Overheard on a Sunday Morning...

Once upon a time there was a family...

A family of TORPEDOS!!

And there were 3 brother torpedos and a big ol' daddy torpedo.  Mostly the daddy torpedo showed up to yell "STOPPIT SONS, THAT'S DANGEROUS!!!"

But then there was a crisis because aliens landed and attacked...Iowa.  So the torpedos dashed off to rescue Iowa.  It was a very noisy battle.  There were many explosions.  Spit, I mean, shrappnel was flying everywhere.  The aliens were vanquished, and left in a hurry.

But then there was a problem because one of the torpedos decided NOT to invite another torpedo to his birthday party.  Negotiations were tense and almost tearful.  Finally Mommy intervened.  Now we have a family rule that all torpedos are invited to all parties.  Happiness ensued.

And you thought they were just pool toys...

Danielle's 9 Month Pictures

Momentous day!  Danielle is now 9 months old. 

Such bright blue eyes, such a trusting expression

Nicely Framed by the Mesa Temple

This is a good capture of her personality.  She delights in being delighted, and smiles so easily...as long as I hold her...constantly.

Her lovely features--a cupid's bow on her lips.

"Whacha doin laying on the ground, Mom?"

"Trying to seize the day, Love."

"You're just lucky I'm too young to be embarrassed of you in public."

"Exactly my point, my dear."

So, nine month milestones:

• She has been out of the womb longer than in it
• I am supposed to be back to prepregnancy weight.  (So close!  Just 3 more pounds...)
• It is time to start freaking out a little that she is not crawling. (Or is it?  My boys may have skewed my perspective--they were all soooo eager to get going.) What do you think?

And most importantly of all, I need to really just enjoy her even more, because the next time I turn around, she will be out of the baby stage, and become a vivacious toddler (which is also cool, but still).

Happy Easter!

Inspiration here and here. 

Introducing Holly

This is my friend Holly.  Isn't she lovely?

You'll never guess how many kids she has.

Six!  Six little ones. 

She has lots of responsibilities.

And yet she still has time to have fun and be silly.

She leads a balanced life.  She is giving and selfless, but also takes good care of herself.

 

My 3 favorite things about Holly:

1.  She is a good listener.  You have to be a little careful around her or you'll find yourself pouring out your deepest darkest secrets with little or no provocation.  There's something about those green eyes!

2.  She is funny.  The only pictures from this photo shoot I had to delete were the ones where she was saying something funny after I told her she looked lovely.

3.  She makes motherhood look good.  Motherhood does NOT equal FRUMPY DUMPY AND GRUMPY! We need more motherhood ambassadors like her.

One more thing...this is a woman who has her priorities in order!  She is a Mother in Zion.

Macro! Vote For Your Favorite.

Most of my posts are about my family, or about me.  But THIS post is about YOU.  I've taken all these macro shots.  And now it is up to YOU to define yourself.  Are you the kind of person who goes nuts for a divine yellow flower?  Or are you more a closet bird-watcher?  Maybe patterns in nature get your seratonin flowing.  Decide, and then let the world (or at least me) know. Vote for your favorite in the comments and I'll do a special happy dance just for you.

(Click on them to see full size.)

#1 Beckoning

I like how I can almost feeeeel the texture of the petals.

#2 Fauna

This bird was so tame!  I was about 6 inches from it when I took this shot. 

#3 Crystal Fortress

I love water.  Water is amazing.  People who "don't like water" need to fast more often.

#4 God's Eyes

Notice how not a single flower is perfect, but they are still beautiful.  Just like us.

#5 Crown Princess

I have absolutely nothing to say about this photo.

#6 Fragrant

Sweet Alysum.  My mother used to say that I was named after this flower.  She called me "Sweet Alysumbeth."  There's a shortage of teeny tiny flowers that are always in bloom and have a sweet scent.  Sweet Alysum is the answer.

#7 Fractal Attraction

I wasn't going to say anything...but that's just, just NOT my style, is it? 

This one is my favorite!  I vote for this one!

#8 Supernova

That is a naturally occuring water drop, I promise!  Although I might've squirted it with my water bottle if it hadn't already been wet.  I have very few qualms, I guess.

#9  Refreshing

Hopefully this is not marijuana.

#10 Eruption

Danielle's first tooth.  I missed a lot of sleep for this shot.

The photographer

"Has anyone seen my keys?  I thought they might be behind this palm tree."

You can't vote for this one.  (I'm looking at you, Mom.)

This Beach is NOT for Sissies

We went to a really interesting beach while we were in California.  It wasn't the kind of beach where you wade in up to your waist and splash around.  It was very rocky, and exciting!

From what I could tell, it was mostly just a natural photo shoot--a haven for women who want to use their new cameras.

Sometimes it was peaceful, like this:

I love this picture!  Expand it, so you can see the water running.

But then a big swell would come in and explode against the rocks, like this:

You can't possibly grasp how big this wave is.  Here, I'll include a husband to show scale:

Expand this picture!  It is more impressive.

Joey loved the drama.

I like the airplane.

Sam loved the opportunity to explore.

"I hear the siren call of an adventure..."

He would have waded in if we had let him.

Adam said the hermit crabs made him "uncomfortable," and so that's why he kept trying to smoosh them.

We had to talk about tolerance. 

I love the halo he gets in this picture.

Danielle mostly beguiled other beachgoers.  Every time she sees a new person, she tries to catch their eye, dazzle them with her special smile, and then act bashful about it.  Here she is in action: 

(Some random lady is walking by.) 

What a flirt!

Probably she gets it from James.

The setting sun turned everything golden.

School glue has many uses, btw.

Overall, a good time was had by all.

But I think that my trigger-happy-picture-finger and I definitely had the the most fun!

Achievement and Reward!

We interrupt this rousing game of "cops and dragons" to bring you a very important announcement:  The jar of magic beans is full.  (Actually, they are pinto beans that I spray painted gold.)

So you know what this means, right? No?  Well then, you must not be a child in our home.  All little kids within my jurisdiction are required to get dressed, put away their pajamas, eat breakfast, put away their dishes, and brush their teeth every morning (hopefully without reminding).  When they complete their morning routine, they get to put 3 to 5 magic beans (depending on accuracy and speed) in the jar.  I told them that when it was full we would take them someplace REALLY cool.  They were thinking Chucky Cheese.  

I was thinking DISNEYLAND!

WEEEEEeeee!

They were very excited just by the tram ride to the park.

Watch out, Disney, here we come! 

 Prepare your security forces to look for lost little blond boys...

Adam wisely passed on many of the scarier rides.

But he still had fun!

Sam is not afraid of heights.  I sometimes wish he were.

Joey loved charming the locals.

"Calmly Waiting for Death"

After this shot, Adam asked me why Darth Vader didn't try to kill him. 

Then we had to have a rather painful discussion about how Star Wars isn't real.  He was quite shocked to learn this.

"Fuel for Future Therapy Appointments"

I'm sure Danielle will remember this trip forever.

Joey was so tough.  He didn't scream once during the "Space Mountain" ride, and even proudly announced that it "wasn't even scary."  I screamed the whole way.  I suppose I don't get out much.

"Lybi's Main Attraction"

James and I were just really proud of the fact that at the end of it all, we still had 4 kids, and we knew their geographical location and all.

I loved Disneyland, but my favorite part of the trip was probably getting to hang out with my beloved best friend Shae, who very conveniently lives close to Disneyland.

P.S.  Overheard the night before:

Adam:  Dear Heavenly Father, tomorrow we go to Disneyland.  So please bless that it will rain so I can use my new umbrella...

BINGO!

It totally rained.  All day.  But it kept the lines really short...just the way we like 'em.