too cute . . .

lightning mcqueen

ben lives and breathes lightning mcqueen. all day every day; from the moment he wakes up, usually with lightning mcqueen in hand (how could he not sleep with him too!) to the moment he goes to bed. if he happens to misplace him during the day disaster strikes and panic ensues. usually lightning is in his hand and he simply forgot. he loves to lock himself in the pantry and run lighting along the shelves over and over again.

snow day!

take note of the Halloween decorations on the porch. oh boy.


really? already? NO! oh well at least we had fun playing in it! Ben was a little confused. he kept calling the snow "dirt." it is still a new concept. what a day!

ode to halloween

For those of you who don't know. I seriously LOVE Halloween. The costumes, the candy, the parties, the creepy decor. Just love it. We had another Halloween party at our house this year and it was a blast. I couldn't resist Ben's costume (but I don't think I will ever be able to resist him). He walks around the house saying "ARGH" and holding his hand up like a pirate. Darling.


Off to battle!

Pirate Ben suffered a humiliating defeat!

My Halloween treats!! Witchy cupcakes and HOMEMADE lollipops! Thank you Martha Stewart!

Ben begging candy off his favorite person in the whole world: Uncle Jason.

NEW WEBSITE AND BLOG!!

At long long last my new website is up and running!! Hooray!! Please visit www.brittaannephotography.com and let me know what you think! In celebration I am offering free sittings through November. Book now before they fill up!

sidewalk chalk

Ben still hasn't figured out the mechanics of drawing on his own, but he loves to throw the sidewalk chalk. It keeps us entertained for a while after our daddy leaves at night and it gets us outside. Ben loves to sit on the porch and watch for dogs and kids to walk by that he can chase. Airplanes in the sky are also a new favorite.

night shift

Night shift is heartbreaking when daddy leaves. Ben gets so excited because daddy is awake, but then daddy has to rush out the door for work and leaves us for the night. He will stand at the door and blow kisses and wave bye bye long after he is gone. It breaks my heart to watch him get so sad when Scott leaves, but makes me so happy that he loves his daddy so much!

water baby

lounging

chepteta part 2

You can only fight the urge to play in the mud for so long!

"This isn't my mommy!!"

These are my absolute favorite wildflowers!! The ones on the right are called elephant heads. They really do look like little elephants. I looked forward to finding these with my grandma every year when I went camping as a kid.

Ben went on his very first camping trip to Chepeta over the 24th of July! He loved it. He jumped out of the car and immediately started playing in the dirt. He thought he was in heaven with so many rocks. We hiked all the way up to Walk up lake with Ben in tow. He really did love the backpack trip he just got a bit upset when he realized he was not on his mother's back. He caught two fish up at the lake. He was ecstatic. They were a bit on the small side so we let them go, but he thought watching them swim away was fantastic. He yelled out, "ISH! GO! ISH GO!!" He tried to swimming with them, but the water was way too cold. We did get rained on a bit, but that made for great mud holds to play in!
The trifecta of love. (as nicknamed by erik)

Isn't she the most beautiful fisher - woman you have ever seen in your whole life?

Gandalf the Grey - aka Grandpa Wayne

chepeta

pool days

Hooray for warm days, sunshine and the pool! Ben and I went to the pool with Tahnie and Brynner the other day. The boys played together a little more than last time. At least they stayed close to each other so the mommies could hang out with each other instead of chasing them. Tahnie and I got brave and dunked our little ones all the way under for the first time. Both were traumatized, but they survived!

latest obsession . . .

When Ben was about 10 months old, all he wanted to do was play in the running water. The phase ended and we moved on. Little did we know that it would come back in full force. Every time we pass the sink Ben lunges and pleads and begs to play in it. Of course he usually wins. Luckily he is pretty good at saying bye bye to the water when playtime is over.

fireworks!

This post is a little after the fact, but aren't they all? On the 3rd of July Ben went to his first fireworks show at the Eaglewood Golf Course in Bountiful. He thought the paratroopers were awesome. We had to keep moving so we could watch them for as long as possible. Surprising enough Ben really did enjoy the fireworks show! The big noises definitely scared him a bit, but he was so fascinated by the huge lights in the sky that his fears were forgotten. He "ooohed" and "aaahhhed" at the appropriate moments. He kept pointing and grunting to make sure we didn't miss the show. At the end he threw his hands up in the air and did his confused "oh!". Clearly he wanted more.

powell videos!

lake powell

In spite of my digital tragedy I am going to post some lake powell highlights. Ben is quite the little road tripper. He took a snooze or two on the way. The last hour was a little torturous but isn't it always? Ben made a new best friend: Uncle Jason. Those two are inseparable! Ben will not go to anyone except for Scott and I without a fight, but the whole week he dragged Jason all over the boat and could care less where we were. It was a great break for us and a quick education for Jason about how exhausting toddlers are! The water was really cold when we were there so Ben only got all the way in a couple of times, but he loved to dip his toes in and splash in the water filled tote on the front of the houseboat. Ben woke us at 5:30 am every morning and promptly dragged us to the front of the boat to go and play on the beach. He got so frustrated when the lizards and ants ran away from him, but he satisfied himself with throwing rocks in the lake. We celebrated father's day with a pirate themed party! So funny. Everyone got all dressed up and everything. Ben loved driving the houseboat and ski boat. He would grab the wheel and spin it and make vroom sounds (video soon to come). Our ride home marked a new milestone. Our first MAJOR barf in the car. Yeah for us. We were pulling over to get some beef jerky and all of the sudden chocolate milk and orange gatorade explode from Ben's mouth! Keep in mind that we are miles from a service station or "town" in which to get assistance. So we have to beg the beef jerky salesman on the side of the road for water to try to clean up. He was an angel after he realized what we were up against he appeared at our car with clorox wipes of all things! Hallelujah for him! (Note to self: Always have cleaning supplies and a barf bag on hand.) We made it home with a pukey carseat that I had to dissasemble and reassemble. Fun.