seconds. It's hard to be a 2 year old.
Rather than force the kid to sit still, I decided to just capture his spirit. He is such a fun little boy. Korbin's Kissy Face This one I like to call "Children of the Corn". Nice face Rylee.

The Dreaded Photo Shoot

Honestly...what is wrong with the camera's at every drivers license division in the world? Have you ever met anyone who takes a good drivers license photo? If you do, count yourself lucky, because it is a rare and glorifying moment when one likes the photo on their drivers license.

Today was renewal day, and I was feeling pretty cute. Actually straightened the hair and put on some mascara. Then Carla and I headed down to Jamestown for our renewal photo session. (We both have Oct. birthday's, so in the interest of saving the planet, we car pool.) On the way down, Carla informs me that she never takes a bad drivers license photo. She claims that she never, ever looks good in a regular photo, but thinks she pretty hot on the old license. I seem to like mine with either one eye closed, or some orange hue radiating from my face. So, it's photo time, and Carla goes first. Poor thing, she didn't know what was coming with me in the room, but I got the giggles. I started laughing so hard I was crying. The ladies behind the counter were glaring at me, and that just made me laugh harder. So poor Carla's photo is one of those "I'm trying very hard not to laugh faces," and that's never a great look. Of course mine was worse. I had just laughed so hard I cried. My eyes are red, my face is blotched and I'm still fighting the giggles. So much for making an effort to look good. Lucky for you all, I don't have a scanner, so you don't have to be subjected to the horror of my Drivers License photo.

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower

The leaves are in full bloom and it's beautiful. I really love fall, except for the sense of foreboding about the coming winter. I haven't taken any fall pictures of my family, but to demonstrate the beautiful color, here's a family I shot last weekend. I'm going to have to get my girls out there before the leaves are all gone and everything turns to ice.

Skyler in Alaska

Sklyer and Stephanie have been in Alaska for the last couple of months working for a company called Del Sol. I'd say it was the experience of a lifetime. The just found out today that they will be spending the next few months working for the same company in St. Thomas. Look like I'll have to go to the Caribbean for Christmas! I wish. Anyway, here's a few pictures from their Alaskan adventure. Did I mention how jealous I am?








This video was posted on youtube by Skyler's friend Bryan. They are in Juneau, Alaska and were exploring some ice caves in the glacier. The video is mostly Brian, but there are some good still shots of Skyler and Stephanie and you can hear Skyler talking and laughing in the background. Anyway...kinda cool. Besides, I just love my brothers! This one is Brian again, watching bears right near where he and Sky live. I guess they see stuff like this a lot.

Happy Birthday Grandma Muir

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful grandma 2 girls could ask for. Who else is there that will let them drink from a bottle and eat ice cream for breakfast? Who will take them to movies and giggles with them like she's one of the kids? Oh, how my girls miss their Grandma Muir. Just saying her name puts a smile on their face. Thank you Debbie for all your love and support, through the good times and not-so-good times. You welcomed me into your family when I was feeling pretty down about myself, and you have never made me feel anything but special. I have lots of great memories with you. Gossiping over desert. You teaching me how to bathe my newborn. Shopping for maternity clothes. Going to see "Cold Mountain". And many times, just enjoying my kids together. Thank you for raising the son you raised. Thank you for loving my girls so much it hurts. And thank you for making me a part of you wonderful family.

GWO - Girls Weekend Out

For several months, some of my girlfriends and I have been planning our weekend away. Lynette had been to this beautiful vineyard in Minnesota and heard about their annual "Food and Wine Festival" in September, and the plans were made. We rented a house on a lake just outside of Alexandria, MN and headed to the Carlos Creek Winery's Food and Wine Festival. While wine is not my thing, the food and festival part definitely called my name. Nine of us loaded into 2 cars for the 3 1/2 hour drive on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day in Carrington, but not so much in Alexandria. After we checked into our gorgeous lake home, we set out for the vineyard, in the rain and mud. There were about 300 vendors selling their goods (think Swiss Days, all you Utah people), but it was raining and freezing. After braving the weather for about an hour, we had enough of the vineyard and decided to do some regular shopping in downtown Alexandria. It was such a fun girls day, despite the rain. Browsing antique shops and boutiques. Giggling like a bunch of little girls. After a few hours of shopping, we went back to the house to dry off and then headed out to dinner. The restaurant we choose was PACKED. Hour and a half wait for a table, but we waited and then had a great meal. They had pool tables and fooze ball to make the wait more enjoyable. After dinner it was back to the house for a slumber party. How long has it been since we had a slumber party? It was great. We were all in our pajamas, playing games and gossiping until the wee hours of the morning. Here's a few pictures from the trip. This is all of us enjoying a slight reprieve from rain. Anna, Rene, Patty, Carla, Faye, Angela, Lynette, and up front is Stephanie and Me. It was one of those self timer shots and I think the look on my face is "is it going to work?" This is Anna and Carla "hooding up" to run through the rain and mud. Our house. All those windows looked out onto a gorgeous lake. Angela, Anna, and I engaging in a friendly and long game of pool. It took us forever to finish, because we suck! A very competitive game of Fooze Ball. Much yelling and screaming ensued during this game. We had all kinds of people watching and cheering for us. Back at the house, in our pajamas, listening to Faye sing.
This was our view from all those windows. Some sunshine would have been nice, but it was beautiful anyway.

Fun with Papa

Well, as I noted in my last post, Ryan's dad Randy came up for a visit. Well, we all know the real truth. Yes, he loves his grandchildren, son, and especially his daughter-in-law, but, it is hunting season, and Ryan does come by his obsessions genetically. Unfortunately, they were home from hunting so late at night, that I was not in the mood to stumble out of bed with my camera, slip on a sweatshirt, and head out to the front yard in my pajama's for photo time. They had a great time hunting though. It's fun to see father and son enjoy each other.


The girls also enjoyed Papa's visit. He ate lunch in the cafeteria at school with them twice (quite bravely I might add) and even let them play "A Day At The Spa". He caught some basketball, and did some of the running for me (to school, to dance, home from school, etc.) I know I mentioned the love of hunting that is genetic, but did I mention the lack of maturity that also seems genetic? It looked like Ryan had him for awhile there, but in the end, Randy's incredible wrestling skills and the old "Wedgie Tactic" had Ryan crying mercy.

Happy Birthday Papa Randy

This post is a little late, but in my defense, we were busy bowling with the Birthday Boy. That's right, Randy was here for a visit over his birthday. We couldn't just let the day pass without some good old family rivalry. The girls are working on their form. What do you think? Pretty cute! And in the interest of family rivalry. I'd like you to note who had the high score. And I will forever stick to my story that it's harder to bounce the ball off the bumper in just the right spot for a strike, than just rolling it straight down the middle.

Basketball

Brookie's crazy basketball schedule has sure kept us running. Here's a few pictures from one game.
OK. So you can't actually see Brooklyn (number 10) in this picture, but I love these huddles. Coach Braaten is so good with the girls. Down on his knee so he is eye level. He addresses each girl, looks them right in the eye. They all really feel like his favorite. It shows in their playing too. They're unbeatable. Brooklyn has been able to score a few points, but her strong point is definitely defense. If she's guarding you...you don't stand a chance. (Is it wrong to brag about your kids? I don't think so. :) You really have to give the kid credit. Basketball is a huge deal in ND, and Brooklyn doesn't get any help at home. Most of these kids grow up playing ball and knowing the rules, but Ryan and I are clueless when it comes to hoops.

I'm supposed to be working from home this morning, but as you can see, I'm not very work motivated when I'm at home. It's just hard to argue with insurance companies when I'm in my pajama's, listening to good music, and folding laundry when the dryer buzzes. I'd never make money in one of those at home jobs. I just wanted to say, I just ate the best apple. I know, I'm weird, but a few years ago I had never heard of Pink Lady apples. My friend Laura brought me one, and I've never been the same. I can't get enough. They are a little more pricey, but oh so worth it. So, if you are sitting around in your pajamas today, like I am, go get a Pink Lady. It really is one of the simple pleasure.

We're still here

I know it's been awhile, but life is like that sometimes. I'll try to recap the last 2 weeks.
The first week of school was great. The kids rode bike to school...I only followed them across the highway, and then they were on their own. They think they don't need me anymore. Brooklyn started basketball. I'm not sure what we've gotten into with this basketball thing. I was thinking 5th grade basketball wouldn't be such a big deal, but she has practice for 1.5 hours after school everyday. Last week she came home with a game schedule and it's crazy! A lot of times there are 2 games a week and 1/2 of them are away. Away in North Dakota means a lot of driving. We're also finding that 5th grade school work is much more intense than 4th grade school work. They have officially graduated from a lot of work sheets, to everything being done out of the book. So, poor kid, she gets home from basketball at 4:30 or 5:00, eats and does homework till 8:00. She's completely pooped. Not to mention that her back pack weighs about 100 pounds with all those books. I'm really not complaining here. She loves basketball, and she loves her teacher, and is so far, having a great year. We're just going through an adjustment period. Starting this week she will get a study hall period, so hopefully some of the homework will be finished up then. She also informed me that she will have the dreaded "maturation lessons" this year. At first I was like "What! You're only in 5th grade!" But then I remember going to the class when I was in 5th grade. She and I have already done a lot of the talking, so it won't be all new to her. She asked if she had to go, since we had already talked. I said yes you have to go. And like the typical 10 year old, she blushed and giggled. I remember sitting in the back of my own "maturation program" with my girl friends and thinking the diagrams were hilariously disgusting. I also remember getting in trouble for laughing and talking. Aside from basketball and school, guitar and dance also start this week. Remember when your kids were babies and you thought it would be easier when they were walking, feeding themselves, talking? It's not easier. I think it gets harder everyday.
Rylee is doing great. Loves here teacher and is still the social butterfly. Phone starts ringing off the hook at 3:30 with "Can Rylee play?" requests. Rylee keeps her room clean, does her homework right away and loves to study for tests. She has her first social studies test this week and she knows her stuff.
I'm busy as usual. I took 2 weeks off from aerobics and painted and decorated my aerobics room. It's so fun! I hate to paint, but I do love color on the walls. Also been overwhelmed with paperwork at work. Blue Cross Blue Shield is beginning a program where they will reimburse their members $20.00 of their fitness center dues if they work out 12 times in a month. What an awesome program, however, for the only employee of a small time gym, it's a ton of work! I'm hoping that after this week I will have all the wrinkles ironed out and it will be smooth sailing. Also, dance started last night. Yes, I know I'm crazy for starting on Labor Day, but I need to have 32 practices in before April 4th, so we're off and running. My littlest girls have the cutest outfits this year. Pink Leo's with Pink Tutu's and silver sequins. I can't wait for them to perform and all the people to go "Awwww" as the walk on the floor. Our first routine with that group is to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and they are so cute! Rylee's age group had 2 boys register. I'm so excited to have boys. I have to credit shows like So You Think You Can Dance and America's Best Dance Crew, because in a town like this, dance is for girls. These 2 boys are going to be great. They have such fun personalities and they really know how to move. With Brooklyn's group, and my oldest group, I'm kind of being the mean dance teacher. They talk so much that it's hard to get things done. So I started this year by putting my foot down. Aside from just learning routines, I'm having them do a lot of conditioning and technique. I had a lot of sweaty and tired girls last night (me included.) The last thing I'm involved in right now is Carrington Healthy Communities Committee. In small towns, everything is run by this committee or that committee and there are only so many people to man these committee's. I have been on various other committee's in the past, but have decided to go with this one, as it tends to be something I'm passionate about. This week, as part of the Healthy Communities, I'm starting a kid fit program at the elementary school. It's an after school program for kids to get some exercise. When the weather is rough up here, there's no going outside. So I'm trying to show these kids other ways to be active.
Ryan is in his element right now. That is to say, hunting season has begun. Not that it ever really ends for him, but Friday was the big kick-off. Here's how Ryans hunting season go...We start late August with the Bo hunt, during which he can shoot one buck and as many doe as he wants, so he never really stops Bo hunting till January. Then it's the dove hunt, the goose hunt, the duck hunt, the pheasant hunt, the chucker hunt, the rifle hunt, the muzzle loader hunt. All this takes us into January. In January we start hunting coyotes. Then it's ice fishing season. Ice fishing takes us into April, where we start the snow goose hunt. After snow geese it time for regular fishing which brings us into late July. In late July we start scouting for deer and hanging tree stands in preparation for the Bo hunt. Beginning of August is the early goose hunt. And then back to the Bo hunt. When the Bo hunt starts, Ryan always says, "I'm going to be hunting a lot the next few weeks. Are you guys going to miss me?" And I reply, "When have you stopped hunting? I don't see a difference." He's also very fond of informing me that he just likes to provide nourishment for his family. He claims that it's really just a lot of work to make sure we are eating well! Ha! We certainly moved the the right state. He did get a buck yesterday. (Good to know we won't starve.) It's not a great picture and when I went to get a better shot, my camera battery was dead. It's not the hugest buck, but it has a very unique rack (or so I'm told.) I wanted to get a better picture of the unique rack, but batteries weren't cooperating.
My FIL, Randy, is coming up this weekend to get in on some of the hunting action, and Ryan can't wait to hunt with his dad. Should be a fun time.
Anyway, that's our story right now. Busy enjoying life. I'll end with a couple pictures of Daddy's girls, getting ready to goose hunt. (It was a glorious night. They went hunting. I ate Mac and Cheese (my favorite) all by myself while I watched reruns of Deadliest Catch. Then I went to the movies with some friends.)