Website!!

I'm so excited I'm finally done with my website!  It's andeemcdonaldphotography.com.  I'm still tweaking it, though.  But at least it's up and running.  I'm having so much fun with my little business.  It's a great blessing and challenge in my life.  I'm learning a lot about a lot of things, mostly myself.  I'm learning that you can fit a lot more than you think into a day, and at the same time you rarely fit everything you want in a day.  I'm learning a lot from the wonderful people I meet--they're so patient with each other,  and so many of them are so generous and kind.  It makes me want to be better.  I'm learning how to follow through with things, how to cherish each stage, each day, how to balance my life, how to sprint to my computer when both boys are asleep, when to say no, when to say yes, how to tap into the vast amount of information out there. The list goes on.  I'm being reminded of my weaknesses because pretty much everything I just wrote is a weakness of mine.  It's been fun trying to improve and figure things out.  Anyway, life is crazy but so good.

Boutique!

I'm displaying my photography at a boutique in a model home this weekend.  They are really fun to go to.  I invite all of you to come!  It's this Friday and Saturday.  Go here for address and directions.  There'll be tons of cute cute stuff.  It would be fun to see you there!

The garden gnome and the gorilla

Halloween was so fun this year! I got a few costumes for Josh and the first one was shut down when I tried to pull the elmo suit over his head and he screamed bloody murder. The second was a duck and Rob vetoed it. So he went to the store himself and found this hilarious gnome outfit. It didn't look like much but it's so cute on Josh's little two-year-old bod. The beard and eyebrows crack me up. Then a couple days before halloween I started feeling really guilty that I didn't get Scottie anything cute. So I ran to Kid to Kid and they had this awesome gorilla suit that fit him perfect. That thing was made for sub zero weather. Rob and I and my mom and sis took the boys to gardner village to get some use out of the costumes and take some pics. I forgot Scottie's, dangit, so it became a gnome shoot. Here he is....







And here's the cutest little gorilla in the world..

There was a trunk or treat in our neighborhood. It was so funny to see Josh catch on to what was going on and quickly learn to grab the treat and put it in his pumpkin bucket and then move on down the line.


And here he taking his spot in the garden like a good garden gnome...

Family updates..

to start...here are some recent favorites of my juicy little love bug...




I need to stop thinking about everything I have to get done and buckle down and update the blog. I really want to record some special things that have been going on. Well, one special day in particular--Scottie's blessing day. It was so wonderful. I'm so glad we got to do it in Rob's family's ward because they know and love Grandpa Scott the best. Scottie wore the little white outfit that Josh wore. I went to get a blessing outfit and the one that was a reasonable price was polyester and Scottie screamed when I put it on. I thought I would just let him wear the comfy cottony one and not torture him.




I thought we wouldn't have many people show up but I still bought a ton of food for afterwards. I was so touched to see so many family members come! It meant so much. Rob gave really a wonderful blessing. He said that when he took Scottie up to the circle he looked down and Scottie was looking at him with a huge smile on his face. He was perfect the whole time. Have I mentioned he is an amazing baby? I adore him.
Here are some notes I took...
-happy to welcome you, you've been such a joy and will continue to be a joy in our lives
-you're blessed with a mother that loves you beyond words and always will
-your grandpa who you were named after has passed on but loves you and is here
-learn of his legacy and carry it well
-your Grandpa Matt (Matthew is Scottie's middle name after my dad) is a man of God, follow his example
-bless you with a happy life, follow the commandments, be an example and do the thingsHeavenly Father wants
-be charitable, follow the correct path
-bless you with a kind disposition, to follow Christ and grow close to Him

I love Rob. So much. He is an amazing father. Josh has turned into a total Daddy's boy. He even hates it when he passes the sacrament cuz he wants him close all the time. I didn't even think about watching Josh during the blessing and I was told he walked up and tried to get in the circle!

I LOVE experiences like this that strengthen my testimony and remind me why I love the gospel so much. It lifts me every day and motivates me to be better. I love feeling a little closer to the Savior and feeling His love so strongly. This was one of those really good days.

We also got family pictures done recently!  I did my friend Heather's family in the spring and she is an awesome photographer and did ours in return.  We had an unexpected storm hit us but we got some good ones before it got too bad.   It's so FUN to get family pictures.  The reason I started photography was I wanted to be able to give people that joy.  It gives you a renewed sense of family and unity and love for each other.  

Here are a few of my favs...

I love my baby

SO MUCH!!  I'm so sad that he's going to grow up.  He is the absolute sweetest, mildest, cutest little boy.  He is starting to giggle and really show personality and I am in heaven.  Rob and I were talking about how we love our family so much right now.  There will be new joys of course as kids get older but life is so good right now!  We're having so much fun.  I'm just scared it's going to pass right before my eyes.  I need to savor every moment!!

Bear Lake

We had a great time at Bear Lake with Rob's family last weekend. The boys were so good. Scottie is an amazing baby. He's starting to smile and giggle and I'm in heaven! It was nice to get out before the summer ended. Some highlights especially for Josh were the slide, which he went down about 500 times, rides on the atv, and the beach--walking out to the boeys in the shallow water. Here we are all dirty and scrubby...



Scottie hanging out at the cabin...


drying up after playing on the beach...





of course playing in the sand...



The funnest thing for Josh was riding the atv. He called it 'sicklesickle' (motorcycle) and he said it nonstop the whole time. Here he is getting excited to go for a ride...




Josh is so hilarious with his kissing. He kisses EVERYTHING. Here he is kissing the sicklesickle. Other things he's kissed are feet, the tv, things in his books, countries on the map, and just about anything he comes across.


Here are the boys in the car on the way home seconds before conking out.

My boys!

Had to share a few recents of the boys. I just can't say how much I adore them!