June Roses @ Pt. Defiance

I had a photoshoot at Pt. Defiance park in June, and afterwards I couldn't  help but stop and smell the roses and take some pics too!

"Cousinless" in Seattle

My brother Ryan and his wife Stevie and their kiddos moved to Wyoming in June.  It was a good move for them (better job), but we are sad we no longer have any cousins in the area.  This picture was taken of the kids the night we had to say goodbye.

8th Birthday Party

We had a family birthday party for AE after her baptism, but she also got to invite some friends over this year - Rainna, Samantha, Lydia, and Rylan.  They decorated aprons, then got to decorate their own cupcakes.  We did presents, etc. then they watched a movie and played until parents came.  Pretty low-key (I am all about that when it comes to birthday parties).  I love this picture of her.  It was taken the morning of her birthday, right before she got on the bus for school.

Getting Caught Up

I've really been wanting to get back on the blogging band wagon.  We had a Relief Society activity a couple weeks ago that gave me the extra push to quit putting it on the back burner.  My goal is to do at least one post a week from now on.  Ambitious, you say?!  I know.  But I can do it.  I love my friend Lauralee's idea of doing a once-a-week "Sunday Summary."  She's a good example of using her blog as a family journal and recording all the little (and big) things that happen in day-to-day life.  A quote from our RS activity:

"Do not suppose life changes so much that your experiences will not be interesting to your posterity."  -Spencer W. Kimball

In the last 6 months, Keith and I have celebrated another wedding anniversary, Keith finished school, we had a summer break filled with lots of fun outings (and some frustrating "bad mom" days mixed in), the kids started a new school year, I've had some exciting progress with my photography business, and all four kids had birthdays.  I'll attempt a quick catch up with these milestones, and from here on out, ONE POST A WEEK!

Anne Elyse's Baptism

Anne Elyse was baptized on June 2 this year.  She was very happy the whole day of her baptism.  When she came up out of the water, she had the biggest smile on her face.  I love how the Spirit can be felt so strong at children's baptisms!

She was baptized with a handful of other children in our stake.  Our stake does a good job of doing the "group" baptism thing (I was previously leary of this idea).  They have the moms (or dads) come up and say a few things about their child in front of the congregation.  These are my thoughts on Anne Elyse and what I shared:

Anne Elyse was born May 25, 2004 in Rochester, New York.  Of my four children, her labor and delivery was easy for me - everything went as planned, it was quick (so quick that the nurse ended up delivering her, because the doctor didn't make it in time!) and compared to her brother’s labor, it was a night and day experience.  And from that day on, she has been blessing me, our family, and others around her by helping to make things easier and definitely more pleasant for us.

She has a big, bright, and beautiful smile that lights up her face.

She is a good and kind friend to those around her.  Her school teacher has even told me that sometimes kids will fight over who gets to be Anne Elyse’s partner at school – because everybody likes her so much.

She is a good big sister to her little sister Tori. She comforts her when she’s upset, she helps her, she plays with her, and you can tell that she loves her little sister very much.  When I was pregnant with Tori, and before we knew if she was going to be a boy or a girl, Anne Elyse was really, really wanting a sister (because she already had two brothers), so when she found out Tori was going to be a girl, she was really excited.  She is grateful to have a sister, and they have a special bond.  I will often find them sleeping together when I go to check on them before I go to bed – either Anne Elyse will be in Tori’s crib or Tori will be in bed with Anne Elyse.

In preparation for her baptism today, we have had several talks about why we get baptized and what it represents. Several times she has said to me that she wants to be baptized because Jesus was baptized, so I know that she knows that it’s important to follow His example.  She understands that today she will be washed clean from all that she’s ever done wrong, and that this is a time for her to show her commitment to following Jesus’s example.  Most importantly, we've talked about how she might feel today – that she will (hopefully) feel some very special feelings today, and that she should pay attention to how she feels when she comes out of the water or when she receives the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I know that the Holy Ghost will testify to her that she is following Jesus’s example and doing the right thing today by making this choice to be baptized.

*Disclaimer on the pictures...I had just gotten my first speedlight (a fancy flash), and I didn't have a chance to really mess around with it ahead of time.  I didn't know what I was doing, and it shows.  So, I'm kind of disappointed with how they turned out.  Oh, well.  I've since learned a few tricks (The Gary Fong lightsphere is a must)!

Let's Play Ball

Tyler and Austin played baseball for the first time this Spring.  They both had a lot of fun.  Tyler played for the Mariner's and Austin the Scrappers.  Austin, being a bit older, was with kids who had played before.  His batting improved a lot from the beginning of the season to the end.  He would come home and practice and practice (he was very frustrated at striking out in the first few games).  By the end he was getting hits each time he got up to the plate.  Of course it was coach pitch.  If he plays this year, I don't think it will be which will be more challenging.

When Grandpa and Grandma Mang came out for Anne Elyse's baptism they got to attend some of the games, which was fun.  We had a very wet and cold Spring, but the boys didn't complain too much at all being out in the weather.

My Birthday Weekend

Wait, how old am I?  Ever since I hit about 30, I seriously can never remember how old I am.  I just had to calculate if I was 34 or 35.  35 it is.  Here's a nothing special, plain ol' snapshot of me blowing out my candles on my cake this year.  Seeing Tori in this picture reminded me how she had a horrible cold - runny nose, etc. and how she sneezed ALL OVER the cake right after this picture was taken.  Of course everybody immediately said, "Ewww!!"  She then burst into tears.  It was so sad!  Poor baby girl.  Mommy had a piece anyway. What's a little snot?

My birthday was on a Monday this year.  That weekend, Keith's brother Shane and his girlfriend Kay drove up from Utah for a visit and to get our horses Buddy and Lacey.  We had decided they were just a lot of work and expense, but we didn't have the heart to "sell" them, so Shane offered to come get them and take care of them.  They are currently living it up in Park City with plenty of pasture and fancy stalls to keep them warm at night.  We sure do miss them though.  We got to see them when we went to Utah in July.  Anyway, Shane and Kay ended up staying longer than planned since his truck had some issues about halfway up Snoqualmie Pass on their return trip, and they had to head back to Seattle for repairs.  Long story short, they were here from about Thursday to Tuesday.  Shane treated us to a delicious dinner (adults only) at Salty's in Redondo Beach on Saturday.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it!  The best seafood ever!  On Sunday my parent's came down for dinner and we had cake and ice cream.  Monday was my actual birthday and Keith happened to have the day off work.  Let's just say, he kind of "forgot" it was my birthday because we "already celebrated."  So, the day started off kinda rough. :)  But in the end, he brought me some flowers, and we had a nice dinner just us and the kids at Los Pinos that night.

Kay brought her little dog, Georgie, with her.  Tori was IN LOVE with that thing.  How cute is this picture?!

Victoria B.C.

Keith and I celebrated 14 years of marriage on April 24.  It had been way too long (3 years) since we'd been overnight sans kiddos, so my parents agreed to take the kids for the weekend, and we headed up to Victoria B.C.  We stayed Friday night with my Grandma at her beautiful house in Sequim.  I know spending the first night of your getaway with your Grandma doesn't sound that romantic, but we love her, and we knew her days in Sequim were coming to an end (house actually sold in July and she moved to Utah), so we were happy to do so.  Plus, the only way to get to Victoria (since it's on Vancouver Island) is via ferry, and the schedule is limited.  Logistically, this made sense too.  She took us out to eat at the local Italian restaurant for dinner, and we had a nice visit.  We got up early Saturday morning and made the 8 a.m. sailing out of Pt. Angeles to Victoria.  We stayed at the Empress Hotel (pictured below).  It was nice but way over-priced (the outside is fancier than the inside). :)  The picture of the harbor below is the view from our room.  You may notice all the people in the picture of the Parliament Building.  Yep, they were having a major marathon that weekend, which was annoying, mostly because they started the marathon EARLY, about 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning, complete with the announcer blaring into the microphone...not such a fun way to wake up, especially when you're paying big bucks for a hotel!!  Lesson learned:  check for "major events" happening anytime you decide to go somewhere.  Otherwise, Victoria is a beautiful, quaint little city.  Some other highlights of the trip:  Seeing Mission Impossible at the IMAX, touring the Royal BC Museum, eating chocolates from famous Roger's Chocolates, dining at the Flying Otter cafe, and, of course, Butchart Gardens.  I LOVED taking pictures of all the beautiful flowers. Spring is my favorite time of year and tulips are one of my most favorite flowers.  There were so many of them.  Absolutely breathtaking!

Guest Blogger: Anne Elyse

Anne Elyse will be giving our March update. :)  Back in March she wrote this cute story in school about celebrating Papa's birthday...

I Am an Elephant

Today is March 1, which means spring is sooo close even if we did wake up to about 1/2" of wet, slushy snow this morning - boo.  I have seen a very few crocuses in bloom though and one cherry tree and pussy willow tree starting to blossom.

Every single year of my adult life around mid-February I start fantasizing about a tropical getaway and can even let myself get a bit depressed about.  It certainly doesn't help that nowadays your facebook newsfeed is dotted with pictures of people doing just that - having the time of their lives on a tropical getaway.  Even the kids are coming home with writing assignments that indicate they have been daydreaming of days at the beach that seem so long ago.  Austin brought home an assignment just yesterday that went like this:  "I like it when it is hot out because you get to play outside, go camping, and swimming.  I like going swimming outside."

I've been reading Suze Orman's new book - The Money Class, which is basically about creating the "new" American Dream.  It's about facing the reality of our economy as it is now and what we can do to secure a better financial life now and in the future.  She talks about not only living within your means (nothing new to me as a Mormon) but living BELOW your means and within your needs so that you can start saving.  She says your first priority is to face your financial truth by analyzing and tracking your expenditures, your assets and liabilities (something I do and have done for a long time).  Next she says to make it a priority to build an 8 month emergency fund, so that if you were to loose your job you'd have money there or also just for those things in "life" that happen - medical emergencies, car breakdowns, etc.  She talks about how doing this is certainly not easy in our society when we have so many voices urging us to spend, spend, spend.  I am going to quote her, because she says it better than I can:

"I have a favorite saying that I recall whenever I need help to stand in my truth: The elephant keeps walking while the dog keeps barking.  The elephant stays on course, moving toward its goal, regardless of the barking noise that swirls around him..."  She likens the barking dog to the enticements around us to spend money - "the sounds of excitement coming out of restaurants, the persuasive ads, the pages of glossy magazines telling you about the must haves of the season."  The elephant keeps walking, and surely and steadily it arrives at it's destination.

So, even though I could take $4,000 right now and take my family to Hawaii for a week or go to Disneyland, I am going to choose to be responsible and keep working toward our goal of rebuilding an 8 month's savings (we were set back by Keith's layoff last year), and not be distracted by temptations around me.  Now, I am not at all saying that anybody who has taken such a vacation this year is being financially irresponsible.  I'm just speaking for myself right now - my own truth.

Austin, these pictures are for you and me. I took these at Lake Roosevelt last summer, and I never posted them. These pictures brighten my spirit on days like today when it's cold and dreary and all I have to do is mounds of laundry and dishes.