Category Archives: Photos

Pumpkin Party

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Photos taken Friday, October 8, 2010. Paul had a pumpkin cookie decorating party! The kids came, decorated cookies for about two minutes each, ran around the basement, ran around outside, and went home. They had a blast, and it was just what Paul wanted: to play with his friends and eat sugary junk food, all in the name of “birthday!”.

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Kaleb and Shaylie and their Mom

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James, Andy, and Paul

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Paul decorating a cookie and eating the candy from his mini pumpkin

First Day

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Paul is, at this moment, enjoying (I assume) his first day of preschool!

Thank goodness for a phone camera so I could capture it!

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(I could not get him to look at me.)

Wow, the house is quiet. Now I’m off to mop the floor, clean the bathrooms, fold the laundry, iron Ryan’s shirts, and otherwise be productive for the next two hours! (Or maybe I’ll post this first…)

My Heart Took a Picture

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This is a picture I did not take of Paul and Daddy looking out Paul’s bedroom window in the growing twilight at bedtime, Daddy saying, “And there’s one! And there’s one! Paul, do you see the fireflys?” and Paul saying, “Yes, Daddy! Look!” and cuddling a little closer to him, and I smile and tip-toe back downstairs to finish the dishes all the while thinking “Yes, this is why he quit his other job, this is why he comes home at night, and this is why Paul stayed awake to wait for him” and I hear shrieks of laughter from upstairs as I tidy the kitchen and I know life is as it should be.

I got inspiration for this from www.unphotographable.com, which is written by a photographer who has missed some great shots either because it was against the law to take a picture or he did not have his camera or taking a picture would not have been appropriate or he just did not take the picture.

Nauvoo

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As was mentioned, we drove to Nauvoo this last week. The first day (Tuesday), he enjoyed learning about Joseph Smith at Carthage, even if the movie and then the tour was a little too long for him. Then, at the visitor’s Center, a full ten mintues got him through all the exhibits. Lots of exclamations of “Joseph Smith!” and “Jesus” when he saw something familiar. Then, Paul saw two and a half of the restored old houses (he had a fit during the blacksmith, which I thought he would have liked) and the second day he made it through a visit to the bakery. And that was it. I overestimated how “fun” it would be for a two year old.

We did play a little bit at the Pioneer Pastimes station, which has pioneer games. But it was sweltering, so we didn’t stay outside long, and in fact came home Wednesday afternoon. (They closed the outdoor exhibits due to excessive heat and Paul would not sit through the inside things.) Before it got too hot, we also went to the ox cart ride. Homer and his friend (forgot the other ox’s name) walking in a circle for about 4 minutes and Paul got to pet his back. He has said “I rode a Ox!” to anyone who will listen every day since then.

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The Ox Cart

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Paul with Homer the Ox

Paul also loved seeing the Temple.

I think our brief time in Nauvoo was just right for him.

Mommy and Daddy took pictures of the Nauvoo Temple  and so we encouraged Paul to as well since we gave him that cheap camera. He took a couple pictures and then said, “I did already” so I don’t think he understood why his amateur photographer father took an hour of pictures!

Here are Paul’s pictures. I’ve omitted the dozens of pictures of his fingers and of the wall, floor, grass, etc. I know these below still are silly and out of focus but I’m actually pretty impressed that I could tell what he was taking pictures of!

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Yes, he took this himself!

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I held the camera for him while he pushed the button.

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He did this all himself! He wanted a picture of the "other temple," i.e., the Catholic church building next to the Nauvoo temple.

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He did it all himself! He wanted a picture of Daddy taking pictures.

Grandma Peggy and Papa Paul’s Visit: A Trip to Wisconsin and the Train Museum

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On the Monday morning when Grandma Peggy and Papa Paul were here (Memorial Day), we went to Wisconsin! We were going to go somewhere closer to home, but it was pouring rain so we drove an hour and spent some time at Lake Geneva. It was not raining in Wisconsin. I liked the playground we played at!

I also had fun walking down the board walk with Grandma, Papa, Mommy, and Daddy.

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It was really sunny, so I didn't want to open my eyes!

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We are a happy family!

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I love Daddy!

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I'm glad Grandma can keep track of Billy by holding on to his leash!

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On our way home from Lake Geneva, we went to the Train Museum! I had asked about it all day. “Train Museum now?” I kept saying. I was glad when we finally went there.

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I got to ride on a train!

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Even better, I got to ride on Grandma Peggy's lap while we rode on the train!

I had so much fun with Grandma Peggy and Papa Paul!

ETA Dec 2011: Post has been post-dated to reflect date pictures were taken. Originally posted July 2010.

Grandma Peggy and Papa Paul’s Visit: A Night and Day in Chicago

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Grandma Peggy and Papa Paul came to stay with me! I had so much fun with them that I still keep talking about them!

We spent a lot time in the car the first night. But that’s because we went to Chicago. We walked down the street to go to dinner together. Grandma Peggy gave me a puppy that we called Billy. I wore Billy on my back and Grandma held on to his leash so Billy wouldn’t get lost while we walked around. there were so many things to look at, I forgot to look at where I was going! But I  knew Grandma was right there with me.

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I was pretty tired after dinner. I got to sleep in a big soft cozy bed all by myself!

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Mommy says she wants me to put in this picture of Navy Pier. She says she took it when she and Grandma and Daddy went for a walk. I didn't see it because I stayed at the hotel and slept in that nice big bed! (Grandpa stayed with me.)

The next morning, I woke up and I was still in the nice big cozy bed! I hadn’t fallen out!

It was a special day because then we went to ride on a boat! I was very excited to see the boat. The walk to get to the boat seemed to take forever and I wanted to be carried. Mommy says it was four blocks. Is that a lot?


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We got on the boat and it was exciting!

Then I was ready to get off. Mommy laughed and said that it had only been five minutes and it was a 90 minute tour. That sounded like a very long time!

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I played with my sunglasses.

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I looked at the water.

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I sat on Mommy's and Daddy's and Grandma Peggy's and Papa Paul's laps.

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Mommy and Daddy and Grandma Peggy took pictures of buildings. Some person was talking about the buildings. I was bored, for the most part. But then we got off the boat and went and ate food! And then we went in a car again. We drove to a Museum called the Museum of Science and Industry.

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I had fun seeing a big tractor

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and I loved the cow. Cows say "Moo!"

I also saw a huge train and a huge airplane. I got to go in both of them. Mommy didn’t take pictures, though. Silly Mommy!

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I also saw a fun toy train set. I watched it for a long time.

Then we went home. That was the end of our day in Chicago. I slept well that night, even if I wasn’t in that huge bed anymore.

ETA (Dec 2011): Post has been post-dated to reflect date pictures were taken. Originally posted July 2010.

Mother’s Day (2 1/2 Year) Pictures

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On Mother’s Day (almost two months ago already), I dressed Paul in the suit I’d found at a thrift store and took some pictures of my adorable little man. Yes, this suit is far too big. I’ve put it away for another year or so until it will fit him properly. But I did get some pictures!

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Paul playing a toot-a-roo.

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ETA (Dec 2011): Post has been post-dated to reflect date pictures were taken (originally posted July 2010)

Spring Flowers vs Obnoxious Weeds (AKA Why There Are No More Dandelions on My Front Lawn)

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Since we moved in last winter when there was more than a foot of snow on the ground, we weren’t quite sure what to expect in terms of the yard. I waited all spring, hoping something would come up, and not sure I wanted to mess with it.

Well, nothing came up. The rose bushes in the front on the right were dead, and the other three bushes on the left are random and overgrown. Last year, I dug out the dead roses and spent my meager budget of $70 on four new bushes for the right hand side. I got small ones. They still looked small by fall, and they looked small all winter and they still do (you probably can’t even see them unless you know they are there). I spent another $20 on bulbs in the fall. This year, I had so much fun watching the flowers appear! I hope to plant lots more this fall so I can enjoy them in the backyard too. Paul loves saying “Look, Mommy! The flowers come up!!” every time he sees them.

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taken April 22, 2010

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taken April 22, 2010

You may notice the lovely green lawn. There is nary a dandelion on the front lawn because I spent hours pulling Every. Single. One. that I found. Yes. I went in a very thorough linear pattern and I was very careful to look for dandelions without the flowers yet.

Why did I feel compelled to eliminate the yellow flower from my yard in such earnest? Let me tell you the saga of the dandelions.

Last week, Ryan fertilized with non-dandelion stuff that supposedly kills them all. Two days later, it rained. The next morning, the lawn was covered with dandelions! What?! So I went out there with Weed-B-Gone and sprayed every dandelion I saw, careful to get all I could see. The next morning, there were twice as many! Grrr. I love my spring flowers but those awful dandelions were making me cross. So out they came.

Of course, the day after I took this picture, I saw at least six more dandelions on the part I’ve already pulled out! Grrr. I didn’t pull out of the parkway — I just sprayed those but there are a ton. So maybe I must do those tow. Sigh.

It’s a daily/weekly/monthly battle, but I realize that it’s okay. Knowing the effort I put in to getting my lawn so nice and green is actually quite rewarding. It’s part of makes the spring flowers that much more satisfying! I love my house, I love my yard, and it just makes me so happy to look at these dandelion-free pictures and feel all warm and fuzzy in side!

I compare our yard to the house two doors down, which is still vacant (as it was last year). YIKES. My yard is so much nicer.

Don’t get me started on the backyard. I am not about to crawl on my hands and knees for a full quarter of an acre. Here’s to hoping I have energy to at least spray them tomorrow! It’s pretty bad and I do not want them going to seed…