Kailey and Jessica Turn 12!

The girls are now officially turning 12! Their birthday is actually on Tuesday, but we had our little party for them this past weekend. I was pretty excited about their cakes. My sister and I decided that our desire for great cakes on our birthdays stems from our mom always making a special cake on our own birthdays. Cakes are an important part of birthdays.

I actually started looking for cakes a couple months ago and then discussed them with my sis. I knew I would have more time to make them, as opposed to last year's forced rush...don't even get me started on that one...

So...here are the cakes that I made for the girls. And by made, I mean Jenny did the majority of the work, I did a little bit of fondant and icing, held a crying baby and made some mac and cheese for my nephews. I think they turned out great!

Kailey's cake is Twilight themed because of her Twilight obsession and Jessica's is just fun and girly, just like Jessica.

Thanks to everyone who came for cake and ice cream. It really means a lot to the girls and helps them feel at home in Lehi. That and two cakes is too much to eat...even for me.

Thomas Jefferson

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.

~Thomas Jefferson~

Thanks, Ron, for this quote. I think it's great.

Engagements

Here are a few from an engagement shoot...for some reason my camera's lens is struggling and most shots were super soft focus. Good thing that is the look I was kind of going for...

and another...

I love this one post-photoshop.

Photos

We took some pics of Grayson, Bryant and Weatherly and boy! Did they have energy. We had to keep the camera on the action setting and hope for minimal blur. Here are a few of my favs. They are pre-photoshop, but post iphoto. Don't forget to click the pic!

Growing Pains

I may get in trouble for this one, but I find it hilarious.

As most of you know, the girls are fraternal twins and will turn 12 in a couple of weeks. Kailey is not so excited about the whole growing up process, but Jessica is 11 going on 17. Ironically they are maturing very differently. Kailey is ahead in the whole process and Jessica is feeling left behind. In fact, she is obsessed with her, shall we say, lack of chest.

Recently, I told her that the way to grow better was to eat plenty of vegetables and drink plenty of milk. I teased her saying that it would also make her chest grow.

This last visit I realized how seriously she had taken me when she very proudly told me that she is drinking all the milk that she can and eating plenty of vegetables. I will admit, that I am taking advantage of the situation. Now when she tries to drink caffeinated drinks (we won't let her) we just tell her that it will stop her from growing. It is actually very effective.

She did ask me why I was allowed to drink Dr. Pepper (my weakness) and she isn't. That was an easy response. I told her it was because I actually want my chest to shrink.

Camping at Strawberry Reservoir

Here are a couple of pics from our 4 day camping trip. We had a great campsite with our own stream and beaver dam that made for a cute little pond, a great view and plenty of space. We actually used the little stream as a fridge, putting our coolers and watermelons in the cold water. Because the kitty was still so new and a little bit sick, we brought him along as well.

Don't forget to click the pic for a better view!


I can't decide between the next two pics. They are the same, just edited a little differently.


Kitty in the kindling pile.

Some war paint pics.

The water is a lot cooler than this picture would lead you to believe.

The upper part of our campsite.

Ironing

So....I have been working on reorganizing and deep cleaning my house. I finally unpacked the last of the boxes hidden in the pantry and have been working on my room. Part of this process includes ironing Todd's dress shirts. Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't iron very often. I'm not very good at it.

Anyway, I pulled the iron out and almost got all of the wrinkles out of the dress shirts (I progressively did better). I plugged the iron in, found that the cord was a little short, attached an extension cord and ironed away. After I finished I went to put the iron back after it had cooled and started to wrap the cord around the handle. While I was doing this I realized that there was a button for the retractable cord. The cord wasn't very short at all...it was only partially pulled out. Apparently I don't iron all that often.