First Day of School!!

Today was Bentley's First day of Kindergarten! She was so excited to go!! She was up early. We went for testing last Tuesday and this was the first time we met Mrs. Thompson. I heard just great things about Mrs. Thompson! Before we went in for testing, Bentley told me that she had to give Mrs. Thompson a hug. Before we left for home, she gave her a hug. We walked to school or more like ran to school!!

Once we were at the school, Bentley found a ward member friend, Tierstyn. Bentley loves to hug her friends. Bentley ran off to get to her seat. They had chosen their seat, when they went for testing. Nephi and I went in and just waited, wasn't sure what we were suppose to. When we would wave at Bentley, she just looked the other way and wave us off. She seem to be telling us, go away ALREADY!!! I feel blessed that we were able to go in. I ran into my neighbors when we came home, their children's school has them line up outside and that is as far as the parents can go. I am glad, I got to get a glimpse into her first day of school.

When I came home, I felt like I had nothing to do but worry about her. I was so excited to go back and take her home. I wanted to know all of her details about school. I really don't like that my little girl is growing up. I love seeing her grow in her education, her thinking and speech but I just want to hold her like a little child and take care of her. I look at her little pictures on the fridge and wish she was that boot scooting baby she once was. Now, she is ready to take on the world and start learning what real life is. I am very proud of my Bentley! She is amazing and I love her!

Bentley LOVED school!! She talks about going back tomorrow and for a few more weeks. She thinks its just weeks, good thing she doesn't realize its months before she is done :)

Tyler's Football Game

Go Bears Go!! Bentley and I got to go to Tyler's game. My nephew did an amazing job at playing! They won their game!! I love being able to watch a little bit of football especially when I know someone playing! It was a fun night to get away with Bentley. GREAT JOB Tyler!!

Great Company at Silver Lake

Well, its that time again! We had our hike planned for Silver Lake this month with Marie, her two kids, Coleen, Bentley and myself. Coleen and I went to Silver Lake last year and had fun. Bentley threw this big fit and finally enjoyed it after seeing thechick-a-monks and brib of ice cream afterwards. I hoped that this year wouldn't be a reenactment. Before going, I showed

Bentley in herscrapbook, how much funwe had last year. She was pumped and excited to go!

The drive is beautiful up Big Cottonwood Canyon. I love being in the mountains and enjoy the beauty of nature. Silver Lake is a fun lake that you can walk around. Its fun because the chipmunks will come eat out of your hands and its just a wonderful walk around a lake and being in the mountains. Marie brought some carrots and all of the kids had the BEST time feeding the chipmunks. We were all enjoying ourselves, when Bentley wanted to run ahead. I guess she thought running in nature would be fun. We heard a hurt crying while we tried to tell Bentley not to get ahead of us. Instead of listening, she ran right into some bees. All I know she just stood among looks of bees flying everywhere. I pulled her out and we all quickly walked around from the hive, we couldn't see. Once we got far away, we realized Bentley was stung twice. I felt so bad. The rest of the walk, wasn't as fun as I had hope. She was a trooper but she stayed right next to us for the rest of the way of the trail. This isn't her year, she has already been bitten by a wasp and now stung by two bees. We enjoyed the rest of the walk and headed home. Bentley got her well deserved ice cream!!

Silver lake is amazing! Just be careful what might be lurking in the woods.....

Happy Anniversary!!

8 YEARS!! I AM SO HAPPY TO BE MARRIED TO MY HUSBAND FOR 8 YEARS!! It has been the BEST years of my life. I am so grateful that I have Nephi to share the good and bad times with. He has been so amazing in my life. I am so grateful to have been married to this wonderful man. I hope that you have a GREAT day! Look forward to out getaway night coming up. You deserve nothing but the best. Love you Nephi!!

Fun Filled Day!!

Andrew and Miranda with their kids came to visit Monday. What fun we had!! Bentley was so excited to play with her cousins! On Monday, we had an adventure day. Bentley and Karson each took turns playing the piano. They were so cute to show off what they could do. Then we all got ready and headed for Lagoon! We stopped by Grandma B's house before taking on the wild rides of Lagoon. Grandma enjoyed all of our hugs before we made the adventure to Lagoon. Nephi decided to come for a couple of hours before heading for work. Karson decided he would ride the adult rides. The first stop, white roller coaster. I got to sit in the front seat with him. He looked so nervous and I thought he was on the verge of tears but when we came up the last straightway, he was laughing and smiling!! He was having fun!! Then we headed over to the Wicked. We told Jarom that Karson would ride he worked on. We had to stand in line, Karson had a hard time with that. Kaiden on the other hand, stood on the fence and cried that she couldn't ride with us. We were almost to the top before, Karson bailed out on us. I was so proud he at least tried. When we got off the ride, we found one sad boy. He was so mad at himself for not trying. So we moved to the Fire Dragon....they had two cars on so he didn't have to wait at all. He was so nervous but he did it. After the ride, he told us it was "AWESOME!!" We asked him if he wanted to go again, he said "no, not until next year!" I laughed so hard!

I can't wait for Bentley to be tall enough for the adult rides. We tell her that if she eats her vegetables, she will grow up to ride Wicked. Seems to work all the time ;) Bentley loves to ride all of the rides she can at Lagoon. I love that she is so daring and courageous.

So after spending the day riding rides, getting wet, eating corn and cinnamon rolls, we decided to head out. The lines were getting long and we were worn out. As we were leaving, Kaiden saw the dart balloon game with Smurf prizes. Her parents decided we would find a Build-A-Bear and see if they had Smurfs. We headed for Fashion Place. We had a wonderful dinner at Olive Garden(tradition for us), found Smurfs at Build-A-Bear(very, very surprised they didn't have Smurfette at a GIRLS store) and ended with cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory(we had a total of 6 different pieces to taste from). The kids loved their Smurfs and I couldn't resist a picture of all of them holding their Smurfs.

The day was perfect with my brother and his family. Miranda even helped me re-arrange my living room. I love her ideas and wish I could be more creative with my decorations. I had the perfect day with my family! Thanks Andrew and Miranda!! Love you guys!

Baby Edison!!

This is my week of pictures!! I am so happy when Amber called me and asked if I would take some pictures of Baby Edison. I was so delighted and thrilled! I love these tiny babies!! They grow up too fast! I love that we can capture them in their moments and stages of life with photography.

So I went to their home to do the images. I was a bit nervous, not knowing how Edison would like pictures. When it was time for the pictures, Edison was awake and alert. I was excited that he was awake because I love when I capture those pictures with him awake. Addie was over and was leaving soon so I really wanted to try a couple with Ezra, Addie and Edison. We used their hands but we got a couple of cute pictures. I was happy I had a few minutes with helping hands of his brother and sister.

When it was Edison's turn all by himself, he was great. He let me move home and position for a few seconds. He didn't like his hands in certain places but let me capture a few images how I wanted. The best picture for me was when he lifted his head. He wasn't even a month old and he was holding his head like a pro. I love the picture with his bright eyes and head up. He was a trooper! Then Edison was getting hungry and tired but didn't want to fall asleep yet. I had Amber hold him and Edison went to sleep for us. We wanted to capture a few sleeping, Amber loves those types of pictures. I really enjoyed shooting this small little guy. He is just an angel and I had fun spending time with him.

I must admit at this time, I think something is wrong. I can't remember names for some reason. At Rachelle and Devin's wedding, I kept calling Rachelle, Amber, Rylee or some other name. I also kept calling Edison, Ezra. Oh, I feel so silly when I forget names. I must be getting old. I hope that my memory will come back soon. I sure do miss it :)

Anyways, this week was wonderful! I love pictures and look forward to taking more in the future!!

Two for the price of One!!

I love photography!! I just simply love it!! So when people ask me if I can take their pictures.....I say 'YES!!' Its like chocolate, once you start you can't stop. Okay, I just love what I can create.

So when a family friend the Nielson family if I could take some family pictures, I jumped on. The father of the family was leaving town for a little while and wanted some updated images with the family so he could look at those images when needed. I couldn't deny that I would love to be part of that. So we met at Memory Grove and started taking pictures. I love their family! Brittany use to hang out with my Nephi and once I got to know this family, I have such love and respect of them. They are so kind and loving. Their family is outgoing and have a great time together. I love seeing everyone's personalities in a family group. The last picture is of one of their son's Jeremy. They wanted one of him smiling but he just gave these sweet smiles. I loved it and this picture just melted my heart. I know he is going to break some girls hearts!!

When we got the Memory Grove and I was taking the family pictures, Kelley and Corey were there also. Kelley and Brittany are sisters. They had asked me to take some of their engagement pictures but couldn't find a good time when they had the time off and when I could meet with them. I didn't know they were going to be there that evening. So after I took the family pictures, I got to get some fun pictures of Kelley and Corey. They are such a fun couple. I love their laughter with each other. They just have fun together and make each other happy!!

I didn't expect to take both pictures tonight but I felt like I got two for the price of one. It worked out well and was a fun evening! I love being able to take pictures for these families. What a great night!!

Home Study!!

We had our home study for Adoption today. It went well and much better than I thought it would.

Here's my story before the big day!! I talked a friend, Liz, a few months back that had adopted and she told me that it wasn't that bad and not to stress about it. Then I recently talked to Coleen, another friend, that told me that her mission companion adopted and that her home study was invasive. After talking to Coleen, I freaked out and went crazy with the cleaning. I pulled out all of my little piles around my house and threw what I didn't need. I cleaned my refrigerator out, making sure there were not dirty stains or expired food items. I cleaned, vacuumed and washed my couches. I washed down all of the walls. I started thinking like a child and moved, cleaned and cleared everything that seemed that I could get into. I washed all of my windows and dusted the blinds. I cleaned everything to the finest so when the white glove came out, there would be no dust, dirt, prints....we would pass everything with flying colors!! I felt like I went overload spring cleaning here. Then in the end, it wasn't that bad. I had to point a few things out and we did a walk through. There was no white glove, there was no checking my refrigerator to make sure it was cleaned out, no left overs. It was a simple walk in the Jenks' home and a creamie to top it off with. So the moral of the story is.... next time you don't feel like cleaning, trying having a home study that makes your scared out of your wits. Then YOU will clean everything!!

I will clean anything in my home, if it means I will have another child brought into my home. They deserve nothing less than the BEST from our home :)

Special Day for Addie

What a wonderful day today was for Addilyn Sage Weaver! We got the wonderful opportunity it was to see Addie be baptized by her father Jarom. We are so proud of her and she looked beautiful and beamed from head to toe. She had a huge turnout of support from her families. I am so happy that she was given the right to have the Holy Ghost as her constant companion. I love the gift of the Holy Ghost and know it will make Addie's life so much better.

I was so excited to hear that she had decided to get baptized. I was looking forward to taking Bentley witness such a marvelous event. We talk to Bentley about being baptized during family home evening and around the house. It became more real to her last year, when she saw a neighbor girl being baptized. I looked forward to Bentley's excitement to heighten when she got to witness her cousin be baptized. Bentley was so happy for Addie!! I am so glad Bentley got to witness this special event for Addie. It was amazing!!

I loved when one of the Bishopic members got up and had Addie come up front on a chair. He asked her if she knew why this big group was here. She just looked at all of us and smiled. Then he proceeded how we were all here for her. I love that she had could see what love and support she had from everyone. Its a big decision to be baptized but to have your family behind you makes it a lot easier. I know through trials to have your family cheering your on no matter what, makes your decisions easier. Again, what an uplifting day it was. We Love You Addie!! Thanks for being a GREAT example to Bentley and to everyone.

Devin and Rachelle's Wedding!!

What an amazing day! I felt so blessed to be able to take pictures for Devin and Rachelle today. They decided to get married in the Salt Lake Temple(one of my favorites). Their ceremony was amazing! They were sealed to their beautiful daughter Rylee. I felt like I was a wedding crasher since I didn't know anyone but the groom's sister (my beautiful sister in law). But in the end, I cried and thought, I wouldn't mind being a wedding crasher for temple marriages but they are so amazing. I love to see the happiness on the couples face, the spirit felt by the words from the sealer and just the love and support the family has for these two individuals.

I was so excited to take my husband back to the temple to witness this sealing. I love spending all the time I can with my husband, especially in the place that we decided to get married at. I love Nephi and appreciate that time off and lack of sleep he got from helping me witness this couple get married and take their pictures. Nephi is my rock!! When I wig out about something, he is there is calm me down. I love and adore my hubby!!

I am also grateful for Aunt Becky who took the day off to spend with Bentley. Becky is one amazing Sister EVER and aunt too!! They went to the park, went to swimming lessons, watched movies and went to Wendy's for dinner. Bentley had so much fun with her. I feel so blessed to have a wonderful person in my life that Bentley just loves and adores. I think Bentley was so happy to have the day with her Aunt Becky.

I learned a lot today about photography while taking pictures. Don't get me wrong, this isn't my first wedding, but Rachelle's best friend Naomi came and took pictures too! I thought having two photographers would be great many angles of the pictures, different views from each photographer would be amazing!! First lesson of the day. I soon learned that when you have two different types of creative people doing photography, they end up clashing. I did my best but learned a very important lesson, that I won't be taking pictures at a wedding with another photographer. It was also hard and I felt like running away towards the end of the day. I felt like my pictures weren't good enough. This wedding has taken a toll on me and I realized that I have my own style of photography and its more traditional. I love trying new things, but when you compare your photos with someone else for the same event, you start to question your abilities. I know that I take great photos but I really did question myself and wanted to cry. I am very grateful for this experience and what I have learned. I will continue photography but I won't be part of a two photographer wedding.

Second lesson I learned was how much I LOVE technology. Okay, maybe NOT!! Well not when you want it to work. I love adding images and video from the wedding of that day, but when your computer doesn't want to work with you....you start to despise technology. No, I am very grateful for what we have and what we can create in such a short time. I just wish I was updated as much as my technology. I ended up making a mistake myself on their video. I felt like the biggest idiot but remembered I need to check my technology more often!!

Overall, it was a great day! I came to love the little classroom we camped out at in the church for their reception. I had fun getting to know Rachelle and Devin's family. Thats the BEST part of being a photographer, getting to know families in such a short time. I am glad I was part of it and look forward to more weddings in the future. I am so happy for Devin and Rachelle!! Congratulations to them!!

Piano Recital

I can't believe my eyes!! Bentley is playing the piano!! In June, Bentley started to take piano lessons from my neighbor Kara Allen. She teaches Suzuki method of piano. I wasn't sure how well Bentley would do but she loves it! Bentley works so hard to get every note down. She was also excited to be able to perform in her first recital. We went to a retirement home and played for the older folks. When we got there, we weren't sure where in the program she would play. When we received the paper program we would out she was first!! I was so nervous for her because she had to announce what her name was and what she was playing. She didn't get the chance to see other experience pianist perform. But she got up there and announced everything so clear and loud(like a Bentley member would) and played her song. The first image is blurry and I apologize but that is Bentley announcing her part. When she played, she sounded so beautiful! I was so proud of my Bentley Jenks! I am so happy that her teacher is so amazing and works so well with Bentley. I love that Bentley works so hard for what she wants. She did the most amazing job this evening! Way to go Bentley.... she did earn her ice cream :)