DONE!

I somehow managed to blog the entire month of November, thus completing NaBloPoMo 2009
Hooray :)

Dont forget, today is the last day to enter for your chance to win 1 of 2 gifts Im giving away tomorrow! You can go here to enter, good luck!

Tragedy in Lakewood::

Early this morning a city not far from where I live, was completely turned upside down. 4 police officers were tragically gunned down while catching up on work at a local coffee shop. It was an obvious ambush and the suspect fled on foot. From what it sounds like, they have a person of interest and other police agencies are coming together to find this suspect quickly.

Not only do I have friends that knew one of the officers very well, but a friend from church was working at that very coffee shop this morning. We are all praying for her...and the rest of the people that had to witness such a horrible act. I also ask that you pray for the officers familes, which combined, have 9 children. I hope justice comes to the shooter and peace will be with those affected by this tragedy.

RIP::

Tina Griswold


Ronald Owens


Mark Renninger


Greg Richards

Black Friday Fun!!:

Steven and I joined in the madness yesterday day morning and woke up very early to join the hundreds of people already in line! We were successful in buying all of the doorbusters we were looking for and are so thankful for our parents who took both kids for the weekend! It made shopping so much easier and so much fun! It was as if we were back in high school, roaming the malls together like we did when we were dating! Here are most of the stores where we marked our territory!

Score!::

First of all, I hope you all had a delightful Thanksgiving with the ones you love! I have so many things to be thankful for this year as Im sure we all do! I am thankful for our health and that we have yet to come down with any illnesses this year, I am also so very thankful for my husbands constant employment in an tough economy and I am so thankful for my amazing family.. not only am I blessed with wonderful parents, but awesome in laws as well! Whats even better, is that they both get along so well, which allows us to be able to do every holiday together as one! It makes is so much easier! We had a wonderful afternoon at my parents house, the food was delicious and our tummies are full. We watched football while the kids entertained us :) now, our house is quiet, Steve is putting in some recessed lights while I listen to Christmas music and make my plan of attack for the morning. Each set of grandparents took one of our kids so we could go by ourselves in the morning, such a blessing!! It looks like we've got a date with Target at 3am, wish us luck! :)

I just wanted to give anyone a heads up who was looking to go to Best Buy tommorrow morning, that I was able to get what I was looking for ONLINE..which was around 9:00pm, you might want to hurry though because I noticed things were already starting to sell out. I also got free shipping as well. So now, instead of having to wake up at 3am, I get to go to Target instead :)

Free Photobook::

I have already gotten 3 of these guys tonight!

-First of all, I went here: http://www1.photoworks.com/

-Then, I uploaded the pictures I wanted to use.

-Next, I began to create a "photobook" (located on the bottom left hand side) They should be size, 8.5 x 11 I chose the "personalized cover photo book"

-Once my book was completed, I "checked out" and entered: "BONNIE" into the coupon area.

-Not only were my books free, but they even covered the cost of shipping! Both would have cost over 50.00!



*I made each book on 3 separate orders, but...I was able to do them all under 1 account.

New "do" ::

Last week, I called my good friend Sheena because I was desperate to get a haircut for the holidays! Thankfully, she was also in need of family pictures so it worked out perfectly! Im pretty sure it has been almost a year since I last had it done!! Granted, Im still getting used to having short, thinner and soft hair again, but boy, do I love it! She also added some caramel and dark red streaks all over too! I dont know why I didnt do this earlier!! Here is a quick picture Steve took of me tonight...

Before::


After::


*I also have bangs, but am still "training" them to fall straight and no longer the right side, where they have been "living" the last 18 months!

Thank you so much Sheena!
(I forgot to mention that she is adorably 25 weeks pregnant and I have the honor of photographing her birth in March!!!!!)


If you'd like her phone number, just shoot me an e-mail and I'll send it your way! She works up in Enumclaw :)

The Trifecta::

I have been so spoiled in the last 3 days...today, I wrapped up day 3 of my "baby extravaganza!" and couldnt go without posting a teaser of this little guy! Meet Lincoln :) this 6 week old cutie joined the D family last month in October! His mom and and dad are good friends of ours and I had a blast with them today! More pictures coming soon!

Been Busy...

...but there's nothing else I'd rather be doing then spending a little time with this little angel! Have I mentioned how much I love what I do? :) My goodness, how can you not have baby fever after holding her??

Cuteness:: Sneak peak!

I have to show off this little cutie! I met with her and her family today up in Buckley! It was so much fun and she did amazing! We fought through the rain and thankfully, it only lasted minutes...I am so excited to finish editing all of these but for now, I will leave you with this!

......Big Big News!!!

I can't quite announce it yet, because its in the works as we speak...but it's huge!! Eeekkk!! Please pray this door opens up for me!!!

Thank you!

Back to figuring out details!!

Happy Birthday Babe!!

Today (Thursday) we celebrated Steve's 29th birthday! The kids and I had a lot of fun shopping for his presents! Since Jacob went poop on the toilet again, he got to pick out another candy which made it even more exciting! We even got to pick out some fun doughnuts! We took him out to dinner at Sakuras (our favorite restaurant) and our best friends Suzie and Andy came too! It was a lot of fun and the kids managed to keep us quite entertained. Afterwards, we went to Hancock Fabrics where I found 3 adorable backgrounds for the studio all for 30.00! What mans birthday is not complete without a visit to Home Depot? (Thank you Suzie and Andy!) we bought some stuff to make my background stand tonight! My talented husband put it together in record time! Now we can check that off the list! We ended the night watching yet another great episode of "Survivor" together!

...and I seriously think that I might be the only person in my neighborhood, not at a movie theater right now :) but I am anxious to hear how the movie was! Have fun my friends :)

G'nite and Happy Birthday Steven! We love you soooo much, thank you for being such an amazing Husband and Father to your family!!

Wordless Wednesday!

Jacobs 3 year picture!



Naked Norah!

zzzzzzzz......

I procrastinated my post tonight; therefore, Im really sleepy and can't think straight.
Here are some highlights of the day...
Got my speed light in the mail (it was partially broken) boo!
Went to a great MOPS meeting this morning
Took some adorable pictures of miss Adelynne
Suzie and Andy came over and we played "Loaded Questions" again
Suzie brought over some delicious cookies!
(*you know I couldnt go without mentioning food in this post)

..speaking of food, I actually cooked dinner!! (That's big news in our house)

and I'll end this on that happy note!
G'nite :)

Welcome to Washington...

"...try not to blow away" is what I told my uncle tonight as he arrived at our place from Mexico!

He actually lives in Alaska but spends a good chunk of time down south to stay warm. I don't blame him...he said when he left it was in the 90's but with over 90% humidity, no fun. He grew up in Seattle and is no stranger to this kind of weather, but my goodness, it sure is windy and rainy out there! My best friend Katie and her sister Kristin came by today and brought me a delicious lunch from Taco Del Mar, it was very good! I am so excited to shoot Kristin's engagement pictures at the end of the month (not to mention, the wedding in July!) We are having a lot of fun going over ideas :) after they left, I put the kids down for naps and did some housework. I got a call from my mom a few minutes later telling my my uncle was in town and wanted to take us to dinner! It was a nice surprise! He hadnt seen our new house since we moved and so we met everyone at our place to give him a tour. From there, we headed up to Black Angus where we enjoyed some amazing steak, salad, potatoes, strawberry cheesecake and more! I. must. find. a. gym. :) I feel like I just had Thanksgiving dinner. It was a great evening out with family and the kids did really good. Thankfully, they are now at the age where we can take them out in public and enjoy our meal! Its been a long time coming! :) When we got home, we put the kids to bed and watched "17 Again", we both really enjoyed it! I give it 2 thumbs up!
Anyhoots, I've got a busy day tomorrow...
Gotta get some zzzzz's while I can! :)
G'nite

Oh, what a night! (and day)

I thought yesterday was busy, today was also no exception! I am exhausted. Both emotionally and physically. We all went to church this morning and it felt so good to be back! Unfortunately, I had to leave a little early for a shoot that brought me up to Kenmore! We ended up going to Lake Washington and it was stunning! I must admit, I have never been there before, and the views of the gorgeous houses on the lake blew me away! It was a bit blustery but I think we got some great shots! From Kenmore, I went back to my place just with enough time to watch the Seahawks lose in the 4th quarter (sigh) next year boys, next year.
It wasn't long after that, that I had to get ready for a long anticipated ladies night at the Sephora in Southcenter. A friend of ours was able to get the place to ourselves for the entire evening! Not only did they provide food, great music and awesome make-up artists, but they also sent us home with gift bags! Ya know..like what a celebrity attending an event would bring home? :) I wasn't sure if I was going to make it up tonight, but boy am I glad I did. I was feeling pretty low this evening after some things were said about me. I was in need of a pick me up, and thanks to some pretty special girls, I was able to forget about the necessary stresses in my life and move on! It is truly a blessing when God puts good people in your life at just the right time and I have no doubt He brought these people to me tonight! Friends lift you up and love you for who you are. I. am. so. blessed and am ready to move on and celebrate life with those who genuinely care about me.

Enough with the drama, life's too short!

I hope you all enjoy your week!!
G'nite :)

Fun Day!!

The kids and I had a great time together today! Steve headed out early to spend some time with the guys from our church at a 1 day retreat. From what I was heard, the speaker was very good and the fellowship was awesome!! He even brought home a brand new basketball for winning the free throw competition they had! (Way to go honey!) While Steve was out today, I arranged some pictures with the kids at Windmill Gardens in Sumner! I am so excited to see how they turned out! From there, we went to celebrate the 1st birthday of Miss Keeley! She is special to us because her mom and dad are great friends of ours :) It was a lot of fun seeing all of our friends together again! We came home where the kids had a short nap but apparently, that's all they needed because their batteries were recharged and we were ready to hit the road again (this time Steve was home to help out!) We went to Joanns where we bought some foam and some darling fabric to create the cushion needed to complete our window seat for the studio. I really like the fabric we picked out and I'll be sure to post pictures asap! We then headed over to Target for our bi-weekly visit to stock up on a few things as well as pay a visit to the little girls clothing aisle :) I got 2 cute shirts for just 2.50 each! Whoo hoo! By the time we were done, we were all ready for some food, so we went across the street to Red Robin (mmm....) I had the most amazing fish and chips ever! I love that place, especially since we didnt have to pay for the kids food! Thanks to a good friend of ours, she gave us a stack of coupons for free Kids Meals! All in all, it was a busy day, but just as successful as it was tiring! I am looking forward to a night of relaxing and watching "17 Again"...I hope it's as good as "The Illusionist" was!

G'nite!

Detour:

I decided to shift today's post over to the photo blog :)
I'll be back tomorrow for our regularly scheduled program!

I love a great deal! (and shopping)

Tonight, Jacob and I went on a double date with our good friends, the Millers! It was their sons 5th birthday and we celebrated by going to The Rainforest Cafe for dinner! Norah wasnt feeling all that great so she stayed back with Steve and helped him finish my studio! We had a great evening together, and when we left, I decided to go to the Southcenter Old Navy. Right now, they are running a great promotion! Not only is all of the outerwear 50% off, but this coupon will get you 30% your entire purchase! I got Steve and Jacob some jackets, Norah a white puffy vest (lined in faux fur) a couple of long sleeve shirts to go underneath, and a couple things for a certain someones baby :) and only ended up paying 43.00 (plus tax) it would have cost me over 105.00 without the coupons! I was so pleased and rushed home to show off my new purchases :) This deal only runs through Sunday so this is your weekend to shop!

Good Luck!

Operation: Bring the "Pioneer Woman" to Washington has begun!!

My friend, Amy and I are starting a campaign! We (along with most of you) love, The Pioneer Woman and want her to come to the Northwest on her Cookbook Tour. I have made a few things from it, and it always gets two thumbs up from Steve (that might also be because he just thrilled to see me cooking...but anyways!) our plan is to go visit her blog, adore her, and then leave her a comment asking her to bring her tour up to the Northwest. Then we will all head up together to meet her! Her new book is definitely on my wish list for Christmas...and I must not be the only one wanting it because she is currently #1 on the NY Times bestseller list!

Not much to report...

...on the home front over here.

Had a great MOPS meeting this morning where we planned the rest of our meetings through January. I am looking forward to some great speakers, fun crafts, and an overall good time with some awesome moms.

I finally purchased the last of the "ingredients" I've been wanting in order to complete my studio. I am now the proud owner of some new little knit hats, a speed light (aka external flash), some studio lights, and a reflector. I am hopeful, that between all of that good stuff, I will be able to conquer indoor lighting. :)

I had originally hoped to go to the mall with the family tonight, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, Steve ended up getting home really late (stupid Seattle traffic) and I decided we should go when we had more time to look around. He still insisted on going out so he let me hit up Joanns for some adorable brown fabric (for shoots) I quickly realized he was wanting to get a new DVD player so we went to Wal Mart where we found a great deal on one. We both thought Sonic sounded good for dinner....at 8:30 :( so we went and picked it up for when we got home. Nothing like watching some "Biggest Loser" while chowing down on a coney dog :) oh well..

Now as I wrap this up, I wait for Steven to finish the install of our new player and then we must decide weather to watch "17 Again" or "The Illusionist" both of which, I got from our library tonight! Gotta love free movie rentals :)

To Twilight or not to Twilight...that is the question.

So as you all know, Twilight has swept the nation. It seems like everyone I know that has read it, has nothing but amazing things to say about it. I only hesitate because:

a.) Im not a huge reader and b.) Its a love story
Two things that dont strike me as being too interesting...

But..with that being said, I've seen a few pictures of this so-called "Jacob" character, and he's sparked my interest :) for that reason, I am going to start reading it. I have the first book already and Im sure between the 864 friends of mine (exaggerating) that have read the books over and over again, I can find one person who isnt reading (or re-reading) the second book. From what I've heard, it's a quick read and lets hope that this "Librarians daughter"can get through it with no problems. I will keep you posted in the next few days with how it goes...wish me luck!

I wonder if this is what Jacob will look like when he gets older... I can see a few similarities? :)





(I took this picture earlier this year for my friend who shall remain nameless
...she's a tad bit obsessed! hehe)

5 things::

I was tagged to list 5 things Im looking forward to this week, so here it goes

5.) checking out a few bazaars in the area to search for more props for pictures!
4.) listening to an amazing speaker at church on Wednesday night
3.) the 3 photo shoots I have this week!
2.) Going out to dinner at The Rainforest Cafe with Chris, Angela and the kids
1.) Finding out if one of my best friends has a little boy or little girl growing in her tummy!!

Now its your turn!
I tag all my wonderful blog readers to do the same thing!
Have fun and enjoy your week ahead!

Aye Aye Matey!!

We have a great group of friends at church! We try and get together as much as possible, but with so many kids between us all, it can get kind of crazy! That's why we like to have "Murder Mystery" dinner parties a couple times a year! We can actually get few words in to each other and just enjoy each others fellowship! We decided to have this party close to Halloween so that we would all have an easier time finding our pirate costumes that were required. I think everyone did a great job in their attire and even though we didn't get pictures of a couple people, I think we would all agree that everyone fulfilled their characters role 100%! Here are a few pictures of the majority of us! I'm supposed to host the next dinner and am still trying to figure out a theme...any ideas? :)

The guys::


Steven and I:: (please ignore our eye patches, they weren't in position!)


Ben and Heather::


Angela and Chris::

Andy and Becky::


Jessica:: (her hubby ended up being sick that day) :(

*and Kris and Janaye got dressed before we took the pictures :( boo!

Just saw the coolest thing::

A girl on a message board I am a part of just posted that a girl was going to be showing her birth live on the internet. The wannabe nurse in me checked it out right away. Unfortunately, I was late for the birth but I did get to see this new baby girl get all checked out, meet her new family members, and even got to see her eat for the first time! It was beautiful!

It did not help my baby fever at all, so I have to continuously talk myself out of getting knocked up by going back to these pictures and recalling my gigantic stomach (exhibit A):


and pushing my brains out just to get Norah to budge: (Exhibit B)




But then I see this picture:

and I'm sucked back in again!!


...so instead of wanting another baby, it really made me consider going back to nursing school. Seriously. It always has been and always will be my dream job. But for now, I will just enjoy these little newborns I get to photograph instead! Im hoping very soon, I will be able to complete my last few years of school and one day become an RN in labor in delivery! :sigh: :)

Game Night Fun::

Today, the kids and I surprised Steven at work and took him to lunch at The Rock. It's by far our favorite place to go for lunch. We get an endless amount of salad, pasta, pizza and drinks for less than 20.00 total! They don't charge us for the kids and never disappoint us with the delicious types of pizza they offer (the "My Generation" is my favorite!) It made for a fun afternoon!

After naps, we took the kids to Target to pick a new board game. Every couple of weeks or so, we get together with our good friends Andy and Suzie and play games. We always have a great time and by the end of the night, my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard! Tonight was no exception, we played a rousing game of "Scene It" and ended the night with "Loaded Questions" Both games were a lot of fun! We bought "Loaded Questions" tonight and I give it 2 thumbs up! I think every household should own a copy! It gets people talking and laughing and asks questions to really get you thinking...so go out and get yours today and let me know what you think! Have fun! :)

The Doctor tickled my nose!!

Today I had the pleasure of taking both kids to the Dr (insert sarcasm here)
I had no idea how I was going to be able to control both kids and keep them under control while trying to hold any sort of a conversation with the Dr. But today turned out much better than I had imagined! Jacob obeyed the nurse and did everything she asked (phew!!) She took his height and weight and asked him a few questions. It finally hit me that he is officially a little boy and no longer a baby. He answered all of the questions no problem and I was instantly taken back to when we brought him into that same room at just 5 days old. Steve and I had our new little baby and couldn't wait to show him off to the nurses! And now, 3 years later he's holding conversations and telling stories to anyone that will listen. It really makes me cherish these last few "baby" months with Norah before she's "officially" a toddler. Both kids let the Dr check them out head to toe and they found the little light quite interesting! I held my breath as they laid on their back in fear that one of them would freak out, but to my surprise they relaxed and she was done within minutes! We were able to get Jacob the h1n1 vaccine and it was really cute because once administered, he said in excitment "Mommy, the Dr tickled my nose with the water!" (it was the nasal vaccine) They were all out of the doses for Norah but I dont think she minded because she had to get 4 shots anyway. She did awesome and once I showed her a little sucker I had brought she was all smiles :) I took them both to McDonalds for lunch where they played on the big toy and tired themselves out just in time for naps!

Here are some of the stats from Jacob and Norah
Jacob
Height: 38.5" (75th percentile)
Weight: 37" (80th percentile)

Norah
Height: 31.5" (75th percentile)
Weight 26.5 lbs (90th percentile)

Birthday Boys and Milestones::

This evening, Steve and I took the kids to Olympia to meet up with his family to celebrate Jacobs 3rd birthday as well as my brother in law's 32nd birthday which was just 2 days later. Unfortunately, they were unable to attend the party we had for him last Sunday, so it was our chance to catch up and enjoy a great dinner together. Jacob had a wonderful time with his cousin Serena and all of the kids had a blast watching the chef do his thing on the grill...
Norah had her first taste of shrimp tonight and I think she enjoyed it...that's got to be from Steves side because I dont do seafood :)

Here are some pictures from the night..

The Birthday Boys!




Norah with Papa John


Norah and Grandma Susy..




Mesmerized!


First shrimp!


It's so hard to get a group photo!




Jacob :)