Gina Harrop

Warning..photo intense post

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas, surrounded by loved ones, and the New Year is off to a great start for you. I have successfully completed my first semester and quite honestly can't believe I got it all finished. We have spent the past two weeks since school got out working like crazy to get ready for round two of a wild school year. I have to keep telling myself that I only have to do one thing at a time and it will all get done. I am a bit more nervous about the  spring semester, because the kids will all be in sports and much of that is going to fall in Sir Lancelot's lap. He has been amazing and supportive, but it can get old fast when the dinners are from the microwave. I think I will try to freeze some meals next week before my classes start. Hmmm...if anyone has any good recipes, please do share.

Among the craziness we have had a fun winter break. Lance's brother Todd, and his wife and daughter Deb and Kenzie spent a day with us last week. They live in Alaska, so we don't see them often, but they are super fun and we love them. Debbie totally gets Cade and he absolutely adores her. Todd is the cool Uncle who the boys idolize. They are sure he spends his free time wrangling moose and hunting polar bears with his bare hands.

We decided to head to Flagstaff on New Years Day and spend a few days playing in the snow. The first afternoon Cade collided with a girl and knocked himself silly. He doesn't remember it, but we keep telling him how awesome he was. We had to spend the rest of the night in the hotel keeping an eye on him, but it was fun to order pizza and just hang out. It seems I have been a bit obsessed with planes and trains lately. My kids only recently discovered the smashed penny phenomenon ,while taking our Christmas photos. Flagstaff is such a cool train town, so we hung out near the tracks for awhile also.

 Lance has a few days off next week, so he has given himself a head start on painting all of my unfinished areas like bathrooms, the laundry room and the kitchen (which we have avoided due to all of the required taping). I love this man, he is always one step ahead of me checking off that to do list that tortures my brain.

I am a goal setter and list maker by nature (you should see my mom's planner), so the New Year always brings about a fresh start and renewed hope to use my time and energy wisely. I've decided to keep the ongoing resolution of simplifying my life (I have been working on it for a few years....it became part of a 5 year plan when I realized after year one that I am way more complicated that previously anticipated). My life may seem crazy at the moment, but getting my Masters is part of that plan. The other things on my list are spending more quality time with each of my kids alone. This is when they open up to me and I get to see and hear them as individuals. Last night I took Kai to the store with me by myself and we had a great conversation. I found out the things he was upset about and what he is proud of accomplishing. I also need to make my health a priority, because it usually gets put last on the list.

I have shot an insane amount of photos in the past few months of other families, weddings and my kids. Here are a few of Ashlyn that I love.

Ash made the school softball team and is playing catcher. She also plays third really well, but they want her to catch and she seems to be loving it. I think it looks painful, but she likes to be where the action is.

School starts again tomorrow and I am kind of looking forward to getting back to a routine. I work with amazing, beautiful kids who I miss and can't wait to listen to their tales of winter break.  I love the adults I am working with and learn something each day. They are supportive, funny and incredible with  the students. It is also fun for me, because I get to drop off and pick up my own kids and run into them occasionally. I will do my best to post each week and in a moment of over zealousness I have created a photo a day album for 2009. If you are doing the same leave me a comment, I would love to see yours. Thanks for your supportive comments these past few months, I appreciate all of my sweet friends and love to read your blogs.

Stay tuned...Kai has his first wiggly tooth...very exciting!

I know, I know...

It has been awhile since I've posted, so surely I have some kind of madness to ramble about. These last few weeks have been about keeping it together and the kids. We are doing well, just don't have much time left at the end of the day. It won't always be this way, there is just a lot on my plate and I am trying not to trip.  Let's see, I think I will just list a few things from September that come to mind.

1. If you are over 25 like me and considering going back to school, I highly recommend it.  It is so much more productive when you are not all boy crazy, looking for dates around every corridor.

2. I usually buy school pictures in the spring when they take the class photo, so I didn't buy any this month when the kids had them taken. Although they are generally awful, I was feeling a bit guilty so I made the kids go into the studio and shoot a few picts. There is something about the cheesy head shot on the blue or gray background that I find endearing. It really is easier to let their personality show than to just get a halfway normal head shot. Do you think my kids will remember I took these at home, or forget and later accuse me of making them wear a tie to school. The fact of the matter is, we walked in from church and I wanted to get it over with while they were still clean. Anyways, the point to my little story is that I went to put them on my computer and I didn't even have a family photo file made for September yet. That is practically criminal in my family, since the month is nearly finished....I think I have a few from the beginning of the month kicking around on my camera though. BTW, Lance has this really awesome school picture I will dig out someday. He is wearing a shirt that says "I'm #1 why try harder". What a stud, no wonder I chased him so far and wide.

3. This month my brother and his wife brought this cute little man into the world. I really thought I had past "that" phase it my life, until I held him. Enough said, I am nearly 4........0 you know (it doesn't look as scary if the 4 and the 0 aren't next to each other). He has beautiful skin and a darling little face. Meet Levi, the highly anticipated new cousin.

 

 

4. Don't you hate it when you tell your kids that a word is reeeaaaaallly bad so they won't use it, when it is only really bad if you use it in the wrong context. Then, one of them brings a chapter book home, where the main character is a dog with that word for a name. You are then forced to listen to the entire story, with "and the dog named you know what". Torture to say the least.

5. I am finally settling into school and feeling like I can once again write above a 3rd grade level. The first paper I wrote was painful, for me and Lance (whom I made read it 10 times). Anyways, as of last week I am halfway through my first semester and feeling my groove again.

6. Lance rocks, he is totally picking up the slack around here and never complains about it.

7. Ashlyn is finally going crazy on the piano. It only took some $4000 in lessons until she gave a care, but nothing is too good for my kids (if you don't know me, that was sarcasm). I am just glad she finally loves it, she is actually quite good.

8. I am a total summer beach loving individual, but enough with the heat already. I have a thousand things to do and no time to wipe the sweat.

9. I hate crowds, especially those fighting for a meaningless bargain. I need to get Halloween costumes in order so I am not forced to deal with the frantic crazy people at the end of October. I have a ton of weddings and papers due in October, one confrontation with a psycho mom could send me over the edge. Ashlyn informed me last year that Halloween was pretty much over for her, so I only have to worry about two now.

10. Thank you for all of your support, I appreciate the kind comments as we pass. When I wonder what I was thinking, I know I have friends covering my back. I am now off to visit some blogs, I really miss reading your daily happenings.

ASU

I spent all Saturday morning at the orientation for my program of study. There was alot of info for undergrads, so much of it didn't apply to me but I got all of my questions answered to go forth with my program. There is so much more than going to classes with observation hours, interning, community service, online courses, technical stuff like e-mail and blackboard, etc. I hopefully have most of that handled for now and I am really excited for my first class tomorrow night. I need to spend some time today getting organized so I don't miss something, it could so happen in these first few weeks while Iam trying to get myself use to the new schedule. After I got home in the early afternoon, we all got ready and went to the downtown campus for Sparky's carnival. It is sooo fun and something my kid's look forward to.They have it to welcome the new students back to school and this year they opened the new res hall called Taylor Place. College dorms have come a long way, I almost wanted to move in myself with the yummy food, cool downtown feel and flat screen tv's everywhere. They had games for the kids and tons of food, my boys were running everywhere. Lance works with really amazing people and this is the one time a year I get to see them, so that is also fun. Have a great week!

Back on schedule...for now

I've been a bit absent lately, trying to get organized and start the school year off right with the kids. There has been so much going on, I will try to highlight some of the past two weeks. I am feeling incredibly overwhelmed at the moment with the blessings in my life. I don't think I deserve what is often handed to me and I am so thankful to have the opportunities I have recently been given. When I first considered going back to school, I wasn't sure if this was the year to dive back in. I have done alot of praying and considering my options. I have always thought it was important to go back, in many ways as an example to my kids...just didn't know if the timing was right. I am amazed at how everything has fallen into place and I have no doubt now that this is what I need to do. I really do work best under pressure, that is when I get the most done. Hopefully the entire school year will go as smoothly as everything else has gone.

On August 1st Ashlyn had her birthday party and we had 12 girls at our house for a movie, pizza and ice cream sundae's. She has such great friends and it was really fun for her. She made cute treat boxes with lot's of girl stuff in them, but I forgot to take a picture (imagine that) lol.

We bought her a hit-away for her b-day, but I think Lance likes it just as much. I keep finding him out their perfecting his swing.

The day before school started I took Cade to ASU dowtown for a photo shoot.  They used him as a model for the upcoming nursing magazine and he loved every minute of it.  Anyways, despite the fact that we had a million things to do I decided to throw caution to the wind and have a fun day with the kids. We had lunch with Lance at Sam's Cafe, which is one of my favorites. We let the kids play in the water at the Arizona Center for awhile, then Ash and I walked around downtown a bit and took some pictures. It was really hot and we were light headed by the time we got back to ASU, but it was fun. Ash did some school shopping at the bookstore, then we went to see Kung Fu Panda. The boys loved it and got themselves a whole new set of dorky movie lines to quote.

We survived the first day of school and were even early. We have been in for a week now and are all in a routine that is working for us. I am working part time and doing some of my ASU credit hours at the school the boys are attending and I love it. I work with really cool people who love their jobs and  teach with passion. I get to spend my time with truly amazing kids who I have grown to love and respect in the short week since I started. I don't start my  ASU classes until  the 25th, so things aren't quite as crazy as they are going to get. I really thought kindergarten would make Kai tired, but it just makes him really hungry. I love getting to pass them occasionally in the halls, they love it too and it makes my day.

Renae is my hero, she had the guts to ask the girls to smile somewhere close to the bus stop and surprised me with this cute picture. Ash would have killed me if I had even suggested pulling out my camera where someone from school might see her. I love it when other people take pictures of my kids, it makes me so happy. Thanks Renae, you get to do the dirty work again next year...lol.

We are watching some of the Olympics each night. The boys love it and made themselves flags and torches to cheer on our favorites.

 

 

The weekend is just around the corner, enjoy!

Tagged

I've been tagged by my good friend Kayola, who seriously makes me laugh everyday. Here goes.

Three joys

My hubby and my kids. If you don't know I adore them to the ends of the earth, then you've probably never read my blog.

My sisters. I have three talented and fun sisters, who I can call about anything. I feel bad sometimes that Ash doesn't have a sister, because I think everybody should have a boat load of them.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ. It brings peace into my crazy life, and truth to a complicated world.

Three fears

1. My biggest fear is probably writing down my fears, for fear they might actually come true. Let's see...well, first off I am totally claustrophobic. If you ever plan to kidnap me, please don't put anything over my head or put me in the trunk. I tell myself all the time, you are a sane, rational person with a degree in psychology...you can do this. Instead, I stress if I am in the backseat of a two door car, a warm elevator, or any tight space. I saw a documentary on caving once and it has given me nightmares every since.

I had to have an MRI a few years ago and I knew it could be a potential problem, so I devised a plan to get through it. Remember, I am a sane rational person, with a degree in psychology...I could do this.  I've studied about ways to overcome phobias, nothing is going to hurt me and I shouldn't be such a baby.  I  decided that if I never saw how tight of a space I was in, that would be best. I checked with the facility to be sure I could have my eyes covered and they said they would provide something. So, I was just going to think happy thoughts and try to be oblivious to it all. I told the lady I had issues with it and she totally didn't take me seriously. She didn't have anything to cover my eyes, except one of those stiff, cheap white paper towels. She was more concerned with the loud noise the machine makes freaking people out, which I thought would probably help distract me. I put the paper towel over my eyes, trying to make the best of it and in they rolled me. I was fine, I really was. They had headphones or a speaker or something to communicate with me, but I guess it wasn't working because the lady started yelling into the tube at me. I could hear her trying to get my attention, but couldn't understand her so I took the paper off my face to see what was going on. Big mistake, I didn't know there was a cage thing over my face and I flipped. I kept telling myself I could do it, but the fact of the matter was that I had warned her, I was handling it and she messed up and made me look. I started yelling, get me out, get me out. All the while, saying in my head, you're a sane, rational person, with a degree in psychology...you can do this. They went and got Lance out of the lobby to calm me for when they shoved me back in the tube the next time. I did it, but it made me realize I can't fix the problem, I just need to avoid it. I am apparently not as sane and as rational as I would like to be.

2. I am totally afraid of something happening to someone I Iove. Life is so short and we have to make the most of the time we have together.

3. My next birthday, it is freaking me out a bit.

Three goals

Most days I am just hoping to get my weddings edited, the dishes done and that the Tahoe will fit in the garage after the kids rode their bikes. Let me see if I can be a bit more long term here.

1. Build a closer one on one relationship with each of my kids and Lance. Life is so hectic for all of us, but I love to spend alone time with each one of them. That is when my kids tell me all of the things they really want to say. They talk my ear off and I love it. That is also when I get to tell Lance everything I want to say and talk his ear off, not so sure he loves it though....lol. 

2. Lose weight... I will spare you the entire lifestyle change/exercise plan.

3. Finish my Masters degree in 2009.

Three current obsessions or collections

Webkinz....I'm totally kidding. I won't use photography either, because I am always obsessed over that.

1. Digital scrapbooking

2. My next vacation. I am planning something totally fun for the kids and I can't wait. We didn't take a summer vacation this year and so that will make it all the more exciting.

3.  School, I can't wait for it to start (for me, not them).

Three random, surprising facts about myself

This one is hard, let me see.

1. I went on a mission to Philadelphia, which is where I met my hubby. Nothing sinister, I just though he was hot a special spirit. I came home a year before he did, so we wrote a lot of letters and I went up to Utah for his homecoming. I  didn't come home and 7 months later we were back in AZ and married. I am still amazed it all worked out and think I am the luckiest person alive.

2. Deep inside I am ultra conservative, a bit old school and wish we could all just get along. Even though I eat meat, I think killing animals is totally wrong.

3. I can ride a unicyle, thanks to my "just try it" Dad.

I think I am suppose to tag 5 people, so let's see...Heather J., Renae A., Breanna G., Sarinah B., Jolene R. and anybody else who may have a few minutes.  Have a great day, school is just around the corner!

One Three

My baby girl is thirteen today, so let's see if I can come up with thirteen things that won't totally embarrass her (who am I kidding, everything is embarrassing to a thirteen year old). I know we were blessed with her in our home for a reason, and I know I don't deserve such an amazing daughter. We are proud of her in every single way and thank our lucky stars she is ours.

1. She is beautiful inside and out. She is nice to everybody, always has been. She is true to her friends and her family.

2. She has a great sense of humor and says things that totally make me laugh everyday. Whenever I eat pizza I think about the time we were in the mall shopping and we stopped at S'Barro's for pizza. My slice was totally huge and unmanageable and the fork I had was really wimpy. Anyways, a piece of it went flying and hit me full force in the stomach. She was totally laughing and saying "mommy down, mommy down". Maybe you had to be there, but it was so funny.

3. She is really smart and works hard at school. She takes responsibility for herself and get's her work done, without anybody having to tell her.

4. She is good at any sport she tries and her coaches always grow to love and appreciate her. She is a great team player and a dedicated athlete.

5. She helps so much with the boys, especially this summer. They are a handful and she pulls through when I've about had enough.

6. She appreciates what she has and is thankful for what she is given.

7. She has a strong testimony and truly lives what she believes. She does not budge on her principles and I can always trust she will make the right choice.I accidentally rented an R rated movie once, we realized about five minutes into it and shut it off. She totally flipped out and thought she needed to repent, confess, get a new mother. I love that she always tries to do what is right and doesn't see the need to test the waters. I know she will be blessed throughout her life for this.

8. She has amazing thick hair that I wish she got from me.

9. She is way crafty. She can paper scrapbook so incredibly, it is crazy. I am a total perfectionist about anything crafty and so often times I won't do a project if I know I will mess it up and it will bug me. Now I just give these projects to her and she totally makes cute stuff, like her binder for school.

10. We never wake her up for school, she get's up at 5:00 a.m. and wakes me when she is ready. What planet is this kid from?

11. She loves my Mom and I am so glad they are close, she also loves Lance's Mom and has great memories of her.

12. She loves to shop with me. We don't get to go without the boys very often, but when we do it is a good time for all. We enjoy the silence for a few minutes, talk for awhile, enjoy the radio a bit, then hit our favorite stores. She has great taste and I have learned to trust her fashion sense, because it always ends up being right on.

13. She is wise and kind and generous beyond her years. She get's things now that took me years longer to grasp.

We adore her and feel lucky each and every day that she in our home.

 

 

 

 

A wedding, a baptism and a fish named Jerry

All last week Lance was at a convention in Reno, so I was a single parent with a million and one things going on. It isn't like he is here all day, but somehow tossing the boys on my bed at night and wrestling with them until they plead for mercy seems to end the day on a good note and tire them out a bit. We all survived and actually had quite a bit of fun with all that was happening in my family. We are so glad he is back though, we missed him lots.

Cade earned his Bobcat this month and is loooving Scouts so much. He is always looking through his book trying to finding anything and everything we can work on together.

This is my darling cousin Allison and her handsome hubby Ray. They are really cute together and I was lucky enough to shoot their wedding. They were married on July 17th, which has become somewhat of a tradition in my family. Both my grandparents and my parents were married on that date and so a few of my cousins have chosen it also. They had a Polynesian reception and my kids had a blast (and couldn't believe they didn't have to wear a tie). There was great food and lots of entertainment, my kids helped clean up by collecting all of the lei's at the end of the night.

 

 

 

 

This is Cassidy whom I totally adore. She is a beautiful, funny and super sweet. Her and Kai have so many similarities in mannerisms. I recently realized that I think it is their eyes that make them so alike to me at times, because they give some of the very same looks. On Saturday, Cassidy (the 2nd in the baptism trio) had her big day. My sister did an amazing job of making everything beautiful and we had a yummy lunch at their house after.

My Grandma, who is an incredible teacher, gave a talk at each of here grandchildren's baptism's. The great grandkids haven't heard her talk (that they would remember), but she was able to speak at Cassidy's, which meant lots to our family. She spoke mostly to Cassidy, Cade and Kristen and told them a wonderful story about three little goldfish who had to make a choice between right and wrong. One of the fish pushed the limits too far and his tail was eaten by a shark. At the end of the baptism, she gave each of them a fish. She also talked about the water in the fish bowl and explained that once murky it can become clean again, but the dirtier it gets, the harder it becomes to clear up. I talked about this with my kids and it really had an impact on Cade. We talked about choices and how the wrong choice may not kill us, but can leave us with scars that remain with us for the rest of our lives. Other's can't always see these scars, but they still remain with us. He understood what some of the poor choices can be and we talked about my Grandma's talk for the next few days. I am so thankful for family who supports us and grandparent's who continue to show us what is right. He named his fish Jerry, seriously, I wouldn't kid about that. I think it is so cute that I have tried not to giggle because I think he will change the name if I do...lol.

We are done school shopping and my kids are looking forward to bookstore days and meet the teacher night. On another note, I am joining them this year in the adventure and applied to grad school. I didn't want to saying anything until I was actually accepted, but I was given the green light Friday and I am really excited. The few people I have told seemed a bit surprised, but if you know me at all you know I don't sit well and I get restless fairly easy. I am always doing two things at once, and it seems to work for me (and I'm fairly sure is Sir Lancelot's curse in life). It's a fast paced program so wish me luck or pray for me or both. It has been awhile and I hope I can still study and write a paper like I did back in the day. The only way to find out is by doing it though, so game on. Ashlyn thinks it is a really good excuse to go shopping for new clothes.

I found out the other day that Cade had sold alot of his Webkinz furniture and did who knows what with the other stuff in his rooms. I was feeling a bit bad for him and his sparse dwellings, so I sat myself down to see what this Webkinz World was all about and how I could correct the situation. I am horrified to admit that five hours later my kids were hooked up and Kai even got that crazy mother of a big pool that is close to like 2000 points (don't judge, I won myself a 60% off coupon). I am now a webfessional and have to say it is quite addicting. I so have better things to do with myself, but nothing is too good for my kids...lol. Besides, I watched TMZ while I was playing....I told you I could multitask. Mama handled the matter and now Cade's little puppy can go to bed in a real virtual bed (and a mighty fancy one at that). Now is all we need is one of those Manatee's with the water room. You Mom's know what I'm talking about...admit it. If you don't, you soon will. I was laughing yesterday because between Ashlyn's Webkinz dog and her virtual Nintendo DS dogs, she was trying to keep everybody fed, scratched, bathed and in good furnishings. I so understand, it isn't an easy job. Oh, and where was all of this when I got conned into a real dog a few years back. I've got to stay away from these Webkins things though, or none of us are going to get our studies done...lol.

Hope the rest of your summer is happy, it will be gone before we know it!

A date to China?

Rough day at the H house
Kai: Cade is being mean, I wish me and Dad could move somewhere else.
Me: Do you want Daddy to take you on a date all by yourself.
Kai: Does that mean I have to marry him, oh gross!
Me: No, you can just go to a restaurant or get ice cream all by yourselves.
Kai: I want to take all of our Disneyland money and move to China.
Me: Oh, I would miss you
Kai: Do I have to carry the piggy banks by myself.

Summer is kicking my bleep

Oh my, where to begin...the madness of it all has been overwhelming so I am just going to start rambling in no particular order.

1. We are now the keeper of 3 darling little, overpriced might I add, stuffed, tagged and highly anticipated Webkinz. Heaven knows I tried to hide these from my kids, but they found out about them (long after most kids) and begged to be the proud owner of their very own. We all went to Hallmark, which I haven't been to in years, and it took quite some time for each to make such an important decision (since I made it very clear they are only getting one...ever). It is not that I'm opposed to their happiness, I just keep remembering the volume of stuffed animals that have gone to D.I. from our household. The upside to dropping $50.00 though (sorry honey) is that it has kept them busy for daaaays.

2. We had our year end walk through on the house this past week, glad that is over. I about went blind looking for broken tiles and cracked drywall.

3. I am down 8 lbs. and counting. I'm trying not to weigh myself every day, so I can see a change. It is getting easier now that I have removed the sugar and carbs from my system. Lance turned the treadmill around to face the tv, probably so I would shut up and quit complaining the entire time I was on it. Lance can go on that thing forever. Me on the other hand, not so much. Kai is always begging to get on it though and he runs at a faster lever than me, so if I get tired I just put him on for awhile and nobody knows I am lying on the bed...lol. Kidding, really...sort of.

4. I am either having a midlife crisis or just realizing some changes need to be made in my life, either way I am working on some pretty big changes right now. I will update you when I actually get closer to some new goals. I don't like to put it out there until I know I am serious...we will see how things go.

5. Have I ever talked about our dog? I don't mention him much, don't know why...maybe because I am not really a pet person. His name is Harley. Somewhere I realized my boys needed a puppy and I actually really like him. He has given me no other choice because he is sweet, loyal and loves me the best. Don't tell Cade though, it would crush him for sure.

6. This month Lance will be going out of town to a work convention for an entire week and I am dreading it entirely. I absolutely hate it when he is gone and I never get any sleep. I miss him terribly and so do the kids. I planned to go with him, but it is during my cousins wedding (which I am shooting), my nieces baptism and a Dr.'s appointment for Cade (which has been scheduled for months). It will be fine, I just don't like it.

7. Ashlyn is one good kid. She has been so funny and really helpful lately, I am really going to miss her when school starts. I am not sure I am ready for her to be doing sports every day again. I know she loves it, but we miss her when she is that busy. She has become such a good friend this summer, one I can always count on.

8. I love Renae. She took Ashlyn to the Ranch with her last week, along with a ton of other places this summer. She is so sweet to our family and an amazing friend. Victoria is so good for Ash and I am really glad they are such great friends...I love to read their blogs, it is a window into their pre-teen minds and very enlightening. They are amazing girls and have big things ahead in their futures.

9. Cade and Kai are like an old married, very dysfunctional couple...the things they argue over would be comical if I didn't have to listen to it all day.

 10. Would it rain already...it is so nasty outside and some of us are trying to exercise over here.

Holiday Weekend

We had a fun 4th of July. I did everything I could to insure my kids have a great day, so I wouldn't feel so guilty that I refused to go see fireworks in the smothering heat. There is no place we would rather be on the 4th that in Utah with Lance's family and since that wasn't happening, we didn't want to fight the crowds or the weather here. I filled up water balloons and the boys had a good time with those, then we went to the movies. Last night Lance made a fire out back and we had s'mores and hung out with ourselves...how much fun are we...lol. I had a bunch of light sticks for the kids, so we played around with those and the camera for awhile. The weather was acting a bit questionable at times, so we finally put the fire out and came inside for fear we would catch the house on fire with the wind gusts. All in all a fun day.

I also took some time to scrap a few layouts. I never scrap in chronological order, I just go with whatever inspires me and so they are from here and there. Scrapping is one of the few things I don't feel has to be orderly ( I do print and put them in books in order though). Here are the finished ones...