Behind the Scenes of our Family Photo Shoot

It was about time for a current family portrait, and my mom was the woman for the job. She always is! It's so nice having a personal photographer.

This photo session took place the Thursday before Mother's Day, by the river. She always takes between 50 and 100 shots and we'll end up with 3 or 4 decent ones (because of us, not her!)

She's a great photographer, and we have oodles of pictures to prove it! She's had her own business, Photo Images, since around the time I was in junior high. Whenever she took my pics when I was a teen I'd ask her to use the soft focus lens (so I'd look dreamy) . She doesn't do many photo shoots anymore unless she gets a call from a past customer, but there were several years when she kept pretty busy doing weddings, high school seniors, families, etc.

I brought my camera along for the occasion so I could catch some candids of the kiddos after my mom was done with us. I've been remembering to bring it with me way more than I used to. I'm actually a little surprised my camera hasn't worn out over the last year or so as a result of how many pictures I've made it take. ;)

All the pictures I've put on this post were actually taken by me. Two of the pics my mom took are already on my blog home page (whatever it's called), and the disc she gave me only had the best few shots on it anyway, so I didn't think I'd need to add them again here. I don't know why I always feel the need to explain myself, but I do...





I like Cora's face in this one. :) It's totally "her".





Too bad Jane's hand got out of the picture. She spontaneously jumped up, so I didn't have time to adjust the zoom-- I just had to take the pic quickly or miss it entirely.



Look how casually Ollie is standing. :)



It was sort of chilly that evening, so Jane had her jacket in a bundle and her crazy face in place.



I really like this spot. It's not hard to tell that the kids did too.





I'm so glad she didn't fall in the river.







I have to mention a funny part of the photo sitting. You know the neat picture of us all in and around the tree? We only got one good shot out of that pose because apparently Ollie was cooperating so well that my mom was getting carried away in her excitement. To get Ollie to keep smiling and holding still in his cute little pose, my mom started screaming, "yes! yes! yes! yes!" I started laughing and telling her to stop. I couldn't believe my ears! Remember, we were back behind the trees where no one could see us, which made it more humiliatingly humorous. I'm pretty sure any passersby would have heard her from miles around! What would they think was going on back there?! She was kind of irritated at me for ruining what could have been a good string of pictures, but what was I supposed to do? I was embarrassed! But it was pretty funny.

Uncertainty

It's been two years since we moved back to Boise from the one and (hopefully) only Chubbuck, Idaho. I can scarcely believe it's 2010, the year we thought we'd never meet. Four years ago Ryan was accepted into ISU's College of Pharmacy. We packed up our crap and moved our family to Chubbuck, just over the railroad tracks from Pocatello. We knew if all went as planned, his graduation would happen shortly before our 10-year wedding anniversary (on July 22nd). So we lived there for about 21 months. It was a nice change and we met people we wished we never had to move away from. :( But we're so glad they are our friends.

We made it through the school part, but things haven't changed much yet. Ryan has to take and pass the state board exam. We don't know when that will be, as he is waiting for his application to make it back from the school so he can send it on to the board. He can't choose a test date until his application has gone through. Our plans from here are up in the air. It's kind of scary. Nothing is certain. While Ryan does have a job lined up at Walgreens, he will be working as a float until they can place him at a "permanent" site. He has been working as a pharmacy tech (at an increased wage) since a week or so after he graduated. I think I will feel a little more optimistic when he has a test date scheduled. But even after he is board certified I worry that he won't get the hours he was assured he'd get. All this just means more waiting to move out of this apartment. I'm so tired of this gray carpeting...

We are debating about renting a house for a while when Ryan becomes "official" because we have no money saved for a down payment to buy a house, plus even if we could, we don't want to rush out and buy a house that would be clear across town from the store he will eventually be stationed at.

We're not loving the living situation we're in. Ten years is a long time to apartment hop. Oliver could really, really use a nice, safe, fenced yard. He likes to roam around, and that is not advisable in an apartment complex parking lot. Every day I worry about him running out in front of a car and getting crushed.

I worry about where to move, mostly for the kids' benefit. I feel sad that we've moved them around so much, from apartment to apartment. Especially since I lived in the same house from birth until I was 19. I never had to move away, and I can only think of one really good friend of mine who moved away when I was in third grade. It seems to me like people stayed in one place a lot more back then. This just makes me sad, pulling my kids away from their friends. We can try to keep in touch, but it's never really the same, or nearly as easy for everyone involved (in more ways than one), when friends move from a neighborhood.

We don't feel ready to commit to buying a house. It's a huge, scary step. I know when we moved back here, I just picked a place that participated in the "poor student housing program" and didn't give it much contemplation. I scare myself sometimes. We can't do that this time. I don't feel like I'm prepared to decide where my kids go to school and who they meet, based on which house or neighborhood we really think we want to be in. I can't make up my mind about the small things, so how am I supposed to make such a huge choice that will not only effect Ryan and me, but our kids!

We can't stay in this apartment forever. As I mentioned, we are on the "reduced rent program", and when Ryan starts getting paid when he is official, which will hopefully be next month, we want to move out because we aren't willing to pay market price for this place we don't even like. Which makes the idea of renting a house appealing to us. We keep weighing the pros and cons of renting vs. buying. Are we crazy to want to rent a house for a year while we save up a down payment and try to figure out where we want to be? It would mean another move for the kids. It sounds crazy. But then again, the girls are expecting to move sometime this summer. I think they are used to it by now. And this time should be easier because we won't be moving 3 hours away from any friends like last time. But what if we rent somewhere and the girls make great friends and then we have to move again? I guess change is inevitable. I shouldn't fret so much. The more you move, the more friends you make - right? I just know that growing up in the neighborhood I did gave me the opportunity to go to the schools I did and to meet the friends I met. Obviously. I think of how different my life would be had I not lived in that area. I can think of a few friends who have been indispensable fixtures in my life. And in the more recent past, I made lifetime friends only because I moved.

So... what to do?

Does anyone have any insight for me? What is your perspective? Is anyone even listening?

The TwiLytle Zone

I noticed something curious about our family. It's one of those unexplainable little coincidences that makes me sit back and wonder.
Cora looks more like Ryan than me. She got his facial features and even unknowingly makes the same "resting face" as he does. She has also inherited some of his qualities that aren't as evident in me, such as intelligence and persistence. Cora started piano lessons this year and is doing great. She works carefully to perfect each song she plays. Ryan has been learning some fairly difficult piano pieces on his own, and he works laboriously on them until he gets the notes right. He's not satisfied with mediocrity, and neither is Cora. When I try to play a song that is even slightly above of my level of expertise I immediately skip to another song. It's too hard, so I don't try.
Jane is more like me in appearance and (I'll call it) school attitude. She's only in first grade, but she already has a hard time focusing, or wanting to focus, on her work. She feels pressured when other students finish their math before she does. I was always that way. When other students would begin turning in their tests, I was no longer able to concentrate. I have the feeling she's going to have my lovely daydreaming, distracted disposition that always seemed to put a damper on my success as a student. I told Jane if she could learn all 200 of her sight words I would buy her a toy. I thought she would be all over that idea, but she said, "It's too hard!" Wuh-oh. That sounds like me. And I swear I've never said that out loud for her to hear. I want her to have more confidence than I ever did and ever will. Maybe I can "fix" her before she truly ends up like me. But I digress.
She also seems to have harbored a bit of my manipulative tendencies. I never really thought of myself as manipulative until recently, but as Jane has been honing her skill I realize that when I really want something I attempt any amount of subtle suggestion it takes to get the desired reward. If Jane gives me enough reasons to feel empathy over her apparent toy deficit, then I'll have to succumb and buy her a new doll, right?? Uh-huh... Reminds me of the times I come hemming and hawing to Ryan about what I "need" to go shopping for today. (Insert my chagrined face here.)
Okay, so none of this is too terribly ponderous. Genetics should not come as a big surprise. Cora is more like Dad, Jane is Mom's likeness. Big whoop. The part that makes me scratch my noggin a little is that Ryan's and Cora's Social Security Numbers begin with the exact same three digits. My SSN and Jane's begin with the same three digits. Going further, the first three digits in Oliver's SSN match mine! And who does he predominantly look like? ME, OF COURSE!!! (It's too early to say whose personal traits Ollie possesses more of between Ryan and me. But I'll be waiting for clues...)
Maybe this isn't as remarkable a coincidence as I've made it up to be. It's just intriguing to me that the kid who looks and acts like Ryan also shares the first three digits of the number he was issued when he was a baby, and Jane and Oliver have the same first digits in their numbers as my decades-old, government issued number. How are the numbers determined? Why didn't we all have the same first three digits? Especially since Ryan and I were born in the same hospital, just 4 months and 2 days apart.

Hmmmm . . . . .

What does it mean? Does a secret government worker slink around the homes of newborns everywhere to methodically determine which Social Security Number to issue, depending on which biological parent the wee one most accurately resembles?

I can't get the italics to stop.

I keep clicking on the icon and it won't discontinue the italics. Oh, there we go.

AHHHHHGHHH!!! THEY'RE BACK!

All this emotional and technological turmoil is making me hungry. Now if I can only decide what to make for dinner.

Fun In Phoenix

Last weekend I was lucky enough to get to go to Phoenix with my sisters, Megan and Erin. The sole purpose of it was to see Glee Live! We love the show and jumped at the chance to go see them in their first tour. I didn't even know there was such a tour until last month. Erin knows all when it comes to Glee. She follows the actors on Twitter, she hunts down extra tidbits of behind the scenes stuff, and was aware enough to know that the cast's plans for the summer included a limited 4-city live tour. Erin was initially embarrassed to suggest the idea of going to it, knowing how expensive it would be for travel. Meg was instantly up for it when Erin brought it up, but I had to think about it and weigh my options for a couple hours. I decided I would miss the experience if I passed it up way more than I'd miss the money spent to do it. I'm glad I went. It was so fun and exciting! The kids did great while I was away, staying with my parents while Ryan worked and with Ryan when he wasn't at work. It was a much-needed little respite for me.

We flew out of Boise on Friday afternoon. We had seats together, but Meg got the window seat. We were right by the emergency exit, so I went ahead and let her, the most proactive of us all, sit by the door. Normally I love to sit by the window so I can spend pretty much the whole flight admiring the gorgeous views. I had Meg take a few cloud pictures. How pretty.



Near the end of the flight we started experiencing some major turbulence. Meg was concentrating all her efforts into not having to utilize the barf bag. I don't typically get airsick, but I was beginning to feel more than a little icky for the last part of the flight.

Meg trying not to lose it.


After we landed and exited the plane without incident, we rented a little reddish car and ventured out to figure out what to eat. We couldn't find anything for a good 30 minutes. We found some really run down areas of town which were kind of depressing. It seemed pretty quiet around town for a Friday afternoon in downtown Phoenix. A fire truck raced past and blared its horn, which sounded just like a Wookie! We all thought the same thing and had a good chuckle over it.
We finally happened upon an Applebee's, and we were so hungry we stopped there for fear of not being able to find anything else for miles around. Meg and I both had the steakhouse burger and Erin had some chicken cordon bleu thingy.
We went to check in at the hotel and then we headed back out to locate the concert venue. We wanted to be familiar with it for the next day, the day we'd been mutually salivating over!
After we scoped it out, we went to DQ for some yummy dipped cones. Meg and I had cherry, Erin had chocolate. I almost forgot how seriously good they are. Whenever I do go to DQ anymore I get a Blizzard, so I neglect the other menu choices. Guess I need to get over there more often, right?
On the way back to the hotel we dropped by Walgreens to get some bottled water, candy and microwave popcorn. We're chronic snackers, what can I say?


The next morning we slept in a bit, then had breakfast in the hotel. Then we lazed around more, then went to the pool for a short time. The water was too cold!

We all got clean and gussied ourselves up for the big night! We needed to be there by 5:30 for the "VIP" pre-show party and to get our tickets. I'd never been a VIP before. We still had to wait in line for a while, so I guess I still don't know what it feels like to be very important. =)

We had just enough time to go out to eat before we had to be at the venue, so we chose Hard Rock Cafe, mostly because it was close and we knew where it was. The food is never anything special. We did have some dessert shooters after our meal, and they were really yummy.

Here we are waiting for our food.



Cool ceiling ornament. Seems like a waste of perfectly good guitars though.



My chicken club. It was pretty good, but I shouldn't have ordered it- toasted bread always scrapes up the roof of my mouth. =(

This was the third time in a row I got the same thing Megan was having. Apparently I don't have a mind of my own. I think it was more a case of "great minds think alike".



As part of our VIP package we got a tote bag, t-shirt, water bottle and complimentary photo of us on a green screen with a projected Glee-themed background of our choice.


I look like a complete dork with my unsure smile. I think it was because there were lots of people watching.


We got the barf bags as a gesture "from Sue Sylvester" at the beginning of the show. She and Will Schuester introduced the cast via pre-recorded video. Sue thought the audience would need barf bags to make it through the show. I wish I could remember exactly what she said. All the Cheerios passed them out to everyone.


This guy was at the pre-show party. He was wearing the weirdest shirt I've ever seen. It's covered in little wheel-bedecked fruits... with push handles... It was interesting to see the wide assortment of Glee fans out there.


Cory Monteith (Finn) came out for a few minutes to say hi to the crowd during the party.
With all the crazed teenyboppers swarming about him we didn't get to meet him, but I was fine with that. It was fun to see him kind of up close. He's a very cute boy and he seems very gracious.



We got 5th row seats! It was awesome! We had the first row of cushy seats. We had an aisle right in front of us, and the four front rows were folding chairs. Of course we had a big, tall guy in our way when he stood up. We had to do our best to just look around him.


Killing time before the show.


Finally, the show started. LXD (Legion of Extraordinary Dancers) opened for them. They were amazing!

Sue and Will came on the screen and did their bit and introduced the main event: New Directions!!! =D The crowd went WILD!

They performed SO BEAUTIFULLY! Their dances were well done, and they all sounded great! It was so good to see them really singing and not lip syncing like on the show!
We all screamed pretty much the whole time. It was such a rush!


Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance". The costumes were fabulous! I can't wait until next week's episode with this number in it. =)


Chris Colfer (Kurt), center. We love him.



"Like a Prayer"


"Jump!" They looked so cute in matching pajamas.



"Defying Gravity"


At the beginning of one song, the cast came in from the back and went down the middle aisle, the girls branching off in one direction, and the boys (Finn, Puck, Kurt, Mike and another dude) heading down the aisle right in front of us! All the way they were slapping hands with audience members who were lucky enough to be within reach, including us! How exciting! Even though some of them have only been famous for less than a year, and we'd only learned of their existence when the TV show started, I still got a little starstruck. I'm just silly that way, I guess.



"Sweet Caroline"

(I posted a video clip of "Bad Romance", and for some reason it displayed on the bottom instead of above the other pics of that song where I wanted it to be. I uploaded it in between groups of pics. One of these days I'll figure out how to properly blog...)

After the show we went to the hotel where the cast was staying and nonchalantly waited out front for a little while. We saw Cory get dropped off and I instinctively whistled at him and Erin called out, "Good job, Cory!" He turned around, smiled and said hi as he and two of his "people" went into the hotel. The whole exchange was very brief and harmless. We waited to see who else we might see get dropped off. It was cool because no other fans were there. But our luck ran out as another delivery of cast members pulled up. A couple of large, loud gals had trailed them there and parked right behind the van and jumped out and blurted to the security guy, "It's just two of us, please!" Yeah, right... who wants to get out to that? A hotel employee came out and told the driver to take any additional drop-offs to the "other" entrance. Brittany got out anyway and casually walked behind us, but we didn't dare say anything to her. There was a silhouette of someone else in the van, but we'll never know who it was. Oh well. It was a little juvenile for us to be staking out their hotel, but I thought we were very under control. We had paid big bucks for the trip, so we were trying to make the most if it! ;) We weren't going to just call it a night and go back to our hotel.


And now for a few random photos I didn't want to leave out...

Here's the very cool, totally see-through US Airways Center. It looked extra neat at night. There is a crapload of wasted space in that building, but it's a work of art anyway.



We stayed in room 222.



There were these really pretty pink flowered shrubs all around, and I finally made time to get a pic with them after we checked out of the hotel, but it was too sunny and the photos don't do justice to the blooms. =(


On the flight back, we had a short layover scheduled in Salt Lake. The plane in Phoenix had a last minute technical problem that turned out to not be an issue, but it took long enough that by the time we landed in Salt Lake we had mere minutes to make our connecting flight home. We had to jog, wearing flip-flops, all the way across one (long) wing of the airport. Halfway there we heard, to our horror, "We are now completing final boarding for flight (whatever) with service to Boise..." NO!!! I wasn't sure if Meg and Erin were giving up the race or what, but I kept running. For once, I felt like I possessed the power to save the day. We even got to run on one of those moving walkways. Ironically, when Erin and I had been leisurely walking around the Phoenix airport, I had commented about how fun it might be to sprint on one such moving walkway to see how far it would launch me when I leaped off the end. Little did I know, I'd get to try it out later that day... :P I hope the other airport patrons enjoyed watching our spectacle. Who knows, maybe our panic-stricken sprint is somewhere on YouTube by now. I know I looked pretty determined.

We made it there just before we were out of luck. The employees at the desk near the gate saw me careening toward them, with Erin and Meg straggling in close behind. I knew my sporadic jogs would come in handy someday, one way or another! Anyway, the workers were very speedy and helpful in checking us in and getting us on the dang plane. I don't think the other passengers were too pleased with us as we hurriedly made our way to the very last row of the plane, gasping for air and pink with perspiration. It took a few minutes to gather our composure. As a treat to myself I called dibs on the window seat. I was excited about getting the coveted spot at last. As I settled in for the conclusion of our trip I opened the window to look out. And this is what I saw-- a breathtaking view of the engine.

The Way Ollie Sees It

Oliver keeps trying to take my camera. He does his best to steal it from me whenever I'm using it. Here he is, desperately reaching out to grab it...




Here are all the pictures he's taken lately:

I'm not sure he wanted me in his photos, but I got in them anyway.










Half of Cora's mug



Ollie's fingers left just enough of the lens uncovered to capture Cora's cheesy grin.



Ollie's cute, fat feet




Parts of his parents...



Janey's stinky foot


I'm sure Jane's smiling for this picture, not familiar with Oliver's brand of photography. He doesn't go for the ordinary shots. That would be too boring and predictable.