5:40

That's the time Grant has been waking up in the mornings, yuck! These mornings are particularly hard as I've been staying up to work on my website till' almost 1:00am every night. Oh I am so close to being finished!!!!
I also thought I'd clarify things up from my last post. I think I gave the impression that I don't love Kinsley's candid pictures, when in fact I do. Her candids are by far my favorites, but I just want one pic of her looking at me. As in the post, "just one image with those piercing eyes". Enough said.
On a funny note, Kinsley said the most hysterical thing yesterday as we were leaving the grocery store. I bought myself a small package of Red Vines Liquorice, oh how I love them. I pulled them out once we got in the car, and of course Kinsley started begging for some immediately (yes I know, what was I thinking?). I told her she could have one piece and the grin on her face was priceless. Anyway Grant saw the candy and started grunting as to indicate, "hey you forgot about me!" I let the kids know that Grant was just too little for Liquorice. Kinsley echoing my statement responded with, "Grant you're to young for this, but Mommy and I are big enough to have Liquor." I laughed-out-loud the rest of the way home!

$70.45

$70.45, yep that's how much it cost me to put gas in my car yesterday!!!!!!!! Yikes gas prices are so outrageous! I just read a post on my friends blog and she's paying $5.40 a gallon in Canada. When will it ever stop! Aside from the rising gas prices, my frustration with my cutie-pie Kinsley is rising too!

There's a gorgeous field of purple flowers right across the street from Shawn's office. I've been eyeing it for a couple weeks now but have had trouble working out our schedules to make it work. We decided to just give it a shot right after Shawn got off of work so I met up with him at Boeing. As we walked across the street I could see the most beautiful shots in my minds eye. Sadly it didn't turn out that way. The field was a little more overgrown than it looked from the road and the flowers in some spots stood taller than Kinsley's head. We weren't really dressed for the excursion either (in terms of foot wear). The ground was so muddy and our feet keep sinking into the wet, sticky, sludge. I was determined to try anyway. We already made the hike, Kinsley looked cute and I wasn't about to just give up. To my great demise Kinsley's plans were otherwise. She has developed a strong dislike for the camera. Anytime I have it on she runs away and if I find a way to convince her to stay put all she does is pull ridiculous faces with her head turned away. She knows all I want is for her to look at me, just once, and with that knowledge she takes full control. No even a bribe (and yes I have sunk so low) will get her to look at the camera. It's not that I want her looking at me in every photo, in fact I really don't like shots that look to posed, but you know what I mean. I just want that one picture were her eyes are fixed on the camera and piercing to the view. Grrr...........

Well now that I'm done complaining here are a couple of pics I thought were decent. Just imagine how wonderful the set would have been if we could have seen that beautiful face in just one shot. The last picture is the funniest this is the face she gives me every time I do get her to look at me! One day.......

Things are always crazy busy around here and some days I feel like it's all I can do to catch my breath. Yet at the same time I love it this way! I'm one of those types of people that would rather be working than relaxing. Yes, relaxation is good and all, but the satisfaction of work (that is work I love, I'm not talking about cleaning toilets or anything) is so much sweeter! As all of you know I've been focusing on my Photography business lately and there is a lot to get in order. I call this the grass-roots period and once it's finished I'll have more time on my hands. I'm in the process of building my website, creating the policy docs, pricing, packages, ordering info, and more. There's are so many little things that go into starting a business, sometimes it's overwhelming but I've really enjoyed the learning experience. I love what I do, I think I've really found my passion, okay I take that back, I know I have found my passion. I only wish I would have discovered it sooner. I've been trying really hard to make sure this venture doesn't get in the way of the kids daily routine. I don't do any work during the day but wait until they go to bed at 7:00pm to "clock-in" if you will. I do photo shoots maybe once a week and am only gone for a couple hours at a time. While I love my business my kids are my favorite and most important job :) Anyway I'll make the big announcement soon once the website is done and everything is official.
Well enough about my photography. Can't say it will be the last time, but for today's post I'm through with it. Now onto the joy of kids and watching every little thing they do. Kinsley is a crack-up! She loves the show Super-Why on PBS and has been really into playing superheros lately, or rather Super-Readers. There are four main characters in the show and she likes to assign out their roles amongst the family. She is always Super-Why the leader of the group of course. I'm Wonder-Red, Grant is Alpha-Pig, and Shawn Princess P. Ha, ha..... I love it! Shawn has tried to trade characters with all us but we've stuck firm to who we are and so daddy is now Princess P and I think it's hysterical. The best part is that she'll address us by our super-reader names in public and it makes things that much more entertaining.

Grant has been really fun lately too. He's starting to try and make animal sounds, his favorite word is no, and he loves to get into trouble, seriously. When he's heading somewhere he's not allowed to be, like by the oven, or at the bottom of the stairs, he'll stop and turn around and give you the biggest smile, start laughing and then go for it. He loves to be mischievous and I think I've got my work cut out for me. We have a basket of shoes by our front door and the staircase is nearby. I was in the kitchen and decided to go check on Grant in the other room as he was being pretty quiet. He had created a little game for himself by taking the shoes one by one out of the basket, crawling over the the gate at the stairs, and dropping them over to the other side. Soon the shoe basket was empty and the stairs were littered with our size 5 to 10's. What a character!
Oh and I can't forget to mention the crazy weather we've been plagued with. It's June and freezing outside. On Sunday I wore a jacket and a long sleeve shirt to church and was still cold. It's been in the 50's and last night Shawn saw snowflakes in Seattle. Not only is it insane but it totally bites. It's rains here all the time and is always gray so I really look forward to summers here, no I'm feeling doubtful. Will it ever come....... The picture I included I took of Kinsley several weeks back when we had a little teaser of sunny weather. Oh well I just need to be patient. It can't be winter forever or can it?

Folklife Festival '08

Last Saturday we went to the Folklife Festival in Seattle and had such a great time. The festival brings together cultures from all over the world who perform and display their native, and sometimes modern traditions. There's tons of singing, dancing, music, and well interesting people watching. I was a sucker for the street performers, they get me every time. The little girl playing the violin, while hula-hooping, while balancing on an exercise ball was amazing. We also really enjoyed the Japanese drummers and of course watching Kinsley dance her heart out the whole time. It all made for a super day.

More Photography

Here's a sneek peak from a recent senior session I did. Get on over to the website and check it out! youreverycolorphotography.blogspot.com

Happy Third Birthday, Kinsley

What do you get when you bring a vivacious 3 year old and a four-eyed aardvark to a birthday party? I'm not sure, but whatever it is we have pictures of it. Andrea was the talent behind this masterful work also known as "Arthur- The Life of an Aardvark" or in the underground world of cake decorating as Arthur Spice (it really was spice cake!). Okay, Andrea has given me the hint that I am getting too verbose and over-the-top. Arthur is Kinsley's favorite character and she was thrilled to have her very own Arthur cake.

Kinsley was so excited to blow the candles out this year. She talked about it all day and when the moment finally arrived, we thought she might hyperventilate. Kinsley was successful in blowing out all three of her candles. Lately when people have asked Kinsley how old she was going to be she would say: "three months old." But yesterday she finally got it right and told everyone that she is "THREE YEARS OLD" as she hold up her hand, trying hard to only have three fingers in the air.

For all of you readers of the blog who think time is going by fast, it really is. It wasn't that long ago that Kinsley was just a little baby, now she is 3, going on 30. This became more apparent and alarming when Grandma asked Kinsley what she got for her birthday, to which she replied "a boy toy"(calm down folks for Kinsley the Barbie car we bought her is a boy toy because it is blue). Kinsley was also very excited for her other gifts: the Cinderella purse, My Little Pony, and sidewalk chalk. After the cake was eaten, she requested to go outside and draw on the patio. She talked about her birthday all day today so we know she had a great time.

We hope that everyone has had a great Mother's Day and we're glad you took the time to look at our blog. Happy Birthday Kinsley, we love you!!!!

Check it out!

Just in case you missed the post about my photography biz or you haven't checked the blog out lately here's the link. Just trying to spread the word :)

www.youreverycolorphotography.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday GRANT!

Here are a couple newborn pics. Look how much he's grown!

I can't believe my sweet boy is already one! Wow does the time fly. We just had a simple party with some of our friends. Grant really enjoyed his cake as it was his very first experience with sugar. We let him have it long enough to make a huge mess of himself and get in a bite or two. He really enjoyed his birthday song. He started grinning and clapping excitedly once everyone began singing. He got a little Elmo guitar which he carries around all the time now dancing to the songs it plays. Kinsley was quick to ask for her turn after Grant opened the gift but I was impressed with the level of patience she exercised. She was a great sport about letting it be Grants special day. I love the picture of Shawn dancing while Grant was opening his gift. What a goof! We love you!

Grant hasn't started walking yet but he's really close. He likes to grab our bar stools or kitchen chairs and use them as walkers. Now that we have hardwoods it's easy for him to glide across the floor. He has three teeth, although one of them is big enough to be considered two. We call it his dinosaur or mammoth tooth. Grant loves to climb on everything. He spends most of his time getting in (and falling off of) Kinsley's toddler bed. He loves to wave and try to communicate with every new face. He's already proving to be as social as his sister.

We love you G-man Happy Birthday!

to see more pics from his party visit our family web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/thesorensenfam

My Photography Blog

The moment we've all been waiting for is finally here! Okay really it's the moment I've been waiting for. I've been working on this blog for what seems like forever. After lots of portfolio building and much more to come I'm finally ready to make my site public. It's been interesting trying to make a blog work like a website. I know what you're thinking why doesn't she just get a web page? Money, money, money, plus writing the html code, getting it to look just how I want it--there's just not time for that right now. We'll without further adieu here's the link: http://www.youreverycolorphotography.blogspot.com/ Why Your Every Color? Not only is it one of my all time favorite songs by Train, but it's really at the heart of what I do: working to capture the moment, our uniqueness, our every color. Check it out and PLEASE, please, please leave your comments, your constructive criticism, share it with your friends, etc.

Happy blogging everyone!

Andrea :)

My New Favorite Movie

I rented and saw this movie last night and just had to write a post about it. I remember seeing the previews for it several months back and it was one of those films I just knew I would like. My goal was to get out to the theatre and see the movie, but going to the movies isn't the easiest thing to get around to doing when you have young kiddos. Anyway I loved it, loved it, loved it!!!!! I can't emphasize it enough. The music in the film was beautiful, the cinematography was breathtaking and the story was uplifting, charming, fairy-tale like, and inspiring. I'm sure some of you won't feel the same way, or may perhaps think it was overly sentimental and cheezy and to you I say you're crazy! This movie is wonderful! Go and buy it!

I also need to add-in this picture of Grant I took a few days ago. I just love it. He is such a good looking kid! Grant turns 1 year on the 20th. Watch for the "Ode To Grant" post coming soon.....

More About Kiki

7:13 A.M. A model like me needs to prepare herself for a day of 'shooting'. I find it best to start of with some good funny faces to help stretch out the face muscles that will be used so much throughout the day. If you click on this picture you will see a larger image of my morning excercise experience. I find the disproportionate reflection in the kitchen faucet keeps me grounded. When you are as cute as I am you have to do 'little things' like this to remember that it isn't all about you--even though it is. I follow my facial exercises with a hearty helping of my mothers made-from-scratch pancakes and maple syrup (nothing grows a sweet smile better than maple syrup).

10:31 A.M. The clouds well overhead now and I think I am getting a cloud burn. The clouds here are so strong you can feel them beating down on you all day long. Every now and then the sun pokes through and lightens things up, but that is a rarity. For sensitive skin like mine I would suggest a cloud screen of 15 or 30. You can never be too careful. I once knew a kid who never put on cloud screen and now he lives in Utah.
In my spare time,
I have started to rhyme.
I think I might write,
a poem one night.

1:35 P.M. After a quick lunch of gourmet macaroni and cheese and animal crackers (I have to keep my girlish figure, but I am soooo craving a cheeseburger). I am hard at work flexing my cute muscle. Back to my career as a poet, I have recently strarted my own version of Itsy Bitsy Spider (this is actual text from one of my brillant renditions)
Itsy bitsy spiders went up the water spout
Faster, faster, hooray they all did shout,
10 little spiders got ready to go,
But the itsy bitsy spider was moving very slow.

4:05 P.M. The afternoon breeze has picked up just in time to get the shot of the day. Oh I was such a good model for mommy!
P.S. Daddy really wrote this post. So no more comments about how clever mommy is with her writing. We all know who the funny one is in the family....LOL. While parts of the story may have been dramatized, Andrea really does make from scratch pancakes and syrup every morning and Kinsley really is making up her own rhyming songs.

Easter 2008

We had such a wonderful Easter holiday. Shawn had spring break the whole week and it was marvelous. The Monday before Easter we went to the Baughs to dye easter eggs for FHE. This was Kinsleys first experience with easter eggs and we couldn't pull her away. She loved coloring on each of the eggs and ended up doing 24! We just couldn't get her to stop. The primary activity was the Saturday before and Kinsley was able to go on an easter-egg-hunt throughout the church building. We didn't do anything special Easter morning but instead waited until the afternoon, as we were having friends over. We also were graced with the pleasure (okay really the stress) of speaking in church that day. Shawns talk was on the atonement and mine on forgiveness. I think we did well. It's always nerve racking speaking in front of a new ward.

Shawn prepared and incredible turkey dinner and I did the fruit salad (tough job, I know LOL). Our friends brought over some candy filled plastic eggs and together with the hardboiled eggs we had quite the hunt. Kinsley and our friends son dashed around the house. Once Kinsley figured out that the plastic eggs had candy in them she wanted nothing to do with the harboiled eggs she had put so much effort into decorating. After the hunt was over we told the kids they could have a little candy after dinner. Kinsley however found some way to smuggle some chocolate. She would have been successful in her secretive indulgence had she remembered to wipe the chocolate off her face before joining the group again.

What a great Easter holiday!

To see more photos from Easter visit our web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/thesorensenfam/Easter2008