Professional Photography

Rocky just wanted to announce that now that she has her own digital camera she is going to start a business.
She specializes in weddings but is also available for family, and senior portraits. So far only one picture she has taken has turned out the way she liked it.

Here is her portfolio.


If you are interested in booking a sitting she can be found most weekdays at the playground outside of her apartment between 3:30 and 5:00.

Bonus Pictures:

Three

How can my little Rock Star be three?
She is such an amazing little girl who loves life and when she is around it is hard not to feel the same. Her energy and her smile are contagious and she has a special capacity to see the best in everyone.
All she wanted for her birthday was a pinata like the one in her favorite music video. More details on this will soon be found on Brandon's blog because that is his scene.
It turns out that making something like that takes more time than you would think. Brandon and I both spent a couple of late nights getting in touch with our creative spirits and this is what we came up with in the end.

So what do you do after you and your husband spend a week building a slightly horrifying model of a slightly less horrifying musician?
Give a bat to a bunch of kids and let them destroy it.

I'm not sure at what age a plumber's crack stops being cute...it might be three.

I'm not sure who was more excited about the Cinderella doll, the givers, or the receiver.

I was surprised, and excited when Rocky picked the delicious looking cupcakes, over the quirky fun ones. It might have something to do with them being called Rocky Road.

Once again, for posterity's sake I think I need to mention important current events to place this day in a correct historical context. I just heard that Osama Bin Laden was killed...but enough about that, let's get to the real news.

Prince William and Kate finally tied the knot.

Easter

The girls were all ready on Easter Sunday to model their beautiful new dresses. Rocky was especially proud of the Easter dress that she insisted her Oma buy her from the peanut butter store. Some people call it Costco, but those of you who have seen our dried beans in the empty peanut butter jars know why we buy our PB in bulk.
Daisy also looked ravishing, deciding to pass on the traditional pinks and yellows and went with the simple, yet stylish blue polka dots.


Peeps!


Rocky couldn't contain her excitement at the student housing egg hunt. She got to be with her buddies, Tate and Lilly.

Daisy was a little bit miffed about being in the category with the "babies" since she is obviously more mature. It payed off though because she did find the golden egg, fulfilling her mother's childhood dream. In this case it wasn't much of a feat considering that there were three babies and 3 golden eggs. Oh well, the chocolate bunny was still just as sweet.

A Little Bit Wicked

Brandon and I got to go to Wicked and I am making sure to document it so that I can date myself, and so that I'll never forget how fun it was. My mom told me that when she went to the theater to see Gone with the Wind she was so overwhelmed that she cried. I had the same experience with this musical.
I looked up a bunch of the songs on youtube and after we watched them Daisy thought that she would show everyone that those witches had nothing on her. I had to explain that being wicked is different than just being a troublemaker. She didn't seem to care.


Rocky filled her potty chart which meant that she finally won the prize of her dreams. When we were brainstorming ahead of time to decide on a really great reward I told her she could have anything she wanted out of any store and she confidently told me that she wanted a balloon. When she earned all her stickers we went shopping and I told her she could pick out the one she liked best. I didn't even narrow it down to the small cheapies, the big expensive ones were even in the running, but lucky for me she picked the one that only cost $1. I was positive that she would want a princess, or the Pikachu but she picked out the heart that says, 'You're So Special'.
Really.
I tried to sway her toward something a little less along the lines of terminal patient and more toward celebration but after all it was her potty prize so she got her way.
How long do those things stay inflated anyway?

It has only been Track season for a few weeks and Rocky already told me that she is sick of races. She made an exception to go see her tio, Victor run the hurdles.

She prefers hitching a free ride to racing...


and Daisy is willing to oblige.


She is just about walking on her own. I don't know if I'm excited or scared.

The Best Hiding Place

This morning right after her bath Rocky insisted that I take a picture of her, "Right now!" I told her that she had to do something cool and this is what she came up with.

Pretty cool.

A rare moment of sisterly snuggling.

Although these two are starting to really play together, it is usually better if their limbs are kept to themselves.

The other day when Rocky was supposed to be taking a nap there was a weird sound so I ran in to find an empty bed. She is getting pretty good at hiding so I looked in all of her best spots but she was nowhere to be found. Usually she will give herself away by announcing where she is or giggling, but there was an eerie silence that made me worry that she was somewhere else in the house.

Just as my panic level was starting to rise, Brandon found a suspicious foot. She was fast asleep, napping like she should have been. She didn't even stir so we just covered her back up and tiptoed out of the room. I guess this explains why her hair always looks so frazzled when she wakes up.



Bonus Picture:

When It's Time to Change

As life changes, and time passes, sometimes we are forced to say goodbye to things we love. Brandon and I were fortunate to attend one last sealing in the Ogden temple before it is torn down and modernized. I'm sure we will love the new temple when it is finished, but the old one is taking a little piece of my heart with it.
Although some (rude) people think it looks like an alien ship, I think it is beautiful and will miss it. Especially because it was where Brandon and I started our marriage.

On a much lighter, but almost equally tragic note, it is also time to part with two other good friends..
.
Okay, so they are shoes, but these shoes have been so awesome.
They ran me through the marathon, training and all. I promised that after we crossed the finish line they could have a rest, but then I ran on them for another two years, which is ridiculous because most running shoes are lucky to make it through 6 months. Well, these babies have done their duty and are now headed to that big 5K in the sky where they can rest their poor soles.

Job well done.
I know this change is looong since overdue but it is a big deal for me. I like the things I have and I don't like to go out and get new ones.
Here are the replacements. I like them okay, but I probably won't be able to trust them until we spend some real quality time together, maybe like a year or two.

In bittersweet moments like this I find solace in the stable and unchanging things that make life predictable, and that would never throw a tantrum in the mall...my kids.
Well, I guess even if they are constantly changing, they still make me feel better because they are so cute.

Bonus Picture: Rocky thinks it is fun to stand on our patio and tell the people that are passing that she is going to take a picture. I think it is fun to look through the window and watch how they respond. Too bad her camera has been out of film for 10 years.

Potty Power

One day while we were in Utah I had gotten up early in the morning and was upstairs talking to my mom when Rocky came into the room. She wasn't wearing any pants or a diaper and she said, and she said it this way..."I pooped in Marci's room!" You would have thought she had just been given the Nobel prize by the enthusiasm in her voice. Then she encouraged her Oma to, "come see."
I went downstairs and it was true. There, partially on the floor and partially on Brandon's notebook was a little pile of kid scat. She raised her arms and proudly said, "Ta Dah!"
I decided that whether I was ready or not, it was time to potty train.
Her little friend, Lilly had lent her this video called Potty Power which is as effective as it is awful. It features hit songs like "Wipe Your Bottom" and "No More Diapers for Me."
While my 'big kid' was very good at singing the songs, she hadn't ventured into the actual realm of the toilet.
Well, when we got home, we got started. We are still obviously in the process but we've had a lot more success than accidents and we'll just keep trekking through.
This was a day or two ago so her chart is a lot more full now. Whenever she goes past the door she has to stop and consider her success and she'll always point out Prince Eric and Ariel and say, "He doesn't swim." I guess it really concerns her.

She isn't that great at pulling up her own undies yet. Either that or she prefers to wear them this way.

Sorry Daisy. You don't get to start until you poop in Marci's room on your own too.