Millcreek Canyon in Autumn

In October, we went up Millcreek canyon to enjoy the autumn leaves and have some s'mores with Richard and the kids.
It was the most perfect autumn afternoon. The temperature was lovely, with the sun shining down perfectly.

Here are my favorite pictures of the day:

Me and Richard, taking my daily picture:

Elise giving me one of her many expressions:

Marcus, who always gives me a little smile:

Richard and I always have our cameras at the ready:

Collin gives me a rare smile. He's mastered closing his eyes right as I click the shutter as if he's blinking, which, of course, he's not.

Andrew and Eric...two peas in pod. I love it!

Great Salt Lake Photos

While Sandy was in town, we hung out with Richard and his kids. We took them on a cold and windy day, to the Great Salt Lake (near Saltair) and took pictures. We'd hoped to get the sun setting, but it was c-c-c-cold! It was nice that my dad could join us for pictures.

It was fun to watch them run around suggesting pictures for my project. We had too much fun. I just love when my family is together.

Photos of the Kiddies

I am SO far behind in my updates! WAY back in February, I took pictures of Richard's adorable kiddies at a visit to Wheeler Farm. Here are my favorites:

Dance Recital

12/23/11 - Another drive up North for a dance recital. Elise and Andrew both enjoy dancing and their dance company had their holiday recital at the high school.
I become so much like a melting parent when one of them gets on stage to dance. It's so much fun to see their little facial expressions and to see how much fun they are having.

 

Football, Canning and Kiddies!

What a crazy Saturday!!!! Crazy busy!!!!

We picked up our Bountiful Basket then went to Park City to watch Collin's playoff football game. They didn't win, but it's the first time this team has made it to the playoffs, so that's a pretty big accomplishment. It was snowy and cold so we were happy to have the end of a game. :)
I canned Salsa today. I haven't done any canning this season, so I picked up 20 pounds of tomatoes. I made one of the two batches I'll be making. This batch is a mild/medium batch and it is delicious! I'll can another batch tomorrow; that batch will be HOT and include a ghost pepper and several habaneros. Eric likes his HOT salsa, so I thought I'd make a truly hot salsa for him.

Finally, after all the craziness of the day, I have Collin, Elise and Andrew staying the night at my house tonight. I love it when they are here. We have a lot of fun playing video games and chatting. I adore these amazing kids and have loved watching them grow up.

Photoshoot: Richard's Kids

Saturday (Oct 15), after Collin's football game, we went to the canyon and took pictures of the kiddies. It was such a beautiful day! The weather and colors were absolutely perfect for pictures and general enjoyment of the lovely time of year. Here are my faves:
Collin:
Elise:
Andrew:
Marcus:
A few others that I liked, of the changing leaves:


To end it all, I told the kids I would zombify their pictures for Halloween. Here's the result (I used Picnik to zombify the pictures):





Me and my brother:
Of course, me:

Collin's 11th Birthday Dinner

We all went to dinner to celebrate Collin's birthday on April's birthday...so we celebrated both of them...April - long distance.

Collin loves sushi so we went to Simply Sushi. I love sushi and it was pretty good, but I told Collin that I would take him to some REALLY good sushi the next time we have a Collin-Weekend.

It's stange to see him at the age of eleven...I remember being eleven years old and it was a tough year...one of my tougest as a kid. I am committed to help Collin (and the other kids) through a rough patch in their lives.

Here are a few of the pictures of the kids:
Sweet little Marcus:
Tough kid Andrew:
The amazing Elise:

The most awesome 11 year old I know! Collin: