Peeping Toms and House Sneaks

I stayed up pretty late last night, so by the time I woke up today it was around 11-it was very nice. However, I woke up to a peeping tom! Actually, 9 of them to be exact. Then they called their buddies.....and I ended up with 28 eyes peeking into my windows! I thought Eric and I moved out of town to not have to put curtains up-haha. I was talking to my mom on the phone and I noticed a herd of deer across the street. By the time I got off and put in a load of laundry I came out and they were no where to be found. I thought it was a little strange, but soon enough I saw a little head poking out of the area where our walkout basement is. They had all congregated there for a little drink and shade. I grabbed my phone to take a photo and went outside. They moved, but one stopped on the opposite side of the retaining wall and poked his head up to watch me. After I went back in I grabbed my camera and moved to my room to see if they were over there, sure enough they were and they stayed there for about an hour while I got ready-watching the whole time to make sure I wouldn't come through the window and get them. It was pretty funny to see them so interested in our house and windows-waiting to see if anything was going on. I also had a bird try to fly in to the bathroom when I was in there this morning, and the most amazing bluebird fly right next to me and perch on our porch when I was watching the deer. God really has made some of the most amazing creatures. It's times like these that I am grateful I live in such a beautiful and remote place!! Lastly, here are a few sneaks of the house-rugs in the spare bedrooms, the spare bathroom, and the living room. I should be ordering my bed this week so soon we will have it more decorated and pictures up and I will post more. (Check out my new photography post below)
Pleasant peepers to all my friends!
Liz

Love These Kids!

I adore these kiddos! I was there for the first 2's births and up until we moved for all the important life milestones. It has been hard to be away from them and my family, and not be able to have the same experiences with Mara that I did with the older 2. Luckily I get to spend quality time with them when I go home for visits. I took these photos a couple months ago and have finally gotten enough time to edit them!! It was a fun shoot because I had new props and backgrounds! Paige is finally in to the camera so she wanted to do all sort of things (like go outside in the freezing cold) and pose in all sorts of places. Maybe she'll be a budding photographer soon :0). Mara wasn't so sure about the camera...but did pretty well. The most exciting thing about my photography is that I am upgrading my camera and lenses-so I should have a lot more capabilities soon. I am also hoping to get a mini studio in our house so I can shoot year round! Anyways, I played around a lot with these-since she's my sister I can take liberties like that-haha. Enjoy and you can see more @ http://www.simplemomentsphotographybyliz.blogspot.com/.
Sugar bribery for all my friends!!
Liz

Love This Girl!

This lovely lady is my cousin Kristine, and we have grown up together since we were in diapers! I was so excited for her when she got married! It was true to her style very low key and fun! They (meaning some of people waiting and threw snowballs at her)had an impromptu snowball fight when they excited the temple. Her being the softball pro and good natured girl took it in stride and promptly returned the favor! I took some shots at her wedding that you can see on my photography website (http://www.simplemomentsphotographybyliz.blogspot.com/). As I was editing photos I started remembering stuff from our past. It's funny being grown up and still remembering all the funny things we did as kids. I remember going one time to pick her up at her house (that used to be our house-we sold it to them when my dad went back to school-and then we moved into the apartment they were in behind my grandparents house) and she didn't want to come swimming because she said I was bossy. No offense Krissy, but you should see you with your brothers-haha, totally kidding-kind of. Anyways, we did lots together until they moved to Boise. I remember visiting there for an Easter egg hunt and in the summer. I also remember late night games outside with her friends when they moved to Idaho Falls-felt the wrath of Steve and Kathy one of those nights too, haha. Living in my bedroom in college-trundle bed delight, right? Trying to find parking spots on the way to institute...Great times together! Miss and love you cuz!!! Hope to see you soon!
Happy memories to all my friends!
Liz

Miracles Happen

This is my little cousin Tell, and he is proof that there are angles among us that make miracles happen daily. While my parents were here this weekend we found out that Tell had been in a pretty serious rollover on his way home from Pocatello. They are still not sure of all the details, but they do know that he was partially out of the sun roof of the car when it landed. The car landed on his head, and miraculously enough there were amazing people right there that pulled the car off of him. As far as they know right now the only broken bone he has is a small fracture in one vertebra (that they are not really worried about). They are still doing testing to make sure everything is okay since he was without oxygen for an extended time period. For all intensive purposes things should have been worse then they are. My brother was doing a search on rollovers on I-80...hardly any of them ended without tragic deaths occurring. This has helped me to understand even more the power of God in our lives.

I know God heard all of the prayers that were said on behalf of this amazing young man. I know that he has a larger purpose awaiting him here on earth. I know that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are active participants in our daily lives. I don't doubt for one second that God knows all, and that our life is truly in his hands. I am so grateful for him, and I am so grateful that Tell will be okay. It just helps me realize even more how fragile life is.

It made me think: I SHOULD cherish every moment, even though I sometimes don't. I SHOULD find joy in the journey, even when trials get me down. I SHOULD let people know how much they mean to me, even though I sometimes get caught up in drama and hold grudges. I SHOULD get over it and not sweat the small stuff-LIFE IS about the bigger picture. I have been thinking lately about a motto for the year. I think mine this year is going to be 'BE'. For being me...living genuinely, living a more Christ centered life, letting go of things that stop me from being who I am meant to be-stuff, grudges, people, fears, doubts, ect.

I know Tell might have a rough road ahead of him for a little while...but he is a fighter, from an amazing family of fighters. They've been through struggles before, and handled it with the utmost dignity and lots of laughter-I think that's important. They are an amazing example on how I could better handle my trials. I am so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel and for the amazing examples that I have who live it around me daily.

A dose of laughter and Gods love for all my friends!
Liz

My Life In Photos...

This is what we have been up to lately...one wedding-one funeral...basketball & more basketball. Soon it will be house & more house. Spring break will consist of painting and unpacking-finally!! We have been sooo busy with basketball and life, but we have been enjoying it none-the-less. I have still have tons of photos to edit...but this is a sneak peek of what's to come. Check out my photography blog to see more soon. Thanks for all of your input on the beds-I ended up buying the last bed in photos tonight. I also got 2 more rugs for the house and white nightstands for our room. The lamps I ordered finally came in and I love them...I can't wait to put it all together-soon, very soon!!
Time to catch up for all my friends!!
Liz

Pinedale Boys Basketball 2010

The Pinedale boys basketball team were the West Wyoming Regional Champs this year....which sent us on to state in Casper. The boys played great for their first game to beat out Rawlins in over time by 5 points. The semi-finals game was a little more rough around the edges. They had a chance to pull it out a few times, but it didn't go (with little help from the refs-but I guess bad calls should be expected). We ended up losing by 7-it was heartbreaking to see those boys faces- they have worked so hard to be state champs this year. Overall they had a wonderful season and I am so proud of them!! They ended up 3rd in the state. They have been so fun to watch...they are so captivating!! Here are a couple shots that I have gotten to since we have been back. The 2 boys are some of the best point guards in the state. The other is a celebration after they were regional champs. The other photo is of the boys wearing their retro warm-ups they found, the coaches promised them that they could wear them if they made it to regionals...they were super excited. Too bad they didn't make it to state or the coaches would have been in green/orange/white tuxes...I guess there's always next year.

New Camera

This site has some seriously cool camera bags and they are giving away a camera!! I am sooo needing a new one that we are currently checking in to. If you want to see what it's all about check it out here:
www.haveanepiphanie.com

BTW-I am thinking of selling my camera...if anyone is interested let me know. It's a Canon Digital Rebel-it's one year old and I have some accessories and lenses for it.