So another random hobby of mine is to play with this really cool keyboard and music editing software that my sweet mommy bought! She lets me keep it at my house so I can mess around with it, even though it is technically hers. Chance wanted to play "I Hope They Call Me On A Mission", but he only knows from G to G on the piano. So, I thought I'd edit it to a simple version without 8th notes so he could play it. He gives it his own little flair with the timing, but he's at least reading the music! I'm going to upload a copy if anyone would like one to try out. Keep in mind - it's EASY! But the nice thing is, once it's learned, they can play it pretty fast. I think it sounds similar, even without the weird timing. I'm pretty sure you can just click on the music below to make it large, and then print it from there...
Speaking of Chance and the piano, he played "Scripture Power" in a duet with me today in Primary. He did not make ONE mistake! I was so proud of him! He does so well under pressure. When he reached the piano he whispered to me, "I'm embarrassed." I told him just to do his best, and I think he played it better than he had ever practiced it at home! Way to go, pal!!

In honor of Pioneer Day, I thought I'd quickly express how grateful I am for the Pioneers. I CAN NOT IMAGINE what they must have suffered to finally arrive in our great state. I am so proud of them, and I am so glad we have a day to honor them. And as my mom and I often discuss, we know that we were not born at that time because we would have been WAY too wimpy!! No central air? How did anyone survive? :) Happy Pioneer Day!

No, Chance didn't get into a fight and have his tooth knocked out - I pulled it out last night because it was loose! His first missing tooth! Can you believe it? The sweet tooth fairy left him four whole quarters! I was told by my sister-in-law Laura that this is the current going rate for the tooth fairy at their house... The other scrapes on his nose are from a bike accident that happened earlier in the week. Believe it or not, he looks a lot better than he did...that's an entirely different story that is too embarrassing to share. Let's just say that Chance does not have a very good mom.

Anyway, Chance made this cute tooth box out of a matchbox in preschool, and has had it carefully tucked away in his top drawer for a few months. He has been patiently awaiting the day that he would actually have a tooth to put inside of it!

I just keep thinking, how can I possibly be old enough to have a kid that is losing teeth??? Time flies!

I have been messing around in Photoshop today and edited this picture of my sister-in-law's graduation. I thought I'd post it just for fun because it's a little different...hope you don't mind Sarah! I took this with my zoom lens so it's not as clear as I had hoped, but I guess it's okay considering I was so far away...

Today was the last day of the kids' first swimming lesson session. Not sure if they actually learned anything, but they had a lot of fun! They are going to do a second session, which will be every Saturday for the rest of the summer. It's a good excuse to get us out to the pool. Chance has taken lessons for three years and this is Hannah's first. However, in this coming session, he and Hannah will be in the same class! Hannah's definitely the "fish" in the family...

This is Hannah's "signature" pose - she does this all the time! Here she's showing her teacher. Don't you love her perfectly pointed toe? So funny. She hasn't even had a dance lesson yet...

On a lighter note...

The kids and Shawn really did have a fun time at the cabin! Shawn not only had a great morning fishing with his brother Brett ("just the Maclean's" went fishing), he ran the Snake River along with his brothers, his sister Sarah, his Dad, and cousins. The river is HIGH and FAST right now and since I was trying to nurse Eddie back to health, I didn't go this year. Maybe next year. I love the thrill riding the river brings.

Sarah, Bryan, Shawn, Matt, Amy, Blair, John, Blaine, Brett

One of the favorite things to do at the cabin is ride four wheelers!

Chance, Hannah, Mylee

Hannah, everyone's favorite uncle Johnny Ringo, Mylee

My niece Mylee is now basically just one of the cousins after this trip!

Brielle, Hannah, Mylee, Gracie, Autumn

Our little Eddie
May 2008 - July 5, 2008

Our sweet little doggie passed away this weekend while we were at our cabin in Star Valley, Wyoming. I had taken him to the vet on Thursday the 3rd because he was breathing kind of strange, and I also wanted to see what I could do about his diarrhea. The vet prescribed him an antibiotic for some bacteria that was found in his stool, and told me to give Eddie Pepto Bismol twice per day. Eddie's blood work came back as normal, so we thought he would be fine. Little Eddie did not like to eat his regular food - I constantly had to feed him this NutriCal paste that is a high calorie supplement so he would not get hypoglycemia - and I wonder if his lack of food got the best of him. On the 4th of July, he went completely limp and was barely breathing. I tried to find a vet in Wyoming but since it was the 4th of July weekend, no one was around. I tried to bring him back by feeding him Gatorade and more of his NutriCal throughout the night, and it worked for awhile, but it just wasn't enough. He died the next day. My kids and their cousins are so sad - we picked wildflowers and had a little doggie burial at the cabin. Hannah keeps asking when Eddie is going to "come back alive." How awful - I thought having a puppy would be so much fun! Little did I know that it was going to bring us tears...

RIP Eddie, we miss you and love you.

Eddie...
This is Eddie, our new Yorkie! Isn't he cute? (I am discovering that dogs are not the easiest to photograph!) He is teeny - the picture doesn't really show how teeny he is. He fits into both of my hands. We picked him up from Provo yesterday. He is such a good, cuddly doggie! He slept in his doggie carrier all night long. On the other hand, I barely slept a wink because I was afraid he was cold, afraid he was going to die and my kids were going to be devastated, afraid of...who knows what. Can you say ANXIETY??

When I got him out of his carrier this morning, he had done his "business" all over the towel I had put in there for him and it was so GROSS! I don't know if I'm ready to potty train TWO kids! But oh well. I take him outside like every ten minutes because I'm so grossed out. Chance keeps asking, "Is this a dream, or do we really have a dog?" We have wanted a dog for a long time, so we are all very excited! We have not had a dog because I am allergic to them, but supposedly Yorkies are good dogs for allergy-prone folk like me to have. However, that does not mean that I have not had to take an Allegra like every 6 hours!

It's dangerous for me to have a blog, because I can voice my opinion for the world to hear! Here's my recent "two cents" -

I've heard that the airlines are considering weighing passengers in order to determine the price of their airline tickets. I read this on ksl.com a couple of weeks ago, and people were writing in and having an absolute fit! My question is this - what's the big deal? I think it's a great idea, mostly because I would love to have to pay less to have my kids fly on a plane. I've always thought it was weird that they didn't have kid fares, and that babies had to pay for a "seat" rather than just a "baby" fare. I'm sure if the airlines began a policy such as this, they probably wouldn't do it pound-for-pound, but probably like less than 50 pounds would $x, 51 to 100 pounds would be $x, etc. Don't you think that's a good idea? I think it's awesome! I think a kid takes up way less space than an adult, therefore a kid takes less gas to fly them somewhere, and shouldn't have to pay as much. People find this discriminatory, but I happen to think it's cool! What do you think?

A blog tribute to my "old man" on Father's Day.

Cute then...
And cute now!
I love you"D"! You're the greatest! Happy Father's Day!

A blog tribute to my hubby on Father's Day.

Cute then...And cute now!

Love ya! Happy Father's Day! Thanks for being such a great dad and husband.

At the risk of being beaten senseless by my sister, I decided to go ahead and post this cute pic of her and her daughter. Mylee looked and danced just like a little "snow fairy" at her dance recital! Great job, Mylee! We love you guys!
PS, don't be surprised if this post suddenly comes up missing after she sees it! She's ruthless when it comes to pictures!

Okay, ya'll have gotta go see Kung Fu Panda! I thought it was hillarious. I took Chance on a "date" to go see it, and and we were both laughing through the entire movie. I could relate a little too well to the panda, Po. The only way to get him to move was to entice him with food! And, I loved that he was always out of breath after climbing the stairs! Too funny. Go see it.

Much credit is due to Ellie for not only my blog background, but also her patience in helping me put it on here!! You need to check out her design blog - VERY cute backgrounds and headers for your blog. Thanks Ellie!!

YAHOO! I'm a blogger! I never thought I would blog, but here I am.

I decided to start this blog to show a few of the photos I've been working on lately. I have become addicted to Photoshop and making "good" pictures "better". I have had a few people ask to see some things I've been working on, so I decided to post them here rather than e-mail. I'll try to post some other photos later on.

So, is that how you do it? Blog? How did I do? :)