Recent Art Meanderings

Okay, so I don't speak or read French (yet), but I thought this blog worth mentioning. Adolie Day Illustrations. =) I just added it to my Inspiring/Artful Blog List. I can't understand a word on it, but the visuals speak for themselves.

Found it through an article called Sun Kisses in Small Magazine.

Her art is adorable, dreamy and whimsical and depicts precious faces of child-like characters.

Plus, she has great taste in music. Her playlist is excellent!

Also, my hero, Emily Martin over at The Black Apple, has posted all of her most recent work for an art show that opens today in Portland.

This series of paintings is called Lost on the Midway (title inspired by a Tom Waits song) and depicts various carnival oddities and side show wonders. I'm in love!! My favorites are Cotton Candy Kids, Portrait with Prize Toys, and The Figi Mermaid.

And I would like this lamp from SweetWilliamltd.com, please.

~B

2009 in Remembrance

Since I didn't get out Christmas cards this year (again), I thought I would do a blog post for all to view at their convenience - our year in pictures.

Although it has been a relatively difficult year for us with the loss of Andy's job, as I collected pictures for the collages below, I was reminded how HUGELY blessed we are and feel very optimistic about the opportunity of a new adventure on a new path!



*Kaiya*
10

Maturing by leaps and bounds, I think our oldest little lady finally feels comfortable in her own skin. She's silly, very loving, thoughtful, constantly aware of other's feelings, has a deep connection to animals and an artistic heart. The total definition of beauty on the inside and out. She loves Sushi, riding a white horse named Indio, and Littlest Pet Shops. She's also in NO hurry to grow up which we hope will last for as long as possible. She still sports her long, brown hair, which her dad and I hope she will never want to cut. She also started an Etsy shop like her mom called The Black Kat and has a few pastel pieces she hopes to sell soon.

*Trooper*

8

Trooper is a total mommy's boy and reminds me of myself when I was young. He often asks deep questions about God and the universe in general, which I often did as a child. He was baptized this year and also turned into quiet the jokester, coming up with lines even Andy and I are impressed by! He's generally happy, loves his friends, wants to be a vampire (gee, I wonder why?) and as you can see from the pictures, has an eye for "posing" for the camera. He's a Lego and Wii Jedi Master, loves the Clone Wars cartoon (chip off the ol' block, see?) and gives the BEST hugs on earth! He also has sported some longer hair this year that is perfectly straight and the envy of everyone. Lately, he has even begun to entertain his younger sister instead of beating her up! Miracles will never cease.

*Arienna*

3

Arie is the little elf in our house. In fact, whenever I believe a faerie has taken something of mine and I'm frantically tearing the house apart for it, it usually means Arie is responsible. I've never had a child that wrote on walls or carpet before Arie and if she could exist entirely on a liquid diet, she would and actually has for days on end. I'm not worried. The 2 older siblings really didn't start eating 'til they were 4 or 5 as well. She loves to dress up, but not as princesses, for I believe Arie will some day be a avant guard fashion designer making skirts out of shirts and hats out of pants as she already does with her wardrobe. She is quite the animal lover like her sister, refuses to even think about going potty on the toilet, and is a Tom and Jerry NUTCASE!

All in all, I feel privileged to be their mom, even on the most trying days. I love you, kids!!

*Family*

A couple highlights this year for us:

Getting ANOTHER dog (I learned the city limit was 3 dogs per household and took the liberty of taking up another stray). We had to keep with the tradition of naming our dogs Star Wars names, so we named him Rogue 2. He's got an orange coat - you know, like the pilots in ESB. Anyway, he is one of the cuddliest dogs I have ever been with (evidence is in the pictures) In fact, he can't get close enough when he cuddles. If he could find a way to crawl up inside you, he would.

Going to the beach with Andy's family. The last time Arie was at the beach was when she was a tiny baby so she had a great time playing in the sand and the older kids loved playing in the waves and tidepools. I had a great time taking pictures of everyone.

Endless days at my parents cabin in Bass Lake. Kaiya finally got back out on the raft (after years of being terrified to go again after she fell off her first time) with her cousins. Trooper got a motorized scooter to race up and down the mountain streets in the neighborhood. Arie loves playing in the basement with the miniature pink furniture that has been passed down through 4 generations. I found my favorite cottage there and I try to take walks to it every time I visit. Andy enjoys quiet reading time.

*Andy*

This year has been a rough one. I think we are at 15 surgeries total now, not all of which are major surgeries, but still take their toll. Last year, Andy got a morphine pump implanted inside of him which pumps his pain meds directly to his spine. This has allowed him to take less pain medicine in general, but he still needs a good amount to get through the day. He started up a new Dungeons and Dragons group, has a book idea or two in mind, is thinking about getting involved in politics again and is searching for a stay-at-home job. We are hopeful that 2010 will be a MUCH better year for him. (I love you, hon.)

*Britten*

I continue to work as a sales rep for Broadway Cheerleading, help run TwilightMOMS.com as the Spotlight Director, with registration and basic administration duties, and am on the Enrichment Committee at church which translates to "I help decorate the gym when we have Enrichment night". Making that place cute 4 or 5 times a year can be a challenge.

As many of you know by now, I also started up my own Etsy shop called The Black Pumpkin, which has allowed me to really delve into my creative side and has helped out our family a bit. I debuted some of my merchandise at TwiCon 2009 in July and also had a booth at the Utah New Moon Experience in November, both of which were pretty successful!

And last but certainly not least, I am starting up a new website with my fellow TwilightMOM administrators called Eve's Fan Garden, which has been in the works now for about 9 months. The website will open January 11th, 2010 and is basically a fansite for anyone tempted by the written word and anything that originates from it. It's TwilightMOMS but on steriods! I recently wrote the introduction to the site, which will be posted the day we open, and that was very satisfying for me because I get to talk about the woman Eve, (who happens to be one of my favorite women of all time, a hero actually), give a shout out to one of my favorite authors, Beverly Campbell, and expound about the female fan in general. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. It feels like a work of art, actually. Writing is art, after all.

Of course, I have to say a few words about my adorable friends, old and new, without which I would not laugh as much as I should. They are like my second family so I feel they have to be included.

This year I was FINALLY able to meet a lot of the east coast TwilightMOMS who I only talk to online but had never met in person. It was sooo fabulous to meet them! They are so sweet, beautiful, fun and AMAZING!! I feel so privileged to work with all of them on TwilightMOMS. I was also able to meet a few new moms at the Utah event as well and it made my heart soooo happy! It was also a dream of mine to introduce my life-long friend Jessica to my TwilightMOM peeps for she fit them like a glove and was always meant to be a part of us. They love unconditionally and are just crazy fun like her.

I love you all!

Farewell 2009.

Hello 2010!!!

May it be another year to remember!

Carnivals, Fairs and Magic Grab Bags of Happiness

This past week has been very busy for us, but busy in a fun way! We spent a little time at the school carnival to let daddy rest from his surgery.

After a ride or two,

a few games,

and hair coloring,

Arie was in a pretty rotten mood.

So we got some food. Tortillas Grill had a booth there so I decided on a honey-mustard chicken wrap and sweet potato fries!

Trooper had a few slices of pizza

and Kaiya couldn't pass up the shaved ice.

Cotton-candy flavored.

After Arie had a few scoops

she perked up.

Really perked up!

Later that night, we spotted Mr. Toad Prince. He's lived in our backyard for a few years now and was hopping near the slide on this night.

Later on in the week, was the Big Fresno Fair school field trip. One of my favorite things to partake of at the fair are the photo booths. Wackiness ensues and you're left with a fun little souvenir.

To save money, we didn't purchase any this trip but I was able to dig up some from past years:

Sweet Kaiya and her friends.

I love how 2 years ago, Trooper and his friend weren't tall enough for the camera and that I had no idea I could have raised the chair. Oops.

Cute baby Arie ♥

There was a really cool exhibit of old black and white photos from Fresno's past.

This one is of the Boy Scouts. Their little scarves. socks and hats are to die for!

And these classy beach babes just kill me! I want every single one of those swimsuits.

Lunch time! Fair food - what to eat?

Salty...

Sweet...

(This Pennsylvania Dutch image on the side of their booth was so cute I had to grab a picture)

FRIED anything!!!

I decided to be brave, go out on a limb and try some fried avocados. They gave you some pesto sauce and ranch to dip them in. I have to say that they were better than I thought they would be but I found it highly lacking in flavor. Some things were meant to be fried, some things were soooo NOT.

Then it was on to the ag-center with the animals, which Arie was very excited about.

Of course, I had to get a picture of the gigantic first place pumpkin. ♥

A dairy cow looking very bored.

A few friendly bunnies and Arie was going nuts!

She has these crazy animal noises she likes to make. Much like Kaiya did when she was little. Check out her chicken call:

For Kim:

A little bag of magic....

What could it be?

Ever since I was young, the fair has been selling these little grab bags of happiness, made from scrap material, for $1. I think we've purchased one each time we go. My first time at the fair when I was in the 4th grade, I couldn't believe that you could get a such a treasure for only a dollar!

My favorite part is pulling out each individually polished beauty and inspecting every swirl and speck of color.

After we got home, Arie appropriately brought me this book from her shelf to read to her. I believe it was one of Andy's when he was little and the pages are in pristine condition! (Probably because he never cracked it open. Hahah.) I just love how it still has the little 25 cent sticker on the front.

Though we read it before, the words have special meaning after looking through our grab bag of rocky gems.

Just look at these sweet, colorful pictures!

The little boy in the book dreams of giving the rock to his grandma in a tiny, Tiffany-blue box. He sort of looks like my Troop. ♥

Hello, Rock is a Tell-a-Tale book. Remember those?

Welcome, fall and all your fun things to do. ♥

~b