The Sprinkler System

You should see my yard… I took some pictures with my cell phone camera (but honestly, I have no idea how to upload those to my computer!!), but it is a massive mess! We are having a sprinkler system installed!

The crews have been here since Monday and hopefully they finish everything today. It’s been a massive undertaking since we live on almost an acre of land, but pretty soon our yard it going to be looking stellar! When we bought this house a couple of years ago, the yard needed some pretty serious attention. Last year we did a lot of lawn work, re-barked the entire yard, painted the deck and tore out a lot of dead shrubs and trees. So far this year, the lawn is looking good, we’re planting some trees and flowers, we’ve got the flower/vegetable garden now planted and now the sprinkler system is installed.

Maggie just LOVES watching the Sprinkler Dudes (as I call them) working out in the front yard. She likes to walk out there and say “Hi” to each one of them, each morning they are here, and then she walks around taking the little marker flags out of the lawn and handing them to the guys. They think she’s hilarious! Especially when she’s banging on the windows to get their attention.

I haven’t written a lot this week… I’ve just been busy!! I’ve had two shoots this week (pictures coming soon!) and I’m preparing for a really special wedding this weekend. I have the honor of shooting the wedding of Eric and Rachel. We did their engagement session a few weeks ago, but the big day is coming up tomorrow! It’s quite exciting, but it’s taken a ton of time to plan. Expect a few teasers from the wedding next week!!

Maggie the Toddler

It’s been a while since I took any real personal pictures of my little darling (or destroyer… you pick the descriptor…) and grabbed this shot while she was on the porch of my parents new house the other day.

In looking at this picture it is plain to see that this child is no longer any type of baby; she is 100% toddler. From the temper tantrums, to the funny words and sayings, she is usually pretty darn cute. Don’t let that cute innocent little smile fool you though. She knows how to work the cute angle very well; all the while plotting her next devious little move.

I miss the easy baby days… who knew that having a newborn was the easiest part of being a parent?!

Are you watching John Adams?

So have you been watching the John Adams Mini Series on HBO?

If not… then get on it! Jason and I have become addicted to it over the last 4 weeks and my parents are watching it too. Not to be missed. Paul Giamatti plays John Adams brilliantly and Laura Linney has made Abigail Adams into a strong, beautiful, and independent female figure. SO GOOD! If you don’t get HBO, when the series (total 7 parts) comes out on DVD you’ve got to take a look.

Leave me a comment and let me know if you’re watching and what you think!

Spring Snow!

It snowed today. It was so weird!!

Around 3pm we were driving home and it started to snow. Then around 4pm it started to stick. I took this at 5:30 and the snow continued until about 7pm. All told, we have about an inch on the ground!

Yesterday Maggie and I went out to explore a little trail by our house. We took the wagon down to the trailhead and then she walked about a 1/2 mile along the trail. We of course had to stop to explore each and every twig, piece of grass and bird along the way.

(This is a technically terrible photo. But I love the look on her face!)

Afterwards, we came back and did a little coloring.

Which was followed by a temper tantrum when I wouldn’t let her get in the refridgerator. Note: Please excuse the odd blue color cast on the fridge!

Victoria, BC Vacation Recap

I’ve been putting off working on our Victoria photos since I’ve been so busy since we got back. I finally got around to working on them this afternoon! Here is our story:

We are back! And a lot more poor than before we left. Did you know that the Canadian dollar is worth more than the US dollar?? I knew it… but man… it all adds up. I liked it way more a few years ago when it was $.50 CDN for $1.00 USD!

Jason, Maggie and I took off early on Friday morning for the Victoria Clipper. It was rainy and cold but we had a great time traveling at 35 mph over the water towards Victoria, B.C.

After we arrived and went through Customs, we then checked into our BEAUTIFUL hotel, The Fairmont Empress.

They were already expecting Maggie when we got to our room.

We got a little lunch/dinner while Maggie was taking a nap, but unfortunately she woke up and wasn’t too happy.

Then came a much needed nap (4:00 am was way too early!). After our nap, it was dark, but the new camera got to show off some mad skills by helping me take some night photos. I might add, it was dark… way dark when these were taken! This is why my new camera totally rocks…

Saturday was our anniversary and we spent the majority of the day walking around town, taking in coffee and a great little local shop, and browsing the shops. Jason and Maggie had some quiet nap time that afternoon while I went out and explored the beautiful hotel. That afternoon, we took in an early dinner at Spinnakers after an awesome walk along the waterfront.

Breakfast at the Union Pacific (UP) Coffee House

Jason getting his picture taken (again) during dinner.

Maggie being a terror at dinner (that’s her coloring paper/menu she’s about to throw!).

We spent the rest of the night hanging out at the hotel, reading, playing and watching TV.

Sunday morning started again with a trip to the local coffee shop, more walking around the town to explore, and a trip to the local drug store to pick up some elusive Canadian chocolate to take home with us. We took another long walk along the waterfront taking in the GORGEOUS views. Lastly, we took in afternoon high tea at the Empress. YUMMY!!!

We rode home on the Clipper and finally fell into bed at 11pm. Luckily, Jason had the next day off so we could sleep in and recover.

Whew… we had a great time celebrating our 5 years together. A very special time for all of us!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to my family and to all my friends! Here are a few from our home today (all SOOC).

The egg-dying process!

It’s a little small for the web… but this egg says “Daddy loves Mabz” and has a drawing of a bunny on the back. It was quite cute!

Smart girl… she goes for the chocolate first in her Easter basket!

And this is the ONLY way I was able to get her still to take a picture of her in her Easter dress; by putting in 101 Dalmations which kept her in her seat for at least 5 seconds.

Finally a good picture of me!

I haven’t had a good picture of me since before Maggie was born. Finally today I got one. Never mind that Steve took about 45 minutes processing it after it was taken… it’s still pretty good!! It’s a nice self portrait taken at the front stoop of my parents house.

Victoria, BC Here We Come!

Jason, Maggie and I are headed out to Victoria British Columbia bright and early tomorrow morning. We are SO EXCITED!!! We are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary on Saturday and decided to take a little trip to celebrate.

We catch the Victoria Clipper (a hydro-foil that gets us up there in 2 hours!) at 8:00 am in Seattle and then we return late on Sunday night. Ever since seeing the historic Empress Hotel when I was in Victoria on a band trip in high school, I’ve wanted to stay there. Well, the weekend called for something special and we have reservations. We also are planning on going to the botanical gardens, taking a walking tour and a wine tour!

Keep posted next week for pictures from our adventures!

The Big Clam Dig!

So today was the day for The Big Clam Dig. My New Mexico blood came out today as I had no clue what this whole clam digging thing was all about. Jason had done this throughout his childhood, so he was ready to go! Apparently, you have to have a license ($6) and can only dig at certain times, during a 1 week period, and only on certain beaches.

That meant that today was the day. Period. So 6 am came up and we roused ourselves out of bed and headed out to Grayland, WA to dig on the beach. There were way more crazy people out there than I anticipated and it kept going through my mind…. IT’S MARCH! AND COLD! But I get ahead of myself.

Daddy – Why must I get up so early?!

Daddy: The Crazy Clam Digger!

Did I mention it was cold?!

Maggie & I got to explore the beach a bit.

Jason’s first attempt at finding clams was unsuccessful. He was going to throw in the towel, but we decided to try a second location.

So our second location was a success… sort of.
One clam was claimed on our big dig!!

The fruit of our labors (and $45 in gas, $30 for lunch, a 3-hour drive)

All in all… it was a fun day!! Although I think the New Mexico girl in me will never truly learn the draw of the ocean, I had fun during the Big Clam Dig today!