Family Pictures and Weekly Goals

Oh, the joy of family pictures. Figuring out what everyone should wear, where the pictures should be taken, driving there (for 3 hours, in our case), actually getting the 3 year old (let alone the baby) to look at the camera and smile, etc. Okay, that sounds bad, and actually it was such a great adventure today! We flew Andy (Brad's brother) out here from SLC to take our pictures. He owns a photography business there found at http://www.creativproductions.com/. We were totally thrilled to find some beautiful coloring in the trees up by Duluth, MN. We drove around forever, trying to find an ideal spot, and then we found this little private driveway that wound back into a perfect clearing surrounded by colorful trees. Brad and Andy asked the people living there if we could use their yard to take our family picture, and they were so nice, pulling their boat out of the way, finding us logs to sit on, and giving us free reign to wander around the place. We had a great time, the kids were well behaved, and we have some great pictures now. Here is a vast selection to see:

Mac was trying so hard to get Leiden's hair clip.

Mac is more interested in the trees and flora.

Here we have Mac facing forward, but Leiden is not sure what to think.

Should I do what Uncle Andy says and kiss daddy?

Brad was making fun of someone in this picture, and he ends up looking like Fire Marshall Bill.

Always it's Leiden that brings out the laughs in Mac.

Mac's head glows like that of a wee angel. What a halo.

Gap-toothed grin.

Andy's emphasis is on weddings, after all!

To Andy's credit, he did not tell us to do this annoying pose. It was something our videographer at our wedding wanted us to do, and here we are, making fun of him all these years later.

When we choose the nice one to be blown up large scale, maybe we'll put up some more. Andy did a great job and is very good at what he does. Thanks, Andy!

Weekly Goals revisited:

It was pretty daring of me to put my goals out there where everyone can read (all 3 of you who read this:), but it keeps me honest. Honest to the point of pain when I have to report that my goals were not met this week! Here's the rundown.

1. Reading scriptures in front of your children is hard. Anyone have any suggestions?

2. I ran 5 times this week. If I don't get out of bed and do it immediately, it pretty much doesn't get done. Sleep or exercise? I guess it depends on the night. I have no idea whether any weight was lost this week or not.

3. Dress pattern pieces were not cut out this week. I discovered the excitement of Facebook. If you've not heard of it or tried it, check it out.

4. Leiden's quiet book materials lay where they have for weeks now.

5. The treats kind of evened out, although that's not the point. There were a couple days that I ate NO treats, and then a couple days where there was more than one.

In short, all my goals will be reinstated for this coming week. I do have to say, however, that my having written them here and knowing others were looking, I have thought more about them than I have ever previously thought about goals I have made. Thanks for the support--even if you didn't know you were supporting! Let's root for new goals next week instead of these boring re-do's. It's all up to me. Great.