Roper Family Blog Spot

Christmas Break with the kids at "Just Kidding Around"

2012-01-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

We didn't get to do a whole lot over Christmas break because we had so many other things going on but we were able to meet up with a friend and her kiddos and take the kids to a play place to let them run around. The kids already head back to school in the morning. I cannot believe we are already in 2012. I just don't know where time goes... and I just wish we had more of it.

Nursery Room Reveal for Kaitlyn

2012-01-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

The details are finally done, paint is finished, dresser and crib refinished and room cleaned and organized. We are almost ready for our little angel to be born. It has been a long road for us. She was unexpected and a great surprise/miracle to our family. We basically had to start completely over from scratch as we didn't have ONE baby item when we found out we were expecting. I began her room before knowing she was a girl. I knew grey would be the primary color with simple white trees as a wall mural. My original plan was pink/grey butterfly theme for a girl but at some point during this process it was changed to a grey and yellow nursery because we found the bedding on sale. My mom came over and helped me lay out the design of the babies room and even helped me draw the trees on the wall. I have a wonderful mom! :)

Since we are a family on a budget I had to craigslist most of my items so therefore started shopping immediately. I started visually shopping ideas on pinterest and online for inspiration and now I am ready to reveal the FINAL product. As you enter the room here is what you see.

Shaggy White rug from Target on sale for $66 Curtain Rod from Ross for $12.99 and the Two Shabby White Curtain Panels from Target for $24.99 each (Kind of spendy but exactly the look I was going for so I splurged a little!)

Here is the mural we did behind the crib with Aspen trees and bumble bees to match the bedding we found on clearance at Babies R Us. (Which is why the theme changed... money dictates!)


Crib off Craiglist for $50.00 and refinished by my husband and I. 4-piece Carter's Bumble Bee Bedding from Babies R Us for $100 on clearance

Madison wanted to be a part of the nursery and decided her sister needed some "babies" in her crib. She gave up three of her stuffed animals for her new sister to have :) She is so excited for Katie to be born and is always wanting to be a part of the process. Madison helped me clean and organize this room every time I was in there.

My original plan was to paint the flowers onto the tree... But my husband had this super amazing idea to buy little budding silk flowers and use thumbtacks to pin them on!!! He saw how many hours/days/weeks (LOL) I spent laying out, drawing and painting the trees on the wall and he thought it would take to long to paint all the flowers on. I am so absolutely thrilled with how the flowers turned out and gave the wall some dimension! Plus it only took me 20 minutes to pin them on versus hours hand painting them!

Silk Flowers $8.00 at Hobby Lobby, Dresser from Craigslist for $25.00 and refinished by me with new Hardware from Hobby Lobby for $25. Lamp was found at a yard sale for $5.00 :) Changing table and pad was the most expensive thing from Babies R Us for $35.00 new ( No sales on this one! )

Close ups of the birds I hand painted onto the wall.

Bird House from Goodwill for $1.00! refinished by me :)

Close up of the lamp and the dresser handles from Hobby Lobby. And we have already been stocking up on diapers. You can NEVER have enough :)

No nursery is complete without a sitting chair! I really wanted a rocking chair but my Father in Law had this blue wing bag chair that he didn't want anymore that I decided to bring into the nursery. Since it was free it was a lot cheaper then buying a rocking chair or refinishing one off Craigslist to match the room. Plus it is SUPER comfy!!! :)

Pillow from Shopko fo $7.99 on clearance, Chair was free! Chair cover online was $69, I have two matching grey frames from Target that were $2.50 each on clearance and honecomb grey side table also from Target on super clearance for $14.99. It even has storage inside which I currently have magazines in. The dividers were purchased off Etsy for $10.00 which I love cause it keeps the clothes separated by size.

Because I am obsessed with baby shoes :) She probably already has 20 pairs of shoes!

I have a few more details to add to the room. I have her letters for her name to hang on the wall... (If I can ever find the "Y" in her name! I have been to Hobby Lobby probably 4 times for that one letter and they NEVER have it in stock!?! I may add curtains to the closet to cover it up but haven't decided. There are no doors :( I wish I could hide the stuff in her closet but since it is an older home the doors cannot be bought at the store and would have to be custom made. I am also "considering" making a mobile for her crib but I am not sure if it would be too busy with the mural behind it so not sure. Anyways I am so excited to share!!! I love how it turned out :)

2011 Christmas at the Roper House

2011-12-29T07:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas came too soon and also left too quick. It was such a perfect day. Josh and I were FINALLY awoken by the kids for the very first time EVER! My oldest is 8 and every year Josh and I would sip down to cups of coffee and then go wake the kids up cause they weren't up yet to open gifts. :)

This year was different. The boys woke up and begged us to wake up around 5:30 in the morning. I got up cause I wasn't going to miss this for the world but daddy slept in another hour. I let the boys dig through their stockings until everyone was awake. It was a small Christmas for us. But it was still amazing. With another little one on the way most of our money has been spent on her... (geez babies are spendy) but the kids are so appreciative and so thankful for what they did get.

Jacob and Ryan each got nerf guns, a dartboard, some board games, PS3 games (Infamous) and even PSP games for their handheld video games. Jacob got this super amazing helicopter that flies in the air (unfortunately needs to be returned cause it won't work) and Ryan got some walkie talkies and a remote control car.

Madison got a kitchen set and a fur real walking dog toy and some art stuff too. We made our annual Christmas quiche for Christmas and my Father in Law joined us for breakfast. Someone surprised me with a amazing camera bag to put all my gear in and it was given anonymously so not sure who it was but THANK YOU!! Keeps my camera gear nice and safe :)

We spent Christmas dinner at Jenny's house and had a super amazing dinner and the kids got to do a gift exchange.

Happy 4th birthday to my sweet girl!

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Time goes by so fast. I can't believe my little girl is four already. She is so smart, and sweet and that girl can talk your ear off. We haven't had her birthday party yet and decided to wait until holidays were over. Her birthday is the same as my anniversary (which reminds me happy 9th anniversary to Josh and I too!)

Josh was out of town so we didn't do much on her birthday. She got this amazing doll house and got to have her cousin McKynlee spend the night. We baked our night away and then had some cake and ice cream. When daddy came home from out of town Madison convinced him to play dollies with her in her room. It was so sweet. She is so lucky to have such a wonderful daddy.

Visiting Daddy in McCall

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Last week daddy invited us up for a few days to visit him while working. It was cold and the kids didn't want to play up in the snowy mountains for very long :) We didn't get many photos since we were cooped up in a hotel for a majority of the time but we did snap a few. The kids got to go swimming, watch lots of movies and even eat tons of junk food. It was nice to just relax and not have much to do and to get away from work and actually snap photos of my kids for once :)

Visiting our Nana before Christmas

2011-12-27T19:38:00.000-08:00

Its getting harder and harder every year for Nana. She is having a hard time with her health so we try to visit her whenever we can. Madison loves her Nana! This year all the kids got to make two special ornaments for two very special people and Madison wanted to make one for her Nana. We went and visited her at the nursing home this year and gave her her gift. Madison painted and put the glitter on it all by herself. She couldn't wait to bring it to her :) It was such a sweet moment and I am so glad I captured it on camera. Madison has a heart of gold. She is one of the sweetest little girls I have ever met.

The Adventures of Putting up our Tree!

2011-11-26T13:20:00.000-08:00

It is a tradition every year to put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving. This year was probably the best year ever for us cause all three kids actually participated the entire time! They had so much fun setting up the branches, hanging the lights, beads and ornaments. We are so excited to get ready for the holidays and create our first memories in our new house.

When we were done hanging the branches we took a hot cocoa break and of course it wouldn't be a Roper tradition if one of the kids didn't spill their hot cocoa all over the floor.

And the final touches. We will try and post some better pics of the tree later. It was getting so dark by the time we finished and we were exhausted when we were done. :)

Our Family Photos 2011 - Boise Idaho Photographer

2011-11-26T08:53:00.001-08:00

I got my family photos back from Jamie Hudson Photography. She did such a beautiful job and worked so good with my 3 little ones who don't always like to have their pictures taken :) This is the first year we had our family photos done and not attempted to do them ourselves (which never works like you want it too!). So fun and memories will last forever! Thank you so much for our memories of our family Jamie.

Don't forget to join me on facebook to here the latest updates!

Introducing baby boy Shepherd!

2011-09-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

My sister just had her third baby today! We are all so excited and wanted to share him with family and friends. He has not been given a name yet. They had a name picked out for him but felt it didn't suit him when he was born so they are hoping to agree with a name by tomorrow. Mommy is doing very well and hoping to go home in a few days.

4th of July fun!

2011-07-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

Just a few days behind on these but better late then never! I told grandpa all about how Madison for the first time in a long time would sit still long enough for me to take some photos of her. Over the last year she has become a pill to photograph and find myself wanting to take pictures of my other little monkey Ryan cause he is such a little poser for me! We had a great 4th of July and went to a friends house and had a BBQ, did a few fireworks and just let the kids play play play! :)

A lot has happened to us this week. Moving into a new home (bigger and lots of yard for the kids!) We are very excited for this. Found out that Ryan will have to undergo another surgery on his boy parts :( gotta make sure it is taken care of so this mommy can have some grandbabies. :) And also he is undergoing testing at a neurologists to find out what is causing "tics" that he keeps having in his face over the last couple weeks. A lot is going on but looking forward to finding out the results so we can figure out what steps we need to do to help him get through this!

Play Date at the Stewarts House!

2011-06-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

Summer is FINALLY HERE!! The kids and I have already vacationed in Las Vegas and now enjoying play dates at my girlfriends house. It is so fun just hanging out with friends and their kiddos. I am not going to even pretend that I will keep up on this blog... but I do have the best intentions. My business has taken off much faster then I EVER anticipated and overwhelmed with moving into a new home, taking care of the three kiddos with a husband who still works out of town 5 days a week. :( It's hard but I am so thankful for the work and even more grateful that my father in law has been so helpful with the kids so that I can do my photo sessions. Without him I would not be able to do photography. Thank you Mattie for letting us come play at your house and see you again next Wednesday!!

Two days in a row!!

2011-02-11T13:54:00.000-08:00

Grandpa this post is for you! Love you and we miss you!

To Myriam and Zein

2011-02-10T15:58:00.000-08:00

To my long last family across the seas. I miss you guys soooo very much. I think of you often. I hope you are all safe as we know your country is in turmoil. You asked me why I don't blog anymore... and i have no excuses. I did do a small mini session on my daughter today I wanted to share. She is growing up so fast. I plan on doing some of the boys very soon. I love you guys and can't wait to see pics of the twins. I miss them soooooo much and think of you all the time.

Why I hate the Government

2010-12-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

Where do I begin! I could write a book on all the things they have done to us! I could write an entire series on all the crap they have started to pull in the last year! In the last 3 weeks this is a picture of all the mail we have received from the following people. Oh and the first one you see is actually a check from the IRS even though in a previous letter they said we owed them money from 2009... So why am I complaining about receiving a check? Well the catch is if we cash this check and it is not our money... then the IRS will charge you penalties and interest on the money they would have earned if it had been in their account. Can you believe that?

Internal Revenue Service
Idaho State Tax Commission
Health and Welfare
Idaho Deparment of Labor

This does NOT include the one I received today in the mail from the Idaho State Tax Commission for a past due bill from taxes in 2007 that I guess we underpaid. Isn't it nice of them to finally tell us! This $46.44 bill is now doubled with penalties and interest because it took them 4 years to tell us! Do you not think I would have paid a $46.00 bill!!! Lets stop to think about how much it cost the government for them to go back 4 years in our tax records to figure this out,.

We are a small plumbing business with "ONE" employee and most of this paperwork is in regards to this ONE employee. It is absolutely ridiculous. I am so tired of trying to run this small business and being taxed to death on it. There is something wrong with owning a business and making less money then your employees! There is something wrong with that especially when you are the one taking the risks and working longer hours.

We talked to our accountant (Being charged $50 an hour) about this insane amount of paperwork and to sort through this pile of mess and he said that right now government agencies are digging back as far as they possibly can to find any possible penny they have overlooked in the last few years and then backcharging you. I know first hand... we are experiencing it. They have literally flipped us upside down, hung us by our toes, and shook out every nickel and dime we had and took it from us. You wonder why small business' resort to paying employees "under the table." Because they literally can't afford to pay these insanely high taxes you have put on us.

I am so angry, so annoyed and so upset. I see my husband go to work every day and work his butt off in sub zero temperatures so that the government can take away every dollar that we earn. You want the economy to thrive? Then quit taxing small business to the point that they cannot afford employees and have to shut down. We decided to lay off our last employee today. We cannot afford to pay him because they just increased our unemployment taxes again for next year. It's not worth the hassle anymore. It costs us more money to hire on help then to just do the work ourselves. That means my husband will just have to work EVEN harder then he aleady does to keep his business floating in this crappy economy. I am just so tired of this. When you have to lay off an employee, you feel like you are letting a family down when you cannot afford to keep them on anymore... and especially right before the holidays. It was one of the hardest decisions we had to make, but unfortunately it had to be done.

Thank you government for all you have done for us... in the last 3 years we have laid off 12 employees, because your theory of raising taxes and cutting benefits didn't work.... You would rather build roads and bridges then to help a small business thrive.

look what we woke up too!!!!

2010-12-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

I can just see my friends Myriam and Zein so envious of this weather. I know how much Myriam loves the snow! :D LOL! Actually she visited us from the Mediteranean Sea and could not believe how cold it got here.... so this post is for her... while you are enjoying your warm weather we are playing in snow!

Yes that is a bucket on our snowmans head... we didn't have any hats big enough to fit that large head of his.... and those are not cucumbers... they are green carrots... Haven't you ever seen green carrots?

our team of helpers! The neighbor boy joined in and helped push the kids in the sled

And this is from yesterday... my little princess! I just love her!

Photography Contest | Orange

2010-11-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

This week at http://www.iheartfaces.com/ the theme is orange. It has been months since I have submitted an entry. I love this photo of my daughter. She did not want to take a picture for me! :D

Day 324 & 325 - Potty Break and Coffee Break

2010-10-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

I had to snap this of Madison... I know I am a mean mom! How could I embarrass my daughter like this? Well I was short on time... hadn't taken a photo yet and we were in a public bathroom and I happened to have my camera... so SNAP! Here is day 324

Do you have a Hastings in your area? I love this place! We go there often especially in the winter and the kids and I go over all their homework. What i love the most is everyday they have happy hour and I can get a buy one get one free on all coffee drinks. The kids absolutely love it! Here is Jacob studying his Math homework and sipping on a Cotton Candy drink.

Happy Shooting! :D

Day 320, 321, & 323 ~ Late...as always but that's how I roll!

2010-10-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

Not even a week into Project 365 and I slipped behind a few days. If you knew how crazy busy I have been maybe you might cut me some slack!

This week has been a little rough. I am missing my husband because he is gone out of town again this week. It has been rough on all of us with him being gone out of town so much. My son Jacob left a note on daddy's car seat that said "I miss you when you are at work." It was on this itsy bitsy tiny piece of paper and he wrote it on there and my husband found it as he was leaving to go out of town for a week. It was a tear jerker.

The kids and I haven't done a whole lot because I am behind on my photography work and trying to catch up. I did take them up to this place called Tablerock tonight and we watched the sunset. It was so awesome and such an amazing view of the city of Boise. I hadn't been up there since I was in High School a bazillion years ago!
So here are my pics. I missed day 322 (gasp!) Are you surprised? Does photos of someone else's kids count?

This was at Grandpa's house. Tried to get all 3 to look and smile... but my kids did not want to participate in that adventure! Madison was pouting in the background.

I haven't photographed my dog in so long! Here is lil Miss Adda... this naughty puppy is in the doghouse today. While I was gone she got into the garbage and left a huge mess for me... part of that mess included this mornings coffee grinds all over the floor! Arrrgh!

This was at Tablerock. Love this picture and the boys enjoyed participating in this photo.

Day 319 - Oh the messes we make!

2010-10-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

I promised my kids we would paint our pumpkins today. It was such a mess! I am so glad I went to the dollar store today and bought these aprons for the kids. LOL! I think I saw Ryan painting himself more then I saw him paint his pumpkin. It was fun. I also made this 11x17 template and plan on printing this photo out on my new printer. I bought the Canon Mark Pro Color printer. It's quality is outstanding for home printing!

I really hope I don't miss tomorrows project 364 cause I have a full schedule... Wish me luck! I am rocking it so far!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Day 318 - Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

Today the kids headed to the pumpkin patch. Madison got her "baby" sized pumpkin and Ryan found the biggest one he could. Jacob missed out cause he was at school but at one point I considered letting him skip school so he could go.... Would that make me a bad mom? I would be teaching him to play before work... LOL!

I have tons of pictures from today but I chose this one to share. it is my favorite of the day. This was Ryan as he was exiting out of the maze made out of hay stacks. I can always count on him to pose for me.

Day 317 - Playing in Leaves

2010-10-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

I had to beg Ryan to lay in a pile of leaves and let his brother throw them on his head for this shot. A bowl of ice cream later for Ryan and a beautiful image for mama... we are a happy family.

Going to hang out with the kids tonight and watch Iron Man. I have been battling this cold for a week now and I thought I was getting better but my headache returned today....

A Photo A Day to Keep the Guilt Away....

2010-10-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

So I decided that I really need to quit making excuses for neglecting my blog. The other day I had to send in a recent photo of my son Ryan for school and I had to dig through the archives back to early September to even find a photo of him. I am so upset at myself. One day I will look back and regret not having those memories of my little ones no matter how big or small they may seem.

So I decided to jump the bandwagon and start the 365 project. Only one photo a day and it will keep this guilt away! I love the idea of this project and since I love taking pictures... WHY NOT!! I am also cheating... I know I am not on Day 316... but I really didn't want to wait till January 1st to start and I don't want my numbers to be screwy.

My blogs may be short and sweet from here on out but at least not neglected. Thank you to those that have followed my site have been asking where I have been. It makes me feel special. But here I am and here is a picture from the park today. My sweet little daughter who has become the most challenging to photograph.

God Answers Prayers- And not always in the way you expect him too!

2010-09-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

This story will warm your heart, make you cry, and maybe even see how truly amazing our God is. He hears our prayers and I am so thankful for stories like this because it reminds me that even when we are part of a world who has turned our back from Him, forgotten Him and lived our lives without Him in our home he still loves us so much and gives us pieces of Him to remind us of the unconditional love He shares for us.

Meet baby Kyler.

He is a gift from above. He is perfect, beautiful and everything you could ever ask for in a son. He is sweet, innocent and so well loved. God placed him in a loving Christian home with a family who will love and support him as he grows. He will have more love then you could ever imagine and probably get a little spoiled in the process too!

Families take for granted how lucky they are to have the children they have. This family was reminded daily that they would never be able to have a baby of their own. It was devastating and tore their marriage apart for 5 years. It was an emotional roller coaster for them. They often broke down emotionally wondering why God would do this to them.

Every time they had "HOPE" it was taken from them. Time after time adoptions fell through and the thought of ever bringing home a baby just seemed impossible. Watching friends suffer, lose hope, and begin to lose faith was a hard thing to watch. Seeing turmoil in a marriage because a unquenchable desire could not be fulfilled. I cannot pretend for an instant to know how they must have felt but I can't imagine what life would be like without my kids. I imagine they felt a hole in their hearts constantly. I imagine it made them angry inside to watch the news of abused and abandoned children. I imagine it was hard being friends with those around them who were pregnant or had babies of their own. I imagine they blamed themselves inside for not being able to have children of her own. The shame, the guilt, the void...

When they hit rock bottom they finally decided to completely turned it over to God. They couldn't handle it anymore. It was too much for two people to bare and their marriage would not make it if they continued on this way. They prayed that if God wanted them to have a baby then He will provide one.

If they could have pick the outcome of their fate they wanted a boy and then a girl. Of course they would have been thrilled with either. They prayed constantly. They would send emails, text messages and updates to those around them asking for prayer when they needed it. I don't think they even realize the lives they have touched along the way and changed.

God did not answer their prayers right away. And I believe at points everyone lost faith temporarily. It seemed an impossible dream and there was so much heart break along the way. But this family never gave up. They held on to the only hope they had and that was that God answers prayers. One day they got that call that changed their lives. God had finally put a baby boy into their hands and in their lives. Baby Kyler was due in 6 weeks by a young mom who loved baby Kyler enough to adopt him to a family because she didn't have the resources to provide a home for this little man. It takes an amazing, loving mother to be able to do that and my heart truly prays for her right now because I cannot imagine how she must have felt to have to make a decision like that.

At this point everyone was still praying their hearts out because there was still no guarantees that they would bring him home. There were still so many hurdles to get through from financials, to legalities, to birth, and health of the baby. They had been through this road before and it ended in tragedy, but for some reason this adoption was different. I have talked to many that just felt at "peace" about it. It felt like God had prepared every one's hearts for this. He provided them both with unexpected career changes right before the big news came home. He gave them financial freedom without expecting it and it just seemed too perfect to end in failure. It just seemed that only someone from a higher power could have put this perfectly into place.

And just when you thought that God couldn't perfect the situation any better... He does. Just a few weeks after they announced they were adopting a baby boy, they found out from their agency another family wanted them to adopt their baby girl. She will be here in just a few weeks!

It was everything Beth and Justin prayed for. It was exactly what they prayed for. We joke that the timing was not as planned... but of course they weren't very specific on timing so God threw in that extra twist. But only God could have planned this. This is His work. And I believe He does this so that we know He did this. He not only gave them two beautiful babies... but He also gave them a story... a testimony... and I believe it is one to be shared and not kept to ourselves.

Yesterday I got the honor of seeing God's miracle first hand. I got to capture these sweet memories for this family who endured so much. Baby Kyler you have brought so much joy to this families lives. I got to see your mommy look at you yesterday and her eyes lit up. Daddy was so proud to talk about you and about all the things he can't wait to do with you when you get older.

We are now waiting for God's second miracle to come home. They still need prayers since this adoption hasn't been finalized. I believe that not only do they need prayer... these birth mothers need prayer also.

Beth and Justin... you are so blessed and I praise God for answering your prayers. I can't help but laugh a little inside when I think about your situation in a few weeks with two brand new babies in your house. It is definitely not how we pictured it, is it? But it really couldn't get better then this either. We love you and in our prayers always.

Isn't God good? Don't forget to praise God for all the little blessings he has given you!

How we spend our weekends

2010-09-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

The following is an example of how Boise folks spend their weekends during football season. Since all we do is grow potatoes here and make movies as lame as Napoleon Dynamite (I promise we are not as lame as that movie) this is the next best thing.

Fortunately the next best thing is the best thing ever! I have slowly become a huge fan of football. I secretly watch football on TV when my husband is working late (shhh! don't tell him...) I still pretend like it's boring and that I only do it for him because I like to spend time with him. It boosts his ego. :D

But there is nothing better then watching our little team from Boise, Idaho grow from nothing into something. It's exciting and if you ever come to Boise during game day you can't pass a car without seeing blue and orange inside, outside or dragging along. People paint their yards blue and orange, hang banners across their houses, hang flags, repaint the inside and outside of their RV's to replicate the Bronco logo. I would imagine that we are one of the top State's for fan support. I think our next game day against the Duck's I will take a stroll and photograph all the craziness you can find here.

Why do we do this? Well probably because we have nothing better to do. Football is really all we got as far as sports... and since we have become a nationally ranked team it is really exciting for us. All this media attention from radio shows, ESPN and news is just incredible. And watching our stadium grow from pathetic and small to something people talk about is exciting. Yes we play on the BLUE turf!!

We are known for our trick plays, our style, the Fiesta Bowl (Cinderella Story), our undefeated - now Nationally ranked team, Coach Pete our coach and we are compared to the story of David and Goliath (us being David) but hey David wins so we are fine with that comparison. We are usually the underdogs in our big games and still seem to pull of victory after victory. We keep our fans on their toes, we put up a good fight and usually give ESPN a edge of your seat game which they seem to love! (probably for ratings)

Our fan support has become insane. On the flip side of that so has our rivalries. Everyone wants a chance to beat Boise State. Bring it on! We are always up for a challenge.

But if you ever come to Boise during football season it will amaze you how something like football can bring a city together. You yell out your window "BOISEEEEEE!" and someone will shout back "STAAATE!

Don't be afraid... jump the Boise Bandwagon! We are fun, friendly and we always put up for a good fight. We play from our hearts and that will conquer all. Go Broncos!

The Principal Makes a Phone Call Already

2010-09-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

***FIXED!! I was spelling Principal wrong. Thanks Grandpa for correcting me. I hate misspelling words ****

When you think of the principal calling your house what is the first thing that runs through your mind? "What did my kid do?"

For the most part my kids are very well behaved. A little loud but very sweet tempered kids and I never have to really worry about them picking on other kids or disrespecting their teachers. But on occasion they do have to be put back in "check!"

My son is the social butterfly... he likes to talk and talk and talk... (eeeks he gets that from me!). Last year his teacher last year asked if she could make my son wear a hula hoop to learn his "bubble" boundary because he doesn't understand to keep his hands to himself. I kindly declined her offer to make my son wear a hula hoop even though the idea did slightly humor me... LOL! I am all about teaching my kid a good lesson... but knowing Jacob this would actually embarrass him so bad I think it would upset him emotionally. (he is also emotional like me)

So Jacob is now in 2nd grade (oh my gosh I have a 2nd grader!!) and already only after 1 week he got a note home from the teacher for "talking."

This is not a shocker to me since this was our biggest challenge last year in 1st grade. So my son's punishment was to write an apology letter to his teacher. (yes this photog mom took a pic). I plan to black mail him when he has kids. BTW... doesn't he have the nicest handwriting!

So as a parent I felt like this was a good punishment and we talked about why he can't talk during class and how it is disrespectful because it prevents his teacher from doing her job... blah blah... same lecture as last year. And so the next day after school we were just finishing up homework and I get a call from the school. I immediately turn to Jacob and said "Why is your school calling me....what did you do?" He turned stone faced and said "nothing mom I got a stamp for good behavior today." So I answer and it's the principle.... YIKES! My heart stopped when he says...

"This is Mr. Principal (okay so he actually said his name but I don't have permission to use it) calling about Jacob Roper." I immediately answer by saying "Oh no... what did he do?" And the principle laughed and said "No this is a good call."

So long story short I had a long conversation with the principle and they are taking 10 2nd grade students and doing a 3rd grade combo class. My son was chosen to be placed in a 3rd grade class. He is one of the top students at his school and I think the reason my son talks so much during class is he would get bored because he would always finish his assignments faster then the other kids and then talk to his neighbors because he had nothing to do. It frustrated me that there was no resources available in our public schools for students who were advanced but there were plenty of programs offered for students who were behind. But since I haven't won the lottery yet I still can't put my kid in a private school that would cost $4,500 a year per child.... times 3 kids... = impossible for us so public schools are our only option...until we get rich. (God can you read this?)

So for now I am on cloud nine... bragging about my son... who so luckily inherited his fathers geniousness and his mothers.... well.... outspokeness. And now I am also still grasping the idea that I am now a proud mother of a 3rd grader. He started his new class yesterday... and already had an hour worth of homework to do... but he whizzed right through it. He is so incredibly smart. I do not know why God trusts me to take care of a child who will probably be more educated then me me here in a few years... but I pray that I lead him in the right direction and that I stay devoted to him and also the other two kids as they continue their education.

So here is a picture of Jacob starting his first day of 3rd grade

and the beautiful picture he made for me the other day.

and also lets not forget Ryan... he made me this beautiful bus. He is just loving his kindergarten class... and I think my son might just have a crush on the lovely Mrs. "N" because I already caught him writing a letter to her (or at least trying too) since he can't spell yet. LOL! Too cute!

Lesson #1: Don't assume the worst in your kid when the principal calls
Lesson #2: Principals deliver "BAD" and GOOD" news!
Lesson #3: My kid is growing up way to fast... I feel like 2 days ago he was just starting 2nd grade.... oh... wait... he was! :D

Tractors, dirt and dogs...

2010-09-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

My BFF came from Oregon this week and I got to spend time with her and her little ones.The kids got to play at an old farm and throw rocks and jump on rock hills and climb on old rusty trailers. LOL! It was so fun! She left this morning... I am so sad. I wish she lived back in Idaho again. Our kids are around the same age so I know they would have so much fun together!

Join me here! I always love to hear from my fans!

End of Summer Memory Party - The Good - The Bad - and the Ugly

2010-09-09T22:57:00.000-07:00

I have to join in on this End of Summer Photo Party! We didn't get to take any super exciting vacations this summer but we did do some pretty exciting things. You know like all that free last minute stuff like... the park.... and the park... oh and yes... the park again! My kids say I am so boring because they get so sick of the park... but it is great exercise... and its FREE!! So please excuse all the boring "PARK" photos because seriously that may have been the most exciting thing we did all summer! I deprive my kids from fun...

I mention park and this is how my kids react.

oh we did go to a parade this summer... and I was sooo nice... I decided to drag all the kids in 100 degree weather and reserve a spot for all my family members and their friends of about 25 people for over an hour so we could get a great spot... my kids were not very happy with me because we couldn't leave the location to buy cotton candy... But I did manage to catch a few "fake" smiles.

Hey look a picnic in the park! So exciting!

We discovered new places... like the skate park... which we have banned the kids from going too thanks to all the older H.S. kids who smoke, cuss and are so disrespectful to all the little ones who try and use the area also. In the process of talking to the police to monitor these places a little better so my kids can enjoy the area without learning language I don't want my 2 year old using.

Hey look we even went to the park in our pajamas!

I attempted to join a mommies group this summer and attend their playdates... I made it to maybe 2 this summer.... and I met them at a... you guessed it... A PARK!!! But this was a new park... with a climbing hill... and an old discusting toilet that I thought my daughter looked so cute on.

So we climbed the hill... and yes that is my kid falling back down the hill. But eventually we made it all up there... alive... somehow...

and we did a little cheer and made a little noise

We did go to McCall for the weekend and visited Daddy! We played at the lake!

and we even found a park to play at!

the difference between this park and all the others... well... simply put... it had a gorgeous view!

While we were there we found a skatepark for the boys to play at

We went on a walk and found this for sale....i thought it would make a great home for our family.

and on our walk... we passed another park

and swam in the hotel pool

and passed out in our swimming clothes

We celebrated our 4th of July with family and friends and watched fireworks. Mom made us dress up like clowns.

We laughed and shared jokes with our friends

Hey who is that cute man holding my kids?

We took the worst camping trip in history... seriously no exaggeration! Mom felt like this inside by the time we left

So I am not even going to share anymore photos from that trip... it is the last thing I want to be reminded of.

but we did ride in the tractor at Grandpa's house!

and Jacob learned to drive.

even mom jumped in... it looked like way to much fun!

We saw a baby kangaroo at US Bank!

More park adventures

Mommy got her new photography flooring in and made Madison pose for some photos.

We did our Annual Roper Boise State Bronco Photos! Even Adda got her own Jerzee!

and we went swimming at Aunt Jenny's house lots and lots this summer. Mom was too busy tanning or relaxing from her camera to take pictures of us playing so only have a few from the summer.

This is how I feel about parks by now...

But my mom did do one thing right this summer... she threw one heck of a party for us!

Ryan learned to ride a bike without training wheels this summer! Here are his 1st photos... please excuse the crappiness of the photos... even photographers make mistakes... my excuse was.... it was dark outside!

We found a new place at the Boise River to swim at and take Adda too!

Madison got a new lunch box... that was the highlight of her summer.

Adda learned to fetch a stick and retrieve it!!!

and yes... that is it. Pretty much... Pretty boring summer actually. I just can't believe it is over and winter is creeping in already. Hope you enjoyed the post and if you ever have any questions on which parks to visit in Boise... well I can pretty much say that I have been to almost every park existing within 20 miles of where I live... so I could be your tour guide! :D LOL!

The Boy's 1st Day of School

2010-09-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

Can you believe summer is already over! I thought this summer would be more fun then what it was. I mean don't get me wrong I had a great summer... but it ended quicker then I could imagine. I look back and I hardly took any pictures of my kids this summer, nor did I spend a lot of time with them this summer. I missed out on camping trips because I chose to work... I guess it may have finally kicked in that I neglected memories for money. What are your struggles with working and running a household.

I hold no claim to faim when it comes to multi tasking... in fact that is probably my biggest downfall. I am a perfectionist and when I sit down to do something I don't want to be interrupted or bothered. I want to get it done and get it done right... My question is how do you amazing business women balance work and kids? How can I have the best of both worlds?

I am sad that I have neglected my personal blog... I miss all my blogging friends... I hope you miss me just as much! Ha Ha!

But on the plus side I think my kids enjoyed the time away from the camera. I really think they miss it because now when I get the camera out (which is usually out the door for a photo shoot of another family) my boys jump in front of me and ask me to take pictures of them!

Well here are some pictures of my boys on their 1st day of school. Jacob started 2nd grade (I can hear you all gasping saying... What! your old enough to have a 2nd grader! You look like your 15... not almost 30!) Oh I so wish you are saying that! Feeling old these days. Ryan started kindergarten... and Madi... started enjoying her time off from her brothers for 3 hours a day.

Here is Jacob getting ready to ride his way to 2nd grade (I have more news to share on this for a later blog post... I already got a call from the principle for Jacob... any guesses on what for?)

Oh my beautiful grass.. it is so green and lush... and so- so neglected. Jacob started his way to 2nd grade and Adda had such a hard time seeing him go... she followed him halfway there! Boys best friend!

Later that day got Ryan ready for his 1st day of afternoon kindergarten. He got the same teacher as Jacob! Woot Woot!

My daughter had to have her own lunchbox when we went school shopping. She takes it with her everywhere and likes to stuff it full of toys when we walk to school.... oh did I mention she even thought it would make a great horse? Got the picture to prove it.

and the kindergarten line up.... Must admit... I felt a slight tear... just briefly when I walked away from my baby boy.... then I went home and Madi took a nap while I enjoyed a nice hot cup of coffee and proofed photos... then I realized that I can get so much more done when I am two kids down and magically that tear... disappeared.

NEW FACEBOOK FAN PAGE!

2010-09-01T11:10:00.001-07:00

So many exciting new changes coming! Please visit me at my new Facebook Fan Page!
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Boise-ID/Stefani-Marie-Photography/389309557791?ref=sgm

I nailed it!!!!

2010-08-30T17:02:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh my world just stopped! I am the happiest person alive. I finally got the opportunity to do this photo with this precious little one. After 2 hours of playing with this infant trying to wear him out... his mommy and I finally were able to get baby to sleep so we could prop for this photo. Thank you mommy for patiently working with me!

Note: If you are going to try this pose... use a baby whose mother you know... it is not as easy as it looks! This mommy of this dear little boy is part of my family so it was okay for me to spend two hours of her and my time for 1 photo! :D I hope she loves this cause I think it is the only one we got yesterday!

FINALLY posting birthday pictures of the boys from their party a month ago!!

2010-08-26T00:28:00.000-07:00

I am playing blogging catch up! So my posts will be short and sweet!

Finally got pictures uploaded from my boy's magic party. We had so much fun even though it was a hundred degrees outside that day! (no really it was!) Which would explain the red crab faces on most of the kids! :D

Pictures of all the "details" including "Set up"

My cake! I was so proud of it!

We did a carnival set up and I paid some teens to run each booth and give out tickets! It allowed me free range to take pics while the kids played. Worked out great! And the kids loved it.

The kids made goofy magician hats out of construction paper and paper plates!

These are the teens I hired for to run the booths.... Lol! I think they are having fun too!

Who wants more pizza?

Happy Birthday to the two most important boys in my life!

All the kids! There was a lot!

and of course the main course was the hired Magician! Thank you Furry Tales Magic Company! You were amazing!!

and we ended the party with a giant water slide! Lots of laughs and happy kids! :D

A Day at the River with the Kiddos

2010-08-26T00:22:00.000-07:00

We took the kids out to the River for a few hours and found an awesome rope swing that the kids played on for hours!

Here is Adda enjoying the water. It was a HOT day!

The rope swing was definately the highlight!

and Madison got a new lunch box that she was so excited about. Ryan and Jacob are both getting ready to start school soon and Madison felt left out at the store! So I invested $3.00 into her happiness and let her get a lunchbox! Thanks Wal-Mart for the smiles!

Photos taken for my sisters family!

2010-08-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

This session was for my sister Jenny and her family. Here are a few of my favorites taken! We had a half hour session with only the girls since the boys were late... so we didn't get to start till around 8:00 and we lost light fast... may have to do reshoot!

The whole clan!

and just for fun! 3200 ISO.... no flash... so not the greatest photo... but the only available light was from the moon and a streelight a ways back behind me

A trip without the Kids!

2010-08-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

Josh and I got to take a few days off from the kids a few weeks ago. I have been participating in the http://www.lovethatshot.com/ Blossom Workshop and I went on a hunt to find some flowers to photograph. I learned so much about photographing flowers! I had so much fun with these and decided to add some scripture and versues. I think I will hang some of these on my wall!!

It's almost time for the Bronco Nation!!

2010-08-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

Our family has become quite the fans of Boise State Broncos! We look forward to fall because we get to watch our favorite team play. Every year the kids get dressed up in their Bronco gear and we take our Bronco Family Photos. I do this every year for Josh and Nana cause they just love to see the kids all dressed up!!

It is so exciting and who wouldn't love sitting at home in front of the big screen with snacks, drinks and friends... I can't wait! Even Adda sported the Bronco Jerzee... Maybe next year I will dress up the cat? :D

My Sweet Little Madi!

2010-08-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

It has been such a long time since I have posted. I have been so busy these days. I am counting down the days, hours and seconds till school starts. I am so ready! Anyone with me on this? I will hopefully be able to keep up on things with the little ones being at school.

For now here is my sweet little girl. :D

I am a winner! Who says you can't get paid to blog!

2010-07-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

I just won a giveway sponsored by Polka Dot Moon! I won a $50.00 gift card. Maybe I will quit my job and just enter giveaways all day. What do you think? :D I think it sounds productive and maybe kind of fun.

and per a special request here is the colored version of Madison for her Grandpa.

and here are some shots from the pool yesterday. My kids are fish... they could live in the pool if I let them.

Black & White Wednesday

2010-07-28T23:07:00.000-07:00

I am in blog land tonight... I should be sleeping, cleaning, or doing laundry... actually I should be working on my clients photos... but I want to play. This girl just WANT TO HAVE FUN! So I found this really cool site tonight called Black & White Wednesday. And since I don't have enough to do already I decided to start participating in their site. I took this photo for http://www.iheartfaces.com/ purple theme this week and then decided to use another photo. But here is my beautiful baby girl Madison. She grew up behind the lens which makes being a photographer so easy when she will turn and strike a pose for me on que. XOXO Madison!

Love,
Mommy

Check out my new camera bag!

2010-07-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

It's the newest thing to have a homemade camera bag. I have seen these bags on Etsy ranging from $50 - $200. They are soooo cool and I new I "HAD" to get one of my own. I found out a friend of mine just started her sewing business called "SEW N LUV". It was great to catch up with an old friend and also be able to help support her growing business. This was her first time making a camera bag and it was so fun helping her to design the bag and to put it all together.

When I designed this bag I wanted something to be able to carry all of my wedding folders, envelopes, business cards and contracts in when I meet up with my clients. I also wanted to be able to use it to carry my camera gear in during photo shoots. So Alyssa came up with this bag design. She has two pockets to hold my lenses securely inside and also an area to place my camera in safely. A front pocket on the front of the bag for my receipt book and pens. She even surprised me with my logo on the bag!! Which is also a great marketing idea to help promote your business. It turned out perfect! I was so impressed.

It is comfortable around my shoulders and I feel safe with my equipment inside the bag. I love the ability to use it as a camera bag and a business bag. I feel all professional now! :D She also will have a smaller bag available for everyday use. Who wouldn't want a camera bag that looks like a purse. It sure does look so much cooler then my huge Tamrac bag. If anyone is interested in a camera bag email Alyssa about getting one custom made. She did such an amazing job and I highly recommend using her. She also has many other great items. I already have some more items I plan on ordering from her in the future.

Thanks Alyssa... you are wonderful! P.S. Alyssa... we need to start you a blog and an Etsy Shop! :D
I will let the pictures show you the quality of this bag

Here is my logo. I cannot sew for the life of me... I would be lucky if a button I sewed stayed on to a shirt after a wash cycle. So I am so impressed that she sewed my logo onto this fabric and the font and colors are exactly as my logo is on my website.

An extra pocket on the front of the bag for all the miscellaneous items you want easy access too.

Here is the inside of the bag. You can see the pockets for my lenses. She asked me what lenses I had and got the measurements via internet to make sure they would fit nice and snug into the bag. And they fit perfectly! She also hand picked my fabric to make sure it would match up to my logo. She rocks!

And the little things do matter. Here is a close up of the padded shoulder strap. It is moveable to adjust to your shoulder. It really does make a huge difference for comfort.

Thanks again Alyssa! This is perfect.

There is something wrong when...

2010-07-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

your lens is worth more then your car... Anyone agree with me? I am in desperate need of a new car. 100 degree weather and my air conditioner quit working... it is old... it's a van... and I'm just feeling way to cool to drive a van. But remember it's just a feeling and not a fact! LOL!

On the plus side I just got my last and final lens for awhile in the mail yesterday. I got to try it out this afternoon before my photoshoot tonight. I have no idea how I survived without this beauty! I am in love. I didn't believe in love at first sight until now. I think I might let it sleep next to me on my bed tonight. I think I will be spending more time with this lens then my own husband and he may get a little jelous, but at least my lens does what I want it to do at a push of a button! Ha Ha! I wonder if it has a clean the kitchen and do the laundry button? Maybe Nikon will make that the next feature.

Doesn't baby Kennadie have gorgeous blue eyes! lucky lucky girl

Here is my sister Melissa... why do women look away when you try to get pictures of them! Just turn and strike a pose!!! They are worse then the kids... I swear

Don't you love when babies discover their hands! So cute

When I took this photo I caught Mckynlee off guard (she hates photos just like her mom does) and so when I took it I go "Ha Ha.. got your picture!" And she quickly starts to runaway and goes "Ha Ha your not going to take another one."

Here is my oldest sister Jenny. She hated this photo... told me to delete it. She said her face looks fat! Oh my gosh seriously a 120lb girl just cannot look fat! Puh Lease!!!

Oh these brown eyes make my heart melt! Rarely does she let me take photos of her but she actually looked at me

and then smiled! I'm breaking her in.

Here is my handsome little man Jacob

and here is his silly face.

It's Time for Some Magic! Here are my party planning ideas!

2010-07-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

My boys are turning 5 and 7! Can you believe that!! My son Jacob is huge into magic right now, so we decided to do a magician party for him. So in case your wondering why I don't blog these days... well its cause I have been photographing all the other adorable kids in Boise Idaho and not my own kids! In fact I accidentally erased a memory card of my son's 7th birthday, and some other pictures of my kids :( I cannot believe that.

So you all know I am a huge party planner and I spend way to much time putting together my children's birthday parties (Remember the Mario and Luigi Party here). I guess I have nothing better to do... that or I enjoy staying up til 3 in the morning decorating dollar store buckets and making fondant cakes... In case you ever wonder what kind of weird party planner I am... I will admit to you that I have already planned and purchased the materials needed for my daughters 3 year party and that isn't till the end of December... and yes I am also the kind of person that has bought about half my Christmas presents already. But in my defense... I am also a "frugal" person and cannot pass up a good bargain... so if it is a price I can't resist then it usually ends up in my shopping cart.

So here are some of my party ideas that I wanted to share.

Here is the cake I am making. It is actually already pre-done for the event and it turned out ADORABLE. This was my inspiration Only my cake will say Ryan (5) and Jacob (7)

Here is my cake that I will complete the day of the party

Invitations already sent and the boys helped make these

So for game ideas to entertain about 20 - 25 kids we are going to do a carnival set up. We will have ring toss, a row of 7 buckets with bean bags and the kids have to try and get them into the buckets (which were purchased from the dollar store and then converted into top hats... they are sooo cute!) All I did was take black cardboard paper for the top and used masking tape to tape on. And for the areas around the bucket just red cardboard paper taped on and since it didn't completely stretch around the buckets I made a black circle center piece and then taped on a yellow felt star. Since there are 7 buckets each star is labeled 1-7 except for the ones #5 which will be Ryan's name since he is 5 and then #7 will have Jacob's bucket instead!

We will also do a jar of black jelly beans and the kids will have to guess how many are in there. They will win the jar of beans if they guess correctly. And another game is bowling. Since it is a carnival set up I hired on my older nephews to run the booths and each kid will win tickets for the games. So if they play ring toss and get 4 out of the 6 rings around the sticks they will win 4 tickets. They will then put there names into a hat and I will draw for prizes at the end of the party for a chance to win these. I found these amazing boxes of magic tricks brand new never opened at Goodwill for .99 each! Can you believe that!

and of course goody bags filled with a magic wand (must have) silly glasses, chinese finger traps, bubbles and a noisy toy (because I know how much parents enjoy these things). I think I will add some candy too.

But the highlight of the event will be the real live magician from Furry Tales Magic Company. We are ecstatic about that! What we will do is set up a stage and then chairs for the kids with some popcorn bags and each kid will have a home made top hat, magic wand and cape. It will be so cute! I am going to make my own hats too. I found a way to make them online. Take a black paper plate and cut out the middle. Then glue on black cardboard around the middle that you cut out and wa-la instant hat. I should have just bought some... but they are a dollar each which gets expensive if you have 20-25 kids!

Oh my gosh am I so excited for the party! We have made other decorations like cut out stars and banners. I am thinking of setting up my backdrop stand that I use for my photography and putting it in an entry way and hanging a bunch of strands of stars from it like a curtain and the kids will walk through it.

So if you are in need of a magic party idea here you go! It was so fun to plan and the boys are extremely excited for the magic show. It was kind of expensive cause the magician was a hefty price... but you can't put a price tag on your kids happiness right!?!

I am also entering my bucket craft idea into Trendy Crafter Contest this week. You must use tape... and I used masking tape since I wanted to be able to re-use these buckets after the party for toys.

Why I Love My Grandpa

2010-07-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

1- Because he visits once a week and brings us apples and bananas everytime... and once in a while... cookies!

2- Because he lets us sit in his lap and reads us books

3- Because he makes us homemade Jello Bread.... (It's a secret Roper Family Recipe) :D

4- Because he lets us come over and pick all the cherries, carrots, plums and grapes we can find in his backyard to bring home to mommy.... so she will make homemade pies!

5- But most of all... because he gives us tractor rides and even lets us drive sometimes!

Even I couldn't resist sitting in the trailer! That is why we love our Grandpa...

Just imagine the worst... and mulitiply it by ten!

2010-07-19T00:46:00.000-07:00

That is how I felt. From the very beginning our camping trip was a disaster. My husband was out of town for almost a week and asked me to meet him up in McCall for a camping trip. With lots of hesitation I agreed and somehow managed to pack by myself for my family and headed for the hills.

BUT along the way we faced many obsticles... and I guess if my husband and I are still married after this weekend then maybe we will get through anything cause he didn't get to see my inner beauty this weekend at all and neither did our fellow campers! And really that is an understatement.

Our list of disasters in order:

1) my son threw up in the car on the way to the mountains... said his tummy hurt

2) got to Cascade and met up with my husband and we headed for Stolle Meadows/Warm Lake area expecting to find this. Photo courtesty of Mike Huston

But instead found this... (Also I must note this photo was taken from the web? Not sure who photographed it but it wasn't me. I was no longer in a photographing mood at this point.

I guess there was a huge fire in 2007 that burned down this area that we drove an additional 2 hours to go see. So we stopped and let the kids roam in the burned down trees and had lunch. The mosquitos were insane, it was hot, and they were working on the roads so there were tractors everywhere. My husband begged us to just stay there for the night... but there was no way I was staying so I said no. I said lets find a spot back in Cascade....

So my husband being a sweet and patient man... agreed.

Get to Cascade around 3:30pm on a Friday afternoon and not a campsite in sight. Packed.... full... went to spot after spot and everything was gone... Drove up to the area where my husband proposed... I was so excited because we hadn't been there since then and same thing... EVERYTHING was taken. We found a spot FINALLY and my husband counted on me to wind this huge stupid toy hauler that was probably the size of a mobile home through this windy hilly road. And then "BAM!" I backed it into a tree root that seriously ripped the bottom corner of the toy hauler.

I so expected my husband to yell at me and he looked at me and said "Can you still get us back to that spot!" LOL he really said that. I am almost in tears cause I just ripped up the camper and I was so mad at myself and all he can think about is "Can you still get us back there?"

So after about 30 minutes of trying to back up this camper into this spot that was nearly impossible, two fellow campers from another camp site took on the responsibility of trying to get us back there. Finally my husband put aside his manly pride and determination and realized there was no way in "heck" we were ever going to get back there. So we spent another 45 minutes trying to get the stupid thing back out of that spot.

Thank God for kind people cause the two fellow campers who stopped to help us invited us over to there camp grounds. They had about 15 people and a great location so at this point... we decided to burden them cause our only other option was to go home!

So the rest of the night was great. Had a little to much wine that night, but I had a bad day so I sinfully justified it. :D The next morning Jacob decided to bathe in an entire bottle of mosquito spray... no kidding he really did and so we had none left. So my husband went up to get some at the nearest town. I decided to take the boys on a 4 wheeler ride. And guess what... it wouldn't start. Yes the kids left the keys in the ignition and the battery died. Husband gone... dumb blonde chick doesn't have a clue what to do so I had to ask for help... I hate asking for help. So I had to ask these campers for help again!! Although I do think the men there felt a little thrilled that they could show off all their man skills... so they jumped started our 4 wheeler. They also made sure I knew "NOT" to turn the 4 wheeler off after I left.

So the boys and I headed up for the mountains and finally took some of our first pictures up camping. I got to use my brand new Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 lens. Which is amazing by the way. I still need to get used to it but I got some pretty great shots. Most of these are SOOC. Some of them were slightly over exposed with the sunflare so I made some adjustments, but still getting used to the lens so all things considered I was happy with the photos.

There is some lens distortion on these but i left it cause I really don't have the energy right now to fix the photo! But great sun flare!

So we are having fun on the 4 wheeler and enjoying the scenery. Found a trail and followed it up the mountain for awhile.

Saw a few cows on the 4 wheeler... Adda chased them

THEN... dun dun dun... Adda (stupid dog) runs out in front of the 4 wheeler and then stops. I slam on my breaks. And I guess the brakes lock up sometimes and I guess i am supposed to know to use the wrench inside the tool kit behind the 4 wheeler to release the pressure in the brakes. So the brakes are jammed and I cannot get them to release. I remember thinking maybe the gears jammed up at one point so I tried to go forward and the 4 wheeler literally will not go and then all of a sudden jumps foward and the kids and I almost went over the side of the mountain on the 4 wheeler. Despite what I was told I turned the 4 wheeler off and headed back down the mountain. We hiked 2 miles back to camp and we were missing about 3 hours. No one new where we were or where to look for us so we had no choice. I felt like this at the time

only angrier. I was so mad I was in tears. I was done with camping... I wanted to go home. My husband begged me to stay and said it couldn't get any worse plus the kids were still having fun. And he was right they were... here are a few pics from later on in the day.

The kids playing in the sand getting dirty and swimming in the creek.

My sweet little Madison always puts a smile on my face

And God and his majestic beauty!

But my husband was SO wrong about the camping trip because then our hot water heater stopped working and we had to boil hot water to give the kids a bath which took forever. Then the stupid carbon monoxide alarm wouldn't quit going off and it didn't run on batteries so we had to cut the wires. Josh and I got in a fight cause I was the biggest "B" you could have met at that time. I went to bed early... I was done. Oh did I mention my husband who is an extremely patient man... waited until I was sound asleep before he even attempted to go to bed cause he just flat did not want to be around me!

I was looking forward to waking up Sunday morning and enjoying a cup of coffee and then heading home. And our coffee pot broke Sunday morning and I woke up with a 102 fever. I had a headache the whole way home down the windy bumpy roads back to Meridian Idaho. And it was at that point that I decided that I am done with camping for the year.

And after I get home and I download all the photos I took which was maybe only like 30 images... I realized I didn't take one photo of my son Jacob... and that is now my biggest regret.... :(

I think that this may have officially been the longest blog ever... and wouldn't this make a good movie? Only my version of the movie I would be sweet and proper, and patient and not yelling, and not crying, and not being a not so nice person... Have you ever had a Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day? oh and please excuse the word stupid which I used over and over in my blog... LOL! Just thinking about this camping trip makes me cringe.

Week 29 • Over My Head Photo Challenge

2010-07-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

This challenge will actually be so fun to see. I cannot wait to go over and check out all the talent and creative things people come up with. This picture was taken at a recent photo session. I loved the little boys expression. He LOVED to be thrown in the air... (can you tell?) LOL!

So head on over to http://www.iheartfaces.com/ and check out the talent! Anyone can participate and it is always so much fun.

4th of July- Part 2

2010-07-06T02:07:00.000-07:00

My 4th of July was challenge after challenge after challenge before "enjoying" the day off. We had plans to visit grandpa and pick cherries from his cherry tree and then off to Nana's for lunch and a nice day in the park with family and friends where the kids can play in the water and just enjoy the day with their cousins.

ONLY that day never really happened. LOL! We got to church late... had to go to an extremely overcrowded grocery story called Wal-Mart to get groceries for our picnic, forgot stuff so made a side trip to Freddies and left my debit card in the car so had to run back out and re-ring everything back up. Got to the Father in Laws house and realized we forgot the kids' fireworks at the house so we headed back home for the fireworks. Didn't get to pick cherries at Grandpas so hoping to get by later this week... which at this point isn't looking so good because my To Do list just seems to keep getting longer and longer. So after fixing face paint umpteen times with the kids, we headed off to Nana's and got there around 4. Can you believe she ate lunch without us! So what if we were only 3 hours late for our lunch date... :D

We went to the annual fireworks at Ann Morrison and left from Nana's house who lives about a mile away. In Madi's stroller we packed in 5 camping chairs, two blankets, a cooler full of ice, a bag of fireworks, a bag of snacks, a 15 lb bag of camera equipment, a tripod, 3 backpacks and a kid's chair. Can you believe the wheel broke off on the way there... A stroller with 3 wheels doesn't work well... did you know that! :D

So here we are with our 3 kids who decided to bring their scooters with them so they can't carry anything and all this gear and a whiney almost 3 year old who thinks she HAS to be carried everywhere and a broken stroller... My husband ran back to Nana's grabbed the van and recruited his brother Matt to help us to carry stuff into the park. My job was to carry in my camera bag and my 3 year old so I walked on without them as they found a parking spot and carried everything in. My husband did a great job carrying everything in except he forgot one little item... As i am getting ready to finally set up my camera stuff 20 minutes before the fireworks display... I notice my tripod is no where to be found. He remembered EVERYTHING except for that.... So no fireworks pictures this year from me. I didn't even try. I knew they wouldn't turn out so I didn't bother. Also did I mention that in the cooler that I packed for dinner at the park included Black Forest ham, Swiss Cheese, Mayo, Mustard, tomatoes, onions... everything except the bread... I FORGOT TO PACK BREAD! It was quite the day of mishaps... but in the long run it still ended up being sooooo much fun and a 4th of July I shall never forget. Next year I guarantee I won't forget the bread or tripod....

I remembered crayons at least for my 3 year old! And here is my cutesy Sister In Law Laury!

My single, adorable brother in law Matt.... :D

Laury kicking her husband in the toosh! Trust me it is much deserved... she puts up with a lot! :D

Me and Laury! Aren't we so cute!

My crayons and books entertained the kids for awhile.

My husband and his brother

My two favorite boys

I have no idea what they were laughing about but soooo cute to watch them

The boys and Madi snuggling up to her Uncle Jack

My niece Sydney and her friend Paige

My nephew Zach. He told me it was one cool picture of him! :D

Girls will be Girls!

Chalk Art in the Park! It was absolutely stunning!

And last but not least.... Josh with two of the kids

4th of July - Part 1

2010-07-05T23:19:00.000-07:00

Getting ready was the biggest challenge on 4th of July. I would get the hair and make up done and then it was ruined... NO NOT ON ME!! On the kids Ha Ha!

Everytime one kid was done I would send them off with dad so he could watch over them so I could get the next one done... only dad thought telling them to sit still and NOT touch their face... meant rub it until it completely gone... or to rough house on the floor and rub the paint off their hair. It was quite the challenge but finally got the job done... and so worth the wait. Aren't the kids adorable!

Happy Birthday to Jacob and I

2010-07-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

I got the best gift ever on my birthday! I got some pictures of "my favorite twin girls" who no longer live by me.... (sob).

But I am so blessed to get frequent updates from the parents and photos of my little cuties! I love you girls and thanks so much for the birthday wishes

McCall Lake Panoramic

2010-07-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

Stunning... simply majestic... and pure perfection

This lake is amazing! My husband asked me to capture this photo for some of our long lost family in a country called Tunisia... (You know who you are and we miss you sooooooooo much!) This was where you stood once overlooking the lake before you rode snowmobiles in the mountains! :D

Anyways this photo took me hours to create. I ran across many problems with photostitching in Adobe. As easy as it sounds it really was not that easy. I didn't use a tripod which was my first mistake! And many others also but I think in the end... it might have been worth the 2 hour headache!

I showed my husband my final edit and this is what I wanted him to say "Oh my gosh hunny you are so talented and so amazing and how on earth did you create such a beautiful piece of art."

But what he really said was "It is much better in person, the mountains look small and the water is sloping to the right!" LOL! :D Gotta love the honesty

McCall Family Trip - Part 3

2010-07-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

The last day of our trip was mostly just the drive home but we stopped a few times and took a couple photos of the scenery and here are a few of the pictures I captured. McCall is gorgeous! The lake is beautiful and the drive home is just as spectacular!

But before we do scenery shots... here is a picture of all the kids clonked out in the hotel bed. They were so tired they fell asleep in there swimsuits! It was a busy few days for them.

Here is the view of the lake early in the morning

I love the sunflares! It always reminds me of heaven

I told my husband he had to be in at least one photo so that people know that he exists. He is always working that I rarely get a photo of him

Some different angles of the lake.

These photos were taken through the window driving 65miles per hour down the highway... they actually turned out pretty good!

This is of a Catholic Church up in the Cascade Hills. It is so gorgeous

This was my husbands favorite picture

I actually stopped along the highway and got out of the vehicle to take a picture of this cow and I spoke to him to get him to look up! I wonder what passerby's were thinking! LOL

This old barn is a trademark in Cascade Idaho. It has been in calendars because of the unique look. It started falling down almost 10 years ago but is still holding on. The back end is fallen but the front end is still hanging on. It will be sad to see it go... and yes... we stopped again to get a photo of this. It was always on my priority list.

I have so much more to post. Jake and I celebrated our birthday this week. I have some pictures of the twins to post! Oh I love them! I may not get to them right away as I have 4 photo sessions this weekend! Can you believe that. It was because I was out of town last week and out of town next week so I have to get them all done this week.... Going to be hectic but so worth it! Hope everyone is doing great! I also am excited cause I just ordered a 2.8 11-16mm lens for my camera bag. It got rave reviews and can't wait to share some amazing panoramics with it in the future! I have two urban engagement shoots this weekend so I think this lens will be spectacular to use to get some fun and creative shots! :D

Family Trip McCall- Part 2

2010-06-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Day Two of our trip was more for mommy then the kids! I made them do a little scenic hiking for some photos... they were glad when the rain clouds moved in! :D They wanted to go swimming at the hotel so bad! Anyways here is day two of our trip.

I love photographing flowers!

and old ugly windows with weirdo boys in front of them

I like Flowers and Madison likes weeds...

We discovered a skate park in McCall. It is huge. I guess during the grand opening of the skatepark Tony Hawk showed up! It was a huge event for McCall. I felt a little nervous the whole time watching my kids out there without gear... but I was not prepared to find this along our journey!

On our walk we saw so many amazing things like the small airport

and this picture I love because you can catch a glimpse of a rainbow in the clouds and the second one is an airplane on top of an old camper that is for sale???? How would you transport that? Maybe it is connected to the airplane and you fly around with it... LOL

The rain clouds are moving in

This helicopter was soooo neat!

Right off the path we found a cemetary with a picnic bench and wind chimes?

Found another park on the way home so we HAD to stop!

and ended the day at the pool

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. I am back off out of town again for a girl's weekend getaway with the sisters. So excited!

Family Trip to McCall - Part 1

2010-06-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

My husband had to work out of town this week and so the kids and I packed up our stuff and went with him. I love McCall! It is a few hours from Boise but the lake, and the city are so gorgeous and the kids just enjoyed playing on the beach and taking walks. This will be a series of photos and blogs because there is so much to share but here is day one of our adventure.

The first thing we did was we buried Jake.

Madison got thirsty and quenched her thirst with lake water.... gross!

We saw boats

We made a Volcano with swords

My kids stuck there heads around metal objects.

A view of the town of McCall

My boys took turns holding up some huge boulders

Views of the Lake in McCall

We found a park on the lake to play at

Quality time with the kids

2010-06-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

The kids and I have spent a lot of time together lately. I really miss hanging out with them. I take for granite how fast time goes by and the short time we have together before they grow up. My oldest is already turning 7 next week. Time sure has gone by fast.

Today we took a walk up this hill they have that overlooks downtown Boise. The boys loved it. It was probably a funny sight to see an out of shape mom trying to climb up a steep hill holding up a two year old with a Nikon in her other hand trying to snap pictures on her way up. (If only there had been a photographer behind me taking pictures of the craziness)

I also got to catch up with an old friend at the park... who I failed to take a picture of. What was I thinking! She had the most adorable little man. Allison it was so great seeing you again. We both joined a mommies group and met some pretty great women today. I can't wait for more meet ups this summer and playmates for my boys! Here are some pics from our day.

Here is Jacob on the monkey bars. He literally has blisters from crossing this thing. LOL!

Okay I know this is mean... but I couldn't resist. For one thing...isn't the bathroom just discusting? Public Park Bathrooms are sooooooo gross! I don't even like to wash my hands in them. I usually have my own sanitizer with me. To see something this adorable on something so nasty... I couldn't miss the photo opp! :D

Ryan was playing house with this little girl at the park. He was the daddy and she was the mommy... Madi was there baby... LOL!

And the hill... my kids talked me into it... It was crowded... can you tell! I was afraid of the domino effect! One kid falls and they take everyone else down with them. Thankfully that didn't happen. It's like Where's Waldo here... can you find the boys?

It's steeper then it looks I promise!

So lets say you see your child rolling down the hill... what would a normal mom do? What would a photographer do? Yes you guessed it. the first thought was to take a picture of him before saving him. What kind of mom am I?

They are so proud! We made it to the top in one piece! Hi dad wish you were here!

***Note: This photo was taken by my 6 year old! Not bad. Great focus and nice crop! :D

And for those of you who didn't know we actually have skyscrapers in Boise idaho... here is proof that we are more then potatoe farmers! Ha Ha So the buildings are slightly pathetic in size... but yes we have them

Here is how Madi climbed the hills

If you look closely you will see all 3 kids in the background. Madison then Ryan on the next turn and then Jacob in his blue shirt way out in the distance. It is like they were perfectly lined up for this photo. I love it! Just a lucky capture.

Some more of our incredible views from the path.

I found some great wildflowers for a family photo! Here are some snapshots of the kids having fun in them!

Boise is a great city. From downtown, to mountains, to ski resorts, to water parks, to rafting, camping, hiking fishing... there is nothing we don't have here which is why I love Boise! It is a great place to visit and a great place to raise a family.

Food is meant to be photographed and shared...

2010-06-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

As a photographer I photograph everything... even food. And even though my family really doesn't understand it and makes fun of me because I do... aren't you glad I did! This was the meal we enjoyed for Father's Day Dinner.

Dinner was an hour late on being ready, my family was starving and gathered around the dinner table looking at all the food prepared and ready to eat... and I announce that everyone had to wait longer cause I had to grab my camera and take pictures of it. My mom laughed at me, maybe a few eyes rolled back in their heads... but these are the memories of my Father's Day and I wanted to have them forever.

I don't know what to get my Fathers for Father's Day. They already have everything they need! So I spoiled my FIL with food. It was also my brother's birthday the day before and so we also were celebrating his birthday too. I love my family and nothing is more special then sharing a meal with the people you love.

XOXOXO

Main Course
Chicken Cordon Bleu found here

Strawberry and Feta Salad found here

Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes found here

Herbed Batter Rolls found here

Dessert
Key Lime Pie found here and specially requested by my Brother Matt for his Birthday!

White Chocolate Rasberry Cheesecake found here and requested by my amazing husband cause he loves cheesecake and rasberries

I also made a blueberry pie that I forgot to photograph but my FIL requested it and absolutely loved it! It can be found here

I also found homemade recipes for graham cracker crusts, pie crusts and also made homemade whipped cream... which were all so easy! I hope your Father's Day was as special and delicious as mine! :D

Movie Nights in the Park with Pigs, Penguins and Monkeys :D

2010-06-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

I love living in Meridian! They offer so much for families to do and so many of these events are free. There is a park near my house within a mile that offers movie nights in the park on Fridays. They set up a huge screen and families just sit on blankets and watch a movie in the grass. So the kids and I met up with some friends in the park and gathered blankets, pillows snacks and pizza and watched "Babe" in the park last night.

I don't think we got home til midnight, and daddy was pretty exhausted by the time he got home cause he had worked all day and then met us at the park but the kids just had so much fun! We all went to the park an hour before the movie started and played in our Pajamas! Even I built the courage to wear my PJ's in public... but with make up of course... didn't want to frighten anyone! So here are some pictures from our evening.

My little ham Ryan. And the great thing about these pajamas is they glowed in the dark. So I could find him very easily. Which is a perk for mom cause Ryan does not always pay attention or listen to me when he is given rules.

Madison's new thing is she is very independent and does not want my help on anything. She tells me to go away now but if i get to far away she gets mad. She thinks she is a big girl... and now mommy no longer has a baby in the house... :(

and my daughter HAD to give the penguin a hug! It was adorable... most kids are afraid of these things... not her... she didn't want to leave. And then... there were also monkeys at this park....

and here are the kids settling in for the movie Babe which Madi loved the pig. Mom had plenty of snacks on hand to entertain them when they got bored.

Hope you had a good Friday Night... as you can tell we did! It was a great day out with the kids today. It seems like it doesn't happen as often as it should lately. love you kiddos!

Kids - Parks - Picnics and Cops

2010-06-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

When you plan a nice quiet picnic lunch with your kids at the park... the last thing you expect to see is 3 cops pulling up and interviewing people. Not sure what happened but when we pulled up we heard some shouting amongst a family and the cops had to get involved. It was quite entertaining for the kids to watch while they crammed down their food.

As far as quiet went at this park... well it wasn't. I think about a hundred families were there with their kids. I guess Meridian offers free food during the week for kids at certain parks Monday - Friday and I happened to show up when they were handing out lunches. It worked out great cause the kids were so excited. I had already packed a lunch for them but we ended up saving that for dinner and it worked nicely for mom cause I didn't have to cook!! They got apples, a salad, yogurt, milk and a sandwich in their lunches. Thank you City of Meridian for buying the kiddos lunch!

And of course if you have kids you know the same old routine. Once mom sits down to eat her lunch you hear "Mom I have to go potty!" It never fails. So I took the girls potty... and as you can see the cops are still in the background interviewing some of the people in the park!?!

Here are the kids just enjoying getting out of the house. I love this picture of Madi eating her apple and her messy hair! So adorable

And the boys recently discovered the skatepark next door. They no longer enjoy swings and slides. They want to play on concrete and go off ramps and do all the crazy things that make a moms heart skip a beat... And so for their birthdays which are in a few weeks, mom has already been convinced by daddy to buy them skateboards... but mom said only if they wear safety gear... so that will be included too! Don't need any brain dead kids!

And my next topic is... do you prefer these skateboard boys in baggy saggy pants or these skinny jeans... cause Iknow that skinny jeans are in... but really on guys? I just don't get it! I just don't find it attractive... what is your thoughts ladies? I prefer the saggy over the skin tight skinnies.

What an honor....

2010-06-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

It really is such an honor to have your photo chosen as the winner for Boise's I Heart Faces Photowalk. There were so many amazing entries and many photographers that actually knew what they were doing... (Ooops did I say that out loud!) :D

I think the greatest thing about this photowalk though wasn't winning the challenge but just meeting local photographers in the area and sharing tips, locations, photo ideas and just sharing a compassion that everyone equally shares. I didn't choose to be a photographer (I was going to college to be an accountant) but photography chose me. It is a passion that has only gotten stronger over the years. Thank you to everyone who supported me through my journey.... especially my husband who has probably (with a smile on his face of course) sat through hours and hours and hours of looking at photos and giving me advice.

So here is the photo that was chosen. It was actually taken with my 17-55mm Sigma lens (which I no longer own!! What was I thinking!) I am trading it in for the 11-14mm Tokina lens so hopefully I can capture even better panoramas of Boise!

Here is me in action! I didn't even know these photos were taken so it was pretty funny to find them on Michelle's blog who lead our photowalk.

If you look closely at this photo in David's camera you will see I am looking at this photo. Isn't that a cool photo! So creative and I didn't even see this as a photo opp!

And here is our Group on the Blue Turf! Everyone know Boise as Potato Farmers and Football Players with the Blue Turf! And for all those that don't know already.... yes we have street lights here... and yes I have been asked that question!

Finally it is Spring Time in Idaho

2010-06-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

The long awaited winter is over. It has been a long wait. Weather hasn't been all that pleasant here but we are finally enjoying some sun instead of rain! We have spent quite a bit of time at the park and visiting with family. Jacob is now in 2nd grade! I am so proud of him. He got exceptional grades. Ryan will begin Kindergarten this year and they are trying something new too. Instead of half days he will go a couple days a week all day. For me I think it will work perfectly. So far summer has kind of started out a little rough for us.
I have been so busy and haven't spent a lot of time with the kids, so I find them watching TV a little more then I would like, and the boys have been acting up a little more then usual but I am hoping that we will be able to enjoy the outdoors a little more now that the weather is cooperating. My photography has been doing exceptionally well and I just couldn't be more thrilled. Now if God can bless me with some balancing life skills then I would be doing great! I hope everyone is doing well! Here are some pics taken this week of the kids. And as usual... Ryan is being goofy! Silly kid!

Madison's 1st Make-Up Party

2010-06-14T23:03:00.000-07:00

Man oh man was she absolutely to die for! She ran around all cutesy in her petti skirt and put on make up and had her nails painted. We did her hair, and put on glitter. We made virgin Ritas.... danced and ate pizza. It was so fun! To see more pics of this event click here. This post will be dedicated to my princess. She sure is growing fast. She is gorgeous and her blue eyes make my heart melt. Even better yet... these images are SOOC.... with exception to a few that are "obviously" not! After this event i had 300 photos to sort through and since it was a probono event, there is no way I was going to enhance 300 photos. LOL! :D

Grandpa I know these will make your heart melt... cause they sure did make mine! Enjoy your little princess!

and at the end of the party... this is what my daughter looked like... no photoshop... I wanted too so bad... but I will just leave her the way she is. She had a virgin strawberry daquiri... sugar on her eyelid, juice around her lipsm dirt on her cheeks, and windblown hair... and still just so perfect in every way. Love you Madi!!

Rain, Rain Go Away... Kids can't go outside to play...

2010-06-04T07:23:00.000-07:00

Rain... seriously... I feel like I live in a rain forest right now... and the truth is I live in a desert... so why is it raining cats and dogs right now! I have had enough of Barbies, puzzles and crafts. I am tired of pretend picnics in front of the TV, and video games.... I want to play on the slides with my kids and take my dog for a walk. I want to play tennis with my husband and go camping... so why won't you stop... God what are you doing to me! :D

Our memorial weekend was quite "memorable". Yes... we got rained out... we played in the pouring down rain and tried to enjoy the weather in our shorts and flip flops because the weather man said it was supposed to be 74 degrees and partly cloudy... only he must have missed the giant rainstorm that moved in on us and ruined our weekend event. So here is our adventure playing in the rain which has not stopped since... The only positive I see out of this... is I dont' have to pay to water my yard this month.

What is she doing you ask? Well apparantly there was left over cupcake frosting on the string and my little sister was trying to lick it off as I snapped a photo...

We did the cake walk and seriously we had 6 out of the 10 kids on this cake walk... and not one won a single cake for almost 15 minutes... All the kids that walked right onto it were winning. LOL. So after an hour on the cake walk (no joke) in the rain... every kid eventually won a cupcake. But here are all the sad faces until then.

and finally everyone got a cupcake... and smiles did reappear.

We left the event early because the rain was just too much and ended up indoors at a place called Wahooz... kind of like a Chuck E Cheese... only much much better.

My niece Kennadie... she is getting so big!

Madison and Grandma!

Hope you all had a good Memorial Weekend!!

Who wants to Bar B Que?

2010-06-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Seriously this thing is a beast!! My husband won this grill today through Ferguson Supply. Can you believe that!! Now we can't say we never win anything! I told my husband we should name her... any ideas?

So the story behind this grill is it was designed to go into the brand new Cowboys stadium but the company that made them designed 120 of them incorrectly so they had to be remade. So Ferguson Supply bought 20 of them and raffled them off! I actually thing it is worth more then my car! My husband is so excited... LOL! I am wondering if I should be jelous.... :D

My Daughter Giving Me Attitude

2010-05-30T00:06:00.000-07:00

This one's for you Taylor! So ironically I read a post about this little girl Taylor giving her mom attitude... and well it had happened to me today too! I wanted my daughter to take a picture and she didn't want to. So of course I told he she wouldn't get a treat (fruit snacks) unless she smiled... so this is what she did. My life as a photographer has gotten harder... the bribes have gotten bigger, and I have to work extra hard to get a little participation in front of the camera these days!

But I am patient (not!), loving (except I do ~~threaten)~~ bribe my kids to cooperate and DETERMINED to get photos of my kids so even if this is what I end with... I am still happy in the end!

This is where I tell her to sit and smile

This is where I tell her she won't get a treat unless she smiles

This is her covering up her smiles cause I was tickling ~~torturing~~ her... so I settled with this picture... it was all I was going to get for the day.

BUT my little man Jacob was willing to participate! He smiled for treats...

And just for fun... one from Ryan the other day. Playing with the theme "yellow". His eyes look purple? Kind of scary!

Are you more patient with other peoples kids behind the camera then your own? Cause let me tell you that I definately am... I am totally fine with other people's kids don't want to smile for the camera but when it is my own it is like absolute perfection is standard or I get frustrated! Ha ha! please tell me i am not the only one out there like that!

Madison Praying

2010-05-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

My daughter praying! Oh my gosh this is too cute... please excuse the loud and obnoxious mommy voice in the background... wish I could delete that part!

Vote for my entry in the 2010 Professional Photographer Magazine Cover Contest

2010-05-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Vote for my entry in the 2010 Professional Photographer Magazine Cover Contest

Kaden is already 3 Months Old!!

2010-05-25T19:02:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe my adorable nephew is already 3 months old. Where does time go. I feel like just a few months ago I was holding him ub my arms doing a newborn session with him!

He did not enjoy me very much. He cried most of the time... until he fell asleep and then he awoke bright eyed. It was probably the longest newborn session I have had but got some super cute shots of his big blue eyes so it was worth every minute.
XOXOXO Love you Baby Kaden!

Two is Better then One

2010-05-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

Visit www.iheartfaces.com to see other great entries and to enjoy YELLOW this week!!

Mellow Yellow

2010-05-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

My niece came over and played with Madison yesterday. We did some fun "yellow" shots for http://www.iheartfaces.com/ upcoming theme. Aren't they adorable!!!

Where I Live! Boise Idaho aka: City of Trees

2010-05-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

I was doing a photoshoot a few days ago and here was my view. Welcome to Downtown Boise. It is so gorgeous right now. I am just loving this beautiful spring weather. Is everyone enjoying spring? I actually got a sun burn yesterday. Such a lame thing to be excited about but I am so used to packing around my winter jacket I have failed to buy sun screen yet...

Officially caught up! Park time with the kids!

2010-05-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the sun graced us with 70 degree weather... which is much better then the rain and hail we got last week! Oh and the below 20 degree weather! Can you believe that! The kids and I spent almost the entire day enjoying the weather at the park. I can't wait for Jacob to be out of school so he can be in more photos! Poor kid gets neglected from photos... although I don't really think he minds! LOL!!

Nothing is better then peanut butter sandwiches and lunch in the park

Kaden sure is adorable! Looks just like his daddy!

Mother's Day Weekend

2010-05-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

How was everyone's Mother's Day? Mine was so awesome. I took the weekend off of work. Can you believe that Saturday I slept in till 2pm... I didn't even stay up late Friday night but I was just that tired from not sleeping much over the last couple of weeks.

My husband said it was my day off so he took the kids out of the house and I did nothing. I laid in bed... woke up a few times but kept dozing off and realized it was 2 pm by the time I got out of bed. It was much needed. Later that evening we had a BBQ with my son's 1st grade teacher. Whom I have become friends with over the last couple of weeks and absolutely love her!!! She joind our Bunco Group and we have had so much fun getting to know each other. Plus now I get the inside scoop on my son's behavior which is always a mommy perk!

Here is a picture of my 3 kids and her 2 little girls playing in the sandbox

Here is my son's teacher and her daughter. They are such a fun family! I can't wait to get to know them more!

And on Sunday! The fun begins cause I got to wake up to the smell of fresh brewed coffee, bacon, egg and cheese biscuits and homemade goodies from the kids! Those are the best gifts! We got everyone ready and made calls to all the grandparents and headed to the park. My mom was sick in bed so we took Courtnee to the park with us. I figured that would be better so my mom could get rest and Courtnee could enjoy the day outside.

Here is a picture of Madi and I. I didn't even know Josh took this photo til I downloaded it! So sweet! Love candid moments.

Okay funny story. So I told Madison to give the duck a kiss and she goes okay! So she goes and kisses the other end of the duck... I wish I had gotten a picture... but at the time I thought it was a little inappropriate... but now I laugh and think "WHAT WAS I THINKING!"

Courtnee showing off her skills on the scooter!

Have you ever tried to ride a ripstick? I almost killed myself last night trying! My 6 year old started riding this last year. He is amazing on these things. He turns, goes up hills... I mean I can't even get it started without falling! They require so much balance and coordination... which I dont' have so... I will stick with photography

All the kids!

I love this shot!

My husband had more fun feeding the ducks then the kids!

and no my husband did not teach my kids to roll the bread up into balls and throw them at the geese!

We went and visited our Nana on Mother's Day! Silly Ryan and his goofy faces!

Happy Late Mother's Day to all you beautiful mommies out there!

We are still here!

2010-05-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

Life has been a whirlwind of craziness! I have been so busy taking pictures of everyone else... that I am not taking pictures of my own kids. I am also not keeping my blog updated!

I used to try and update daily... but I think I am going to be a little more realistic with my time and say it now might become weekly. How is everyone! We are all good! Here is a few pictures over the last couple of weeks. We are finally enjoying a little bit of spring weather in Idaho. It hasn't rained for awhile and yesterdayw as 70 degrees! The kids and I had a picnic in the park and spent 3 hours outside in the sunshine. Then later on that evening we went on a walk in the neighborhood. It is just sooooo awesome! I love spring... and I am loving that right now I can hear the birds singing outside my house. Spring I have missed you! Took you awhile to get here but finally you made it!

My little Madison... pretty as ever!

Blowing bubbles

Doesn't this crack you up! My dog eats bubbles. And also does anyone elses dog love Light Brite Pieces? Cause my dog eats them if they are on the ground! LOL! Hope they aren't toxic!

He was trying to hide from the camera... He did not want a picture

Boys Best Friend - my poor dog puts up with so much

All the kids and the dog at the park

Jacob jumping for joy!

Slides are not just for kids!

Ohhh he posed for me! Thats a keeper!

My Mother's Day Gift

2010-04-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

This is my Mother's Day gift to myself and the G-Ma's! I am so excited to get them! We took these in a field by our house full of the purple ~~weeds~~ flowers. I ordered them through http://www.mpix.com/ . Has anyone ever used them? I heard great reviews and although I have been a smugmug fan I thought I would give them a shot. I have been so so so so so busy! I have 5 photosessions booked this week and possibly two more. I have been so busy taking pictures of everyone else I have no time to take pics of my own kids... I guess that is the downfall of starting your own business! Anyways I hope everyone is doing good and I plan on doing some blog hopping soon and catching up on everyone's blogs! I miss it!

Oh also guess what I officially started this week! It is a must have in every women's life! :D

We officially launched a Bunco Group and I hosted the first night on Wednesday! It was sooooo much fun! Has anyone ever played? Any suggestions on keeping a strong group? I love all the women we played with. They were just there to have fun and get away from normal every day life. And it was great to have real conversations with people that actually like to talk about something other then video games, toys and barbie dolls! :D

I Heart Faces Photo Walk

2010-04-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

Guess where I will be June 5th? That's right! I am going on the http://www.iheartfaces.com/ photo walk across America! They are coming to Boise Idaho and I cannot WAIT TO GO! I love this website!

Tickets are only $5.00! ANYONE CAN GO! NEED AN EXCUSE TO WALK? Then come join! I am sooooo excited about this. Can you tell!?!

Meet baby Kennadie!!

2010-04-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

SHE'S HERE!! SHE'S HERE!!

I am a little late on posting this but have been so busy with other things. But I haven't fogotten to post about her! My sister finally had her little angel. She is officially 1-week old and absolutely gorgeous! She actually reminds me of Madison when she was a baby. Congrats to Melissa and Nick and big sister McKynlee! Enjoy her because they grow up right before your eyes!

Which reminds me... I gotta go enjoy my little ones... Madison has been asking me to do a puzzle with her all morning!

Oh My! 87GB of JUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-04-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

My computer has been running slow... and I kept running out of memory. I wondered how in less then 6 months I managed to eat up 200GB of memory. So I did some research and I had 87GB of temporary internet files! LOL! Then the rest was because I had Vista and Windows 7 on my computer still!

Can you believe I had 87GB of internet files!! Lately I have been practically living on my computer trying to get my business promoted and I am constantly online... Yeah.... maybe I should clean my computer out more often...

Hope everyone is doing well! I have been extraordinarily busy this week. I think my hair is starting to turn grey! But life is good, we are good and cannot wait to get back to posting! For now I will grace you with my precious niece that I got the honor of photographing this week!!

I have a question... and let's talk about weeds!

2010-04-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

I am curious to know if my blog posts are showing up the way I see them on my screen. Are they showing up funky on anyone elses screen? I have been using a 3rd party to upload my photos and have trouble sometimes with my paragraph (words) showing up in between my photos and ugh... it is so frustrating. Still haven't figured out yet how to avoid all that so I have to write everything before hand and not in between my photos. But I am wondering what it looks like on your end?

Okay now to fun stuff. Here is some photos of the kids I took for Mother's Day! I made Madison a tutu! Isn't it soooo cute! I love Zebra print stuff! :D I made a whole bunch of them for my photography business! It was soooo easy and "NO SEWING" involved. They are sooooo fun to make! These pictures were taken in this weed field right down from my house! I may not have blue bonnets (yes you..I see those photos! It's not fair)... but I have purple weeds... that I think look great in photos! So all you ~~braggers~~ luckies out there with blue bonnets.... well don't be jelous cause I have purple weeds! :D

Here is the gift I will give the Grandparents for Mother's Day... Including myself... of course the one below is my version... and then I will change the wording for grandparents!

Week 15 - “I Heart Desserts” Photo Challenge!

2010-04-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

I am really not excited about this weeks theme ... I cannot believe http://www.iheartfaces.com/ is hosting a challenge like this when I am right in the middle of my diet! Who is going to take the blame for the weight gain... How in the world am I going to go visit other blogs to see their pictures... It isn't fair and not a good start to my week! LOL! This will be a good testimant to my self will power... I will let you know how that goes ~~after I finish all the chocolate from my kids' easter basket!~~

This picture is from my sisters baby shower. I made a 3 layer fondant cake. For all that know me I am a self -taught fondant cake maker who has no idea what I am doing... I thought at first it would be like playing with play-dough.... and after watching online tutorials it was much more then baking a cake and throwing on some icing... I realized that when I first started making the marshmellow fondant what a "sticky" mess I had gotten myself into! LITERALLY! Anyone ever made homemade fondant? It is the messiest event and my kids laways ask why I don't let them help me make fondant! I am sure to a kid it looks like a lot of fun!

This is #5 cake I have made!

To see more great entires go to http://www.iheartfaces.com/ and see all the other great entries and desserts!

Visiting our Nana!

2010-04-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

It was a boy free event and Madison and I decided to visit our Nana. I just love her. She has a heart for the Lord... and she is such an inspiration to me and my family. My daughter loves to go over there and was so excited when she heard we were spending our day to see her.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves!

and when we were done I spoiled my angel with ice-cream

and she loved every bite!

Facebook and New Blog Site

2010-04-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

In the last month I have been working on so much stuff trying to separate business from personal.... It has been a long process for me!

So if you want to follow my photography blog here is the link (But don't feel obligated! LOL)
http://stefanimariephotography.blogspot.com/

Here is the link to my personal facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?ref=profile&id=557709528

and the link to my business facebook page!
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?ref=profile&id=100000862615599

So that is it for now! I hope to see you on facebook!

Madison's Artwork Story

2010-04-08T04:59:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time it was raining in Boise Idaho so mommy decided to do a paint project instead of doing something outdoors. It didn't start out very well cause I accidentally put my hand in the paint as my mom was putting everything together. As you can see it was very traumatizing and I no longer wanted to paint anymore!!

But then I saw my brother Ryan mixing his colors together with his magical brush.

He then used his magical brush to paint a pretty picture

So I decided to give it a try one more time and decided it was actually kind of fun to use my magical brush.

Then my brother decided to place his hand in the paint... I didn't know what he was doing!!

He then showed me his nasty, dirty, disgusting and messy hand

and he put his hand on his paper. To my surprise it left his handprint on the paper! It was sooooo neat!

So I built up the courage to try it myself.

and I found it was actually kind of fun!

So instead of painting the paper I decided to paint my hand with my magical brush!

and then see how it smelled....

I look over and my brother upstaged me by painting his shirt

So I started wondering what I could do to upstage him

So I painted my other hand

But that just wasn't enough so I put my artwork on my head

and then my face

I was pleased with the results

I think I make a beautiful piece of artwork... don't you?

and I don't know why but my mom made me erase all the hardwork I did.

I tried really hard to convince my mom to let me stay this way... and even tried the big blue eyes trick

But she said no... and poured water on my head and cleaned me up

I guess it's okay cause she made my brother get cleaned up too...

But maybe next time... I will color my hair? What do you think?

Easter Weekend - Part Three - Sunday

2010-04-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

The kids woke up to their Easter Baskets

Ryan was showing off his new Bronco's hat he got in his Easter Basket! Sorry for lack of clothes... my boys sleep in there underwear! Does anyone elses boys to the same thing?

Aunt Courtnee stopped by for a moment to show us her new pet bunny

Here is my nephew Zach eating away at his waffles!

Madison LOVES puzzles. She is so smart too. She can do puzzles all day. She put this 48 piece puzzle together by herself. She was happy to sit on it and pose for me for a treat.

I love this photo! Everyone is smiling. I need to take more grandpa photos with the kids. They just love him! They look forward to his weekly visits. They climb on him, read stories with him. It is so fun to see them with him.

The kids found these beautiful flowers growing in our backyard... and my sweet little Jacob put them in a ~~shot glass~~ vase and brought them to me for Easter. They were my gift the kids.

Then we headed to Aunt Jenny's house for dinner and an egg hunt. Here is a picture of my beauitful niece Mckynlee

Kylie was running from me! LOL! She didn't want a picture... little ~~brat~~ princess! :D

Here is Kaden just sleeping away! Already 11 lbs!

Madison found her place in life... underneath a kitchen table with a book! LOL! Goofy kid

Time to eat my turkey! Madison had to eat with this baseball... and she protected it with every bite she took!

Here is the little princess table

This is the way we eat! Totally Flinstoning it!

Uh-Oh! Accidents happen... Kylie found nail polish and spilled it all over her brand new Easter Dress.... mommy had to change her! Notice the different dress. But now it is also time for the Egg Hunt.

Good ol egg in the mail box... I bet the mailman wish he worked on Easter Sunday's!

Candy on the car roof... isn't that a little predjudice against short people... I couldn't have reached that one!

Ooooh! Whats up there? If there is only one who gets it?

So proud of his eggs he collected

Taking time for a quick smile.... she has better things to do like find chocolate!

Ryan was multi tasking... for every egg he found he ate a new piece of candy

After the egg hunt I come in and find this! Daddy found a moment to rest.

and the end result after combing my kids baskets. My kids know that everything they find is equally shared ~~cause I am a mean mommy.~~

Easter Weekend - Part Two- I Heart Faces Stories in Dessert

2010-04-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

So this is actually going to be mainly all the delicious foods and desserts from Easter. We made so many fun desserts for Easter. I organized crafts and Easter desserts with my nieces and nephews over Spring Break. It was so fun.... a little chaotic with all the kids.... but we all had fun doing it! So here is the end result. Our last Easter post will be tomorrow!

Easter Breakfast for the kids was pastel colored waffles with strawberry syrup and whip cream

I also made 3 different kind of quiches and surprisingly they were actually edible! LOL! Jack actually ate my food and he is the chef in our family... in fact, he went back for seconds... which means he really liked my food. Normally Jack won't eat! It made my morning! I spent a lot of time putting this together because Jack would be my biggest critic and I wanted to impress him! :D He and Laury are always so gracious to our family I wanted to do something special for him. He asked me to make quiche and I happily complied... even though I had never really made one before.

These were called Humming Bird Nests. They were so easy to make. Melted chocolate and then mix in coconut. Drip a heaping spoonful on wax paper and then push down the center and place in Robin Eggs! And they are delicious!!!

The kids all made sugar cookies and got to cut them out of the dough and then icing them. They had so much fun!!

The good ol Easter Basket Cupcakes! I love these. They are so pretty when they are done!

This may not be dessert... but it was dessert for me!! Here is my 27lb turkey I made! So excited for leftover turkey sandwiches!

All the Easter Eggs there Aunt Jenny helped the kids make! She is such a good Auntie for putting this together!

Last but not least here are the Easter Eggs I am bringing over to Jenny's house for our Egg Hunt. We decorated all of the plastic eggs into Egg-imals! We had owls, skunks, mice, dogs, cats and pigs. This was a long process... cause someone ~~(me)~~ had to cut out all the ~~stupid little~~ shapes out of the felt.... so it was 4 hours out of my life gone.... but the laughter from the kids when they got to create these things was priceless!

Right when I snapped this photo my son Ryan thought it would be funny to blow bubbles into our basket of goodies! LOL! Made for a good photo... but hopefully the candy doesn't taste like soap too much... oh well there just kids, right!?! :D

And here is an Easter Craft the kids did. I found all these craft and food ideas at Family Disney online. These were just socks filled with beans. The kids absolutely loved this craft!! It was so much fun!