Click The Camera

Praises!

I got my camera back from the Nikon repair center. It cost one hundred and fifty smackers to get it fixed but I think it was well worth it. I feel like my right arm was cut off there for awhile. Photo filled posts will soon ensue!

Eight Is So Great!

My little Mikie is now eight! She doesn't look eight. She is just a little pip squeak! She comes home from school and tells me that the kindergartners bend down to talk to her. I think it annoys her because they think they can boss her around since she is smaller than them but she doesn't stand for it, oh no she doesn't! She is quite the firecracker and has an enormous amount of attiTUDE! She has always been a tiny little thing. Eight years with Mikie has produced some pretty special memories and since I am without a camera (well that is not exactly true. I do have a camera that my darling little friend, Brinley lent me. She is twelve and heard that I wouldn't have a camera for Mikie's baptism so she just gave me hers to borrow. What twelve year old does that?! So thoughtful, that is what she is! I have photos but need to get them to the kiosk and develop them.) I am going to share some of my most favorite memories and photos of my Mikie.

During delivery, Mikie was coming so quickly that the doctor only had time toss his tie over his shoulder, kneel down, and catch her. The cord pressed down over her head and around her neck and then squeezing her little body, bruising her entire body and popping the blood vessels in her eyes . She was a deep purple for days!

If you need a hand or an errand ran or something found, Mikie is your gal! She is so eager to help and is quite the little mother. She is very nurturing and affectionate and sensitive to the needs of those around her. Sometimes she can be a bit TOO helpful!

Mikie lived in dress up clothes and dresses! She refused to wear pants! She is so girly and feminine. She loves make up and fashion and jewelry. She has a thing for the 80's style. Her first hairstyle she did herself was a side ponytail. When I would ask her how she wanted her hair done she would always request "Deb hair" from Napoleon Dynamite.

From birth, Mikie was Gramps' girl! When she started walking she would escape to his house. She was always content to sit on his lap and snuggle and suck her little thumb. As gramps aged he didn't have the strength to pick her up so she would just lean against him or situate herself right next to him just to be near him.

When Mikie was about a month old she got RSV and turned so blue. It was frightening. We rushed her to the ER. The RSV developed into something called reactive airway disease. So every winter for the first three years of her life she had to be quarantined and on oxygen because her oxygen levels were dangerously low. We took many trips to Primary Children's for testing and treatments. She was so fragile and gaunt from being sick all of the time. I really think she stopped growing there for awhile. She was such a little trooper though. I remember having a gigantic oxygen tank stationed in the living room with the longest tube attached so that she could go into any room in the house. She also had this humongous breathing machine in her room that we attached to her while she slept. It would sound an alarm when her oxygen levels got too low. That was such a difficult trial at the time and I am grateful that she grew out of sickness into a healthy little girl.

I am gonna take a minute to be Miss Braggy Pants, Mikie is a genius! She is participating in the gifted and talented program and is off the charts in testing and grades.

Mikie, I am blessed beyond belief to be your mother!

I love you like life!

Happy Birthday!

Electronics Hate Me!

I am beyond frustrated and devastated to the point of tears! My luck with expensive electronics has been HORRIBLE recently! This summer I had a mishap with my Canon. The LCD screen got stepped on during a fishing trip. It was totally my fault, it was one of those where you can turn the LCD screen around and close it and I didn't even after many warnings from Mike but I continued using it. It felt old school taking photos and not knowing what you were getting until you developed them.

My ipod too had a tragic accident that involved the toilet. It was low on battery and I put in my pocket so that I would remember to charge it up but my bladder had other plans and as my pants came down my precious ipod classic made a splash in the toilet water...prepee thank goodness! I was surprised at my lightning reflexes! My hand was in there after it before I knew it but the damage was done and it was fried!

The most recent tragedy was with my BRAND NEW Nikon. I JUST got it for my birthday last month!! I had already been traumatized severely so I was super careful. It was always in a case or on the counter top but I guess I wasn't careful enough. I have no clue how it could have happened but there is and impact mark on the LCD screen. Oh my goodness, it feels so crippling not having a camera to document family adventures and the precious things that only seem to happen once. There is no reenacting these memories and my memory is so fickle. I can't trust it to record these images for the future. Even my poor little blog has been suffering. Who wants to read a blog with no pictures!? Not me he he!

I will have to wait until after Christmas to see if I can get it repaired, gotta pay for Christmas first. (that means no photos of little surprised faces Christmas morning! Oh it's killing me to even think about it!). I would imagine that a camera should be able to handle normal use handling with out breaking so I am tempted to call Nikon customer service and complain.

Mike reminds me that it is just stuff. He is so patient with his clumsy and silly wife. I am not so patient with myself. It just makes me absolutley sick to my stomach! I will be kicking myself for these mistakes for a LONG time!

Somethin' For Nothin'

I got this in the mail From my friend Melissa!
She posted a handmade contest and all I had to do is repost it on my blog and this is what I got and she MADE it!

It's a jewelry holder and it is THE handiest thing EVER! Before I just had a plastic bin thing and it was a mess, now it's all displayed so beautifully and so organized too!!

Thank you SO much Mel! You can't even imagine what a fantastic gift this is and I think of you every day with a smile when I just grab what jewelry I need with out having to dig and untangle. WONDERFUL!!

I have yet to make my handmade items for those who commented on my post but don't give up hope on not getting anything. I have been working on some projects (;!

CATCH Up Not Ketchup!

For memory and journaling purposes I decided I better catch up on a few things that I would have otherwise neglected to post on this little ignored bloggy thing I have because I had already posted pictures on facebook and myspace! Third time's a charm so let's try to get caught up, shall we?

My little man turned five in August! He wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese's for his birthday. This was a first for our little family and we had a pretty good time! All he asked for for his birthday was one of those laser lights with a flashlight combo thingies. It was only two bucks or so but I could not find one anywhere. Lucky for him, his grandma Jones found just what he wanted in the check out isle of wally world! I love how simple little one's requests are! No high expectations or expensive demands.. Madse has been in laser light heaven!

(When I was taking this photo, mechanical Chuck e smacked Madse in the head...It was great!)

School started insanely early this year! August 17th...yuck!

It was the ruiner of all of our carefree summer fun!

It seems that when school starts, the weather senses that and gets cooler and crisp!

Our after school routine consists of homework, chores, and just enough time for family dinner and then it is off to bed just so we can do the same thing the next day. I am glad that we are not committed to other extra activities.

Ashley is a big fourth grader and Mikie is in second grade and they are little geniuses! Little miss Mikie is one of three kids in the whole school in the gifted program this year! That makes me a very proud momma!

I decided to keep my little Madse home one more year. He has an August birthday and I would rather him be the oldest than the youngest plus he is still pretty attached to his momma and gets a bit sad when I go to the grocery store or the bathroom without him! Then there is me...I don't think my little heart could take him leaving me for kindergarten so soon. I don't like sharing, I guess. (As I write this I realize just how much I must be screwing the poor kid up! I am selfish, I know, but I can live with that!)

I also got to help my neighbor and friend with her wedding. She was getting married in preparation for her baptism. The wedding came together surprisingly well for the short amount of time we had to prepare and so many people in the ward pitched in to make it all run smoothly. Once we found her a dress, everything else fell into place. After meeting with a florist, my friend was a bit discouraged at how much it was going to cost so I convinced her that we could do it and save a ton of money in the process! I also volunteered to make the cake and do a few other things. I really enjoyed doing it, especially the cake. It was my first time working with fondant and I think I now have a new hobby! You can see some puckering in the corner of the top tier and I went a little overboard with the chocolate shavings but we just had chocolate coming out of our ears and I didn't want to waste any of it. It really is quite fun trying to get chocolate to curl up all pretty! You should try it some time!

Groom's boutonniere

Their little boy's boutonniere...I forgot the grass but it was getting down to the wire so it had to do.

Bride's bouquet

We got all of the flowers at our local grocery store and just put them together for super cheap! I wish I had better and more photos of the entire wedding but some one (most likely me) stepped on the LCD screen of my camera and it shattered. The camera still works but I feel like I am old school not knowing what kind of picture I will end up with. Ooo, which reminds me, I got a new camera as an early birthday present so I can start taking photos again!!!

Finds

I am a lover of anything fabric and so when I found this blog, I fell head over heals for these fabric peony flower hair clips from Made With Love & Glue!This gal has some serious skills and I like her style! Go ahead and take a peak and enter to win her giveaway too!

What I Will Miss About The Summer...

A perfect summer afternoon activity to beat the heat!

Friends, thrills, and giggle aplenty!

Tanner in the lead, Ashley in close second, Mikie coming from behind...this one is gonna be close!

Sweet little Annabelle spent the day with us while her mom was a the the hospital.

A little refreshment on the way back up the hill! Mmm butt ice!

Super Madse!

Even Tracy and I raced down the hill a few times!

This summer break will be one to remember!