Natalie & Co.

Brooke's beautiful bridal pics.

Made this all by myself! Is it cute? Any other idea's on a name I can refer to myself as when I do photos?

So, I got the 'OPPORTUNITY' to PRACTICE my photography skills, yet again. Love it, but also DREAD it! Because I just don't feel that COMPETENT YET! *sigh* Anyway, these are the ones that made the cut. I like them, but then I go to a "REAL" photographer's website or blog, and I see that they (my photo's) leave MUCH to be desired! Oh well... u live and learn, right? I just gotta keep practicing and learning (and spending money on new equipment!!) and hopefully I'll get better. :) Thanks Bonnie and Kristen for letting me capture these!!

So, I somehow got talked into trying to do photo's for Kye's sister Brooke and her fiance Brandon for their wedding announcements! I was REALLY reluctant.... but did it anyway! Practice makes perfect, RIGHT? (SORRY YOU TWO were the ones I had to practice on! I WARNED YOU THO!) These are all edited differently, because I wasn't sure HOW they wanted them, or what feel they were going for... so, I kinda did a little bit of everything. My fav's are the b&w's, mostly. Brooke, you're SUCH a BABE!! (You're not bad either, Brandon... ;) Thanks for having FAITH that I could pull this off! Hope it worked! (And THANKS JANESSA, http://www.mekeleimages.blogspot.com/ for helping me out with it... couldn't've done it without you!)

So, I FINALLY got to go to my long-awaited photography workshop last Saturday. I loved loved loved it. I learned SO much. I only wish I could've taken it, like, 3 YEARS AGO!! But still...
Carin Davis taught it. (http://carindavis.squarespace.com/) She is AMAZING. My only complaint is that there isn't a Level II, or something?! Anyway, on Sunday, I whipped out the ol' camera and tried to apply a few things I learned on taking these shots of Haven and Landon at an old barn by our house. Haven was cranky and not cooperating, and Landon was hungry and tired. But I managed to get a few cute ones! Luckily I had Kye's cousin Tiffany with me to help me on that crazy little excursion. After seeing the pics, I came straight home and buzzed Landon's hair off, because I realized it was so whispy and long and stringy in the front! He looks so cute with it buzzed!! I will take a pic tomorrow and post it, but here are the few I got on Sunday.

I was looking through some old stuff on my computer and found all these! I haven't scrapbooked in SO long! I used to LOVE it! I was never any good at it, but it was still fun. I thought I'd throw these up for ya'll to see!

Ok. Since winter is upon me now, and since I have nothing better to post about, I wanted to put up these pics of summer, just to give me the warm fuzzies. Haven and I planted tomato's in the Spring. There's NOTHING better than garden fresh tomatoes. Once you have them, it's dang near impossible to choke down a store-bought tomato. Anyway, they remind me of summer and long days and warm nights. I miss them (the long days and warm nights) already, (and I guess the tomato's too!) and it's only the beginning of December. My nightly runs with Bodey have gone from a joy to a job to a dread. I HATE the cold. So, sadly, instead of every night.... it's more like every OTHER night. Sometimes, every THIRD night. Poor dog. :( What a lousy owner I am.

LOOK AT THIS BEAUTY!! ;-)

I know... perfection.

Yummy tuna sandwich with tomato and cheese!! MMMMM

So, my point in this:HURRY BACK SUMMER! I MISS YOU ALREADY!

This last weekend, we went to the cabin with the mission of getting TONS of firewood stocked up for this winter. We took Morfar's trusty old wood splitter, and let me tell ya... I LOVE that old thing! There is just no stinkin' WAY we would've chopped even CLOSE to that much wood with out that thing. It's awesome. Mom and Dad came up as well as Nate and his funny side-kick friend, Mark. We had brought up the ranger so we could fell some trees, then drag them up the steep hill to the cabin, saw it up, and split it. It was a good day. Of course, Dad brought his prized potato launcher. That always makes for a good laugh. Dennis, Nate, Mark and Kye are like a constant gong show!

We also sent home a load of wood to Mormor and Morfar for letting us use the splitter. We went to their house for family night and split it all up for them. Something about that old wood splitter makes me feel so nostalgic. Grandpa's had it since I can remember. I can remember my sister's and mom and dad getting wood and spending hours and hours splitting it up to sell it. (I think they made a killing too!) It was a fun time. Enjoy the pics!

Ok, so I just HAD to post that I took 1st place at BMX the other night. (And NO, I wasn't the only racer!) ha ha.

I usually say, "Well, I took 3rd! Pretty good, eh?" And then the question: "How many people were there?" And I have to answer... "ummm.... three?" LOL! Then the race last week, I WAS the only one in my class to race, so they put me with these 12 year old Intermediates. They KILLED me! (of course) But... still took 3rd haha. Last night there were 3 ladies in my class, so we all had to race the 2 moto's, and the main. I dominated all 3. :) yay. Finally... a first place trophy!

This is amazing to me. You'll love it. (but remember to pause my playlist so you can get the full effect from the Whitney song! :)

One of Haven's (and Kalob's) favorite things, is to go to Grandpa's garden and see what treats they can find! On this day, Haven was looking for tomatoes, cucumbers, and strawberrys. She happened to find some grapes from the neighbors vine too. Anyway, the pics were kinda cute, so I thought I'd share.

This weekend was the 'Bird Family Camp Out'. Except that a few 'BIRDS' couldn't be there! (Maryann and Ryan) Oh, and Mom and Dad didn't make it either because of previous engagements :( So, maybe it was more like a Tanner-Olschewski-Bird camp out? Either way, it was SO fun. I really did have SUCH a good time! It was a short camp out; only an over nighter... but still WAY WAY fun. NICE warm weather, cool at night. We ate yummy dutchoven dinner and salad and rolls and fruit that night. MMMM... it was SO good. Then Lisa and Derek treated us all with peach cobbler in the dutch oven! DELICIOUS. The next morning, Kye and Derek and whoever else, made a yummy breakfast of French Toast, bacon, sausage, and cheesy potatoes in the dutch oven. YUM. We sat in the shade and watched the kids ride around in the meadow on the 4 wheelers. The dogs chased after them at first, then got tired and came back to lay in the shade too. All in all, it was just a really fun, relaxing time. I'm so glad we went, and can't WAIT to plan another one! Nate was the coolest uncle in the world, and the boys just begged for him to take them rallying ONE MORE TIME in the Ranger. You could hear them laughing all the way back at camp! I wish we could've stayed longer tho! Next time, we will for sure. We already have plans to go again UEA weekend... so if any of you want to come!?....

*SIGH* Yes, it's true. Summer is (or seems) officially gone. The nights have that crisp air, and the sun is different, and the shadows have moved. They seem longer now. The past 2 or 3 days have been FABULOUS, however. Sunny and WARM... not blistering hot. Today was actually a little chilly as Haven and I and Landon were at the park eating lunch. Her little preschool class had a get-together there. It was a good day for it.

Hmm... let's see. What have we been up to lately?

Kalob is going to Denver this weekend for his Aunt's wedding. (Wade's sister). He was sick all last week, like the rest of us, and missed 3 days of school! Feeling much better now though. He also has plans to go to Vermont and then Niagra Falls with Wade at the end of this month. I don't like him going so far away... but I don't want him to miss out on an opportunity to travel and see something as amazing and beautiful as Niagra Falls.

Haven is loving preschool...and playing make believe. Her imagination is AMAZING. She pretends a box in her room is a school bus and makes me sit on it (and buckle up), and she drives me to school. "Don't forget your school folder!" she said to me! ha ha ha. So cute. she also loves to play 'school', and she's ALWAYS the teacher. Maybe it comes natural to her cuz she's so bossy! jk She likes to line her dollies up and various other toys and then say "EVERYONE LISTEN TO TEACHER! IT'S TEACHER'S TIME TO TALK!" I really need to get the video camera out, so you can get the whole scope of it. It's so cute.

Landon is my little chubber. From 5 lbs 15 oz at birth, to 15 pounds currently!! HOLY MACARONI!! (as Haven would say) He's still a sweet sweet baby. Hardly ever fusses or cries and is content to just watch the kids and dogs come and go. He's smiling a lot now, and has laughed a few times.

Kye: well... he was in the E.R. last night. Yes. Fell off his bike for the THIRD time at BMX last night. Landed HARD on his tail bone. It started swelling up till he has this big bubble booty and hurt like a mother - . I started freaking out because I thought with all that swelling, that maybe he'd broken his tail bone or something, or that it might cause nerve damage and paralize him!! (I know, I know... silly girl... always thinking the worst.) So, they took xrays to see if it was broken and an ultra sound to see about blood clots or something like that. Pretty much, they said "you're going to be in severe pain for a while. Here's some pain meds. Good luck." *sigh* In case you're wondering, yes, I DID tell him he can't ride BMX anymore.

Me: Well, I'm combating the usual 'end of summer blues'. I DO love Fall, but it's a kind of love/hate thing. I'm back on the PROZ and that is helping. But one thing I hate about it is it gives me cotton mouth. SOOOO annoying. And second, it's almost like it makes me MORE aware of my thoughts. Does that make sense to anyone? It's kind of like I'm really 'in tune' with my inner voice (which is a hag, by the way), and so it's even more annoying. I dunno... my mind is just crazy sometimes. But my mood seems to be doing better. oooh oooh... and one thing I'm looking SO FORWARD TO: a photography workshop! It's a 12 hour workshop w/this lady from Bountiful (I think that's where she's from), and you meet her and several other students and she teaches you first of all, how to USE your camera and set apeture and shutter speed and ISO and all that jazz. And then you go around learning technique and composition, and all that yummy kind of stuff I need to know! The sad part is, it's not till March :( It seems SO far away! I can't WAIT!

I literally can't articulate with words how much I LOVE summer nights. As soon as that sun goes down, I have a burst of energy. My most FAVORITE thing to do, usually anytime after 11pm, is take my pup for a run. I do not run, of course... as I despise running. I ride my bike! (which I love). I used to take the little 4 wheeler every night, but have found I enjoy riding the bike even more. Mostly because, A) it is the only excersize I get, and B) because it's quiet, and I like hearing the panting of my dog and the tink of his tags. I love that there are sprinklers on everywhere, too. He thinks he's so funny running through them, and then laying down in front of one and just gnawing on it, slurping up a cold drink. It looks so refreshing... a fresh spray in the mouth. I just don't want to get all wet. He doesn't seem to mind.

I wonder if my 'night-owl-ness' came about because of my years of sneaking out of the house as a teenager and raising hell throughout the neighborhood until it started getting light? Now, THOSE were the days. I love those days. I miss those days. I think that's where my love of nighttime was really born, although I've never been a morning person anyway.

So, back to my love of dogs. MY dog, in particular. I always tell him, "I LOVE YOU! But I can't STAND you... now go lay down." How is that possible? (I hope he doesn't take it personal.) Ummm, I guess just ask anyone who has big dogs. You hate the hair, the slobber, the need to go on walks, the POOP... yet you LOVE that snoot, those eyes, those paws, the WISKERS! How could you ever live with out 'em? Hence, you put up with all the rest.

ok, so I've been MEANING to blog for days and days and days, but somehow, at the END of those 'days', there's no TIME, or sleep becomes more important than blogging! Sleep is EXTREMELY underrated, might I add. It is more precious than gold, so I'd say at this point: I'm BROKE! I have NO gold. Landon still snoozes the day away, then 10pm hits, and guess who's WIDE AWAKE? Then we have Haven's antics to bother with. "Lay by me." "Sit by me." "I'm thirsty", "I need to go potty." Her excuses are a dime a dozen. She's a PRO! Last night she carried on till MIDNIGHT. Yes, midnight. And I know, I know... it's SO easy to point the finger and say "just do this, or do that". WHATEVER! I only say to those people "just you wait till you have a little bugger of your own." Ya know, it's never the people who HAVE kids that have any lipping off to do... It's always people who don't HAVE kids who have the most advice. I scoff at them! ha ha ha

Another little side note (w/pics to prove it later...) My little Landon... ya, the little premie 5lb 15ouncer...? He is now 13 pounds!! He's a total chubber! He was in the 7th percentile when he was born, and NOW he's in the 70th percentile for weight! I can't believe it.

also: I raced BMX last night. Yes. Me. It was pretty fun, and quite the work out! Kye wants me to race again tomorrow, but I don't know if I'm up for it. I might crash! We'll see. I'll post more pics when I'm at my REAL computer, and not in bed on my laptop.! xo

On Sunday, we got to go to Colton McKay's farewell in Huntsville (our favorite place!). He did SUCH a great job with his talk. (Something I envy since I have a near-nervous-break-down at the mere THOUGHT of speaking at the dreaded pulpit!) Chad & Wendy have done a great job raising Colton (and all the kids) in the gospel. Their family is a great example to Kye and I, and we really look up to them. Here are some cute pics of the kids on that huge, wonderful tree swing in their backyard.

And AFTER:

Nothing like a long day of swimming to get the kids worn out. Thanks Kye!

Kalob going down the home stretch.

Kye (on the right)

Oh, and one more little note: Last Tuesday night at about 9:30 p.m., Kye calls me on my cel phone and says "meet me at the instacare...Kalob needs stitches! He just fell off his bike!" Yes. He was riding around the neighborhood (no, it was NOT at BMX) and somehow hit something, or went to fast and flew off, cracking open his chin. Kye went running up the street to find Kalob leaning over, as blood was gushing out, and creating a giant pool at his feet, and splashing all over his shoes and socks clear up to his knees. Pretty gross. But Kye, being the quick thinker he is, just played it cool. He took off his work gloves, turned one inside out and told Kalob to hold it on his chin and put pressure. Then we met at instacare. Any of you who know Kalob, know that he is such a mellow kid. And you would think that at a time like this, he might just lose it and become upset and cry and moan and be worried, but let me assure you... he did NOT. He was as stoic as ever. Calm as a cat. In fact, I never saw or heard him cry about it once. So, he ended up with 9 stitches. I just HAD to snap some pics w/my cel phone, so I'll post them for your morbid viewing pleasure!

I took this w/my cel phone, and it's obviously pretty blurry (probably for the best!) but you can kinda see how huge the gash was! EWWW!

My stoic Kalob. Hardly even flinched.

Here come the stitches. 3 on the inside, 6 on the out.

All stitched up!

ok, so as most people know, I WANT to be a good photographer! But I'm just NOT. I have this great Nikon D50 that I've had for 2 years now, and I STILL don't even know how to use the thing! If you've ever even wanted to dabble in photography, you soon find out that it is a SERIOUS science, and for those of us who just aren't SMART enough to learn new things, (me) it becomes really intimidating. F-Stops, apertures, depth of field, ISO, noise, the rule of thirds... all of these things drive me CRAZY! Yet, I press on because I SO want to be able to capture REAL photos, not just crappy snap shots. So, here's my way about it: I take about 100 photos and just HOPE one of them turns out~! And sometimes they do. However, I must confess, after taking photos, to make them look good, I must then go in and touch up in Photoshop, because I can't ever get it right the FIRST time! Anyway, here are some cute photos that I think turned out ok... tho I'm never really satisfied.

So, I've been debating for the past few months whether or not to start a new blog. I already have one on msn spaces, but I've never been a big fan of the layout, etc. Plus, I was hesitant because I Don't want to loose all of my pics and posts! So, I've decided to just do it and transfer some of my old stuff over here, just to give me warm fuzzies. So HERE IT IS! I have a lot of catching up to do, so I'll get busy. Hope you enjoy!