elf yourself.

you had to know this was coming...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

the best day.

i just couldn't go to sleep without writing something to remember this day. i woke up to addie & hollynd jumping on my bed exclaiming they had a surprise for me. they pulled me out of bed and led me into their SPOTLESS room! they woke up before everyone else and cleaned their room! i collapsed on the floor, hyperventilating and twitched for a full 5 minutes. they also cleaned the toy room!! who are you and what did you do with my daughters?

needless to say, the rest of the day was just...beautiful. it was a beautiful blizzardly day all because two little people decided to give their parents a heart attack. a lovely brunch at chik-fil-a followed by a trip to their favorite book store, just so they could play on the stage in the children's section, was their's to behold. and lynn and I were happy to oblige.

i love my girls.
i really really do!

new fall mini sessions announced!

head on over to my photography blog for details on new fall mini sessions!


i love helping people with their pictures and holiday cards every year, it's my favorite thing! i would love to help you out again this year but just so you know, these will be the last minis offered for the season. in order to spend the holidays with my family, the only sessions i will be doing are newborn sessions after december 1.

i'm still having a hard time planning for christmas didn't we just celebrate independence day?!!

oh well--merry christmas everyone :)

the hijacked photo.

kaydee posted this on her blog so i hijacked it.
why?
because i look like i'm so happy my head's going to explode,
THAT'S WHY!
because batman briefs and cowboy boots are so cute,
THAT'S WHY!
because clark kent forgot to take off his glasses before he transformed into superman and now he's frowning about it,
THAT'S WHY!
because i'm in love with it,
THAT'S WHY!!

BOOO!

holy schmolies.
i'm actually going to write something today.
i was inspired to post some pictures from halloween because want to remember how hard it is to take decent pictures of my children.
don't believe me?
here is the proof...

aren't they cute though?

guess their costumes.
go ahead, just do it.

we have a superman, batman,
then wonder woman decided to show them up with her fantastic jumping skills...(i just love the first one in the series)
betcha' can't guess who hollynd dressed up as....

i'll give you a hint...

still don't know?

ok, here's another hint...
i don't know why you needed hints. i mean, she looks exactly like her!

ps hollynd personally picked out lynn's "troy" costume. i thought she did a pretty good job.

our family looooves halloween!!

check it.

i like this blog:

http://thesavvyphotographer.blogspot.com/

what i will miss the most about summer.

on this labor day weekend, i was thinking about this past summer and what i will miss the most.

it won't be the hiking,
the swimming,
the park playdates,
the hot concrete,
the dirty finger nails,
the library trips,
the church activities,
the hot days = the hot cars,
hearing my kids ask for one more otter pop,
the zoo,
the gateway museum,
the smell of sunscreen,
lagoon,
wearing crocks everyday,
the late night campfires,
the bleached-blond heads of hair,
the family picnics...

nope.
it won't be any of those.

what i will miss the most is not even the baths that are taken after aforementioned events.
i mean, i love the squeals of laughter as they race their nudy-selves to the bathtub after we strip the grass-stained-camp-smoke-muddy-lake-water-shirt and shorts off. it's just so cute! but no.
i know, i know--i should miss it--i mean, who doesn't love the satisfaction of scrubbing heads and watching dirt and sand disappear down the drain?

then, there's the sweet smell of your baby's soap--not to mention the lotion. mmmmmmmmmmmm...scrumptious goodness all lathered up and then rinsed off with water... nope. i won't miss that as much. see, what i'll miss the very most beats all that.
what will i miss the very most about summer?
the tan lines...

90 degrees in september.

my good friend april and i decided to take advantage of the last swimming day of the season. it was so hot--we couldn't believe it was the last day they were going to keep the swimming pool open! check out 5-year old collin catching some air in the bottom right hand corner. april's kids are so much fun!

a collaboration.

addie asked me how to use a camera today so how could i refuse?

planets collided today. here is where mom, director daughter and fashion model diva princess all came together and made magic. it's magic to us anyway. roll the credits:

artistic director: addie
prop/set director: addie & hollynd
costume director: hollynd
director of photography: addie
photography consult: mom
catering: mom

excited for fall.

BOOK YOUR SESSION BEFORE SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 AND RECEIVE A 25% DISCOUNT ON YOUR SESSION FEE! THAT MEANS YOU ONLY PAY $150!! EMAIL ME TODAY!

subscribe to the hazel bee photography blog for all the details

my babies aren't babies

the girls and i were trying to find something to do today. you know that "afternoon lull"--during nap time, right before dinner...
anyway, we started looking up in the old blog archives. they loved it. it was like looking at baby books. we watched them sing songs, say funny things and we read about the funny things they did when they were younger. i highly recommend it to anyone who finds themselves ultra-bored. after scrolling through several blog posts on our old blog, we came upon this one and i just sat there and bawled my eyes out:

http://haylieb.typepad.com/haylie_b_photography/2007/12/anxiousanyone-a.html

my girls gave me a hug even though i explained to them i wasn't sad, my heart was just mushy.

my girls think i'm nutso but i love being bored WITH them because they love me despite my nuttiness.

summer vacation.

we may not have been able to take a summer vacation (again) this year but summer-porch-popsicle-licking is almost just as fun.

and playing in the doggy-door.

hollynd is a poet and didn't even know it.

her hair bounced all around her as she skipped down the stairs with notebook in hand. she stopped me at the stoop and insisted i write down her latest recording as she shoved notebook and pencil in my already full hands. first she sang it. then i wrote it.

go shopping with the heavy bags
fabulous when i go home
i always get ice cream
oh yah
i don't like anything--
just hanging out with my friends
i do have friends!!
maddie!
bella!
chloe!
friendship grows & grows
all the way up to your heart!
that's not all i like...
i do like daddy-daughter dates
and girls night out!
and passing out food at the dinner time!
and go to the fair and sing!
whatever a girl likes to do!
anything a girl likes to do!

hazel bee photography blog

did i mention there is a new photo blog for hazel bee photography?
click here and be dazzled.
(i mean...i HOPE you will be dazzled.)

the other blog.

i humanize objects quite often.
call me crazy but it is in my wiring.
i tend to humanize everything actually: inanimate, electronic, stuffed, you name it, if i use it frequently, it becomes like another living being who has a name and feelings; and we become neighbors. i have even humanized this blog into my very own special friend. hence, the feelings of shame for ignoring it for so long.

I'M SO SORRY!

ok. i'm over it.

these past few days--ok--months have been a little hectic. to sum up the whole of it, i will attempt to make a condensed list for posterity's sake:

birthday
dallas, tx
start a business
memorial day weekend
bowler family reunion
youth conference
10 year wedding anniversary
lynn's birthday
independence day
family photo session
3 newborn sessions
oakcrest
girls camp
grandma
idaho
west jordan high school 15 yr class reunion
2 more newborn sessions
reading classes
swimming
hiking
changing lots of diapers
playing

i think that just about sums it up.

at one point, i had a little over 100 blog readers (last year). where they came from--i will never know. now i have about 6; i just love that. to all 6 of you who regularly come back to check on me, thanks.

spring.

button, button, who's got the button?

lookie!
spread the love!
a button for you and your blog!
to post the button on your blog, copy the code from the text box below and paste it into your sidebar by adding a html/java code gadget into the sidebar of your blog or website.

<center>
<a
target="_blank" href="http://www.hazelbeephoto.com/" title="natural light photography">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaCZqlaEfWYcn2Hu66CuSx_krJnVYJlEE2YsJcpDHfg1pPDf2o507tS-jmVSPD2LFyVa-cNG1QKVTHC-427JSe6sZFtD2R2xK-z6EjhaCzWaex2a5aO6_HWxjF1xlL02AQtM1XL-8UWP5p/s1600/LOGObutton.jpg"

alt="hazel bee photography"/></a></center>

taylor made.

dr. rob and mandy are the coolest. they are dear friends of ours and i love that their faces are now gracing the hazel bee website as of 5 minutes ago. their slideshow can be found by clicking here and then click on the "enter site" link and then click on the "galleries" link at the bottom.

these pictures have been waiting around for a while to get posted. i was hoping that i would get the new professional fancy schmancy hazel bee blog up and running but with the way life is now-a-days, they will probably be waiting around until the cows come home. what does that saying mean anyway? cows coming home? hello! i'm a bowler! the cows ARE home. i digress. anyway, thanks rob and mandy! i had a lot of fun taking your pictures! i laughed the whole time!

new button coming soon!

happy birthday to kendall.

hazel bee.

come see my baby!
you can take a look at www.hazelbeephoto.com
oh--and tell your friends too :)

big announcement.

i'm going to have a baby.
i think i'm going to say that again.
i'm going to have a baby.


sort of.
[calm down!]

now that i have your attention...

i haven't been blogging lately because i've been working my tail off since april, trying to RE-start my photography business (i.e. my baby).

i had no idea how much goes into starting a real live business. website, instruction, marketing, logos, colors, style, products, business cards, price lists, templates, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!

breath, breath, ok, breeeeath...{i think i almost just went into labor right there}.

anyway, the launch of my new website is almost complete. i just added the finishing touches tonight. you know what the biggest stumbling block has been so far-- besides "barney", my camera? (hey--it's a dinosaur--what else am i supposed to name it?)
anyway--my biggest stumbling block as of late is picking music to go on the stinking website. i'm so out of it in the music world lately --not as bad as lynn though (phew). and then there's this problem of legalities. does anyone know if i'll get in trouble if i just throw just any ol' song on it? do i have to have permission from the artist? and how does one go about doing that? do i just knock on jack johnson's door and say "hey! can i use your curious george song thingy mr. johnson?! and what if the artist is dead? actually, i guess that doesn't really matter. johnny cash songs don't go real well with baby pictures.

so, if you have suggestions on that, drop me a line. ps i've already looked into "royalty free" music and they all sound like i'm sitting in an elevator. so unless you know of a sweet "royalty free" song...

does anyone know of a sweet kick trash local band that would let me use their stuff?

oh--and one more thing--

i've been kicking around the idea of taking this blog private and just doing a public photography one. any opinions? to all my thousands and thousands of readers: speak now or forever hold your peace.

[chirp, chirp, chirp...]

that's what i thought.

anyway,

speaking of pictures. i shall share one.



by raise of hands, does anyone know how DIFFICULT it is to get a good picture of jack?
so...so...so difficult.
but it's a cute difficult. :)

paired with you.

my heart's content.

my email to cjane.

i know you aren't accepting comments on your blog at the moment so i hope leaving one via email will still get read for it is this post, THIS VERY VERY WONDERFUL POST that has compelled me to leave you a comment for the very first time. i insist you know how greatly this post has affected me.

i can't begin to tell you how much i appreciate your talent of writing! i have stalked your blog [when i get a RARE free minute--usually in the middle of the night] for almost a year now and i have enjoyed every word you have written. many times your words say exactly what i've always wanted to say but it was this post that i appreciated the most. you have put into words what i have felt since october 23, 2007 when i gave birth to my twin boys, jack & mckay. then, when they turned a year old, it became even more tongue-tying to figure out what this strong-hold was that they've had on my heart. it has been since then that i haven't been able to articulate how much they mean to me. saying that i love them just doesn't cut it sometimes! i have 2 other daughters whom i dearly love with all my heart but it is these 2 BOYS that have really held captive this other chunk of my heart that i can't entirely explain. but, like i said before, you just did. and i must thank you!

thank you! thank you!

sincerely,
haylie

ps i NEVER do this but i'm printing this post off now and putting it somewhere where i can read it again in the future. i'm sure it will come in handy as to remind me why i love them so much. like maybe tomorrow when i find they have AGAIN unrolled the entire toilet paper roll into the toilet and used the toilet brush for a toothbrush.

oh--one other thing--i'm going to post a copy of this email on my blog too. i know a lot of moms who have sons. i'm thinking that the link to your post may perhaps help them out with the aforementioned inability to articulate the immense crush they have on their little boys too. your post proves to be very helpful!

chronicle of every day life.

today,
i defrosted chicken
and
watched wwf.


ouch.
that one hurt.
at least cactus jack offers yokozuna a hug in the end.

so what did you do today?

ps i have no idea who cactus jack and yokozuna are, i just thought their names were silly.
ps in fact, if anyone would like to explain the whole wwf concept to me, go right ahead. i stand confused at the whole idea of grown hairy men pretending to beat each other up. i don't get it.

easter. a photo essay.

hello! glad to see some of our peeps stopped by.

get your running shoes on, we're going on an easter egg hunt!


you seen any eggs?
nope.
haven't seen any purple eggs.
especially on top of dead animal heads.
"i know there's one around here somewhere! i can just feel it!"i never knew a colorful little plastic egg could produce so much egg-citement.

maybe we should do an easter egg hunt every morning.
maybe she would actually make it to school on time? or not.

happy easter to everyone!
and a big hug to lynn for planning a great easter egg hunt!(that's him underneath all the hugs).

our own movie. kind of.

does it ever seem like you're in your own movie?

i kid you not, this same exact scene played out tonight between me and lynn:



except he left for meetings.
and i ran off to albertsons grocery shopping.
and we had 4 kids.

oh--and i kept his 'L' necklace.

********
ps i just re-watched the video and this post makes it seem that we had a fight and we were breaking up or something. um no. i just wanted to go out on a date with him as he was leaving for meetings so i decided to go grocery shopping instead of doing the dishes. so--there that fits better. or not?

kids. raw.

it was ok a couple days ago. not a spectacular day--not an lame day either.
just good, just simple, just what normal days are made of...
wash, wash, washing along,
cook, cook, cooking along,
change poo, change poo, change poo-ing along,
laundry, laundry, laundry-ing along,
type, type, typing along...
then i look over in the next room and saw this:

kids were so bored [but not really].
i told them the tv was broken for a week so that they would discover their eyes were able to blink.
to their surprise and shock, they realized they had siblings and that they adored each other.
they have been laughing themselves silly all day.

it's 2 in the pm.
those are my kids.
raw and un-censored.
hair not brushed (if they have it).
doubt the teeth are too (if they have it).
clothes fashionably fresh.
goofing off while they're waiting for the macaroni to boil.

as they are.
and i love them to pieces.

kinship.

"i've got soul but i'm not a soldier..."

kinship:
(noun)
blood relationship.
a sharing of characteristic or origins.

kids are just like big people. some days find you full of words and lots to say. some days, not so much. not because you're sad or melancholy, just nothing to say (my blog speaks for itself for the number of posts since december).

i found addie this way yesterday coming home from school. usually: maniac when she gets in the car, million words a second. yesterday:
how was your day, addie?
fine.
hungry?
no.
[ok--radio volume goes up.]
she says nothing and is in deep thought the whole 20 min ride home...
until we reach our street and this song comes on. the second bar isn't even played and she jumps right up and declares with exuberance, "yesss! i love this song and i haven't heard it forever!! turn it up mom! can you go around in the car mom? so we can listen to the whole thing, mom?"

i just love that girl of mine.

ps as for the video, donkeys and women throwing boomerangs in the same flick? who knew?
i would love to hear simon's take on it.
did anyone else laugh at the end of the shower part?
i don't get it.
but i love their music.

mckay learning to eat with a spoon.

i love this kid.