Charlie

I went with Sonja's class last week to see the Portland Newmark theater's performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was spectacular! We loved it, we laughed, we clapped (in unison) we stomped, we sang, it was great fun! The props, the costumes, the actors, all wonderful!

{photos from top to bottom: Sonja outside the theater, awesome Portland Marquee, her teacher the famous Mrs. D*** (more like infamous), the full cast inside the factory, the epic glass elevator scene.}

Masters Family

A beautiful family on a beautiful Puget Sound day (a little bit rainy with sun peaks)

Another boy on the way in December...

Merrick

instax

come back tomorrow to meet his beautiful parents

the secret's in the boots

the Primary Program happens once a year- this means the children take the stage/pulpit to sing songs and give prepared speeches & recite scriptures for an hour.

this is what Meredith said:

She wore these pink boots to church that day.

And she was awesome.

In the boots, and with her delivery too.

This is where she kept her lines.
She wore the lucky boots to school today and the speech is still there.
Remembering her glory days.

this note actually made me cry- twice.

A random little girl gave Stella 5 bucks on the bus yesterday. just because, "we are friends, and she likes me so much," stella said. I told her to give it back. No wonder some random girl gave her money, she is a charmer. After I read my little note, I wanted to give her 10 bucks. just because I like her so much.

McCann Family

our frightmare

We went to tacoma for the festive weekend, it had been two months since the girls had been up to grandma's house to see their cousins, with the help of some of my siblings (keith and marion were in town, duffy was having an adults only party too) we were coaxed into making the trip north. It sort of turned into the trip of unfourtunate events, half of the cousins were quite ill- they were bed ridden for the whole of the weekend, Sonja came down with something nasty as the clock struck mid-night on the evil halloween night- fitting (what she suffered, I will not describe, to save your innocence) Meredith slipped on a giant maple leaf- twisting her ankle trick or treating. She may or may not have a sprain, she has been limping for 24 hours... time will tell. We managed to have some fun in between all of this--->>>> can you tell?

some people. some utah.

got my diet pepsi, feeling alright
there are no words for how much this boy loves michael.

oh provo. loving you was hard, you didn't understand me, and I you.

But now I love you, I really do.meeting the locals

groovy

savers saves the day!

YW in Excellence

please note: all of my children dress themselves

I don't have any say anymore.

all my powers have been taken away

at least pete still lets me dress him, but he wont pose for a photo.

burns family

one day of Utah

through the viewfinder.

my guest bed. the hostess(es) with the mostess(es)

golden wild Utah flowers we picked by the State Capitol

riding in the car next to sisters makes me happy
vintage makes me happy

9th & 9th makes me happy

Utah familia makes me contenta

welcome to our tiny party

"I'm having lots of fun!"

the girls decided to throw a party for no good reason.

It was another idea from the girls book of excellence. They called a meeting one evening and invited me to attend. When I got there, 3 chairs were lined up with sonja seated at the front, there was an empty chair between stella and mimi with a clipboard that had my name on it. for taking notes. Topics we discussed at the meeting. What to eat, craft, play and do at the party. Also, who to invite. The meeting was adjourned, and later we found ourselves at michaels craft and this was purchased for around 6 bucks-clearance isle. We took to typing and handing out invites. The all 3 little girls got sick and the party was postponed for two weeks. Finally, after much planning and waiting the Tiny party came together just nicely.

my other lover

[photo of bon iver- from our sasquatch trip ]

Let's talk about music, shall we?

Sometimes, on rare occasions, the forces of nature, god given talent, and beauty, all align together and produce perfectly orchestrated sound. This sound is a song... and these are songs equally profound and skilled in instrument, as they are in voice and lyric. Intangible yet powerful. It is breathtaking. I marvel at them. (sometimes I even shed a single tear drop for them) These perfect songs never grow tired. My ears never become weary of them. ever. My heart is warmed by them and then here is the most extraordinary part...

Somehow I feel better about myself, life and everything in it- just by listening. I did not participate in it's creation but somehow I feel creative. Moved. Capable. Inspired.

In love and loved.

And music is my lover.

and so is he.

I used to want to keep all of this music to myself, like a secret. because I thought (like a secret) if it got out, it wouldn't be special anymore. Well that is just selfish and immature, and hopefully I have grown up since I turned 30, so I would like to start sharing the selective few (most boss) songs with you. Would you like me to?

ok then.

the first song:

Brother by the Annuals
enjoy!

PS please wait to end, it's explosive. promise.

field trippin

this might be my favorite field trip of them all.

ever.

1. It's only a few miles from the school. And if you have ever had the privilege of riding on a bus packed with hyper kids, you know what a headache induced event that can be if the ride last more than 15 minutes.

2. I love farms. sure they stink, but the animals are rad. and the farmers are always so happy. And the kids are entertained for miles.

3. Hay rides.

4. fall boots.

5. free pumpkins and gourds for miles.

6. the farmer's cute Scottish accent.

the end.
and now the photos commence...

This is a dirt baby, she has seeds planted at the top of her head. Soon she will sprout grass hairs, and she will get weekly trims too. I know because she is our 3rd dirt baby, the other two ran off and married Mr. potato heads. I hope this one stays around for a while. since she is our last.

do you like her lips? I love a lady in red lipstick. Mimi does too!

Putnam Family

Oh boy do I love age 2!

While in Utah I took photos for this little family, they were so cute... and flexible enough to put up with my vacation schedule = rescheduling 2 times on them! I hope it was worth the hassle!

I certainly enjoyed myself.

random fact: there was a deer hanging around us, and she made her way into several of their family photos! sneaky deer.

double trouble

meet Roscoe + Millie Jean (or MJ if you will)
they are brother and sister
they are troublemakers
they belong to the Utah newly weds:
A's
KJ's
Keith calls them his "persons"
they are very personable too.

moses

Andrew's band played while I was in Utah,
this is Moses...

utah in instax

utah!
oxen,
captains of industry,
lemony wild flowers,
behive highways
the rotunda of the capitol building,
daughters of the pioneers,
lexi's savers skirt
bikes to breakfast,
bagels and OJ
100 year old mansions
provo!



and the weekend can begin.

the hazards of love

a love story







being in the shadow of the grand Wasatch will only have me thinking of you.

everyone's a photographer

Soni took these with her pocket sized camera over the course of the summer.

we finally uploaded her 400 or so photos.

It's funny to see myself on the other side of the lens.

I prefer to stay behind it though.

I miss summer.

here is the recap through sonja's eyes...

wow,

looks like I actually cleaned the bathroom at some point this summer,

way to go me!

Mckee family

if everyone is special- then no one is

well, it's that time of year again, back to school and back to student of the month awards. It's an honor in a way, but not really... considering that by the end of the school year each person has gotten the award. Stella got it the first month of school so I take pride in that little distinction that she stood out right from the start.

She's a smart cookie (she gets it from her dad)

She is in a mixed 2nd/3rd class (she is a second grader)

and has been asked to take the spelling tests with the 3rd graders from now on because she was acing all of the 2nd grade tests! Not only that, she loves school, reading, homework, listening, and just generally being scholastic... who is this kid? So weird, my parents always got the,"distraction to others"... this kid, not the distraction to others type. nope not at all.

here she is doing the school cheer,"WE ROCK!" it's pretty cute.

i call her my pixie.

big sister Sonja sits in the back with the 4th graders, so weird, she's not a kindergartner anymore.

portland saturday market

Judging by my last post and this post, you can see that we like to make the saturday market rounds. I guess we are just really into Kettle corn, street food, indgenous art, random talent acts waiting for spare change/to be discovered. That about sums it all up.

saturday/gresham farmers market

all images are straight out of the camera with the help of my kodak duaflex too.