My First 12 of 12

So I've always wanted to try this but I never got around to it until now.  It's called 12 of 12, basically you take 12 photos throughout the day on the 12th of the month.  Amy, the 12 of 12 creator, is a girl in our neighborhood with a lot of photography experience.  But her photographs aren't just great, they tell stories. She once taught a photography class for our Relief Society (the female organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and it blew me away.  I've always loved taking photos but I've never thought of my photos as being able to tell a story, hence the million of photos just of my kids smiling or crying (I guess there's a semi story there).

Anyways, there are so many things that go into telling the story of a day.  It's fun to see the day, and I get why you only do it once a month now, it actually takes a while to put together the collage, but I think it's worth it.  I also don't take this many photos on a daily basis of so much variety (normally it's just the kids and what I'm eating but none of those photos came out looking very appetizing) so it's fun to go beyond my comfort zone once a month.

01) The kids have been coming home with all sorts of fun Valentine's goodies.  Though I'm not a huge fan of the fake holiday, there's something so spectacular and fun about celebrating with kids.  I love all the hearts, the goodie bags they've come home with full of too much sugar an cute lil punch out cards.  Some parents go all out and there are some pretty cute DIY Valentines that I probably enjoyed more than my kids.  

02) I wanted to take a photo of Dailey Method class, but I couldn't do anything artistically without it being one I took as a reflection in the mirror.  To my left is Kristin, our kids were so excited to be together at childcare, and it was a great way to start the day - thigh work, ab work, and butt work!  

03) A view of Bubba and Dagny having fun at the Dailey Method childcare.  For $10, I wanted to make sure I got a shot of it.  HEHE Can you tell I'm a tad bit bitter?  I knew how hard it was going to be to work out with children, I never knew how expensive it was once you factored paying for childcare and the fact that you can't make it all the time because your kids will get sick, etc. 

04) We went to the bank right after work out class (and class according to Bubba as he pranced his way over to the childcare room) to finish opening Dagny's savings account and of course, no trip to the bank is complete without dum dums.  Two lollipops and a lot of begging for more later, these two left the bank with me happily to swing by Dan's for some quick groceries before we picked Jordan up from school.  

05) Andy only had to work a half day today so he came home and immediately got the boys ready to go skiing.  He got dressed, changed Bubba's poopy diaper, and then headed outside to dispose of some diapers.  We don't have a diaper disposal so they normally amass in a pile before we put it into a bag, but since they were on their way out, we didn't feel like we needed to waste a plastic bag.  

06) We try to vacuum once a week (it's been a while...) and I like to do it on Fridays because then I have a nice clean home to start the weekend off right.  The fresh vacuum lines are my favorite, if you look closely, there are also some cute footsteps from my kids.  

07) Andy and Bubba's skis.  Bubba is still sitting a lot instead of standing upright and "pizza-ing" his skis, but he knows how to scoot along in line and is getting better each time.  He went down twice with Andy today.

08) Jordan on the ski lift.  Jordan is a great little ski bunny now (he's also the year of the bunny.. coincidence?) He fell twice at the same spot, where it looked like there was a larger hill, but he's pretty comfortable and experiencing a bit more with speed than before.  

09) Star Wars toys nearby Dagny's favorite little stool.  Dagny is obsessed with my phone and the BYU Noteworthy's acapella version of a Star Wars mash-up.  Even though she still loves stuffed animals and blankets more than her brothers did, she definitely has an affinity for all things Star Wars and Marvel.  

10) Slouchy me (don't show my mom) and Dagny on a mission to put the pillows where they belong.  It's a futile attempt but oh well.  

11) A view of my office space.  I really don't work here as much as I'd like but it's so light and airy, I really do love it.  I have the perfect view of the backyard and lots of light.  I also put the three birth announcements of my children on my table but kept the rest of it quite clear.  It makes me so happy to see my three biggest fans.  There's another photo of Andy and me on the desk too, but it's not pictured.  

12) Andy and the boys came home famished and I had baked some delicious juicy chicken just in time.  After we finished dinner, I wanted to take a trip to find some shower curtains to use for making my own DIY stroller cover.  Since Bubba took a nap on the way to skiing, we knew he'd be wide awake past bedtime (we start at 7:30 now), so I took him with me on a Mommy and me date.  We went to Kohl's, we failed at finding any clear shower curtains but Bubba had a blast walking through their toy aisles.