Yikes!

I've been seriously lacking in the blogging department lately, but that's the story of my life. I do great and keep caught up for a while then something sidetracks me and it's all out the window. I can't believe summer is almost done, only 5 more days until the kids go back to school. This has honestly been our best summer yet, not because we did anything terribly exciting besides our trip to Saipan, just because the kids are growing up and hanging out with them is much more fun lately! Until this last year they have totally drained me throughout the day and I'm running on fumes when Dave gets home from school. But I guess they really are growing into little people who don't need me as much anymore, which is kind of sad, but also very liberating. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids very much, but I get tired VERY easy, so not having to wait on them hand and foot has helped me be a much happier mommy.

Our trip to Saipan earlier this month was fantastic, again we didn't do much but sit by the pool and relax, but that was the point wasn't it? It was a relaxing vacation, which we don't usually do. When we went to Japan and Hong Kong we were constantly busy sightseeing, which was great I wanted to see everything knowing I'll probably never get the chance again. But when we got home I was just as tired if not more tired then before we left. When we returned from Saipan I was rested, recharged and ready for the rest of the summer and school year to come. I committed the first cardinal sin of photography and forgot my battery charger for my camera, so by day 2 it was ready to die. Of course there wasn't a place on the island that carried my battery charger, so I didn't get most of the photos that I wanted, but that's ok. I have the memories and that's what really counts. Of course I'd rather have the memories and the photos! I saw a gorgeous bird the morning we were leaving, it was white with turquoise colored wings, absolutely amazing. The kids had a blast playing at kids club, of course Hannah and Elijah wanted to go everyday and Caitlynn didn't want to go at all, so we compromised and they went every other day for half a day, which was nice cause Dave and I could just hand out together, something that doesn't happen too often. As a family we played mini golf everyday, practicing for the big championship we held on Friday. Dave won, big surprise lol, and that entitled him to choosing what restaurant we ate ant for dinner and a window seat on the plane going home. We also played a lot of Foosball, ping pong and Jenga. We were lucky, even though it's rainy season it didn't rain as much as it could have. The rain was really only bad one day, but there was plenty to do indoors. All in all it was a good trip, I still hate those little puddle jumper planes but for the 35 minute flight I can handle it.

I'm almost done with my photography class, only a week left. I've learned quite a bit and am very happy Dave talked me into signing up. Now I have to decide what my next course will be. I've been scrapping again lately which is good, cause I had a dry spell for a while.

Photos of Caitlynn

On turning 31

When did this happen? When did I get so stinking old? And how did the course of my life change so much from what I had planned. Don't get me wrong, my life is better than I ever could've imagined it to be, but so not what I expected. You never would've convinced me when I was graduating high school that I would fail out of college. I was so sure of my self and how darn smart I was, what I forgot to take into account was my inherent laziness. When I was leaving Rochester Institute of Technology, never would you convince me that I'd be joining the NAVY, and on my way to meeting the man of my dreams. Throughout all of this, if asked what I was going to do with my life, the answer would be I don't know but I'm NEVER going to be a married housewife with children under my feet. I had no intention of ever getting married, and definitely wasn't going to have children. So when I met Dave and fell head over heels it was a total shock to my system. And when we had Caitlynn it just seemed right. I know we weren't married yet, and we just seemed to do everything backwards, but God had a plan for us. I remember being scared out of my mind when Caitlynn was born, I had no idea what to do with a baby, and had no cinfidence in my ability to become a good mother. Another unexpected joy was finding out when Caitlynn was 10 months old that we were going to have Hannah & Elijah. We were in the middle of planning our wedding when we found out. How did I go from the young girl who was never going to have a family to the young mother of a beautiful daughter who was pregnant with twins on her wedding day? How nuts is that.

But, having a family was not the only thing that was way different than I saw my life turning out. Sadly I don't have many photos of the kids when they were very little because I was scared of the camera. I absolutely hated it actually, every photo I took came out awful and I was convinced that was how it would always be. If it was for me stumbling over scrapbooking when I was on bedrest with Hannah & Elijah, I might still feel the same about taking photos. Thank goodness I did fall in love with scrapbooking, which led to my desire to improve my photography. Now here I am almost 8 years later, taking courses and striving to become a professional photographer.

I wish there was a way I could've kept my health better, because as old as 31 feels right now it honestly isn't. I shouldn't have arthritis and fibromyalgia like pain, I'm just way too young for that. Who in the world has to argue with a doctor at the age of 25 because they have chronic pain in their back, neck, and hands, even though according to the doctor people "my age" just don't have those problems. Maybe I should've known when my mom told me she found my first gray hair at 2 years old that I would age before I was ready. Now at 31 I get to add elbows and hips to the pins I frequently get. Oh well, I could be soooo much worse off, it just really gets me down sometimes.

I had a really nice day today, even though Dave had to work until around 7pm. The kids were pretty good and let me be lazy mos of the day. Kerrie made me a strawberry shaped cake with strawberry filling and brought it over just before lunch time. Dave sent flowers from the kids that arrived a bit after lunch time. Jennetta's girls came over with a card in the morning. And my sweetie brought me home pizza for dinner so I didn't have to cook. I almost forgot to mention, Caitlynn was such a darling, she made lunch for the kids so I didn't have to do that either.

Back to reality tomorrow, blah!

Early Birthday Present

My silly husband, who is soooo supportive of my photography went out and spent way too much money on me for my birthday. Right now I'm on the front patio typing this on my new Macbook Pro, how cool is that? I know have a laptop that can keep up with all the photos I take. Our poor desktop was seriously hating me everytime I downloaded photos from my camera, si it'll be happy to get a break. Well, off to get ready for church, hope everyone's having a great weekend!

Here's another

Can you see the bee? Not the best photo, but I've been trying to catch a bee for weeks, so just glad I did. Now to perfect my technique lol!

Latest Photos

I haven't taken nearly as many photos lately as I'd like, but that's the story of summer when the kids are still small. It doesn't help that the kids aren't as willing models as they used to be! I know my time will come and don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying this season in our lives.

4th of July Photo Shoot

Here's a few of the photos from our annual 4th of July photo shoot.

My first kit is up

The first kit I put together is now available for preorder at www.bloomscrafts.com. Check it out and let me know what you think.

What a week!

This week is VBS at our school, so we've all been really busy. We leave the house at about 6:30 am so we can be at church at 7am, then we don't get home until at least noon. So needless to say we're all wiped out, but it's sooo worth it! This years theme is water works park and the children are all having a blast. Dave is the director and he's really just a big kid. He runs around in swim trunks and a lifeguard shirt. If that's not enough he alternates between water wing and wearing an inner tube. I'll have to try to catch a photo tomorrow.

She's back

My camera made it's way home early Tuesday morning and I've been taking a ton of photos since. Unfortunately our big computer is acting up so I just have a few photos here on the laptop, but I'll share them.

The baby is my friend Kerrie's 2 1/2 week old son Damian, who is just a doll. He really is such a good baby. He's one of those babies that just really doesn't cry, he just whimpers. He's not even convincing when he's hungry.

The flower is the first zinnia in my garden. Can you believe I grew this from seed? I've never had a green thumb, I kill mostly any plant I've ever had. So to have these plants that are almost to my waist is a new thing for me. There must be something in the Guam soil, because all I did was drop a couple seeds in the ground and they grew. Dave has bought me two rose plants in the last few months and they are thriving too. I'm going to be so disappointed when we go back stateside and everything I touch dies.

Schools out for summer!

And the kids are having a blast. Their last day of school was Thursday the 14th. Thursday evening the girls had Brownies, after that a couple friends and I took all our kid out to dinner then to see Firehouse Dog at the base theater. Friday they had a birthday party to go to at the base pool and they had a great time. That evening a bunch of us from the building sat outside and chatted while the kids all played together. At one point there were 10 of them inside my neighbors house and surprisingly enough there were no fights, no one coming and whining or complaining, it was very nice. On Saturday Caitlynn had another birthday party to go to and Dave and I took Hannah and Elijah to Coldstone for some ice cream. Unfortunately after I picked Caitlynn up for the party my back started acting up. I have no idea why, but my whole upper back tightened up, it hurt to walk, stand straight, sit, basically everything. So poor Dave had a pretty lousy Father's Day because after church I spent most of the afternoon laying down. Today it doesn't hurt to walk, and just a little to stand or sit up straight, so it's getting better. It still hurts to twist which made pulling out of parking spaces very difficult today. Hopefully one more goodnight of sleep will cure it.

The girls started Brownie Day Camp today, they enjoyed it but were both exhausted when they got home. The camp runs from 9am-5pm, plus 30-40 minutes of drive time each way, so it's a very long day for them. Elijah enjoyed having me all to himself, not having to compete with his sisters for my attention. I think by about Wednesday he will be over it and miss his sisters.

Next week is VBS, which we're really excited for. The theme for this year is Waterworks Park, so each activity is named for different attractions at a water park. This year I'm doing registration instead of crafts, and then I get to fill in wherever they need me when I'm not busy.

My camera has been finished being repaired for about 4 days now, unfortunately it still hasn't shipped. Supposedly when they do ship it it'll be 2nd day Fedex, but I don't know if it takes longer to Guam or not. We'll see.

I got my first bunch or goodies from www.bloomscrafts.com to work with and I'm so excited, can't wait to get started playing with it all. Don't forget to check out www.bloomscrafts.com/forums, especially is you're looking for a small forum just starting out. This place has lots of potential and I'm glad I get to watch it grow.

My wireless router is not wanting to play today, so I'm on Dave's laptop, which is driving me nuts. I don't have any of my favorite, or my photos etc. Hopefully it'll be in the mood to play nice tomorrow!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

I am so freaking excited!!!!!!!!! I just got an email from Ruby at www.bloomscrafts.com letting me know I'd been chosen to join their design team!!!!!!!!!!! Now if only I could get my camera back from the Canaon Repair Service all would be good. Did I say I was excited? Sorry for blabbing on, but this has made my summer exciting now!

My poor camera :(

Well, Dave stayed up last night and called Canon when they opened at midnight our time last night and they want me to send it in for repairs. The technician walked him through a couple of things to see if he could fix it, but nothing worked, so off it goes. I'm sad because school is almost over and there's all kinds of things going on that I want pictures of. I've already missed out on getting good photos of Caitlynn's birthday and her girl scout bridging ceremony. The actual fix is supposed to be really quick, just a few days, but add in the time it takes to ship to California and back and it'll be a while. At least it doesn't have to go to the east coast, that would take forever!

So much for starting photo school this summer. At least it should be back in time to start setting up some appointments to do portraits next school year. The technician said he thinks it's the heat and humidity here that is causing the problem. Not really something I have any control over. I figure I've had it almost 2 years and it took this long to affect it, so hopefully once it's fixed, the 9 months or so we have left here won't be long enough for it to break again.

What was I thinking?????????

When I told Caitlynn she could invite 7 girls to her sleepover party? She turned 9 on Monday, where has the time gone? My first baby is really growing up! A house full of 8 girls sounds pretty crazy but it went pretty well. We ha one casualty, one of her friends hit he head on the bed, but luckily it wasn't too bad and she was able to stay for the rest of the party. One other girl wasn't able to stay for the whole night because they're flying back to the states today, but Caitlynn was glad she got to come at all. For dinner I made homemade pizza for the girls. Between the 8 of them they ate almost 3 1/2 pizzas, WOW. Instead of a cake this year Caitlynn wanted them to decorate their own cupcakes, so I tinted a few different colors of icing and gave them all kinds of toppings and they had a blast. I wish I had more photos but my camera has been acting up the last week. After presents I let the girls loose with paint and my foam stamps and they decorated their own frames, while I took them one by one and took their photos and printed them out for them. Again, this would've worked so much better if the camera was working properly. When it came time to settle down the girls watched Night at the Museum and High School Musical. The first girl was asleep at about 11:30 and the last at almost 1:30am. Did I forget to mention it's not even 8am yet and they've already all eaten breakfast and been playing for a while? I have one more craft for them to do before they go home, I bought wooden door hanger for them to decorate.

Another

This one shows the color of the flame tree better.

Photography Thursday

It's been a while since I've actually had a photography day, last time I tried I got rained on. I figure I better get out as much as possible because the kids will be out of school in less than a month and it will definitely make it a bit harder to do. Without even realizing it almost everything I photographed today was either red or orange, kind of weird.

Sunset at the Beach

I took the kids down to Gab Gab Beach this evening to take some photos and let them play around for a bit. Here's my favorite photos of the sunset.

Fly a kite

Friday night at cub scouts we worked on the weather belt loop, after all the inside activities we all went out in the field and flew kites.

Mother Daughter Tea

Yesterday, Caitlynn and Hannah's Girl Scout Troop held the annual Mother Daughter Tea for Mother's Day. It was really nice this year since both girls are in the same troop so I could just relax and not try to run between two events. It was kind of sad since both of their leaders Kim and Beth will be leaving soon. Beth leaves at the end of the month and Kim will leave over the summer, so next year will be interesting. We're definitely going to miss them both, they've been outstanding leaders. The girls also received their patches and try-its for the year. Here's some photos.

Happy Mother's Day

You gotta love a day that you get breakfast in bed! Caitlynn scared the heck out of me, I opened my bedroom door to go downstairs, and there stood Caitlynn. Not at all what I expected. And what does she tell me? Sorry, you can't go downstairs right now, get back in bed. hehe. So I gladly complied and enjoyed a lazy bit. Then Dave and the kids came up with breakfast and presents. Elijah made the toast, Hannah the scrambled eggs and Caitlynn the tea. What more could a mom ask for? After a lazy morning I finally got out of bed and ready for church. The kids sang a beautiful song for us. At the end of church Lisa took a photo of the kids and I. The rest of the day has been nice and peaceful. Dave's got pizza cooking in the oven for us for dinner and the kids are already showered so we can play a family game after dinner.