MARATHON Summer and Fall Post time!

I guess we can all say it...I totally abandoned this blog for 2 months! I use it as a journal for our family, so this is not cool. I've totally broken the habit and I'll have to work hard to get back at it! "Last published August 8th"...sad....

SO MUCH has been happening around here, which is the reason it's so sad that I haven't written!

In a Reader's Digest version, I'll try to get it all done. But my Reader's Digest usually turns into a National Geographic article...so bear with me :o) Luckily, I have lots of pictures to keep you entertained!

To start us out, here are some favorite pictures of Nathan at a public pool one evening. We went with my sisters and dad and had tons of fun! I had my camera out for a few minutes but then jumped in the "big kid" pool with him and the family and swam around :o)

 

Alright, so on August 13th we celebrated our 3rd anniversary. It's amazing how fast time flies when you're having fun! It hasn't all been a picnic, of course...I remember hearing once that "if marriage is fun and easy all the time, you're doing it wrong", and we agree! We, like every other married couple on earth, have little issues here and there. The biggest challenge we've overcome came this year: finishing my counseling for PTSD and anxiety. I am so glad to have this hurdle in the past! I still have anxiety attacks every few months, but Mitch has been so supportive, even going to counseling with me so he can learn from my counselor how to help me.

Anyway, we chose to go to the KC Country Club Plaza, a huge shopping district that was designed after the artist's visit to Barcelona, Spain. Gorgeous Spanish tile staircases, bell towers, and of course the best shopping ever! We gave ourselves little allowances and enjoyed ourselves. (Yes, we gave up picking out anniversary presents for each other long ago...we are too specific about what we'd pick out ourselves!) We enjoyed ourselves at dinner at Buca di Beppo (1/2 lb meatballs! The so-called "appetizers" alone had us stuffed before our entree was out of the kitchen!), then walked to another part of the plaza to see a movie. 

We saw "Hope Springs" with Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, and Steve Carell. Between the two of us we are big fans of all three, so we thought it would be good. Steve Carell totally pulled off a serious role, but the movie itself, instead of being pro-family and pro-marriage, was disgusting and terribly inappropriate. They kept diving deeper and deeper into sexual things and we finally just left...about half an hour into it! They gladly refunded our money at the counter. It was a funny experience in the end, but you just can't unsee what was so inappropriate and over-informative. 

It was a good lesson for us and a story I am sure we will tell our kids. I hope they can all have the experience of standing up for their beliefs, even when that means walking away from everyone else is doing.

We took a picture that night on a spanish tile staircase. Setting was gorgeous, angle was, well, not so much. Mitch deleted it before I could save it to the computer...what a stinker!

On August 14th, a couple days before we left, Nathan was playing with my mom and sisters outside, blowing bubbles and finding other fun things to do. I couldn't resist taking pictures of my own kiddo, after doing 18 shoots of other people and their families during our visit!

Goofy little expression :o)

Nathan and Melissa...such horrible quality, sorry, it was getting really dark!

He thought the nails in the wooden retaining wall in the front yard were pennies, or "meee-nee", as he calls money. My mom hated that I was taking pictures of him in the yard after the AWFUL drought they had this year. So much for the midwest being so green! In the last picture, above this, you can see how yellow and dead the neighbor's yard was too!

Showing us the "meeeneee"

Nathan and our dog...he was way too mean to her, poor dog!

My mom taught him to put his hands in his pockets :o)

Singing and clapping his hands :o)

We left Kansas City on August 17th and flew back to Salt Lake City. It was so hard to leave my family, knowing I probably won't see my parents again until my graduation in April (WHAT!? I'm already SO excited to be DONE! But that's another post...). It was hard to leave after 3 weeks; Nathan had gotten to know my parents and sisters very well, and he was *almost* comfortable anywhere in the house with them. All the traveling and undoing of his schedule made him a bit clingy. 

We spent the day in Salt Lake City. Our flight was at 6 am, and we were up at 4 am, so we wanted to get a hotel for the night and let us all get a nap, go out for dinner/shopping, and go back to sleep. Then the next day we'd make the 8 hour drive to Gillette, WY, where Mitch's parents live. Our timing was a bit off; there was a huge convention in SLC and we hadn't booked a hotel before the trip, so napping and staying in SLC wasn't an option. So, we decided to hit the SLC Zoo to wear Nathan out before we put him in the car to drive a few hours. We had SO much fun at the Zoo! Here are a few favorite pictures...man that nasty enclosure glass made me so mad! My poor camera worked hard!

This was during the elephant show. He had a perfect view and just had no interest at all! He knows more farm animals than zoo animals, and is just gaining interest in more exotic animals.

So I'm taking pictures of this monkey playing with a little girl through the glass, and he hops over and sits RIGHT at the glass and poses for my camera! I just about DIED! How cool!! So, I kept changing settings slightly, through my viewfinder, and just kept clicking. I knew I wanted to get just the right picture, and he sat there for a good 30 seconds!

haha, so skeptical of this monkey statue...he wouldn't go near the monkey sitting by the glass!

Eventually warmed up to it, then found a chicken to chase, which shocked us all! He wouldn't leave that poor bird alone, and had never seen one before in real life!

Enjoying the fun tunnel, and his Thomas the train sunglasses!

Another cool photo op. He was sitting in front of the glass and these sea leopards kept swimming super fast near him, but would only show up about every 20-30 seconds. So, when I saw distant shadows I just kept clicking and got a great one! I was thrilled!

Eye contact with a giant iguana :o)

This was actually a giant rodent from Australia. Looked like a mouse bred with a kangaroo...weird.

 Nathan was so, SO tired by the end of the zoo trip, which was the goal. We were following him as he RAN through the zoo to find the train that we had bought tickets to ride, and he was SO excited! However, as SOON as I picked him up to stand in line he was OUT like a light! He is obsessed with trains and had NO idea he was riding one! He would have flipped out had he been awake, and we're so sad that he was just comatose! Every time the train blew its whistle he would stir, but that was about it. No recollection whatsoever. And now this train is under construction until 2015, so we can't even take another trip there and ride it while we're living just 4 hours away!

We ended up putting him in the car after this. He slept the whole time on the way to the car and we drove 3-4 hours to Evanston, Wyoming where we stayed the night. However, we didn't get any naps that day and Nathan was SO grouchy when he woke up. NOT the best traveling experience! Those 6 am flights are sure cheap, but we're not sure it's worth it!

After we got to Wyoming we had some fun with Mitch's parents. We were there for 3 weeks as well! I did lots of editing (I came to Gillette with about 4,000 files!) and Mitch and Nathan had fun together during the day. He was great at keeping Nathan out of my hair so I could get something done. Then when parents came home we had lots of fun together! We hung out, took a few day trips, and enjoyed a Memorial Day visit from Mitch's grandparents! Nathan was "Papa" Dooley's favorite hot tub buddy. He had little water wings that went across his chest as well and he was swimming like a fish by the end of the visit!

Here are some hot tub pictures:

Anticipation :o)

Apollo was anxious too :o)

Getting our water wings on

I just swim like a big kid, no big deal :o)

Fun with dad...he was taking the hot tub pretty seriously at that point (he was probably peeing, in all honesty! It's quite a temperature shock for a little boy! Good thing Papa has lots of chemicals to keep that water clean!)

Love my boys :o)

Driving his floatie :o)

Getting squirted by a bath toy by daddy...love it!

This face is also a winner :o)

 One of the day trips we took was to Devil's Tower. Mitch's little brother, Ethan, climbed it months ago, and it was so cool to see it in person, as well as seeing the climbers that looked so microscopic, knowing that Ethan had done the same thing! It was awesome!

Just chillin'

Going to play with his "GG Dooley"

On their way back from the little play area. He looks tuckered out!

Climbing on a big boulder with Papa!

Powdered donut in hand; that's my little explorer!

Devil's tower in the background, Nathan making his summit :o)

And...back to the donut :o)

Playing with mama's camera stuff with his pretty eyes :o)

Climbing the rock again with daddy

Taking a rest after his summit :o)

Still with me? Gold star for you! We're almost done :o) I try to be selective about the pictures I choose, but I usually fail and post too many! If it makes you guys feel better, it's about 1/100th of the pictures I take!

A little later in Gillette we went shooting. It's a Dooley family tradition for these men, and every once in awhile I leave Nathan with someone and go with them. This day I was trying out the little .22 that I hope to one day carry!

Cutest little gun ever!

My target the first time I shot this little pistol--I was quite proud of myself!

Then it was time for more hot tubbing :o) We were in that thing almost every day!

Aww :o)

ha!

My favorite!!

Here are a few more from our hot tubbing adventures!

Most of the time no one held him, he either stood on the hot tub benches or he floated around, "swimming".

His swimming face :o) I love it!

Swimming to his beloved Papa!

Little feet kicking behind him :o)

You work so hard!

Uncle Ethan drenched himself in bubbles and then...

...shook them all off :o)

My cute little swimmer :o)

 Another evening, Nathan, GG, and I walked to a neighborhood park. He had so much fun! GG was cracking up at the fact that he just HANGS there when he swings. He really doesn't do anything...but he always wants to swing at parks! It's so funny!

Just hangin' out...

Getting a push from GG

climbing the jungle gym

I promise he has fun when he swings...the pictures just don't document it well!

back on the swing--again just hanging there--before we went home.

 Well, I think that's finally it!

As fun as our trips were and as much fun as we had with family, it was hard to pick up the pieces of life when we got back home. Other people had taken over our responsibilities for 6 weeks, and our house smelled so abandoned and stale! We were so happy to be back to routines...Nathan had not been sleeping well towards the end of our trip, and the night we got home he slept for 14 hours straight!!

This semester, Mitch is "off-track" (it's his off-semester; since we have 3 here, they give you one random semester off), so I'm the only one in school, and Mitch works when I'm not in classes. I'll write another blog post all about my semester; it's a tough one! Luckily I'm done in April, then Mitch can focus on school full-time without juggling me or Nathan.

Thanks for reading, those 3 of you that stayed till the end! I promise I'll be more diligent about writing these!

Just thinking...from Kansas City!

We have been in Kansas City since July 24th, and we are just loving it! We love the time with family and friends and watching Nathan get to know his extended family much better. It only took him a few days to warm up to everyone and become a little explorer in my parents' house.

The visit started a bit rocky, but it's better now. Most of you have probably read about this on facebook, but I use our blog as a kind of journal for us, so I want to document things before I forget them.

The week of finals, we got an unexpected surprise: we were pregnant with #2! We weren't expecting this at all; we weren't even trying for a baby. We were going to start trying in the next few months, but not yet! Because I'm done with school in April, we had decided to shoot for a due date of June-ish...this due date was March 28th, about 2 weeks before finals and graduation. We were going to just have to make it work, but it wasn't going to be easy. We were still in quite a shock when we told Mitch's parents right before we left for KC. They were in Rexburg and made it possible to tell both our parents in person. 

As soon as we got in the car with my dad to drive home from the airport, we told him our little secret. In a house full of women, my dad is sometimes the last to know something, so we wanted him to help us tell everyone our surprise.

However, about an hour after we got to my parents' house and put Nathan down for a nap, I went to the bathroom and realized I'd started bleeding. For anyone whose been through a pregnancy, bleeding is either 1) labor is coming, or 2) NOT a good sign. I quickly googled a lady doctor in my parents' area, we made some lame excuse to leave Nathan and "go for a drive", and we went off to the doctor. My anxiety was awful, and I was just sure it was all over. 

We found out that my BYU-Idaho student insurance networked with another insurance company that this doctor accepted! Sweet!! We didn't know what to expect as far as insurance went, but we are so glad that the doctor we randomly picked would allow our insurance to pay 80% of all our expenses! We still haven't seen bills, as they are being sent back to Rexburg, but we are hoping that what we're making in KC will cover everything.

Anyway, we had all kinds of tests and ultrasounds done, and after 3 hours of being at the doctor, we found out we had most likely miscarried. They told us that 1 in 4 women bleed in early pregnancy and keep their babies, but my gut feeling just told me it was over.

It was really hard the first couple of times I had to tell people and say it all out loud...my poor mother-in-law can attest to this after I fell apart telling her over the phone.

After talking to a few people, including one of my best friends, Amy, who had just gone through a much worse miscarriage, I started to feel a lot better. It's amazing how fast I got attached to something (someone) that I wasn't even expecting. During my counseling for PTSD last fall, my counselor helped me channel any oncoming flashbacks or panic attacks fueled by my experience delivering Nathan into planning the next baby. Down to every detail, I was just supposed to think timelines, names, what I want to do differently, what I know more of now that I've had a baby, etc. So, our second baby has been "in the works" (in my head) since Nathan was about 10 months old. 

I don't really know how to wrap this blog post up, but we did find out later (after many more tests) that I had, in fact, lost the pregnancy. I'm feeling optimistic about everything. We were actually VERY lucky. The ultrasound indicated that it could very well be an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, which is a complication much larger than a normal miscarriage. We never saw a baby, we never heard a heartbeat, and we lost the pregnancy early enough that I didn't have to have any procedures done afterwards. These are all good things; it was very cut and dry, and ran as smoothly as possible. I had no pain or discomfort, just exhaustion and a couple of other uncomfortable symptoms. 

We are so grateful for all the prayers and support we received during all of this. We could really feel the love and support of not only our loved ones and friends, but we also felt a great deal of comfort from the Lord. It really taught me a lot. Even though this was a hard experience, I am so grateful that we went through it. It really made me realize my appreciation for Nathan and I have been able to focus on his sweet self much more than I felt like I did before.

Well, I have a lot of laundry waiting, and I should probably do a few chores while I'm here with a sleeping toddler! I never realize how messy my kiddo can get until he makes a mess in someone else's home! Thanks for reading and lending support!

Finally My Turn for a Field Trip!

Mitch is a lucky duck. He has tons of trips for his Recreation Management major. Most of them involve camping somewhere remote with nothing but a tarp and the clothes on his back, but he still has a blast.

When my teacher presented a fantastic opportunity for our class that involved a day trip to Salt Lake City, UT (about 4 hours from Rexburg), I jumped on it. It was MY turn to go on a little trip while Mitch had Nathan duty all day! Thank heavens his end-of-the-semester schedule lined up well enough for me to go! 

(Nathan did have to spend about half an hour at work with Mitch because one of our speakers went over, but when the Governor of Utah is speaking to you, there's nothing you can really do to tell him to hush so your group can get on the road!)

Anyway, the highlights of this trip were:

- A private meeting with Sister Elaine S. Dalton, General Young Women President for our church. She counsels to all the young women, ages 12-18, in our worldwide church. She lives in Salt Lake City with our other church leaders and has nearly daily interactions with our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. It was a privilege to meet with her.

-Private counsel from the governor of Utah all about how we can be better advocates for children and families all over the country, and what we can do to get involved in legislation at any level.

-A meeting with some of the ladies of United Families International, a group that lobbies at the UN for family-friendly policies. They shocked us when they said that 95% of documents presented in front of the UN were harmful to children in some way! Sadly, a lot of funding is offered in exchange of the control of children's and parents' rights.

-A tour of the Utah State Capitol Building, which was stunning!

It was a fantastic opportunity, and we had a great time. Our group was about 20-30 people (I can't remember how many actually ended up coming!), and I got to play with my camera all day! It was awesome. 

Here are some pictures I took, and some of my notes from the day.

 

"My hope is that every woman and every young woman become an articulate advocate. This will help you in every part of your life!" --Elaine S. Dalton

(Isn't she just so cute and dainty?)

"The single most pervasive threat to the family is sexual immorality in all of its forms." --Elaine S. Dalton

"A return to virtue could be a return to family." --Elaine S. Dalton

Sister Dalton and our group, in a room known as the "Elect Lady Room", commemorating all the women who have served in general positions in our church

"Contention is always wrong, even if you're right!" --Gary R. Herbert, Governor of Utah

Utah State Capitol Building

"You are entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts." (Meaning you can't just make stuff up)

--Gary R. Herbert

"A well thought-out letter or phone call can make a huge difference at the state level." --Gary R. Herbert

"Every document that is signed by the UN will enter every country, and internationally signed documents can and will override any country's constitutions." --Kelly from United Families International

"The business of politics is about building relationships. The more relationships you have, the more influence you have at any level: local, state, or federal." --Ron Michelo, State Budget Director for the state of Utah

Overall, this was a fantastic trip. Sister Dalton looked right at me and said this:

"This is not a hopeless situation; you will change the world! You need not become discouraged over this."

...that was exactly what me and my flaming amounts of anxiety needed! 

Throughout this class (Child and Family Advocacy), we are learning all about public policy and how our society is becoming less and less family-oriented, and trying to dissolve the family unit altogether. This makes me a bit stressed out, and my teacher knows it. I know that in the end, right will prevail. 

Just as a note, I am conservative...as if anyone couldn't figure that out. I have an extremely family-oriented perspective of life, and my little family makes me who I am; I don't know what I would do without them! 

I will always defend family rights in this country.

On another note, I love that we live in a country where we can all have our own opinions. We get to vote. We get to have so many freedoms that other countries could never dream of. I will never hate anyone because of their opinion. I have been raised with the goal of becoming Christlike. This isn't something I can achieve in this life alone, but I wouldn't be doing my part to get there if I were acting as a bigot towards those who have different opinions than I do. This election year has been stressful on everyone, and we have a long way to go before this presidential election is over! I hate going "all political" on people, and I also hate to see when respect isn't even part of a discussion.

Here are some more pictures I took at our church's Salt Lake City Temple.

(Don't judge, I'm really not very good at taking pictures of things; and it was quite dreary outside that day!)

I don't feel like writing, so...

Here are some bullet points to catch you guys up.

No new pictures, sorry. I've been too busy taking and editing pictures of other people's children!

Which is okay, because it means a bit of extra income, and being able to do what I love to do.

I've had lots of newborn shoots lately, which are the best.

The last shoot was with a little guy who was 4 weeks old who would make eye contact and smile at me for family pictures...are you kidding!? 

So, naturally, I felt the need to take 750 pictures of him during that shoot. It was a combo shoot at a special rate, with indoor (studio) and outdoor pictures all in one appointment, so it was justified. And really fun. And will be a beast to edit/sort through. But I can't wait!!

We are doing well! Finals are approaching and we are knee deep in the trenches of schoolwork. 

Nathan is getting more and more independent and is learning about consequences. Like when you get stuck between mom's sewing machine and the corner cabinet (it sits there b/c that cabinet is impossible to attach a baby lock to and he once spilled a 5 lb bag of flour all over everything in there...it's also impossible to get inside the cabinet to clean it out, unless you're Nathan's size...), mom and dad make you get out by yourself. He's attempted it less lately! Woo hoo!

Oh, don't pretend like we're cruel. We're not. He wasn't that stuck.

Anyway, 

We have exactly 10 school days left in the semester. WOW. I can't wait for it to be over!! A 3-semester-per-year schedule is beneficial for many reasons, but it stinks for many others. Like when all your friends are talking about summer trips, relaxing, etc. and we only get a six-week summer break, not 4 months like they get.

Our summer break is CHOCK FULL, by the way! I love it! The only bad thing about planning a schedule so full is that the break just flies by. We are planning a big trip to Kansas City to see my family (we only get out there once a year...), a day in Salt Lake after we fly back from KC, where we'll take Nathan to the SLC (Hogle) Zoo and do other fun things, drive from there to Gillette, WY to see Mitch's parents, and then eventually come back home. It means living out of the same suitcases for over a month, but we brave it every year and it's always worth it, so why should this year be any different? :o)

Mitch and I have also planned a couple planned mini-trips before the semester ends in two weeks! (Because I guess we're nutso. Or don't plan well. Probably both.)

Mine is for school; a day trip to Salt Lake City where we'll spend the day watching legislation happen at the state level (this Child and Family Advocacy class is a snore sometimes), and then one of the general authorities of our church will speak to our class personally about advocating for families and children(!!!!) This is a HUGE deal because we are a worldwide church with over 14 million members...and this leader is setting aside time to speak to just 30 of us for an hour!! Amazing.

And then there will totally be photo ops afterwards...you BET all my equipment is coming with me! If our teacher can't get a communication/newspaper student to come with us on the trip he is giving that assignment to me. Which is kind of nerve-wracking because they carry around the school's $10,000 lenses, and well, I don't. Oh well, it will still be very fun!

Mitch is planning an overnight scouting trip to scope out the hunting area he's chosen for this year. He's doing the bow hunting and rifle seasons, which he's really excited for. Bow hunting is the hardest, and all school/chore/work breaks around here involve him setting up his target in the backyard and shooting that bow! I don't know a ton of details about the trip, but I'm still trying to convince him not to go alone. It just freaks me out; there are way too many bears, moose, mountain lions, etc. out here for him to be wandering around alone. Oh, wifey anxiety.

Well, I have 1500 pictures sitting patiently, waiting to be edited. I invested in a few more fun camera toys before our KC trip (during which I have 12 shoots booked!), including a battery grip (to hold an extra battery so I don't have to stop and switch when one dies), another memory card (8 gig, 10 speed, we're happy!), and a new lens to allow me to zoom while still getting the blur of the wide aperture that I like. 

Well, that's about it!

Just for your viewing pleasure, here's another throwback to July 2011 and our chubby baby Nathan...man all these newborn shoots and seeing his old pictures make me baby hungry! 

Yes, we have a plan. No it does NOT involve YOU, OR me being pregnant RIGHT NOW. 

So everyone: practice some restraint! Hush and stop asking, it's actually really getting on my nerves!

Having fun in the hot tub at GG and Papa Dooley's house!

Putting on darling Converse shoes a friend gave us :o)

Testing out my newly-acquired backdrops

Learning to crawl!

Testing out my newly-acquired studio light kit (July was a big photography month for me last year, too!)

Thanks for sticking around this long!

Sorry for the brash statement up there about pregnancy. EVERYONE has been asking/hinting lately, and I just can't take it! My first delivery was not like most people's first; there was a good chance we could have lost Nathan and in the last few hours we didn't know if we'd bring home a baby or not. That led to Postpartum Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which led to medication and counseling. Now I am peachy (probably 340 or so days out of the year, which is pretty darn good!), but I am also determined to finish school. With 2 semesters left (and 0 deferrals left), there's no time to take off for a baby. I can hold off a few more months to make it through my Bachelor's Degree.

For not feeling like writing I sure talked some ears (eyes?) off...guess no one expects any differently! I guess I'd always rather write than do homework!

So many changes!

At the beginning or so of this week (yeah, I think it was the 25th), Nathan looked especially patriotic in his red/white/blue plaid shortalls and his red polo (complete with a dark blue stripe around the neck). So, we decided to take 4th of July pictures. I couldn't find the flag I bought last year for our pictures and he wouldn't sit near the red flowers (their texture was a bit overwhelming and "loud" for him...silly...), but we did the best we could. It was a complete opposite of last year's 4th of July pictures, where he was scared of the grass so he wouldn't get off the blanket!

I decided it'd be fun to share a few favorites and compare them with last year's pictures. It still blows my MIND how much they change the first couple years. I see 25 cent baby clothes in 3T size and I just can't make myself buy them (we have the room and empty bins in storage...why not?) because I can't stand the fact that he'll be three one day.

Cue all of you seasoned moms telling me "just wait until..."

Here is my all-time favorite picture of him. I was chasing this crazy kiddo around, adjusting my camera settings to allow a shutter speed of at LEAST 1/600th of a second, and still a balanced histogram no matter how my light was. Which was rough, but we picked a golden time of day, so it all worked out.

 I love this picture of my Nathan. I didn't have to crop it or anything! (Although, from the reflection it looks like my camera is a dinky toy that I'm actually holding normally; it's just a distortion from his little lenses, I promise I wouldn't lie about something as silly as cropping a picture!) <--Message courtesy of my anxiety brain :o) 

At first I didn't like the reflection, and it would be more ideal without it, but I do love that it looks very real-life. I love the light we got on that side of the house, and the white siding made for a very neutral, not-distracting-yet-not-overwhelmingly-white backdrop. He's very "Top Gun" I think. 

Here are some other pictures from this year...I'm saving my favorites to send to grandparents/great-grandparents/aunts & uncles this week, so I don't want to give them all away! I tried to line them up with similar pictures from last year...check out how much this kiddo has changed! My how I miss that uber-round, chubby little baby face!

(Click on the collages to see them bigger; I wanted them to fit in the frame of the blog template!)

Oh, and as a fun detail, I pulled the blue background color for both of these collages right from his eyes in the picture from the 2011 collage (the one on the far left).

We still have a brand new family set of 2012 flag shirts (one of my family's favorite traditions) that we haven't worn yet, but I married a sweet man who just hates having his picture taken.  So we'll see if we even get a picture in the shirts!

I took the 2011 pictures the very first time I used my all-time favorite lens, my "nifty fifty" (50mm 1.8). Ohh I love me some dramatic bokeh! I fell in love with this lens on this little shoot. Look at his shiny eyes! I love how you can't tell he was sitting in front of the nastiest fence on our street (that we happen to share a yard with...yay...) in the 2012 pictures, and a very industrial-looking apartment building in the 2011 ones. This lens has always made our apartments (and their buildings) look way better than they ever have in real life! And that nasty fence has become one of my favorite places to take pictures!

Well that post was much ado about nothing, now wasn't it! Oh well, nothing's really new with us! Mitch is 3 weeks away from his semester off (September-December) and he's SO burnt out, but has been such a trooper! He is currently working 2 jobs and donating plasma when he can. My photography business has boomed, as I have more time on my semester off to dedicate to shoots (i'm only doing 2 credits this semester), so when the studying gets rough, we have the padding in our budget to let him take a week or two off from plasma without it hurting us. I have also been babysitting the 2 sweetest little girls ever, one (8 months) comes 3 times a week and the other (4 months) comes a couple times a month. This allows me to justify staying at home with my boy and not having to find a job on my off semester. 

Nathan is huge and is just busier than ever. If I were to "go, go, go!!" like that all day, every day, I would be dead by the end of the week! I don't know how he has so much energy!

Well, that's us!

Well, it was time for it, so now it's here...

I now have a photography website!! Not just my blog anymore!

I'm SO excited. It took me forever, wasn't very expensive, had kind of difficult website building tools, but it's finally done! I'm glad it was cheap; I searched for a long time to find a good site to use.

For those of you who'd like to know, I used godaddy.com for both the website and domain hosting. It wasn't even into the triple digits! I have friends who have paid several hundred, and we just couldn't spend that much on something intangible, ya know?

I had control over everything but the font of the page titles, which kind of bugged me, but I designed 5 full templates before settling on this one, so by that point I was ready for some compromise. 

Here is the link! 

www.alainadooleyphotos.com

 I wanted to use a simpler URL, like just my name, but my blog is already called alainadooleyphotos, so I wanted to be consistent.

I have always kind of doubted that all of this would take off, so I'm very pleased that I've come this far, and hopefully in a year I'm even further along!

My best friend, Amy, also just got a new SLR after not having one for almost 2 years. She has a 2 year old boy and the only pictures she has of him are from her phone and my camera...this is a girl who would charge $5,000+ for weddings in Utah and was published in 3 national magazines! Needless to say, we're both REALLY excited about her new investment!

The best part is that we get to go into business together! I'm her designated 2nd shooter at weddings, we have different equipment that we can borrow from each other for different types of shoots, and we can babysit each other's kid while the other is on a photo shoot! It is a great setup and I'm feeling so lucky to have a best friend period (I haven't had a true best friend in probably ten years!), let alone one who is in the same phase of life, married with a little toddler boy, and shares my same interests! 

In any case, I'm feeling good right now. And to reward you for listening to my rantings: pictures!

These aren't edited or anything, Nathan was just playing in the window light and I wanted to experiment. They're not supposed to be perfectly exposed, just fun.

Little wrinkly forehead :o)

Love how smooth his skin looks here :o)

Thinkin

Talking to something outside

Well, that's it! We're doing great; life is getting crazy busy and it's hard to come up with the time to do everything! So, sadly, things like donating plasma regularly (Mitch) and running (me) have gone by the wayside...but, our grades are great and so is Nathan, and our house is almost clean half of the time, so...life is good! :o)