A love affair with my camera

This weekend I took a 10 hour photography class through CWI. It was a lot of fun. I'll admit, I love my camera and I love taking pictures. I don't think I'm spectacular or anything, but I just really love it. On Saturday morning we took a little photo field trip to downtown Boise. I mostly take photos of people (my kids), but on Saturday, just took pictures of things. It was a lot of fun to do something different. Here are a few random shots that I liked.

We also went to the farmer's market - Boise has an amazing farmer's market! I cannot believe I have lived here 11 years and this was the first time I went. Our "assignment" was to find a story. It could be whatever topic we wanted, but to photograph it. Some people chose children, some people chose food, I chose the color pink. Here is a sampling of my "Pink Idaho" project.

It was just so fun to do something different and to step outside of the comfort zone of what I normally photograph. Plus, I do love pink!

Deep Thoughts by Mylie Breach

Its funny, because just last week my friend Alicia and I were having this conversation about how our minds are always going, that really we aren't just ever NOT thinking about anything. I've asked Jeff before if when he says he is not thinking about anything if that is really true ... and he says it is.

So earlier this week I'm getting ready and Mylie is sitting there talking to me and she tells me that her mind just keeps thinking about things (she is quite the dramatic talker, she had the hands going and everything ... no clue where she got it from). So I ask her what she is thinking about right now. The girl does not even skip a beat and says ... elephants.

Quiet afternoons

This summer has been really busy so far. It was nice to have a quiet day today. Even Mylie took a nap, which is rare.

This is what Blake's hair looks like after a 3 hour nap. So funny.

I really love his big brown eyes. He already has 2 girls wrapped around his finger because of them.

"Don't tell Grandma!"

So even though I am grown-up, sometimes if I do things I know my Mom wouldn't approve of (like eating a cookie at breakfast), I tell Mylie "Don't tell Grandma!" So yesterday morning I was drinking a diet coke with my breakfast (it had been a long night) and told Mylie, "Don't tell Grandma." She asked why not and I explained to her that it isn't really healthy to drink soda for breakfast. She said, "OK Momma, I won't tell her. Only me and Jesus know."

Crap. Busted.

Kids!

**The day started early, around 6:30, with Mylie yelling at me, "Mom! Why didn't you make your bed?" I responded by telling her, "Because I am still in it!! Go back to bed!"

**Mylie fell off a swing onto the concrete today while at daycare. Luckily I was close by and went over to get her. Poor thing has a massive bump on her head. It broke me heart to listen to her sob and then to have to leave to go to class tonight. Jeff said that watching the movie "Annie" may have made it all better. I just went to go in to wake her up (to make sure she doesn't have a concussion). She got pretty mad that I was waking her up, so I guess that is a good sign.

**Blake has figured out how to undo the gate. Thanks to Jeff's quick thinking, it is now on backwards, so he can't reach to undo it. He is a mischievous little dude.

**Blake is trouble. We have our ottomans strategically placed to keep him out of trouble (its not working). But now he can climb over them. He knows he is not supposed to so he does it really fast. Its like he throws this little body over them and lands on his head or flat on his back and then just lays there and giggles. He is fast and now runs away from me.

**On Saturday, while my parents were here we went to the zoo. They have a merry-go-round there. Papa took Mylie and Max and then Jeff took Blake. Blake was kind of mellow during the ride, he would occasionally give me a half grin when he passed by. But when the ride ended Blake started crying/wailing. Jeff got him off the merry-go-round so we could go see the rest of the animals and Blake literally threw himself down on the ground. He is only 17 months old! Mylie was not a tantrum thrower, but she was also talking a lot by this age. I am wondering if this is his way of expressing himself? No clue. I know its not funny, but really, it was kind of funny.

Happy Father's Day Jeff!

There are a lot of things I love about being a Mom, one is watching Jeff be a Dad. He is an awesome Daddy whose kids literally adore him. This morning I asked Mylie to tell him 5 things she loves about him. It was so cute to listen to her tell him. Both of the kids love playing with Jeff. He wrestles, sings and read books. He plays soccer and goes on bike rides. I love him too. I've said it before, but our marriage is truly a partnership. Everything we do as parents, it takes both of us. Jeff does his fair share (perhaps more than his fair share) of things around the house. He isn't afraid of dirty diapers, dirty dishes or dirty laundry. I'm so glad we found each other!

Of course, of all the things about Jeff that I am grateful for, I am most grateful for this beautiful little family that we have created. I know I am very blessed.

Happy Father's Day to Grandpas!

Special visitors

Grandma, Papa and Max came to visit this weekend. It was a pretty fun trip. A few highlights:

*Jeff is taking his black belt test next month so he was practicing his techniques this morning in the living room after his run. Max and Mylie thought they would work on their skills too. Jeff was referring back to his book to make sure he had them all. Max and Mylie kept saying, "We have to look at the book!" Then they would run over and look at it. Max said, "I'll read it. It says, 'kick him until he dies!'"


*The zoo and new trucker hats from Papa.


*Blake loved that he was freed from the stroller for a bit at the zoo. It resulted in only one band aid, not too bad.


*Max was teaching Mylie how to play Star Wars. Apparently Blake was the Jedi Master (he's short, maybe he was Yoda?) Whenever they would talk to Blake they would call him Master. Mylie just adores her baby brother and after a bit I heard her say, "I love you Master." Max quickly told her that she couldn't say "I love you Master" and that this was Jedi Power!

*An early Father's Day party at our house, complete with chocolate cake!

It was a fun Saturday. The weather was in the low 70s and just right. We had a yummy lunch at Famous Dave's BBQ. We love it when Grandma and Papa (and Max) come to visit!

I think she has the posing thing down.

When I got home from work tonight, Mylie was all dressed up in hair bows, bracelets and her jammies. She jumped at the chance to go take some pictures. She does not need any direction when it comes to posing, she has that all figured out!

She is growing up pretty darn fast!

Her best comment of the day

So the kids were home with me today until about 5 when I had to leave for class. I was getting dressed up and asked Mylie how I looked. She always likes to critique my outfits. She said I looked nice, I told her I wanted to look really nice because a judge was coming to speak in my class tonight. She assured me I did.

About 5 minutes later, she said, "So Mom, if you don't look pretty does the Judge put you in jail?"

She knows me TOO well!

This afternoon we went on a little drive. The area out in the county we were driving through had a lot of sagebrush and Mylie said, "Look at all those little bushes." I told her that there were probably lots of snakes out there. She responded by saying, "Mom would scream like a little girl if we saw one!" Yep, she is right.

Work, teach, prep, sleep, repeat ...

Wow. That is how summer feels so far. I am teaching summer school at the college and I forgot how much work summer school is. I am teaching 2 classes, which equates to 12 hours of class a week. It has been at least 20-24 hours of prep time a week. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy it and am really grateful for the opportunity to make some extra money this summer, I am just tired already!

My classes are good so far, I am teaching Intro to Law and Justice and Intro to Criminal Justice. My class sizes are small, one class has 10 students and the other has 14. They are interested in the topic and anxious to learn.

I have been at work everyday for the last 2 weeks, but tomorrow is a stay home day! Yay. I'm working hard to get all my class prep for tomorrow done tonight so the kids and I can have all day together. (My class isn't until 6 tomorrow night.) Mylie has been a bit clingy lately and I am looking forward to just loving and snuggling my kiddos all day. Our plans so far include a walk/bike ride in the morning, lunch with Daddy, and maybe we'll bust out the pool in the backyard.

Back to prepping ....

This could get long ...

One of the many hats I wear at work is serving on the state Juvenile Justice Commission. This is a group of about 25 people from across the state appointed by the Governor to serve on this committee. We meet on a quarterly basis to discuss juvenile justice issues and also to oversee federal funds that Idaho receives. The judge who is the chair of our group is a senior judge (semi-retired) and he currently works for the Supreme Court advising on juvenile issues. I have had many opportunities to work with him in the last 3 years or so and I think very highly of him. When we meet he typically has everyone answer a question while introducing ourselves. This last week we held a summit, involving about 85 people. As we started our meeting on Thursday, he and another individual heading the meeting began to speak about America's Promise (http://www.americaspromise.org/).

This is an organization was founded by General Collin Powell. It believes that all children need caring adults, a safe place, a healthy start, an effective education and opportunities to help others. The judge asked that as we each introduced ourselves, we speak to which promises we have received in our life and which promises we will take back to our communities. Our agenda had scheduled a half hour for introductions and this ended up taking nearly 2 hours. It was inspiring to listen to a roomful of juvenile justice professionals, from probation officers to judges to state representatives, talk about why they do the work they do. It was not difficult for me to know what I was going to say.

I have always known that I grew up in a great family and that I had great parents. It wasn't until I was a new probation officer, that I really realized just how lucky I was. One experience I probably won't ever forget was a social history report I was writing on a young man who had criminal charges and was going to court. The report is basically a background report intended to give the judge an idea about the individual. This young man had a terrible life up to that point. He had suffered terrible and ritualistic abuse, oftentimes at the hand of his own mother. The interview took hours and hours and I cried the entire way home after work that day. I remember calling my parents that night simply to thank them for being such good parents. See, I always knew I had a wonderful life, but you don't realize how wonderful it is until you see how terrible other people's lives are. That day reinforced something I already knew: the impact that parents have upon a child's life. I knew that I was blessed for the impact my parents had upon my life and the responsibility I would have someday as a parent.

The other thing that struck me from this meeting was the word "intentional." At a state level we have to craft a 3-year plan. This plan dictates areas to work on in juvenile justice and areas where money is funneled. As we talked about grants and funding and research, the judge kept indicating that all of our actions around these items were intentional to get us the result we are seeking.

That made me think about the most important hat I wear, that of a mother. It made to stop and think how much of my day to day parenting is intentional and how much of it is just getting through the day/week/month type of parenting. What goals do I have for my children, my family, and what am I intentionally doing on a day to day basis to reach those goals? I left the meeting with a list of to-dos for the program I run and the juvenile justice council that I chair. That typically happens. But this time I also left with some serious thinking to do about what I need to do to be a better parent, a more intentional parent.

Mule Days

Every year our little town of Star has Mule Days in June. The highlight (and the only part we really attend) is the parade. Mylie loves the parade and she scores serious candy at it. Her friend Drake spent the night on Friday and Drake, Alicia, Grandma and Grandpa all joined us for the parade. The kids rode their bikes there, which they thought was pretty darn cool.

Mylie and Drake, spotting the start of the parade, seriously, these 2 are such good buddies. I love having Drake at our house, he is so well behaved and they play together so well. They both always include Blake too, which is so sweet.


Blake, checking it all out. He was slightly mad that I made him stay in the stroller, but he got to sit next to Grandpa and that kept him pretty entertained.



Three pretty cute kids!



I just noticed that Alicia skillfully avoided this picture, but here is our little parade group.



The other highlight of our weekend was a new playhouse! I have wanted to get one for Mylie for a while now, and finally we decided to just get it now so the kids could enjoy it all summer long. They love it! It has a functioning doorbell, I'll let you guess Blake's favorite part. It has a little table and Mylie ate her dinner in there tonight. I foresee lots of fun in our backyard this summer.