What I got out of Blogher

I got a whole lot of SWAG! I mean a lot of swag.


Plus I made lots of awesome contacts.

And I attended some great sessions. But I wished I had more time for classes.

I also got this really cool video.

I went to Blogher 2010 and Loved it

I really really love New York.  It really is my favorite city.  I only wish I would have had more time to enjoy the actual city.

I had a wonderful time at BlogHer ’10 and really have no idea where to begin with my recap of an amazing 3 days.  So, I guess I will just do it in the order it happened.

Once I made my way through the check in line and got my registration packet and bag of initial swag, I headed to my room that I shared withLolli and Safire.  I really lucked out when it comes to roommates.  Neither of them were party animals and neither of them were home bodies.  We had a great time getting to know one another and we got along great.  (Even had similar bedtimes).

My first night was filled with a couple of great parties and my first ride on a rickshaw.  The first party I got to go to because Lolli and Safire were given an award.  They submitted an absolutely hilarious video of them washing their hair with Seed’s shampoo bar.  The party was at this cool little bar and they did a very nice job of presenting their business plan and getting everyone excited about their product.  By the way, their lotions smell amazing.

CraziBeautiful put on a great party.  They had NuSkin doing galvanic spa facials and there was a make-up artist doing Luminess Air Brush make-overs.  Oh, wait, that was me.  Their make-up artist was only contracted until 6:30.  Joanie taught me how to do it and the next thing you know, I was the make-up artist.  Stephanie took a bunch of pictures, so I’ll need to get those from her at some point.  It was a great time to visit with a bunch of other bloggers and get to know them.  All of the ladies did an amazing job and gave an incredible swag bag that included some great NuSkin products and a Luminess Air Brush.  I also loved getting to know all of the CB girls.  If you ever get a chance to go to an event by CraziBeautiful, you should totally do it.

I headed over to the end of the People’s Party but actually totally missed it.  Lolli was sweet and got me a tutu for the 5K since I forgot mine.

Friday morning started really early with the Tutu’s for Tanner 5k.  Oh no, I so did NOT run. We had a great time walking and getting very interesting looks and comments from people on the street.

During the day we went to sessions and explored the expo center.  The sessions were great and it was really fun hooking up with some cool companies that are very pro- bloggers.  I was seriously amazed at the products that they were showing and giving to the bloggers.

During the expo I met Bruce Jenner, Mrs Potato Head, Ronald McDonald, Veronica Webb, and my photography hero – Susan Stripling.  I spent about 20 minutes visiting with Susan about photographing her kids doing dance performances.  We talked about life and her busy schedule.  She was very very gracious and sweet.

The last night of BlogHer was spent at a very very cool party. E.L.F and XBox invited a group of bloggers to the new E.L.F. show room.  We got to demo the new XBox dance game and the Adventure game.  They are really great games that don’t even need a remote.  I loved the dance game.  Which was obvious because I danced a lot of dances.  Oh, and I won a $500 gift card to Talbots!

After the party we went and figured out how to pack all of our stuff.  (Which I ended up having to redo at the airport).

Then we went down to the CheeseburgHer party.  I danced briefly with Alexis, Jenny and Carina.  I’m glad I got to spend some time with a few of the local bloggers.  My roomies and I hung out in the hall with Stephanie and Taunie for a while and just chatted.  It made for a relaxing end of the conference.

I returned home from BlogHer feeling inspired and motivated and VERY tired.

A few collages…

Last day of the summer - with the Andrus'

The Summer with my brother's little kids finally had to come to a close.  Everyone wanted to make sure the kids got to see Anne while she was still in the hospital from her surgery.  (It would help make the sickness more tangible to the kids, so that they could understand why mom's not up and about serving the way she had been when they left to Utah).  While my folks got everything cleaned and packed, Kieran went and played at my sister's and Asher came to our house.

The girls had a blast playing tag through the maze that Scott mowed into the lawn.

They also took the 4-wheeler for a bit of a spin around the neighborhood.  Asher thought it was pretty cool. And anytime the pink quad is out, Scott always gets a quick ride too.

My Family at the Ward Party

Everyone enjoyed something different.  Ivy enjoyed playing in the kiddie pool, or cuddling in a towel on a lounge chair.

Jade, Asher and Kieran loved jumping off the high dive, but they spent most of their time on the water slide.  I couldn't really take pictures of them in the slide, so I hung out with Ivy on the lounge chair.

Everyone had a blast and we're looking forward to next year's Summer Bash.

Ward Party 2010

Our ward knows how to put on a great Summer Bash.  They rent out the local pool and have a huge pot-luck BBQ.  I always have a blast taking a million pictures of everyone enjoying their favorite poolside activity.

Day with the Fullers

Have I told you lately that I really enjoy our days out on the boat?  I do.

The day we went out with my sister's family was one of the best days for smooth water that we had.  Smooth enough we were able to convince Ivy to give it a try.  Harry and Luke gave skiing a try as well.  I love the trainer skis.  The front of the skis are connected and the rope is fastened to the skis.  Then the child holds on to the rope and an adult in the boat holds on to the other end.  Then as soon as the child crashes, the adult lets go.  I think I would have been willing to try water skiing again as a child, if they would have had the trainer skis back then.

Ivy did not get up.  But she promised to try it again on another day.  Maybe when she's five.

This outing was one of the most adventurous ones for the tube.  Luke flew.  Jade flew.  Harry changed seats. And the kids all had a blast.  But, I don't think Harry wants to ride in the tube again.  At least not for a while.  The flying didn't help Ivy get up the nerve to ride the tube.  She was happy staying inside the boat the whole day.  She and Z.

Lagoon #3

I love going to Lagoon with the family.  But i'm good with doing it once a year.

I don't get pictures of me and Jade together very often, so I loved getting one of the two of us after we got soaked on one of the rides.  

Lagoon #2

We rode as many rides as possible and waited in very few lines.  Ivy hated the "big" rides. Jade, Asher and Kieran loved them all. They would race from one ride to the next.  All though Asher had to take occasional breaks to settle her stomach.

Post Options

Lagoon #1

During a more trying day, while Anne was in the middle of a very intensive surgery, we took the family to Lagoon.  Scott's parents, my parents and Asher and Kieran joined us for a day full of rides, laughter and throwing up.  Well, only one of the group was throwing up, but she got feeling better by the second half of the day.  She took a break and went and got a new outfit that didn't smell. :)

The kids had a blast.

Anne's surgery went well and they felt like they got everything.  At this point, we were still waiting to know Anne's diagnosis.  But our thoughts and prayers continued.

Having fun on a tough day

Our family was hit with some really rotten news at the end of July.  Anne had planned on driving to Utah to pick up the kids after having spent the month with grandpa and grandma.  Instead, she ended up having such severe stomach cramps that she sent Tom to Utah without her.  Half way through his drive, Tom got a call that Anne needed to go to the hospital  She was rushed to the hospital and Tom turned around and headed back to California.

By that Sunday, Anne was preparing for major surgery and had been transferred to UCLA.  They were running additional tests and were determining the next steps.  At this point there was no diagnosis but everyone was so worried about Anne, but we were trying really hard to be positive and keep the spirit light for the kids.  Instead, they were entertaining us.

The rat costumes continued for the next couple of days and they learned how to do cartwheels while holding on to each others' ankles.  We continued throughout the week to keep the spirits as high as possible.

She Can Swim!!!! FINALLY

I need to swim with my girls more often.  The few times I was able to go with Ivy, she learned how to swim.  Yes, she took swimming lessons and accomplished only comfort in the water.   Two days with mom, and she was swimming without floaties.  There was so much excitement from that little girl after she realized she could do it.  When she wasn't swimming with me, she still used floaties.  Next year, we'll have to make sure those little arm floaters don't ever come back out of storage.

Wanna-be Model

Ivy cracks me up.  I've said that many times before.  This summer day was one of them.  She was posing all over the place with her silly goggles on her head, so I offered a quick photo shoot.  She jumped at the chance, that girl loves photographs.

The problem right now she's all about "hip hop" and thinks she's a "gang-sta" and will correct any label of "gangster".  She's got funk, and she wants you to know it.  Once we finally got past the hip hop girl, we captured the "wanna-be-model" in her.  She posed and posed and then returned to the hip hop girl posing.

She is such a little cutie and a funny little character.

Last day of swim lessons

The last day of swim lessons, the Scera pool allows the kids to play and enjoy the water features and the great big slides.  It's a day of lots of fun and memories.  They've enjoyed the end of swim lessons tradition with their cousins for several years.  One of these years, I hope I get to go watch.

Scenes from the Pool

Summer time is best spent at the pool.  Jumping, diving and learning new things.

I also love capturing the kids happy and wet faces while they enjoy the water.  Each one proud of their accomplishments.