If a Picture Paints a Thousand Words...

I have a confession:

I’ve never been very pleased with the way my wedding photos came out. Perhaps I had high expectations coming from Utah where the choices in photographers were limitless. I was expecting those glamor shots with the sun shining behind the bride in an angelic way, or titled angles that make the photo just POP. None-the-less, I’ve found my wedding pictures that have been packed in storage and started playing in Picasa.

I spent a solid 3 hours using the different techniques that are free and thought I should just post what I’ve done. There are several from the Wedding and reception but I got so excited I branched out before I even finished-hence-the randomness.

Some of the Techniques are very subtle but compared to the originals I can see the difference and that is really what counts.

I must say it’s been more fun to doctor my own photos and turn it into an art than if my photographer had done it herself...I see a future hobby in the making! Something tells me I’m gonna have to start saving for a new camera...

From the Roof Top Shout it out: Baby I'm Ready to Go:

We were once again living life in the fast lane there for awhile. Our Succo family trip consisted of Travel, Church history, Hotels, Swimming, Wonders of the World, Boat Rides, Medieval Knights, Butterfly Farms, Ice Cream, Roller Coasters, Roller Coaster, and Roller Coasters!

I’m talking SEVEN of the world record breaking roller coasters in ONE location! We visited Wonderland in Toronto Canada and Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio. Let me rephrase that: 120 MPH in 12 seconds...it’s a beautiful thing!

I’ll post just a few pictures for now and see if I get around to posting more later.

P.S. Emma was a GEM. She put up with so much this trip, it’s taken her a solid 2 weeks to catch up on her sleep.

The Ants go Marching 2 by 2 Hurrah, Hurrah

I know I've got several things to blog about and catch people up on but just to get something down this week let me share this weeks adventure:

Ants, tons and tons of ants...

Our family left town for a significant amount of time for vacation and we came home to an infestation. I suppose it was too hot outside for them at 115 degrees.

There were congo lines in almost every room. I had armies of ants in the kitchen attacking my PEANUT BUTTER! Anybody who knows me realizes that you don't mess with my beloved peanut butter.

Imagine the war scenes from Lord of the Rings... I was completely outnumbered and the only fellowship I had was 409, a vacuum, mop and broom!

There were trails of dead ants in the freezer, under the toaster, and live ants carrying them away for dinner-GROSS.

It took a solid two days before we could even get to the store to buy ant killer. By the way, my sweet husband purchased 4 or 5 different types and brands to show these ants who's boss.

Not only that, they seem to have worked! I have a manageable amount that come up the bathroom drain and even less that venture into the laundry room.

I'm not taking any chances though: I keep anything of value (sweets) in ziplock bags and air tight containers. I constantly rotate where the trash can is, there are no dirty dishes in the sink, the broom now lives next to Emma's highchair, and I keep an instant ant killer spray on the counter next to the hand soap.

In the Good ol' Summer Time:

Well Emma and I got together with some friends of ours to try out a local park. While out playing I realized I’m still new to the hood and I’m learning a few things about the desert :

1. Daily temp average of 103 degrees is not Hot yet
2. All parks and school recess grounds come with built in covers
3. A person better be well stocked on shorts because it’s still 80 degrees in November
4. It’s normal to see your neighbors outside in their p.j.s washing the car at 4:45am
5. Jogging later than 6am is too hot
6. Contrary to popular belief the temperature here is not hot enough to kill germs
7. Palm Trees are clearly for the Tourists: they don’t provide enough shade to cast a shadow on the baby-useless things
8. Parks come standard with ‘Splash pads’ (see pictures for more details)
9. It’s normal to feel comfortable with the house A/C set at 82-85 degrees
10. You know you’re not a local when you sweat bullets taking 2 minutes outside the car to fill it up on gas and see the person next to you comfortable filling their car while wearing pants, shoes, and socks...

Our House, in the Middle of the Street

By Popular Demand:

Our Work in Progress, Home Sweet Home. I really hesitate putting these up. I've got random boxes EVERYWHERE still, I haven't cleaned the floor in a week, you can see my laundry and junk piles a mile away, and seeing these now will ruin the WOW factor when it's completed.

However, duty calls (duty or perhaps my mother for the 3rd time-no offense Mom! A little nudge a few times a week goes a long way) and some pictures are ready. Keep in mind I'll post more later when my house is done and we are all moved in, naturally that will be in a few more months because I'd like to get everything taken care of before the Succo Family Vacation. So more to follow later.

Notice: Bottom two shelves are already becoming Emma's

My new Floors!

Emma's Drawer in the Kitchen: Sometimes gets the better of her

This is my 'new' craft desk, why I love it: I picked it out myself, called and followed up by myself, drove 45 minutes to pick it up by myself, talked the price down and loaded it into Anakin by myself, unloaded and reassembled it by myself-a very independent project for me which is out of character.

Plus it's already beat up and needs TLC so I dont have to stress when Emma scribbles on it or wants to cut and glue her own crafts on it.

I just love this room now, I told Shane what I would like, how I wanted it to look and he made it happen, just like I pictured it!

Managed to get one of the cars in the Garage: Progress!