Hopkins Pop Can

2012

2012-01-13T11:53:00.000-08:00

I (Natasha) ran and completed my first 1/2 marathon in November. I came in with great time. I ran consistently under a 10min mile. I was third in my age group. Since then I have lost all motivation to do anything active. I know I just need to find a race to get excited about but till then I think I will just stay on my couch and eat things that are not good for my body.

Speaking of things that are not good for the body, I made my brother Darvil and now sister-in-law Brittany's wedding cake in December. It turned out beautiful and was so much fun to make.

I forgot how natural it for me to kneed fondant and spread icing. Breathing in the unavoidable amounts of powdered sugar that float in air made me feel comfortable and almost gave me a sense of power. I knew what I was doing and loved the confidence I gained in my abilities. Making their cake gave me a dream to someday get paid to make a cake for someone else.. I have set a goal this year to make and decorate a cake a month. This will give me some much needed experience and practice trying new things.

January cake will be a birthday cake for our Elliot who is turning 4(can you believe it) on the 31st. I haven't come up with a design yet because every time I ask what he wants he gives me a different answer, some example include: candy cane, candy land, a bike, a horse on a bike, cupcakes and and train with a car. I just have to choose something and run with it but again I have no motivation to run.

February is Stevens birthday cake it will be focusing more on flavor than design for his.
For March I have bin plans so stay tuned because it should be rad.

Well I felt like I should post and I feel like this was pretty productive, so I think I will mosey on down stairs and see what the kids are up too.

What we have been up to

2011-10-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

As you can see from my last post it has been awhile. We have been busy, busy, busy! Since July we have, in no particular order:

Taken a trip to California
Started a Preschool group for Elliot
Hosted a Feast
Took Qualifying Exams
Passed Qualifying Exams
Sewed 3 bird costumes
Trained for and completed a Triathlon (Steven took first in his age division)
Trained for a Half Marathon (It's Saturday, I have hurt my knee, pray that I will still be participating!)
Trick or Treated 3 times with the boys
Bought a new car: a dark blue Hyundai Santa Fe
Went to the zoo too many times to count
Helped my brother propose to his girlfriend
Went to a science museum
Put new handle bars on a bike.
Celebrated Malcolm's 2nd birthday
Took a trip to North Carolina for a baby Blessing
Survived a 45 day streak of 100+ degree weather
And fell in love over and over again.

The Fourth

2011-07-05T14:24:00.001-07:00

Last year both my kids cried through the entire firework show. I couldn't get Elliot to even look at them. So this year I was a little hesitant in taking them back, but when it come down to it I LOVE fireworks. This year worked better we found a good spot on a hill a block away from the lake were they are launched so they wouldn't be so loud.
I of course loved them, Malcolm was neutral he watched for awhile and then just wondered around. Elliot was terrified by them and spent the whole time in my lap with a blanket over his head. Did I mention that the fireworks were on the 3rd I don't know why and it kind of bothered me because then we didn't have anything to look forward to on the actual 4th.

We still tried to fill our holiday with American type things:
Like bike rides- Steven did a 36.3 mile ride.

And cheering for people- we met Steven at the end of his race and stayed awhile to cheer on the other bike riders it was as close to a parade as we could find.

And getting wet- we went to a little splash pad to cool off for a bit.

My perfect Fourth of July would start with a big pancake breakfast and end with a big firework show, shared with all the friends I have ever had and all the family I could get me hands on. We did have french toast and the fireworks were there even thought they were at the wrong end. Also the boys drank an entire bottle of Maple Syrup while I was in the shower so it was defiantly a special day for them. I guess It turned out to be a pretty good fourth after all.

Randome Catch Up

2011-07-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

Did I tell you my brother Darvil got off his mission! he is such a cool kid. We were all really excited to see him. Malcolm was born while Darvil was gone so it was fun for them to be able to finally connect names with faces. Now Uncle Darvil is Malcolms' favorite person he ask about him every day.

on our way to the airport we stopped at the zoo to see Malee the baby elephant, I just love her floppy ears.

My cute kids.

I forgot to post that not only did I get my hair cut but it was long enough to donate (10 inches).

This is my Husband he is a hunk!

We had three really fun and busy weeks of summer break and now we are back to the structure of everyday life, it feels so good.

Hair Cuts!

2011-05-31T11:55:00.001-07:00

I did hair cuts for all 3 of my boys yesterday. But today I started to feel left out so I went and got mine done too.

PIcture Update

2011-05-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Since I last posted. We have spent time with my parents in Moore,

Gone on an Anniversary trip to Tulsa,

Spent more time in Moore,

Run a 5k/10k

Took family pictures,

Steven Drove to Michigan for a conference

While we played in the rain,

And spent time in Moore,

Drove home in crazy stormy weather,

Drove to Lubbock after only being home for 15 hours,

Played with cousins at a museum,

At a bouncy fun place,

And in our Fort O Movie fun,

And now we are home. But not for long. . .

Have you ever

2011-05-03T05:45:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been for a bike ride that is relaxingly fun, but a little too long? You have moments of exhaustion and want to stop and take a break. While taking a break, you might do a little window shopping and try on a couple shirts, or new hobbies like photography, the violin or learning to scuba dive. As you hop back onto your bike, you feel refreshed and the wind is whipping past so fast. When you close your eyes for the split second that you can, you realize that the more you pedal, the faster you will be to your destination. Instead of increasing pedal speed, you decrease just a bit because you are enjoying the ride. Some might call it lazy; others might see it as not applying yourself, but you know it is merely a way to press this moment of true ecstasy into the folds of your brain so it becomes an eternal part of you. . . I forgot to tell you, you are in improv class.

That is what it is like to be married to Steven Wayne Hopkins, and I wouldn't trade that feeling for anything. I love you Steven!
5 years down, forever to go!!

Picture time

2011-04-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

Every year around our anniversary we get our family pictures taken. Since our anniversary is on Tuesday (May 5th)it is again picture time. I need to figure out where to take them and what we are going to wear any suggestions? You have most likely seen each of these anniversary pictures at one time or another but Here they are for you to enjoy all in one place. It's always fun to look back and see how our family has grown and changed. We didn't take one on our first anniversary so I just added a picture taken around then, enjoy.

I hope I made you look twice, for all those who were not aware Steven was in a play (The First Night of Ballyhoo) during our first anniversary season he actually bought us tickets for a concert in Boise and I had to take my brother because he couldn't get out of practice.

What I learned today

2011-04-16T14:50:00.001-07:00

Spraying Pam on your griddle is essential for createing the perfect Dunker Egg.

It's just as easy to bind the quilt the second time as it was the first, waiting two months didn't make the quilt any smaller.

The amount of love you have for your son doesn't get smaller after they throw up on you, if anything your love expands.

Even if you feel bad for your son don't let him keep his sticker on in the bath tub. The sickie of a sticker mixed with warm water creates super glue.

My 18 month old needs a nap EVERYDAY, no exceptions.

It is possible to cut your finger with a dishwasher detergent cap.

Cutting your finger with a dishwasher detergent cap is a great excuse to not clean the bathroom or wipe up the kitchen counters.

Husbands are a great resource and blessing to have!

china

2011-03-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

Last summer my parents were helping my aunt Peggy clean out a house that she had been renting. The previous tenant had left a lot of stuff when she moved out and I mean a lot of stuff.
I got several phone calls that day do you want this? Do you want that? Do you want a set of China? HOLD THE PHONE a free set of China, SOLD!
I finally had a chance to go through my china and see what I really got. It has been in storage but I had my parents bring it to me and today I finally got around to pulling it out and counting it all. I thought I would share with you what I won in my own personal China jackpot.

13 tea cups with saucers
12 large dinner plates
12 medium plates
11 small sample size plates
10 large soup bowls
8 small bowls
1 large oval serving platter
1 small oval serving platter
1 oval butter plate
2 oval serving dishes

There was also glassware

7 of the mug looking ones
7 of the tall goblet looking ones
2 of the shorter wide mouthed glasses
7 of the tiny shot guys

I really lucked out because I like how simple but elegant it is. I think I would have chosen a similar design if I was picking it out for myself. I defiantly love that it is white and silver.

Spring break or bust!

2011-03-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

This is a story about a small family who made big plans to visit family in Idaho for spring break but instead spent time together in Oklahoma.
(It's long but there are lots of pictures.)

On Friday we packed up are little gray car with four excited people and two suitcases and headed to the airport in hopes that there was room for us on the airplane that was scheduled for Salt lake city.

Three hours later we packed those same four people a little less exited and bagless back into our gray car and drove though a disappointing fast food establishment on our way to grandpas house in Moore Oklahoma.

We spent Saturday researching every possible way to get us to Idaho for the week but failed. Defeated we contacted the airlines and requested our bags be sent back. We decided to make the best of our Moore detour and called up some friend we hadn't spent time with in a while and had a gloriously laid back evening playing outside, chatting, eating pizza and cookies while watching cartoons. It set the perfect mood for our now laid back Spring Break in Oklahoma.

On Sunday our Luggage didn't arrive till after church so we went dressed in The nicest Jeans and T-shirts we had.(Don't worry I didn't wear my PJ's I found a dress at my parents house this is me picking up our luggage.)

Since we were in Moore we decided to spend Monday and Tuesday close by exploring Norman and to head back to Stillwater on Wednesday. (I think I was good for my dad to have people around for a little bit too, my mom has been out of town.) We had some fun at a Museum and the local mall.(See Facebook for museum pictures.)
We ate a lot,

and played a lot.

We laughed often,

and wore ourselves out.

We had lots of fun Wednesday and Thursday just being home Steven got some work done for school and I did very little around the house. We were able to attended an awesome St. Patricks day party with some friends.

Friday was spent at the zoo. (We got season passes so come visit and we will take you!) and then we ended the night with a ward talent show.

It ended up being a really great week even thought it wasn't what we had in mind when we started. We spent all of Saturday cleaning and catching up on homework stuff Steven even found time to upgrade his bike handlebars.

So we are ready for life to get back to normal. we are glad we got a break but I am sure going to miss having Steven around all the time.

s is for. . .

2011-02-22T11:08:00.000-08:00

A sister missionary in our ward found these super cute skirts for a couple bucks at a local store here in Stillwater. They were so cheep because the zippers didn't work. So the sisters bought a skirt and a zipper and brought them to me to put together. Easy peasy, it took no time at all and in less then an hour this beautiful skirt was returned to the sister.

The next day I got a text -Sister is a moron can you fix another skirt?
Turns out our wonderful sister missionary did not try on the skirt before purchasing and it did not fit (and she is an extra small). So what do you do with a supper extra small skirt with a beautiful zipper that fits no one.

I turn it into a shirt for me!

Birthdays

2011-02-20T19:08:00.000-08:00

Elliot turned three at the end of January and it took us a few tries to get his birthday celebrated.

Elliot told me for his birthday he wanted Ice Cream so I had no plan of making him a cake. My mom knowing this surprised us the day before his birthday with the coolest train cake ever made.

It was enjoyed by all!

Elliots' party finally rolled around three weeks later after being postponed for the snow. I was pretty proud of how his invitations and birthday shirt turned out so I scanned them for you to see.

Party day was fun. we had lots of friends over,

and lots of Ice cream!

I love my scanner

2011-02-06T12:47:00.001-08:00

We got a scanner when some friends were moving last summer. I pulled it out this last week and I am in love. We have been Scanning everything we could find, a couple examples.

Paper Bag Puppet

Malcolms hand

My pearls
And this is why I am in LOVE. I have been adding my scans to digital scrap booking projects.
It has make the end results so much more meaningful and fulfilling for me.

To you this is a design that could add some fun to a page.
To me it is a scan of the stitching on my wedding shoes.

Isn't it just so cool.
I even scanned a rock that Steven and I found on one of our first camping trips.

I have always wanted beautiful books full of my pictures and memories framed with stickers and stamps but have never gotten into all the work and money it takes to do these books. I was really skeptical of doing it all digital because you don't get the 3D affect of hospital bracelets and ribbons. But when you scan your bulky 3D objects you can add them to your digital pages and it gives you more of a dept then a picture of the object would. Its the best of both worlds and I can scrapbook all my memories and pictures now.

45

2011-01-11T07:52:00.000-08:00

There has been the tiniest bit of snow here in Stillwater and Elliot has been interested in "playing in it". So this morning we ventured out into the wild world of Oklahoma snow. I laid out a quilt in a sunny spot for Malcolm to camp out on. While Elliot and I used an old cookie sheet to sled down the tiny hill by our house. It was fun enough for a couple minutes till Elliot proclaimed "Snow hurt" and promptly went inside. We are now watching Toy Story 3 wrapped in blankets and sipping Aunt Kristina Hot Chocolate on a Stick (which is amazing and I need to get the recipe because I Love it, hint, hint).

Here is a cozy picture of us thawing out after our play in the snow.

44

2011-01-06T10:51:00.001-08:00

Christmas Break was Great! We had so much fun.

It's going to be good to get back into our schedule but we are going to miss having so much family around.

42 : 26 thing about me on this my 26th Birthday

2010-12-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

In no particular order:

1. I was born in a room without electricity.

2. I was in the Color Guard in the Marching Band all three years of High School and two years in College.

3. I am not a good speller.

4. I love pumpkins and anything Fall.

5. I have the best job, I play with cars and read picture book all day.

6. I am a Mom to two of the coolest boys around.

7. I love tulips especially if they are orange.

8. I was the first to graduate with a Culinary Minor from my University.

9. I have a bachelors of Science degree from Brigham Young University in Idaho.

10. I know what I am doing behind a sewing machine.

11. I love color.

12. I am married to the perfect man (for me) who I have connected with on levels that I didn't even know were possible.

13. I love to run with people, and have run 3 5k's this past year.

14. I proudly wear size 8 jeans.

15. I am not a morning person.

16. I love fresh cut pineapple.

17. I am really close with my family. My parents are amazing and I have two awesome brothers and two totally cool sisters.

18. My ears are two different sizes.

19. I catch onto things pretty fast.

20. My mood changes with my hair.

21. I love being around people.

22. I always have my toenails painted.

23. I am a bit of a kleptomaniac.

24. I love earrings.

25. I am Alison Sweeney's biggest fan.

26. I am not an animal person.

41

2010-12-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

It's gotten pretty chilly here in Oklahoma the last few days so we pulled out our hats and gloves.

We had our ward Christmas party last week and it was filled with great friends, fun and food.

We haven't really introduced the idea of Santa to Elliot so when the man in red entered the room all he saw was the candy he was carrying in his market sack.

40

2010-12-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

This is what I look like today. Not too shabby!

39

2010-12-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

Elliot and I have been doing some holiday crafts. I thought these guys turned out cute.
Elliot did an awesome job with his snowman face!

38 (lbs): Before and After

2010-11-14T20:39:00.001-08:00

I was going through some pictures and found the two beauties you see on the left. I was horrified, I don't remember being that big. So I decided to take some after pictures to show you guys what 40Lbs looks like. Enjoy

37: Booboo

2010-11-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

When Elliot wants something he will risk everything to get it. This time, he wanted to drive the car.

36: HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

If you want more our movie is here

35: Question

2010-10-28T20:25:00.001-07:00

DO I LOOK LIKE A PIRATE?
I have been working on the kids costumes for two weeks and they are so close to being done. I have known for months that they were going to be some kind of sea life (You will die when you see pictures, I am so excited). I have been playing with the idea of dressing up (I haven't for years) but had no idea what I could be. It needed to be cute enough to match the water theme but not so much work that it would take another two weeks of sewing. I had just about given up when it hit me. Pirates sail in the ocean!

So I ask you again do I look like a pirate and is there anything I can add that will kick it up a notch?

34: more pumpkins

2010-10-25T20:58:00.001-07:00

I thought I would show you my fall decor.
I love pumpkins. It is kind of an obsession. I love to eat them,smell them, carve them you name it I love it. I think they are one of the most beautiful creations of the earth. I learned how to make these pumpkins a couple years ago and I just couldn't stop. This year they are living on my stairs, and they make so so happy.

Sorry they arn't very good pictures, its a dark stair way. But my pumpkins help brighten it up!

This is where mummy lives when it is raining outside!

33

2010-10-24T20:07:00.001-07:00

This boy has been my best friend for more than five years now. I am so lucky!

MADE YOU LOOK!!!!!!!

32: pumpkin

2010-10-23T19:41:00.001-07:00

Here's our pumpkin. . .

And his Mummy!

31; Walk Around

2010-10-22T21:45:00.001-07:00

We live in a college town and home coming is the most important week of the year. The greek houses in Stillwater build "Decks" and spend hours "Pomping" them with tissue paper. They are very elaborate and probably cost thousands of dollars, not to mention the insane amount of man hours forced upon each member of the fraternity or sorority. There were 10 to 12 decks this year. Several had motorized parts and a couple included fountains. It's like a parade except the floats are stable and the spectators are walking around. They estimated 75 thousand people to attend this year. The theme was staying connected.

Elliot loved the Toy Story themed one. You can kind of see how many tiny pieces of tissue paper it takes to cover even a small section. They looked like giant rugs.

Did I mention they are HUGE?!

Nikon Camera

Everything you see here was moving.

T-shirts and babies

2010-10-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

My baby turned one today!

We are having a party for him this weekend. Really the party is for Elliot. He was invited to his first birthday party ever last month and it is still all he talks about. If it were for me I would be okay with a cupcake and a T-shirt to celebrate the year mark of my sweet baby Malcolm.

I whipped up this birthday shirt for Malcolm when I realized we had nothing planned for him till this weekend!

Elliot LOVED Malcolm's birthday shirt he said "Malcolm one, Elliot two" I had no choice but to whip up another for the best big brother in town!

29

2010-09-26T19:58:00.001-07:00

28. Up and Running

2010-09-24T19:52:00.001-07:00

I am so excited to announce that we finely got a new card reader so I can post pictures again!

These are my AWESOME new running shoes that I love. They are the most expansive shoes I have ever purchased but they are worth every cent. Some of you know that I started running from scratch last December. I finished the program I was following in March when I ran a 5K. I took a break from running thinking I wanted to try some other type of workout but nothing stuck. When I decided I wanted to run again I knew I wouldn't be consistent unless I was doing it with someone. I convinced some great friend of mine to meet me a couple night a week so that we could chat and run.

It has been wonderful! the track we run is just short of a 5k and we do it at least 3 times a week. We have found a good pace and take turns pushing each other. This Saturday we are running a 5k together (except for Kristen, I hope you get better soon). We are doing another on October 9th and then a couple of us are working towards a 15k at the end of October. I have even had some crazy thoughts of a marathon in the spring.

It is so nice to have an outlet of women that I get to spend time with in the evenings while we work on bettering ourselves.

Also Steven is amazing I couldn't do it without him. I run out on him three nights a week after dinner leaving him to bathe the kids and put them to bed. He has never complained, so if anyone has even doubted the awesomeness of my husband, there is your proof!

27

2010-08-23T21:30:00.001-07:00

Cassandra and I dyed blue streaks into our hair today but I am giving you pictures of a game of nine hole! Leave me a comment and let me know how that makes you feel.

Do I look 13 in this picture or what? To let me know if you think so leave me a comment.

26

2010-08-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

Aunt Cassandra came to visit
We love it when she comes!!

25

2010-08-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Malcolm gets his good looks from me!

You will love this one; I was upstairs at the computer and Elliot walked up and handed me this egg!!!!!

This is what we found down stairs.

Popsicles on the porch.

24

2010-08-20T21:13:00.001-07:00

OPEN MIC NIGHT
We had a lot of friends over for good food and entertainment provided by themselves. Steven made Cochinita Pibil (spiced pork tacos with pickled onions) AMAZING!! We set up the mic and let it all unfold from there.

There was a lot of fun music played. and some impromptu music holding.(James and shawnee Scifres)
Steven did some stand up
A lot of unknown talents came out. (Jason Kennedy)
Thank to everyone who came and preformed it was a fun night. (Evan and Lacey Bagley)

23

2010-08-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

We filled up the pool this morning so it could warm up but Elliot decided he wanted to jump in so jump in he did clothes and all.
So I dropped Malcolm in to cool off as well.
It was so nice out we decided to turn our pool party into lunch. You can see that I eventually changed the boys into swimming diapers Elliot's pants were getting too heavy and falling off!

22

2010-08-18T19:29:00.001-07:00

This morning while we were making some breakfast shakes Elliot pulled out the aprons I made last Christmas. I realized I never posted any pictures of them. So here we are modeling them sorry they are blurry!

These are the wonderful girls I get to work with at church. We have been making journals. Working on decorating them.

And themselves.

21

2010-08-17T21:07:00.001-07:00

Today's picture is of the boys in the bath, a nightly ritual here at the Hopkins home.

20

2010-08-17T20:57:00.001-07:00

These pictures are from yesterday.

Elliot feeding Malcolm at snack time.

He would even open his mouth wide to get Malcolm ready for each bite.

19

2010-08-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands and just clap your hands. -Beck

18

2010-08-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well we finally did it. Today we got ourselves an iMac!

Packing all three of our babies in the car for the ride home.

The unveiling

Starting it up for the first time is really an experience.

And there she is, we love her and are so excited that she is now part of our Apple family!

17

2010-08-13T20:47:00.001-07:00

Malcolm stands on his own for about three seconds. This made me very excited.

Elliot is very excited about his new shoes that light up. He kept bringing them to us and saying "shoes on."

Elliot likes his shoes so much that he wanted them on even when he was trying out some big boy pants.

16

2010-08-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

We had such an amazing play group today. It was a big water party. Elliot and Malcolm spent a lot of time at the water table.

Elliot was excited about the umbrellas on the cupcakes.

15?

2010-08-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

The pictures for 15-22 are on my mothers camera in Boise. I got caught up with more traveling and family stuff that I never got back to the blog. I am a little bummed about it because I was on such a good roll. So I have decided instead of going back and trying to catch you up I just need to move on. I am thinking of starting a flicker account to put all of the extra pictures on but until then enjoy this one.

14

2010-08-02T21:27:00.001-07:00

We did a lot of playing outside today!

Test driving a car.

taking a break in the shade.

Playing in the sprinklers with cousin Owen.

Finishing up outside with a popsicle!

13

2010-08-01T21:40:00.001-07:00

This is the mess our lives have become by living out of suitcases for a week.

12

2010-07-31T22:49:00.000-07:00

Stevens nephew Owen graduated to a yellow belt today! Owen working hard.

Evryone cheering him on.

The Yellow Belt!

Proud mom.

11

2010-07-30T22:06:00.001-07:00

We Spent part of the day at the lake.

This is us relaxing after playing in the water.

Malcolm loved the rocky bottom I had to keep pulling them out of his mouth!

10

2010-07-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

Well I have some good news and some bad news. Good news is Steven and I spent the day in San Francisco! Bad news is we are on vacation, so it is more work to switch them from raw files on my in laws computer then I am willing to put in tonight. All you get are three not so good uneventful photos. Please forgive me and I will try to do better tomorrow.

This is what we saw coming out of the BART tunnel.
Me at the Apple store
Steven looking for directions on my moms Ipad. (Please forgive this picture, it is the only one I have of Steven for today. I know it is bad on so many levels.)
The day really was a lot of fun. We did a lot of walking and people watching and found some really neat places. We love San Francisco!

9

2010-07-28T23:11:00.001-07:00

CHUCKY CHEESE!!!

Malcolm and Grandpa Hopkins.

8

2010-07-27T22:08:00.001-07:00

We finally made it to California!!!

and I thought this picture was priceless.

7

2010-07-26T20:26:00.001-07:00

This is how we ended our day! Dressed in big pink T-shirts we went to bed at Mombo and Grampas house in Moore Oklahoma.

This is how we started our day! Waiting at the airport to see if we get to fly to Oakland California.
We played! missed all the flights and went back to Mombos house to eat lunch and take a nap. We even had enough time to see Inceptoin (it blew my mind) before we headed back the the airport to try another flight.

This is us driving away from the OKC airport for the second time today. Our flight was delayed and so we wouldn't make our connecting flight to CA. Lucky for us we got the call before we unloaded, so we were able to just turn around.
Elliot was so good today even with all the ups and downs we cracked open our airplane snacks. We had some dinner. Took some baths and dressed the boys in the smallest T-shirts we could find which also turned out to be pink.
Read some books, said our prayers and headed off the bed to end our day with dreams.

6

2010-07-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

Sporting the Old School!

It was a lot harder to take this picture then it should have been. Here is the proof.

5

2010-07-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

For our color blind friends, the box is blue.

4

2010-07-23T21:34:00.000-07:00

Korean crayons are not super easy to wipe off they just spread. As I was wiping and re-wiping the big green spot on the wall Elliot walked up to me and said "GREEN". It did not help the situation.
My sisters, mom and I are in a fitness challenge where we accumulate points with all the good you do. I promised myself I would get to 40 points this week so instead of putting the kids to bed we went and walked the lake. It was really good to be together as a family.

3

2010-07-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

Elliot was in a funk at one point today. Then it hit me what we needed to do to fix it, Block Time!

P.S. I don't know if you have ever examined a set of these stacking blocks but they have some wacky pictures on them. You should check it out!

2

2010-07-21T21:55:00.001-07:00

Steven and Malcolm were napping. I was on Facebook. This is how I found Elliot recharging!

1

2010-07-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

This it what I looked like today!

its a long one, Sorry

2010-02-28T22:10:00.000-08:00

Well what can I say? Life has been busy it feels like my life is two steps ahead.

We moved Malcolm into Elliot's room two weeks ago They have been doing good for the most part. I have been really impressed with Elliot because it was a big change for him. He moved from his toddler bed(the crib in toddler stage) to a twin. Then we threw Malcolm in there in the crib, taking away the floor space. I should take a picture it really is just enough room to walk from the door the the closet. The first day was pretty funny I put them both down to nap for a trial run. I have bumper pads for the crib but had decided not to use them, Malcolm started to cry after a few minutes later and when I went to check on him not only had Elliot taken away his pacifier but also taken off Malcolm's socks. The bumpers were added before bed time. I found out two days later that tricky little Elliot is smarter them the bumper pads. I went to get him after his nap and he was under the crib with both of Malcolm's pacifiers in his mouth he had the cutest guilty look on his face when I caught him.

Wow I really didn't mean to type that much about that. Oh well what else?

Malcolm is officially rolling over and let me tell you he is fast. We are thinking of entering him in some rolling competitions so he can start paying us back all the money he owes us for diapers.

When I was pregnant with Elliot I sewed a quit top and Steven made me an awesome quit frame for Christmas that year. I finally this week tacked the quilt together and started to tie it. (I promise I will put up some picture when I am done. Hold me to it too because I am so lazy about loading pictures.)

Steven turned the big 27!

I have lost more than 20lbs and am currently at my pre-pregnancy weight for Elliot. Steven told me the other day that he is going to give me two dollars per pound that I have lost or will lose that got me pretty excited to go shopping.

Steven and I are running a 5K on Saturday. We are both really excited I finished my 10-12 week running program last week it is so fun to know that I can just get up and go and not stop for at least half an hour.

Oh and don't worry my house is a mess and has been for two weeks. No matter how long I work on it or what I clean it is still dirty and cluttered. It has started to get very frustrating and all organization gone out the window. We just have too much stiff for this tiny apartment.

That last little tidbit is to let you know that we are still human!
it is officially fifty one minutes past march so I am going to go to bed!

Love, Hate

2010-02-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

Nap time and I have a love-hate relationship.

I hate how my kids need to nap even thought they don't want to.
I love how they will eventually fall asleep and be better behaved after a nap.
I hate how Elliot has to be carried to bed kicking and screaming.
I love how quiet and calm my house gets during nap time.
I love that when my kids are down for a nap I finally have time to shower or at least get dressed for the day.
I hate how messy Elliots room gets while he is deciding if he is really going to nap.
I love that Elliot knocks on the door to let me know he is done napping.
I hate that sometimes I send Elliot to bed with a cracker so I don't have to listen to him scream when I tell him it's time for a nap.
I love the extra time I have while the kids nap to take care of things around the house.
I hate how I waste the extra time I have while the kids nap on Facebook or Hulu.

But the thing I love most about nap time is when the kids wake up and I get to kiss and hug and play with them some more.

oops

2010-02-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

Today what makes me feel like a bad mom is (drum roll) SOUR MILK!

We usually go through milk pretty fast in our house. We can easily go through two gallons a week so I have never really had to worry about expiration dates. Recently however Steven and I have been on a diet so our milk consumption has gone way down. Elliot has been our resident milk drinker.

I made Elliot a chocolate milk and there was just a small amount left so I thought I would finish it off with my eggs and it burned my mouth. Sour milk it the most disgusting thing I have had it was so bad. I ran and grabbed Elliots cup and threw it in the sink he of course was crying because the sour of the milk was masked by the chocolate. To make me feel even worse I then remembered the cold cereal that Elliot didn't want to finish this morning. It made me feel bad for my poor little guy.

I will definably be checking the milk before giving it to my kids from now on. Its good to know that I learned from this experience making me a better mom, and that no matter how bad I feel today there will always be something tomorrow to make me feel worse.

life

2010-02-04T13:07:00.001-08:00

My house has a smell. I was going to clean the kitchen really good to get rid of it but that has not happened yet. Who knows if I will get to it before Steven gets home. Elliot just went from playing with the dishwasher to playing with Malcolms swing both things that he is forbidden to touch. Malcolm just started to fuss from bed and to tell the truth he should probably not have been taking a nap in the first place because he seems really alert at night. I have not and will not shower. cars the movie has been on for more almost three hours now because Elliot keeps finding the remote (another no touch item) and skipping back a few chapters. Pretty much it has been a normal day.

I'm posting from Stevens Ipod how cool is that

2010-01-25T19:28:00.000-08:00

So really I just wanted to catch you up I weighed myself today and I have lost 15 pounds. Can I just say that I feel amazing I am down to my pre Malcolm weight and some. Since my goal was to lose 50 I have 35 to go. But 15 in three weeks is amazing. Thank you all for your support.
Natasha

Good question

2010-01-08T10:46:00.000-08:00

My friend Erika commented on my last post asking if we were also exercising. Since she asked and both my boys are down for naps I thought I would fill you in on our exercise routines so far this year.

I decided I wanted to start running after I had Malcolm. I have never been good at it before but it seems like something you can enjoy once you get into it. I got a ten week program from a friend that slowly eases you and your muscles into running. There are two prep weeks of walking and then by the tenth week you are running for half an hour. I started the program and a face book group a few weeks ago. So I have my 30min of Running/Walking I do three times a week.

There is actually a 5k the weekend after my last week so my currant goal is to be able to run the 5k on March 6th. I want to build myself up to a half marathon that is my ultimate goal and why I started the program.

Next we have our ab workout we do on the days we are not running Tue, Thur, and Sat
Its just Steven and I doing a few exercises we have learned but Steven wont let me go to bed till we have done them.

and lastly I have an 8 min in the morning program that helps build lean muscle tissue.
That is Basically it plus all the stretching that goes with it and.

I know that is sounds like a lot we are doing here but it really isn't. Also I want to say that we are not doing these things as new years resolutions That will fade to the back of our minds and be forgotten. I started the running program after I had Malcolm and was giving the okay to exercise and I really want to be a runner for life. Then Steven and I were watching The Biggest Loser Finale (we are big fans) and I was amazed how people starting at 300 pounds could get down to weighing less than I do. So I asked Steven if I lost 50lbs if we could go on a cruse. We looked it up and I would be in my healthy weight range for my height and age so he said yes.
Who knows if we will go on a cruise but 50lbs is my currant goal. It all seemed to fall around the new year and my 25th birthday so I guess it is just that time in my life to make a change, So wish me luck because here I go!

One down five to go

2010-01-07T09:26:00.001-08:00

Steven and I have started off the new year with a bang also known as a diet. We are doing a six week diet program that our friend Chris is using for the boot camp weight loss program he runs.

Today is the first day of week two and boy am I glad. For this program we eat the same thing every day all week, so here is what we have been eating for a week now:

Meal one: 3 hard boiled eggs (with out the yoke), 2 pieces of Canadian bacon

Meal two: 1 cup cottage cheese and 1/2 cup pineapple chunks

Meal three: romaine lettuce one serving of canned chicken (There are six serving in one of those little cans so it ends up being about 2 tbsp) one medium cucumber and 2 TBSP of vinaigrette dressing.

Meal four: a grape fruit and a sugar free jello cup

Meal five: 4oz ground turkey steamed yellow squash and broccoli and 1/2 cup kidney beans

We don't get to add salt or any other flavors and we drink a gallon of water a day. I ended up throwing up twice last week, I couldn't handle the eggs.

But this week we get oatmeal with fruit and nuts, celery with peanut butter we have chicken and kiwi for a meal and strawberrys, apples and yogurt and fish with sugar snap peas for dinner. I am so excited to eat foods that are regularly part my diet.

Now I have to tell you Steven and I are doing the diet a little different then Chris. We start our week on a Thursday so we have 3 days to follow the program then on Sundays we give ourselves a little break. We make a normal Sunday dinner of meat and veggies but no breads, for breakfast we eat a hot cereal, then we add in two fruits throughout the day. Also all we can drink is water. Then we continue our week Monday through Wednesday and start with a new menu on Thursday. We also have decided that lime juice is allowed on vegetables and on the last day of our week we give ourselves a little something extra, yesterday it was a slice of cheese with dinner. Now I would like you to imagine how amazing cheese tastes after a week of bland food, it was divine.

2009

2010-01-01T21:01:00.000-08:00

The reason I have a blog is so I have one more thing to be behind in!

2009
Move to Stillwater: Check
Birthdays: Check, Check
Elliot's first step: check
3rd Anniversary: Check
Trip to CA, NC, UT,and ID:Check, Check, Check, Check
See Wicked: Check
Nest for 3 months:Check
Birthday: Check (literally)
Trick or Treating with Elliot the elephant: Check
1 million trips to Moore to spend time with my Fam: Check
Made 6 pies for Thanksgiving: Check
Birthday: Check
Christmas: Check
New Years: Check

2010
BREATH

Update

2009-11-20T21:25:00.000-08:00

We blessed Malcolm on Sunday, it was perfect. We were able to have a lot of family in town which meant a lot to us.

Malcolm is still on a Vampire sleeping Schedule.

Elliot is starting to get sick. I am not very excited about this.

Steven only has three and a half weeks left in the semester. We are looking forward to some family time.

I went strawberry blond!

Please don't judge me

2009-10-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

I have always understood that something that comes with a new baby is zero sleep. New babies eat every two to three hours that means someone in the house has to be awake for each of these feedings. In most cases this responsibility falls on mom (she is the food after all).

I have been very surprised at how well my body has adjusted to being awake every few hours. With Elliot I had a hard time but this time around I seem to be alert, and for the most part pleasant. Somewhere around my eight month of pregnancy Steven and I stopped getting tired we thought it was our bodies ways of prepping us for the sleepless nights to come. I was grateful to my body but that gratitude has worn off.

My body is now used to staying up past midnight without getting tierd so I make it to bed around one. Then I am up three or four times during the night to feed Malcolm, Elliot wakes up at least once a night for an hour or two, and it always seems to be when Malcolm is asleep. Please don't read this wrong, I am not comlaining I am explaining.

I feel rested I get the sleep that I need the problem is I am getting that sleep at the wrong time.
When my alarm goes off at 9:15 (I know this sounds late to some of you but I am not a morning person) I cannot seem to get myself up, Malcolm has calmed Stevens side of the bed and Elliot is playing in his room. I turn off the alarm and sleep till somewhere around eleven or even sometimes noon.

What I want is for my body to get tiered around nine or ten like it used too so I can get myself up and have a day with my boys that doesn't start with Breakfast at one and staying in our pajamas till three.

I have great kids the fact that Elliot will play in his room every morning for hours on end without complaining is a blessing. Steven is a great help through the night with Elliot and Malcolm even though he cant sleep in. I really do have it good and after two weeks I cant expect our routine to be prefect. I just hate how lazy I feel when I caunt get out of bed.

So we had a baby

2009-10-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

Malcolm Simon Hopkins was born on Tuesday the 13th of October. He was 8 pounds and half an ounce and 20 inches long. Malcolm came into our lives somewhere around 2:54pm with the darkest hair we have seen. He has been awesome to have around. He is pretty chill which is a bigger blessing then you can believe because Elliot has moved into the next phase of his life the Terrible Twos. I was worried how Elliot would handle the new baby but they have gotten along great. For the most part they ignore each other, every now and then Elliot will give Malcolm a hug or a pat and then be on his way forgetting that there is a baby in the house.

Yesterday we had our first family adventure out. We went to a pumpkin patch and picked out our Halloween pumpkin. Elliot thought the pumpkins were balls so every time he got a hold of one tried to bounce it. It was nice to spend some time outside and to have Steven with us it made for a great day.

Q and A

2009-09-08T14:36:00.001-07:00

Q:How do you know it is time to eat a bowl of Reese's puffs?

A:When the Macaroni and Cheese you made for lunch is all over the carpet!

Q:How do you know it is time to vacuum your carpet?

A:When after you pick up all the macaroni noodles off the ground, what was supposed to be your lunch is now hairier then your head!

Bubbles

2009-09-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

The weather this week has been amazing we have turned off the air and opened all the windows. Every now and then you can smell Fall. I am so excited because Fall is my favorite everything. Its my favorite color, my favorite smell, my favorite time of year. Everything is better in the fall.I am so excited that is just around the corner.

Since it was so nice, on Monday Elliot and I decided to blow some bubbles. I didn't get very many pictures of bubbles because I was the official bubble blower and I couldn't blow bubbles and hold the camera at the same time. So here are some pictures, enjoy!

A New Look

2009-08-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

For some reason it has been hard for me to post on this blog. I think it is because I am not very confident in my writing abilities.

I married a writer. So it has been easy for me to think of this as our blog that he writes. With Steven getting busier with school and work while Elliot and I grow bigger everyday, I felt like it was time for me to grow up a little and start adding some posts.

I have always felt like you have to be a cutesy mom to have a blog. So today I spent a little too much time redoing our blog in hopes that it will make me feel cutesy and give me the courage to keep blogging.

I spoke too soon

2009-07-30T15:32:00.001-07:00

Never mind the previous post. Today has been a nightmare. Elliot has gone on a sleeping strike.

Sleeping like a baby

2009-07-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

Elliot has been sleeping in his big boy bed for about a week now. It has been such an easy transition. I don't know why it has been easy maybe he is still young enough that he doesn't fully understand or maybe he has decided to skip this battle saving the energy for the next. Either way it has been cake and I am not complaining. He wasn't sleeping badly in his crib but I still had a few reasons to upgrade his sleeping situation. About once a night he would drop a pacifier (he only gets them in bed) and cry for us to come and get it. I thought if he could get out of bed himself he could pick up the dropped pacifier and get back in. I have learned that he is too asleep to know what is going on, but he has been dropping his pacifiers a lot less. In the mornings he would sit quietly in his crib waiting for Steven or I to come get him. This made me feel bad because I am not a morning person and Steven leaves early for work on weekdays so I didn't know how long he was sitting there waiting to play with his toys. That is usually the first thing he would do when I lifted him to the ground is run to his toy box and pick up a toy that he had been eyeing from his crib. His room is baby proofed so I figured if he gets up and wants to play let him. This concept of getting himself out of bed in the morning has been a slow one for him to grasp. He will still be sitting in is bed in the mornings when I walk in. He stands up hands me his pacifier and says "up". But I don’t have to feel bad because now it is his choice to still be in bed not mine. He is however starting to make the connection that he can get himself out of bed. At 3am last night I heard him playing with toys I wanted to see what he would do so I let him play. When I checked on him at 4:30am he had fallen back to sleep on the floor next to his bed. Hopefully next time he will take that extra effort to climb back into bed, either way he is learning.
When I was looking for pictures of Elliot in his crib I realized that we have no proof that he ever slept in it. But here are some pictures I found of him sleeping.

Baby

2009-05-16T20:39:00.001-07:00

Boy

Elliot's First Steps

2009-03-27T16:37:00.001-07:00

Big News

2009-03-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

Well, we really didn't know how to tell everyone our news. We are Expecting baby number two, the due date is October 15. With Elliot we tried to make it a big deal but how do you tell all your family and friends about baby number two? We know it is good news, but it has more of a, "been there done that" feel to it. Maybe we will have it all figured out by number three but for now we are super excited for this next baby. I (Natasha) have been feeling pretty sick, but it was the same with Elliot and by week 12 life was great so I am looking forward to the months to come because I Loved being pregnant the first time.

We are loving Stillwater, Steven found out this week that he has a teaching assistantship job lined up for next semester teaching lower level English classes and working in the writing center. Last week he was called to be the Teachers quorum teacher on Sundays. Elliot is growing his fifth and sixth teeth and is starting to stand for minutes on end, he still has no interest in walking because crawling is faster, but he has the idea down. If you ask him what a dog or a cow says he will moo (boo boo) or ruff (uff uff) at you. and since we have had his crib set up (we had a few bolt issues when we got here) he has been sleeping through the nights without a problem. I have been attending a mothers institute class with Elliot and we have a play group each week that we have a lot of fun with.

5-minute movie

2009-02-25T21:00:00.000-08:00

I made this movie in the time it took Natasha to go to the bathroom. It is the worst thing ever. Please don't watch it.

Apartment Tour

2009-01-16T20:01:00.000-08:00

This is our new place.

Back in California

2008-12-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

We are back in California after a brief sojourn in Utah for Thanksgiving (I've wanted to use that word for a long time). We are enjoying ourselves and our mountains of free time. I am reading 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and Natasha is reading Parents Magazine pretty extensively along with Host by Stephanie Meyers. We hope to make some trips to San Francisco this week. We have been having fun playing with Elliot. Natasha was trying to teach him to catch the food in his mouth. He just thought the whole idea was funny.

His little voice has gotten scratchy and we don't know why. but I think it is really cute.

This was kind of late at night and I think he was getting a little loopy.

Bath Meal Exercise

2008-11-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

California

2008-11-23T21:42:00.000-08:00

Here's Elliot's newest trick. He picked this up the third day we got here and has just gotten better and better.

Well our time in California has been good so far. With Thanksgiving around the corner and a possible trip to San Diego, it seems impossible to get a job. So we've just been hanging out. I've taken a lot of pictures (Natasha is getting bored of it) and we have played with Elliot. We went and visited Scott and Melissa Caldwell in Newark which was fun. We have watched some movies in HD on my dad's 60-something inch screen TV. We will be in Provo next week from Tuesday until Tuesday visiting my brother who just had a new baby Adam. It is going to be fun to have a lot of family around for Thanksgiving.

Well I guess I'll include some pictures I've taken.

We're Off To Califonia. The wonderful California (sung to the tune of "We're off to see the Wizard")

2008-11-15T06:15:00.000-08:00

Well we are boarding a plane today for sunny California, where no one really cares about anything.

I'm just joking. We are excited to go. I haven't been there in over a year... or maybe even two years. I can't even remember the last time I was there. I can't wait for my parents to hang out with Elliot. He is a lot of fun now. He is a handful, a big handful, but he does the cutest things. My parents haven't seen him since all he could do with sleep, wake up and lay there with his eyes open. Boy are they in for a shock.
Expect posts with pictures from San Diego, San Francisco, and, my home town, Tracy.

Teeth

2008-11-02T14:39:00.001-08:00

After 9 Months, Elliot is finally getting some teeth. Click on the picture to see it bigger. Everyone has told us that there is really no set time when the teeth should come, but we were starting to get worried. So now he has these two little bumpy guys poking up at the same time from the bottom. He has been a lot more whiny lately, but never really inconsolable. We have tried to give him all sorts of things that are cold or rubbery to make him feel better, but either none of them work, or none of them hold his interest long enough to work. Even with these two little nubs he can already smash cheerios and eat stuff from our plates. He has tried potatoes, chili, mandarin oranges, marshmallows, tortilla chips, and other things. I think after 9 months of flavorless rice cereal, formula, and barely flavored baby foods, it is a bizarre experience for him to try flavors. Watching his face is fun. He usually doesn't like anything at first, but then he gets used to it and ends up liking it. He is like his father and eats a lot. My mom said that the later the teeth come in the straighter they will be. So, if that's true, he will have pretty straight ones.
This other picture is just a picture of him I took that I like.

Bridge Photo Shoot

2008-10-29T19:04:00.001-07:00

I have been really wanting to take some higher pressure pictures, so I decided to make Cassandra dress up and drive 20 miles away to a location that I thought would be awesome. I always get home from work too late and all the good light is gone. Today I got home just barely early enough to get over to this bridge I drive past a lot on the way to work. I think I am prepared to call the shoot a total failure. Here are some of the lessons I learned.

On the drive there, I was excited because the light was perfect and golden in the last half hour before sunset. But then as we got closer to the bridge I saw that, surprise surprise, it was right next to a hill that was blocking the sun from the first third of the bridge, the part I had planned to stand on take the picture.

(Lesson #1 Never call somewhere you have never been a location. IOW Go to where you want to take pictures with someone else at the planned time for the shoot at least once before you go there to take pictures.)

Then when we got there, tons of "Keep Out" and No Trespassing" signs lined the path. Empty beer cans and boxes showed us that people go there often, so I figured we weren't in any danger. We kept going even though the light wasn't what I wanted. Then I made the second mistake: I didn't take my lights with me. I went prepared with a small strobe, a wireless trigger, and a light stand. When I saw we would have to got through some bushes and wouldn't have much time, I left my lights.

(Lesson #2 Always take everything you have.)

Then Cassandra and I got to the bridge and I just starting clicking off pictures. I was nervous; I could tell she was nervous. So I just told her to sit somewhere and smile, while I desperately tried to find a good setting. I had a hard time getting the right exposure because if I exposed for her face, the sky was blown out, and since it was just flat, regular light, it didn't look good overexposed. If I exposed for the sky, she was too dark. (This is when my light would have really come in handy.) So I tried to find ways to get the sky out of the picture while I tried to help Cassandra relax. I set my aperture to 1.8 just because I did. And I figured it was too dark and I wouldn't be able to get fast enough shutter speeds. This is all mixed up, nervous, flustered thinking. All in all, I couldn't get anything to look the way I wanted it too. At the end, I got Cassandra talking, which made her more comfortable, but I was still trying to find the right exposure. So I just gave up and started clicking off pictures at the settings I had thinking they would be good enough and I could fix them in photoshop.

(Lesson #3 If shooting on the fly, take time to find good light, then take time to help the subject relax, then think about camera settings. [I think this is where shooting a lot comes in because when you are trying to fix things on the fly, it is much more instinctual than anything else.])

(Lesson #4 The first few shots are always throw-away shots. Think of the first fifty pictures as all throw-aways, knowing that you are going to take fifty more. If one is good, good, but don't count on it.)

Then when I got them home they were all out of focus because the depth of field was so shallow from the wide open aperture, and (the worst of all) the background, which we had driven so far, broken the law, and worked so hard to get to, was completely blurry and not even part of the pictures. I should have been shooting at at least a 4 or 5.6. Then, since Cassandra was comfortable and I just starting clicking off pictures without worrying about my settings, the ones I liked were all too dark.

(Lesson #5 If you are in a cool environment, use it by stopping down and including it.)

(Lesson #6 Don't assume that you can just fix it later. Get a good image first. Check histograms and blinking highlights along the way.)

Anyway, this is the picture I ended up with. It has a lot of noise in the shadows because I had to lighten it so much in post. But I think Cassandra looks pretty good in it.

Halloween

2008-10-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!
Natasha made this costume out of an old sweatshirt. She just made it up.

Elliot's new trick

2008-10-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

So Elliot has got something new to freak us out all the time: he stands up. Now, most people would think that a baby standing up would be a good thing. And it is. But it only takes a few tumbles to make this new occurrence nerve-wracking.

He used to only be able to pull himself up to his knees and even then only on certain things that were the perfect height. Now he can stand on almost anything, and he tries it out on everything. He can hold himself up for as long as he wants. (Sitting back down is not a trick he has mastered.) A few times however, he has come down to the floor, not with his comfortable tush, but with his face and head. He loses his balance and then, before we can do anything, Wham!
I swear, there is nothing that hurts your heart more than a baby crying. Especially your own baby crying. Especially your own baby crying because you were being semi-negligent by letting him pull up on things when he can barely keep his balance.
He hasn't gotten hurt bad, and I guess it really is just part of growing up, but it is still hard to witness your child falling and getting hurt.
He is progressing so quickly. It's fun to watch.

So why don't you have a look.

Sunday Post

2008-10-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

I would like to begin posting more regularly. More for me than anyone else.

I recently bought a new camera. I went with the Canon 30d with a 50mm f/1.8 lens. I also bought a Nikon Sb-26 flash because I really like to play with light in my pictures. I've wanted this camera for about two years now. So it feels good to finally have it. Sometimes I feel like buying it was trying to live beyond our means, but I take about a hundred pictures a day, so I am getting quite a bit of use out of it. That helps to make me not feel as bad about the purchase. It is something that has always brought me a lot of joy.

These pictures are from a recent trip to the park. I work six days a week and I get home around 6 p.m. every day, so we don't get a lot of time to play during the day. In order to play at the park this day, we had to eat in the van. Natasha made pigs in a blanket and put some koolaid in a Nalgene bottle and I ate on the way there. There was just enought light to play until mommy and daddy were tired. I don't think Elliot does get tired. Or at least he doesn't show it until he is actually asleep.

In the picture of me you can see the affects of an outdoors-all-day job. I look like a missionary again. My skin is dark except where my shirt collar and sleeves end, and I have gotten really skinny from sweating all day and not eating right. I have lost 13 pounds since I started. I am excited to get to California and get fat again.

We will be in Oklahoma until Thanksgiving and then we are going to see my brother's son (who will be born by then) in Provo and then going to California for a month long vacation in December. Then we come back to Oklahoma to start school in January.

Work

2008-10-05T16:54:00.001-07:00

So at work I kill bugs. I drive pretty far out into the country and deal with some houses out in the woods. In case you didn't know, bugs live in the woods. I was spraying a house down with pesticides, when I came across this little guy.
It's a tarantula, the biggest one I've ever come across. I sprayed it, and then caught it in a little plastic container and brought it home to show the girls. It was dead by the time I got home, so that's why I can hold it. It was covered with little hairs and about four inches across.
When we got it home our korean neighbor across the street came over to see what we were taking pictures of. Somehow he got the idea that the spider had bit me and that I was taking pictures as evidence. Then, he gave me a five minute lecture in broken english about how I need to report on-the-job injuries the day they happen or else I won't get anything.
We put the tarantula in a bag and threw it away and then he told us to crush it to make sure it was dead. I didn't want to do it, and Natasha was already freaked out. So I asked him to do it. Natasha ran away screaming with her fingers in her ears saying, "La la la la" so she wouldn't hear the crunch. And crunch it did. I guess it was halfway between a crunch and a snap, but our neighbor John sure did the job right.
Anyway, tarantulas live in Oklahoma and I kill them, or at least I facilitate their killing.

Elliot Laughing

2008-10-05T16:53:00.001-07:00

Elliot Gettin' Around

2008-10-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

This is about 3 weeks old, so he's a little better now. But you get the idea. He gets into everything. He hates sitting on his bum because he knows he can't go anywhere when he's sitting. He flips over as soon as we set him down and starts crawling directly toward the last thing we want he to be touching.

2008-09-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Well we've been in Oklahoma for 2 months now. Steven has killed hundreds of thousands of bugs and seen the biggest spiders ever (today he stepped on a tarantula, a real tarantula). Natasha is enjoying time at home with family and Elliot. Elliot is getting so big. He scoots around in an army crawl and has turned out to be a monster. He always knows exactly what not to get into and goes for that. We will be in Oklahoma until around Thanksgiving and then we are going to California.

Steven took these pictures in our bedroom.

2008-07-18T22:20:00.001-07:00

I graduated from college today.

Some Elliot Pictures

2008-06-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well here are some pictures. I know they don't make up for the long lack of information, but hey, it's something, right?

Elliot

2008-05-24T11:41:00.001-07:00

Go Cowboys!

2008-05-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

I got accepted to OSU (Oklahoma State University) into the MA Creative Writing program. We actually found out two weeks ago, but I didn't get into the Teacher's Assistantship Program (which would've covered the cost of school plus a stipend). So, we weren't sure if I even wanted to go. After five semesters straight, the thought of two more years of English classes had me feeling a little burned out. So we debated and prayed. I fasted. I talked to some of my english teachers. I finally decided that it was the right thing to do. There is still a chance that I will get the teacher's assistantship program, the lady at the office said that I was first on the waiting list. So, if anyone turns down the offer, I will get a chance. We will be about an hour and a half from Natasha's parents in Stillwater.
It's a 19 hour drive, 1272 miles from Rexburg.
We will be moving sometime at the end of July or beginning of August. Since Natasha's mom works for Southwest Airlines, she is going to fly us out for free in a couple weeks so I can register for classes and check everything out. We are excited. We have loved Oklahoma every time we've been there. We are sure that it's what we are supposed to do at this time.

More skate park, this time with some photoshop fun.

2008-05-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Bike At skate park

2008-04-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

I ran out of room on my flickr account, so I put these on here. this is a guy named Sam who is in my American Lit class. this trick is called a table top and a no footed cancan (i think). Same Strobist info as below.

Skate park

2008-04-23T10:52:00.001-07:00

This is Jimmy from the local Skate Park. Strobist info: 420ex at full power triggered by Cactus V2s.

Little Foot

2008-04-19T11:34:00.000-07:00