Oh photoshop...

how I love you!!

I've been playing around with some of my favorite photos...

Here is my original. It's good, right?

But look at this!! This is my favorite picture of all time. At this moment anyway...

Today I learned how to work with textures. I'm not a HUGE fan of the way this one turned out but... it looks old-timey and that can be cool for certain photos.

There. That's better. Not quite as warm. I like it.

The rest of these were done with that technique I learned a couple days ago. LOVE THESE!

Original

Original

Original

Original

What we were doing...

on 07/08/09 @ 10:11:12

cool, huh?

Ammon did not think this was as cool as I did. But really, when is this ever going to happen again? It's not. And I guess that's true for every day that has passed but, the play with numbers was just too awesome to pass up. I was scrapbooking and Ammon was doing this:

He's almost done with the last of the Twilight Saga.

While I was waiting for the husband to finish reading, I continued taking pictures.

Ammon plucked my eyebrows yesterday. Not too bad, eh?

Can we please go to sleep now? I'm getting a little wacko. Not like Wacko-Jacko. Just the normal wacko.

Free Photoshop Class!!

Ok. It's no shock that I enjoy photography. I love to look through my lens and imagine the perfect images I'm capturing. I love to photograph my children and sometimes I get really great shots. I loved this picture of Griffin. I really thought it was great. And it is. I still like it. But I started this free photoshop class over at JessicaSprague.com and check it out!

I was able to tranform this.

into this!

I love the soft antiquey look. And the frame?! It's going to be hard not to use that on ALL my photos. LOVE IT! Did I mention that the class is F-R-E-E?? If you have photoshop, you need to take this class. I've learned so much!

Skim-boarding

Ammon and I were able to escape from the babies a couple times while we were at the beach. (a HUGE thanks to the family for that one!) One time we went and played in the ocean all by ourselves. We had bought a wave rider and a skim board and decided to give them a try. It was so much fun to play in the ocean with my sweetie. He helped me catch some good waves and then helped pull me back. What a guy. When I was exhausted from the waves, I just sat in the water and watched Ammon try to skimboard. If you know Ammon, you know that he's freaking awesome at everything he tries. Seriously, this man can do anything. Well, anything except sing. But anything else, he's got it. : ) He tried and tried and just was not getting it. In his defense, he had never seen anyone skimboard before. He wasn't exactly sure how it was supposed to work. His skin was being scraped off by the sand everytime he biffed it. Finally, this 4-year old came up (his name was Noah) with his skimboard and showed Ammon how to do it. It was so cute. This kid said that it was funny watching Ammon fall down all the time... Good stuff.

He finally got the hang of it!

More beach pictures!

I told you I had a lot of pictures...

Trying to keep the camera dry!

Bottoms up!

Family Time

Our kids wake up early. Every. single. day. Anywhere between 6 and 7. On our second day at the beach, the kids woke up at about 6:15 and everyone else was still sleeping. We got the kids fed and dressed and got some time on the beach as just our family.

Thank you, Grandma!!

Ammon's grandma owns a house in North Myrtle Beach. We were lucky enough to spend some time there last week! We left on Wednesday and got back on Sunday. Oh man... we had a BLAST!! Neither of the kids had been to the beach before so it was so much fun to watch their little greased up faces... I have a lot of pictures to share. I think I'll break this vacation up into a few different posts. Here is the whole gang!

Griffin's First Beach Experience

At first, he hated it.

So he and I sat down and let the waves reach us every once in awhile.

And after a couple minutes of that...

He LOVED it!

Noah's First Beach Experience

Noah was unsure of the beach at first.

But Gigi (and Lathen : ) got him warmed up and as long as you didn't walk him out into the ocean...

He loved it too!

Happy Monday

There are so many things to blog about! And I'll get to them all soon. I promise. I just wanted to hop on here and say that we're back from the beach! We had such a fantastic time and can't wait to go back. Today has been filled with unpacking, doing laundry, cleaning the house and car, grocery shopping and getting back into our routine. My boys have been really well behaved today which is helping me stay in a great mood. Another contributor to this great mood is milk. Yep, you read that right. Milk is making me happy right now. More specifically, milk that I bought from Wal-Mart for only $1.88 per gallon! Cha-ching! So do we have 4 gallons in the fridge right now?? Yes, yes we do. : )

Hope you're having a happy Monday too!

Come back soon for more beach pictures!

be inspired.

"The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache."

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley

on the menu...

Right now I'm sitting here waiting for Ammon to finish a chapter of New Moon so that we can go to bed. I just finished planning this week's meals and making my grocery list for tomorrow. Since I have some time on my hands tonight, I'll share with you this week's menu.

Monday - Hot Hoagies

Tuesday - Mandarin Chicken

Wednesday - Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Thursday - Chicken Tortellini Bake

Friday - Tex-Mex Beef Barbeques

These are all new recipes to me. I enjoy cooking and trying new things. Hopefully I've found some keepers. If I do, I'll post them on the recipe blog.

Have a good night. And a Happy Monday! : )

to my baby daddy

I love you too much. Watching you be a daddy is how I like to spend my time. It comes so naturally to you. You are always loving, kind, and patient. I've never seen you angry with our boys. You speak to them with love and the sparkle in your face when you play with them is so apparent. I'm so glad I finally gave you the chance to prove what kind of man you really were. I can't imagine a better father for my children than you. You are so dedicated to their happiness and well being. Happy Father's Day, love.

One year older...

It was my 24th birthday yesterday! Yep, I am almost a quarter of a CENTURY old... wow. Birthdays just aren't as fun as you get older but I enjoyed my day. We woke up early and were supposed to go to Lazy5 ranch with some friends. It was going to be so much fun but, Noah got sick and we had to stay home... We were planning on having a yard sale today (saturday) and since we had to stay home yesterday, we put our stuff out and did a yard sale both yesterday and today. We made a whopping total of $143.80. Not bad for a bunch of junk that we have held onto for WAY too long. Ammon hauled the rest of it off to Goodwill so we never have to see it again. Yay for simplifying!

Back to my birthday.

After the yard sale, we went down to Winston Salem to visit with Granny for awhile. She is such a great lady. I really enjoy the time we get to spend with her. She loves watching her great grandkids and I can tell that she enjoys watching Ammon be a daddy. : ) After our visit with Granny, we went to Target and shopped a little. I love that store and we don't have one here in Mayberry... We got a couple little things and then headed over to Chick-fil-a for dinner. Mayberry doesn't have one of those either. : (

My parents always made a BIG deal of my birthday growing up. The whole day was MINE. It started with me being able to sleep in until 10:26 am. Seems like an odd time, right? Well, I was born at 10:26 am so I always woke up to at least my mom, and sometimes others, singing Happy Birthday to me. I was doted on all day and Mom made me my favorite meal for dinner. I always got to blow out candles and open a few presents. I got phonecalls throughout the day from loved ones and my Grandpa Hebdon would always always always call and sing to me. Pretty great birthday, right?

This year was a little different.

I woke up at 6am to get ready for Lazy5 ranch. 6am is a little bit earlier than 10:26 am... I've never had a yard sale on my birthday before. Ammon didn't even say Happy Birthday til after 11am. He tried to make the day special but it's just not the same as when you're a kid. I DID get phonecalls from my family and that was so nice. 3 people sang to me on the phone. (including Grandpa Hebdon) Today my friend, Lisa brought me a delicious cake. Ammon stuck a match in it, sang Happy Birthday to me and I got to blow it out. : ) He took me out to eat and to the movies tonight. We saw the new Pixar movie, Up. It was great. I definitely teared up at the end.

Thanks to everyone who helped make my day special. Even though the excitement isn't the same as when I was younger, I really had a great birthday.

Parade of Parks...

We like parks.  They're free.  We like free stuff.  We like being outside.  Parks are outside.  

We like picnics.  Picnics and parks go hand in hand.

We like soccer.  Parks are a good place to master your skills.

We like watching Daddy's tricks.  Anywhere will do.  But parks make a pretty background.

We like eachother.  Anytime.  Anywhere.

And so do we.

We like milk.  You have to bring your own when going to a park... Parks only have water.  So why not drink water?

Because milk makes us fat & we like baby chubs.

We like being strong.

Parks have cool places to strengthen muscles.

Daddy likes parks.  He can add another random handstand to the pile.

Noah likes to be like his Daddy.

We like wildlife.  Parks sometimes have wildlife.

We like swings.  Any good park has swings.

But what we love most about parks.... It brings us together.

As family.

and i quote...

Me: "Hey Noah, let's tell a story."

Noah: "Ok."

Me: "Once upon a time there was a Big. Blue. Dinosaur. His name was..."

Noah: "Rrrooaarrr!"

Me: "That's what a dinosaur says. What should his name be?"

Noah: "Hmmm.... (puts his finger on his cheek) How about... Noah?"

Me: "Maybe a different name? How about Harry?"

Noah: "Yeah. Harry."

Me: "Ok. So once upon a time there was a big blue dinosaur who's name was Harry. His favorite food was..."

Noah: "Nuts"

Me: "Right. So one day he decided to have a picnic. He got out his plate and put some nuts on it and..."

Noah: "Hot dogs!"

Me: "Yep. And after he ate his hot dog and nuts, he was really thirsty. What did he drink?"

Noah: "A bottle."

Me: "After Harry ate his picnic and drank his bottle, he decided to play with his FAVORITE toy. What's his favorite toy?"

Noah: "A tree."

Me: "So Harry the big blue dinosaur had a wonderful day. He was able to eat his very favorite food, and play with his very favorite toy. The End."

Noah: "I want another story!!"

Oh Razzle...

You must click on this collage. Must.

This is Razzle. Razzle is the Lathen and Kiera's new puppy. (my nephew and niece) Razzle kept walking under Griffin's jumper and this kid thought it was hilarious. He kept moving his feet all around and laughing. Too cute!

Back to our roots

Sorry for the lack of posting... Things have been super crazy for our family lately. Good crazy. We have decided to homeschool our children and last week, there was a LDSEHE homeschool conference being held at SVU. We were able to attend with Gigi, Joni and her 2 kids. Gigi watched all 4 kids while we were in the various classes. We could not have done this without her. I am so grateful for her support. I didn't worry about the kids at all. I knew that they were taken care of and happy. The conference was fantastic! Brad Wilcox was our keynote speaker and he was really wonderful. I enjoyed everything he said. We learned a lot and came away feeling ready to educate our children. Most of you know that SVU is where Ammon and I met and fell in love. It was so fun to walk around campus and reminisce. So many wonderful memories for us there. We were able to see quite a few people that we knew way back when. I can't wait to go back next year!

Gold Medal Day Practice

Noah's gymnastics class is having a Gold Medal Day next Saturday.  They spent yesterday's class practicing for it and Noah was cracking me up the whole time.  He is such a happy guy.  Miss Holly told him to stand on his spot but he was feeling the music too much... he just couldn't do it.  The other kids kept telling him to stay on his spot too but he wasn't having it... Maybe things will go better next week?



This next clip is where he's practicing actually getting his medal.  He totally falls while he's climbing up.  You might be able to see it in the mirror behind him.  (you can also see his daddy laughing)  This kid is too much... so funny!  I'll post the real deal next week.

Go Red Team!

Tonight we rocked the sidelines at Renfro's basketball tournament.  Ammon played hard and it was fun to watch him be competitive again.  I used to see that side of him all the time during soccer season.  Although basketball isn't his game, I think he had a good time.  : )

I've got 35, do I hear 40?

Noah is so adorable.

Tonight I took the boys to our ward's youth fundraiser.  The young men were having a pancake dinner and the young women were having an auction.  When we got there, Anna (the bishop's daughter) took Griffin and Noah and I went to see what was up for bids.  As soon as we got to the dessert table, he pointed a tupperware full of chocolate cookies and said, "I want that."  I told him that we'd have to bid on it and he seemed ok to let the cookies stay on the table for the time being.  We went and ate our pancakes, all the while Noah reminded me about his cookies.  I reminded him that we had to bid on them and that he would have to wait.  He waited about 3 minutes before bringing it up again... and again.

The first item up for bids was a "wheel" from the bishop.  I was totally confused.  I could not understand why anyone would buy a wheel.  And what kind of wheel was it anyway?  Was he going to come help me the next time I got a flat tire?  Did he just have an extra wheel lying around that he wanted to rid himself of?  Like I said... totally confused.  I asked 2 different people around me what was being auctioned and they both said, a "wheel".  I even asked them why anyone would want that and I could tell they thought I was strange.  It went for $70 and I was still clueless.  Finally it clicked.  A WILL.  The bishop was going to help you write up your WILL.  (He's an attorney)  I realized for the thousandth time that I live in the south.  I love that.

Finally, the cookies were up and Noah recognized them immediately.  He stood up on Gigi's lap, held up his number (12) and started bouncing up and down.  I wish I could have captured that on video.  He was so adorable.  Huge grin on his face.  He just needed to do this one thing before the cookies were his.  I think the bidding started at $5.  The auctioneer looked at Noah and then looked at me and I nodded to let him know that Noah was really bidding.  Brother Rife was bidding against Noah and the amounts kept going up in $5 increments.  Noah was bouncing up and down the whole time and when it got to $25 I shook my head to Gigi and told her I couldn't afford anymore than that.  She kept smiling and didn't say anything to Noah and I knew that meant that she would spot me the rest.  It stopped at $40 and the auctioneer said that Brother Rife had won it.  He must have seen me shake my head.  I'm sure he was just trying to save me from paying more than I wanted to.  There was a little confusion and Gigi said that Noah was in fact still bidding.  Brother Rife immediately told Noah that he could have the cookies because he was eyeing another chocolate dessert on the table.  The tupperware went to Noah and he instantly opened it and started eating.  Gigi went back and tried to settle with Brother Rife and when she came back to her seat, she said that he wouldn't let her pay him.  I went back next and he was not taking any money from me either.  He was so sweet.  He said that he came to spend $200 and he had to spend the money on something.  So, thanks Brother Rife!  You made my son's day!!

Lucky me...

I get to be their mommy.  These boys are so important to me.  I love them with a love I never knew I had until they came along.  

Noah has such a kind soul.  He wants people to be happy and tries to do what's right all the time.  He loves his family and prays for us every night (extended family included).  He loves to learn new things and he definitely knows how to make us laugh.  He is so polite and grateful.  He calls everyone his "friend" and I love watching him interact with others.  He is my buddy and our hearts are connected.

Griffin is amazing.  He is such a sweetheart and smiles and laughs at the smallest thing.  He absolutely loves to be close to the ones he loves but is ok doing his own thing too.  I simply cannot get enough of this little guy.  He makes me happy and I love how easily he has become part of our family.  He wants to do everything that Noah does and it's obvious that they will become inseparable when Griffin gets a little older.  Griffin loves me unconditionally and I know that we will always be eachother's best friend.

I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing Ammon and I with these boys.  They are wonderful children and we work really hard to raise them the way He has told us to.  They have made us better people and better parents.  We are grateful for their health and their genuine love for those around them.

This was my Mother's Day gift.  My adorable little family on the back of my Subaru!!  I've been wanting this for awhile now and Ammon can take hint!  : )

We had a wonderful day.  Ammon let me sleep in til 7:45.  We went to church and afterwards, Ammon and I got the kids down for naps.  We watched the latest episode of Survivor and then I took a little nap.  We went and played frisbee golf, we threw rocks in the pond and hung out at the park.  I made really yummy turkey burgers for dinner and then relaxed with a good book in bed.  It was a fantastic day.  Ammon helped out A LOT with the kids and really made me feel special.  Thanks babe.

Update

* Griffin is crawling all over the place and pulling up on everything.

* Ammon started the 2nd class of his masters program this week.

* I went to the gym today and had to work out in a hoodie because I forgot that I was wearing Ammon's "I love mormon girls" tshirt underneath it.

* I got my hair CHOPPED off last night.  About 8 inches total.  I also got it highlighted.  : )

* Ammon and I finally saw Twilight last night.  I didn't want to like it.  But I really did.  I guess I'll have to read the book now.

* This is my third week of working out consistently.

* Noah's new thing: He'll say he wants something and if I repeat it, he says, "Alright" like it was my idea.  Cracks me up every time.  For example:

Noah - "Mom I want yogurt, applesauce, pudding, goldfish and fruit snacks, please." 

Mom - "You want yogurt, applesauce, pudding, goldfish and fruit snacks?"  

Noah - "Alright"

* I'm still crazy in love with my cute husband.

* Life is good.

How I got this title to look AWESOME!

A couple of you are digging my cool font that I have for my dates and titles.  Last week, I came across this wonderful website:

There are all sorts of cool things here.  Seriously, click on the button above to check it out.  Here is the link to the tutorial about the fonts.  I had a little trouble with my font being cut off at first and Amanda was super helpful.  We exchanged a few emails and she stuck right with me until it was fixed.  How sweet is that??

So there ya go.  Now, go and make your blogs cute!  : )

Sharing the wealth

You have no idea what kind of treat you're in for!!  My family and I (my parents and siblings) have been talking about creating a family recipe blog for awhile now.  It seems like we're always calling eachother for recipes that we all grew up eating.  We've written them down a thousand times...  So, a couple weeks ago, it happened.  We have a family recipe blog.  It only has a few recipes on it right now but I assure you... They.  Are.  Awesome.  : )  All family members are invited to add their tried and true recipes so the rest of us can enjoy.  So, come on in and welcome to the Hebdon Recipe Blog.  Enjoy! 

 If you try one of the recipes, make a comment and let us know how it turned out.

Be inspired

Be yourself.  Everyone else is already taken.

-Oscar Wilde

And I quote...

(my friend julie has an "and i quote" section on her blog and i thought it was great!  so, thanks julie for the idea.  : )  i'm gonna play that game too.)

Noah and I went outside to play this evening.  He desperately wanted me to blow some bubbles.  The first bubbles I tried didn't work so well.  I could only get one, maybe two bubbles before I had to dip it again.  I had a different bottle of bubbles in the car so we set the first bottle aside and went to get the other one.  It worked much better.  Noah then preceded to pick up the first bottle and say, "This bubbles broken.  It needs batteries."

Yesterday Noah was complaining that his butt hurt.  I never figured out why... sometimes he complains about the seam on his pull-up.  That might have been it.  Anyway, he said, "Mom.  My butt hurts.  Need go to the doctor.  Fix it.  Yeah?  I ready to go."

Noah knows how to turn on his tv and dvd player.  Apparently he had turned on the movie, Bolt, and left the room.  When he came back, the movie was over and the screen was black.  He tried his usual sequence of button pushing but because the tv was already on, it didn't work.  He looked and me and said, "Oh no!  Mom, this tv is broken.  It needs batteries, rrrriiiiight?  Go get 'em."