Addicted to Photoshop

Okay, I admit it... I'm addicted.

I can't believe how fun photoshop is! It takes your creativity to a whole new level. I've been checking out tutorials online (thank you Jamie) and I'm getting some photoshop books for Christmas (thank you Santa:)).

This morning I learned how to make a photo look like a sketch. This is the photo I tried it on. I love the way Megan's eyes look.

I use photoshop for everything now- to do my blog header, scrapbook, enhance my pictures, and this year I'm making our Christmas card with photoshop. Like I said, I'm addicted!

So my reason for posting this is, if you don't have photoshop, get it! You will be amazed at what you can do with it!

He Crawls

As of yesterday Campbell is officially crawling! I don't know what to say. Part of me is so proud of our little guy and the other part of me is looking at the stairs and the fireplace and the outlets and feeling a little nauseated about the whole thing.

Disgusting Times

A favorite at our house is hot chocolate. Whenever we are outside in the cold, Hallie will ask if we can have hot chocolate when we get inside. Well, the other day we came in from playing in the cold to have hot chocolate. We sat down...Kathryn looked excited as she sipped her simmering drink. I sipped mine and thought "what in the world is this?"...quickly I regained my composure... I had to keep it together for the kids. I watched Hallie as she drank. I could tell all was not well but she was polite and said nothing. Then Megan yells "this is DISGUSTING!" No one could have said it better. Hallie and I then felt it was appropriate to agree and we wasted the nasty drink. Kathryn however is happy as can be with the new taste...I have no idea what it is, but apparently 1 in 4 can enjoy it.

Happy Birthday Melissa

This is a shout out to my little sister Melissa on her birthday.

We are thinking about you and missing you out here in Kentucky today,

and everyday for that matter!

Hope you have a great birthday Melissa! We love you!

P.S.We just found out this week that Melissa will be coming to visit us

Christmas night and staying for a week...
Merry Christmas to US!!!

My Megan

Here are the pics I promised of Meg and her hats.

Yesterday was the primary program. Megan didn't have a speaking part, thank goodness, that would have been stressful! All she had to do was stand and sing the primary songs. They had the sunbeams sit on the front row in the congregation and then walk up to the front for every song. I was worried that Megan wouldn't walk up there but was pleasantly surprised when she came marching up for the first song. She looked in my direction and then locked eyes with me and hardly blinked for the whole song! Even though she knows all of the words to the songs (we have a CD with the presentation music on it that they listen to all of the time) by heart and sings them all of the time at home, her lips did not move. She just stared at me intently. She did this for every song! I would make faces at her in an effort to at least get her to smile but she was too focused.
After church I said to her, "Megan you were sooo brave to get up there in front of everyone!" She said, " I know that! I know that I was sooo brave in front of everyone." She smiled and was so proud of her accomplishment.

I just have to remind myself, baby steps, don't panic Kathryn. Someday she won't be afraid of everything outside our front door.

At least she is not afraid of the camera. We sure love our sweet little Megan! :)

Tis the Season

Well, I've spent the last few days fixing my Christmas template and picking out Christmas music for my playlist.

What is it about this time of year that just brings my emotions to the surface? Christmas music is especially dangerous for me. All you have to do is play Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" and I am a puddle on the floor. I don't know if it makes me feel happy or sad, it just makes me feel.

It truly is the "most wonderful time of the year" and Hallie reminded me why, "because of Jesus" she said. She is right, and I am so grateful.

A shot in the arm

I took Hallie to the Pediatrician today to get a flu shot. She was not happy about it! She got a Winnie the Pooh sticker and when we got home she put the sticker on a piece of paper and wrote this...



-My sticker with Pooh Bear and the Heffalump

I got this sticker at the doctors office and I got a sucker and we went to DQ to get a ice cream and I think that sticker was the only sticker like that there and I loved that sticker so much and for a second I couldn't get it and then I got it and I got the flu shot and she counted to five and I screamed and cried and it didn't hurt very much.

It was a traumatic experience for all of us which is interesting since apparently "it didn't hurt very much." ;)

Something Red

Ever since we moved here I have been looking for some red hanging plants to put on my front porch. I looked all over and just couldn't find anything I loved so I gave up hope on red flowers and talked to Trevor about painting our door or our swing red. Unfortunately Trevor doesn't share my passion for the color. I just wanted something RED! Today I looked out the window and had to catch my breath when I saw this... Isn't it beautiful?!? I don't even know what kind of tree it is and I know that it will only last for a little while which is why I will be looking out my windows and swinging on the porch swing and pulling out my camera a little more... enjoying our beautiful red tree.

Tagged

Okay, I've been tagged (thanks a lot Christina ;) and these are the rules I have been given.
A. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
B. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.


Seriously, I can't think of anything that anyone would want to read about me so I've decided just to make stuff up that is interesting ;).

That brings us to fact #1 about me, I am a rule keeper, always have been. So I guess that means I will actually have to write this about me... sorry. (1 down, 5 to go, think hard Kathryn)

#2 Favorite Jobs
- Inkleys (a photo store) I worked up front selling cameras and doing the register and then I was moved to the back where I printed the 1 hour photos... some people take really weird pictures! Our boss was a total softy and let us do just about anything, including go to the store after hours and watch movies on the big screen ( have you seen the new show Chuck?) and take pictures in the studio etc. but that is a whole 'nother story, huh Steph.;0
- Apple Village, assisted living. I was a CNA and loved to work in the Alzheimer's Unit. Every night was a new adventure. I was often part of their delusions so I was everything from a hotel bellhop to a Primary 1st councilor (she was the Pres. and it was the primary presentation). I just played along because that is what you do with Alzheimer's, you can't bring them back to reality so I would try to help make their delusions pleasant and just be whoever they thought I was. I loved those people.
-Labor and Delivery Nurse at Utah Valley Hospital- Can you say PUSH!!! This was what I always wanted to do and worked so hard for. I loved being part of such a monumental moment in peoples lives and celebrating with them the joy of a new healthy baby. I worked the graveyard shift so I also had lot's of opportunities to help deliver babies when the doctor just couldn't get out of bed quick enough. I worked there until one night when I was contracting more than my patient and decided that I better get my own bed. I had Hallie a few hours later (before my patient had her baby, not that it was a competition ;))...push!!

#3 Things I will never wear again
- Stone washed jeans
- Banana clips
- electric blue mascara
- a fanny pack
- my pre-Campbell jeans :( Okay, I haven't totally given up hope on this one yet

#4 My claim to fame
When Trevor and I were first married our home teacher was none other than Brian Blosil. Who is Brian Blosil you ask... only Marie Osmonds husband (now ex-husband)... hello!

#5 Things I've learned as a mom
- Barney loves me
- Showers are underrated
- TV is indeed a good babysitter
- Spit-up goes with anything, at least my babies think so
- A mother's love is limitless

#6 My favorite things
- raindrops on roses... sike
- anything pumpkin
- sleep
- anything chocolate
- shopping without kids
- jeans that fit
- brown paper packages tied up with string ( I really do like that one)


Okay, that's more than enough about me. I tag Melissa L., Stephanie, Marla, Aprilyn, Traci, Heather D..
P.S. I just came up with my own 6 facts etc. I'm making up my own rules, so just share any 6 things you want.

Campbell Update

I've had a lot of people ask me how Campbell is doing. Happily he is "all better". We are sleeping again and life is back to normal... normal is good. :)

I took this picture and some others (I put them in the slide show on the right) of Campbell and the girls a few days ago. Megan had so much fun with our "photo shoot" she asked if we could do it again and today she gathered up like 8 hats and told me she wanted a picture in each hat. She's my poser. I'll post those pictures soon.

FLY GIRLS

Well, today was a good one. I had the day off and we went to the model airplane park. Hallie and Megan went with me. It was fun - the first time I have flown my F-27 Stryker (it is a cool remote control jet) since we moved here. It was bitter sweet. I was able to hang out with my fly girls, but it made me homesick. I have some great memories with Dad, Todd, Bill, Grandpa, and Ty. We had many excursions when we were supposed to be working. Thanks to Todd for making it possible, to Dad for driving the Jeep for the ultimate fly test (it is hard to explain, but imagine sitting in an old jeep without a seatbelt zooming down a rocky windy dirt road in the wind and trying to keep up with a remote control airplane - guess who's idea that was)!

Trevor

Baby Darth Vader

Campbell's 1st Halloween.
I recorded Cam so you can hear him wheezing. In order to hear it you have to pause the music at the bottom of the sidebar on the right and you may need to turn up your volume.

Halloween 2007

Happy Halloween Everybody! These are the pumpkins we carved this year, you will notice that there are only four, that's because I was so exhausted after we did everybody elses I was done! It's hard to tell in the picture but the 3rd one over is Campbell's and it has a binky in it's mouth... Trevor and Hallie's cute idea.
Hallie was a cowgirl this year. Yeehaw! She looked so cute with her freckles. Megan was Ariel from the Little Mermaid. She felt soooo pretty! I caught her looking at herself in the mirror several times and just smiling and playing with her long red hair.
This is a pic of the whole family at the trunk or treat last week (yes, I know the picture is crooked, I did not take the picture, just tilt your head slightly to the right ;)).
Trevor was a "babe magnet". This is the only picture we got of Campbell in his Halloween costume (see below). He was a policeman. Halloween night we had dinner with some friends in the neighborhood. It was fun to get together with them. To be honest, Halloween was a bit of a blur to me, I was stressing over Campbell the whole night. He has been sick and yesterday he started wheezing and just seemed miserable.
Campbell's first Halloween, poor kid. We didn't even attempt to dress him up or take him trick or treating. He sounded like he could barely breathe. After a terrible night of pacing the floor with him and almost going into the ER but then talking myself out of it (several times) I took him to the pediatrician today. His bloods oxygen level was lower than it should be so they gave him a breathing treatment and sent me to the hospital to get a chest x-ray. The final diagnosis is bronchitis and an ear infection. They sent us home with antibiotics and a machine to give him 3 breathing treatments a day. He does not like them but hopefully they will help, at least enough that we can get a few more hours of sleep... pretty please.