April 30, 2010

Martha Graham Dance Company

Have I told you lately that I love my new lens?  Scott got me the 70-200/2.8 and now I'm addicted to taking pictures of dance performances.  Now to get it down to an art.  For now, I think I'm just being lucky that the pictures are turning out.

Kristal and Emily invited us to a showing of Martha Graham's dance company up at the U of U.  It was a short performance put on for school field trips.  But, it was very cool hearing about her history and seeing the influence she has had on dance.

Since I grew up dancing, I've always been aware and loved Martha Graham for her influence, even if modern was not my cup of tea.  It is still beautiful and very inspiring.

What this performance did to me was make me miss dancing.  Painfully miss dancing.  I also miss surrounding myself with fellow dancers.  Oh, and I miss having a dancers body.  Maybe some day I'll get to do more of it again (beside belly dancing).



April 29, 2010

Governor's Mansion

Mom is working on a project for one of the committees she is on. As part of that project, she asked me to take some pictures of textures and special little items that say governor.  While I was at it, I snapped a few of the rooms too.
I love how ornate and dark the dining room is.



April 28, 2010

2 lbs of Dry Ice



The other day, I had purchased some dry ice for a package I needed to ship.  I ended up not shipping the package because it was well over $100.

So instead I brought home the dry ice and gave it to Scott.  (Remember he is the playful parent) and this is part of the fun that we had with the dry ice.  The girls were fascinated and loved playing with their small cups of it.  Jade tried to put some in her mouth and blew out the smoke but it came out of her nose instead of her mouth.

Funny family with dry ice.

April 26, 2010

Spring Trip to Daniel's Summit

For nearly 3 years now, we have been going to Daniel's Summit and Strawberry about every 6 months for some family pictures.  Unfortunately this year it was just too snowy and cold to even get out of the car.  Here is a picture to show just how different it was this time around.

April 24, 2010

Tea Party with the girls

The other day, the girls asked me if we could have a tea party.  I told them we could do it when Jade got home from dance.  We had a little tea party with Ivy's little Ikea tea set.  We had girl scout cookies and hot chocolate.  The girls loved it so much that they asked that we have another tea party but with one of my real tea sets.  I picked the tea set that my Aunt Carole gave me years ago.  We had cake (that the girls decorated) and more hot chocolate.  The girls were excited about doing it in the dining room.  It is something that we will be doing again.  In fact they have a list of little friends that they want to invite.



During the tea party, Jade told me that I needed to teach the girls manner/etiquette rules while we have the party.  It was the perfect time to do it, and since I've been able to use it as reminders.

April 22, 2010

The Trampoline is in...

The girls could not be happier.  In fact, that is all that they want to do.  They come home from school, dance or gymnastics and the first thing they want to do is jump on the trampoline. I love watching how much they have grown in the skills they are able to do.  Ivy is actually getting air now while Jade is flipping all over the place.




The last picture the girls decided that Ivy was being a "sunflower".  The funny little girls are so excited that summer is just around the corner and that spring is finally here.

April 20, 2010

Cake Decorating at its BEST

The girls have been wanting to decorate a cake or cookies for a while.  I just kept putting it off until finally we did it.  I made a sheet cake so the girls had a lot of space to decorate.  The funny thing about how they decorated was that they just sprinkled everything everywhere.  There was no rhyme or reason just dumping.  But, they had fun and isn't that the reason we do most of the things that we do?


It was tasty but I have to say, a sheet cake last much much much longer than a bundt cake or a 9x13.

April 18, 2010

Easter with the Family

Easter is one of those holidays that my mom really enjoys.  She always gets creative with the Easter egg hunt and spends a great deal of time on it.  This year, she made little notes to put in some of the eggs.  Then the kids had to do whatever the note said.  For some it was to share their candy and for others it was a hug to be shared with a sibling or cousin.

She also does a little gift for them.  This year she gave them a book and a dress - both of which they loved.
The kids had a blast running around the yard all bundled looking for eggs.  It's difficult to get great pictures of them running to the eggs.
I always love getting fun little photos of my family faces.  Enjoy!

April 16, 2010

Easter Morning

Because we woke up with an inch of snow, we were stuck indoors.  In fact, Jade was cold enough that she changed her clothes as soon as she woke up.

The girls opened their Easter basket and were very excited about their art book, fairy cookbook and big pink bunnies.  Jade was most excited about the art book because it is the same one her art teacher has.  Ivy was just her always happy excited self.

The egg hunt began whenever the girls saw the first egg.  We had told them that because of the snow, we weren't sure the Easter Bunny had hidden any eggs.  It took them about 15 minutes of being downstairs before they spotted one.



Having Easter on Conference Sunday does not make for as great of pictures as it does on a "normal" Easter Sunday.  But the girls still had fun, and that is the most important part of the playful holiday activities.

April 15, 2010

Decorating Easter Eggs

On this post, I am going to let the photos tell the story...




Apparently the eggs could have used a bit more art directing.

April 13, 2010

My Husband isn't gay...

...he's just very in tune with his artistic side.

When we were decorating Easter Eggs, Scott made a few changes.

I had the dye in blue and green and yellow IKEA bowls.  Scott decided that the bowls would be too hard to dye the eggs in and how on earth were they supposed to know which color of dye was in each bowl.  So, he poured the dye into water goblets.

As long as we were creating the color spectrum, why not put them in order.  And if you are going to put them in order, why not take pictures of them?

If you are going to take pictures of them, they have to be perfectly lined up.  Please notice the broom stick and his thoughtful tongue.  (Apparently Jade doesn't get her thoughtful tongue from only her mom!)

Once everything was lined up, and the eggs were nicely and aesthetically placed, he art directed the angle of the photographs.  Behind the scenes, you would see that he even had me get out my light stands.



I do love how the pictures turned out, but if we were to do it again, I would have taken a few more minutes and gotten out my white backdrop and  moved it to a location that would not have had the faucet in the background.

There is always NEXT Easter.

April 11, 2010

Grandparents, a Pool and Scooters

We don't get to travel with both grandparents very often, so when we do, we feel pretty lucky.  (You'll notice that my dad is on a slope, he hasn't shrunk quite that much).  We stayed at our friend's St George home.  It was beautiful and fit the 8 of us very comfortably.  We stayed up late and the guys played games.  We were able to "borrow" someone's internet connection (which was much easier for me, since I had to work the full day we were down there.  I could have used my phone, but the neighbor's unsecured internet was much easier).  The older generation played Sudoku or messed around on their macbooks.  Jade and Ivy colored, played outside, swam and enjoyed the scooters.  During the trip we ate a lot and managed to get a little bit of sun.




We had a wonderful time and are very thankful to the Thomas' for the use of their home that they do not rent out.  Plus, the girls LOVED having their grandparents at the dance competition.

April 10, 2010

Ultimate Expressions- Ivy

Next up was Ivy's age group.  Oh my goodness they were all so adorable.  I couldn't stop grinning.  Ivy's cartwheel is getting better and she did a great job of remembering the dance.  Yellow Polka Dot Bikini took first in its category.  So cute.

Unfortunately, before the dance, Ivy and another little girl collided.  Ivy got a little cut on her toe that she didn't know about.  When she finally did find out about it, she absolutely melted.  So many tears!  We almost didn't get her out on the stage for her teddy bear number.  After many many tears, a band aid and me standing backstage, Ivy finally went out. She was all smiles and you would never have known she'd been sobbing moments before her dance began.  Teddy Bear took first in its category and first in high point for their age group.

Both girls did such a great job!

I really do love watching them dance.  Just a couple more weekends off and then we have another competition.

April 9, 2010

Ultimate Expressions- Jade

We went to St George to spend the weekend doing a dance competition and grandparent time.

I was really proud of how well the girls did.  They are having so much fun and have really grown a lot since their last dance competition.

I felt really badly for Jade's first number- which is her hip-hop number.  They were the first dance of the day and the sound equipment was an absolute mess.  The girls came out in the wrong order and then the music started before they were in their places and it was turned down so low they couldn't hear it until the 4th measure, but even then it wasn't very loud.  So they were really confused until they got to the point in the dance where they were able to run to get in their correct spots.  Once they were there, they did awesome.  I really think they should have let them do it again.  It was so obvious that the sound system was what threw them.  And, come on, they are 7 years old.  Not exactly seasoned professionals.  Due to the technical and spacial difficulties, they took last place.

Next was their ballroom number.  The kids all did a really great job and had big smiles.  They took first place.

Next up was their first jazz number.  "We Rock the Boat" looked really awesome- I thought.  But, what do I know?  I didn't really do the competition circuit and I have no idea what they are judging on.  They took 4th and I really don't understand why.

Jade finished her morning of competition with "Pinkatastic" and they were so right on.  Everything looked super clean and sharp.  So much so, they took first in their category and second for high score.
I love that Jade is having so much fun with dance.  Although it really stresses me out that she loves dance and gymnastics so much.  At some point they are bound to conflict.  I'm dreading that day!  So, until then, I'll just enjoy her excitement and energy.

April 7, 2010

Happy Birthday Doc

March 21st was Doc's 95th birthday.  Unfortunately, he left us shortly after his 82nd birthday.  So, to celebrate this monumental birthday, we went up to the cemetery and let go of balloons.  My parents also gave balloons to several of Doc and GG's friends that are buried near by.

This was the first time that I've been up to the graveside since I married Scott.  So, it is also the first time Scott or the girls went up there.  Before I met Scott, I spent quite a bit of time up there.  I'd sit on a bench near by and read, draw or write.  It was my way of feeling close to them.  Now, I am able to feel close to them by knowing that whenever they get a break from the very important missionary work they are doing, that they are checking in on us.

It was a challenge to help the girls understand that a cemetery is a sacred place: a place where they need to be quiet, peaceful and respectful.  What that means to them is "Don't run!" "Don't step on the headstones!"  "Don't yell!"

We all shared stories of what we remember most about Doc and GG.  Since there were only 4 of us that knew them, it was pretty brief.

Although there are many many wonderful things I remember about Doc, my favorite is that he was always willing to help.  He liked to be asked to help and once he was asked, he'd go above and beyond what you had expected or thought you needed.  If you needed to be picked up from school, he'd be there.  If you needed to be cheered up, he'd have a game of pinnacle all dealt.  If you were hungry he'd make you a huge meal of steak and potatoes.

The kids had a great time letting off the balloons and exploring together.

Happy Birthday Doc- we sure miss you.

April 6, 2010

Just not interested in walking...

Baby Z cracks me up.  He is 15 months old and just doesn't care about walking.  He can stand on his own and we all know he can walk.  He just doesn't want to.


Whether he walks soon or not, he sure is sweet.

April 4, 2010

Swinging at Songberries

One of the very fun things about visiting Carol at Songberries was that the girls got to swing on their big tree swing.  Jade, of course, embraced it way more than Ivy did.