Winter Time

Oh what do you do in the winter time
When all the world is white
Do you build a snowman
or throw some snowballs
or FREEZE your hiney off......
is that what you do
so do I.

It started snowing today. This is the 3rd storm we have had this season and probably the most snow we have received as well. The kids really wanted to go outside. I knew it wouldn't last long but they had fun for the 5 minutes they were out there.

Trip to Ohio

I know I am way behind on blogging so tonight I thought I would attempt to catch up. I know it isn't going to happen, but I thought I would try.

In October Brad had a business trip in Cleveland so I tagged along. Perfect vacation. All I had to pay for was the plane ticket, some food, and the car rental. My parents were gracious enough to watch Tyler and Katie for us so no worries there.

While Brad worked all day, I toured Ohio. Unfortunately I wasn't able to see much of it but what I did was beautiful, not to mention it was fall and in the East, it is amazing. I have never seen such colors before. I absolutely loved it.

I was able to visit Kirtland Ohio, where the pioneers settled for awhile before moving on to Nauvoo. I went to Nelson Township where my great great grandfather lived for a short time. I went to Columbus and did a session in the Columbus Temple and I visited Amish Country. Most of the time I just drove to look at whatever I could see. When Brad got off work, we toured downtown Cleveland. We visited a couple of museums which happened to be free, I was able to take him to Kirtland as well. It was a great trip. It was nice to relax and see a different part of the country.

Brace yourself for mass pictures.

Aren't the fall colors beautiful. The wonderful gifts we have been given from Heavenly Father.

Cleveland Skyline

Flower at the Kirtland Temple

A path outside Nelson Township

Nelson Township Road

Sun flare in Kirtland

creek by Amish country

Lighthouse

Town Square in Nelson Township

School of Prophets in Kirtland Ohio. This is where Joseph Smith Jr taught the brethren.

This is in Martin Harris' home where Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon received Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Newel K Whitney Store in Kirtland. This was the center of Kirtland when the pioneers lived there.

The Ashery in Kirtland. An amazing place. Would love to share everything I learned but there it too much information.

Squire Castle

Amish Country

Amish Buggy. I was so fascinated by their buggies. I felt like I was stalking them. Nicest people you will ever meet. I can't imagine living without electricity, vehicles, telephones, washers, dryers....all the things we take for granted everyday.

I have pictures of the Kirtland Temple and Columbus Temple. I will post those tomorrow on the photography blog. Check them out.

Families are Forever

A friend of mine from high school recently lost her little boy to an accident. He was a happy little boy. Although I didn't know him, I could see how he enjoyed life to the fullest by the smile on his face, especially in his eyes. Dylan was 6 years old, just a year older than Tyler. Tonight as I was lying with Tyler it occurred to me Dylan's mom will not have the opportunity to tuck in her little boy again in this life. That idea pulls at my heart. I ache for her and her family. I mourn with them. But, at the same time, I am SOOO thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ which helps us to know we can be Families FOREVER! Through the sealing power we can be an eternal family, not just here in this life, but in the next life. The bond we share continues even beyond the grave. I can't imagine losing a child, it would be a one of if not the toughest trial to go through.
I am so thankful for my little family. I am thankful Brad and I have been sealed for eternity. I love him with all my heart. I am thankful for Tyler and Katie and for the sweet spirit they bring to our home.

I know, without a doubt the Gospel of Jesus Christ is TRUE! I know God lives. I know we have a Savior Jesus Christ who loves each of us and gave his life so that we will have the opportunity to be resurrected and live again. Our Savior loves us and he has a plan for us.

To Darylin, David and the rest of the Farar family. We love you! We pray you will have the strength and comfort needed to lift you every day.

Family Home Evening

With this week being Thanksgiving, I wanted to make sure we talked about it so our lesson for Family Home Evening was on Thanksgiving. We talked about what it meant to be thankful. Not quite sure Tyler and Katie understand yet, but I know they will soon. I had them tell me something they were thankful for. I then read a story from the Friend called "A Second Thanksgiving". It really brought home the point of how we should be thankful. At the end of the story it said Elder Bednar encouraged us to have a "thankful prayer", where we only thank Heavenly Father for what we have been given and ask for nothing in return. I think this is something I am going to try and do. I think it will help me to remember to be more grateful.

I read this quote from another blog (beinglds) quoting President Hinckley,

“When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives."

I hope I can remember to be more thankful.
For our activity, we made a turkey hat and on each feather we wrote something we were thankful for. Tyler wrote: zoo animals, grand parents, home etc
Katie wrote: grandparents, toys & books, home, Jesus etc

I am thankful for so many things but just to name a few:
My Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
Brad, Tyler and Katie
Brad's job
Our home
Family

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

#70

Floss every day for one month.

I am so excited to say I have completed this goal.
My teeth and gums definitely feel better and I love having clean teeth all the time. I have continued to floss even after the 30 days so I think this was a great goal for me.

Goals # 11, 41, 45

So I am happy to say, I have completed 3 goals from my 101 list.

#11: Go to a temple I have never been to before.
This past week I went to Ohio with Brad as he had a business trip. I was able to go to the Columbus Ohio Temple. It is a small temple but the spirit it just the same. There will be pictures to come of this beautiful building.

#41: Visit 3 states I have never been to before.
We have become bi-weekly travelers. In so doing I have been able to visit: Wyoming, Montana and Ohio. I may have been to Wyoming and Montana before but I do not remember them so I am able to cross this goal off as well. Ohio is beautiful in the fall. I thought Colorado had some pretty colors, nothing compared to Ohio. (pictures coming)

#45: Encourage someone else to start a 101 list.
I don't know if I did much encouraging but my cousin Courtney read my list and felt inspired to write her own. We have some of the same goals so we will be working and encouraging each other. It is nice to have someone to help you along the way. I can't wait to see how she does in her challenge.

So there you have it. I have completed 5 goals in the 1st month. I think that is pretty good. I still have a long way to go but look forward to the challenge.

Rexburg and Idaho Falls Temples

Here are just 2 of the pictures I took at the temples while in Idaho. Please visit my photography blog to view more of them.
BastianPhotos.blogspot.com

Rexburg Idaho Temple

Idaho Falls Temple

I absolutely love taking pictures of temples. It just makes me happy!

Mini Vacation

We went on a mini vacation to Yellowstone National Park. Let me tell you, the drive through Wyoming is the longest drive of my life.....EVER!

However, it got us to our destination and these are some of the things we got to see.

This was out in the middle of NO-WHERE!

We were suppose to drive to Jackson, WY the 1st night but we got as far as Landers, WY. There was an accident on the freeway and it was stopped. So we found this nice little hotel and camped out for the night. We Brad went to check us in, the guy asked Brad what his occupation was, Brad told him IT and Brad had the great opportunity to give service, he helped the guy fix something on his I-Pod. The people were really friendly and kind. We were thankful to just rest from the car.
The next morning we headed to the Tetons and Yellowstone.

This was our view of the Grand Tetons. All day long it was cloudy, rainy, and sleet. Maybe if we get to go again we will actually get to see them.

Next we headed to Yellowstone National Park. I loved it! We saw wildlife, Old faithful, sulfur pots, the Snake River etc... We had a great time!

We had a picnic at Sergeants Park. It was nice to be able to stretch our legs. We were hungry and tired.

Some of the wildlife we saw.

Toward the end of the day we finally made it to Lower Falls. It was amazing!

That night after leaving Yellowstone, we meet up with our dear friends the Fosters. They used to live in Colorado Springs with us but moved back to Idaho. I don't know why, but we didn't get a picture of all of us. Anyhow, we played games that night and laughed, and ate, and laughed and played games. It was so much fun to hang out again.

The next morning we headed to Mesa Falls in Idaho and Warm River to feed the fish.

Mesa Falls, ID

I was able to capture some of the fish. You couldn't even see them in the water until you threw food at them. The kids loved it. It was a lot of fun.

Alicia just got a new camera and was trying it out.

After Mesa Falls and Warm River we headed to Rexburg Idaho. We saw the Rexburg Temple and also BYU-I campus. We went to the Botanical Gardens to take pictures. It is really pretty there. (Temple pictures to come.)

We had a great time. After Rexburg we went to Idaho Falls were we took more pictures of the Idaho Falls Temple. Those pictures will come shortly also.
The kids loved to see Payton and Brynley and we got to see Dave and Alicia. It was awesome, oh and we can't forget Ellie, she is so dang cute.

So I hope you enjoy this long post. I know to many pictures. Believe me I have more but I didn't want a complete overload of pictures.

We really miss the Fosters and can't wait to see them again!

#4...Design a new business card

I have competed #4...Design a new business card.  We are getting ready to launch a new look on our photography website and with that new look we also needed a new business card.  I really want to show you, but I think I am going to wait until we are ready to show it all so you will have to wait, but I get to cross off #4.  I am really excited!

101 things to do in 1001 days

I have read a lot of blogs where people have started a goal list. I thought it would be fun to give it a try. It took me about a month to decide what I should do, what I wanted to accomplish. I know some of the things seem silly, but I think a lot of them will be fun. When I first started my list it was about photography but as I started to think about it, I wanted to focus more on my family, especially mine and Brad's relationship.

101 things to do in 1001 days

October 1, 2010 to June 29, 2013

These are in no particular order:

1. Go to Disneyland

2. See the Braves play in Atlanta (5-12-2011)

3. Take pictures of all the temple in Utah (that are currently built 13)

4. Design a new business card (10-12-2010)

5. 1 photo shoot weekly for 6 consecutive weeks

6. Fit into wedding dress

7. Attend General Conference

8. Sell temple prints

9. 52 consecutive weeks w/ different theme, post picture weekly on blog

10. Attend the temple everyday for one week (tue-sat)

11. Visit a temple I have never been to...Columbus Ohio Temple 10/2010

12. Earn enough money from photo shoots to buy a full frame camera

13. Take a photography class (5-11)

14. Learn or improve 5 new photography skills

15. Read standard works: Old, New, BOM, D&C, PGP (1/2 way through BOM, Finished Gen)

16. Stop biting finger nails

17. Buy a home

18. Cook dinner every night for 30 days

19. Run half marathon

20. Go back to school

21. Create a March of Dimes team

22. Go to education week or women's conference

23. Weekly outing with Tyler and Katie for 2 months, then continue

24. Memorize The Family Proclamation

25. Memorize The Living Christ

26. Hold Family Home Evening for 2 consecutive months

27. Kiss Brad every day for 15 seconds for 2 consecutive months whenever he comes home and leaves

28. Read 5 church books within 10 months

29. Quiet time with Brad for 30 minutes; no kids, no TV, no phone. 3 months daily

30. Bridal shoot or wedding (wedding in April or May)

31. Read entire conference issue for November and May

32. One night a week no TV from 6pm to bed 2 months

33. Morning scripture study before getting on the computer for 2 months

34. Write in my journal weekly for 3 months

35. Make 100 baby blankets for the NICU

36. Design another website for photography

37. Save 10% from every photo shoot

38. Read from Book of Mormon every morning with Tyler before he goes to school. 3 months
Have family scripture study daily, 1 month then continue 1/2011
39. Pay off credit cards (1 to go)
40. Host a game night

41. Visit 3 states I have never been to before (Montana, Wyoming, Ohio) 10/2010

42. No fast food for a month 1/2011

43. Watch a sunrise and sunset in the same day with Brad, NO KIDS

44. Visit 5 different museums (visited 2)

45. Encourage someone else to start a 101 list 11/2010

46. Complete a 1000+ piece puzzle by myself

47. Visit 3 national parks (Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, ...)

48. Attend an outdoor concert

49. Donate blood at least 3 times

50. Friday night date night for 2 months

51. Kiss in the rain

53. Go golfing with Brad

54. Finish Tyler and Katie's 1st year scrapbook

55. Donate $5 for PEF for every goal I do not complete

56. Invite a new family once a week to dinner for 2 months

57. Climb the incline with Brad

58. Make a new quilt for my bed

59. Finish Tyler's bed spread

60. Make a bed spread for Katie's bed

61. Volunteer at Tyler's school once a week for 2 months 12/2010

62. One week, do not go grocery shopping for food and live off food storage

63. Start riding my bike again

64. Learn to bottle applesauce

65. Identify 100 things that make me happy

66. Plan a 6 month dinner calendar 1/2011

67. Make a "bucket list" of 20 things or places I would like to do or visit, be specific

68. Learn to make homemade bread

69. Get a couples massage

70. Floss every day for one month (Nov 2, 2010)

71. Go on a picnic with my family

72. Do 50 consecutive push-ups (hundredpushups.com) (I can't even do one now)

73. Go on a girls weekend trip

74. Blog at least once a week on family blog for 3 months

75. Start a new family tradition

76. Take a photo of 26 things, one for each letter of the alphabet and post on my photography blog

77. Go horseback riding as a family

78. Learn to identify 10 constellations

79. Memorize 25 scriptures

80. Try zumba 12/2010

81. Put together a family tree with as many pictures as possible 4 generations

82. Take a picture of my kids with their grandparents and great grandparent

83. Do the 200 sit-up challenge (twohundredsitups.com)

84. Become an organ donor

85. Post on DPS for 3 months, every challenge

86. Go to bed every weeknight at 10 for a month

87. Potty train Katie

88. Make a portfolio

89. Take a random road trip with Brad, we could try spontaneously, but we have kids

90. Watch a movie with Brad in the country

91. Have a big 4th of July celebration party (Brad's favorite holiday)

92. Milk a cow

93. Take a trip to Texas with my mom to find more genealogy

94. Go whale watching

95. Write 101 love notes for Brad 2/14/2011

96. Pay for someone's meal who is behind me in the drive thru

97. Serve 10 people in a month, random acts of kindness

98. Read 15 minutes with Tyler and Katie daily, 1 month then continue

99. Write a letter to self on 1st day of challenge to be read on last day of challenge. Letter should include how I am feeling about self, goals, and where I am spiritually. Also relationship with Brad. (10-2-2010)

100. Write another 101 in 1001 if I enjoy this challenge

101. Move back to Arizona!

I hope to be able to make these goals a habit, to improve myself. I am really excited about this challenge. I hope this inspires you and you try to improve your own life, or do things you normally wouldn't do.

Cute Kiddos

So needless to say, I have the cutest kids in the world, and if you don't believe me just ask me. I posted these on my photography blog but I needed to post them here as well. I took these pictures of Tyler and Katie for their 2 year and 5 year pictures. My kids are getting so big I can't believe how much they have grown.
They are happy, healthy and so rambunctious. I love being their mom. They keep me on my toes and never cease to amaze me.
They continue to smile and shine everyday!
I love you Tyler and Katie!!

How can you not smile when you look at them.