fresh animal, anyone?

Jonathon and I were sitting on the floor in the hall while Maddie was "cooking" something up in her pretend kitchen in the playroom. After a while she comes over to us carrying a large tray with various food items to share. She poured us each a glass of "grape juice" then stood up and just as sweet as ever asked,

"How about some fresh animals?"

uh, what? Did she just say ANIMALS? Before I knew what was coming next she very carefully comes walking around the corner carrying...THIS:

sure enough, it was some fresh animals...all baked nicely in a mini muffin pan.

I couldn't catch my breath. The laughing just went on and on. When I heard her say, "Don't laugh Mom, it's just some animals I cooked up."...that's when I think I just about peed my pants.

Where does she come up with this?

This poor little chicken looks like he's begging me to save him.
Obviously there's no vegetarians in this house. I guess we even eat unicorn.

Advice from a concerned older sister to a sugar-a-holic little brother:

Maddie: "Lyndon, too much sugar is not nutritious and makes your tummy hurt."

Oh, how wise.

One of Lyndon's favorite phrases is "HEBY". (heavy) He's constantly picking things up or pushing something saying, "dats HEBY", "Heby", "oooh it's HEBY" I think it makes him feel strong and cool. Like, check me out, I'm strong, I can pick up this HEBY toy!

We took the kids to the park this week to fly their kite. I was really impressed with how well they did. They both were able to keep the kite in the air. Seeing both of them run like mad just to keep the kite afloat was probably a highlight for me.

Last but not least, Jonathon and I got to go on a date Friday night. It's sooooo nice to be able to just hang out together without having that feeling like we really should be home so he can work on the record. I felt FREE!! We went to Austin Park and Play. (I think that's the name of it.) They have a rock wall, mini golf, go-carts, batting cages, lazer tag...and more! :) Just the place for us. This was actually my first time in the batting cages and I really liked it. i think I was inspired by my photo shoot at Dell Diamond baseball field! :) I was knockin' those balls out of the park...okay not really but I still felt really cool. We even won enough tickets to get THESE amazing friendship bracelets. I wear mine with love and honor. :)

(yes, we know how pale we are, no need to point it out. :) We pretty much dip Maddie and Lyndon in sunscreen. Poor kids, they never had a chance.)

Our baby's 2!!

(Photo by Gina Adams)

We'll folks, our little Lyndon is officially a 2 year old. My how time flies. He was literally the PERFECT baby. He slept through the night from day 1, he only cried if he REALLY needed something and he brought so much love and happiness into our home.



...not a lot has changed in 2 years.



He still sleeps through the night, he's still pretty darn perfect and he still brings so much love and happiness in our home. How did we get so lucky?



Here's what makes Lyndon...well, Lyndon:

• He loves balls. basketball, baseball, soccer ball---if it's round and he can throw it or kick it, he likes it.


• He's always watching and mimicking Maddie. He loves her so much. Whatever Maddie touches is gold.


• He's a boy in love with his silky blanket. I won't be surprised if we have to tear it from his fingers when he goes off to college.


• His favorite colors are green and blue.


• He's not one to turn away from a good tea party,princess party or dress-up session.


• He's a stranger to no one and a friend to everyone.


• He's a little boy who's motivated by candy.


• He gives the best squeezes and hugs.


• last, but not least, he's the fastest 2 year old this side of the Mississippi. Seriously. He can be all the way to the back of Target even before I can pull a cart out. Fun.

He has a fun-filled birthday. It all started with presents as soon as he woke up. (how could a day go wrong when you start it with gifts?) A HUGE thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Evans and Grandma and Grandpa Perkes for the gifts. They were a huge hit. We really appreciate it.

Should I be proud or ashamed that he knows what this is? (and obviously pumped about it.)

Hummm, there's Lyndon playing with his cars, obviously not the one shooting the ball. ... so who could that be?

Jonathon.

He likes the new hoop as much, if not more, than Lyndon. (okay, I like it too.) We all played with the basketball hoop A LOT that day. Lyndon would send his race cars down the track and then go shoot a couple baskets, back and forth, back and forth. He was in heaven.

Ball cupcakes.

Madaline urged me to make "Chuck E. Cheese holding a guitar and dancing" cupcakes. Uh...okay... Sadly I had to break the news that her Mommy isn't THAT talented and that she had to be stuck with balls. ( I think she wanted actual mini animal-tronics on there. You know, like the one at the actual restaurant) Doesn't hurt to ask I suppose.

cutie pie.

We had to relight and sing to him several times. Hey, it was his day.

He got to end the day with going to the Park to see the weekly firework show at the Dell Diamond field. Perfect end to the perfect day.

We love you so much, Lyndon!

(I had a fun photoshoot on Saturday. Click here to see some pictures from it!)

He's done it folks

What do you get when you add:

talent + commitment + mental anguish + loss of sleep + calloused fingers + an aching back + discouragement+ 2,600 hours of work?

anyone? anyone?

I'll tell ya...

One amazingly catchy, remarkably captivating and astoundingly unforgettable RECORD!

I know what you're thinking...blah, blah blah, of course I'M going to say it's just that wonderful but only because he's my husband. Rest assured, that's not the case. I am just so darn proud (and frankly a little in awe) that my husband has produced such an outstanding piece of music. There is no doubt in my mind that this record is going to go amazing places...and take us right along with it.

I know you are all on the edge of your seats waiting to hear the final product so keep your eyes and ears open for when we announce the release date. Don't worry, you won't have to wait too much longer.

This is what Jonathon has been staring at for the past 8 months 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. Notice the black screen on the right. This has been his way of making sure each and every detail of each song was completed. As he would complete say, the guitar parts or the vocals he would black out the square for that particular song. Just seeing that the WHOLE chart is blacked out is such an amazing feeling. It's been a long time coming...


I want Jonathon to know how amazing I think he is. Not just because he's finally completed this goal but also because of how much he loves us and for the man that he is. This is his dream... to be a musician, to create, record and perform. But his even bigger dream is to give me, Maddie and Lyndon the best life possible. His passion is to make us happy. He is my best friend and true love. I'm the luckiest girl in the world because somehow, I scored Jonathon Evans. Oh yeah, AND he won us 724 tickets at Chuck E. Cheeses yesterday. My hero.

couldn't resist.

This is Lyndon on the naughty stool. I couldn't resist.

I've mentioned several times how Maddie is a hoarder. (is that a word) She packs up random bags, purses or boxes with her treasures and carries it with her while she plays. She's the ultimate 3 year old bag lady. The other day as she loaded her arms with her "treasures", she looked up at Jonathon and said nonchalantly,

"Hi Dad, I'm just carrying around my junk."

Maddie, Lyndon and I were racing (on foot if you must know). I would say, "on your mark, get set, GO!" Just as I was about to say it again to start our third race Maddie announced,

"Let me do the honors."

she's just so official.

Lately Maddie's been saying "See, I told you" a lot. She was beginning to sound pretty darn bossy so to nip this in the bud Jonathon gave her an alternative phrase. He said instead of saying, "see, I told you" just say "See what I mean". It worked like a charm. We had to remind her once or twice but she caught on fast and would always use her new term. Then one night as she was getting ready for bed Jonathon was explaining something to Maddie and he said, "See, I told you." To which Maddie quickly replied, "Uh, uh, dad, it's see what I mean!"

Maddie was at Toy-R-Us... (quick story: About a year ago we drove past a Best Buy and out of no where Maddie yelled, "Look, it's Daddy's Toy-R-Us!" We have no idea where she came up with that but we thought it was very clever. Every since she's always referred to Best Buy as "Daddy's Toy-R-Us". So the day that Jonathon asked Maddie if she wanted to go with him to Toys-R-Us she said, "Yours or mine?")... with Jonathon and picked out some airheads for her and Lyndon to share. remember airheads? They were out on the back porch eating them today so I snapped a few pictures.

Lyndon is giving Maddie and kiss. sweet.

a self portrait in the reflection of her glasses. :)

Crazy Summer Deal!

Hey everyone! I'm running a great summer photography special...
Check it out on my photography site.

go ahead...you know you want to... :)

couple of things.

On Mother's Day Jonathon gave me these beautiful daisies and Maddie gave me this card. Both of them also made me breakfast in bed. Lyndon, however, didn't get the memo that is was Mother's day because #1, he didn't as much as SAY happy Mother's Day and #2, he was a little pill for me during the entire Sacrament meeting. The little darling would unbutton the last button on my knee length dress and then dart for the isle. I couldn't just run after him because I had to quickly button up my dress as not to let the whole ward get a show. To my dismay he not only accomplished this little trick once but twice. I'm beginning to question my own intelligence. (Jonathon stayed home with Maddie who wasn't feeling good. At this point I was thinking I chose the short end of the stick.)

Maddie picked out the card all by herself. I was told that Jonathon was the scribe but Maddie provided all the heart felt answers by herself...

Who am I to say that a

peanut butter, strawberry and whip cream sandwich

isn't tasty?

(obviously Lyndon enjoys it.)

He will keep stickers on his hand like this until I'm the one to take them off. Little things like this fascinates me about this kid.

Maddie and Lyndon are enjoying their new little sandwich concoction when Maddie took it one step too far...

She wanted to add Turkey.

I wasn't too surprised because this was coming from a girl who wanted me to pour maple syrup on her macaroni and cheese. (I did. she like it.)

she liked the turkey too.

Let me tell you a little story about a boy and his blanket...

There was this boy. He was charming.

There was this blanket. It was silky.

One day the charming boy met the silky blanket.

Their lives will forever be intertwined.

This is Lyndon's "na na" as he so affectionately calls it. I'm pretty sure he loves this things more than me occasionally.


This last picture I found today. It's Maddie and Lyndon playing at, our friend, Gina's house. I like how it shows them just quietly getting a long and playing together. Ahh, sure love those two kiddos.

My Mom

My Mom

I want to write a little tribute to my Mom on Mothers Day…just one day late.

After my older sister had her fist little boy she framed and gave this quote to my Mom. I read it and always like it but I never quite felt the full impact until now. This is what it said:

“Mothers become closer to daughters

when daughters become mothers.”

I knew my Mom loved me like no other but I didn’t realize just how deep her love ran until I had Maddie and Lyndon. The love of a mother for her child is indescribable. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for them, right? The old saying, “this will hurt me more than it will hurt you” is so true.

After knowing the magnitude of my Mom’s love for me it makes me see all the loving and caring things that she did for me in a new light. Like when she worked with me when I was in the 4th grade creating a miniature size room in a shoebox for a book report that was due the next day. We worked well past my bedtime so I was getting tired. I wanted it to be the perfect model that I had envisioned and I wasn’t going to stop until it was complete. My mom finally told me to go to bed and she would finish it before I woke the next morning. I was eager to wake up and see the final product. I ran into the kitchen and there it was…sitting on the table like some kind of master piece. It was perfect. I couldn’t believe my eyes. She made a tiny blanket and pillows…just like I wanted, a tiny table and chairs out of matchsticks…just like I wanted. I was so proud to bring my project to school that day. I kept that little shoebox room for years. I don’t think I ever told her how much I appreciated her for that.

That certainly wasn’t the only time she stayed up into the wee hours of the morning for me. For my 6th grade track meet I needed some royal blue shorts. Being the prepared daughter that I was, I told her about it as I was getting into bed the night before the track meet. Because she cared so much and knew how much it meant to me I woke up to find a new pair of royal blue running shorts that she stayed up late to make for me. I don’t think I ever told her how much I appreciated her for that.

My Mom has always been a good friend to me. Even during those awkward, independent teenage years I knew I could always talk to and confide in my mom. I remember coming home from a night out with my friends. We always had the best times just being stupid and silly. I could always share my excitement with my Mom (and dad). They have always supported and trusted me. I don’t think I ever told her how much I appreciated her for that.

My mom is truly one of my best friends. She has been a shining example of goodness throughout my entire life. I was talking about my mom with a woman who knows my mom quite well. As I was leaving she said reverently, "Your Mom is an angel, you know." I just nodded and replied, "I know."

I hope she knows how much I love and appreciate her for that.

Bring on the A/C.

As I got in our 500 degree car this afternoon I came up with this analogy:

Texas summers are like having a baby,

you forget how uncomfortable and crappy it is during the "off season" and then *BAM* you finally remember how unbearable it is when it's too late to turn back.

Luckily we have little dreams called Air Conditioning and Epidurals.


So I have been busy lately editing all these photo shoots... Here's a few of my favorites and I've also posted some on my photography blog.

I loved this dog! She (Abby) just lazed around the whole time I was there but every once in a while I would catch her peeking up at Natalie and the baby and give them a longing gaze. It's okay, Abby, they still love you.

Beautiful Ariel.

Gorgeous Anna.