Newborn Photo Shoot

I had my first official Professional Newborn Photo Shoot yesterday. Here are some of my favorite pictures! Oh, this is Kasen Brown - son of Sam and Marenda - brother of Addy.

Here is a picture of the Brown Family! Cute! Cute!

Good Book!

Hey! I just finished an incredible book. I was hooked from page 2. It is called: The Traveler's Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success.

I was really skeptical when I read the Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success. But, it is not a typical "self help" book, it reads entirely as a fiction book. It was a good, easy read. It is about 200 pages, and I read it in about 2 days. I will say, that I wasn't entirely pleased with the ending ( I would love to tell you why, if you've read the book, and hear your take on it - so let me know) but I don't want to spoil this book for anyone. Anyways, it made me want to be a better person, and reminded me of what is important. This is a book I will probably buy - not just get from the library! Enjoy!

Puppies

My dad's dog, Coco, had puppies 11 days ago. We were at my parents house the day she went into labor. (Do dog's go into Labor? Hmmm...) Anyways, she had 6 puppies, about 1 every hour. The puppies are pure bred labrador retrievers. There are 2 yellow labs, and 4 black/brown ones they haven't opened their eyes yet. (We can't tell if they will be black or brown yet, Coco is brown - but all 4 pups look black) The kids have been DYING to hold the puppies. So, on Sunday, I decided to take their picture, and my dad snuck out 2 puppies. Coco was watching us through a chain link fenced whining and really worrying about her pups. It was cute. Here they are!

I liked this picture because Haley is touching a puppy. When I first sat them down, she was sucking her thumb next to Kyle. She looked at the puppy for a minute, popped her thumb out of her mouth, and pet the puppy.

Jake was so excited! This is definately a glimpse into Jake's softer side...

So, if you know anyone who would like a puppy...We ( Troy and I ) refuse to have an animal - we already have 4 - so we will not be bringing a puppy home with us. We told the kids they get to keep 6 puppies for 6 weeks! Lucky kids!

What drought?

Okay. I have been told numerous times that Utah is in a drought. Well, for the past few weeks, it has rained almost every day! In a 30 minute period, it rained over 1 inch! Here are pictures to prove it!

Oh the reason the boys have their arms down to the side, is because they kept jumping up and down and wouldn't hold still for me to take a picture...

Kristin

Well, it's official! My camera was ordered this morning. It's a Canon 30D and I bought an external flash with it. I should have it no later than Tuesday. So, I'm getting all excited, and decided to practice doing a photo shoot with Kristin. All of these I lowered the saturation. A little bit about Kristin...She is 3 years, 2 months, and 27 days old. She is hilarious. She loves to sing and dance. She makes up her own songs. The most recent: Winter Holiday. She just walked around hollering, I mean singing, "What a winter holiday" I think my mom got it on video. She is a super big sister. She loves her brothers. And she LOVES pestering, I mean playing with Haley. Most of the time, Haley giggles, other times, screams. Q: Who spoils you?
A: Grammy spoils me.
Q: How does she spoil you?
A: She puts pretties (rubber bands) in my hair and braids it.
Q: What is your favorite thing to do?
A: Just hide
Q: Do you like your brothers?
A: Yes, because I love them
Q: How much do you love Haley?
A: Way, a lot.
Q: What is your favorite food?
A: Chicken Nuggets
Q: What is your favorite color?
A: Red (I don't think her dad knows that!)

Q: Who do you admire?
A: You- Mom - because I want you to take me on Jet Ski's all the time

Q: Why do you love our family?
A: Because I like babies.

Q: What is dad's favorite thing to do?
A: Go to work.

Q: What is mom's favorite thing to do?
A: Just give Haley ba-ba's. (bottles)

Q: What is your favorite book?
A: The 3 Little Piggies

Q: Who do you love, Kris?
A: I love you.

Photography

Hey. I am looking into new cameras. I am getting a really nice SLR. I think I would like to do photography professionally. (At least for friends and family - don't know how much more I can put on my plate right now) But, I love photography. Since I have been researching camera's, I have run across some really cute photos. I decided to do my own photo shoot. Well, Erin and I were talking, and she said, man, if you could find an 8 month old, you could take some really cute poses. Well it took me a second to realize that, HEY, I have an 8 month old! Since I would have to email these to Erin (we're both getting a new camera) to show her the pics, I thought I would put them here. I just realized that changing the saturation on a photo makes it look awesome, so I'm going to put before and afters...just so you can see, and maybe try it!

Here are pics I took of her on my bed. I changed them to Sepia, because my bedding is blue and brown, and I wanted it to not clash...

I love the picture of her pouting, I put it on here twice, just cause I love it!
I lowered the saturation on all 3 of these photos.

Meatballs

Tonight during dinner, Jake said: "Mom, you're the best meatball maker in the whole world!"
That struck me as funny, but it is a meal all 3 kids will chow down! Here's the recipe:

Crockpot Cocktail Meatballs

3 lbs. ground beef (of course the leanest possible is the best)
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Sauce: 18 oz. bottle ketchup (this is just a little over 2 cups)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. Worchestershire sauce

Combine beef, soup mix and condensed milk. (I do this in a gallon size ziploc bag...keeps my hands clean, and is easy to squish) Form into small balls (makes about 45-50?) I use my cookie scoop, and just scoop right out of the ziploc bag. Place meatballs on baking sheets and brown in oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and drain excess grease. Place meatballs in crockpot. Combine sauce ingredients and pour over meatballs. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours. Serve over white rice. MMMM!!!! (I don't usually think of it ahead of time, and usually just make the sauce on the stove, and add the meatballs right before serving)

Anyways, just a little recipe, from the best meatball maker in the world! :)

Asleep?

Okay, on Sunday afternoon, Troy and I told the kids they needed to nap, because we were having a family gathering for Kyle's Bday later in the evening, and wanted rested children. Jake always has a hard time getting to sleep. And, since he's the most stubborn child, it makes it all the more difficult. Troy and I were taking turns reading HP#7 (I'd read a chapter, he'd read a chapter) and Jake came downstairs. We told him it was quiet time, and that he needed to cuddle up on the end of the couch. We looked over, and this is what we saw:

Naturally, we didn't think he was asleep, we thought he was goofing around. We got closer...

and closer...

until we realized he was most definately asleep. How on earth that child could fall asleep like that, I will never know. I absolutely think it would have been much more comfortable just to fall asleep in his bed!

CONCRETE!

Our concrete for Troy's Basketball court was poured on Thursday! It is so exciting...the yard is coming along...now for a fence...hmmmm....anyways, the boys were in awe of them pouring the cement.

Troy's dad stopped by while they were pouring, and I had him help me put their handprints in the cement, right next to the house.

Now all we have to do is get the basketball hoop put in! Fun times!

What a day!

I think yesterday was such a great day! First, my friend Camille and her kids came to visit via Indiana, Boston, Scotland, and now Seattle! (We met in Oregon 6 1/2 years ago!) It was so great. Between the 2 of us, we have 5 more kids than we used to! That made things crazy, but the boys hit it off TREMENDOUSLY! They played out back while Camille and I talked. Then we made it down to my scrapbook room, and decided to make cards and magnets... It was so fun! I felt like I had friends again! :( Then she left a mere 5 hours after she got here! That's life! Here's a picture of the 2 of us. Adam, age 6, took the picture...he tried his best though! We went to Artic Circle for lunch and let the kids play (Camille and I stopped through the drive-thru at Kneaders and got us a good lunch). Here is a picture of Kyle and Adam. Just a hint of how long we've known them, when Kyle was 9 months old, we went to the hospital to see Adam right after he was born!

It was so fun! I totally miss having friends...who know me! Oh well, all in time, right? I sure hope so!

After such a busy day, I was dreading doing dinner. I had to go to the PO and on my way, I called my brother, David, who is in town until he goes to UC Irvine to get his doctorate. He came over and made dinner, Venezualan food. He went to Venezuala earlier this year for school. Dinner was yummy! And healthy!

Then, we had a great game of Kickball in the backyard! So fun! What a day!

Kinlee

My niece Kinlee with Down Syndrome is featured this month as the spotlight on http://uptowndowns.com. Go check it out! Also, click on the "The Simple Truths of ServiceCan you make a difference?" It's a great story!

Bear Lake

Last weekend was the Korth Family Reunion. It was held at Bear Lake - Rendevous Beach. I think it was like the 17th-20th year they had done it at Bear Lake (nobody could agree on which summer was the first summer). It was a good time! I attempted to get up on a wakeboard. I tried about 20 times, I had almost drowned myself and then I threw in the towel, so somebody else could have a turn. There's got to be a trick to that...(My forearms are STILL sore!) Troy, Kenny, and Cherice, took the kids (except the babies, I stayed on the beach with them) on a boat ride. When they got to the middle of the lake, they made the kids jump in the lake, so they would know that their lifejackets would hold them up, in case something happened. Then, they got on the tube. I guess Kyle kept doing thumbs up (go faster) and Jake and Daxton kept doing thumbs down (slower). They loved it though. I hope next year there is more time for the kids to go tubing. The boat was pretty much consumed by wakeboarders. I wish I could have been on board for some pictures. I went out on the boat once, and went out on the waverunners twice. Most of the time, I hung out under the canopy on the beach, kid watching. The joys of being a mom. Anyways, here are some pictures...Here's my cute scrawny Haley LOVING the sand! Here's a picture of all of my kids. They had such a blast playing on the beach. We did probably 10 loads of laundry today, and the lint from the dryer had TONS of sand in it! The camp was a ways from the beach, so if the kids fell asleep under the canopy, you were pretty much stuck, cause nobody wanted to wake a sleeping child to hike back to camp. Here are a few of us that got stuck, Haley and me, Kenny and Kinlee, and Allisun and Kristin. Here are the cousins playing in the sand. It was very serious business. I don't know what they were building, but it was definately important. Kinlee LOVED following Kristin around. Kristin loved it too! They're the best buds! It's so cute to watch! I won't go off on my soap box about the dirtiness of camping with kids, but I am glad I have another year until I have to do it again!

Harry Potter Review

Troy and I caught the 12:01a.m. showing of Harry Potter. First of all, it was a great night to "people watch". People are psycho! Showing up in all sorts of HP costumes, Hogwartz Uniforms, etc. The movie was pretty good, NEVER as good as the book...BUT, my biggest irritation of the night, is people's reaction once the movie was over... People came out crying because Sirius had died. DUH! If you would have read the book 4 years ago, you would have known that would happen! You can make it to a midnight showing of a movie, but you can't crack open a book...oh, what those people are missing! Also, a lot of people came out saying they didn't really understand what was happening most of the movie...well, that's what happens when you try to make a 600 page book into a 2 hour movie. Also, what does that say about society...what happened to reading...I partly wish they never made these movies...at least not yet...we won't let Kyle watch any of the movies until he's read the books. We read the first book together in the past few weeks. As we would drive around town, Troy would drive, and I would read, or vice versa. All of our kids enjoyed it, and it was better than watching a TV in the car, right? So, over the weekend we finished the book, and watched the movie to go along with it. Kyle liked it, but everytime we get in the car, he begs to read more Harry Potter. So, we'll continue reading...anyways...if you haven't read the books, READ THE BOOKS. The movie was okay...they definately left out TONS of things, and Troy and I don't like how they portray Dumbledore...(Did the director even read the book? That's questionable...) It is fun to see the book come to life...But, I will be standing in line at Midnight for the book and it will be MUCH more enjoyable...July 21...

MAN! Most of you know I own my own business - well, I couldn't do it without my business partner, Erin. Erin does ALL the computer stuff, and I have the product, organize it, and ship it. Well, today I got in 32 boxes! (I usually get 1-3 a day) No, I'm not joking! I have been trying to go through everything today, and my living room is crazy! It took the poor Fedex man 15 minutes to deliver it, and I had to give him a bottle of water, I felt so bad! Here is a picture of all the boxes...notice my kids climbing on them...no need for a park!(Oh, we don't have living room furniture yet, so we have our old kitchen table we are giving to Allisun and Beau that we need to take to Kenny and Cherice's for storage, and then it's usually an empty room). Here is a picture of the big mess...I was about halway through opening the boxes and sorting everything. I know it looks messy, but it is definately an organized mess. When they ship products to me, they don't put all the ribbon together, etc...it's just a big mess to sort through...and then take down to my "store" in the basement.

Fourth of July

We had a fun fourth of July! It started off with a tradition of going to Copperton Park for their breakfast, followed by the races. It's hard to describe the atmosphere. It feels like you've stepped back in time. This is the only place you'll see "Age 50 and above" race for the $3 grand prize (which my dad won, fyi). Where me, and my cousin James' wife, Marisol, fought through the shoe scramble...yes, I did shove her, but it was all in fun. I fell flat on my face in the sack race! And, my brother David won the $3 for his age group! Oh, I would be a bad mom, if I didn't tell you that Kyle won his race for age 5-7. All kids under 5 get 50 cents, and then they run. Everyone is just out for a good time. You don't hear the "f" bomb flying or see scantilly clad women. Kids just run around with snowcones and have a great time! The reason I love doing this every year, is that I did this when I was little when we lived in Utah. It's the one thing I can take my kids to, that lives up to the memory (so far...).

Here's a picture of the boys. As you can see, Jake didn't want pictures taken, so we got one of the boys, and one of the girls. Here are the cute girls! I had my mom come over at 6:45 in the morning to put french braids in Kristin's hair. She looked so cute!

Here are Jake and Kristin running the race, and then Kyle and Daxton. Thank heavens no one thinks to pick up the camera while I'm racing!

After the races, we met the Cartier's (Beau and Allisun), Kenny and Cherice, and 2 of Becca's kids at the splash park by our house. Troy and Kenny probably had the most fun...the goof balls. I sat under the beach umbrella with Haley and just enjoyed watching everyone have fun! After this, we went home, napped, and then went to my parents house for a BBQ and fireworks. The kids had a blast! By 10:00 Troy was dying to get home. He had to be up by 5am to go to work. Jake and Kristin wanted to stay the night at my parents, and I guess they didn't want the night to be over, so they stayed up until midnight watching a movie. It was definately a good day! I love the fourth of July. I am grateful to the US Troops we have that couldn't be on American soil to celebrate the fourth. As we were watching fireworks, I was thinking how appreciative I was the the noise of the fireworks all around, was just that, fireworks. In other parts of the world, you don't race to see the fireworks, you duck and cover. I am so thankful for the country we live in! God Bless America!

Formula...

Okay, I just bought 28 cans of formula on ebay for $539.00. A mere $19.25 a can. Ouch! Haley goes through about 2 cans a week! So, I'm hoping that it will last close to her turning one! For all of you mothers who can nurse...do it! Don't take it for granted! I would give anything to be able to nurse now. Happy 4th of July!

Last Day of School

Kyle's last day of first grade was on Friday. We picked him up at 12:30 and came home and had an indoor picnic. Kyle and Kristin had ham sandwiches, and Jake had chicken nuggets. Haley had a bottle. They watched Sesame Street and then took a nap to get ready for swimming lessons. It was their last lesson in the 3 week session they were signed up for. They are signed up again for another 3 week session in August.

Kyle and Daxton thought it was great to spit water between turns. Kyle did so good! He is definately a swimmer!

Jake learned to swim! It's so great! No worries about him anymore! Kristin on the other hand...After their hour lesson, they all got to jump off the diving board. Everytime, we told Kristin if she did it by herself, we would buy her a snowcone. Well, this is how she did it, everytime...

I'm hoping she'll get better by the time the next session we've signed up for starts. So, on the last day of the session, they let the kids race each other. Well, I wasn't aware that my kids were such good and fast swimmers! Kyle and Jake did awesome! I think (though I won't tell Kyle) that Jake just might be able to swim faster than Kyle. So, it turns out my kids have the Korth Competitiveness in them. After swimming lessons, I told Kyle he could have a few friends over for an "end of the school year" party. He just invited Daxton and Daniel. They were going to watch a movie, but challenged Troy and I to a game of Kick Ball in our backyard (that has been a nightly occurence this summer). So, we played kick ball, them against us. I'll let you guess who won. (As I said earlier, there is this Korth Competitiveness gene...so don't think for one minute Troy was easy on the 3 boys - or me as his teammate either). After the boys left, we made popcorn and let Kyle, Jake, and Kristin watch a movie. I can't imagine life without microwave popcorn...

I am excited for our summer! No ballet, no swimming, nothing! YEA! And, to start it off, is the 4th of July...I think it's right up there, with one of my favorite holidays, especially being in Utah, where it is more patriotic (okay, not as much as Wash. DC) but compared to Bakersfield, CA, and Oregon! We have a tradition we've done here, so I'm excited! I'm sure you'll all see pics later in the week! Have a good 4th!