Does anyone else do this?

Apparently my kids think the answer is "no."
They think I'm a little weird.

Sometimes (ok, a lot of times) when I'm driving I see something that is so beautiful that I pull out the iPhone
and snap a few photos.

Sometimes the pictures turn out,

and sometimes (for obvious reasons like I'm driving!), they don't.

I have also been known to pull the car over to the side of the road and snap a quick picture.

See the double rainbow?

This past fall I was driving to my parents house and I looked over at Jake and it struck me that he had turned into a young man. His feet were getting so big. He seemed gangly. I could imagine him as a teenager, looking just like this, sleeping in the car. So... I snapped a few pictures to remember this moment. :)

Whenever I pick up the kids from school, I always drive by these birds:

Just driving down 8th North and the mountains looked stunning on this day:
And sometimes the pictures don't turn out, or,

I can't remember what I thought was so great.

Some things just don't translate well onto iPhone:

I think Tom (Joseph's cousin) said it best. He told me I do this because I'm getting old. In your 20's you don't care as much about this stuff, but as we age, we learn to appreciate the world around us a little more. I think he's onto something...

Randomness.

Some random thoughts and pictures this evening.

We've really been enjoying the sugar snap peas at Costco lately. My kids have figured out that the average pod has six peas inside. We hit the mother load with this one:

Jake and two of his friends are now in charge of raising the flag and taking it down everyday at school:

Every time I leave Scilla home alone, when I return, there is always a random piece of my clothing sitting in the middle of the living room. Once it was my robe, another day it was my sweatshirt and on this day it was my shoe:

This make me happy:

Bella & Scilla have decided to be friends.

They actually slept on the foot of my bed last night.

Getting Scilla is probably the best thing that ever happened to Bella.

Now she is no longer tormented by this:

Sammy's not so tough now that there is a dog in the house. In fact, this is where Sammy has chosen to live for the past three weeks. We actually moved his food dishes up there.

As if he not sedentary enough, now he literally never moves.

Lame, I know.

Emma's 10th Birthday.

For Emma's 10th, she had a pajama party.

We had pancakes, bacon & cake of course!

She begged all night for a pillow fight.
I finally gave in at the very end of the party...



Then on Sunday night, we headed over to Grandma & Grandpa McRae's for a family party. Grandma & Grandpa Heywood were there too!


Emma & her two proud grandpas:

Emma & Grandma McRae:

Emma with her two adoring grandmas:

(notice the pyro in the background)

The coveted iPod Touch:

I wish I had a video of the melt-down Sophie had when Emma opened her iPod Touch. She was screaming "No Fair! Now everyone has a iTouch or iPhone but me!" Joseph actually had to pick her up and take her out of the room. Oh, sweet Sophie...we love you.

Happy Birthday Emma.

One decade Emma...it's so hard to believe.

Just yesterday you were a tiny ball of sweetness and chubbiness.

Our little baby girl.
This is what would great me each morning when I woke up.

You were always an early-riser and still are...

We are so proud of you. You have a kind, sensitive heart and always reach out to help others. You are smart, talented and beautiful, but are so modest. We love you and hope your 10th birthday is everything you've dreamed. We can't wait to see what the next 10 years bring.

Isn't she cute...

Westridge Music Festival 2010

It was music fest time again last week. This was Jake's last festival. That means we've already been doing this for 7 years! I figured out that we have 4 more years to go until Sophie is done at Westridge. They did great as always.

Getting ready to leave on the first night.

This year, Emma has been going to school early twice a week to sing in the show choir. They did a fabulous job!

Jake and Kevin were "stagehands" this year. They were in charge of spotlights & curtains. Then they came out to sing with the 6th graders.

Sophie and her best friend Audrey singing with the 2nd graders.

Emma singing with the 4th graders.

I have lots of great video, but Blogger apparently doesn't like my video anymore. I'll try to figure out how to get it loaded. Maybe I'll just post it on FB.