My New Toy.

So, I got my camera! I got a Nikon D80, and I love it. I have SO much to learn! It's even more overwhelming than I thought it would be, but it's also very exciting! I love that I have something to study. I just didn't realize it was going to take so much to simply learn what all the different buttons and menu options on the camera mean. I thought I would be able to jump right into learning and experimenting with exposure and such, because that's what is really fun and interesting to me, but I figure I better learn how to run this thing correctly before I get to that. I'm almost finished reading the manual and I've learned a lot already. I haven't taken a lot of pictures yet, mostly just doing what the manual tells me to do. I read the manual while I'm laying in bed at night or during Josh's nap so I have tons of pictures of my feet in all sorts of different light and focus. I'll spare you those beauties and post the first picture I snapped with my new toy.

WAY cuter than my feet!

This was just taken on Automatic mode, nothing fancy (because I don't know how to do anything fancy yet), but I'm already Really impressed! It's just so much more crisp than my other camera. And the fact that Josh's eye's aren't bright red in this pictures is amazing! I had the worst time with that with my old camera. Something about his eye's made it almost impossible to get a picture without red eye.

Ever since I took a photography class in collage where we weren't allowed to take photos using a flash, I hate the flash! It washes everyone out, especially my little man with his WHITE skin. But the sun hasn't come out here for a few days, and I think that's why I haven't been super motivated to start shooting. Hopefully the sun will decide to come out and I can start experimenting more.

Such a Big Kid

Josh has become very independent lately. He wants to do everything from feeding himself to clipping his own toe nails. He'd rather push the stroller than ride in it, and he has to comb his own hair no matter what. Even if I've already combed and gelled it (which is why I rarely do his hair). For about six months now, when we go out in public places, he wants to get out of the stroller and run around so bad. Most of the time we don't let him because of the inconvenience, but sometimes he gets his way and it is impossible to do anything else but chance him around. He could care less if we are anywhere in sight. He just takes off! I always worried about living up here away from all our family and friends that Joshua was going to end up a little socially challenged, because there are some weeks that going to church is literally the only time he interacts with other people besides Beau and I. However, he is most definitely not challenged. He loves people and will talk to ANYONE. When we go to the grocery store I put him in the front of the cart, and he'll stand at the very front and wave and yell HI to everyone who passes. He gets a lot of attention! It takes me 2 hours to get through the store because of everyone who stops to chat with him. He makes me laugh! I can't imagine our lives without this little guy. We're always laughing:)

Clipping his toe nails.
I really need to finish spray painting that chair. It looks So cute in his reading corner though! I'll have to post pics of that when it's finished.

Brushing the few teeth he has.
Speaking of teeth, I just felt in his mouth today and he is cutting his first molar. I guess he's going to skip the front teeth and go straight to the molars. He's doing pretty well with it so far, but I figured he was working on a new tooth when he was completely melting down last night at 7 and refused to eat dinner for the 3rd night in a row. I've noticed with him, that whether he's teething or just sick, the only time he's fussy is right before bed time when he's starting to get tired. I think we really lucked out.

Dragging Dad around.
We went to the river the other day to feed the ducks and there were new babies! They were so cute! If you click on the picture you can see them.

Helping mow the lawn.
We power-raked the lawns last week. They needed is SO badly after being under snow for 5 months. It makes the grass look terrible for a while, but they already look a million times better than before, and it will hopefully make them healthier this summer. This little lawn mower isn't ours, it's our neighbors. The first thing Josh does when he gets out the back door is run over to there house and steals the mower! Yesterday he even pushed it into our house and has been mowing the carpets ever since. I should probably take it back.

Oh geez

Josh can fit an entire golf ball in his mouth! Pretty sure I can't even do that. I don't think I'll be trying it anytime soon, but I'm pretty sure I can't.

Get that out of your mouth!

The Shins

Joshua loves The Shins! We've been dancing and jamming out all morning.

Maybe he did get something from me!?
What a cool kid.

Finally, a post.

I think this is the longest I've ever gone without blogging since Joshua was born (sorry Grandma, it wont happen again). I have plenty of excuses, but really it just boils down to the fact that I haven't felt like it until now. And now it's overwhelming because I have so much to document. That's what I get I guess.

I'll start with our trip to Salt Lake.

We spent 3 days in SLC with my parents over Easter/conference weekend. We had so much fun relaxing, eating out, and spending time with them. I love just being in down town Salt Lake, it's got such a great atmosphere. Since our vacations over the last year and a half have consisted of nothing but trips to southern Utah and Nevada, anything out of the ordinary, like staying in a hotel in SLC is pretty darn exciting. While we were there we also spent most of that Sunday with Beau's cousin Wayne and his family. It was awesome. We watched both sessions of conference while the kids played and Danielle made a yummy lunch in between sessions. Beau seriously has the nicest cousins, we love them, they're lots of fun and so easy to talk to.
I only took a couple picture of the entire weekend because my camera broke while we were there! I was SO sad. I'm a serious camera freak. I take at least 250 pictures a month, so I honestly felt lost when it died. I think I might have been a little depressed even ;) Anyway, I got over it and then when we got down to Bville the next day my mom gave me her camera to use until I bought a new one. Which brings me to the best news you've ever heard...

I finally got my slr camera!

I'm beyond excited! After days and DAYS and WEEKS of doing research (no really though, I think I've read every piece of literature on the internet on slr cameras. Do you know how much there is on the internet on slr cameras? A LOT! I haven't slept in a week to make sure I didn't miss something and buy the wrong camera. I'm a nut like that when it comes to big purchases. You should have seen how I was when I had to make the decision on which car seat to buy! I don't know why I feel I have to research everything to death. I guess it's just the thought of wasting money the drives me to it. I want to get the best product for the money. Simple as that.), I finally made a decision and took the plunge. I was really nervous because it is a really big purchase for us and I did not want to spend all that money only to find out that the camera I bought wasn't the best one for me. However, now that it's over I am SO happy! I think I'm the most excited about having something to study and learn. I've been dieing for a hobby since I became a stay at home mom -something enjoyable to fill my free time with. I'm getting the camera tomorrow, so hopefully soon I'll have some sweet pictures to post. Joshua is going to be SO sick of the camera in his face!

Back to Salt Lake-

We went to eat at the Market Street Grill and Joshua fed himself a bowl of clam chowder.

Scoop.

Slurp.

Smile.
And then my camera died...
Thanks Mom and Dad for such a good weekend. We love you!

Easter Morning

Josh was way cute on Easter morning. I didn't think he'd understand, but he actually got into it and was really excited every time he found an egg.

Easter Part One

Tonight we colored eggs for the first time as a little family! I love times like this.
Joshua was WAY into it. Not that he had any idea what we were actually doing, but he thought that playing in cups of colorful water was awesome!

Just checking everything out.

He just reached right in and grabbed the egg.

This is serious business.

Check out those fingers! They still look like that. Nice and florescent pink.

Tomorrow the Easter Bunny will come to our house!