long weekends

Our 4th of July long weekend was so much fun.
Why let the party stop?....So we are continuing it.
A few good friends + a beautiful new area to explore (i've never been) by boat.
It should be one of those long weekends that is not quite long enough.

{rainy june afternnon 2009}

p.s. our camera is safe and sound. I actually never even misplaced it. Someone else did. I won't mention names....I will just say it feels really good to know it was not me. Now the toilet theory for the rest of the items still remains.

Cello Song - The Books and José González

yay for sparklers

I love the 4th of July.
It is one of my favorite holidays
I don't know if it is because:
I love summer nights
eating watermelon in swimsuits
love for my country
listening to music all day (this year was the Michael Jackson 4th)
BBQ'n
spinning sparklers around around
the smell of a good smoke bomb
My honey gets the day off....paid. :)
or those pretty big fireworks against the dark sky
Ok it's a combination of all.
It all makes of one of the best days of the year!

6 years ago

When we lived in city house #7
When Canyon was three and Ellie younger than one.
When Canyon loved Buzz light year and wore whitie tighties instead of boxer briefs.
This video was made.
I just can't get over how small he is....
and yet how incredible his driving skills are.
Still to this day I think a small part of him thinks maybe he really did drive once at the young age of 3.



I love his little smile when he is hitch hiking
and then his scared face when he gets a ride.
He was on top of all that acting stuff. :)

west coast

I will be spending the next few days here.
Helping my little sis get settled into her new stomping grounds.
It will be fun hanging in the city by the bay
and heading down highway 101 to Santa Cruz for a day.
It was be sad to leave her behind when I come home.....boo hoo.

p.s. Thanks to Shane for taking the kids all weekend even over Father's day.
I totally spaced that one when planning the trip.
I am guilt ridden with thoughts of being the worst wife ever for this slight oversight.
He on the other hand did not even raise an eyebrow......what a guy.
I will make it up to him somehow someway.

into thin air

I have the unfortunate ability to loose important items. I wish I could say it's not so....but it is. I can still manage to find everyone else's items in the family. Like ellie says "you are a good finder mom". That is unless that item is mine and sort of important. Important items like my drivers License, bank cards, the mr.'s bank card, keys and so on and so on. I think it probably all started when I was in high school and my wallet was my back pocket. My back pocket was my wallet for so long that sometimes even in my adult years I have forgotten that maybe the back pocket is a bit overrated as a wallet . I have since advanced to a soft orange leather wallet (that I love I might add) and I try to steer clear of habits from my younger years but it is hard sometimes. I am getting better. The craziest part about my unfortunate ability is that I could swear misplacement is not the issue. More like these things just disappear into thin air or my house has a black hole. At least that is what I thought and that is what I tell the mr. when I have had to borrow his bank card and then have had to tell him I lost his too.....oops (his has only disappeared once). It was flat out mind boggling I tell you. Unitll one day randomly I remembered back to a time when I was using the bathroom at Target and somehow some mysterious way my keys wound up where no keys should really ever go. It all happened so fast but when my pants came up the keys went down...down...down. Never before have I hated those automatic flushers so much. I didn't stand a chance with that flusher because no matter my strategy when I stood up the inevitable was going to happen...and it did. In a blink of an eye my shiny keys were traveling into the dark abyss. That's when I realized the possibility that maybe all those important items ended up in the dark abyss too without me even knowing it after to much back pocket time. It was the only thing that made since. I told the Mr. He just laughed at me. Now I realize maybe he was right to laugh...and I am sad. I can't find my camera. (boo hoo) It has vanished into thin air......I am really just so sad. It can't fit down the toilet hole or fit in my back pocket so that blows my whole theory. I am keeping my fingers crossed and saying little prayers that it is waiting for me in a few places I have not been able to check yet. Now I am back to my into thin air and black hole thoeries. Maybe somehow eveything that has vanished is all in one tricky place and one magical day I will find all of it.....maybe?

vote,vote,vote

My sis in law Allison put a 12 second video together for a contest for an all expense paid trip to Italy to attend a photography workshop. She has made it to the top 4 videos and now she needs votes to win. She is a really, really amazing photographer and her video is super sweet, bay far the best out of the 4. So go here to see a really cool video Me plus Italy it's the first video. Then vote for her!!

Polls end at 5:00 tonight!!

Thanks everyone!

Here is the 12 second clip.. pretty.

me plus italy on 12seconds.tv

red rock photographs

Some of my favorite pictures of our last trip to the dessert.

Canon always climbing. It scares me a lot of the time.


Ellie totally out of character holding a tad pole. She can always surprise me.

love...love.


Signature on everything.


Canyon loves this stuff.


2009 picture in front of the old Zion tree. (lucy MIA) We take a picture of the kids in this exact spot every year.


The end.

signatures on summer toes

A serious summer habit has formed. Signatures on everything imaginable. I made her give me a pinkie promise that I would no longer find her little name on the inside of drawers, under shelves, on the wall 90% hidden by a hung picture. I guess at least she knows when to hide her signature and when she can let it shine brightly, like on her little sisters summer toes. Just look at those summer toes already telling stories about what she has been up to in the summer of 09. She's part hippie I suppose because she thinks wearing shoes outside is for the birds. I can't change her mind. I have tried.

zippidy do da

my oh my what a wonderful day.




Gotta love good old fashion summer time fun.
Everyone loves a good zip line ride......right?

a runner.....not really.

but I want to be healthy and strong to watch my children and grandchildren grow and grow.
Oh, and I also sort of need to work off all the ice cream I eat.

So I semi-torture myself with running.

And somehow when the run is over I am always glad I did it.
It feels good to know I can go further than I thought I could.

I did this little 10k run this weekend.

The trail was so beautiful and green and well..... kind of pretty hard.
It went up and up the canyon
and then went back down but the down still seemed like up sometimes.
How does that happen??
I'm not sure how this is rewarding when all is said and done.
But I guess it is.
Because there are more runs to come this summer.

a little story

About a little girl named Lucy with tiny quick feet and a very brave adventurous spirit.
She traveled to a beautiful land
and found a hidden waterfall.

She found the the little pool intriguing and wandered out on her own.
Getting a little more courageous with each step.
This little taste of big girl freedoms made her almost burst with happiness.

Yep, it sure did.


She found a very large stick for a little lady and got in over her head {literally}

She did not like this....nope not one bit.


How many times did you go swimming Lucy....4 times.. oh poor girl.
Sometimes there are no lessons learned because the consequence {soaked, scared} is better than sitting on the sidelines watching.
So back into the water she goes to join her favorite friends.

The last piece of dried clothing was spared from getting drenched in case of another mishap.
This made Lucy feel free as the little bird she is.
She was in her element.

Dancing, prancing, copycatting {she does this best} climbing, jumping.
No clothing restrictions holding her back.
Beaming with joy.

And as the afternoon was winding down.
She was content as could be...taking in the view.
I think she was reflecting on how proud she was that she was not sitting on the sidelines.
This could have quite possibly been the best afternoon of her life.

summer love

We thought the start of summer needed to be celebrated. So we headed to one of our favorite summer spots. This place never ever fails us. We loved every minute of it.

Today I'm doing the day after getting back things like unpacking,more unpacking, and a 1,000 loads of laundry. Oh, plus the regular stuff of life that needs to be caught up on that I wish I could wish away like bills..ugh. It's hard coming home and doing all the dirty work. I found a minute to download our pictures of the trip. This was the first picture I saw and it made me smile and realize that all the stuff I hate doing when I get home is worth it for one perfect moment like this. I loved that afternoon eating ice cream under the big old Zion tree, a favorite family Zion's tradition.

p.s. more pictures to come.

on you mark, get set, go

We went exploring and found a stream and a weird plant {that we called turnips}.
We decided to make some boats to race in that stream out of turnips and sticks.
Lucy tugged and tugged on those turnips.

Then we decided to race snowballs.
Canyon won first place.


While we were at it...why not race the turnips?
So we did.
Lucy got the gold this time.

We stayed until the stream turned our feet bright red.
It was a good spring day.

lets eat outside....pretty please.

There was something I wanted really, really wanted....pretty bad.
I wanted to eat every single meal outside all summer long. {weather permitting}
A pretty big request.
Mother's day seemed like the perfect opportunity.
I was crossing my fingers...with summer time dining thoughts prancing in my head.
The result was better than expected.
And so far the gift of eating outside has been the best thing ever!!
I'm in love...with the gift and the gift givers.
Thank you!!!

3 hour hair

When her hair looks like this it means she has just spent the last 3 hours in a afternoon nap dreaming sweet baby dreams. It truly does take the full 3 hours to pull this look off. A 2 hour or 1 hour nap create something totally different.


I love when her hair looks like this. It not only means that I just had 3 hours to myself it also means that when she wakes up she is very content, observant and mushy as can be. She will lay her mushy self close by you for a while and watch birds flutter and airplanes zoom out the window.


Turn on on some music and typically she is in the mood to sing. Not aware that anyone is listening....she is to busy concentrating on birds. It's entrancing laying by her listening to her sweet humming to her favorite song which has stayed constant for a full year If you want me - Swell Season. She even adds quite a few words now in between those hums. Not your typical baby song, I know. Kind of weird...maybe but I won't complain. I like that she has good taste in music.



If You Want Me - The Swell Season

love story

I love this love story so much.
Everyone should fall in love in a setting like this....and she is so pretty!

love note

apology accepted

10 little happy things

{Fall 2008}

I was inspired by the blog rockstar diaries to make a list of the little things that make my heart happy.

Here is my list.

1. Writing my name with a sparkler
2. Snowflakes so big you can catch them on your tongue.
3. Love notes from my daughter (she is barely 6 and completely charming)
4. Rope Swings
5. Hearing a song that brings back a dreamy memory
6. Campfire under a star filled sky
7. Tippy toes
8. Running Further than I thought I could.
9. When a instant message pops up that says "I love you"
10.Finding the perfect gift.

It's nice to think about the little happy things in life.
It's also fun to read what makes other people happy.
Go check out her blog {it's really...really... irresistible}.
You can find my happy list on there and others' happy lists too.
It will make you happy.
satisfaction guaranteed.

six + nine

Canyon and Ellie both had Birthdays this week.

Another year older and wiser for both of them.

These are old pictures but some of my favorites.

I was looking at them last night.

It made me a little sad.

It seems like they haven't been here with me for very long....how can they be so grown up?

I miss them being smaller...but I love who they are becoming.

I am in the process of getting their birthday photo shoots done.

Because a few years from now I will probably stare with wonder and amazement on how much they have changed since they were six and nine like I do with these photographs now.

{shane does all the fancy collage work... I love it.}

{p.s. Shane is going to start doing some of his fancy collage work  for others. If you are interested see here or you can e-mail me}

spring love

It's May.
May is a crazy month for us every year.
Birthday's galore
Lots of Party's
End of School activities
Dance Recitals
Soccer games
ect...ect....ect....
Good thing Spring and all the green gives me an extra burst of energy.
and....
Good thing this view is my commute into the city.
When May arrives we tend to go to the city a little bit more.
I can't get over how pretty everything looks right now.

{photograph by Shane Cox}

In search of sunshine

during spring break we packed up the car and did not stop until the temperature gauge reported above 60 degrees. Then we took a short break.

We took back to the road 60 degrees was certainly not good enough for Spring Break. We did not stop until it was warm enough to drive with the music way up and the windows way down. When I glanced at the temperature is said 75. I knew we had found our destination.


There was lots of swimming, waves, shark reeks, parks, good friends and thank goodness for the sunshine it felt so good! Nothing like a good old road trip with the family! I could already use another one!

sweet cheeks

I just love her sweet little face in this picture.

I could stare at it for a long time.

I also laugh when I look at it.

She is trying to copy Ellie doing the double thumbs up.....

but all the girl gots is double index every time

no matter how hard she tries.

saving the day

Do you ever miss your child looking at you right in the eyes and at that moment you can tell that they love you more than anyone in the whole world. Kind of like they used to do when they were much younger and you were practically the only person in their whole world. Eyes gleaming, filled with adoration and extreme gratitude for you in their life. A little while ago I managed by luck to get Canyon to give me that look once again....

Seconds before he was about to enter his elementary school doors I quickly summoned him back to the car and whispered to him that his pants were on backwards. Then while he quickly changed his pants I shielded him from any curious onlookers. Afterwards he took a deep breath and when he looked at me to say good-bye I got the "I really, really love you look" that any mother longs for. The look I have missed so much, along with a million thank you, thank you, thank yous. It feels good to know he still needs me. Even if it's only a little bit, I'll take it! I love him more than everything in the big blue sky and I love that just once in a while I still get to save the day for him.

hoppy hop

We had such a lovely Easter Weekend.
{Lucy was in ultra excite mode over eggs filled with yummy candy}
{she also said bunny a lot.... but said candy more standing on her head with a chocolate face}
{Ellie loved twirling in her new dress as much as egg hunting she was content with just a few good finds which allowed more time to twirl}
{Canyon was busy looking for those really hard to find eggs and boycotting the camera at all costs}
{Over the weekend he also scaled to the top of a rock climbing wall to get a hold of the grandest of eggs. One that contained a 10 punch pass to the local rock climbing wall. He was stoked!}
{Sunday}
{Easter sunshine}
{Delicious feast}
{cadbury mini eggs}
{peeps galore}
{family I love}
{ lovely}




{my mom drilled holes in some of the plastic eggs and stuck suckers through them. They stuck up out of all the grass and plants....cute.}

hoover craft vs. ripening banana

When the door slams after school and you hear a heart broken voice yell for mom.....well you know things must not be good.

Canyon with the help of his father (extraordinaire) built a fully functional hoover craft for the Science Fair this year. When I was told of the escapade I will admit I was not a believer. In fact I was a sassy skeptical full of jokes of defeat.

But after hours in the garage, some plastic and a leaf blower motor rigged on top of some wood later.... the craft hoovered, and I was proved wrong. Canyon was in heaven and his big toothless smile was here to stay a while. He hoovered and hoovered around and around...so proud...so proud. Then he painted it silver and made a chart up of how it works and then we hauled that big round saucer into the school on the big day.

After school on that big day is when the door slammed... and things really were not good. The hoover craft did not win....not even close. And trying to hold back tears of defeat and disbelief Canyon informed me that his splendid hoover was beat out by a ripening banana and even worse a 2nd grader with bubbles (because he is in 3rd grade what could be worse?). He was beyond disappointed that they did not even call him out of class to start it and "hoover around". I think he had day dreams of hoovering around for those judges happy as could be. I fed him a lot of lines that contained positive reinforcement. Like "it doesn't matter you tried your best" and a bunch of other stuff....none of which worked. Then finally I said at the end of the day would you rather have a hoover craft to bring home and "hoover" on or a ripening banana to bring home and eat? He smiled a little and said my hoover craft. My job was done. (phew)

The next day I went to school to pick up that silver saucer. This was the day the school kids walked around to check out the bubbles, the ripining banana and the hoover craft. When I met up with Canyon his big smile was back along with the words "this is the best day of my life". I guess it just happened that Canyon got a lot of attention from school children for his hoover craft. Contrary to the judges the 5th graders thought it should have won first place. Canyon talked about those big cool 5th graders and how much they loved his hoover craft all day.

His good night words " I'm so happy I made the hoover craft". I guess 5th graders opinions are far more important and superior than the science fair judges at least to a hoover craft building 3rd grader.

So...here is it in all of it's glory during the construction phase.

The beloved hoover craft.





Hopefully soon I will get the finished product on here.