Clown Camp
India spent a week learning how to be a clown. She learned acts, how to paint her face, and even made balloon animals.
The other day she told Zach that she no longer wanted to be a scientist, she wants to be a clown. I told her that while being a clown she could be a mommie too. Great career choice.
Ezzie Kisses
Ezra loves to kiss. He learned to blow kisses from a Laurie Berkner song “Blow a Kiss”. Since then he kisses daddy and India before going to bed every night. It is now part of the bedtime ritual. This photo was taken at our rental house in June.
Estes Park with some old friends
We haven’t seen Nancy and Jared since Thanksgiving 2002. India and Issac were just little babies cruisin’ NYC (where they lived while Jared was at Pratt) and braving the cold to see The Wiggles at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. It was sooo cold and Zach yelled very obnoxiously at the Blues Clues guy (I think it was Joe) to get him to come over to our freezing babies who didn’t have a clue who Blue or Joe were. But that’s another story.
Anyway, Issac now has a yonger sister about the same age as Ezra. We seem to have kids at the same time. It’s quite uncanny. Too bad we live so far away from each other. But just before we moved to Colorado they moved from Ohio to Utah. Jared is now director at this cool little gallery in Heber, near Manti. In any case, they were at Estes Park in June for a family reunion so we made the trek up there to spend the day with them.
While there India had her first experience fishing! It was a blast. India was the only kid who tried to hold her own fish. Once she got it she kept picking it up when it would wrigle out of her hands. Fearless, with a good grip. She’ll make a fine fisherwoman. After catching the fish the kids got a kick out of watching them being gutted. This was a full service place. Nothing authentic about it; the bait was a little plastice-like flourescent orange ball, the pond stocked with trout, and we couldn’t even gut our own fish. It was actually perfect for a bunch of young kids egar to give fishing a try. We didn’t have to wake at the crack of dawn or even wait longer than a few minutes for a bite. I think we were in and out of the in an hour and caught at least 6 fish.
Once home, I cooked up the catch and India even took a baby bite to see how it tasted. She said it was pretty good but that bite was enough.
Ezra;s crazy laugh shocks adults and kids alike.
How cute is Isaac
The assisted hold. That’s Jared and Ez in the background.
Isaac caught an upside-down fish.
It may not seem like it but this is a laugh. Ezzie was really excited and pulling out all the stops with his crazy laughter.
Blood on the wrist.
Some of the gang.
The oh so popular gutting sink.
First Impressions on Our Return to the West
Ok, so I was emailing a fellow photo major from BYU the other day who had lived in NYC for awile then after that in some midwestern state I can’t remember off the top, then recently moved to San Fran. We have both returned to the west. I was mentioning in my email a couple of items that I keep seeing on my walks around town. Once we crossed into Colorado I began to see tumble weeds… not too many, mind you, but enough. Ok, maybe one. The other day while walking to the local grocery store we kept seeing wagon wheels in people’s yards. I kept thinking “wow, wagon wheels. It’s like the Western version of the Madonna statue or something.” I have also seen quite a few rock gardens. Not cool rock gardens just a whole boat-load of big rocks over what used to be the lawn. Also, there are lots and lots of building from the 50’s out here. Things are in general newer and there are tons of retro-type signs on buildings… that are still in use. We also live near the railroad tracks. I am excited to explore all the potential backdrops in this city. Not so many trees but lots of cool walls and funky colors. Hopefully I’ll begin work soon… but not too soon. Gotta move in first.
Stay tuned for photos of Ezra in India’s tap shoes.
India’s Haircut
This was written in reply to the question: “When did India’s hair get cut, and how did that get decided? I’m very curious! She looks fabulous….”
So you want to know the story of India’s hair cut… Well, it all started when after her bath it took me 10 minutes to untangle her hair. This is while the conditioner was in her hair! After all of that we only had about 10 minutes to dress and get out the door for the bus to pick her up. I was so frustrated (since I didn’t even get all the tangles out) that I pulled out the scissors and chopped off about 5 or 6 inches then and there. So some of the earlier photos of her short hair she is sporting a 2 minute hair cut. Just before her dance recital I decided that the one long piece in back needed to be trimmed. So we sat on the deck and I did a more detailed cut. I don’t really know how to cut hair, I just did what was done to my hair the last time I got it cut… 6 months ago. HA!
Anyway, I told India that she can grow her hair out again once she learns to brush her own hair. I know it sounds terrible, but we would forget to brush her hair and that is when it would get really badly tangled. Now her hair is typically brushed, by her, and if we forget it doesn’t mean we have to struggle for 10 minutes or more to get it nice and smooth. What a relief. Thankfully she has a pretty tough head.
India’s Birthday
Ok, so almost a month has past and I am just now posting India’s birthday photographs. I’m a real slacker.
Since we had just arrived in Denver and didn’t know a soul India could choose between going to Build a Bear Workshop and Six Flags Amusement Park for her birthday. Well, we weren’t really sure how many rides she could go on at Six Flags and she really wanted to go to Build a Bear, like her friend in Baltimore, Hannah, had. So Build a Bear it was.
Days before going she kept saying how she wanted to build a bunny to be the mommy of her current bunny (the one that says ‘Happy Easter’ and looks like a webkin- again something that Hannah has). But once we got there she bypassed all the bunnies and headed straight for a little husky dog. This dog, she insisted, was just like her cousin Camille’s dog. Well, seeing as she had repeatedly said that she wanted a bunny we convinced her that she should stick with the original plan. Next time she will make a dog. It sounds like we didn’t allow her to choose anything. We were concerned that she would get home with her dog and be really sad that she hadn’t made the bunny. I don’t know if she understands the permanence of this type of decision. She probably would have loved the dog too. Oh well. Next time we’ll have to trust her decision, even if it is a rash one. Gotta let go some time.
Suffice it to say, she loves the bunny and has named her Rosie after her friend from dance class. The bunny is a bit pink so the name suits her.
This is the heart that India put into Rosie.
Rosie getting an air bath to clean off all the fuzz
Ezra and Zach watching all the stuffing go round and round. Ezra had fun too. Although he also had fun going to all the different woman’s clothing stores around the Workshop while India built her bunny.
India naming Rosie on the official birth certificate terminal. She is a pro on the computer and only needed a little help reading and spelling Rosie.
Time to go shopping for an outfit! India is becoming a great shopper and has begun to be concerned with things matching… although she is still learning the fundamentals of creating an outfit that jives.
With her shopping bag full she went to pay… she had a limit on how much to spend. Oh my gosh, it will blow you away how much these things are… we didn’t have a party, we didn’t have a party. Saying that makes it feel better.
India dressing Rosie… Ezra playing in the background.
India and Rosie, best friends.