The makings of a photo shoot

I had to post these pictures of Smurfy because I think they're hysterical. The kids had some new $5 sweaters from the Childrens place, so I thought I'd try to get a few photos of them in their new getups. Things went really smoothly, considering, but for some reason, when you tell a 2-year old to smile, that's usually not what you get. At least, not at first. So, here we have the "stages" of the process of getting Smurf to smile. Enjoy.

STEP 1- Scuzz.

STEP 2- Close Eyes.

STEP 3- Close eyes & open mouth?

STEP 4- Close eyes & smile
(getting closer!)

STEP 5- Smith with mouth open
(ALMOST!!!!)

THERE IT IS!!!
Good boy!
Here's your sucker.

Merry Christmas from our Elves

I Love my Balls......

This is one of those moments when you realize how precious your kids are.....
Sparky brought home the following paper last week. It was his journal writing assignment for the day. He wanted to write about Balls. You know, soccer ball, basketball, etc.
But when I read the page, I couldn't help but laugh hysterically. I mean, like when you laugh so hard real tears come out of your eyes. Like that. He said "Whats so funny mom?" Well, you tell me what you think. Funny?
How does one explain that to a 6-year old?
I didn't. I told him it was a great journal entry. And then I vowed to save it until he was old enough to understand the humor.

Lake Powell- October Style!

Yep, I'm finally posting about Lake Powell. I know, I'm the last one of our friends to do it, but that's just me.... a slacker. Lucky for me, though, I got to read all of your blog posts about our trip & I have to say, the winner was Jen. (P.S.- Jen I didn't know you had a blog till I read this. Its quite good!) Anyway- it was so clever, I thought I'd go ahead & plagerize. So, in the words of the Westenskows.....


"You know you've had a great trip to Lake Powell when...."

* Your family agrees to watch your children while you are away.

* Your boat(s) work.

* You find a great place to park your houseboat.

* Your houseboat has anchors and you know how to use them.

* Your daytime high temperature is in the 80's.

* Your nighttime low temperature is in the 50's.

* You get to sleep under a gazillion stars every night.

* You see a shooting star before you fall asleep.

* Your air mattress stays inflated.

* You can find a dry towel

* You find the water may be shocking ice cold when you get in it, but then, somehow, becomes quite pleasant.

* You have a toilet.

* You listen to LOTS of music.

* You DONT fall off a cliff......

* You can usually find your camera.

* Your expensive sunglasses don't sink to the bottom of the lake

* Your hat floats long enough to retrieve it....visors, not so lucky.

* As far as you know, the rats stay on the outside of the houseboat.

* You get to spend quality time with your spouse around the campfire.

* You have time to lounge around and read magazines about celebrities and fashion.

* You eat..... A LOT of amazing meals, with reckless abandon.

* Someone in your group makes homemade onion rings!!!!

* You only have to cook ONE meal and no one complained about it.

* You have a giant pile of soda on board.

* You you see your friends helping each other into their life jackets.

* Your swimsuit stays in place when you take your life jacket off.

* Your new white swimsuit isn't see-through.

* You experience very little wind. (double entendre intended).

* Your best wake boarder of the group is a woman.

* You get to see some awesome rock formations and Indian ruins.

* You play a game of "Twilight" so competitive, Mrs. Meyer herself wouldn't have won!

* You wake up every morning and hear someone say, "I don't want to go home!".

* You have a professional hairstylist on board who braids your hair and paints your toenails.

* You do NOT hit a rock and sink.

* Your houseboat DOESN'T catch fire.

* You don't have to seek shelter in a cave.

* Your tent isn't broken and full of sand.

* You aren't pregnant. (Sorry Rach....)

* Your boat window doesn't shatter over your head.

* You wake up willingly at 6am to ski on water that looks like glass.

* You become so sore and wasted from skiing, but continue to ski some more.

* You see "rooster tails" and you are able to make them

* You are sad to leave.

* You get home safely and all of your kids are happy and safe and, BONUS, all of the kids are asleep.

* Your crying is from laughing so hard.

* You did NOT, at any time, fear for your life!

* You got to spend 5 days with 16 of the greatest people ever!!!!!


Pictures will soon follow.

Pumpkin Patch

Its that time again.....
Yes, its time for the annual Harward family trek to Day Farms for a hayride & pumpkin picking at its best! Since this is the 4th year running we have done this activity as a family, I'm noticing the photos are starting to look a lot alike. And my kids are really sick of me following them around the patch, camera in hand, poised to strike the moment they find the perfect one. So,I've made myself a vow. Next year, no camera. Just enjoy the moment. But, since this is the last time, hopefully you can enjoy the moment, too.









On second thought, maybe next year I'll try the video camera? That's different, right?

Kenni's Big Day

I can't believe my baby girl is already 8! I suddenly feel old....
But enough about me. Kenni's baptism day went very well. I was really stressed about the gargantuan amount of people I needed to feed, the musical number I was in charge of providing, and the countless other things there are to take care of on a day like that, but things went great. Lesli volunteered her house for the dinner (Thank you Lesli!), I twisted my dear neighbor's arm until he agreed to sing with the girls, (Which by the way was one of the most beautiful musical numbers I've heard in a long time. Seriously- they did so good!), and all in all, nothing went dreadfully wrong.
Kenni- We love you & are so happy you made the decision to be baptized! You are a joy in our lives & a fabulous big sister. I hope you had a great day!





A huge thank you to my dear friend Rachel who took these gorgeous pictures! For more of her work click on "Rachels Photography Blog" on my sidebar

1st Day of School (1 month late!)

Ok, Ok, maybe its two months late! Yes, I'm a little behind. Here are my sweetie's on their first day of school. Kenni is in 2nd grade, Sparky is in 1st grade, and little Noodle started his first day of Pre-school. This is the first time since I've had school-aged kids that one of them isn't in kindergarten. Yeah!!!! I hate kindergarten. It's such a pain. Everyone is doing well & loving their new teachers/classes. It's so wierd on the days Noodle is gone to just have me & Smurfy at home. This has NEVER happened to me. Having a 2-year old home without anyone to entertain them is craziness. By the time Kenni was 2, Sparky had come along.....and so on, and so forth. There has always been someone there! Poor little smurfy. (Or lucky.... I guess it all depends how you look at it!)