Karleigh and Daniel and Jadon and Ethan

Book of Testimonies

2011-01-14T13:44:00.000-08:00

The following photos show the book of testimonies given to Ma and Pa Heywood that everyone contributed to the content of, and which Karleigh built with her own bare hands.

They love it! Feel free to add updates, additions, etc. at any time. You may also add memories, because that's what it says in the title page.

Jadon the piggy bank and his mission

2010-12-29T08:08:00.000-08:00

[Jadon playing with his Tootsie Roll piggie bank.]

Karleigh: What are you saving your money for?
Jadon: For the billings.
Why don't you save it for something else, like a mission. Do you know what a mission is?
No, what is it?
It's where you go and talk to people about Jesus Christ.
Well, my mission is to go climb mountains and go hiking and shoot animals with my gun.
That's not a mission, that's hunting.
No, that's my mission.

"Can you make this every time?"

2010-11-14T18:28:00.001-08:00

Jadon and Ethan loved this. Especially Jadon. He polished off Karleigh's last third, too.
Persimmons from our Bountiful Baskets order, everything else from Winco's bulk section.

Five grain cereal (handful)
Mueslix (ditto)
Pecans
Dried Cranberries
Fresh Diced Persimmon
Rolled Oats
Honey
Salt

Cooked the first two in water and salt, added the oats to help soak up a little extra water, and then added the rest.

Never had persimmons till the other day. Came with our "you get what you get" order from Bountiful Baskets (after one such order, I like it - especially coming at about 57 cents a pound for a variety of fruits and vegetables). Persimmons are lightly sweet, mild flavor, texture probably much like a fresh squash, pretty tasty. (I've since found that as they ripen, persimmons become softer and juicier)

What does a snowman look like before fall is over?

2010-11-11T06:57:00.000-08:00

Click photo for more.

It was after dark yesterday when we came home from a second photo shoot for Pearl Jane (after which, Jadon wanted a photo shoot of his own, photos to be posted here soon). Karleigh had run off to teach book arts, and when the rest of us got home, the boys and I played in yesterday's snow.

After putting Ethan to bed, Jadon and I made this sweet snowman, with carrot nose and frozen blueberry eyes. Raisins don't stick so well, we discovered, which is what we used the first time we made it; the top fell off the first time. That's a semicolon. Sadly, it toppled over again before Karleigh got home to see it. That's Christian's hat on its head, I've been informed.

I've discovered that to get a three year old to happily get ready for bed, without a "no", or an "I'm not tired," or an, "I want another story," to be heard of, brushing his teeth, going pee, putting on pajamas, all without complaint, is to build a snowman together, and drink hot chocolate afterward. Maybe playing at his cousin's house before all this helps, too. And having a photo shoot with him, too. Maybe the trick is wearing him out with extra wonderful attention, instead of regular old distracted, sometimes annoyed, attention.

Happy Halloween?

2010-10-31T20:33:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Karleigh and the kids got caught in a hail storm during the trunk-or-treat (it's sorta like trick-or-treating, but it's not). Karleigh raced through the parking lot to get home and out of the cold. Kacie had gone with them, but Christian freaked at the storm and she bailed out early. Ethan had fun with it, sticking his hand out into the hail, beaming at the pile of candy building in his lap, but Jadon clutched the umbrella and looked none too pleased that the day he'd looked forward to for months was a cold, cold sham. He's over it now. I think. Glad I stayed home. It was cool to stand outside my door and watch the head of the storm roll in from the west just a few hundred feet over head, unleash, and clear out, over in fifteen minutes or less. Very cool.

100% Chance of Yumdiddlyumptious

2010-10-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

(Click for larger view.)

The 70% chance of cinnamon rolls came a day later than expected.

It was worth the wait. This may have been the finest cinnamon roll I have yet tasted (I've made some innovations). Or, perhaps that's the way it always is after a year away from them.

This is Ethan with the last mouthful of his first ever cinnamon roll. He's giving the sign for "Please", as in, "More, please." Not half an hour later as I was in the other room, and Karleigh away teaching a book arts class, it got too quiet. Ethan was sneaking seconds. Rookie, he was picking at one of the funky end pieces. Click photo for a bite-by-bite (almost) set of photos.

Jadon, playing with some leftover bit of flour. He played for at least an hour.

Sometimes They're Cute Sunday - Part III

2010-10-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

After dinner I said, "Jadon why don't you do the dishes." His response: "Let me go get my stool."

Forecast

2010-10-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

Today's Forecast: Snow.

Tomorrow's Forecast: 70% chance of cinnamon rolls.

This is the view outside our apartment. I'd stare out the window all day if it wasn't dominated by the foreground view of the parking lot, chain link fence and telephone wires.

Sometimes They're Cute Sunday - Part II

2010-10-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Jadon chose what to wear to Church today. And he made a duck in nursery.

Sometimes They're Cute Sunday - Part I

2010-10-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

Had to unclog the sink today. Afterwards, I put back the stuff underneath the sink, and Ethan helped. First, he played with them on the kitchen floor, stacking them on top of each other. The next time I need to occupy him for half an hour I know what toys to get out for him.

Okay, okay, okay, they're pretty much almost always cute. Sometimes.

Snow Swimming

2010-10-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

Took Jadon to the pool at Snow yesterday, and he swam for an hour forty-five minutes. He loved it. Even with the thirty girl scouts there. He outlasted me by forty-five minutes, because at about an hour into lazily swimming about, it wasn't feeling warm anymore, so I got out and watched from poolside. His only other pool experience had been his grandma and grandpa Heywood's unheated pool, so he was loving how warm it was.

Jadon Reads the Scriptures

2010-10-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight, after finishing our scripture reading time, Jadon said "I want to read a scripture without you helping me read. I can read it myself."

Daniel said " Show me."

So Jadon got out his Book of Mormon and turned it to a place in Mosiah and started to read(word for word):

"And I spoke unto my father and upond these plates and I made these plates for God and I supposed the pond."

Breakfast Time, or, Who Needs Dad?

2010-10-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

Jadon woke me up at 6:20am this morning, asking for breakfast. I gave him the option of going to bed, or laying on the floor in our room. He just stared at me. I gave him a pillow and blanket and set him down on the floor. After a trip to the bathroom (his trips are leg tingling long), he laid down again, then left what seemed like not much longer after that.

At two minutes past seven I got up, and found him at the table eating a bowl of cereal, with a light on reached only by climbing on the counter, eating from a bowl that is kept on the highest shelf in the kitchen, the milk and cereal having been put away. His telling me of all this was matter of fact. Good thing the milk was down to the last inch. Did he choose Frosted Mini Spooners? Golden Puffs? No, he poured himself a bowl of bran flakes. Ethan usually is up at the same time (I suspect Ethan usually wakes Jadon), but he slept in today. Now, if only Jadon will get Ethan his breakfast too...

New Duds (just not today)

2010-09-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

Jadon got some new clothes two days ago. Yesterday he changed three times. Today he wore this. None of it new. The shirt is Ethan's.

He wanted to wear his new running shoes, but he used them too effectively on our evening walk yesterday, and wasn't allowed to wear them today.

When he got his new shoes he had them in hand along with a pair of Toy Story shoes, but when Karleigh said, "These are exercise shoes like dad's," he put down the other pair and kept the running shoes. That's my boy.

New Digs

2010-09-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

On the first night in our new place, Jadon said, "We can't live here," and when Karleigh asked why, he said, "Because there's no place to wrestle."
We moved this last Saturday to Ephraim, UT. Tonight, Monday, things are getting somewhat together in some of the rooms. This photo doesn't show one of those rooms.

Happy Birthday to Dave (one day late)

2010-07-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

Today Jadon said, "Can we make a hat for John, Luke's dad, for his birthday today?"

So I had to correct him on two counts, that Luke's dad is Dave, and that his birthday was yesterday. Kids these days.

Ethan's new Sunday shirt

2010-06-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

Kacie sewed Ethan a new Sunday shirt. Well, I guess she couldn't have sewn him an old Sunday shirt. Sure, he looks cute, but as I was trying to take the picture, he was trying to walk out to the street. Or to the neighbors. Rrg.

What are you painting, Jadon?

2010-06-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

"I'm painting lots of food."

"What kinds of food?"

"Um, fish tricks, and juice box..."

Not one minute later...

"What are you painting, Jadon?"

"I think it's a pig. Or a cloud."

Today...

2010-06-24T18:49:00.001-07:00

...Ethan fed rocks to the dogs.

Karleigh worked on a collaborative book arts project.

Daniel made a graceful dinosaur.

And Jadon floated by himself for the first time.

Jadon, our new amphibious friend

2010-06-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Joe and Brandi (although you really didn't have to), Jadon loves it! And so does Ethan.

Slacker Posters, Making It Up

2010-06-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

Not only are we slacker posters, but slacker picture takers of late. But what few we have this year, we'll post in the coming days. This one of the boys is from a couple days before Mother's Day this year. Ethan already has grown up a bit more since then, as he's on the verge of making walking his primary mode of mobilization. And Jadon, he stands to pee now. Well, he does.

Scandinavian Days

2010-06-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

Eric and I shared a booth at the Scandinavian Days festival in Ephraim last weekend. If we were keeping score, he would have kicked my bootay. He sold paintings and prints, and I had books and illustrations on display. I'm not sure most people were aware my stuff was for sale, but lots of people liked looking at them; five books sold; the leftovers are found here. He sold four small paintings and about ten prints. Check out a few of his paintings here. The prints are very nice, and if you're interested in one (or a painting even), I think he'd be willing to let you have one (he sold them for $12 each, a bargain, as they really are very nice prints - I know because I made them).

Ethan's First Birthday

2010-05-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

One year ago, yesterday, as a Cavs and Magic playoff game came to an end, Karleigh went into labor (Orlando won, winning the Eastern Conference - no, no, Karleigh is the one who remembered who was playing, and I had to look it up to remember who won). Because of our overnight wait at the hospital with Jadon's birth, we weren't in a rush, and waited to see the end of the game. Good thing it didn't go into overtime. She delivered within half an hour of arriving at the hospital. On the drive there, I finally settled on Ethan's name. Karleigh agreed. I always have worked better with a fast approaching deadline.

More photos here.

Jadon's First Prayer

2010-04-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight at family prayer Karleigh asked Jadon (three years old), "Whose turn is it?"

Jadon said "Mine."

And after positioning him upright (he tends to slouch and stick his arms up over his face), he unexpectedly, for the first time, went straight into saying a prayer without help.

Paraphrasing:

"Heavenly Father, thank you for blessings, thank you for families, thank you for our bodies, thank you for sacrament, thank you for bread and water, thank you for Jesus, thank you for gospel, Amen."

Looks like we need to work on the language of prayer with him (thee, etc.).

Karleigh was crying and laughing all rolled into one.

I hurt

2010-02-11T08:41:00.000-08:00

[Jadon running around wild, runs into the corner of the couch.]

[Jadon holding himself where he got hurt]

Jadon: I hurt my... I hurt my part.

Karleigh: You hurt your part?

Jadon: I hurt my, my muscle.

Karleigh: Your muscle?

Jadon: I hurt my sword muscle.

Ethan's Big Aspirations

2010-02-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

The Snow Dog and the Peanut

2010-02-06T13:33:00.000-08:00

Went out to play in the snow with Jadon yesterday, who's now nearly three, and Rizzo the dog. Rizzo peed, and upon coming across it Jadon asked what it was.

"Rizzo's Pee"

"Where's his pee thing?"

"His penis."

"Yeah."

I told him.

Later, as I was making Rizzo out of snow by Jadon's request, he looks underneath and says:

"He needs a peanut."

What do you want for dinner, Jadon?

2009-12-30T16:17:00.000-08:00

Karleigh: What do you want for dinner?
Jadon: Um, How 'bout... polka dot salad with... and cheese.

Karleigh: You want polka dot salad with cheese?

Jadon: Yeah.

Christmas Morning 2009

2009-12-27T20:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2009 at the Ashby's from Daniel Heywood on Vimeo.

BYU football fans can skip ahead to 3:13 to experience a little envy.

One thing not on film was Jadon opening up his snow/sand block maker, which you can make snow forts or sand castles with. It looks like an empty container, and as he opened it he said, "It's nothing."

Tunnels

2009-12-23T14:15:00.001-08:00

Tunnels from Daniel Heywood on Vimeo.

Jadon had been asking all day to play with the train. He was so patient each time we told him later. Finally, in the evening I set it up and Jadon had a ball. Seconds after turning off the camera, the train wrecked into his head. Durn, I missed it!

We'll go after you take a nap

2009-12-23T13:02:00.000-08:00

Jadon has been excited to go see Haleigh all morning (and the other Ashby's, too, probably). A few minutes ago he was told he had to take a nap before we went. He went to bed, and a few minutes later came out and said, "I'm ready to go." Karleigh said, "You didn't even sleep." Jadon, "Yes I did."

We have a new number one rule in the house.

I'm going to drive

2009-12-22T10:11:00.000-08:00

Jadon and Grandma and Grandpa Heywood going out in the truck.

Jadon: I'm going to drive.
Grandma: You can't drive, you can't even go potty in the toilet.
[Jadon heads inside]
Grandma: Where are you going?
Jadon: To go potty in the toilet.

Feel my fingers

2009-12-13T20:50:00.001-08:00

Jadon: [with both index fingers extended] Feel my fingers.

Karleigh: Why?

Jadon: Just feel them.

[Karleigh feels around the middle of his finger]

Jadon: No, right here. [Points to the tips of his fingers]

Karleigh: Why?

Jadon: Just feel them.

Karleigh: Is there something on it?

Jadon: Boogers.

Strike Snowboots off the Christmas List

2009-12-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

All those hours of watching McGyver finally pays off.

Where's the Baby?

2009-12-12T11:56:00.000-08:00

Click photo for a slideshow of annoyingly similar photos (plus another one of Jadon playing with Ethan).

New Holiday Illustrations

2009-11-24T10:56:00.000-08:00

New illustrations for the Holiday Season! See them here, or here. More coming soon.

It's Halloween, but Turkey's on my mind

2009-10-31T11:42:00.001-07:00

Bust me up laughing

2009-10-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

Jadon: Dad, where's the peanu's lid?

Daniel: The what?

Jadon: The peanu's lid.

Karleigh: Oh, the peanuts lid?

Jadon: Yeah.

Luke Reading With Jadon

2009-10-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

While Dave went hunting with Dad and Joe, Karleigh and I tag teamed their kids and ours. Easy Peasy. At one point, Luke sat down with a book, Pooh's 123, and Jadon came over and...

Luke: What's this number?

Jadon: red. [The one is colored red.]

[Laughing] No, i's one. [Next page] Wha's this number?

One!

No, i's two. [Next page] Wha's this number?

Two!

No... [turns back to previous page, but goes too far and goes back two pages, looks a moment] Wha's this spell?

Dancing butterfly in'a sky [Actual text reads, 'One happy butterfly dancing in the sky.']

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

Trick or Treat! This is halfway finished, as it still needs to be textured.

Circumnavigation

2009-09-27T17:35:00.001-07:00

A few days ago, taking Jadon for a stroller ride/sedative, I spun him around, and he asked, What dat called?" He wanted to know what to ask for. S0 I told him. A few minutes later he said, "Let's do donuts."

A couple days later, on another stroller ride, he said, "Do bagels." I said, "Do you mean donuts?" He said, "Yeeeahh!" So we did.

"I have sore muscles."

2009-09-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I'll lie on my back on a tennis ball working out trigger points, or lie my leg across a super heavy duty cardboard shipping tube working out trigger points in my legs. A few days ago I walked in the living room to see Jadon lying on his back on two tennis balls, using his legs to roll himself back and forth on them. I asked him what he was doing, and he said "I have sore muscles," which is what I tell him I'm doing, working out sore muscles. Yesterday, I came in the room and he was lying on a cardboard tube, "I have sore muscles," he said.

Jadon, the garden, and grasshoppers

2009-09-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

"Do you wanna go water the garden with me?"

"No, I don't want to go to the garden."

"Do you want to go catch grasshoppers in the garden."

"No, I don't want grasshoppers."

"Do you want to go squish grasshoppers in the garden?"

"Oh! Yeah, I wanna squish grasshoppers."

[30 minutes later, just after coming inside the house, Jadon is taking his shoes off]

"Did you get any grasshoppers."

"Oh, I forgot!"

Cake on Grandpa's Birthday

2009-08-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

Jadon (2) and Luke (3) eatin' cake last Sunday on their grandpa's birthday. I like how Luke swings his head around to see if Jadon really does have brownies on his plate.

Ethan and the Bouncer

2009-08-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

Our first homemade moving picture, in HD. Made with my dad's new camera.
HD playback may be problematic (?). But non-HD playback ought to be okay.

Cards

2009-08-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

The following are cards I illustrated and put up for sale at zazzle.com. You may read more about them on my other blog.

Ethan with Bear Headed Blanket Cuddly Toy

2009-08-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

All together now, "Ahhhhhaah, so cute."

Jadon and the Zucchini

2009-08-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

Click here for more.

Jadon Painting in His Skivvies

2009-08-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

Click here if you'd like to see more photos.

Dad and the Boys

2009-08-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's not what it seems. We were wrestling, and I was winning, with Ethan in a half nelson, when Jadon jumped on my head, Karleigh grabbed the camera, and said smile, so we did. Then with me distracted, the boys took me down.

Watering the Garden

2009-08-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

Asked Jadon last week if he wanted to help water the garden. I went out front where the faucet is to turn on the hose, while he got his shoes and hat and headed out back. When I got there this is how I found him. Click here to see one more (that' actually in focus).

Ethan Baby Blessing

2009-08-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

Two weeks back was Ethan's baby blessing. Nice duds. The slideshow has four similar photos (sorry, I hate when people do that, but you've been warned). Also in the slideshow are three other Ethan shots, one from almost a month ago, and two others from the day before the blessing.

Super Jadon

2009-07-29T22:13:00.001-07:00

Today: Jadon goes with Karleigh to the Doctor's office. While waiting he watches as an elderly man on crutches struggles to open the door on his way in. Super Jadon, with extraordinary powers of helpfulness, gets up and opens the door for the man. Some days he's two, and some days he's Super.

Beets

2009-07-17T18:57:00.001-07:00

Harvested these beauties the other day. If you're one of those who likes beets, you can read here about how I prepared them with orange sauce. Personally, I don't love beets, but it's a different taste that if prepared well, I could enjoy in small amounts a few times a year, just for the variety.

Three Boxes of Cereal, Two Bandages, and Jadon

2009-07-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

First Harvest

2009-07-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

The first real harvest from our garden. Could've pulled out 10-15 times this much, but wasn't that hungry. We have had a small cucumber, and a few tomatoes and a pepper, but nothing as significant as this first digging up of potatoes. Beats are ready to come up, but haven't pulled them yet. Maybe later today. After I kill my second batch of grasshoppers to get my quota of 50 squishes a day.

July 4th Water Balloons

2009-07-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

Karleigh filled up a huge cardboard box with water balloons, but Jadon ended up being the only kid around to play with them. He loved it.

Family Photo - July 11, 2009

2009-07-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

Edit: I noticed there's some extra room on the ends of the uncropped photos. If you think it would be good to crop this down, while still keeping the 2x3 aspect ratio, let me know and I'll make happen.

Click the photo to see all the photos taken.

Let me know if these are too dark. I was trying to strike a balance between the sun highlights and everything else.

Let me know if you want to print larger than 8x12 or 8x10 ( I will then up-resolution the photo to get a better quality print)

The original 2x3 aspect ratio of each photo is given in the gallery (click photo to see), followed by a cropped version (4x5 aspect ratio, which can print up to 8x10). I'd recommend printing at the original aspect ratio (e.g prints of 4x6 or 8x12) so as not to cut off the arms of the end people, but whatever floats your boat.

The question was asked if I would composite the best heads into one photo. Answer: depends. If each family picks their favorite photos for each person to include in the composite, AND if everyone pays to have it done, whether you pay for only your family's heads, or whether every family pays an equal amount. It's just too time consuming, and I can't afford to do it for free. If everyone wants to pitch in, I can afford to begin when I get payment.

Cost: $10 an hour, capping at $10 per head. So a head that takes 15 minutes will cost $2.50, and a head that takes an hour or longer will cost $10.

It's up to whoever wishes to take the lead on this to get in touch with everyone to see if everyone wants the composite.

You Thought Jadon Had Style

2009-07-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

This here photo is of Jack Clements, putting out the vibe even as he throws the runner out at second. It's no wonder that historian Al Glynn said that Clements "certainly was the best left-handed catcher in all baseball history." More about this photo here.

Yes, As A Matter of Fact I Did Teach Him Everything I Know

2009-07-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

...especially my keen sense of style.

"I like him."

2009-07-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Now, if he'd quit calling him "baby sister." But it makes me smile when he does. "He o cute." They both are. Often enough, anyway. Soon enough we'll be looking back to today and asking, "Memmer dat?"

Rainlow

2009-07-03T08:17:00.000-07:00

Rained pretty hard here the other day. Thought this low lying rainbow afterwards was pretty cool. Just so you know, this also means no Second Coming this year, just in case you were hoping.

Groin' up

2009-07-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, kids change fast. Every day even. Here's Ethan at a bit over one month old. That bottom one is a lie, like many photos are, except for the one on your driver's license. He doesn't really smile yet. Karleigh will swear he does on purpose at times, but Iiii don't thinkso. This was a blink of an smile I didn't even see until I saw the photo.

Then there's Jadon. He's approaching two and half years old now. (Crazy. Time does fly.) Next to the little rocking chair he likes to turn over and ride as a horse, use as a dog house, a boat, whatever, the orange couch is his favorite furniture toy.

Do you RSS?

2009-07-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

Do you? RSS has been around a while, and to date I haven't set up my own feed, or whatever it's called. I'm gonna do it, though. Soon here. Probably will use Google Reader. I'm on top of these modern communication thingamajiggies, I tell you what. Make it more convenient to go to one site to get up to speed on all the blogs I'd like to follow. Heck, maybe then I'll get around to reading all the fam blogs again, if anyone is still doing that. I know my immediate family has largely pooped out on the blogs. I hear facebook is all the rage these days. Probably will head over and sign up for that too. Soon here.

That other blog

2009-07-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

danielheywood.blogspot.com is alive. Wasn't sure it would pull through there, but it looks to be showing strong signs of recovery. It's presently a mishmash of stuff, although I currently intend to focus it a bit more on posts that fit within a visual creative topic. The last few posts show this refocus. Check it out if you'd like. If you do, feel free to comment on anything, like, tell me, do you like my hat?

Newest Heywood

2009-05-31T15:04:00.000-07:00

And you thought that when we do post, it's almost only ever about Jadon. Incorrect. Now it will also be about...

At approximately 2330 (that's 11:30 pm for you civilian types) on Saturday, May 30, 2009 Don Carlos Heywood was born in Nephi, UT.

I'm off to go return to the hospital with His grandma and grandpa Heywood and older bro Jadon, but will return and add more to the tale later tonight...

...Oaky doke. I'm back. Here's the required info:

7 lbs 5 oz, and 21"
--
Here's a link to more pics: click me!

Here's a direct link to the slideshow of the same pics: no, click me!
--
And here's the tale in brief. At around 6 pm o'clock or so Karleigh began taking note of contractions coming pretty consistently, fifteen minutes or so apart. She had had the same happen the night before, but they never got any closer together, and they stopped the next morning. But on Friday, by the end of the Cavs-Magic "game" here fifteen minute contractions became an average of about 3 minutes apart (sometime 2, sometimes 8). With Jadon it was 4-5 hours from the time of such shortly spaced contractions that he was born, so she said, "It's time to go." We left at about a quarter to 10 pm, and she was pushing by 11:15. Within the hour the kid was born. Birth date: May 30.

She and the little guy will stay the night at the hospital once more, and be home Monday morning.

For those who came to the hospital to see Jadon, rather than the new kid, but were disappointed that Jadon wasn't there when you were there (you know who you are), here's Jadon with his little bro:

Jadon is told that the baby came out of mom, and he gestures to her belly.

--
Note: Herein you will find there are a few more pics of the kid with his Heywood grandparents because their best camera was a phone camera (so I took more for them), while his Ashby grandparents had two camera cameras (counting Calixta's), therefore I left much of the pictcha taking to them. I haven't looked yet, but I wouldn't doubt if both Nate and Calixta, and The Ashby blogs already have pics up (see sidebar for links).

Funny Jadon

2009-05-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

Conversation between Karleigh and Jadon

Prerequisite information: Earlier today Jadon was playing with the dog, Rizzo, and Jadon came inside crying after he got bumped on his head as they played together.

[Later today, on the back porch, eating lunch]

Jadon: It cold.

Karleigh: Yeah, It's cold from the wind. I have goosebumps. You have goosebumps too.

Jadon: I have bump.

Karleigh: Where's your bump?

Jadon: Forehead. I got hurt.

Karleigh: How did you get hurt?

Jadon: Rizo. Tail. Bum piece wood.

Karleigh: [laughing] Rizo's tail is not a piece of wood.

Jadon: Tail hurt. Piece wood on bum.

two minutes later...

Jadon: [points to his bum] "I have bum." [He laughs] "I tease mom."

Jadon

2009-04-19T12:58:00.001-07:00

Jadon loves going to nursery because there are kids there, even though he doesn't really interact with them. He loves oranges, grapes and chocolate milk. Yesterday ate icecream with the Ashby Family after a family reunion, painted outside and went to the hardware store with his grandpa Heywood. He loved eating ice cream with the sample spoon at Pollie's Brain Freeze. He loved watercoloring and found that he loves the color sienna. He painted a snake, a sky and a tuba. And he picked up nails at the hardware store and said "ooh, pretty" so we are now working on teaching him different describing words. He is also interested in letters and words and likes to say the letter "k" and "m" but the only one he seems to really know is "B" so we'll be working on the alphabet as well. Jadon is also really excited for summertime and so are his parents because Jadon also likes to run.

Name That Kid

2009-03-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

Top names on my list so far follows, with the first two being full and complete names:

Lutus Maximus

Carl

Juke

Seamus

Mechalecca-hi-mecca-hineyho

Edward

Briefly

2009-03-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, not much to say. Still homeless. But the grandparents love getting lots of Jadon time. I posted over at my other blog about a photo shoot. More post(s) on that shoot to come. (If you're related to Haleigh Ashby and have some weird idea about not wanting to ruin surprises, you may not want to click over there. Otherwise, check it out if you're interested.)

Picture. Me. Yes.

2009-03-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

As I was snapping pics of Eric's birthday present Jadon asked for a shot of himself. (Yes, it is a tad out of focus. Shut up.) Let this post also serve as an "Oh, yeah, Jadon turned two last month, on the 13th." Cute little bugger, styling hair, chocolate face and all. How do you get that much chocolate on your face from two small bites of a mini Hershey's candy bar?

Past due

2009-02-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

Here're some pics from Christmas time last year. Grandma Heywood (me mother) made popcorn balls and Christmas cookies with the grandkids that were still around two days after Christmas. Great Grandma (me grandmother) came in and watched for some of the time and just beamed.

Slideshow

Visit to Joe and Brandi, Moab, Arches, and Canyonlands

2009-02-18T12:24:00.000-08:00

This weekend we went to Moab, dropped off by Mom and Dad Heywood as they went for a weekend stay in Torrey, Utah (near Capital Reef).

We hiked, talked late into the night, saw beautiful country, and had a good time. Mom and Dad came to Moab on Sunday, and we left on Monday.

James and Emmy, hiking Near Joe and Brandi's house, not far from Arches National Park

The panoramic at top is in Arches National Park, 10-15 minutes from Joe and Brandi's house. It's a four shot panoramic of the ancient sand dunes there. I'll soon be making a polished final image, as well as of some others I took from the same vantage point. For now, you may see the large version (width: 10k+) of the top image by clicking on it.

Karleigh, Jadon, and Brandi, hiking Near Joe and Brandi's house, not far from Arches National Park

On Monday morning Dad and I went to Canyonlands National Park, about 4o minutes from Moab. It was a landscape that begged for a wide angle lens, and all I had was my 70-200 (on a camera with a 1.6x sensor, if you know what that means). But I took some shots that I'll try to piece together to create a wide angle image, and perhaps share it later to show a bit of the awe inspiring landscape there.

Joe and Annie, bouldering in Arches National Park

Slideshow of all my people shots from the trip.

Gotta get back and do a real post here...

2009-01-22T13:17:00.001-08:00

..as it's been too long. Still have pics from Christmas to share, and such, and things. But here's a brief update: We are moving from Rexburg. Much of our stuff is down in Provo now, and while we look for a place to stay, we've been at Karleigh's parent's house. If we don't find someplace soon we may be asking you if we can stay at your place too, just to spread out the insanity amongst various friends and relatives :) We may, if all goes well, be soon moving into a place where we get free rent for Karleigh's nannying for a single mom. We'll see.

In the meantime, see my latest post at danielheywood.blogspot.com, in which I talk about an elephant.

It's that time of year...

2009-01-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

...where resolutions are made, only to be broken within a matter of weeks, if not days, or even hours. For any who wish their resolutions to stick, here are some suggestions for increased stickability:

Make sure it is attainable
Design it so it is measurable
Set a realistic plan for achieving it
Be accountable to someone for it

1. I might be able to realistically set a goal to put on 10 pounds of muscle in the next 6-8 months, but I know me, and if I were instead to set a goal to put on 25 pounds of muscle any time this year, that wouldn't be realistic.

2. I could set a "goal" to be nicer, but that wouldn't be measurable, and thus not really much of a goal. I'd have to design it such that my niceness is measurable, so that I could keep track of my progress. If my ultimate aim was to be nicer, I'd have to set goals of hugs given per day, or count the number of fist fights I get into each day (to find a baseline) and then reduce that as time goes by.

3. Part of this includes not setting too many goals all at once, because too many might very well be unrealistic to plan for. Make sure any goals you do set can be realistically worked in to the available time of each day, week, and month. In many cases, setting a goal will require cutting some other activity in order to make time for achieving your goal. If I want to read the standard works this year, I have to plan time for which to do it, which will require that I choose what other activity I am going to cut out to allow me time for my study. Some goals are complex, and will require a succession of steps to attain it, all which have to be planned out, with enough flexibility in your expectations to allow for setbacks or stalls or changes in your plans.

4. If you're married, discuss with your spouse what goal or goals you have, and have a daily or weekly accounting with him or her. If you're single, discuss with your parents (whether you live at home or not) your goal or goals, and have a daily or weekly accounting with them. Be sure the person who you choose to be accountable to has a genuine interest in your attaining the goal, or this step won't be much of a motivator to continue to work on the goal, but instead could actually be demotivating. If the goal isn't directly important to your "accounter," then explain how important it is to you, and why, and he or she may then be able to understand the importance to you and therefore have a desire to help encourage you to achieve your goal.

Honestly, these are pretty theoretical for me, but others have had success by implementing these (and often times other) principles in their goal setting.

Safety: Guns and Kids

2009-01-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

I know multiple people in the fam have guns, and I expect you're all careful about storing them and all, but I came across the following that might revamp your awareness if by chance some degree of casualness-due-to-familiarity has entered your gun storing habits. I just skimmed through and read parts that caught my eye. You might find it of interest. The entire article may be seen here.

Excerpt:

What if I've taught my kids not to touch a gun if they find one?
A number of studies [9], [10], [11], [12], suggest that even kids who are trained not to touch guns can't resist, and that parents have unrealistic expectations about their kids' behavior around guns. That's why parents are encouraged to keep guns unloaded and locked separately from ammunition , and to ask about guns at the houses where their children play. Here are links to the full text or abstracts of the studies:

I'm also going to close the comments, since this is one of those kinds of topics that can be ripe for contention. We don't need no steenking contention. Please feel free to email me directly with any comments.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T19:59:00.000-08:00

We went sledding a couple days ago, along with Joe and Eric, and Joe and Brandi's kids. It was Jadon's first time. I took him on three or four runs, the first time he came up crying (a bit scary maybe, or perhaps the snow spraying his face) but he came up smiling the second time, saying "snow" "face" and "jacket" over and over again, pointing out where the snow got him, amused by the spray in his face this time. Karleigh snapped the photos. Fun times.

More photos here.

Video here.

Even more photos here.

Back to life

2008-12-23T21:10:00.000-08:00

I brought my other blog back to life after many days of no posting. Beginning early this month, I set a goal to post at least once a week there. Maybe more, but no less. How relieving that is, only once a week. When I started that blog I put a vague, undefined pressure on myself to make it something big, or something. The "pressure" contributed to it's temporary demise. Now, with an easy peasy once a week deadline, it's fun. My most recent post, on December 23, is about some of my most recent work. Here's a sneak peak, one of two images I've worked on the last couple days:

Click the image above to see it larger. Click here to see the other image in this set.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention...

2008-12-22T22:55:00.001-08:00

...as of a couple weeks ago or so, I'm a college graduate, having earned a degree in Psychology. For a while it wasn't clear if I had to take two more credits to graduate, but the world's nicest person (I really think she might be) did some shuffling around of my credits, found two extras that could be plugged in to the slot that needed two, and voila, I'm graduated.

You know, it hasn't been all that long since I've been out of school, but I'm learning this real world stuff ain't for sissies. As burnt out as I am on school, I think I almost want back in. ...Nah! Not yet.

Elf

2008-12-19T08:32:00.000-08:00

"I'm a cotton headed ninny muggins."

A bit over a year ago...

2008-12-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

...we took some family pics at Thanksgiving, a rare time when we were all able to be together. *tear* I was cleaning up my hard drive today when I came across a couple images from that day I haven't yet passed along. This one here is what things looked like before I got into the heavy duty Photoshop work. There's a family resemblance evident in this image that I just can't quite figure out what it is. And the image below is, well, you can see what it is. You can see it even better if you click here.

For giraffe lovers

2008-12-18T11:28:00.001-08:00

This is for Calixta and other giraffe lovers. After you see that, it might be fun to also see this.

Karleigh breaks 100, I break one.

2008-12-16T20:09:00.000-08:00

Pretty nifty. She reaches 100 sales at etsy today, and she's actually now at 104. And I get my first real photo sale, a $50 print of the Grand Canyon. I had previously sold two postcards kind of as a mercy buy from someone, but they don't really count - long story, but that covers it well enough.

However, I have been featured in the gift guides at etsy twice, now, in the last month, thank you very much. Both longstitch journals sold. This one, and this one.

Hopefully some day such things will be routine enough that it won't be such a big deal, but for now, it's purty cool.

Time to liven up this blog

2008-12-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

Jadon again. So, my parents are boring. I mean, posting about books that not only don't have pictures, they don't even have words. Okay, so they're not always boring, as they play blocks with me, and read the same books to me over and over and over again (I like that), and let me stir sometimes when they're cooking sometimes. But sometimes, they're just boring, like when they sit in front of the computer all the time and won't let me touch the keyboard or watch my movies. So, to spice things up a bit I thought I'd post some pictures I took of myself in October. Dan left his lights and camera set up from a portrait session, and left me alone in the room for a couple minutes. So, this one's for all the little ladies out there:

If you want to see more (of course you do) click here. You'll also get to see the shots Dan took after the one's I took. They made me put my shirt on. Boring.

So it appears I make better books than...

2008-12-11T23:05:00.000-08:00

... I make pictures. The week before Thanksgiving I began making a few longstitch journals to put into Karleigh's etsy shop, but looks like I should have started making them sooner.

In the last five days seven long stitch journals have sold, going back to 12/7 for the first sale. (The longstitch are the rustic looking, folded leather journals.) Compare this with the number of sales here. One of my first listed journals was even featured in etsy's gift guides for Dads. This is a huge deal, as all the items in the gift guides are picked to be featured there by the etsy administrators, and there's a great increase in hits to the items and shops of anyone featured. The items are remain in the gift guide pretty much until they sell, which this one did today after being there since the end of Nov.

Karleigh, on the other hand, has sold well not just in the last few days, but over the last several months. Her work is quite good. Consider one of her latest custom orders here, and one of my recent favorites, a "Macbook" journal (which is an idea I sold someone on who was looking for a gift for her husband, and then Karleigh made it). Forget the photographs, I'll join forces with her to work on our evil plan to flood the world with handbound journals. Mwah, ha ha ha. (Sorry it's late.)

The window of increased sales will probably close here soon, but it's been fun the last few days.

Okay, gotta go make some books. After I eat a freshly baked cinnamon roll. Mmmmm, cinnamon roll.

Christmas list

2008-12-11T09:32:00.000-08:00

I told Karleigh all I wanted for Christmas was a house elf. That's it. Just one. Nothing more. But I've changed my mind. Now I just want this.

Tall

2008-12-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

Jadon here. So, my mom was too tired and Dan too busy to play with me, so I decided to make the blocks taller than me. Pretty cool, huh. Well, okay, so Dan actually stacked the wooden blocks, but I did all the colored blocks on the top. Except the last one because as I set it down the whole thing started to tip over until Dan caught it and got the last block to balance so it all stood up straight. Yeah, we're pretty cool. Oh, crud, here they come. I gotta go. They don't like it when I touch the keyboard.

improving emotional well being - Part 7

2008-11-19T14:45:00.000-08:00

[Edit: I added one sentence to the end of the first paragraph to clarify my intended meaning.]

If you do not have time or interest in reading this full post, at least please read these words of Elder Bednar which I refer to later in this post, applying his words to all your interactions, not only your interactions within the Church. I will refer to his words again later in this post, and would suggest to read them now, or later, but to read and ponder upon them sometime soon. Resist the urge (and it may be a strong urge) to apply his words to others, but instead apply them to yourself. Of course, you may think of someone who may benefit from understanding some or all of what follows, but exclusively applying these words to others without applying them to ourselves would allow us to miss out on making a change where we have power to make a change.

I have put this series of posts on hold and feel it pressing on me to write a bit more on the subject. These words are written to me, and I am confident that they will be also, to some degree, be written to you.

This will be put together quickly because making an effort to write well and thoroughly is a difficult and time consuming thing, and time and energy are short for me right now. So I will only endeavor to get the message across with a minimum of editing, and as briefly as possible.

At first glance many would not apply this to themselves, but instead consider how it may apply to others. But as you read, please consider it as possibly applying to you. Pretend, consider it a thought experiment, and place yourself as the intended listener. If you are human, some of this will apply to you to some degree, in some situations, on some days.

Here is the subject: Don't play the victim. There are many ways we play the victim: get offended, get depressed, sulk, complain, verbally or physically attack someone, to name a few.

Getting offended: if someone says or does something offensive, it does not follow that we must be offended. Rather than feeling hurt and acting in one or more ways that express our offendedness, we can choose to realize that the offender's words or actions are a reflection of his or her weakness, and therefore that person is worthy of our kindness and help rather than our being offended. Getting offended helps no one at all. It's also possible that the offender had no real intent to be offensive, and then our being offended is a doubly bad choice.

For many people, not getting offended is one of the hardest things to do. One helpful means of looking at such experiences is to realize that the Savior endured all such slights. Any unfairness that occurs by another person's action has been taken by the Savior so that we do not have to carry the pain of such things with us. We can release that hurt to him.

If you have fifteen minutes, preferably an hour to give time to pause and reflect, but if you have only fifteen minutes reading words of Elder Bednar may prove of value. They speak so directly to me, and perhaps to some of you. While he speaks of taking offense within the Church, I found it useful to apply his words to other relationships, such as work, school, and family interactions.

Getting depressed: Being depressed, by one school of thought, is a manner of interacting, not a condition. This idea suggests that being depressed is a choice. At this time I would suggest that depression may sometimes be chosen in response to offenses. This is a sensitive suggestion. But I know this territory as well as anyone who may be reading this, so please, if you have an inclination to reject this idea outright, consider my words carefully. I will be brief, too brief, but please consider it, ponder it, pretend it could be true and see if you might be able to apply this thought toward improving your own well being. Please do not consider this thought to be presented as an all inclusive explanation for depression, but merely one possible explanation for some depression.

Here's the thought, in brief. A person may choose to be depressed (sad, distraught, angry, upset, etc.) in response to a perceived offense. Why, you may say? Why would anyone choose to be so miserable? The answer is that it can remove that person from the responsibility for his or her own actions, instead trying to manipulate kindness and support from others. My being depressed removes my responsibility for myself and places it upon others. The depressed person does not realize this. It will be a choice chosen not with full awareness, but if made aware of this choice, the depressed person may, with that realization, make a change in his or her chosen behavior. If you are doubting this possible explanation, consider how many choices we make, not actively, but constantly due to our constantly engaged agency. For example, I get up, get ready and go to work, but don't choose to do these things in the moment I am doing them. I don't think the night before, okay, am I going to go to work tomorrow, or not? It is a choice that is made with a constantly engaged agency. Or this, someone cuts me off in traffic, and immediately I get angry and curse. I didn't stop to think, okay, I will now proceed to get angry at this driver, but the choice is made in the flow of my constantly engaged agency. I have power to choose to not become angry. In the same vein I have power to choose to be or not to be depressed. Sometimes we choose to be depressed (sad, distraught, angry, upset, etc.).

I listed a few more ways we may react when we choose to be offended, and will address the last one even more briefly than the two above. When we attack someone verbally or physically, it is tempting to think that our anger that leads to our attack is caused by the offender. Our anger, as well as our action, is always our own. We own it, and can not place that responsibility on the offender. Sometimes I call myself the victim (consciously or unconsciously) and attack the offender, the attack being described as protection against the offender. But in reality the attack is a lashing out to protect my pride, to save face, to show my strength as a victim of the offenders abuse against me. My attack is not out of love, out of concern for the well being of the other, although I may say it is. But it is apparent to third parties when the attack is really about myself.

Again, I refer you to Elder Bednar's words. If my words do not seem accurate, at least please consider his words, and ponder them, and apply them to yourselves, even if as a thought experiment, pretending that his words might apply to you. Consider them not only in Church interactions, but in family, work, and school interactions. If you are human, they will apply to you to some degree, in some situations, in some relationships, on some days. Resist the urge (and it may be a strong urge) to apply his words to others, but instead apply them to yourself.

Following Elder Ballard's Counsel, one small example

2008-11-16T09:21:00.000-08:00

I was reading an assignment from our stake presidency for preparing for today's stake conference, and a few verses (Helaman 13:26-29) had me thinking about the recent vote in California about marriage.

Feeling like I should participate in some way in the discussion, I google searched to find a forum on the subject, and first thing that came up was a video that I didn't watch but was a pro no-vote message.

There were some pretty nasty anti-LDS comments, and I posted my own reply to some of the comments that said that people do not choose to be gay, therefore it isn't wrong to act on it. The link to the video/comments is here, and my own comments follow:

"I agree that no one chooses to be gay, or to be more clear, to have attraction to people of the same gender. But that is not really the argument when discussing what is right or wrong regarding sexual behavior. As a heterosexual man I do not choose to have attraction to women, but I do have the responsibility to keep that attraction under control and not step outside the bounds of my commitment to my wife.

According to LDS beliefs, a single LDS member would have responsibility to keep his or her attraction within bounds of sexual abstinence until married. In this regard, it is not about choosing or not choosing which gender a person is attracted to, but rather choosing to follow what we believe God has revealed to be his will. Although I can not choose to not feel attracted to women who are not my wife, it does not mean it is correct to act on it.

For members of the LDS church, then, it isn't an argument about choosing what one has desires to do, but choosing to do what we believe God has revealed he wants us to do. If following and striving to live a life in accordance with the teachings Jesus, an LDS member might speak against an act of inappropriate sexual behavior, but will not deride or disparage the person who is struggling with the behavior or desires, whether those desires are homosexual or heterosexual."

Updates

2008-11-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

Daniel's still handsome. Karleigh's more beautiful. Jadon puts plastic spoons in the toaster and doesn't tell us. We've posted new things in our etsy shops (links to the right). Karleigh made lemon bars last night and Dan ate half the pan and got mad at Karleigh for doing such a thing to him. Jadon thinks it's funny to hide. He also thinks it's funny to mix his drink and food together. Daniel lost 43 hairs today. The unborn one recently lost it's tail. This post has a superfluous apostrophe, can you find it?

Click here for more photos from this series.

Search these things diligently

2008-11-02T20:02:00.000-08:00

I find the language of Isaiah beautiful, but often, very often, struggle as I read his words. What sources/commentaries have you found most useful in understanding Isaiah.

3 Nephi 23
1 And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.

2 For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles.

3 And all things that he spake have been and shall be, even according to the words which he spake.

The Mormon work ethic

2008-11-02T19:05:00.000-08:00

Oct 23rd 2008 | SALT LAKE CITY
From The Economist print edition

Why Utah’s economy is soaring above its neighbours

NOBODY knows quite how the contagion that broke out in Wall Street will affect the rest of America, nor how deep or how long the likely recession will be. What is certain is that some places will suffer more than others. So far Utah, a state best-known for Mormonism and pretty rocks, is looking unusually healthy. “We’ve got a lot to be proud of,” says Jon Huntsman, the governor. “Certainly more than many of our neighbours.”

...read more by clicking here.

So, those of you in Utah, what's your perception of the Utah economy? Is it presently good, or just relatively so?

Six is the new seven...

2008-11-02T15:34:00.001-08:00

...thank you daylight savings time. And Jadon, for being my cordless alarm clock.

Reflections of Christ

2008-11-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen this exhibit, it's beautiful. For me, the music isn't on par with the images, but it will do. The exhibit will be in SL at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building through Nov 7, and then on to Provo, somewhere, I think. It is also scheduled to appear in SoCal. Again, not sure when or where. I certainly hope to be able to see it in person (I didn't learn of it's being in Rexburg till after it was gone, grrr).

An article about it is here.

Debates

2008-10-20T22:26:00.001-07:00

Update: comments are not being moderated anymore, so comment freely (but nicely). And without bad words (so Emma doesn't reprimand you).

So I decided I'd better get a feel for the Presidential candidates, since it's almost time to pick one. (If there's anything I'm good at it's procrastinating.) I started by watching the last debate between Obama and McCain, and the debate between the VP hopefuls. If you haven't seen any of the debates, here they are in a nutshell:

First candidate: "You did such and such."
Second candidate: "No, I didn't."

Second: "You did such and such."
First: "No, I didn't."

First: "Your mate did such and such."
Second: "Yeah, but yours did, too."

All I can say after three hours of this is, "What the heck are you doing here Anne Shirley?"

(Note, I'll be moderating all comments just to keep things friendly, since this topic is ripe for contention. If your comment takes a side, or pokes fun at a side, but not both, then it's probable it won't be published.)

It's all down hill from here

2008-10-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

Jadon said "mine" the other day.

Kinda cool

2008-10-13T23:17:00.000-07:00

While looking around www.shophandmade.com to learn about it I came across a stock photo I sold. Surprised me to see it there. I sell a few photos on a stock photo site where a buyer can pay between one and twenty dollars for a photo, depending on the size. (Shhh, don't tell any of the "established" photographers I do this, they'll probably look down on me for it, and to be honest, half or more of me does too.) This particular photo has sold to date 23 times for a whopping total of $15.85 in royalties for me, so while it is one of my two highest sellers, it isn't a gold mine. I should brainstorm some photo ideas that might sell at the same or better pace and get a few dozen or more up for sale so these sales actually mean something financially. More money from this avenue would soothe my conscience a bit about selling at such a low price.

Click here to see the photo on the site. It's the third down on the left, squares of fabric on a cutting mat, with thread and scissors. If you want to buy it yourself (you know you do), you can do so here.

My newest purchase...

2008-10-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

...from K-mart. Clearance cart. $0.40. To see some of the ways that the Super Scraper has improved the quality of my life, click here.

Monkey face

2008-09-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

Karleigh taught Jadon to make a monkey face today.

Updates

2008-09-19T08:45:00.000-07:00

Long time, no blog. Here're some updates:

Daniel: Mostly takes care of the little tyke, who turned 19 months old last week. (As a side note, Daniel turns 377 months next week.) On the side, he takes reference photos for Rett, shoots portraits, and today will take photos of a local artist's work to make prints from.

Karleigh: Takes care of the little tyke, makes books, is preparing for an art show at the Eccles Center with her Dad and Grandma early next year, is an art agent, a blogger, a cub scout leader, and a Mary Kay consultant. I probably missed something, and if not she'll add something to the list today by noon. So, if you would like a free facial, or wish to purchase some eye shadow, lip gloss, or some truly killer skin care products, giver her a call.

Jadon: Grows like a weed, gets really cute and fun at bed time just to make it hard to put him to bed, went out the door with two frisbees in hand calling out "Dad" as he looked up and down the street (after Daniel had left to play with some friends), goes to nursery and gets sick and brings it home and makes his dad sick, says "bike" and "truck" 73 times a day each, gets really mad if his mom wakes up with him in the morning instead of dad waking up with him in the morning, got really picky about what he eats lately, thinks he's pretty funny, and other stuff.