A few updates... and guess what arrived last week..... AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I'm a little bit excited.
I got the pillow in the middle on my doorstep today... so my bed was all dressed and ready for it's photo-shoot. Uhhh... I know we have an abnormally barren, large room, so pay no attention to the corners that show what it looks like beside that ONE piece of magic.

Better yet, pay close attention... just so you'll believe me...

I know. The rest of the room needs a little catching up. That tv's on the fritz... so I'm thinking we'll need a little upgrade soon (and by little I mean little... that beast makes me so nervous. What if it fell over???) We got a cheap but simple/modern ikea dresser a while back that we need to set up that will match the dark wood of the bed better... so that will be our first step. hhhhhhhhh (sometimes I just really want to spell out a sigh.. )... oh I can't tell you how much I love walking into my room right now... The closest thing we've had to a real bed was this twin head/foot board that I bought for $10 at a garage sale when we first got married and I'd hang from the wall with nails side by side to form ONE king headboard. It started brown, and got painted white AND black over it's lifetime with us. I'm happy to retire it.

Moving on: Here's a few from yesterday when my dad and Marybeth came over for dinner for a little late Father's Day celebration. Have I mentioned how much I love that they live RIGHT here in my town??? (pretty much.) There's really something to living near family. Like you've almost got a little root right where you live. It just feels good, you know?

ooh and one more thing. My friend, Shalaine's baby shower. Had it on Saturday morning at my house-- brunch... with quiche (Costco), homemade rolls, salad and yogurt parfaits. My friend Brooke, who bakes for a restaurant, baked me her DELICIOUS coconut cake for the occasion. Yum.

I know... and she's like 8 months pregnant. Darling right? You should see her little boy. I can't WAIT to see her little girl.

and WHAT would I do without little friends right now? Without preschool and with temps so hot, we can't play outside... having friends over to play is CRUCIAL. And there's something especially cute about darling little girls in a bunch. Oh and did I mention... Mia and Kail aren't moving after all? Hooray!

That's all for now. Oh and saw Sister's Keeper tonight... I liked it. Almost an entirely different story than the book, but still a great movie.

My Sister's Keeper

We just read this one for book-club. Squeezed it in the year's calendar before the movie comes out this weekend. It tells the story of a family who genetically conceive a baby to be a perfect donor for their daughter with cancer. What a sad and compelling story. I know, it sounds like I just took that off the back of the book.... I don't think I often use the word "compelling". But I can't think of how else to describe it. I didn't know if the sadness would overwhelm the story too much for me to enjoy it, like too much jalapeno in my guacamole. But it didn't. Told from so many different perspectives, the reader doesn't suffer through the pain of say, the mother, the whole time, but instead is let into the affects the illness has on an entire family.

Ooohhh. I just reread that paragraph and it sounds totally depressing. But it was a good, good book.

Just in case you're lookin'.

Balboa Park to the zoo...

Another day... another San Diego Park. Off to the zoo with my sister, Mel, her son Heath (who Sophia is OBSESSED with), and her new bundle of luscious rolls we call baby Ivy.


I love this one. The way the light shines on her...Oh boy do I love my babies chubby. Probably because my babies ARE chubby. I felt like Ivy belonged to me, not my dainty little 5' 7" runt of the family, sister. :) An annual pass for two adults, and one child 3-17 for the zoo AND the wild animal park was only $125 at Costco. Do you live there? Do it.

Maybe my sweetest sunday yet.

Some days I think I'm going to ruin these kids. There's like a million things I can do wrong... I can't possibly get it right. And with all the screwed up people in the world, and all the possible ways to screw up, it's just a miracle any of us ever have our heads on straight. And all I want to do is carry my girls through this whole life and make sure they make the right decisions every step of the way. Hah.

All I can do is teach them. And at 3 1/2 and 18 months... they look at me like I know it all... but what I really know is ALL the areas BEGGING for improvement in my life. And when I let myself thing too hard about it, it makes my heart race so hard I can hear it.

But then I have days like yesterday where we find out the primary's singing "I'm so glad when Daddy Comes Home" in Sacrament Meeting, and I'm unsure if Sophia will want to go or not. But as fast as I can ask her if she does, she's out of our pew and racing up the stairs, plowing her way through the kids to get RIGHT up to the microphone so she can pull it to her mouth like she's singing a solo. Luckily one of my little achievement-day girls gently moved her down from the mic, but she still managed to get herself a front-row spot so she could blow those kisses to Ross far more often than the song prompted. I could hear Ross' I'm-crying-like-a-baby-so-I'll-laugh-it-out-casually laugh under his breath throughout the whole song. He was dying. Or rather, maybe came to life just a little more right then.

And this preceded her first-ever talk in primary, where she walked up there like she owned the place and repeated the words I whispered in her ear with a big smile like an old pro. Ok, she missed a few, and pronounced some with thick Sophi-bonics. But all in all, relayed the most precious three-year old message about how prayer strengthens our family.

This time Ross and I were both blinking back the tears, and when I stole a glance at him through my blurry eyes after Sophia plopped back down proudly in her seat, I thought maybe....

JUST maybe....

They'll pull through in spite of me.

San Diego: Part 1

I don't know if it's because there's no enclosure, or because the weather's so much nicer, or because there are more beautiful plants and birds around to look at, or just because everything at Nana and Papa's is more fun than at home... but they have SO much fun on this trampoline when we go back home.

Don't know if you can actually tell in any of the photos I'm posting, but I can officially give Mila two little pig tails in back now. I'm in love.And this big crazy sun-flare on Sophia... I'm a little in love with that too. Again with the love... my two nephews, Cannon and Dane... enough to make me want to use the Shettles Method to go for a boy next time. ;)

Sophia loves her cousins, she talks about them all the time.

And yup... they've got one MORE boy on the way. Just 14 or 15 months after Dane. (Right Tere?) And she's one of those that makes it all look like cake. I don't get it. I used to think I was sooo "laid back". Hah. Maybe that's back when I thought I was a camper too. It's not so easy peasy for me.

Boy do they love their papa. He's just like Ross where he'll offer to watch the girls and not just watch them, but take them on walks, and to play with the neighbor's dogs, and to the pet-store to get a turtle (until he finds out said turtle cost like 50 bucks instead of cents), and to McDonalds for icecream.... above and beyond. So what if he feeds them ketchup and licorice all day long? My mom and I got pedicures, went to dinner, went for a run withOUT the jogger (wow what a difference)... it was so worth it.

This is Sophia's favorite thing to do with Nana. Watch cartoons in her bed in the morning. (One of my favorites too since it buys me more sleepy-time.) When Nana came home from work at like 7pm, it was still Sophia's first request.

Oh this mama of mine. I dream of the day she can retire and just play with us all day when we come out there. So does she. It's amazing to me how my girls seem to just KNOW that she is my mama and therefore practically theirs. When we left them for Newport, it was the first time I'd seen Mila totally unaware of whether I was staying or going. She had nana. Nana is all the sweet smell, soft skin, and gentle voice you could ever need. Believe me, I know. She probably didn't even know I was gone.

This trip started because Ross was working in Rancho Santa Fe Tue and Wed... and ended in Orange County where I had a shoot. (I still feel like I should put that in quotes and add a wink... but what else am I going to call it right?) In between was the usual play at my mom's, a morning with my sis-in-law, Teresita and her boys, Balboa Park, and a trip to the zoo with my sister, Mel. I haven't gotten to those pictures yet... hence.... the title.

Proof that we did it.

Would I do it again? Yes. Tomorrow? No. Or next week?... or any time in the terribly near future?..... maybe not. Do I regret it though? no.

Have I ever liked it when people ask questions just to answer them in lu (sp) of just making statements? no. it's actually sort of a pet-peeve of mine, but here I go, asking and answering away. Having my own little conversation with myself. Showing you that even when you think you don't like something... you might... surprise yourself.

Unfortunately I was actually really expecting to LIKE camping, so no pleasant surprises. Just a little aching for real sleep. But I'm certainly not giving up on it yet. Everything before bed-time was just as I'd hoped and remembered (barring the fist-sized beetles that were bouncing off of our cheeks and forearms ("hikl;aioehioahgohika!"--- that's the sound I think may have come out of my throat during the spiritual thought when one wedged itself nicely on the blanket 2 inches from my face.) The morning was great too, waking up to the smell of the outdoors mixed with campfire. Letting the girls run around with their friends, all of us dirty and bundled and sleepy -eyed. I love that part. I don't even really mind being dirty for a while. And I love seeing friends sleepy-eyed. I'd have slumber parties all the time if it were appropriate as adults. :)

The part where it got sketchy was of course--- the night. The part where you're supposed to be unconscious. As it turns out, when you're NOT unconscious, that part isn't any fun. I really shouldn't complain. It could have been so much worse. I could have been like 8 months pregnant and sleeping with no air-mattress like Shea (I didn't know, people. Otherwise we would have offered one of ours!). Or I could have been like 6 months pregnant and gotten sprayed with filthy left-over toilet-water upon flushing like Robyn. I'm counting my blessings. :)

We had this killer tent we borrowed from Kodi and Ryan, Mila's playpen, an air-mattress for us and a little princess one for Sophia... it all seemed incredibly promising. But it was freezing cold and Mila just didn't sleep great and for fear of waking her and starting a screaming fit (like we had before) Ross and I were afraid to move a muscle. I'm the type that drinks water and pees all night and I DON'T sleep in layers so that was all just a challenge of it's own for me. I guess I can't sleep 'just anywhere' like I used to, I feel like I was half in-and-out from midnight 'till 5 when Mila woke up and we were all just happy to see that the sun was up and warmth was on it's way.

Having said all that--- we will do it again. Just maybe when Mila's a teensie bit older and not such a put-her-in-her-crib-and-shut-the-door kind of sleeper. But we'll do it again. Who knows... maybe some day, more than one night.

(oh and I've got new photos of baby Noah on my photo-blog.... what?.... how else am I going to get anyone to check that blog if I don't direct you there each time? :)

San Diego Photo-Shoots Available

Ross and his "team" at work have started working in a San Diego branch of Morgan Stanley occasionally-- so we're going to my mom's tonight for a few days while he works in Rancho Santa Fe. Ahhhhh.... I can almost smell the coastal air...... it makes it feel like a move there (eventually) is practically within reeeeeaaaaachh...

almost.


So anyway, if anyone is interested in a San Diego photo-shoot this week (family, child, etc)... I have availabilities Tue, Wed, Thur, and Friday nights. That's June 16,17,18, and 19th. The sun is setting so late these days, an outdoor shoot would start around 6:45 or 7:00.


Details and rates can be found in the "about" section of my website. (There would NOT be any travel fee involved this week of course.)


Leave a comment here or email me at lillie_biesinger@yahoo.com if you're interested!

Making me happy:

Good vine-ripened tomatoes. Half off at Fresh and Easy... they were just sittin' there looking all picturesque... I couldn't resist.

And the fact that we're going CAMPING tonight with a bunch of families from our church. It'll be the first time our family has gone camping together- EVER. I used to claim that I was truly an outdoors-girl, loved sleeping under the stars (or with a thin layer of rayon- or whatever tents are made of--- in between)---until Ross called me out once on the fact that in six years of marriage and a couple of years knowing me before that, he's never seen or heard of me going camping. And that quite frankly, he's not into it himself. So maybe I should just get over it in general. Eh? I decided he was right. I couldn't even sleep on a couch anymore.

Who was I kidding? Just because I don't mind skipping the shower for a couple of days, doesn't make me a camper. Double pillow-top and some good neck support please.

But I think this just might change us. I'm really excited about it. I think the girls are at good ages where it just might be really, really fun! And it's only one night and really, it's a park. So I know we shouldn't really need it, but wish us luck!

I can't wait to get around to the rest of these--- but in the mean time...

She really wanted one right away for his birthday invitation... so I did a handful right away that would work-- so these are all kind of similar, him and his great big eyes.... I guess I couldn't get enough.

Sometimes I'm blonder than my roots let on...

I was just listening to my voicemail on my cell phone while drinking a glass of ice water. I took it away from my ear to hit erase, then put it back to my ear... only oops... wrong hand. Sort of a rub-your-tummy, pat-your-head moment.


Uh huh. I just tried to listen to my ice water resulting in a cold, cold, wet, cold surprise. I couldn't believe there was nobody here to laugh at me, so I felt it was my duty to blog it.

Family Night At The Park (and a little blurp about the new camera)

Just Soaking in every ounce of this weather before we wake up to triple digits again. Notice I had to put a cardigan on Mila because it was THAT breezy. Ok--- it was sort of like a crazy wind-tunnel, but if that means cool temps, we'll take it.

And then we ran into some friends with one of the cutest little two-year-olds I've ever seen... so obviously I couldn't help myself. I mean look at that face. This was a bit after sunset, it was nearly dark out. I think I had the ISO on my new camera cranked to like 6000. Do you see any grain? I don't. Oh did I mention I got the new Canon 5D Mark 2? You photo-friends will appreciate that. But I've been afraid to mention it since I DO NOT feel comfortable with it yet and DO NOT feel like all my pictures are turning out magical or anything. I'd gotten used to shooting in aperture mode on my Nikon D40, and that just doesn't seem to be working on this one. The prime lens I got for it is the 85mm f/1.8, so maybe it's because I'm used to having those extra stops (plural? not sure) on my 30mm. But this one I feel like I have to shoot in manual. And I feel like I'm CONSTANTLY adjusting my settings for a little more light, little less light, little more, little less... and then should I use my shutter speed, my aperture, or my ISO to get it???? Nothing a little practice can't fix right? I'm still absolutely thrilled about this camera. It can do amazing things... but I've got some catching up to do to deserve it.

Can you imagine how nuts Mila went when she couldn't hold this dog quite like her friend? I think we just might have to get one some day.