From the archives

Today was a nice lazy day, and I couldn't be bothered to take a photo of the day. So here's one more photo taken in Zion National Park...fifteen years ago. Rob and I met on August 6, 1995, and less than a month later joined our two groups of friends for this hiking trip. Char, Nikki, Anna, Jen and I stayed at a hotel in Mesquite while Rob, Troy and Chris stayed at Jim's house in Hurricane. We hiked the Orderville Narrows on Saturday, September 2nd and the Subway on Monday. Tuesday when we got back we had our first official date. After that we saw each other everyday. Good times. And doesn't Rob look hot? Would he be kicked out of the bishopric if he grew a goatee now?

Free canvas

So I saw an offer for a free 8"x10" photo canvas today (link here). I've been wanting to try printing something on canvas anyway, so I scanned through the photos I've taken this year. So far I'm up to 2,055 photos and 26 movies. And there weren't any that I just LOVE. I've definitely been meeting my goal to capture our daily life, but I'm finding that our daily life just isn't that picturesque. Here are a few that I'm considering:

I took this one in Mexico. I'm not sure where I'd hang it, but I like it.

Another shot from Mexico. Pretty generic.

Or maybe a Lotoja shot for Rob's office? Not that he's got much wall space left.

Cara took this one, of Ellie's feet—I could use it as a baby shower gift.

Or, if I had four free canvases, it might be fun to do something seasonal and change them out—here's a possible winter collage, from 2007:

Or Christmas, from 2009:

Or summer, from 2009:
Also, can't decide if I want B&W or color. I need help deciding. I know all three of you reading this are very opinionated. Please tell me what you'd pick from these or any other shots on the blog. Thanks!

Marsh madness

I was searching through my iPhoto library for a "this day in history" photo, but I can never seem to find a photo from the exact day I need one, so this is just a nod to the season. We went to Vegas for the Mountain West Conference Championship, and saw some great games. Rob, Ralph, Rich or Jake could probably still give a play-by-play. I just seem to remember Van Horn sinking a three pointer at the buzzer, and having a good time, in spite of all the smoke. I hate Vegas. EDITED: Rob informs me that Van Horn was already gone by 1999, when this photo was taken. We went to the tournament a few times and I got my dates mixed up. I do not have the super-sports-trivia gene.

As a side-note, we saw Ray Charles while we were there. It's kind of embarrassing that I snapped this photo standing about two feet away from him, but at least he didn't see me. :) I haven't earned the title of Photo Nazi for nothing.
As of today, I'm number two in the family bracket, but I've got Kentucky going all the way, so Dan has the best chance of winning (just bragging rights) this year.

Happy Birthday Dad

Wish we were celebrating your birthday on a nice warm beach!

It's been five years...

since I took the boys skiing. And when I say I, mostly I mean Shawn. Thanks Shawn! Although I had every intention of having them ski from a young age, number four threw me for a loop and it just hasn't happened. Earlier this year I actually gave up on the idea, since Rob has no interest in making it a family activity. Now I've reconsidered, and just enrolled Robbie, Joey and Ellie in their first lessons. Park City has a screaming deal for first-time locals, $25 for a three hour lesson, including the equipment rental. You can get five lessons at that price for each kid (or adult—I tried to talk Rob into trying snowboarding, no luck). The kids are super excited, and so am I. Looking forward to a lot more photos like these.

More birthday parties

In addition to Ainsley's party yesterday, Rob and I went to two birthday parties last night. First was our ward birthday party. Before we even moved into the ward, we were invited to this party and felt so welcomed. That was five years ago! We appreciate our great neighbors and friends even more now.We left a little early so we could make it to Troy's 40th birthday party. When our kids are a little bit older do you think we'll get together more than once or twice a year? I hope so.By the way, both of these photos (and the one of Ainsley yesterday) were taken with my little point-and-shoot, since I didn't want to lug around my big camera. After comparing the quality, I definitely think it's worth the extra effort. Oh well. I printed some old photos of Troy to take to the party, and no one seemed to care about the quality. It's fun to see how everyone has changed (or not, for the lucky few). So here are some more poor-quality shots, from the archives:

Jim, Rob and Troy, unfortunately sitting down, so you can't see how great they look in their kilts. All of these shots are from our wedding reception, so just over fourteen years old.
Rex and Marianne, with Mike and Chris in the background.
Mike and Misty, talking to Mike and Chris.
Shawn and Melissa, enjoying The Joe Muscolino Band.
Here's to new and old friends. And when I say old, well, let's just say that we weren't discussing colonoscopies at our parties fourteen years ago. :)

Another cruise photo

Nothing too exciting going on here today, so here's another photo from the archives. This was taken March 21, 2002, on our first cruise. And I have posted more from our recent cruise, backdated because my OCD brain likes it on the day it took place, not the day I've finally gotten around to posting it. One of these days I'm going to finish sorting through the hundred-plus photos I took in Cabo and write about it, but people around here seem to think they need to eat and have clean clothes to wear.

I love summer

I'm trying to be more positive, so instead of continuing to complain about my least favorite season, let me just say, I love summer. Let me count the ways...or maybe not, that could take a while. But I keep looking at some of my favorite summer photos. I just don't feel like taking one more indoor or drab gray outdoor shot. Duffy was over here playing with Ainsley yesterday, and I was a little shocked to see how young they look in this shot, taken on the 4th of July 2007. Wish I had taken a photo of them yesterday to compare (we'll have to do that for sure this July 4th).

Since I wasn't blogging at the time...

Another photo from the archives. Sunday just isn't a day I pull out my camera. This photo isn't very old, but last May through July I was on sabbatical from blogging. I don't think it's a coincidence that it's the same location as my last archive photo. I'm still craving blue skies and sunshine. After scrolling through my favorite photos from 2009, I'm kind of wishing that I'd done a collage of them for our Christmas card. This one would have been front and center.

From the archives

I had plenty of photo opportunities today. Cute girls in Sunday dresses...handsome boys in freshly ironed clothes...the sexy guy sitting next to me in Sunday School. We had our monthly birthday dinner with my family, and Rob even reminded me to bring my camera, but I was carrying food to the car and forgot. Here's my solution to this dilemma:

Yes, that is my daily photo. And no, I didn't take it today. Obviously. In addition to the fact that it was taken in a different season and location is the stunning realization that it was taken TEN YEARS AGO. That is Robbie. I've decided that if, in spite of my good intentions, I forget the daily photo, I will just go to my favorites folder in iphoto and post one from the archives. I couldn't resist this one, partly because the weather looks SO nice, but mostly because I'm feeling especially nostalgic about my oldest. I went to a stake youth fireside tonight, and realized that Robbie will probably be attending the next one too. This photo of the day is just a little reminder that I need to slow down and enjoy where we're at right now. And know that great things are ahead too...