Jumping in the leaves!!!

My in-laws have an awesome back yard and it seems that each year the kids really enjoy raking up the leaves so they can jump into them. Steve's sister, Teri, was here so all the cousins pitched in and had a blast. Here's a few of my kids helping!

Happy Halloween

I still haven't been feeling real well, so I didn't get real into picture taking this Halloween. But here's just a few of the kids. Brie LOVED the concept of free candy...she was so excited! :)

Just be a KID

What is the deal with kids these days? You know, when I was younger, we were creative and found interesting things to do. We didn't have to be entertained by machines or video games. WE made our fun. We put things like bikes, board games, and skatboards on our Christmas lists.

You want to know what is on my daughters Christmas list?
A cell phone
A nintendo DS
A laptop computer
MP3 player
Get hair highlighted

Funny how times change. I swear that by the time Brie is 5 she'll be asking for a cell phone too. Well, I think I'd like my kids to just stay kids, at least for a little while. They have FOREVER to be all grown up. Last night Kylee told me she really needing some tanning lotion because all of her friends were going to go to school tan. My response: "Would you quit! You're 11 years old! You don't need tanning lotion - just be a kid for goodness sake!"

Pumpkin Time

On Saturday the family did their pumpkins! We had the kids paint theirs and Kylee and Dad carved theirs. I didn't do one...I get more frustrated then anything trying to carve them...and the smell right now is just blah! But here's some photos of the kids. Deagan really got into it - even painted himself a little!

What big Eyes you have

Brinkley has always talked pretty well and says funny things all the time...but I hardly ever remember to write them down. So here's one.

I was putting her to bed the other night and I gave her a kiss. Then she held my face in her hands and said, "You have big hair!...and you have big eyes...and you have a big mouth...and you have big teeth...and I have little boobs!"

I died laughing.

My BIG FAT CRAZY Family

Well - as many of you know - I am yet again suffering with the missery of pregnancy!!! I have said it before and I'll say it again...there is nothing in the world that I hate more then being pregnant! IF I am lucky enough to feel better - that will come when I'm 18 weeks. PRAY that I do feel better...I need it!

Steve is currently the working father by day and Mr Mom by night. He amazes me how much he steps up and takes over when I'm pregant. I'm lucky I married such a patient/easy going guy. I feel SO bad that I'm not 100% and that he has to pick up my slack...but at least I know it'll be over in 9 months!

So - I have 2 week old cheerios and pretzles smashed into the floor in my play room and a bedroom floor covered in laundry. I think if the state came in they'd take my kids away for having such a dirty home...at least I'm throwing out the dirty diapers! :)

Thanks to all those who have called to wish me well. Thanks even more to those who take my kids away so I can sleep for a while. You have NO idea how much I appreaciate you.

Family Photos

A few weeks ago my super awesome friend Nikki came out to Roberts to take my family photos for me. She is so wonderful - and we had fun! She lets me do my own photoshop work on them...so they might not look as good as her versions will...but it will be fun to compare!

I wanted us to wear bright colors this time...and boy did they turn out bright! It was a fun summer look though. I already have a fall looking photo on my wall, and I'm not going to replace it any time soon, so I wanted to put something a little more fun in our play room. I think one of these will work! And it's nice to have updated photos every once in a while - thanks so much Nikki...we love ya!

Yep - this IS me kicking the crates...I know...I need help.

Flab to Fab

For FHE this week we talked about goals - setting them and working for them. Each of us picked out 2 goals we wanted to accomplish by New Years!

For one of my goals, I chose "drop 10 pounds!" I have more then that to shed, but I have to start somewhere. And I figured that if I posted it on the blog, it would be even more motivation to get my "rear in gear" - I'll try to post my progress. (if there is any) :) So...wish me luck! And if you have any super great advice on how to drop weight fast - please do share! I can use all the help I can get!

I love this photo

While we were at the splash park the other day, I got this great shot of Deagan. I had accidently overexposed it and thought I'd have to trash it...but I did a little editing and now I LOVE it! I love how all you can really see are his features. Is this one cute boy or what? :)

I am having a blast with photography. I am learning new things and have actually been somwhat busy this year. It's been perfect - not too much, not too little. I average about 2 sessions per week, which is exactly what my goal was. And I'm not really even having to work for it - people just call! So I must be doing something right! If anyone is interested, you can check out my work at www.taramillerphotography.com And if you even want photos done, just give me a call!

New Chairs

I have loved these little chairs for years - the first time I saw one I thought "oh, how cute! That would be so fun for kids!" And now, years later, they still make them and I still think these chairs are so cute! I got them at Target - ON SALE!!! My kids love them! They just sit side by side when watching a show - I think they feel like big kids on them. Our theater room isn't quite done yet, but once it is, these cute little chairs will go in it.

Sippin' Straws with Daddy

While we were in Oregon, my friend Emily gave me a recipe for smoothies that we have been loving! So we made them one night and the kids wanted some. Not their own though, they wanted daddy's! So in went 2 more straws and they sipped together. So I hope Emily wont mind, but I am going to share this smoothie recipe with you all.

1 whole banana

3/4 cup berries

1 can of pinapple and the juice

1-2 tablespoons of Grenadine syrup (cherry flavoring syrup)

1/3 of the can of cream of coconut (this is the most important item)

enough juice to make it smooth & mix well

Enjoy!

Splash Park!!!

We enjoyed what I think was our last day of summer this past weekend. We went to the Splash Park in Rexburg with the family that lives across the street from us. I think the kids had a great time! It's one of those types of places that you go to watch your kids have a lot of fun! It makes me wish we still lived in Rexburg. I loved it there - and they have so many family friendly little places there! Anyway, Brie really got into it and even tried the slide this time! I think they'll love it even more next year!

bring on the callings!

When we first moved in, we were told by someone at church to expect about 3 callings. Our ward is fairly small - actually, I think it's large, there just aren't very many active people that go.

Well, Steve got put in the Young Mens Presidency and I think he really likes it. It's a nice change for him from Scouts. And they put me in as an Activity Day leader. SO FUN! We didn't have any activities over the summer, but we have our first one coming up soon. It'll be fun to work with the girls and get to know them better.

Just about a week ago I was asked to fill another calling - the Nursery! I figure that I'm in there anyway (trying to get my kids to stop crying) so why not!?!? My first week was CRAZY! I think every single kid was crying!!! It was in the water or something. But the other woman in nursery and I chatted a lot about new ideas and what we want to do, so I think it'll work out great!

So now I think it's Steve's turn for another calling! Bring it on!

I'm in L-O-V-E

I am SO completely in love...with my new lense!!! It does beautiful shots, awesome depth of field, and the price makes me love it even more! So check out what this baby can do. Notice how I chose Deagan's eyes to be most in focus, then it gradually blurs out from there? LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! (and you have to love the hot sexy glare Deagan is practicing for when he becomes a model and makes me millions!)

She's so pretty!

Brie has discovered the love of make-up. It's probably a mix of having to watch me do mine every day and now seeing her sister wear it. Brie wants to be one of the big girls too! She is always asking if she can put some make-up on. I let her do it herself and usually she ends up with loads of eye shadow in her eyes. Ouch! But on this day she put all of her eye shadow under her eyes and put lipstick on for probably 5 minutes. She also likes to have Kylee do her hair and calls herself "Cinderella" once she's all done up! Ahh, so pretty! There's no doubt Brinkley, you ARE the princess!

First day of school!

It was the first day of school today and MAN-O-MAN was Kylee excited. (mom was a too) I think she was feeling pretty confident in her super cute new clothes, cute hair, and cute smile! She is starting middle school this year (6th grade) and LOVED her first day. She had boys checkin' her out - we've taught her to let them know that they "can look, but they can't touch!" But to be honest, I think she's looking too! :) She leaves at 7:45 am and gets home at 5pm - what a long day! But she doesn't seem to mind! She is in band this year with her friend Dottie and they are playing the flute!!! It'll be fun to see her develop that talent. Ky is a pretty darn cute girl - super sweet and full of fun (and yes, sometimes goofy) personality! We love you Kylee!!! Good luck at school this year!

Summer just flew by this year!

Marshmallow Temptation

I was searching thru some websites the other day looking for some templates and stuff I need for my photography business. I came across this guys photography blog who said that he had stumbled across this little video clip (which he included on his site) and he loved it. I watched it out of curiosity - and I have to tell you all about it. It's really made me think - not only about each of my kids, but as us as adults also. The video was called The Marshmallow Temptation. Now, I've never gone out seeking other Christian teachings outside our church - but it was done by a preacher of another religion, but I think it's message was good.

In the video, there are children in a room with a hidden camera. A man comes in and brings them a marshmallow and tells them, "you can eat this now if you want, but if you can wait till I come back then I will give you 2." Then the man left the room. Each child responded differently and it was interesting to see how each one handled "the temptation." Each child sat for at least a short moment and looked at the marshmallow intently. One just licked the top of it a few times. One picked off tiny little pieces from the back side so you couldn't see he had done it. (and ate them) Another just stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. One took a little bite, then put it back down, then another little bite, and put it back down, etc. Another one just pushed the marshmallow all the way across the table and turned and looked the other way. (Soon the man returned and gave each child who had not eaten theirs yet a second marshmallow.)

This made me think about the ways that each of us react to temptations. Each person handles things in their own unique way - each person has a harder time with some things and an easier time with other things. But how do we react when temptation is facing us - are we like the kid who quickly snatches up the chance without even thinking, do we pick at it just a little at a time and before we realize it we're right in the middle of it, or do we push it away and look in the other direction? Each of these kids showed us how we could respond to temptations via a marshmallow - how do you think you'd respond if it were a temptation of something else?

Kylee turns 11 years old!

Our Kylee turned 11 years old yesterday! Oh my gosh! Time sure does go by fast! And doesn't she just look so much older? NOT a little girl anymore - :(

She just got back from a 3 week trip with her Mimi and Papa - they really educated her by taking her places like Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, etc. She got to see the Amish and even a cross dresser! (she thought that was pretty darn funny!) Now she is back home and it's good to have her back. And she brought Papa back with her - so it was fun to have him here for her birthday also.

Happy Summer to You!

Brinkley and I had fun playing outside the other day. She is LOVING the swimming pool, the sprinklers, bubbles, and helping mom to water the flowers. She wants to go outside every day - and I can't blame her. You have to take the opportunity when you're stuck inside for most of the year! She got a little pooped out and decided to rest in Deagan's stroller, so I used it as a chance to take some cute photos of her! What a DOLL! :)

Like a Fish!

Brinkley and I had a really good time playing outside together the other day. We were SO thrilled to have some warmth - she's enjoying her little pool, the sprinkler, watering mom's flowers, and blowing bubbles. I think she's like her big sister and loves the water! :) Brie got a little worn out and decided to take a rest in Deagan's stroller, so I got these cute shots of her!

Happy 4th

The 4th of July is one of my FAVES! I really like it here in Idaho. We always start out in the morning going to the parade that is in Idaho Falls. It's super cute and they thow candy to the kids - it's just fun! This year was SO hot - Deagan got sunscreen in his eyes, so we left a little early. Then we go to the in-laws for a BBQ with the rest of the family. It's nice to be fed :) and catch up with family. Then we just kind of sit around and relax while all the cousins play. Bire really enjoyed that this year - she's old enough to be part of the group! We then go hang out for a few hours waiting for the firworks to start - and that show is AMAZING! Of course we pig out on junk food too - and it's all just good times! :)

This year we had the cousins over to our place to play in the water - but we have no grass so it was all on the driveway. Sorry guys - next year we'll have grass! :) I think my kiddos really enjoyed just getting to play all day and be with friends. We missed our Kylee though - she is in Virginia with her grandparents for a few more days!

WHAT did you say?

Brinkley (who is 2) and I were in the kitchen the other day - I was getting her some lunch and she was just hanging out in her chair waiting patiently. Then out of the blue she says, "mom, where do babies come from?"

WHAT???

I just told her from mommy's tummy. Good enough for now I hope. :)

Missing: Teenage Brains

While we were in Oregon, I was having a conversation with my friend Emily about kids. She was telling me that she saw on some report that studies have been done to show that teens act the way they do because they are unable to think thru things and remember things. I don't know if this sudden "mental warp" is real or if it's just an excuse we've created so our kids don't seem so...DUH...but ever since she told me about this, I've wondered if that's why our little pre-teen does some of the things she does.

Suddenly the things we say seem to make their way into, what I'd like to call, the "brain blender." This blender does a great job of keeping the key ingredients and purees all of it to create a mixed up version of what you had before. For example: A teen is asked to clean up her dirty bedroom, and while the actual bedroom looks GREAT, here's what you get.

Or your teen is outside playing with a lawn chair, a working umbrealla, and a stroller - it's time to come in so you ask your teen to put everything back away where they got it, and here's what you get.

Or you notice that your teen has the bar of body soap stuck to the mirror in her bathroom instead of in the shower where she can use it and get clean, so you ask her to put it back into the shower, and she thinks this is a much better place for it.

Now, to those of you that have a teen, pre-teen, or ever will have a teen, all I can say is: GOOD LUCK! Possibly try to remember back to your own "brain blender" days and see if you can make sense of any of it. (I have been unsuccessful at it thus far) :)

What do you get...

when you mix a 2 year old who LOVES her strawberry shortcake stickers, and a totally helpless 12 month old?


















This was just too cute - I had to snap a photo of it. Deagan just sat there nicely, letting his sister cover him in stickers. And not just any stickers, but girly stickers. :)

They are finally getting to the age where they have a few good moments together...you know, playing nicely. Those moments come in about 3 minute segments, but they are nice when they do happen. Deagan has a really strong personality so he's kind of picky about being bothered (or things not going his way). Brie on the other hand is pretty easy going (for the most part) and has gotten used to Deagan's "freaking out" - she just says "Shhhh! BE QUIET!" I am excited for the day when they will run outside and play together. How much longer will that be? I really do hope that they end up being good friends as they grow up. They already seem to love each other so much - I think they'll learn to be good buds.