Through My Eyes

Where's the soap?

2008-07-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

**Warning**
Some cursing in this post - read at your own risk :)

Last night I was putting Britlyn & Makenna to bed, when out of no where Makenna says, "Mommy, you're ass." Figuring I couldn't have heard her right I asked her, "what?" Once again, she says, "You're ass." At that point I commit the biggest mistake as a parent..... I laugh like crazy. It just struck me so funny at that particular moment. Then I asked her, "Do you even know what that word means?" She said she didn't - just as I had thought. So I told her it wasn't a very nice word for a bottom, or it can be a word for a donkey. So then she starts saying, "You're ass - the donkey kind." Somehow that is supposed to make it okay, I guess. Still I can't help but laugh. Bad, bad mommy!! I know. So then Britlyn wants to join in on the fun and she starts using "the word." After a few minutes I tell them that's enough, we really shouldn't say that word. It's a swear word and we don't talk like that. Normally, that would work for them. Well, of course not this time..... I had already laughed once. I couldn't get them to quit saying it, but they were getting better at using in context, so I had to call in the big guns - Next person to say it would start getting stuffed animals thrown in the garbage. That worked until songs were all sung and done, but then the silliness just took over and once again I hear a little, "ass" sneak out of one of them. I finally decided to let Jeremy take care of it... even though they probably learned it from him! lol It seemed to work anyway. My little princesses have little sailor mouths it seems. I'll know better than to laugh next time. :)

Usually you see the pretty little ladies, but I thought this time these were much more appropriate! :)

So big so fast

2008-06-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

My sister was here for a few days and she had her little man with her. I took pictures of him when he was only a few days old, but now look at him! He's gotten soooo big!

Here's before:

Here's now:

He has got the longest lashes and the biggest squishiest lips ever! He's such a cutie! My girls loved being little "mothers" to him.

True Joy

2008-06-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

I shot these pictues about week ago I just love them. For me I can just "feel" the joy the the happyness. I just adore what great friends they are. They are so sweet and just perfect in their own little ways. Too bad Ellie was down for a nap otherwise i would've snapped some of her beauty also. These little girls just light up my life.
Sometimes I have a very difficult time getting a true smile out of Britlyn, so I just adore this, because it is just soooo her.

My Love, My Challenge

2008-06-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, I love this kid soooo much. She just really challenges me. I guess it's a sort of self improvement test for me. She has just this great firecracker personality that I adore.... most of the time. Along with all the wit, engergy, and sweetness she possesses, there is also a lot of defiance, stubbornness, disobediance, and disrespect. If it's something she doesn't want to do, she just won't do it - well, that is until the punishment gets bad enough, but even then she'll say things like, "Fine, but you can't watch me," or "I did it mean," or "Don't say thank you when I'm done." I have to really watch myself with her because I don't want to let her learn that behavior is okay, but I also don't want to have power struggles with her all the time. I want her to love being a kid and growing up, not remember getting in trouble all the time. She really is so sweet too though, and so beautiful, but sometimes I just want to lock her in the bathroom all day long. I know that I can't change her, so I have to change and improve myself. I have to really look at what is important and make sure my emotions are always in check. I want her to know what a great kid she really is... I am just hoping some of the negatives in her personality are kind of a phase and can be molded into something more positive. And if not, I pray for more patience!!

A few more...

2008-05-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hey Mil, I'm almost done, but I wanted to throw a few more up here for you!

Preview

2008-05-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

This is a little preview for my beautiful sis-in-law. I was lucky enough to get to take these pictures of her with her brothers and sisters. I hope you like them! There's lots more, these are just a few.

My Very Own Personal Tornado

2008-03-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

Yep, I've got to be the luckiest person alive. I have my very own tornado - and like all terrible storms it's even has a female name - Ellie. Saturday I decided to document her day of destruction. I was happy to see my little tornado did not disappoint! First stop was in my bedroom. The once potted plant was her first victim.

If you look closely, you can actually see her dumping the dirt all over the floor.

This is her very dramatic reaction to the words "no no."

Next stop was the pantry. The strawberry milk looked just too good to pass up.

Now Makenna's Easter candy - really though, can you blame her?

Here's the remains of the chocolate and carmel she was chewing on - well, spitting anyway. She wanted to leave her mark around the pool table, so she left little globs of chocolate, carmel and spit all around it on the floor.

Back to the pantry.

Oatmeal, always a favorite to spill on the floor. Luckily the container was almost gone, so not too much on the floor.

Most days I feel like I am running around constantly, but when I look around it doesn't seem like I've gotten anything done. Now at least I have proof I actually do something! On top of all this I managed to take all three girls grocery shopping, feed them, do an absurd amount of laundry, and take Britlyn & Makenna to the movie Horton Hears a Who. What a day. Here's my monstrous pile of laundry. I do have to say though that I love my little tornado, I'll just be glad when she's big enough to clean up her own destruction!
Now, just in case the pile in the top left corner looked small, here's a better shot of it.

"K" this is just for you!

2008-03-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

I know you've been waiting on some of these, so I thought I'd throw out a little sneak peak for you! I hope you like them!

Yeah, I couldn't resist putting one of little bum on here!

Blah, blah, blah...

2008-03-13T06:27:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago, we had the whole family in the car driving home. Jeremy asked Makenna if she liked granola or something simple like that. First she said "no," then she said, "actually, I do." Then once again she was back to "no." She's very indecisive about some things. Anyway, so then Jeremy said, "Makenna, do you even know what you like?" Immediately she just says, "blah, blah, blah." I laughed sooo hard! Now, hopefully, that answer isn't one I hear when I'm talking to her at age 16 or so. :)

And of course I have to add a photo. :) I took this yesterday. The flower & the pose were all her, but I thought it came out adorable!

Happy Birthday Princess!

2008-03-05T11:21:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my little girl is 6! That's just starting to sound like an older kid. Britlyn was so cute last night. When I was putting her to bed she'd say, "This is your last kiss ever from your 5 year old." She kept doing things that were her last as a 5 year old. She's such a great kid. I just adore her and love her to death. Yesterday we had David, the boy that gave her the chocolates, over for a play date. Of course I had to snap a couple shots of them. They weren't really into it, so I got some funny looks, but I think they are adorable!!

Isn't it funny how at this angle it looks like they are holding hands? I assure you that was definately not happening. They had a lot of fun, but they are not even sort of trying to go anywhere near there. Thanks goodness!!

We're done for

2008-03-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

This is a little late, but that's pretty much how I always am with my blog. There's a little boy in Britlyn's class that she has a crush on, well he has one on her too. So, for Valentine's day she got this from him.

Her first present from a boy, and she's only 5! Really though, it was the cutest thing ever. His dad had told me a couple weeks before that he wanted to get her a special valentine gift and asked if it was alright with me. Of course I didn't care. Britlyn was soooo excited for Valentine's day. The night before, when I was putting her to bed, she said to me, "Mommy, tomorrow I might scream in the car because I will be so excited for Valentine's Day." Well, when I picked her up for school, I asked her if David gave her anything. She said he didn't. I was a little surprised, but figured something else had happened. A minute later his dad walked up to me and asked if David had given it to her, I told him he didn't and he said, "Oh, he's just so shy. I've been trying to coach him all day on giving it to her. He was so excited he got a haircut and everything for today." Then he left to go get his son. I was buckling Ellie into her carseat when I heard, "Go over there and give it to her, and tell her Happy Valentine's Day." Britlyn was already buckled up in her seat, so he walked over to the car, he handed the box to her and said, "Happy Valentine's Day." She said it back to him and then he left. Her face just totally lit up when he gave it to her. He was all smiles too.

Whadda think?

2008-02-22T15:38:00.000-08:00

So my logo has been bugging me lately. Nothing real wrong with it, it's just kinda blah. So I spent about and hour today and came up with this. Any thoughts? Anything that bugs you or you think might look better? I was practicing some sun flare outside the other day, so that's what the picture comes from. Oh, I've noticed I'm such a good blogger lately, huh?! :) (if you click on the picture you can see it bigger)

She's looking like a toddler

2008-02-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

Ellie has been growing up so much lately. She just seems to really be catching on to things a lot more. She mimics a lot and she is saying more and more words. She LOVES to play with her big sisters and be just like them. She has a thing for shoes - true woman! She loves to put on my shoes and try to walk around. Makenna did the same thing, it is so funny to watch them wobble around in my heals. Ellie loves to be outside, in these shots she was just running back and forth in the front yard relishing her freedom. She just looks older to me in these - there goes my baby.

Does this work? or is the next one better?

My baby and me

2008-02-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

I took this recently and I just love it. I love the way Ellie is holding my leg. This was the first day I ever put her hair in piggies too. Awe, my baby is growing up. Check out my legs, I look like I am on stilts!

Finally!

2008-02-14T10:30:00.001-08:00

Well, it's done. I have officially launched a photography website for myself, and I am really excited about it. For anyone who wants to check it out the web address is www.noelwarburtonphotography.com. Let me know what you think - good or bad. Thanks!!

I told you...

2008-02-12T18:21:00.000-08:00

that I would be playing with textures a lot. :) I have been loving them, they just add such a unique feel to shots. Here are some that I've been playing with.

Okay, so that was more than just a few. :) I love the first four. Some take to it better than others, but I think it's fun.

Best Weekend

2008-02-08T21:50:00.000-08:00

I have the sweetest husband in the world! :) Last Thursday he came home after work and told me he planned a weekend in Carmel, CA for us the next day. He arranged for the babysitter and everything. Okay, so I still had to do the packing, but man I'll do that any day for a weekend in Carmel! It is just absolutely gorgeous there. We haven't been away for a weekend from the girls in 2 1/2 years, it was a really good thing for us. I loved it, I seriously kept thinking how it was crazy because I kept feeling for Jeremy like I did when we were dating. I was all giddy and twitterpated (however you spell that) with him. We left Friday at about 7:00 pm and got to Carmel at about 1:00 am. Saturday we got up early, went to breakfast, and then we drove the 17 mile drive at Pebble Beach - Breathtaking! The house sizes there are nothing short of insane. Then it started raining, so we went to the grocery store, bought some playing cards and went back to the hotel and played gin rummy for about 2 or 3 hours. It was so fun, it was just so cool being together. Then we went out for lunch, ran back through the rain and played a little more. Oh, our hotel room was right on the ocean, so the view while playing cards was amazing! I started to get dark, so we built a fire in the fireplace and gave massages. Then it was dinner time, so we got ready and went to dinner. After dinner we put another log on the fire and read from our book that we are reading together, The Kite Runner. All too soon it was really late and we went to bed. In the morning we got up early again and went to breakfast then it was time to go back home. Oh, it was the best weekend ever. We'll definately have to do that a little more often than every 2 1/2 years.

Just Playing

2008-01-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

I've been playing with some textures in photoshop and I came up with this

I thought it looked kind of cool. Anyone else have any thoughts on it? Yeah or nay?

That's what big sisters are for

2008-01-20T16:38:00.000-08:00

Makenna is our little conniving one. She is just ALWAYS into something. Poor Ellie has had to learn the word "don't" out of necessity to get her sister to stop tormenting her. Well, back in December, the day we were going to fly out to Washington for my dad's surprise birthday party, I was really busy packing and getting everything ready to go. Makenna and Ellie were playing and being surprisingly quiet - which should have been a warning all in it's self, but I was not going to look into it because I was actually getting stuff done. Well, it was about 1 minute until I needed to leave to get Britlyn from school, so I call out to Makenna so we can go... she walked out of the pantry with a huge smile on her face and said, "Mommy, look at Ellie!" Out comes Ellie, and she is covered, I mean covered, in cinnamon. Now, I don't have time to stick her in the bath because we probably should have already left to get Britlyn. I wanted to be upset at first with Makenna for doing that to her little sis, but it looked so funny too, I couldn't help but laugh. So instead of get upset, I decided to just get out my camera and have a good laugh about it. Then I took Ellie over to the kitchen sink and got out the sprayer and sprayed off her poor little head. I think we were only a few minutes late getting Britlyn.

Recent Family

2008-01-18T10:10:00.001-08:00

Just thought I'd share some shots from a recent family session I had. I've had a session with just their girls before, but this time we got them with mom & dad too.

My Dad

2008-01-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy trying to get photos edited lately. These are a bit late, but I have to post them. It was my dad's 60th birthday on Dec. 11. There are eight kids in our family and we decided to throw a surprise birthday party for him. My parents live in Washington State as well as 3 of my siblings. There are two more siblings in Utah, one in Oregon, one in Texas, and I'm in California. We all managed to get there for it though except for my brother in Texas because he's on a mission for our church and couldn't come. It was really cool. My dad was sooo surprised. I think it is probably one of the best things our family has ever done. My dad told me it was probably the best day of his life. My oldest brother, Doug, made a slideshow video of his life, and after it we all shared memories and thoughts about my dad. I love you dad, and I hope you remember all the good words about you because they are true!

Now, the pictures are not anything to brag about. The room was really dark and I don't have a flash, so my iso was really high making the shots grainy and few kinda blurry, but they don't have to be technically perfect because the sentimental meaning is way more valuable to me here.

Dad just walking through the door as we yelled surprise!

Just a shot of the room as everyone was eating

A failing attempt at getting a shot of all the grandkids together

Penny and Mindy with the cakes as we sing Happy Birthday

Blowing out the candles... with a little help

Fun for the kids

A group shot of all of us together. Somehow my brother Jared escaped being in this and of course Craig wasn't there so he is missing. My grandma is also here. This shot is courtesy of Brooks, and I am sorry Brooks, but your last name is escaping me right now, so just your first name will have to do.

Sneak Peak

2007-12-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

Wow, I have been so busy this week! I have been designing Christmas cards for families, and I have been putting together a photo book for my parents & my in-laws for Christmas. This year I decided to design all my own pages... I had no idea what a project that was going to turn into! I have stayed up almost the entire night 2 times this week because I can accomplish so much more when I am alone. I am still only about half way done - I have way to many pictures! Anyway, for my secret little blog stalkers, I decided I needed to post something this week. I am such a slacker, I know! So here's a couple pages from the photobook that I am doing. Shhhh, don't tell mom & dad. :)

Now the white borders won't be there in the printed book, they are just for ease of viewing here.

I hope you are all enjoying your holiday season!!

Happy Birthday to Me

2007-12-04T10:50:00.000-08:00

It was my birthday a week ago, and on Friday I got one heck of a birthday present. Drum roll please.... I got a Canon 5D! Yeah!!! I'm doing cartwheels here. :) I LOVE it! I got the girls out of bed on Saturday and bribed them with making cookies so I could have a few minutes to practice with it on them. Here's my first couple shots:

Thanks babe, I loooove it! (and you too :))

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-21T00:32:00.000-08:00

We are leaving to Utah in about 12 hours, so while the house is quiet I thought I'd jump on here and wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving. I know my life has been so so blessed and I am just so grateful for it. Thank you to those of you who actually still check my blog after my long abandonment. :) Just a few of the things I am grateful for:

My husband
My daughters
My health
My family's health
My prosperity
My freedom
My faith
My parents & siblings
My body that took my 13.1 miles
My optimistic mind
All the challenges I have faced
All the people in my life who have influenced me to become the person I am
Photography :)
Good food
Good friends
Love
Laughter
Tears
Make-up
Crayons (you'd be amazed how many hours they entertain my girls)
Heros - people who really make a difference
Car dvd players
Good music
Sleep
Learning
Guidance
Cute shoes
Convictions
People who stand up for theirs
All the little moments in life that make me smile and think "This is what it's all about"

Have a great holiday everyone... I am so grateful for you too.

Here's a picture I took that I am grateful for

Personal Triumph

2007-11-17T19:42:00.000-08:00

So I have to toot my own horn here for a minute. Last weekend I ran a half marathon in San Diego. I haven't been training for it, but I do run 3 days a week with a couple girlfriends. One of them runs marathons and half marathons all the time, so she convinced us to do this one with her. I wasn't real worried about it because the weekend before we did an 11 mile run and it was no problem. Well I was in for a little surprise. :) I, of course, wanted to see how fast I could do it, so I ran at a faster pace than we ever do. At mile 10.5 I wanted to quit so bad! I was so done mentally. I did slow a little, but by mile 11 I got a bit of a second wind and picked up my pace again. I was so happy to see that finish line, wow was I happy. I finished the 13.1 miles in 1 hour 46 minutes and 55 seconds. This is my official time from the web site.

11/11/2007
San Diego CA
Silver Strand Half Marathon
Bib: 239
Name: Noel Warburton
Gender: F
Age: 30
Place Overall: 309 out of 1731
Women: 66 out of 888
F 30-34: 16 out of 142
AgeGrade: 61.15%
Place: 272
FINISH: 1:46:55
pace: 8:10
Chip Time: 1:46:55

I have to say I was pretty proud of myself. I have NO idea how people double that distance and do marathons. AHHHH Maybe someday if I actually train for it.