Layne's Eye on Monday, August 17, 2010

Believe it or not, this is a vast improvement over what Layne's eye has been looking like for the past couple of weeks, especially since last Thursday. That's not a sight I'll post. Those with weak stomachs will appreciate my self-restraint. This kid really deserves some sympathy though. She's a fighter....

... as demonstrated in this photo. Loved whatever she decided to do with her face here. Just made me laugh.

Who Needs a Gift When You've Got Aunt Becky and a Box?

It's all in the title.

Quote from Layne's Brain

What in the heck is a sippy cup and why do I need it?

The Cupcake Reigns Supreme

First taste of cake..... that makes my taste buds go KAPOW!

Luke and Layne's First (Memorable) Birthday

Jared took this shot on Friday the 13th, Luke and Layne's first birthday. We decided this year to celebrate in style by giving each of the babes some one-on-one attention. Becky, Jared, Luke, Kimball, and Koria chose to spend their personal time with Luke floating down the river in the Buckhorn Draw. Layne and Kendra chose to spend their day together in Primary Children's Hospital in style, enjoying a light breakfast, lunch and dinner of .... clear liquids. I think Layne just wanted me to herself for her birthday gift. She's very clever, that little one! We are lucky to have you both, Luke and Layne!

The Amazing Aunt Becky

Don't know when this pic was taken,but Jared took it while Layne and I were in the hospital and he and Becky ran the fort. Is it any wonder why everybody loves Becky? She's amazing.

Old Leaf

Less is more.

The Assignment

I realize that I just stated below that I would use this for my photo of the day tomorrow, after I edited it because I was too tired to mess around in Photoshop tonight. Well, that actually sparked a creative nerve in my brain and I knew that I couldn't make it calm down tonight until I did just that. I just went through a lot of old art assignments from a watercolor class that I took my first year of school at Ricks. The teacher required us to paint the same scene eight different ways (which I should have flunked, due to the quality of my painting skills at the time). I thought that I'd show you four (with the original below). Let me know which one's your favorite. That's YOUR new assignment.

The Park, My Mental Playground

Some would disagree that the park brings a small bit of sanity to the day, but I beg to differ. The kids were driving me crazy today, and I was driving them crazy, so around 3:30 this afternoon, I belted all five of us in the car and headed out to two different parks. Koria and Kimball loved the chance to get out and play pirates, as well as the ever popular, "Let's run from Mom every time she tries to take a decent picture of us" game. Here's a shot of Kimball mauling Koria, and trust me, there where plenty the other way around too. This one just happens to be one of the best.

I saw this scene on the drive home from the parks and thought that it would make a nice picture of the day too. No editing tonight. I'm a bit too tired. Maybe I'll edit it and post that for tomorrows ..... am I thinking outloud?

Kids, Lambs, and Calves

In summers past, I used to take Koria and Kimball on walks everyday around town and out into the country. I haven't built up the mental energy to do that with all four of the kids this summer. Koria and Kimball loved going to a field just about eight blocks from our home to see some goat kids, lambs, and calves. The animals would come running to us and fast as they could, probably because they thought that we were going to feed them, but the kids would always squeal out in laughter at the sight. I didn't take them with me last night to get these pictures, but the animals still were eager to come running to my side when I met them at the fence.

Uno Smack Attack and a Rain Storm

We had Stake Conference today, so it was one of those special Sundays when Jared and I actually get to see what each other look like in the light of day other than just after 9:00 p.m. at night. Koria and Kimball, mainly Kimball, has been asking us to play board games with them for quite a while now, and we kept our promise to play as many games with them that we could while Luke and Layne took a nap. We played several games, but ended with what is more commonly known to the word as Uno Attack. It's basically Uno, but with a machine that spits out cards at random when the "draw" button is pushed. Koria and Kimball tend to make everything more fun, but I've never had that much fun with a card game in my life. They were rolling everytime that cards came flying out at us. Jared and I decided to take turns teaching the two four-year-olds random "trash-talk" phrases as we played, which varied from an evil laugh (Wa-a-aaaaaaaa!), to "Would you like a slice of humble pie with that," to licking their fingers, holding them in the air, and making a sizzling sound. Each one was unique and individualized, as all good smack talking phrases should be, and the kids looked forward to each new phrase we could invent. Instills faith in us as parents, doesn't it?

In the middle of all the gameage, we received a downpour of rain. I had told the kids that the next time it rained, they needed to go outside and try to catch the raindrops on their tongues. I love summer rain and the clean air that it brings.

Needless to say, we enjoyed our Sunday afternoon to the fullest. Smack talk and all, FOOO!

Stuffed Peppers

I realize that this doesn't look too appealing in the picture, but it tasted great. We've started doing "Bountiful Basket" which allows us to receive a lot of fresh produce each week for not much money, and this morning when I went to pick up our baskets of goods, I noticed that we had received about 8 green bell peppers. That's on top of what we've been eating from our garden. I had a flashback to being a missionary in Bulgaria, and one of my favorite memories was the smell of pechni chuski, or burnt peppers. Bulgarians use a lot of peppers in their meals, and I ate stuffed peppers on a weekly basis. We've been making several ethnic foods lately at our house for dinner, many of which dishes are Bulgarian, so I thought, why not try stuffed peppers tonight.

You'd be amazed what a four-year-old will eat if you tell him or her that it's a food from your mission. Somehow, it makes it taste better. Say, for example, you served your mission in Montana. You could use the old, "Oh, you're going to love this road kill. I ate it all the time on my mission." Betcha ten bucks your kids will eat it better than they would have otherwise. In fact, I just might serve some tomorrow night. I'll let you know how it goes....

Purple Flower, Green Bug

I took this picture of some flowers that are in bloom on the south side of our house (thanks for the seeds, MOM!), then did a little editing around with it in Photoshop and discovered when I enlarged it that there was a tiny green bug right in the middle of the flower itself. Just goes to show that there's more than meets the eye.

Family Portraits

Yesterday Koria found some chalk outside and drew a picture of every member of our family. I helped her label all of the figures with the exception of herself. She made if very clear to me that she would do that one herself. She just let me know who everyone else was. I love the fact that Luke's drawing comes with a giant arm, which is very indicitive of his skills and that I fall at the bottom of the rung, with all the wild hair.

What Would We do Without Family

That's Kimball's and Koria's shadows waving goodbye two of the coolest members of the female population you'd ever want to meet, which just so happen to be pictured below.

Here's a shoutout to all the family who've been helping us out in multiple ways with Layne's surgery. Steph and Abby just left us a couple of hours ago (miss you guys already), and Grandma and Grandpa Black were here this past weekend to help out while I was in Park City and while Jared and I were at the temple. We know that many of you have fasted and have been praying along with us on Layne's behalf, and we thank you with all of our hearts. Makes me wonder how we could get through life without the love and support of such good family members. You amaze me!

Layne In Her Hospital Gown

Good thing kids don't mind hospital gowns like most adults do. Good thing we took a picture of Layne before surgery. Good thing she's a cutie.

University Guest House

I'm not too familiar with the University of Utah layout and all of it's programs, etc., but we are familiar with a lot of the medical facilities that are there, one being Primary Children's Hospital. This particular visit required an overnight stay, due to Layne's eye surgeries that took place the day after this shot was taken, on August 2nd. We had a pre-op for her the day before at her optometrist's office around 45th in SLC. Jared made reservations for us to stay here, at the University Guest House, which was only a minute, if that, away from Primary Chidren's. It was great to not have to make a long commute the next morning for the surgery.

Harv

This old horse and some of his friends live close to our house, right along my walking path. Just thought I'd introduce you to each other. I don't know his name though, so let's just call him Harv. He obviously doesn't join in the fasting activities that the rest of us do, as this was taken on Sunday, August 1st.

Temple Gardens

On Saturday, July 31st, Jared and I had the opportunity to see the Aviles Family sealed to each other in the Provo Temple. We enjoyed to whole experience, and were moved by the Spirit of the events that happened that day as well as the beauty the surrounded us outside on the temple grounds as well. This shot was taken overlooking the mountains surrounding Utah Lake just outside the temple doors.

Ladies I Love

Last Friday, July 30th, a few of my old roommates and friends from college got together for ladies' weekend up in Park City. I really enjoyed have the chance to spend some time talking with them and building new memories as well as retelling a long of great ones from the past. The topics ranged from the serious to the insane (Ex: remembering the old fake arm that we used to hide around the apartment, which wasn't an appetizing sight when you would open up the fridge to find it waiting there amongst the lettuce and yogurt). Ladies, I love ya. Sure do wish we could spend time together more often, but then again, it's a special occasion made so by the rarity of such gatherings. This one goes out to you, lovely ladies! Thanks for all the hard work in getting it all arranged, Carrie!