Logan Haylie & Larkyn

check it...

2011-08-25T13:58:00.000-06:00

www.myflutterbyes.blogspot.com

This is still a work in progress, but it is where you will find all of my new blog posts from here on out.

Eventually I will merge the 2 accounts... so be sure to add my new blog to your list!

Loves!

-Haylie

2 and a new blog

2011-08-16T00:12:00.002-06:00

I am so incredibly far behind on blogging...
it didn't help that our internet was out of commission for almost 2 weeks!
Sheesh!

Can you believe this little munchkin is 2? (she has been for a while... like I said... behind on blogging)

I love her so much
Her personality is blooming like crazy
She is smart.funny.kind.crazy.timid.
She is a wonderful BIG sister
She's a big time daddy's girl
She loves butterflies.coloring.bugs.grass.collecting rocks.coke (don't judge).books.abc's.counting.singing.dancing.rain.
Every color is her favorite
She knows what she wants and how to get it
I could go on and on...

It breaks my heart to watch her grow up.
Is that crazy?
It feels like she was born yesterday.
I am most certain I have cried at every major mile stone or event in her life
That trend will most likely continue : )
I am such a sucker ... LOL

Well...
She is my little Larkyn.
My baby girl.

On another note...
I want to change the name of our blog
Something fun and creative
Ideas?

July 24th: daughter of the pioneers...

2011-07-25T09:26:00.000-06:00

Today is a special day

It's a day for me to remember my heritage. A day to remember where I came from and to look forward to where I am going. Not every member of the LDS faith are decedents of the "Mormon" pioneers, but they are pioneers today.

I have loved learning about my ancestors over the last few years...

I have learned about how my family on one side was introduced to the Gospel by Parley P. Pratt, converted, and relocated our family to America so that they could "come to Zion"

I have learned that my family on the other side is directly linked to the restoration of Christ's Church.

I think about my ancestors and I wonder how it felt to live in that time. I think of their faith and testimonies they had, the miracles that were witnessed, the trials they had to endure. They were beaten, mocked, hated and martyred ... They never denied Christ... They never lost their faith... They always stood their ground... They knew truths. They walked across the Plains because they had to. Feet frozen. Families buried along the way. But they moved forward diligently, faithfully.

I think of my family... My heritage. They trusted in God, our Heavenly Father. They testified of Christ. They testified of the restoration of Christ's Church through Joseph Smith. Could I ever doubt the things I read in their journals? Doubt their testimonies?

Never.

I am a pioneer today. It is MY duty to build upon what they sacrificed so much for... God's Kingdom.

Timpanogos Temple ...

2011-07-15T16:34:00.001-06:00

I am taking photography to the next level for me.

I am going to start selling canvas prints of temples.

This photograph is available in any size, thickness of board, stretched canvas onto frames and even framed. Feel free to customize it to whatever your little heart desires :)

Featured here is a 12"x36" canvas print that would be mounted onto a 1/2" thick gator board. Ready to be hung. Obviously my name would not be where it is, but in the lower right corner and it would be tiny I promise!!

If you are interested or have questions on pricing please email me at haylielynphoto@hotmail.com

Warning: Do not copy, steal, or print this image without my permission. This would be an infringement of copy right law. I took this particular photograph... it is mine.

If you do... I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish... (ok maybe not that extreme... but there would be consequences people... muahahaha!)

pics...

2011-07-13T17:29:00.000-06:00

Here are some pics from the birth...

I am SOOOO glad that these 2 little girls look completely different!

DO you know who is who??

Top Pic: left is Logan (I know its hard to tell!), top is Oaklee, bottom is Carea and right is Oaklee again.

Bottom Pic: left is Oaklee, top and bottom are Carea and right is Oaklee.

Carea was a bit swollen when she was born and Oaklee was super wrinkley! :)

They have since changed

I am just extremely behind on blogging!

Stay tuned for: Larkyn's 2nd bday party, 4th of July, newborn pics, 1 month pics, and some super duper other great posts!

birth ...

2011-07-13T17:18:00.000-06:00

A very small part of me feels like such a slacker for not blogging sooner

Oaklee Jane and Carea McKinley arrived June 9, 2011

Oaklee was born at 8:09 am weighed 5 lbs 4 oz and was 18 inches long

Carea was born at 8:11 am weighed 5 lbs 14 oz and was also 18 inches long

My experience with the C-Section was amazing! I was sooo very terrified to have one and I wish my stubborn self would have just listened to what everyone told me... THAT it was GOING TO BE FINE! I was having such anxiety that I called Labor and Delivery at the Riverton Hospital the night before asking if they could drug me before actually having the procedure. The nurse literally laughed at me... I thought it was rude at the moment, but after the surgery I now know why she laughed.

How it all went down...

A few weeks before I actually had the babes my blood pressure started to rise. My fabulous Dr (Dr. England) of course was concerned because I was also swelling more which I had no idea was possible :), getting headaches... blah blah blah ... these are signs of preeclampsia. So I had to go to the Dr 2-3 times a week to have NST's (Non-Stress Test) done and ultrasounds to make sure the girls were doing ok. My Dr. gave the order for me to stay home and my last day of work was May 31st. On June 7th I went into IMC in Murray to have the babies measured again. Neither of the girls had gained a full pound since the month before when they were last measured. The Dr. there decided that it would be best to have the babies asap because they would pretty much be better off here in the real world than in my womb. The call was made to Dr. England and they scheduled my C-Section for Thursday at 5 pm. (crazy I know). Well that night and the next day I was freaking out... I was sick with the worlds worst cold... could barely breath, and had no voice.
Wednesday I made the call to labor and delivery for drugs... was laughed at... tried to be brave and not cry every second.
Well at about 4 pm Wednesday L&D called to see if I would be interested in going in Thursday morning for a 7:30 procedure. I said "HELL YES" as loud as I could with my manly-ish voice on the phone... but once I hung up the stress, nerves, anxiousness were all maxed out. LITERALLY! I am surprised I didn't kill over or at least put myself in labor.

Everyone kept asking me why I was so nervous to have a C-Section and honestly the unknown freaks me out. I have a very hard time doing things that I have never done before, I was stressed that something was going to go wrong and I was so worried about the health of my 2 baby girls, I was nervous about how Larkyn would react... was she going to feel left out or neglected...Would I be able to be a mom of a 2 year old and 2 newborns... A million thoughts and worries.

Did I sleep Wednesday night... YEAH RIGHT! I watched "Baby Mama", painted my toes and filed my finger nails, took a nice warm bath, cried some more, curled my hair and did my makeup. Finally 5 am rolled around and it was time to leave. While we were driving to the hospital Logan looked at me and said "I can't believe we are leaving as a family of 3 and in a few days we will be a family of 5" Yeah I started to cry again.

Once we were settled in our room at the hospital I relaxed a little, but not much. The poor nurse that was trying to hook up my IV hit the bone in my hand and missed my vein 3 times... I almost killed her! She was soo sweet too. It just hurt like HELL! I was prepped and Logan got dressed. Then it hit me again. I had a melt down. My nurse Kristina (different than the miss my vein nurse) was so sweet and encouraging. She walked me through everything one more time, walked me into the OR Room, once I was on the table she looked at me and promised I was going to be OK. (I am sure they all thought I was a basket case).

The SPINAL...

I just want to say that the anesthesiologist (?) rocked it up! He was hilarious. AND he drugged me good. Ha! Once I started to get numb and it was creeping up my abdomen then to my chest... I FELT GOOD! I was so relaxed that stress wasn't even apart of me! It was the weirdest feeling ever. I told Logan that they were the best drugs! I may have been a little sleep deprived so I tend to get a little loopy as it is. But thank heaven for modern medicine and the awesome spinal I got! Holla!

The OR Staff, DR, Logan, and Anesthesiologist...

We had about 15 staff in with us. Double since there were 2 babies. Each baby had their own set of Dr's and Nurses to take care of them. Again all of these ladies and men were AMAZING! They were having a good time joking around with Logan (of course) and telling him which pictures to take during the procedure and once the babies started to come out. (I think Logan will crack jokes at my funeral one day... that's just who he is and I love him for it!) One of the nurses was from South Africa... of course Logan had her teach him bad phrases so he could harass one of his friends who is also from South Africa. HAHA! She was a riot! The little pager / phone things they had clipped to them were so neat. Logan had a good time with those as well. These little devices (not sure what they are called) they would make funny noices when they would page "beam me up scotty" and other funky things. Apparently the IT staff at the hospital have a good time at work :).    Dr. England made this experience very fun for me. He is pretty goofy. He popped his head over the curtain a few times to check on me and would make funny comments. I asked him to give me a tummy tuck while he had me open and they pulled out this tiny piece of fat and said "here's your tummy tuck!" LOL. The anesthesiologist was pretty territorial, but that didn't stop Logan from giving him a hard time and asking him a million questions. He warmed up to Logan and they became the best of friends (ok not really haha).

Birth...
Yes before and during all of that (above: memories I need) the girls were finally born. Oaklee came first... butt first too! Logan looked at me and said "she has lots of brown hair." I honestly thought he was kidding. I heard her cry. Tears streamed down my face ... she was here. They put her on the warming bed and she just layed there, content. Carea came next and she came head first :). They were both finally here! I had sooo many tears coming down my face! My sweet baby Carea had a lot of fluid in her lungs and was having breathing issues. They hooked her up to oxygen and monitors but she had to go to the nursery for about an hour to be watched over. Finally they returned me to my labor and delivery room and about 30 minutes later I had both girls in my arms.

Its such an overwhelming feeling to have more than one baby. I never thought I could love another child as much as I love Larkyn and sure enough I thought wrong. To hold 2 babies and have them stare back at you is amazing. I feel so lucky to have been able to carry 2 healthy babies. I am grateful for this adventure that has been handed to me.

ps... I want to give a shout out to the Riverton Hospital! They were hands down some of the most caring and awesome medical staff that I have ever been around! EVERY single one of them were genuine and touched our family's life.

a new skill... poetry? :)

2011-05-25T09:28:00.000-06:00

Dear Running

Oh how I miss you…

Early mornings with the sunrise

Late evenings with the sunset

Feet pounding into the asphalt

Sweat… Hills…. Heart Racing

As I watch the runners go by

Jealousy creeps into me

One day we will be reunited…

Hopefully sooner than later

positive perspective = hoot

2011-05-23T10:32:00.001-06:00

Its amazing how simple words and actions can have a huge impact on our personal feelings.

When I first found out I was expecting I dreaded the thought of letting certain family and friends know because they struggle with either infertility or have had losses of precious life. ..

A part of me didn’t want to even tell them….

I wanted to go into hiding …

As I sat and thought this through.. trying to think of ways to make it easier for them I remembered what one of my closest friends told me…

That it is so hard for her to hear expecting mothers complain about how miserable they are the entire time they are pregnant when she longs to have those discomforts, aches, pains, sickness, feet in the ribs… you know… the whole package.

As I thought about her and others in their situations... I decided that I was going to try my hardest not to complain about my pregnancy and my pains… and everything else.

OK so I haven’t been perfect , I have complained and I have had my emotional breakdowns and trust me Logan can tell you about what he has had to listen to for the last 9 months of our lives together, but I have noticed a huge difference in me.

Positive. Happy. Grateful.

Its actually been kind of fun to watch reactions of people. Some have asked how I am doing and most days I tried to reply with “Great!” When I would tell complete strangers that I was expecting 2… I did get a lot of negative feedback, but again I would put a positive twist on it and like I said before its been a hoot to see their reactions. Again I am not perfect and yes there were a few times that I did get sick of all the comments that I would get, but maybe 50% of the time I was determined to smile and say I am great.

Up until the last couple of weeks I have had a very easy and enjoyable pregnancy (for the most part)

A part of me thinks its because of this positive twist I put into my life.

I want to give a shout out to my friend who has opened my eyes to the world and has helped me realize how lucky I really am to be able to not only carry children, but has helped me see all my other blessings as well. This friend of mine in an amazing woman…

And I hope that next time before I go to complain about something I will be able to think of others first.

I am so excited to be a mom of 3 under 2. I look forward to the adventure I am about go on. Its going to be beautiful!

faith

2011-04-28T09:07:00.001-06:00

So I'm sitting down... Feet elevated... Blogging from my phone

why... Well because our computer is being stubborn and my hubalub is playing basketball at the church. But I'm desperate to blog... Maybe a little more worried that I might forget if I don't do it now :)

Question: why do so many of us (I'm guilty as well) focus on the negative and instead of trying to lift eachother up... We tear eachother down??

Does anyone know the answer to this?

Can I just say I am very sensitive to words... Hopefully I'm not reading too far into things.

I have just noticed that more and more people love to tell me how much I'm going to hate life after the babies come, that I'm never going to get out, never going to sleep, that I'm going to go crazy taking care of sooo many little ones, they don't know how in the world I'm going to manage... Yada yada yada.

Do they really think that these thoughts haven't crossed my mind?

Really?

I can tell which individuals really care about me and want me to succeed and feel great about life. These are the ones who continually tell me... Haylie you are going to be great, think of how much fun it's going to be for Larkyn, everything will be fine... You get the point right? Christ like individuals who love and have charity ... These are the things they say. It is so hard for me not to stress and it's so hard for me to not dwell on the negative... especially when at almost every corner someone brings up the bad. I know it seems silly to be so concerned over something that maybe be minimal to some, but again its hard not to be concerned when the bad lingers.

I really appreciate my confidence boosters... The ones who genuinely care. These are my angels.  It's because of their kind words that I can get through everday.

Then there is Christ. Tonight we had an amazing relief society activity/ musical focused on the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It is amazing to know that when I am loaded with my burdens, doubts, fears to the point of wanting to give up... I can turn to him. He will and does help me everytime... Even when I don't feel worthy of his love, he is there willing to help lift my burdens. It is because of him and the angels in my life that allow me to look in the mirror every morning and say... I can do this. I always have to remind myself that Heavenly Father will never give us a challenge or trial that we can't handle. What a comfort.

I have enough faith in him that I trust him and after all... in the premortal life He probably sat me down and said "Haylie, these are your children, these are the challenges you will face, Do you accept this challenge" :)

And because I stood by His side and trusted him then... I am here today still trusting and enduring.

hallelujah...

2011-04-25T16:37:00.000-06:00

It has been a long journey...

BUT THEY ARE FINALLY DONE! YES... I am talking about our blessed cabinets!!

A little about this project:

So we actually started this project I believe in November {sad I know} BUT when we initially started we had big plans on staining our cabinets.

NOW... I don't know who all has done that before but its a pain in the neck! When you stain you MUST sand down to the raw wood... YUCK. I never ever thought that doing that would be such a big deal... BUT it is!

We started in sections and did the piece above the fridge first. All went well. Then we started the piece up top by the window... and when I started to stain the doors I noticed that parts of the wood were absorbing the stain differently.

YES I panicked! Logan was in Arizona at the time and I was so stressed that I had done something wrong.

Who did I resort too? My lovely computer.

I started looking up how much it was going to cost to have someone either come fix it for us or to just take the plunge and get a whole new kitchen...

Man oh Man that was discouraging.

So then I had an epiphany... Look at HGTV.com and thank goodness for divine intervention because that was when I learned about this....

There is a primer that you can buy for cabinets that you don't have to sand the wood... this stuff sticks to anything... its even hard to get off of skin!!!

WHAT --- I was again freaking out. So while Logan was in his business meeting I started emailing him pictures of lovely cabinets that had been painted.... When he got home a few days later... it took a lot of convincing and persuasion to change the way we were going to finish this project. Then Logan remembered that he has a friend who works for Sherwin Williams {ding ding ding}... they chatted and FINALLY Logan decided to take another plunge with me. We headed to Sherwin Williams... got the primer... ordered our paint...

AND GUESS WHAT ELSE WE LEARNED...

the type of paint we ordered had the sealer or final coat already in it... So yet another step eliminated!

Hooray!!!

So the above pictures show what our cabinets look like now...

this is what they looked like before...

YOWZA!

Ok.. So apparently when I took these pictures we just got home from Costco... See the pizza plate on the counter with the huge box of diapers? And I honestly have NO clue why Logan's old camo shirt is out... How scary! Please note... my kitchen doesn't always look like this :)

Anyway... so to say the least our cabinets are fabulous now! BUT the kitchen is not done. YOU see the dark back splash... well I want to change this to either a cream or very light gray ish color... I saw a basket weave tile backsplash in a magazine that I am trying to hunt down. Then one day we will also update the floors.

But before either of those projects get done I must:

1. Get Larkyn's new room finished... Hopefully this week or beginning of next.. Two of my besties came by last week and we painted all her walls... this week we are going to be stenciling and finishing her bed... I'm sooooo very excited! It's gonna be cute!!

2. Get the twins room all set up and possibly a partial repaint in there. I am still trying to decide what I want to do... So while I am finishing Larkyn's room I'll be trying to plan how I want their room to function for 2 :)

3. Change that horrible green paint that is on my gigantic wall... PEOPLE if you are ever going to try to paint green in your house please take my advice and get a professional to help you... I don't know why but greens are sooo hard to get right!

4. Work on our freak of a yard

5. Finish the loft... for those of you who don't know... my sister is moving in with us in June sometime. She is coming to help me {thankfully} and live with us until she gets residency so she can attend college here in Utah. Woot!!

Finally I want to enjoy my summer home with my 3 girls... Spend lots of time outside... walking, running, swimming... Oh I love summer.

So maybe in the fall or winter we will work on those other kitchen projects :)

Tootles!

pretty tastey

2011-04-18T10:18:00.002-06:00

Logan and I have been on this finding new recipes kick... I am so sick of the same old recipes that we have been making for what fees like eternity!! We made both of these last week... and I must say they were pretty tastey! You can modify both of them to be slightly healthier by using whole grain pasta. Logan isn't a huge fan of the whole grain pasta, but a trick you can try is mixing them with regular white noodles... if you do this, be sure to cook the whole grain pasta for a few minutes before adding the white {they do take longer to cook}

Grilled Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
8 oz fettuccine noodles
Fresh parsley chopped
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup heavy cream
¾ cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
garlic to taste

Prep:

-Oil grate on grill and then preheat
-Season chicken breasts with 1st salt and pepper then garlic powder, set aside. When grill is hot, cook chicken for 5-7 minutes per side or until juices run clear. Set aside for 10 minutes before slicing, then slice.
-Cook noodles.
-While noodles are cooking prepare sauce by melting butter into cream in a small pot. Once butter is melted, add parmesan cheese, garlic and 2nd salt and pepper. Stir together and put on low heat.
-Drain noodles and add chicken and sauce with parsley on top. Serve with garlic bread and a salad
I honestly think the grilled chicken and then the parmesan cheese w/ garlic is what makes this probably some of the best home made Grilled Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo.

Skewered Honey Balsamic Chicken

Ingredients:

5 boneless chicken thighs

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp onion powder
2 tbs honey
1 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tbs oil
Sesame seeds to sprinkle
Extra honey (optional)

Prep:

Cut chicken thighs into ½ inch pieces. In a separate bowl, mix the marinade and pour over the chicken. Add salt to taste. Mix completely so that all the chicken pieces are covered. Let marinade for 1-2 hours at least... we let ours marinade for 24 hrs = YUM. Drain and skewer the chicken on a bamboo skewer. Heat a non stick pan on med high until hot. Lower the heat to med low and add some skewers to the pan. Cook on one side for 3-5 minutes or until caramel brown. You will notice that as the chicken cooks it first releases liquid and then the liquid starts to caramelize. It will then coat the chicken. Make sure the heat is not too high when cooking the chicken.

Baste with extra honey if you’d like and cook for an additional min or so. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and serve.

Ok... so Logan and I didn't follow this recipe to a "T" because I forgot to buy skewers at the store... So I just cooked the chicken in a pan on the stove. We served this with our family favorite pasta.

On another side note... we did double each recipe for YUMMY leftovers!

Let me know if you try either of these out..
Up Next - Teriyaki Chicken

update: our family

2011-04-11T11:01:00.000-06:00

So I am on my 29th week of pregnancy. I guess it's a good time to give an update on how we are all doing.

Last week I had 2 Dr appointments... one with my regular Dr and the other with MFM at IMC. Everything went great for both appointments. I passed my glucose test... and that was a big hurdle for me! I made sure not to have too many sweets the coming days before that appointment... that was so hard!! :) For me the test isn't bad... I just didn't want to have to take a 3 hour test! Tuesday we learned that baby A weighed approximately 2 lbs 7 oz and baby B weighed approximately 2 lbs 4 oz. So not a huge difference between them. Monday at my appointment they were both laying transverse... which scared me big time. Tuesday Baby A was head down and baby B was breach. Dr England (my reg. ob) he told me that they will move a lot... for some reason I guess I didn't think that twins would be able to since space is limited... but these girls are out to prove me wrong. This past week I did a lot of reading on C-sections mostly to prepare myself just in case. Honestly, it terrifies me to think of having one of those! We all have our fears... for me being sliced open is a fear! I have family, friends, and neighbors that have these procedures without thinking twice about them... and then there is me. Sometimes I way over think and over analyze things... this can be a good thing or a bad thing. BUT I am trying to stay positive! Maybe it would help if I meditated on a daily basis "no c-sections... " hmmm.   Honestly, I am willing to do whatever as long as these girls get here healthy and happy. But I am still scared... OK??

Larkyn... where do I start on her? She is my baby girl. I love her more than words could describe, but gosh dang it... why must she test her mother!?!? It's been especially bad lately. She can either make my day by running up and giving me a kiss and telling me I am pretty... or she can ruin a perfect day by doing the smallest thing like not listening and being destructive. Maybe I am oversensitive these days :). She is such a smart little girl though. She will be 2 May 31... Where did the time go? She sings her ABC's all by her self now, she knows all of the letters individually, she even tries to write them... its soo cute when her A's are upside down and her N's only have the first half. She knows her colors... but only when she wants to. HA! She can count to 20, but 13-19 all kind of sound the same... she definitely has the "teen" part down. She is definitely girly but at the same time loves to play in the dirt and collect bugs. Last Wednesday she got her first official hair cut. I was so worried she was going to be a pill, and she did fabulous! Thanks to Kariann and the ring pop! Isn't is amazing what a little sugar can do for a kid!! :) She was so excited to put on the purple princess cape {as we called it because she loves princesses} and she loved that Kariann told her that she was pretty. Now every day when we do her hair she tells me that she is so pretty!  Kariann cut a few layers into her hair and gave her some swoop bangs! She definitely loves all this girly stuff!! I can't wait until she is old enough to go get pedicures with me! :)

And my wonderful husband... I don't blog enough about him! I seriously don't know how I would get through everyday if it wasn't for him! He is so excited to welcome 2 more baby girls into our home. He is great at reminding me of all the positives! I always ask him if he is ever scared of how much things around the house and in our lives are going to change... and he always says No. I am so glad that one of us is atleast being strong... because if he was here there and every where like me... what a disaster! He is very busy these days between work, calling, finishing the kitchen {i need to post some pics... so far the cabinets are beautiful!}, getting ready to finish the loft, playing with Larkyn, helping around the house... the list could go on and on! He is seriously my knight in shining armor!

Life is a roller coaster full of ups and downs... for me lately these ups and downs seem to come on within a blink of an eye. For those of you who are in my ward you witnessed this yesterday! All of the sudden in Relief Society I just lost it... and once my tears start... there is no stopping them! AND I am a VERY UGLY CRYER! I honestly don't know what triggered these tears yesterday. I get so overwhelmed thinking about everything {the horrifying c-section, nursing 2 babies, playing with Larkyn, all our home projects, work, diapers, $... and this is just to name a few of the things I think about daily} I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends in my neighborhood who have helped, offered to help, or have lifted me back up in some small way. I got so many messages on my email or facebook concerned about my well being yesterday. It is great to be loved! Thanks Ladies... You know who you are! Other than my emotional instability... I feel great for the most part. I have a few minor aches and pains in my back, hips, and feet... but it's nothing too concerning. I think also as the Big Day is getting closer and closer... I am getting more and more nervous. I am actually terrified! I won't go on and on about all of my fears... I just hope and pray that I will be able to be the best darn mother to all 3 of my girls! I am so worried I am going to fail. Don't worry... I am very aware that I am not going to be a perfect mom. I know everyday will bring a new challenge.

That's our life at the moment. Happy.Love.Stress.Work.Life

Photo Friday: a few days late

2011-04-04T09:50:00.000-06:00

Photo: Courtesy of Des and her phone

Isn't it so nice to finally have some warmer weather?

Last Friday, Des and I went for a walk with the kiddos... I think Larkyn was enjoying herself as well! Feet up, sun glasses on, apple juice... all she needed next was a pool boy to fan her off!! HA!

I am so excited for summer to be here!!

photo friday: my girls

2011-03-18T19:45:00.000-06:00

Thanks to my lovely sister in law I am now apart of Photo Friday!

Hooray!!

Can you tell Larkyn is super excited?? She is such an outdoors kid and this was the face she got when she saw ALL the kiddos out playing today!

I love this girl SO much!

Ok... so the sickest funniest thing just happend...

Freaking Larkyn has been in the room playing on my bed while I have been working on this post. {don't worry our computer is in our room now} She comes over to me and tells me she needs to go potty. So we stripped her down {for some reason she has to be completely naked to go potty!}, then she was just running around naked and free, she finally went into the bathroom and I heard her sitting on the potty and didn't think much about it. Well within about 15 seconds I hear... "mommy poo poo". So naturally I go to investigate and there she was standing in the bathroom {thank goodness} by a pile of poo! She peed on the potty, but for some strange reason decided to poo on the floor. What in the world!!!

Below are some ultrasound pictures from 2 weeks ago when I was 23 weeks.

I am still in shock that in about 12 weeks I am going to have 3 little girls!

I have had some of my friends asking me if I am ok because I seem off lately...

I honestly just think that it's because I have so much on my mind ALL the time. Emotionally it's been a lot to take on. Obviously I am SO excited that we were chosen to have twin girls but I often worry about how Larkyn will handle the shock, how I will have so much love for so many girls {I know I will, it's just hard to imagine, ya know?}, I worry if I will be able to be the best mom for so many girls to look up to. Plus I think that I want everything to be so perfect when they get here and so my thoughts have also been on preparing everything in the home. Anyway... Here they are.

OH! For those of you who don't know yet...

We have chosen 2 names...

1 - Oaklee Jane

2 - Carea McKinley {its pronounced Cuh-Ray-Uh}

Logan has been worried about someone stealing one of the names... but I just don't care anymore. I figure... No one in our families are expecting, and we aren't planning on living in our current ward forever lol.

kitchen makeover

2011-03-17T16:22:00.000-06:00

Some of you may remember like back in November when I announced to the world that we were getting ready to take on some DIY projects in our kitchen ... like staining the cabinets...

WELL this has been a process and we have barely made a dent.

I have been frazzled because I have soo many other projects that need to get done and my poor husband has had is time spread very thin the last 2 months and as a result is usually exhausted by the time the weekend rolls around.

This week I have been staring at the cabinets just wishing that maybe a whole army of men would come finish them for us... {sigh} yeah right! WHO in their right mind wants to sand and stain what feels like a zillion cabinets!!

So I started to think ... "Maybe we should just pay to have all new cabinets put in... "

As a result I ended up on HGTV's website lusting over my dream kitchen

There are sooo many things I would LOVE to have in my kitchen, but with our current floor plan... it would never work in this house.

I think I got slightly depressed for a moment...

THEN I found these...

You can find these pictures on www.hgtv.com & www.theletteredcottage.net

These pictures are both of the same kitchen from www.theletteredcottage.net and it was featured on HGTV's website. The first makeover was when they went to black cabinets and they recently painted them again to white.

YES I said painted!! This couple didn't even have to sand ALL of their cabinets! They lightly sanded the faces of the doors and drawers. OK... I freaked out when I learned from her sight that Home Depot actually sells a primer specifically for painting cabinets!

I AM SOLD! Sanding has been the biggest pain in my neck and I'm not even the one doing IT!

Notice the cute-sy wood pieces under the top cabinets... OH you better bet I am FINDING those.... and DID You notice the extension at the TOP?? I am DOING that AS WELL!! {sorry I am overly excited here}

You have to check out the whole makeover project at www.theletteredcottage.net and go to kitchen YOU WILL DIE when you see what this couple started with!

It amazes me what paint and a few details can really do to a room!

is it time to update your hair style....

2011-03-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

I believe it is!!

Highlights... cut... a whole new do... SHE IS FOR YOU!

Let me just say that Kariann is AWESOME and totally rocks at cutting and coloring hair!

I don't think I have ever been happier... she actually listens to what I tell her!! : )

My hair style is kind of blah right now... but I am in the process of growing it out and making it even. A few years ago my hair was pretty much slaughtered and I am not kidding when I say it is STILL recovering!!

Anyway... like I said... Kariann is awesome, she will listen to you, and she will give her EXPERT advice on what she thinks will look good!

GO SEE HER and GET IN ON March's offer!

why i love relief society ...

2011-02-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

I am finally going to admit that ...

OK OK I know it sounds a bit lamo to say "I admit" here... BUT I can remember when I felt like I didn't belong in Relief Society... that I didn't have anything in common with the sisters... that I didn't feel like hearing what all those women have to say. Obviously... these feelings were a long time ago... BUT days like today I feel like I need to give a shout out to Relief Society!!

So why do I love Relief Society?

Whoaday Haylie... back up the train!

What is Relief Society?

Well... {eh hem} In the Church of Jesus Christ as Latter Day Saints the women are a part of this organization called Relief Society. It was divinely inspired to be organized by some of the first leaders of the restoration of Christ's gospel in the 1800's. It is a place for women to increase faith and righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help those in need.

I absolutely love being able to participate in this wonderful organization.

Together as women we really do increase our faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel. We have so many opportunities to serve each other and to serve those who are around us. I know I have personally looked to soo many of the women in this organization as they inspire me in so many ways. I can't even count the many things that I have learned just by attending my Relief Society Meetings on a regular basis. I am constantly moved by the sweet spirit that is felt during our Sunday lesson's. Most of the time I am moved to tears.

Anyone who really knows me as a person knows that there are 2 things that make me choke up ALL the time

1 - When I feel the spirit

2 - My family

We have lived in our ward now for almost 5 years. Out of that 5 years I have served as a Relief Society Secretary for almost 3 years {not consecutive tho}

I am currently serving as Secretary to the Relief Society and I absolutely love it! I am busy, but I prefer to live life that way. Every Sunday I have the opportunity to welcome new sisters into our ward, comfort friends, and listen to some of the most inspired lessons that I have ever heard. I get to sit among the sweet presidency as they sincerely go before Heavenly Father for sisters who may be struggling. I get to witness so many miracles!

I don't just get this privilege because of my calling... any sister in our ward or around the world could witness the same things that I do. Its a matter of perception... opening our eyes to more than just OUR OWN worlds, being in tune with promptings that are divinely inspired, and practicing our own faith.

Sometimes I wonder how many sisters might feel how I felt several years ago.

I do know that as we put our selves out there and really open our hearts and minds we WILL feel the love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us as we attend our relief society meetings every week. I can personally say that whenever I miss a Sunday because of sickness or vacations... I feel so empty. I love the rejuvenating powers that Relief Society has. If any sister or woman is feeling like maybe they don't belong... You should call me and we should talk. OR you should get down on your knees and sincerely pray that you might have the spirit with you as you attend your next Relief Society Meeting...

I know that this organization was divinely inspired for many reasons and that the words that are taught or shared during these meetings come from the Spirit of the Lord.

Larkyn... spring... and the belly

2011-02-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

I thought for sure today was the day that I would be able to capture my little girl on camera... Think again!

I don't know why kids this age have to be so darn difficult when it comes to taking their pictures... I mean... Can't they get it together for a few minutes so we as parents can capture their cute lil' faces?? HA! She was every where! I thought if I got her favorite seat out {the stool above} I might be lucky.
NOPE.
I had about 20 pictures that looked almost exactly like this - mouth open, eyes closed, weird faces... lol. Oh well. She sure is cute... even if she won't pose like a model!

Me like everyone else is over winter! I refuse to wear winter sweaters with colors like gray, black, dark green... anything dark and wintery looking. I have been making good use of our colorful shoes... even if they don't match our outfits! For some reason bright colors just seem to make the days a little better!
{don't mind our dirty shoes}

And here is the belly! I have had so many family members and friends from out of state asking to see pics... if you didn't see them on facebook here they are.

22 weeks prego!

Everyone has been so nice and encouraging... I REALLY do appreciate it! It is so hard for me to feel like a beautiful woman. I know I really shouldn't complain because I feel very fortunate to have received these 2 girls all on our own... plus Larkyn. I have family and close friends who are struggling with getting pregnant and my heart breaks for them.

It is just hard... Pregnancy is not fun for my body so in turn I get really self conscious. BUT I am very grateful that so far both babies are very healthy... I guess I would rather me go thru some difficulties to have them healthy and thriving.

record: 104

2011-02-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Sundays can feel so long...

I know! Call me a sinner for saying such words!!

This past Sunday {yesterday} Logan and I were feeling like bums and that we needed to "spice" things up a little, BUT not too much! :)

So we made up a game...

Butt Ball!

Ok that sounds so inappropriate!

AND I am sure we are not the first ones to do this... OR maybe we are... ??

So we sat on the floor about 8 feet apart

our goal: see how many times we can hit the ball to each other without it touching the ground -

{goal:100}

You know we really are only 5 year olds! Our bodies have just aged very poorly... but shh!

Ok... so we started the game. I have to admit this was harder than I thought it was going to be! It took us probably a good solid 30 minutes of trying and me goofing off of course before we actually REACHED OUR GOAL... BUT we exceeded our goal and made it to 104!!

HOORAY!!

Here are the rules in case anyone might want to try this intense game of BUTT BALL!

1- sit on the ground at least 8 feet apart, but I wouldn't go further than 10 ft people sheesh you dare devils

2- YOU MUST stay on your butt - you can reach, go back and forward, but the BUTT must stay planted

3- the ball has to stay in the air... if it touches the floor back to #1

4- You can play the ball off of furniture as long as it hasn't touched the floor

5- no double hits

6- be insanely goofy and laugh a LOT! I normally don't get all goofy until past 8:30 BUT I was extremely exhausted from the weekend so my goofiness came on a bit early SO I have made this a rule! muahahaha!

7 - HAVE FUN!

I know most of you are probably too mature to try this game...

but if you DO please let me know how it goes!

heart attack...

2011-02-15T16:59:00.001-07:00

So...

Logan and I aren't very BIG into Valentines

We usually don't go to dinner... we tried this a couple times when we were first married and to me it's just not worth the crowd and the crappy service...

We never buy each other anything.. I usually pick up a bag of chocolate kisses and call it good!

AND I don't expect flowers from Logan

{i know... we are so lamo}

BUT...

THIS YEAR...

I decided to SURPRISE Mr. Logan..

Muahhahahahahaha!

HAHAHA!

I am so funny sometimes... this totally threw him off!

I was so nervous that he was going to wake up... YES I went out into the cold at 5:45 AM!

YOWZA that's early!!

I had a blast cutting out all of my amazing hearts ... oh... and the card I got Logan was hilarious...

Must be age appropriate to keep reading... :)

eh hem... it said...

YOU

NAKED

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

THE PERFECT VALENTINES!

Then I of course had to spice it up even more on the inside... All I am gonna say is that it might or might not have included "Clive" & "Julianna"

{Anyone watch Modern Family??}

Ha.HA.Ha!

I am so glad I got to spend the day with my 2 favorite Valentines!

spring dreamin'

2011-02-09T15:35:00.001-07:00

I dunno what it is...

spring fever or just pregnant and going crazy...

I have this urge...

to clean every single thing in my home

to wash the ceilings - wth?

to organize then re-organize everything in the home

to redecorate - with what budget?

to sew ... an apron, curtains, pillow covers...

to take photos - but I broke my lens... so I have a couple more weeks of suffering {sigh}

to get the babies room and Larkyn's room all ready to go...

to do crafts with Larkyn - is she too young for glue sticks and glitter?

to go for a walk outside... but of course its still cold and YES we are all still sick.

to make home made bread {my mother -in-law makes the best home made bread ever and I don't have the special touch... grrrr}

to totally pig out on strawberries and fresh melons

to go swimming even with my enormous belly

My list of spring dreamin' could go on forever... literally! My hub is in warm Arizona {about 70} and I am stuck here just dreamin' of that day.

opinions please...

So I found this fabric online {see pic below} I really want to make curtains for my windows in my front room and kitchen... but I suck at decorating and I can't ever get myself to actually do something because I fear that it will be another disaster {like the dreaded green wall}

So I want to make curtains... not the traditional curtains. Excuse my pregnant & sick brain right now ... I can't think of what they are called but I want to make a single long panel for each window and have it hang high on one side... then do a swoopty do thing over the curtain rod... to end hanging to the floor on the opposite side. This material is just cotton {i wonder if they do samples} but do you think its too busy to do for curtains? This is where my serious lack in judgment comes in. I would probably make a couple small pillows to tie it into the rest of the house...

what do ya think?

she is beautiful...

2011-02-07T17:02:00.000-07:00

Meet Logan's sister Des! I took these maternity pics of her FOREVER ago... and of course since I have little motivation in me I just barely got them edited and handed over to her. I am such a slacker!

Des is due to have her baby this Tuesday and if she doesn't go by Friday her Doc is gonna induce her! So the selfish side of me really really hopes that she doesn't have baby Azlynn before Friday only because:

1 - Larkyn and I are both sick with horrible colds

2- Logan will be in Arizona until Thursday night

(I know I know... I normally wouldn't wish such misery upon someone... but given the circumstances I'm gonna! muahahaha!!)

Des is probably one of my closest friends. She is also one of Larkyn's most favorite people. After Logan and I had Larkyn, Auntie Des made it a point to always come over to our house to visit, check on Larkyn or just play with her. What little girl doesn't love this?!? Anytime we have needed a last minute baby sitter Des has always offered... and I mean last minute! It helps that she literally lives right around the corner from me! I am sure I will be returning this favor soon... and I am sooo looking forward to it! : ) Des has an amazing eye for detail (I have used this talent many times during photo shoots!), she has a relaxed personality, she is honest with me... this I love, and she is just herself.

Des - Thank you for being such an awesome friend, sister-in-law, aunt, neighbor.... what else?? LOL.

Love ya! Can't wait to meet little sassy pants Azlynn!

Twin Girls... Whoda Thunk!

2011-02-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

Baby A (above)

Baby B

Baby A ... what a little model!

Check out that hand.. Baby A

Baby B's leg...

In the upper left corner of the shot (kind of the center of the actual pic) there are Baby A's feet and a part of Baby B... not sure which part tho.

So we just had our visit with our maternal fetal medicine Dr's today at IMC in Murray. We did get to find out the sex... As most of you know by now we are having girls. I am beginning to think that Logan is really going to have to humble himself before he gets a boy! :) He has been being such a smarty pants today and boy o boy did it come back to bite him in the butt. When will he ever learn?!? Oh and just for the record 3 different Dr's did confirm that both are girls... HA!! My regular OB tried to peek yesterday while I was at his appt, but he didn't have a clear enough shot. We suspected baby A to be a girl, but baby B was still the unknown. Thank goodness they were able to solve the mystery today!!

Ok so here is the low down... we are having 2 girls, they are not identical, they both weighed in at 8 oz today and they both are very very active and doing great. I am not considered such a high risk pregnancy any more since both babies are in their own sacs and they both have their own placenta. Obviously they will still watch me and I will go see the fetal/maternal docs every 4 weeks to have them measure growth and such. It was crazy to see how they try and keep track of the different babies! I was so lost! We were there for about 2 hours while they checked every little thing... Baby B did keep pushing and kicking its legs into Baby A's area so it was getting a little confusing.... But we figured it out!

At one point during the ultrasound, even after all 3 confirmed females for both, Logan saw the umbilical cord attached to baby B and said "I think I see a growth!" (sarcastically) Of course the Dr. smashed his hopes and said "That would be a 5 ft. penis... Dont flatter yourself!" We All had a good laugh over that.

As far as names go... We have NO clue. We need to pick a few and then I will do a post about that... and we will see what every one thinks! It's going to be a battle tho... We can't ever agree on names! Sooo... wish me luck here!

i will try to have Logan take a pic of me soon!!

one more

2011-01-18T16:12:00.000-07:00

I am seriously on a roll today! Check out Miss Kelsey another senior rep! Her eyes are sooo stunning in her pictures! We shot her session in a more rural setting and it so fit her! Well at least I thought so! She is such a fun young girl and has a lot of ambition to go far in life!!

seniors

2011-01-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

Eh... blogger really isn't the best place to showcase pictures, but I thought I would post some anyway!

I am still trying to play catch up from this fall. I took WAY too much work upon myself for what time I had in me... plus I had no idea the reason behind my exhaustion.

Meet Brady - C/O 2011. He is one of my senior reps this year! Well ... we will see if I am up to taking any sessions on this spring. After all... we all know I am gonna be huge and probably tired still. : ). Anyway... Something about this shoot in black and white... I love it. Don't get me wrong... I love love love color! But I am a huge fan of these pics!

Here's to catching up! Finally!

for {her}

2011-01-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

Ok So I know I am thief for STEALING this picture off of Amy's blog. But I really really needed a picture... Amy You can Smack me later!

So have you ever had a friend that you can call your besty?? Well Amy is mine. She is an amazing woman who has MANY talents! I have admired her from the first time I saw her and her trendy ways! We have a fun friendship, many things in common, and its kind of fun to share your birthday with your besty right?!? Oh and Albert Einstein! Most people judge Amy right off the bat and that is something that we have in common as well. Well Amy is probably one of the most easy going, easy to get along with gals and I love that! I knew I could always just drop in on her and it didn't matter. She is an amazing mom and she loves my little girl like one of her own. She is a great wife too!

Well Amy recently moved from our cute lil' neighborhood. {tear} I have been in denial since she called me and said those horrifying words "we had an offer" Well even then I still thought to myself... "she wont actually move..." Oh little did I know that she actually would! {again me being naive}

Well they moved about 2 weeks ago and I have been doing surprisingly well and I thought "HMM that is strange"

Then the other night I had to drive to the church to run errands and it hit me as I drove past her house... saw all the lights on... and wow! I had been avoiding that road apparently... driving to church the other longer way. I will admit... I sat at the 4-way stop and just stared at the house... I have never EVER been so angry at people moving into our lil' neighborhood!!! I seriously wanted to sabotage their house! I almost started to cry.. .I felt so violated!! {ok maybe the pregnancy has something to do with this... I dunno} Well finally after creeping some people out I finally drove thru the intersection. :)

I know that Amy needed to move for a reason, but sometimes it is so hard when you move away from close friends or when they move. I know they are about to embark on their new adventure in life and it's going to be so great for their little family. She is definitely one of the best people I know, one of the most loyal friends, and I know I can call her and tell her all my sorrows and she will still be there the next day with open loving arms. I have learned so much from this amazing woman... she has inspired me to be better!

I hope that all of us will really take the time to be better friends and express our gratitude to the ones we have.

Love you Amy!

2011 where have you been all my life...

2011-01-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

2010 was nothing short of an interesting year... A lot actually happened around our home and in our lives and of course I didn't blog about half of it! Last year started out a little rough for our family but of course we worked through it. Logan worked a 2nd job for a few months and I have gone back to work part time at Horrocks Engineers. It is crazy how things unfold differently for everyone, and if we listen to that still small voice we will be guided where we need to go. Fortunately for us, my part time job has been a huge blessing (tho there have been times I have been tempted to quit) but I feel like I was placed there for a reason... maybe I will share my insights on that on a different post.

Larkyn turned 1 in May, we went on our first road trip... and surprisingly we didn't have to bust out the baby benadryl - OH dont even judge me... YOU KNOW YOU ALL DO IT!! We painted our kitchen wall (finally!) and started staining the cabinets... but I dont even want to get started on that subject - SHEESH! My brother flew in from Florida for a few days, Larkyn was a BYU Cheerleader for Halloween, It was my busiest year for photography, We moved my mom into her casa, We DID have a Christmas this year and Santa made it to our home of course! And we found out that we will be adding 2 to our family this spring/summer. I am sure a lot more happened around our home... but you know.

There were millions of smiles, thousands of hugs, and hudreds of tears... But we survived 2010! Here are a few pics! - warning... picture overload!

1st bday party

Larkyn and her lil' cuz

Larkyn and my brother!

My mom, brother and Larkyn - You better believe we went bowling!

Halloween

WHAT - Googly EYES!!

Logan's sister Des - she is having a baby very soon!!

playing at the park...

Day at the zoo

YES - she has a temper!

At the same time the best bed head!

She was chubby...

a diva

swimming friends!

And I took this tonight... :) She is so cute! Even tho there are days that her temper pushes me over the edge I still love her!

So what will 2011 bring...

I honestly feel like this last year I was too focused on me! This fall I was so busy with photography that I feel like the months of August - November I wasn't even home... and I was missing out on my family. Don't be mistaken... I loved that I was so busy and I soo appreciate the business, but I feel like I may have over done it. Well then the news of 2 babies came and I am sure you are all sick of me talking about my babies, but You try being pregnant with 2 and see what else is on your mind. :) I feel like I need to be a mother and now is my time. I don't want to be so stressed when these 2 come and I have 3 kiddos 2 and under. I want to be at home with my family. After all...

Home is not a place... its a lifestyle.

I need to change my lifestyle. Obviously school has been put on hold. I have always had dreams of studying fashion and finally when I felt like the time was right... I was wrong. Not the first time in my life. I feel like I am almost being slapped in the face - HAYLIE You need to be a MOM ... So in order to get your butt into gear I'm gonna send you 2! HaHa! ok not really - but I am a true believer that things really do happen for a reason. Oh and speaking of things that happen for a reason... I broke my lens to my camera. I need to call around and get it fixed, but I still dont know how in the world it ended up in the laudry basket. Well so for now all my shoots are being put on hold... whether or not it was meant to be I dunno... but to be honest... I kind of feel like some weight was lifted off my shoulders... at least for a little while!

My goals for 2011...

- to be a better wife and mom, to capture those pictures of MY family and to actually document what is going on in our lives...

- to be a better friend... I know this was on my list last year but I still have some work to do.

- to help inspire - I recently received an anonymous letter that I love. Someone in my neighborhood obviously watches me and had the nicest things to say about me and she even noticed my photography. I don't get a lot of compliments on my photography, so to me this meant a lot. I feel like I should help inspire ALL of you women not only with identifying yourselves, but with other aspects in life as well.

- Since fashion school has been put on hold I have decided to make a study time for me to continue to move forward in this direction. I will be putting together a little somethin' to help consult women and their fashion struggles. I figure I can almost assess any single women and identify what colors and shapes she should be wearing... why not put this to some use right. I know I am not fashion savvy in my own dress, BUT I hope that this will change. I see so many women who wear the wrong articles of clothing for their bodies and I always want to say something - not rude, but words of encouragement.

- I want to be brave and learn to stand up for myself

- Along with that top one I want to be more honest... I am not a crazy liar, I just have a hard time being upfront with people and expressing my true feelings. I want to be ME!

- I want to be healthy - NOT SKINNY BUT HEALTHY ( there is a difference ) I hate it when I hear women talk about being a size 0 and how much/ or how little they weigh! This past year was hard for me with my weight, but then I realized that I am happy the way I am and I just need to have healthier habits. I dont want to weigh 100 pounds, or to look sickly skinny or unproportioned. I hope that ALL women can realize there is more to life than exercising and eating less than my 18 month old.

- I want to seek out better friends - It really is amazing what brings out true colors in people. Logan and I have lost some of our closest friends this last year and I still don't know why... but I figure I need to surround myself with positive people.

- Host at least 2 parties - I know this seems silly but I LOVE to host parties and to have good wholesome partyin' going on in my home.

- I want to break some color rules- What you say- My mom is always ragging on my color choices for my home, but I love bright, vibrant, crisp colors and that is what I want to surround myself in So this year since my focus is more on home... I want to focus on making our home our home finally and being my true self. Look out world!

Yowza! This ended up being way long! Here is to 2011! I know it's going to be a great year for my family and I hope it is for yours as well!

here's the proof...

2010-12-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

Logan and I are known for playing pranks on the family - I tend to pick on mine a little more! : )

So of course when we called to tell everyone our exciting news about the "dynamic duo" that is on its way NO ONE BELIEVED US!

Go Figure!

Here's the proof! No joking this time!

PS - Aren't they cute!

i'm back!!!

2010-12-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

Ok! So after many hours of thought I have decided to reactivate this blog!

YEAH!

To tell you the truth I wasn't and still am not completely satisfied with haylielyn.com so I am gonna put that project on hold... after all I have many things headed my way in the next 6 months! Plus blogging here is so much easier and its free! I get more traffic here and I just down right missed you blogger! :)

UpDaTe...

Larkyn is 18 months old! I have a toddler that is sooo sweet and sooo crazy at the same time! But I still love her with all my heart! She went to nursery all by herself and didn't shed any tears when mommy and daddy disappeared. (Although she has had a few tragedies the past 2 weeks that have brought on the water works).

I have been SOOO unbelievably horrible about documenting our family and Larkyn growing up. Here are a few of her milestones that were missed

9 months - crawling

1 year - the stink bug crawl - almost there people! But this happened on her birthday... we took her to the park and she started crawling all funny aka the stink bug... we thought it was because she didn't like the grass, but she kept it up for a whole month...

13 months and walking

16 months oh the rest of her teeth finally all decided to come in!

and here we are to 18 months - she is a runner, loves bubbles, bath time is a must (just like mommy), bookworm, loves music and dancing -- this girl's got moves! adores all her stuffed animals and her monkey baby, takes her bunny every where we go... ( I have to admit it sounds like she is saying mommy when she is saying bunny so for the longest time I had No idea what she wanted soo bad!)

Her vocabulary is off the charts, now I know most people can't quite understand her language, but she tries to say new words all the time.

She can almost count to 10 ( LOL - she skips 5, 7, and 8 all the time tho).

Tries to sing her ABC's - she definitely has the QRS part down!

She can say all the parts on the face (eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, hair, chin, cheeks, and ears)

Oh and she says "oh baby!" haha!

She loves her family so much!

There are so many other things that this little girl loves and is gifted with, but as a biased mom I could go on and on!

Well there are many things changing around the Studebaker home, and they are changing fast! WE are going from a family of 3 to a family of 5 in June - just caught up to most of our friends!   YES we are having Twins and we have so much work to do!! Our house is kind of being remodeled (I like that word) and we are right in the middle of it! Great timing right?!?

Now that Larkyn just woke up from nap time I guess I am done...

More to come!

SHOW ME SOME LOVIN'

2010-10-20T15:03:00.000-06:00

ok folks... I need to know that you are still out there and that you still care! {I'm really that desperate!}

I have a new website www.haylielyn.com

It is still under some construction and I have honestly been so insanely busy with life, church, work, photography, sewing, school... the list could go on and on

I need to know that my "new site" is being looked at, loved, hated... but be nice... please...

What do you think about it?

I want to make this "new site" my new blog/site for everything...

I hate how it doesn't show the entire post when I publish things...

I have a lot of learning to do to customize it to what I really want...

Feedback please!!!

what I've been up to...

2010-09-30T22:10:00.001-06:00

www.haylielyn.com

Still working on getting everything put together, so if you don't have anything nice to say don't say nothin' at all!

Busy Time...

2010-09-20T21:32:00.000-06:00

This is probably one of my favorites from this shoot! What beautiful girls!! However, they were not the easiest to take photos of :) !! Thank goodness for Lots and LOTS of fruit snacks and for the great entertainment {Logan}

I currently have 1 more opening for October!! If you are interested please email me at haylielynphoto@hotmail.com or call me 801.390.2288

$150 - Family Session up to 6

$50 print credit

High Res. CD w / about 30 or 40 images

Any location within reasonable distance

up to 2 outfit changes

Depending on the weather we might be able to go into November! But don't forget Christmas is just around the corner and you know what that means...

HOLIDAY CARDS!!

Also... things to look forward to

~ 1 blog - it is true... I cannot manage 3 blogs... I am a horrible blogger so I am having a merger ... woot woot!

~ 2 Newborn sessions, 4 senior sessions, 2 families, sisters, and maybe some of US!!

~ GIVEAWAY: Thanks to everyone for all of your support! Since everyone has been so generous this year and helping me build up my home businesses I will be offering 1 maybe 2 free giveaways in November for families who deserve to have pictures of their children done but might not be in the best situation to pay for them. I don't think any family should go without pictures of their kiddos. I will post more details as time gets closer... So check back for that!

summer storms...

2010-09-15T20:46:00.000-06:00

I can't actually claim this one.... My wonderful hub-a-lub took this amazing photograph! The only thing edited on it are the blacks! Yes the oranges were captured that bright... its amazing what aperature and speed can do for a great photograph.

I loved all the summer stoms this year. This is from July... remember those amazing thunder storms! I loved every single one and I have no complaints.

Summer of 2010 flew by... we have had lots of fun and have been super duper busy {as usual!!} I am working on my summer catch up post with pictures and stories about everything that has been happening around here. Its crazy how busy life gets! Sheesh!

Amber this one is for you! I know you love love love the sunsets and sunrises here in Utah. Something that I love about you is that you really appreciate what you have been given and you are going to take advantage of every moment. I can't wait for you to come home!

Lets catch up shall we...

2010-09-14T16:46:00.000-06:00

first things first...

I have been horrible about blogging about what is going on in my world!

Why start now! LOL!

Check out little miss beauty below! I work with her momma and I took these photos forever and a day ago and I am just getting caught up around here! Whitney {the momma} makes some super cute tutus, belts, purses, and other accessories. You can find them here

notice how well little miss Isabell is at blowing raspberries! I swear every picture that is what she was doing... AND she didn't want to give up the pearl necklaces! LOVE kids!!

So my sister-in-law is super crafty! I stole this from her blog {muahahaha}

I have always dreamed about fashion and understanding textiles. In fact... I was going to attend FSU in my younger years and study fashion design and merchandising. THEN I moved to Utah and not any of the universities around offered such a program! Sham on them! WELL NOW one of the community colleges does.... AND {drum roll please}

I am going to enroll part time! HOORAY! So to kick things off I am considering entering this contest.

Thanks Nemiha for the heads up!

More ties...

2010-08-26T18:05:00.000-06:00

{ties}

I know these aren't the best pics in the world... but here we go. Here are the ties I have made thus far! I am open to custom orders as well. If there is a certain fabric that you are looking for... call me! I will gladly go on a hunt to get the fabric you have been dreaming of!

Help me promote these babies! I am currently selling these for $7.50 +sales tax {add s&h if you are far far away} If you are in the lehi, eagle mtn area... I am out an about enough that I can meet ya or bring them to ya!

Serioulsy... you know you want one... or two...

1 2

3 4

6 7

8 9

10 11

Larkyn was helpin' me with the photos! What an excellent assistant! I know right about now some of you are freaking out thinking I would sell you items that my daughter has handled with her ooie gooie fingers! THINK AGAIN! I am not that crazy! When you make your purchase your items will be handled with the utmost care. I cross my heart I would never never never sell you something that is dirty or has been handled by this little miss! I still dont know why in some photos her hair looks so red! I promise its not that red... some red in it, but not that bad. I have to tell myself this to keep me sane!

Lindsay... don't judge this picture! You better still be planning on saving Cohen for her! :) I still can't believe she is 15 months! Where did the time go??

Ties Available

2010-08-20T17:59:00.000-06:00

more prints available! Let me know if you are interested! I am selling these puppies for $7.50 each --- Whata steal!!

How it works: Ties are available in sizes newborn {thru} 7. ALL ties come with an adjustable neck strap. You tell me what print and size you like... I then make the tie and attach it to the neck at the appropriate length for the size ordered.

Got it?

Got it!!

ahhh

2010-08-16T17:40:00.000-06:00

{All of} you would be so proud of me at this very moment...

I just deleted over 1,000 messages from my inbox!

It's time to partay!!

Brooklyn

2010-08-13T17:07:00.000-06:00

I got to spend the afternoon with this bea-u-tee!

Meet Brooklyn! She is 1 week old today and she already has quite the personality on her! SOOO particular about what touches her skin! Whata girly girly! I have to admit... she was kind of a stinker, but between the 2 sessions I think we finally got a few and mom is happy! Next week we will be shooting the entire family! WAHOO!

Congrats Murphy Fam!

Update!

2010-08-09T11:23:00.004-06:00

I have added the blog on Amber's behalf on my blog roll. Please see future updates there!

Thanks everyone!

8/10/2010 UPDATE ON AMBER GILES...

Amber's brain seizures have stopped but She is going to be in a coma for at least a few more days {maybe longer} just depends on how she reacts to the medication they are using. They still aren't sure exactly what has caused this to come upon her...

Please keep her family in your prayers.

I will continue to post updates here and on facebook as we get them.

8/9/2010
Life is so unbelievably precious…
Late last night I got the message from my Relief Society President that my dear friend Amber was found unconscious and is now in the hospital. I honestly don’t know what happened to bring this upon her, but I do know that prayers are needed.
She is a wife to a wonderful husband, a mother to 2 young, beautiful kids, a sister, a daughter, a friend.
She is an amazing woman whom I admire with all my heart.
She is a woman who has been through a lot but still walks around with a smile on her face and a skip in her step.
She has a testimony of our Father in Heaven and it shows in her face and kind words.
She serves whole heartedly
She is a virtuous woman.
Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Kariann Maternity - Preview

2010-07-13T17:54:00.000-06:00

I know I posted this pic on my other blog... but this one gets more traffic... so I thought I would post it here too!

SUPER Cute Kariann! More to come...

dreamin'

2010-07-08T17:45:00.000-06:00

I am a big dreamer... especially lately.

probably because Logan and I have gone sooo very long without buying anything but essentials...

So I found this beauty... IT IS SCREAMING MY NAME! {buy me Haylie... Buy me}

Imagined this in my room, with some cute home made pillows with accent colors of yellow and red...

Last night I decided to stare at this duvet a little more...

Looked at the sizes and OF COURSE it does not come in KING size! WTH people! Every other size but king. So I emailed the customer care for Urban Outfitters and asked them if they ever have it in king and if not if they would tell me where I could find it...

All they say is "unfortunately that duvet cover doesnt come in king size."

So I'm on a HUNT to find this duvet!

i am brave... i am strong

2010-07-07T08:36:00.001-06:00

Do you ever have one of those moments or days... Where you feel like your world is crashing in on you and its out of your control?

Yesterday I had one of those moments...

What is it about women... Yes I am ragging on myself and you at this very moment... What is it about us that makes us gossip... Even when we are asked to keep things confidential??

Maybe I accidentally slipped some information that to me didn't seem that big of deal... But to her it was.

Why do we do this?

why do we talk about those we don't really know personally or anything about their situation??

Back to yesterday...

I hate confrontation... I try to avoid any situation that could lead to any awkward situations... I honestly try my hardest not to hurt those around me...

The moment came...

My eyes teared up...

I was embarrassed probably red in the face

I am brave...
I am strong...

Those are the words I kept repeating in my head...

Breathe...

Its all gonna be ok...

I swear I'm still alive...

2010-07-01T21:55:00.000-06:00

I've Just been a LITTLE busy is all...

www.haylielynphoto.blogspot.com

Oriana Muse

2010-06-21T16:35:00.000-06:00

I am so far behind on blogging... editing... and LIFE in general is super busy! I can't believe June is almost over... Where has the time gone??

This first one is my all time favorite! Don't you love the name too!! Such a bea-u-ty..

We didn't get many pics of lil' miss Oriana... but the few we did get are simply stunning! Thanks Whitney for bringin' her by!

Next time I wont touch anything!!

2010-06-14T22:14:00.000-06:00

Some how I just deleted by blog roll! WTH?!? I don't even know how I did it... but poof it's gone!

Sooo... I am starting from scratch again. It only took me 3 years to get the 20 blogs I had... Sheesh!!

OK... friends... fellow bloggers... leave me your blog info so I can add you to my list.

If you dont want it publicly shared email me at haylielynphoto@hotmail.com

Muchos Gracias!

Cheesecake Factory

2010-06-12T14:21:00.000-06:00

For Desirae's bday we went to the Cheesecake Factory {yes this post is almost a month old... I am so far behind!! And it didn't help that I couldn't find my camera charger!} Anyway... We seriously love going here for dinner. We don't go that often, but when we do go, Logan and I generally go all out!

the girls {l-r: Des, Cindy, Jen}

the guys & Larkyn {l-r: Logan & Larkyn, Lance, Tom}

These guys just found out they are gonna have a baby in January! Aren't they super cute together! They are going to rock as parents!! We are super excited for them...

I like big butts and I cannot lie :)

Tom this is exactly why we love you! HaHa!

We were missing a few from the family: Declan, LJ, Nemiha & Avi... Hopefully next time we will all be there!

The End.

sheesh it only took me long enough!

2010-05-24T21:04:00.001-06:00

Ok so anyone who really knows me would know that I am secretly a wanabee cowgirl! {minus the horse riding!} I want a pair of cute cowgirl boots... I want property... I would love to have cows, sheep, ducks, and chickens for pets {not to eat!}

I have been dying to take cowgirl bridals FOR YEARS PEOPLE! Since before my sister in law Jen got married! It has always been on my mind... there were a few details that were left out... but Cassie didn't need them... her beauty spoke mounts of words! I might have to call on her to model for me again!

I never had bridals done... this is something that I deeply regret. I wish Logan and I would have spent more money on our photography. PLUS photography has changed sooo much over the last 6 years its pheonominal! Maybe if I was ever a size 4 again I will get some done for ole times sake! Maybe Logan and I should just reinact our wedding day! HA HA! Thats a crazy thought!!

Anywho... Thanks again Cassie! You are a doll!

she's turning 1...

2010-05-16T17:53:00.001-06:00

I need some help... I am getting ready to mail out the birthday invitations... and I dont know what photo I like best! I am in a toss up between the 1st & 3rd... the rest were more to show off my stinkin's cute baby girl!

I couldn't resist playing around with my filters!! LOL!

Where has the last year gone?? I have NO idea! She is so grown up and she is becoming a little girl and not soo much a baby anymore. AWE it's a tear jerker for sure! She is so independent and sometime sooo hard headed that she drives me bonkers.... but how could I not love her! Just look at that face! She literally melts my heart almost daily!

this never happens...

2010-05-14T22:18:00.000-06:00

Anyone who knows Larkyn knows she is not a cuddly baby... I did however catch her cuddling with Logan a few weeks ago after church. What the heck?!? I had to ask myself why she never cuddles with me... it was at that moment that I realized she misses her daddy. Our lives are crazy busy right now and have been for the past monthish. Logan working 2 jobs & me working part time officially {more on that to come} and then everything else I have been trying to put together with photography & pishposh stuff and all this craziness has led to her hardly ever getting to see her daddy. It makes me sad... but its a sacrifice that we decided to make as a family in order to get out of debt completely!

I have soo many things to blog about...

The first battle wound is still on my list, mothers day, Arizona, more bridals, Larkyns 1st year pics, newborns, new hair clips, new job, and possibly the home makeover {that last one might be put on hold for a little while} I hope to start catching up this weekend.

ON A SIDE NOTE...

I am offering family pictures for ~~a super expensive~~ an unbeatable price this summer. $150 for family + 16x20 gator board enlargement + high res. CD + copy right release + any location {within reasonable distance}.

If you or anyone you know is interested please send them MY way

Tell me what you think...

2010-05-06T20:28:00.001-06:00

YES I am completely aware that her picture and the address of the party are missing!

I just wanted to see what you thought of my design. YAY or NAY? I love every color here and you better believe that her whole party is going to be decorated with these prints, colors, everything!! I can't wait! OR should it be simpler??

We are doing her pics THIS Saturday... So you all need to cross your fingers for me that I get a good shot!

You might ask yourself...

2010-05-05T16:11:00.000-06:00

I wonder what Haylie has been up to...

Yes, Her eyes are really that bright! I'M SOO ENVIOUS!

And where was this fashion when I was in school?? I seriously wore high school t-shirts I think 75% of the time!!

More to come! www.haylielynphoto.blogspot.com

oh blue... how I love you!

2010-04-29T21:14:00.001-06:00

So I have had this photo sitting on my desktop for a few weeks now...

I saw it on a friends blog, but its originally from Deliciously Organized

Everday for the past week I have been drooling over this room.

I love everything about it!

Style

Color

Clean

Organized

Blue!

Funky

Crisp & Clean

finally spring!

2010-04-21T21:51:00.000-06:00

This past Sunday we spent the day with grampa and gramma Studebaker {aka Logan's parents}

This photo was taken in their yard... they have so many plants.. maybe one day I will have a fabulous yard! I posted a couple more on my photo blog! Let me know what you think of them!

I was super excited to play around with my new lens. Be prepared to see some stunning bridals that are taking place this Saturday and then I have a newborn shoot comin' up as well! Can't wait!!

So Larkyn is getting so big! AND you better believe I am thrilled to have warmer weather and get her out of the house! I honestly think she was starting to go stir crazy.

I can't decide if Larkyn is a mama's girl or a daddy's girl... she kind of goes back andforth. Logan is so great with her and she completely adores him! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful hub who works sooo hard to take care of our little family!

We need to have some family pictures done! This one will do for now! {even tho we all look sped}

Oh ps... I am planning Larkyn's bday party. Any suggestions? Should we have lunch along with cupcakes & ice cream?? I have never planned a bday party before... But I am super excited! Once I get her invitations made I will for sure post one! They're gonna be cute!!

hiho hiho... its off to work I go!

2010-04-15T15:59:00.001-06:00

So in case you haven't heard... I am a workin' mama again!

Last week I accepted a job a Draper City {pretty much doing the exact same thing I did at Highland}. I work in the mornings from 7 am to 1 pm. I am pretty excited to work again and to have the extra money! We all know anything extra makes a huge difference.

To be honest I feel extremely grateful to have found a part time job so fast! {given a lot of people's situations that they are in and YES we are some of those people.}

Last week Logan and I were discussing my new job and I think I shed a couple tears... only because its an answer to many prayers we have said over the last several months. We definitely could use the relief financially.

I started on Monday... today is Thursday. This week has worn me right out! I hope that my body and brain get use to the new schedule fast because I hate it when I feel like I am dragging.

Some more great news... I bought a new lens today for photography! YEAH!! I am super excited to use it this weekend at a shoot. YES I am still going to work on photography a lot and I need to sit down and plan the summer for pishposh mama. Its gonna be a busy year!

more posts to come... recipes, motivation, and I will post some photos of my baby girl!

lata!

hmmm

2010-04-07T16:01:00.000-06:00

Ok Folks! I am trying to make a decision and I really really really think your feedback will help influence me!

Sooo... I have 3 blogs that I contribute to..

This one...

My photography blog...

And PishPosh mama...

The thought of consolidating this blog and my photography blog has been running rapid thru my brain.

Obviously I am not sooo incredibly busy with photography that I post on that blog everyday.

I think it would be nice to have both on one blog...
number 1: to help save me time {since I am officially going back to work... sigh}... number 2: it would be one less blog for everyone look at...
number 3: well... i thought I had a 3rd thought but it must have left my head

Anywho... Let me know what you think!

Smoothie = YUM...

2010-04-06T11:44:00.000-06:00

For the past 5 years Logan has been trying to get me to try this smoothie that he made almost everyday while on his mission...

So I gave in and tried it... FINALLY! =)

Ingredients..
- 1 banana
- 1 orange
- 1 apple
- 1 tomatoe
- a few strawberries
- 2 carrots
- 1/2 beet {if you really love beets you can do a whole}
- 1/2 cup of strawberry yogurt
- 1 to 1 1/2 cup of orange juice

obviously if you want to add other ingredients such as blackberries, raspberries, peaches, broccoli, or spinach you can...

I know the vegetables sound weird and its not going to be as sweet as the smoothies at the smoothie shacks, but its super healthy.

Give it a try and let me know how you like it. Or if you mix a few other things let me know!

ps... sorry about my April Fool's post! LOL. I couldn't resist!

I found out today....

2010-04-01T17:41:00.000-06:00

We are having another little girl! Yipee!!

I know this might come as a shocker... we haven't told anyone in the family about our suprise...

Holy Moly...

I couldn't wait any longer!!

wanna model...

2010-03-23T15:56:00.000-06:00

I have an itch...

I need to shoot a wedding... a bride... or both...

Until I book something I'm lookin' for a model... someone unique and not afraid to be in front of the camera.

What I am lookin' for... edgy, vintage, cowgirl, 50's, red, accessories, one of a kind...

Where I want to go... a field or an orchard...

I want lose hair, preferably lose curls... maybe pinned to the side.

I honestly dont care if you are a new bride or a bride who has been married for 10 or more years that can still wear that magical dress... I want to photograph YOU!

If you are too afraid to contact me and know someone lookin' for free bridals or bridals they never got... PLEASE SEND THEM MY WAY!

If you are interested please please please email me at haylielynphoto@hotmail.com or if you are one of my close friends just call..

Depending on the response maybe I will offer 2 shoots... All on me folks!

prayers needed...

2010-03-23T15:02:00.000-06:00

A couple hours ago I got a call from my mom... then my sister in law...

My oldest brother Nathan just got a job offer in South Carolina... Wait? What??

So... for those of you who don't know... He is my only sibling that lives near me... the rest {5} are in Florida. He is the father of 2 of my nieces. These little girls mean more to me than they will ever know. They currently reside in Syracuse, UT... which isn't too far and even with them this close we don't get to see them as often as I would like. He is the husband to my sister in law Laura... Who I absolutely adore. I wish more sister in laws were as easy going as she is ;)

Here is a picture of Maia and Leah holding Larkyn when she was 5 days old.

While I was on the phone with my sister in law I was fighting back the tears... the thought of them being on the other side of the country just breaks my heart.

They are flying there tomorrow to scope out the area...

Obviously I hope the best for them. I only want them to be happy and honestly Nathan, my brother, he works hard and he deserves a lot. He deserves to get a great job, doing something that he loves, getting paid what he is worth.

Why do I ask for the prayers... ??

Well, the prayers are actually for me... I know I am selfish. =) Just Kidding. I just pray that things will work out for the best for them... and for me... I know I know selfish.

I know that whatever is meant to happen will...

I just hope that Nathan's current boss will be able to see how valueable he is and will decide to counter offer his current offer on the other side of the country.

We find out in a week or so...

Whitney Maternity {sneek peek}

2010-03-22T16:26:00.000-06:00

isn't Whitney just stunning! More of these to come...

http://www.haylielynphoto.blogspot.com/

my latest obsession...

2010-03-18T15:08:00.001-06:00

Ok folks I need everyone's attention NOW!!!

I am slightly obsessed with my house, fabric, texture, color... anything funky.

Well my bff Amy {that one is for you ;)} found this on a blog that we both now officially stalk

www.romo.com

It's wall paper people!!

I am in love with this... ever since Amy told me about it... I feel like all of my thoughts are being controlled by this beauty.

I need feedback and I need lots of it stat!!!! My hubalub is trying to put an x-nay on this project of mine... WHY WHY WHY???

Do you like this as much as me?

a few more...

2010-03-16T12:17:00.003-06:00

I think this first one is sooo cute!! LOL! Look at those eyes!

I decided to post this one... When I saw this pic I had to laugh at myself. I promise I don't normally pose for pictures like this =)

oh and ps... check out my baby's hair! It is getting soo long... but I love it!

it's official...

2010-03-15T11:29:00.000-06:00

We have a crawler! Larkyn decided it was time to start crawling this past Saturday night... you have no idea how ecstatic I am!

Well for the most part anyway...

I will be completely honest... I was starting to feel like I was doing something wrong as a mother. The doctor made me feel weird with his comments about Larkyn not crawling and then I was getting a lot of pressure from other people.

My house is not baby proofed at all! I have a lot of stuff that is at her level that I am sure she will be getting into and probably destroying... {sigh...}

Here are a couple pictures we took before she decided to get mobile on Saturday night.

these 2 are my little world! look at how cute they are!! My handsome hubalub and his baby girl!

so there is one more kissy kissy picture that I didn't post... I would but some of you might gag... Larkyn put her entire mouth around my lips and it looks like we are making out! Oh my... its hilarious!!

If you notice her nose... a couple weeks ago she got her first battle wound! I will have to do a post on that later! That was a rough week.

kenidi cont...

2010-03-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.haylielynphoto.blogspot.com/

let it rain...

2010-03-03T16:35:00.000-07:00

have i ever told you how much i love the rain??

anytime it rains in utah i rant and rave about how much i love rain. i don't know what it is... to me its sooo soothing. i love sunshine and anyone who knows me probably thinks i am a sun goddess... but dont you ever just want to do this...

i love playing in the rain... if there is one thing {besides my family} that i miss about florida is the awesome rain storms... if you are in it for more than a minute then you are soaked to the bone! its great to play in it and just go wild... not worrying about my hair and makeup and playing like a little kid is wild for me! =)

some of my funnest memories were when i was playing in the rain... ultimate frisbee with the singles ward in florida and while we were on vacation 2 years ago in puerto rico tropical storm olga hit and i thought i was in heaven.

yes this picture was from that amazing night in puerto rico.

another thing that i love about the rain is the umbrellas! there are so many cute umbrellas out there... seriously if there is ever a great rainstorm here in utah... and if anyone is up for taking pictures in it i am game... family pictures, kids, couples... you name it and we will do it!

i know all of us in utah have major spring fever... but i just can't help but love days like today. i think everyone should have an appreciation of great rain and atleast experience it once or twice in their lifetime.

... and i wish we would get awesome rain... like florida!

moral discipline

2010-03-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

this past sunday our lesson in relief society was on moral discipline. i read the following quote...

editorial writers at the wall street journal once observed: "sin isn't something that many people, including most churches, have spent much time talking about or worrying about through the years of the {sexual} revolution. but we will say this for sin: it at least offered a frame of reference for personal behavior. when the gram was dismantled, guilt wasn't the only thing that fell away; we also lost the guidwire of personal responsibility.

the united states has a drug problem and a high-school sex problem and a welfare problem and an aids problem and a rape problem. none of this will go away until more people in positions of responsibility are willing to come forward and explain, in frankly moral terms, that some of the things that people do nowadays are wrong." {"the joy of what?" wall street journal, dec. 12, 1991, a14}

obviously this lesson stuck with me and i hope for all of you in our ward it did the same. while discussing this, the responsibility of parents was brought up... say what? who is supposed to be responsible for our kids that we birth and provide a home, food, and clothing for? that's right people we as parents are responsible! we cannot rely on school, church, friends, tv, the playground, magazines and books to be teaching our children what is right and what is wrong. and ps... grow a backbone and tell your kids "no" and be consistent. consistency is the key here. my friend colby read my mind when she said, your kids might not be your friend for the first 20 years of their life, but after that they will. i would rather have my children come to me not only because i am their mother, but because they can trust me and will have a much greater appreciation and respect for me as their mother.

its crazy too because even when you tell your kids no and have to discipline them after they do something of poor choice... you know they are going to turn around and come to you for comfort. crazy how that works out!

ok so not only do we need to be teaching our children right and wrong, we need to be practicing this ourselves. we can't be afraid to stand up in the crowd and say no or that isn't cool or correct people when outlandish things are said. it's time to take a stand people!

we also need to take personal responsibility for our actions... not just the good ones but also the bad and the ugly. we all make bad choices! i know i have made plenty of bad choices to last me another lifetime ... thank goodness for repentance {forgiving & forsaking}.

thanks aimee for the great lesson! i seriously look forward to the 4th sunday lesson's when aimee is going to teach!

ps - if anyone would like to read more about moral discipline the talk was from this last general conference and was given by elder d.todd christofferson. http://www.lds.org/

{jen & des}

2010-03-01T13:46:00.001-07:00

these 2 lovelies are my sister - in - law's! aren't they just stunning!! i wish i was half as photogenic as these 2. they were great to come over and model some pictures for me this past weekend.. i have to admit i felt like i was shooting an ad for a magazine or some clothing store! ha! we had a blast and got some fun & cute pictures. more to come in a couple days!

check out their makeup! jen's {top pic} mother - in - law does professional makeup. if anyone ever wants to add this to a photo package she will gladly do your makeup for you {i'm talking air brush and all!} or feel free to bring your makeup and she will teach you how to apply it! i will post more info on that too!

http://www.haylielynphoto.blogspot.com/

persevere

2010-03-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

You can't go through life quitting everything. If you're going to achieve anything, you've got to stick with something.

{kenidi}

2010-02-24T15:53:00.000-07:00

precious 1 month old baby kenidi! she was absolutely darling and just about let me do whatever i wanted to position her.. just very easy going and didn't put up a fight until the very end. check out her itty bitty ring on her finger! i don't think i have ever seen a piece of jewelry sooo small... let alone that they made rings for babies!

her mom does interior decorating and design tips for all of us on budgets! be sure to check out her work at http://www.lindsigabler.blogspot.com/ thanks again lindsi!

i will post more to my photography blog in a couple days!

{julia}

2010-02-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.haylielynphoto.blogspot.com/

courtesy of logan

2010-02-22T10:59:00.001-07:00

while i was getting ready for church yesterday... logan took some kick boxing pics of larkyn! he loves playing with my new photography equipment... he's like a little kid at christmas! =) oh and of course she smiled in most of his pictures! what a lil' stinker!!

better late than never...

2010-02-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

who ever would have thought that some of the rock my husband crushes at work could be used for facials??

we did these facials a couple weeks ago... it was fun and interesting to watch logan put this mineral mud on his face. he was actually getting into it!

its cool too because this stuff actually works! while it was on my face i could feel my skin tightening up and then afterwards my skin tones seemed more balanced and you better believe my skin was super smooth!! =)

my inlaws went on a cruise to the southern carribean about a month ago and apparently some of the locals there use this stuff everyday and my father in law swears there was a 70 year old woman who looked like she was in her 40's!

sign me up!!

have i ever told you....

2010-02-17T15:14:00.001-07:00

... how giddy i get when it comes to photography??

i am so excited... i finally have the equipment that i have needed to produce amazing images! tell me this picture doesn't give you butterflies... well it does me.

please if you know anyone needing great and affordable pictures please send them my way! i would love to make your heart melt when you look at pictures of your kiddos.

lets see what this does...

1 child any age for only $50! i will give you a copy right release and all of the high resolution images on a disc for you to print wherever and whenever you'd like!

schedule 3 or more kiddos and i'll knock off 25%

finally

2010-02-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

we finally have internet again! whew! i don't know how much longer i could have gone...

there will be lots and lots of posting coming...

and on a side note... i got my new light for photography. hopefully i can get some darn cute pics of larkyn to post! wish me luck!!

haylie lyn photography

2010-02-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

yeah! i have finally found a look that fits me! this year i am going to be doing a lot of things different with photography. i am in the process of creating an in home studio {it will be very small =) } there will be lots of color and anything you! i want to create better portraits of newborns, children, seniors, families, engagements, bridals, and groomals. i am going to try to step away from the wedding scene for a while. i am so excited about this. be sure to tell your friends and families about me!

i am also going to be offering some amazing deals... so be sure to watch this blog and my photography blog. i will be offering mini sessions this spring, summer, fall, and probably a couple more times depending on the response that i get. now, remember that with me you will get your digital files... after all that is what you want, right? this way you will have the freedom to print wherever and whenever you want!

also... i have been thinking a lot about a lot... =) and i really want to try to have an influence on all of you who read my blog... so i am going to offer my thoughts on: your home your masterpiece, glamour, starting each day with a purpose, lets get physical, and everything me {just tips and tricks to some of my weird hobbies and maybe some other things}. hopefully i will have parts of that up and running sometime within the next week or so.

that's all for now... have a great day!

8 months

2010-02-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

these top 2 pictures were from last saturday. logan and i decided to go out to jcw's for dinner and then we went grocery shopping... larkyn looks so cute with logan's hat on. she is such a goober. {sorry for the poor picture quality... these were taken with our cell phones}

this picture is from 2 weekends ago... we were at the draper temple to photograph my friends moms wedding. again... larkyn was being so cute!

i'm sure all of you are sick of hearing how cute and adorable my baby girl is... but she really is! she is 8 months old as of last sunday and she seriously does the cutest things that just melt my heart! she started whispering... she says "ki ki" she started this because we have 2 kitty cats and when she sees them she goes "ki ki" ...

and she can clap now! yeah! the first time she clapped was 2 weeks ago and she was so excited when she finally did it! the look on her face was priceless...

she has finally learned how to get to her stomach from sitting. this has been a work in progress. i was starting to worry since she would just tip over when she was tired of sitting. lol. she had some very rough falls! still no crawling... but she is getting there. everyday she moves more and more. i have a feeling she is gonna be a hand full.

oh, and she also does the cutest thing... we will stand her up on the couch so she can hang on to the back cushions and she will lay her head on her arms and just look at you with those big blue eyes! yep... definitely a cutie patootie.

she kind of waves... lol. we are trying to decide if that is what she is doing... but logan is certain that it is. its not the cute hand opening and closing... its more of a flapping of her whole arm! lol! you have to see it to understand.

and i think she has said "hi" a couple times or maybe its just and "i".. who knows!

she has learned that she can throw tantrums... all of you in the ward heard her screaming during the bishop's lesson on sunday. yes... she is already starting to test us to see what she can get away with. what a little stinker!

oh, but you know i love her to death! she is my sassy little sweetheart that knows exactly what she wants in life... just like her daddy ;) maybe a little bit like her mommy!

from my heart

2010-02-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

{i am sorry in advance if this post is weird or if it doesn't make any sense.}

i have such a hard time writing things... i tell logan stuff from my heart all the time... and i say it better than i can write it {so just bare with me}. maybe i should start recording our conversations and then type it up. ha! could you imagine!
yesterday at church was great! we had our young women's presidency speak in sacrament and everything they spoke on was a wonderful reminder... they talked about the strength of youth pamplet and one of the sisters said that just because we are adults that doesn't mean that those principles there don't apply to us. i had never thought about it like that... i mean i know to obey the commandments, try to be a better person, be more patient... but the one thing that stuck out to me was about being an example and not being afraid to stand up for what we believe {as lds members http://www.lds.org/ }.

one of the sisters talked about something she had wrote in her journal as a teenager. she had the opportunity to leave a movie {that was of poor choice} and didn't take it. logan and i talked about this a lot last night. i honestly hope that i can be the brave soul who walks out of a movie because of language, inappropriate behavior, or anything else that would make anyone uncomfortable. i hope that all of you who are reading this post will too feel the same way. i also want my kids to grow up and not be afraid of being the young girl or boy that wasn't afraid to say "hey, this isn't cool". i want to be better about a lot of things... not just walking out of movies. =)

we have a lot of challenges that we face everyday...

i know this is random...

i honestly hate swearing... i don't know why but when people {friends & family} use poor language, it makes my skin crawl. i get so uncomfortable. i know i am not perfect and i know i have used some poor choices in my words, but i want to be better than that... and you, yes you, you should too!

i wish that our families could be closer. not just physically, but emotionally too. don't get me wrong we both love our families, but sometimes i feel like all of our views on life are different. i know it should be like that because life would be way too boring if we were all the same. i just wish we were closer... better friends... better examples... just better =) sometimes i wish i could talk to my family about spiritual things... but i don't feel like i have a connection with anyone {besides logan =)} it would be nice to go to the temple with family & friends and then out for ice cream or something. is it just me? does anyone else feel like this? sometimes i feel like the important things in life get set aside for petty things. i, myself and guilty of this, but i am trying to overcome this flaw.

i want to try to be a better wife, mom, daughter, sister, and friend this year. this is one of my goals... i get so caught up blog stalking people, facebooking, doing who knows what with my time and then the next thing i know its the end of the year and i'm back to square 1. i need an organizer for all my family and friends and somehow figure out a way to fit everyone in to my crazy life and i need to better manage my time.

well that turned out a lot different then i expected. again, so sorry for my lack of writing skills.

be there or be square... PLEASE NOTE THE ADDRESS CHANGE!!

2010-01-26T20:51:00.001-07:00

We are having a boutique THIS Saturday! Come check out all our new items... We are adding some jewelry into the mix and some super cute hair accessories. Don't forget about our cute dresses & skirts that will make fun Valentines gifts for your little girls.

I hope to see everyone there!!!

my baby girl...

2010-01-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

I couldn't decide which one I like more... b&w or color. I serioulsy can't get enough of my little princess!