born on the 4th of July!

It's impossible for me to say 4th of July without breaking into song and sing

Born on the 4th of July...

She's my Yankee doodle sweetheart,

He's my Yankee doodle boy!

Any who, I think it was on one of my fav all time movies Steel Magnolias and it always reminds of that.

Sorry side tracked a little.

So this year for the 4th we were once again getting our groove thang on with Casey's family.

We headed to Cort and Mels and went swimming at the community pool.

It was a grand old time.

Then we went back to their home for cold cereal and waffles.

Just kidding, seeing if your paying attention. 

We had nothing but a good American BBQ with all the fixins. 

Corn, Hot dogs, Hamburgers, Chips, and about 14 salads. 

It was delish. 

And it wouldn't be a pool party with the uncles if we didn't have a little tossing across the pool going on.

Bless this woman, for she raised these 4 boys!  Who I think turned out all right!  Good men I tell ya!

Here is Casey's grandparents, mother, Uncle Dan and Aunt Linda. They are all amazing.

Here is the sad attempt to get all the grand kids for a picture.  Riot I tell ya! 

And Aunt Linda and Uncle Gary and his sidekick the "blinking flag"

or also known as "the conversation piece"

Then cute Mel had the kids decorate their own sugar cookies.

Here is Livvy's. Can you see the cookie?

Look hard, real hard!

Our crazy weekend begins!!!

I love this country! I love all that we have to be grateful for. We are so blessed. 

So what a better way to Celebrate our 4th of July 2011 than to be

in the good old town of Riverton where the population once was 426. 

Where I was born and raised is where I attended my first parade of the season.

Chalk that one up Check it off the list.

This was going to be the first of many crazy nights ahead.

You would have thunk it was going to be the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

 since people were blocking off their spots 5 days, yes I said 5 days before!

Gotta love small town folk.

I don't if I am happy or fearful that this child of mine is fearless! 

She basically hunted this dog down and was determined to give him a high five!

I love Deb and that fact that you can count on her to get up and dance at the first beat you hear of Shakira!

Clearly she must have had one to many caffeinated beverages that evening. 

It was blasted hot but we are always grateful for Jeff and Mel for the first class treatment and front row seats. 

Plus there is always the tree swing, that I'm sure I will be paying Instacare a copay for one of these days.  

Then we headed to Nana's and Jim for a BBQ of course!! 

We even broke out the fire pit, which ironically says on the box, no fires.

Hmmmmm.... I guess it's a decoration piece.  We are a bunch of rule breakers, what can I say.

In the good old town of Riverton where the population once was 426 and I was born and raised is where I attended my first parade of the season. Chalk that one up  Check it off the list.  This was going to be the first of many crazy nights ahead.

4th of July Weekend 2010

I am way behind on my blogging but for now I wanted to wish everyone a HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

I love this day.  I love this weekend.  I am tired.  I am beyond tired. 

We have had nothing but fun for about a week straight now.

4 BBQ'S 

1 Bees Game 

1 Crazy slip'n slide

2 Parades 

2 Firework shows (ok one was in a backyard but who cares) 

1 Swim party with cousin CJ 

1 Pool party with Daddy 

1 Wedding 

 

Love this picture of Livvy.

As I am telling her smile. She sits down and says "Mommy sit like this??" 

I think I have a poser on my hands!

Memorial Day

So we had a little "get together" at Ryan and Debbie's house.  The weather wasn't really cooperating but we couldn't give the little ones anymore excuses and decided to get out the good old SLIP N SLIDE!!! 

So many people continue to ask me if Olivia speaks, since she gets so shy around people. So here is your proof that she has a fantastic personality. If only you could hear the screams that go along with it. 

Sorry for all the pictures of Olivia. I can't resist her in her ITTY BITTY NOT POLKA DOT BIKINI. 

Remember what I said about the impossible task of getting a serious picture of my hubby. See!!

Best buddies!!

Love the faces she is making here! 

Valentines Pictures 2010

I took these same type of pictures last year, I thought it would be fun to compare the two and see how much Liv has grown up.  (tear tear)

Here is 2010

Here is 2009

I think the only obvious thing that has really grown is her........HAIR!!!!

More of 2010.  I love you sweetie!!!

Happy New Year 2010!

Today as Olivia would’t leave my hip, because of an awful cold and temp of 103, we decided to watch the new movie “UP”. I was inspired by the first few scenes where the young girl brings into to her new friend her Book of Adventures. That’s me! I have so many things I want to accomplish in my life. So many things I want to see and do. So as we begin this New Year I thought I would do one of my goals for the year and actually post them.

To share more personal work and post more often.

To be a true better friend, genuinely, sincerely, and with more intent.

To not be afraid anymore. Not Afraid to accomplish all that I want. Not afraid to step out of my comfort zone and create, write, and do all those things that keep me up at night.

To realize that everything does not need to be perfect.

To spend quality time with my family.

To share more of what it feels like to be a photographer. And hopefully my photos will speak for themselves sometimes that I won’t need to say a word.

To look for those I can serve and then DO IT.

To experiment with my fashion sense and not always pick out “what’s safe and comfy”. I’m tired of watching some of the wardrobes in the movies and saying to myself “oh I would love to wear something like that”. Modest of course but sassy and fun.

To learn new things to do with Olivia's hair. (I know it's a topic on it's own)

To budget better and really be organized (I know everyone says this at this time of year but I REALLY mean it)
To laugh of course, everyday sometimes more than once (wink wink)

To not get frustrated with myself and put limitations on myself and family.

To post my REAL thoughts and feelings, this is my journal. Sorry kids this is all you get. So brace yourself for what’s really on my mind.

To experiment more with things that inspire me.

To fall more in love with Casey and expressing my appreciation for him and not just assume that he knows.

To eat better and realize that I’m not 18 anymore and my metabolism is slowing down. (I can’t be in denial anymore)

To run in at least 10 races, since I don’t think we are doing the Wasatch Back this year (tears)

To meet new photographer friends and create a better network.

To be more patient, with Olivia (I have a feeling I’m gonna need this one) my driving, my limitations I put on myself, and those silly silly people out there who frustrate me.

To accomplish my goals for Amy Twitty Photography and finish my studio. Bring on the clients!

To bake with Olivia.

To know when to rest and enough is enough. To know when to laugh or when to be mature. To know when to be honest without the fear of hurting someone else. To know when to listen. To know when to take a deep breath.

Here we go 2010! This better be a good one because I am honestly glad to see 2009 hit the road!

Christmas 2009

I have to believe that Olivia has truly gotten the concept of opening presents! I think it took her about 2.3 seconds to get the idea that if I shred this beautiful paper into a million pieces something magnificent will be inside JUST FOR ME!!! Santa brought her a few items this year, a new comfy outfit, some pots and pans, a Magna Doodle (her parents hope for entertainment during church), a mini laptop (her mothers hope that she will stop stepping, drawing, on hers). After she opened her few gifts Casey brought in from the other room her Kitchen, since if she saw that first we thought we wouldn't have a chance of her opening up her other gifts.

After we hung out in the morning and just relaxed for a bit, we headed over to my Mom's house for Christmas day. It was fun to hang out with all of my siblings (besides Jeff and Mel). We stayed up late playing spoons, ate WAY to much, and laughed only a couple of times!

That night was a completely different story however. After we went to be around 2:30, Olivia decided she wanted to get up for the day around 4:45. And to my wondering surprise.... she didn't go back to sleep. I believe it was around 5:30 when I was very loudly (not yelling) at Casey telling him to "pack it all up we are outta here!"