I Heart Faces: Back to School Challenge

It was a tough call to choose my favorite back to school image from my kids back to school photo sessions, but I think this one of my first grader fits the bill.

Click the logo above for more back to school photo fun!

Mommy and Ethan

I was challenged to take some photos of me with my kids after reading a blog post about the "missing mom" syndrome when mom is always behind the camera.  I'm actually not that camera shy, but taking a self portrait is NOT easy!  Especially when you try to do so with a 3 year old!

So tonight Daddy and Gracie went to their first Girl Scout meeting and Ethan and I were left home.  That's happened a lot lately since school started and Grace is gone all day.  I told Ethan we could make cookies together this evening as a treat and he also wanted to make tea together.  While I was steeping the tea and in between batches of shortbread cookies I remembered my camera.  So here we are, in the midst of baking cookies in our cluttered kitchen on our dirty floor using natural light from our sliding glass door after 7pm when there's not much to be had.  But this is us, and our real life and I love them even though they are far from perfect.  The focus is off on some because Ethan was more excited about running to check behind the camera with me then staying put for me to focus on.  The first photo is actually one of my favorites and I almost deleted it because it was a mistake.  Love it anyways!

Fun in Idaho

Since I finally finished editing July's photos I've got a bunch to share and catch you all up with our busy summer!  Today I'm sharing some more photos from our trip to Idaho.  I shared the rodeo photos but this time I'm sharing the other fun stuff we did during rodeo week.  We packed a lot into our week trip!

 We visited the Boise Zoo with everyone in tow (including Jim!) though David had to dash out early to meet someone at HP so he missed the butterfly exhibit.  That was honestly the best part of the zoo trip, the butterflies were beautiful!  We stood in there for a long time and all of us had a butterfly land on us at one time or another.  Oma seemed to be the most popular with the butterflies!  Grace sat so patiently holding her fingers out in hopes that a butterfly would deem her attractive enough to land on, but to no avail.  Just before we were ready to leave the butterfly exhibit one landed on her hat which made her happy.  She was a little miffed she couldn't see it though!

We spent an hour one afternoon visiting David's grandparents and brought along some entertainment.  The adults all sat on the front porch in the shade and watched the kids (and Daddy!) squirt each other with water guns.  It was pretty entertaining and we all cooled off so it was a good idea.  Grace really loved getting wet, although Ethan was a little less enthused about getting squirted.

 

 We always enjoy rodeo week but it's always a very tiring week and a quiet trip home.  This year David flew from San Diego to Boise (work trip) and the kids and I drove by ourselves to meet him there.  We left the house at 8am, dropped the cat off at my mom's house is Sherwood (the dog came along for the whole trip), and made it to Nampa at dinner time.  We stopped in Portland at the Ferrari dealership for a photo for my scavenger hunt and also took the scenic route to stop at Multnomah Falls for fun.  It was a long drive but our kids are awesome travellers.  We didn't even pop in a movie, instead we rocked out to Mommy chosen tunes (wahoo!) and chit chatted.  I haven't done that long of a trip by myself in a long time and it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

Snake River Stampede Rodeo 2011

So I'm a little behind.  At least I'm working on catching up!  Tonight I finished editing all of my personal July photos (other then Grace's 6 year photo session).  That was a bunch of photos to go through!  I thought I'd share some of my favorite rodeo photos from the Snake River Stampede rodeo this year.  If you know us then you know that this isn't my kids first rodeo.  In fact even the little guy has been to more rodeos then many adults I know.  This year the kids made it to the end of the rodeo almost every night which was a big change from past years.  I think the steady supply of sugar from Opa and Oma was a big motivating factor.  Having your Opa be in charge of concessions does come with some perks, one of which is sour cotton candy.  Haven't tried that particular variety?  Well let me just warn you to stay away from the sour watermelon (seriously, heed this warning!) but the sour grape wasn't too bad. 

I have many more photos to share from our Idaho trip this year but I'll save that for another post since this one will be long enough.  Here's my favorites, bearing in mind that I only took my camera to the rodeo once and that was only to take photos of us watching the rodeo and not the rodeo itself.  I realized years ago that attempting to photograph a rodeo with a child or two on your lap is just not a good idea so I've given up trying until my children are old enough to NOT jump up and down on me.

 First up is my little cowboy.  Why yes he is wearing the exact same outfit (hat was a little snug but we made do!) as last year.  It still fits and it's cute!  And since I'm not 100% sure I actually blogged last year's rodeo photos you all don't know the difference.

And here's the rodeo princess.  Doesn't she look so grown up?  I'm still in shock she agreed to smile for me without looking like a cheeseball.

And here we are increasing the difficulty level by attempting a photo of both children at once.  Score one for Mommy with eye contact from two hard to pin kiddos!

 

And here we have the classic Big Sister maneuver as she "helps" me get a photo of her brother.  So sweet.

 

Uncle Sam and his namesake.

 

Now I'm really getting crazy with the jellybeans.  A photo involving two small children, Sam Parry, and an excitable small dog.  Somebody make me some Sploosh.  

 Daddy hanging out with us for a little bit in the stands.

Grace practiced writing her numbers by writing the cowboy's scores on the daily each night.

 The kids' first drink in a bar courtesy of Uncle Sam.  For the record, it was a Shirley Temple and was in the Rodeo Club right above the arena. 

We've been married 10 years? Really? Really!

Ten years ago this morning I was spending a relaxing morning preparing for our afternoon wedding.  I remember I took a bath in my parent's large soaking tub, read a little, and soaked in the quiet before heading to the church.  I spotted the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile on the way and I knew it was a good sign.  Friends did my hair and makeup and my Mom helped me into my borrowed dress.  David and I chose to see each other and do all the posed photos before the wedding (something I encourage every bride to do!) which helped keep our nerves calm.  I remember goading each other not to cry and the feel of David's hands holding mine firmly.  I am not a person who relishes the spotlight but I don't think I even noticed the rest of the people at the ceremony because I was so focused on David.  My good friends Kay and Anna both sang beautifully and we released doves (or tried to, it was sweltering hot and the birds had to be practically thrown out of the basket!) right before we left the church in a cloud of bubbles.  Our brothers took us for a spin through the Dairy Queen drive thru where my brother chivalrously bought us a Blizzard that we ate while waiting for everyone else to arrive at our reception location.

10 years.

Looking back I wonder at how young we were and how much growing we each had to do.  I had just turned 20 and David was newly 21.  We were in the middle of college, we planned our wedding date to be as close to the end of summer as possible (to make as much money working summer jobs as we could!), and also give us time to go on a honeymoon and set up house before school started.  By luck we were able to share David's grandparents 55th wedding anniversary (Happy 65th to Delbert and Fern Parry!) which is special to us.

Our first two years of marriage were spent in Moscow, Idaho finishing college.  We lived in a tiny 450 square feet "apartment" (I use the term loosely) literally across the street from campus.  The Engineering Physics building and David's Computer Science classes were all within sight of our front door.  Our home became the hub for many of David's friends to spend time playing video games between classes since we were so convenient.  David graduated with his BS in Computer Science and BA in History in December 2002 and I finished my BFA in Interior Design in May 2003.

We moved to Salem , Oregon the week after I graduated with no job prospects but a sense of adventure.  David was enrolled to begin classes for his MBA at Willamette University in August but for the first few months we were unable to secure jobs of any kind and so we practiced being retired.  We've very good at being retired: we perfected our bocce technique, ate dinner early to watch Jeopardy every night, and went to bed early with nothing to do.  We had no cable, no internet, and lived a very spare existence and knew nobody in town. 

I finally landed a job the same week David started school and worked three different jobs (some overlapping) to support us while David spent two years at Willamette.  I found out I was pregnant with Grace the day after Thanksgiving 2004 and she was born July 30, 2005.  David was able to meet us at the Salem Hospital for my midwives appointments because Willamette University is only across the street which worked out well for us since we only had one car.  We bought our second vehicle right after David graduated and before he started to work at Hewlett Packard in Corvallis.  We shared our Ford Escort station wagon for four years before that point.  We couldn't make sharing a car work with David driving to Corvallis every day, a 45 minute drive one way.  In the ten years we've been married we have both worked full time regular jobs for six weeks. 

We bought our first house in spring of 2006 and moved to Dallas, Oregon which is where we still are.  My brother, Brian, lived with us for the first year we lived in our new home.  He was attending Western Oregon University at the time which is only 10 minutes from our house.  It was actually good timing because I was pregnant with Ethan during six months of his stay with us and I couldn't cook/deal with food for much of that time so Brian fed us all and helped me out with Grace during the day when he wasn't at class.

That brings us to today.  We've packed a lot in to the last 10 years and have grown a lot.  We've finished 4 college degrees, had 2 kids, bought 1 house, worked 9 jobs, owned 4 vehicles, moved 3 times, and have made countless 7+ hour car trips.  I've learned a lot from all those things but the biggest thing I've learned is that marrying David was the best decision I've ever made.  He is the kind of man I hope our son grows up to be and I thank God for him every day.  I never pictured myself as the kind of girl that gets married young and finds joy in domestic bliss, but meeting him turned my world upside down and I'm the better for it.

And because I don't think I'm capable of not posting a thousand photos, here's a photo walk down memory lane:

 First year of dating in Moscow, Idaho 1999

 Dancing together at a Scholars Residence Party 2000

Our first apartment (i.e. The Shoebox) and car (white station wagon)

 Inside our first apartment.  View from the front door, we're standing in the "kitchen".

 Setting up our first home the weekend before our wedding

 We got married in a beautiful church in Gresham, OR

Our first dance

 Our first anniversary Canoe Trip Disaster.  Do NOT attempt to canoe Lake Couer d'Alene! 2002

David's graduation from the University of Idaho 2002

 

My graduation from the University of Idaho 2003

 I actually am not quite sure what year this is but I think 2003?  At the Rodeo!

Building a sand castle at the beach in 2004

 David's MBA graduation in 2005 (I'm pregnant with Grace)

At Dominic & Melinda's wedding with two week old Grace

Our 5th wedding anniversary August 11, 2006

The Super Parry Family just before Ethan was born

Rocking out on Rock Band (what you didn't know I have mad drumming skillz?!) Christmas 2007

Family portrait (by our wedding photographer) in 2008

Our family in 2009 (photo by Alysun Peters)

The four of us (well, three of us plus Thor) Mothers Day 2011

Happy 10th Anniversary Sweet Pea!  Looking forward to the next 10!

Grace has a loose tooth!

So I realize I'm a bit behind on blogging, but July is really a crazy month for us and I'm just now coming up for air.  I thought I'd share this little video I just took 30 minutes ago of Grace talking about her loose tooth we just discovered.  She is so excited about it she wanted me to call all her friends so she can tell them about her loose tooth.  Since I'm sure their Mommies would much rather not have calls about loose tooths just before bedtime I am posting this video for you all instead.

(never mind the cat fight in the background...our cats just looooove each other)

Photo Scavenger Hunt Fun!

This month I've been participating in a photo scavenger hunt put on by my favorite photography website Clickin Moms.  The kids and I have driven all over the place to find oddball and obscure items to cross off our list.  As of the writing of this post I am up to 164 items found which is about halfway through the list.  I've just about exhausted all my resources so now I'll be bugging all my friends and family between here and Idaho so look out!

Here's a list of some of the items I'm currently on the lookout for.  If you have any of the items and you're willing to let me come over and photograph please let me know!  If you know where I can find some of these that would also be a big help.  Thank you!

"No Shoes No Shirt No Service" Sign
3 Legged Dog
4 Leaf Clover
A "Where's George?" dollar bill
A Tattooed man on a pink bicycle
Adult in footie pjs
Adult on roller skates
Adult twins
An acid washed skirt
An El Camino
Animal with 2 different colored eyes
Billboard with a camera on it
Blooming Cactus
Bottle of Dom Perignon 2002
Candy Corn
Castle
Covered Bridge
Curling Stone
David Hasslehoff Poster
Delorian (the real car)
Dog with blue eyes
Euro
False Teeth
Ferrari
Green fire hydrant
Heart shaped swimming pool
Log Cabin
Man in powder blue tux
Man with a handlebar mustache
Misspelled Tattoo
Mullet (the hairstyle)
Pachinko Machine
Person with 2 color eyes
Person with a purple cast
Pink Suitcase
Prickly Pear Cactus
Rubberband Ball
Someone wearing false eyelashes
Someone wearing a sumo wrestler suit
Stork bite
Tadpole
Tarot cards
Triplets
Troll Doll
Turkey Wishbone
Two $2 bills
Ukulele
Unicycle
Whoopie cushion
Windmill
Zero candy bar

Amusing Items I've already crossed off my list:
Car with 2004 Election Bumper Sticker
House numbered 123
Worker at a Drive Thru Window
Zebra print thong underwear
Blue lipstick
Someone jumping in a pool with clothes on
Pie Eating Contest
Slurpee
Person with a gold tooth
Ferris Wheel
Grown Man on a pogo stick (my husband must love me!)
Cat on a leash (Boo now hates me)
Adult in a tutu (yep I squeezed in one this morning)