My Bug

This is Piper in her dance outfit. She has a performance in a few weeks and they are bumble bees as you can see. It's pretty hilarious and darling. I don't know when she got so grown up, but she sure did it quickly. I am not sure it's really fair how pretty I think she is. I also am not sure we will have another girl because it would give her issues having an older sister this pretty. You can tell she loves getting her picture taken due to the huge smiles on her face when she is in front on the camera.
It's just after 9:00 and I am still not awake. It is going to take magic for me to get through this Monday. And magic fairy dust to help me get through the intense grocery shopping that needs to be done. But.. there is no Diet Coke in the fridge, so let that me my motivating factor.

It's Better Than Video Games

What else would girls do when they spend a weekend together but tumble, laugh, knit and do each others hair?

Here is me Lex and Linds doing cartwheels. Thanks to Kimmy who gets the sports action photography award for the weekend.



BBOOOYYYYAAAHHHH.. THIS IS BIG!
Me doing a whip. Please disregard my form.. two kids and 10 years later, I think it's pretty good, considering.

My backhandspring.



Lindsay's backhandspring.


More backhandsprings. We can even do them simultaneously.. Impressive.



Kim.. knitting!



Linds.. and Ash trying to go ice fishing.




Just so Ash wouldn't forget her mad skills she got to do everyone's hair.

Belly Laughs

We spent a weekend up at Bear Lake this past weekend. It was the TIME OF MY LIFE. We had the best time that any gals could possibly have. Ah, I love my girls, they are a breathe of fresh air. If there is one thing that I think is important in this world is having good friends. People to accept you for who you are (knowing everything!), always be a constant, and feed you full of compliments :) I have a ton more pictures, I don't want to overload all at one time. Much love.

Introducing Officially Tonic Photography

Ok my website is up.. TA DA. I guess you can call me official now. When I get some more steam and time I will finish putting up pictures, after my girls weekend :)

WWW.PHOTOSBYTONIC.COM

P.S. I got in the O-Town half today. HA HA HA HA HA this might be funny!

....Running hurts, it always has. It teaches us that good things do not come easy. It teaches us that we are capable of more than what we think. It teaches us that hard work will be rewarded and laziness will be punished. Don't expect to learn those life lessons from jogging. Next time you suffer on the roads, suffer proudly. You just RAN! (Author unknown).

I stole this from Supalinds blog. I don't know if I am technically a jogger or a runner but it sure isn't fun most of the time :) Suffering is the only constant in effective and worthwhile working out for me. But running has taught me a lot about discipline and getting through things you thought you couldn't. Sounds pretty cliche but running has made me a stronger and more confident person just because it's so hard most of the time, but I do it anyway, something that I wasn't taught much of growing up. So yeah.. thanks to my great friends like Supa and Mindy Lou who I literally think of everytime I run and they inspire me and they don't even know it. I mean if Mindy can do it after a few months of just having a baby I can do half her distance, right? Well... soon anyway.

Sorry Lex (inside joke).

That Is All I Am Going To Say.

This is Lucy. I mean was Lucy. She is gone. I don't know why. I don't know where. I just don't know. And that is all I am going to say. I am blaming it on the ^%$# raccoons. They are sketchy folk.

Just A Reminder

Just a shout out to all my lovely neigborhood gals to remember to come shower my favorite girl Danelle, and her boy tomorrow from 11-2. She is just the most fabulous gal (Alex is pretty cool too, most of the time) who is going to make the best mom. We should all be so lucky. So.. see you tomorrow! Much love to the Skeltons.

BLAHHHging

This weekend we went to a mnt. bike race KIDLESS. Note my excitement for the kidless thing over the bike race (no offense Jake). I listened to more music in one day then I have been able to in three years. It was awesome. And the best part, no yapping (no offense Piper). It was a nice little run and back with some quality time in between. I actually stopped talking (to sleep).
Next up.. girls to trip to Bear Lake :)



And to appreciate the sweetness of my babies.. the many faces of Piper.
















And one of my Peanut, just because he my angel boy.




Kids are so awesome. I hope to teach my kids to live peacefully. A life with peace is a life following the right path. A path full of happiness, confidence, humility and love. I think being centered and full of peace is a hard time to obtain. You can't do it by digging into other people, not being honest and not having pure intentions. Sometimes I get so frustrating with people getting away with being critical or judgmental (myself included) and making snide remarks either directly or indirectly but I am constantly trying to remind myself, and it's work, and I have not perfected it by any means, but reminding myself to take a step back and focus on the peace that being a pure person brings. Even if means I am not the best, or the most popular. After all we have enough people who are popular and think they are the best :)

A Game

I have to laugh at this picture, he reminded me of such a sweet little angel that I had to add the whimsicalness to it. Poor peanut has been off his game lately and I don't know why. Sad, tired, needy, but still my sweet angel boy.
This week has been a busy week, shoot after shoot. Luckily the education system is on spring break so I got to fully enjoy it. And lucky I was on my A game this week. Why is it that sometimes you just feel on top of the world no matter what and sometimes you can't climb to the base camp no matter how hard you try, how hard you clean, how fancy you cook, how much makeup or hot curlers.. you. just. can't. feel. it. Well this week I must have been feeling my vitamins or something because I just was on my A game. Or maybe someone slipped something magical into the food at dinner group. I took advantage of it. I handled everything without snapping (too much). I didn't even get my Lex phone fixes. WTH, man.
I think as a parent, especially a mother, life just calls for planning ahead to stay on top of things and keep organized so you can stay on your A game. Or maybe it's survival of the fittest. I mean granted I was unwashed, unfancy, makeup-less, and tossled all week, but I was happy. I only entirely felt like a scrub next to all the mom's at dance class :) Next week I think I might think about trying to look a little better and so then maybe the next week.... let's be honest, it's not going to happen... I have better things to do than primp (sorry Jake).
I am sure next week I will be on my B game again, or heaven forbid, my F game... Stay tuned...

Sibling "Love"

While I had everything set up I attempted to get them both together. That is the single most impossible thing to do. I got this picture and about point two seconds later Piper had his arms around his neck "hugging" him, which is really code for trying to get away with murdering him. Ah but let's just imagine for a minute my days are filled with hugs and spice and everything nice, all the time :) Boys are girls are so different it's unbelievable. In thinking about what I would want next it's really sixes. I think no other little boy could be as sweet as Peanut and no other little girl could be as sassy as Piper (or so let's hope). But there is a long while before that is going to be a thought.. so no, don't ask. Alright I gotta go, no seriously, why I am drinking a 44 oz this late at night is beyond me.