Life Lately.

(My beauties at Seal Beach where we spent our summer holidays)

Life.  Mine has been nuts.  Exciting and exhausting all at the same time.  It is amazing to me how much I have grown in the past 6 months.  (Not physically... I am in the best shape of my life!)  Grown as a person, a career woman, a daughter, a mother, as a wife, as a spirit, as a photographer, as a friend.  If someone would have told me a year ago what my life would be like today, I wouldn't have believed it.  So much has changed.  New chapters have begun.  Milestones have been celebrated.  It's been a rocky road.  There have been hardships.  But with those hard times there are incredibly GOOD times.  And hidden blessings around every turn.  Its a beautiful thing that God knows us better than we know ourselves, and will always give us exactly what we need.  I am a blessed human being.  I am grateful for all He gives me, good and bad.  Life is an adventure.  I am living mine to the fullest.

The Dog Days of Summer.

Oh Summer. 

Glorious Summer.
I love you so.
Why do you come and go so fast?

We had SO MUCH FUN this summer.

My top ten twelve summer 2010 memories are:

1.  Birthday parties! Some of which included:  a cool party at Chick-fil-a, a sweet kickball game at the park and a jam session in the backyard.  The Tanner kids are all a year older.

2.  A major house remodel.  WE ARE LOVING OUR NEW LOOK!

3.  Camping - Amazing Flaming Gorge, Gorgeous Idaho and the Beautiful Uintahs.

4.  Fireworks with Friends.  ITS THE BEST.

5.  Spending ALL DAY at Boondocks - just me, Chad and the kids.  And laughing.  A LOT.

6.  Picking raspberries.  And eating them.  YUM.

7.  SWIMMING!  And lots of it.

8.  A weekend get-away to Las Vegas for our 18th wedding anniversary!  WHAT? 

9.  More swimming.

10.  A new adventure... Young Women's President!  WHAT? 

11.  Watching Jordan live his dream of front row Jack Johnson on his 17th birthday.

12.  Boating and playing at the Lake.

And here some pics of my sweet summer memories:

(Jordan wake boarding at Flaming Gorge)

(Shaye was finally talked into driving her own car on the race track at Boondocks!)

(Non-stop laughing at Boondocks - oh ya - and Cade had a mullet for about a week.  It was sweet.)

(Miss Gabrielle perfecting her high dive jump.)

(Me and Superman on our 18th Wedding Anniversary in Las Vegas)

(Our awesome house remodel - credit goes to Superman - isn't he amazing?)

(Jordan a.k.a. Jacks #1 fan, and Minden, FRONT ROW at the Jack Johnson concert on Jordan's 17th Birthday.  And yes, Jack wished him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY from the stage.  Needless to say, it was a very happy birthday and according to him - the best one yet.)

(Me and my cutie sis Cindee - enjoying Jack Johnson a little farther back.  Love my sisters.  LOVE.)

(One proud mama, with her A.MAZING Boy at the Jack Johnson show.  Man I love this kid.)

(Swimming.  Swimming.  And more Swimming.)

(Shaye and Luke - cousins - enjoying a soda and swimming at the Lake.)

(Caden skiing at the Lake.  LOVE this kid too.  What a smile!)

(Savana and Gabi - cousins and BEST FRIENDS - holding on for dear life.)

(Hot summer nights, jam sessions and songs around the fire, and don't forget the perfect s'more.)

Farewell Dog Days of Summer.
I will miss you.

Chad Rocks.

Yes. He. Does.

In all senses of the word.

He is cool, and does amazing things - (he is Superman, after all,)

but this summer - He rocked!  

Our house, that is.  

And he did an amazingly beautiful job.

This is our cute house BEFORE.

(the Tanner house BEFORE)

(The very beginning of construction)

(In the back - the start of construction and tar paper and wire)

Our house had siding before... we wanted to update it - give it a NEW look!

So off we went.  Are we crazy?

YES!

You haven't figured that out yet?

The first step was to repair all the siding, take off the wood borders 

and then cover the entire house with black tar backing paper and wire.  

We hired this part out - the guys who did our prep and Stucco did AMAZING WORK.

Seriously.  Amazing.

(Our black house - Caden wanted to keep it black!)

(Under Construction!  Let the mess and Chaos begin...)

Chad had the fun job of painting all our doors - 

as well as painting all of the soffit & fascia, all the trim and rain gutters.

(Me taking pictures and hoping I like what paint color I chose.  Chad is hoping, too!)

(Our Cement house!  One step closer!)

The next step was our stucco cement coat.  

It was funny to hear people ask if this is the color the house would be.  

Um, No.  

This is only the first coat!  

Again, the Stucco guys - AMAZING WORK.

Next comes the color coat!

And let me just tell you - it was HARD to pick a stucco color.

The color of your entire home!

Once you decide there is no going back.

I had a vision in my head - and I really wanted it to turn out perfect.

AND IT DID!

(See, I told you, Chad rocks!)

Now that the stucco is finished, its Chads turn.

Time to ROCK!

 

He spent many, many, many, many, many (you get the idea) hours rocking!

He also had A LOT of people (strangers and people we know)

stop their cars and rave over how good it was looking - 

tons of people asked for his business card!

(Um, I'm just the homeowner, he would say...)

We moved our lives outside, so we could spend time with him, while he rocked.

(The back of the house - FINISHED!)

And so, after 2 months (it seemed like 2 years), tons and tons of long hot days and late nights,

a million trips to The Home Depot, spending hours debating over colors, 

bugging and bugging friends and family for honest opinions, 

lots of sleepless nights, sore backs, broken tools, chaos, messes, blood, sweat and tears,

and pizza for dinner way too much...

Here it is:

 

OUR NEW HOUSE.

(the Tanner house - AFTER)

(Chad's rock work. - Amazing huh?)

Chad Rocks.

YES. HE. DOES.

Good Times, Bad Times.

Its that time again.  The summer is drawing to an end.

My kids all celebrated birthdays this spring and summer.  

Each one is a year older.

Time is ticking on, and some days it doesn't just tick...  

it whizzes by as fast as a roller coaster, and your standing there thinking,

"what just happened"?

Good times - Bad times.

School starts in a few days, and so starts a new routine.

No more late nights and lazy mornings.

Up at 6:30 to work-out, make breakfast and lunches, and have family prayer.

Then off my children go, into the world.

Good times - Bad times.

I finally made some time to get some new photos of them.

My kids hear the words "photo shoot" and turn into difficult little subjects!

You would think I am putting them in a torture chamber, 

instead of pointing a camera at them.

Good times - Bad times.

Good thing they are so dang cute, and that I am good at my job...

Good times - Bad times - 

I will take it all because that's just life 

and I love mine!

A week at the Lake.

Remember when I used to have time to blog?

Ya, me too.

I guess I have just been too busy soaking up and enjoying the last of my summer!

Here are a few pics from our week at Washington Lake with Chad's awesome family.  

Gotta love the great outdoors!

(classic self-photo of me and Superman)

We spent our time fishing, canoeing, kayaking, reading, resting,

eating, hanging by the fire, hiking, cliff diving, rock climbing, swimming,

and enjoying the time together away from all the distractions of life!

(Shaye with her first catch of the day!)

(Caden giving his mother a heart-attack)

(Jordan, Cade and Kail getting ready to cliff jump)

The boys had a lot of fun cliff diving up at Wall lake 

and they even talked Gabi into jumping from the lower rocks!

  (a brave little girl!)

(our home away from home)

Our friends let us use their trailer for our trip - yes, we have amazing friends - 

and it was so nice to have somewhere comfortable to hang out!  

The Uintas are my absolute favorite place to camp in the state of Utah.  

It is so amazingly beautiful!  

(the Tanner kiddos, enjoying the great outdoors and making some memories)

I just love making memories like these, don't you?

Happy Summer.

ARISE and SHINE FORTH!

A few weeks ago, Jordan was one of the 3,000 youth that participated in the Youth Spectacular

ARISE and SHINE FORTH!

(Jordan in the pre-existence waiting for his turn on earth!)

It was truly SPECTACULAR.

They performed for 2 nights at Weber State and completely filled the stadium both nights, (Chad and I were lucky enough to go to both - yes we are proud parents!) and in fact on Saturday night the stadium was overflowing with people and we actually broke the record for number of people in the stadium. 

It was rumored that the Prophet was there in attendance, but more than that - 

the spirit that filled the stadium was incredible!

(Our whole family came to enjoy the show!)

The Spectacular performed life from the pre-existence - to our life on earth - to life after death - and having faith in our Savior Jesus Christ 

and the power that is in each one of us and learning who we truly are. 

The messages in the songs were amazing, and I feel so grateful for Jordan to have been a part of it, 

to help him learn who he truly is, where he came from 

and have those messages and spirit touch his heart!

The Power in Purity!

power in the heavens...

power in the plan!

power in discovery...

learning who I am!

there's power in obedience...

the truth that sets us free!

To find a sense of confidence,

the power in purity!

 (Jordan on the earth - "Arise and Shine Forth that thy light may be a standard for the nations")

I never stand alone, when I stand with God.

And I stand with his prophets.

 Wherever I may go...

when I stand with God, I never stand alone!

I stand with Nephi and Moroni

with Abinadi who testified in faith, 

the saints through the ages,

the stalwart and faithful - leading me, telling me -

I never stand alone, when I stand with God!

(Jordan standing with God and the prophets)

Its hard to describe just how special it really was...

It was a beautiful way to spend a few summer nights.

To learn more about our faith and what we believe CLICK HERE.

Favorite Time of the Year.

Oh how I love summertime!

It's my favorite time of the year. 

In fact, as we were laying on our blanket the other night,  cuddled up together,

watching the magic of the fireworks explode above our heads, 

I whispered to Chad that this has to be my favorite holiday.

(Shaye and Cade at their birthday party)

We've been busy the last few weeks!  (ha, what else is new??)

At the end of June, and first of July, these two darlings each had a birthday (6 days apart).

We had a fun celebration with our families at the park. 

We enjoyed dinner, conversation, music, laughter, babies, yummy chocolate cake,

and a sweet game of kickball.

Cade and Shaye have a very special bond - they adore each other - and I adore them.

Sometimes I stop to take in moments like these, and thank God for my blessed life.

(Cherry Days Parade)

To celebrate the 4th we headed down to the main road in our little town to enjoy the parade.

The girls loved it and ended up with way too much candy.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous.

I love my Freedom.  I love my America.

I love the men and women who have served

and those who are still serving to keep my family safe.

(My little pixie at the parade)

(darling Gabi at the parade)

(my teenager ((WHAT??  How did that happen?)) at the parade)

After the parade, we had a nice, yummy BBQ at Ryan and Eva's house in the valley

and finished off the day watching the fireworks at Weber High with some of our best friends.

Yes, it was a VERY. GOOD. DAY.
I was HAPPY.
And my heart was OVERFLOWING.

I love it when that happens.  :)

(The Tanner house is getting a Face-Lift)

Oh, and have I mentioned that we are under construction?

Yep.  We must be seven kinds of crazy.

We are stucco-ing and rock-ing the entire outside of our home.

I am so excited/nervous to see the end result.

I will be sure to keep you updated.

That is, if I am still sane.

Happy Summertime Everyone!