I am sure you already know, but...

If you need a swimsuit go to layersclothing.com. I think most of you might already know this, but there are some who don't know about it. They have tankinis that completely cover your mid-section. I was very hesitant to get one online that i could not try on. I have a hard enough time as it is trying to find one in the stores. If i do find one in the stores that fits me the right way, then it is usually over $100.00....yes, very frustrating. Well, i thought i would give this a try because my friend just got one off of there and it was so cute and covered her whole tummy. Well, i did it and couldn't be happier!!! It fit better than any swimsuit i have ever tried on or had, covered my whole belly area up, and it is so cute! Yippee! www.layersclothing.com

This shall pass...

One of my friend's called the weather in Cleveland bipolar and i have to agree. It feels like spring still with all the rain, and having the temperatures jump to 90 degrees one day and the next day dropping to 66 degrees. I need more consistency in my life. I need weather that i can depend on.

Anyway, Tanner baby is sick AGAIN. Not sure how he got it... There are so many possibilities....At the kids care at the gym which i put them in 3 times a week, Nursery at church, or the time last week when Shane looks over and see's Tanner sucking on the belt strap on the shopping cart at Giant Eagle. Yup. No wonder he gets sick a lot. He had a fever on Saturday and Sunday and today for awhile. He has been vomitting for 2 days, but right now it seems like he is feeling better. Gavin must have given it to Tanner...maybe. Because on Friday Gavin just randomly started saying that his throat hurts, and then he was like, "I have to puke." So we pulled the car over and let him vomit. Since we couldn't hide anywhere we were in the back of a parking lot and there was a drive thru with cars lined up within seeing distance of what Gavin was doing. Let's just say, there were probably some people who lost their appetites very quickly. But he was fine right after that and right before that. It was weird. I am hoping that i don't get it! PLEASE!!!

We have a camping trip that we are going on this 4th of July. That is a big reason why i am hoping i don't get sick. Shane never gets sick so i am not worried about him getting it. We are camping out on Thursday and Friday night with a bunch of friends. I cannot wait! And soon after that we are headed to Idaho to see family. We cannot wait. It is sort of like Christmas for us with how excited we are. Not only do we get to see them, but we are headed to the Riviera Maya with my family right after that. I will have plenty of pics to post after we get home from there. I am so looking forward to it, but don't want it to come too fast b/c once it all starts it will go by soooooo quickly....i just want it to last forever. :) Who wouldn't.

3Here is Gavin talking on the phone with his Zsa Zsa and also with his Grandma Jenks. He loves talking on the phone to them. After he talks to one he has to talk to the other. He just loves talking on the phone to anyone. He tries to beat me to the phone when it rings so that he can answer it. Whenever i am on the phone, even though he doesn't know who i am talking to he will ask me over and over "can i talk? can i talk? can i talk". It is like a broken record. It is so hard to have conversations on the phone, not only b/c he desperately wants to talk to the other person on the line, but also b/c Tanner usually gets upset when i walk in the other room to escape the noise...he starts screaming at the door. Speaking of phones....does it ever seem like the person on the other line is whispering? I always say "what?, huh?, say that again?, i can't hear you," but they never talk into the phone louder. Or maybe i am deaf.

Okay, i am expressing a pet peeve at the moment. And i am talking more about conversations with people other than friends. Also, get this...I called Bally's the other day(a different one than the one i go to) to see if they have spinning classes. Here is the conversation, "Hi i was just wondering if you have cycling classes?"(i can hear the music blaring in the background)... Lady says, "i am sorry what did you say?" I spoke louder, "Do you have any cycling classes." Lady says, "i am sorry, the music is so loud i can't hear you, what did you say?" This time i yelled in the phone, literally, "DO YOU HAVE ANY CYCLING CLASSES?" She heard me that time. But i wanted to say, "if you can't hear your customers on the other line then maybe the music needs to get turned down a little or you need to turn the volume up on your phone." Right? Goodness gracious.

Here is Tanner one minute, and one minute later here he is again...

Not feeling so well.

My two little stinkers...

I don't know what is with Tanner's poopies lately, but this is what happens. He goes poo poo. I change it about 15 minutes later, just to make sure he has it all out. About 10 minutes after i change him i smell poop! I am like, "Did you seriously go again Tanner?" I change him about 15 minutes after i realize he pooped again. Then 10 minutes after i change him for the second time i smell poop AGAIN! What is with that? He has done that the past two mornings! Crazy kid! Can anyone beat that record?! 3 Poops in one hour?! I would seriously like to hear it if that is possible! :) hehe. Oh and somewhere in that one hour Gavin calls out "mommy come wipe me!!!" Sheesh...why do they go at the same time?

One more thing worth taking note of...Tanner is definitely getting more personality. Everywhere we go he has to wave HI to everyone. If we walk by someone that he wants to wave to and that person isn't looking at him he will go over and stand by them and stare directly at them until they look at him and then he waves. It is actually very hilarious. He waves and waves, even when we have walked past the person, he turns around and keeps waving. Gavin sort of follows along with what Tanner does. In the morning it is now tradition for us to go to our front window and wave Shane off to school. The boys LOVE waving bye bye to daddy. Tanner gets really into it. He has a wave that you see Ms. America doing. He laughs while he waves daddy off.

Eating the cooke dough off of the blender wisks. I always give it to them so they can lick it! :)

Yesterday the boys and I had a fun filled day. We made cookies, well, Gavin made them. Gavin LOVES to help me cook and Tanner LOVES to help me clean. It is nice that i get help in both of those areas! :) Anyway, then we went to the pool and i realized there that Tanner has no fear of the water. He actually does something similar to Bree...he kept putting his face in and out of the water. He fell under the water twice. I had to run over and pull him out and the other time a lady pulled him out. I have to keep my eye on him!! It is funny how different Gavin and Tanner are b/c Gavin does fear the water. Gavin keeps a tight grip on me in the water and tanner wants me to let go of him!! Then we went to the library which lasted all of about 5 minutes because my dear son Tanner decided he didn't want to stay quiet(what a surprise) and started running and screaming all over the library. I was talking to the librarian when i hear him scream and i was like, "OOOkay, i have to go." Anyway, it was a fun day.

What people don't know about me...

1. People mistake my shyness for being snobby. It takes me awhile to warm up to people i just met. Sometimes longer than it should! I am just kind of shy.
2. I zone out a lot!!! If i ever talk by you and don't notice you, trust me, it is not you. When i am thinking about something sometimes i can easily block everything else out that is around me! TRuly! Sometimes i might even zone out while staring at someone. Yu know, the blank stare. I don't realize i am staring right at someone until i snap back with it and realize that person was trying to wave at me and probably thought "how rude, she is looking right at me and won't even wave hi." Weird i know. Sometimes i think i would have made a good blonde.
3. I love photography.
4. hahaha. jk. I know you already knew that one! Just felt like making a funny. :)
5. I am actually a really loud person...with my family. For some reason i don't feel comfortable being loud with other people. I show a whole different side of myself with my family. :) And i want to try to show that side of me with others, but somehow i have to find a way to feel comfortable with showing that side! Don't know when that will happen.
6. I love to make myself laugh. Often times i do really weird things b/c I know it will get a weird look from my husband, my boys, and my family, BUT that is what makes it so funny to me. When i need a good laugh i know how to get one from myself.
7. I have always felt like i am not talented. Soooo many women have soooo many talents. I cannot sing or play a musical instrument. I am just not musically inclined, but i do love to sing anyway. Anyway, i can't scrapbook good at all. It is very basic. I am not a good organizer and wish i were. I am not that great at keeping my house clean. When you come to my house and it is clean it is b/c i had been cleaning the whole day to make sure it is clean for visitors. I cook dinner every night, but i don't cook AMAZING meals like so many women seem to do. I cook basic meals. I can't sew. Well, i can sew flannel pants and fix something very basic, but that is it. I DO NOT iron anything. I have probably ironed 3 times since we have been married. Now that i told you that you all will probably notice all our wrinkly clothes from now on. I am not a creative thinker. I have never had a talent of my own. Until just recently when photography came along! :) And one more thing i can't wait to see if i can do....interior decorating. One day. I am not telling you this b/c i am in need of or searching for compliments. Really. I am telling you this so you can know WHO I AM.
8. I want you to know who i am b/c i guess i don't want to be misunderstood. Do i feel like i have been misunderstood? No, not so much, but i realize it is kind of nice to know someone so that i can better understand them and not have to jump to conclusions or assume things about them when i don't really know them. I don't know if i am making any sense, but i am making sense to myself. I just wanted to write this down. :)

Gratitude...

Now i am taking a go at close-ups! It is tons of fun. I took the boys outside with me yesterday and we found these flowers to take pictures of. The butterfly in the second picture was a very tiny butterfly, probably the size of my thumbnail. We had fun searching together for pretty plants. Life is so good right now. I am trying to take in every moment! My life has been full of trials and hard times, as i am sure everyone has had to deal with. It has been such a consistent thing that once life is without them for awhile i get scared because i am like "This can't last forever. Something else is gonna happen, and i just don't know what it is." Don't get me wrong. I don't live in fear everyday. I realize that i need to take advantage of every moment. I just want life to be the way it is right now, forever! :) No tears, no hurting, no trials, no disappointments, no sadness, anger, etc. Unrealistic i know. Life is full of those all the time. Of course every month i have my own issues for about a week....you know....that time of the month. I get EXTREMELY irritable. It drives me nuts that i get so irritable! I try avoiding people during that time. :) I am going on the IUD soon and i HOPE that will help my irritability issues! :) Am i giving too much information? Oh well. That's me. Yes, you heard me right...the IUD. So that means we aren't planning on anymore kids for awhile. Yup. We thought we would have 5 kids, and we thought this before we actually had kids. With time brings change. :) We LOVE our boys, but we also know what we can and can't handle. Everyone is different. Aside from that, i am sure we will have one more when we are done with school. Just not now. :) Anyway, Life has never been better for me. I am sooooo happy with where i am at in life. I LOVE my husband more than anything. He is such a strength to me in so many ways....in ways that i realize more and more and wasn't able to see, but am now starting to see. He is the best. Exactly what i need. My boys bring me such joy, lots of hard times, but lots of joy! :) Anyway, i realize i am blabbing, but i also realize not many read this so it's okay that i am blabbing. I just feel so much gratitude right now for everything in my life. I am just taking in every moment. Living in the moment. In my younger years i was really good at not taking others advice. But now i try really hard to take others advice, especially when it comes to my kids. I don't want to live with regrets. I hear so many parents of kids who are now out of the house say, "oh they grow so fast. enjoy them while they are young." "If i had to do it all over i would be the best mom there is." "Oh, enjoy every moment because they grow so fast and these moments right now are the best days of your lives." I try so hard to remember that when i am about to get upset over something silly. Of course i still get upset, but keeping that in mind really helps me. I try to picture myself down the road and i want to be able to say, "I was the best mom i could've been. I soaked in every moment and enjoyed my kids." I want my kids to feel so safe and secure in their home. I want them to know that their family is their safe place. Their family are the one's they can TRULY trust, are the one's that will ALWAYS be there whenever life gets hard or difficult or life seems to disappoint. They NEED a safe and secure place to turn and that NEEDS to be their mom and dad and siblings. I want that for my kids more than anything. I want them to ALWAYS feel sooooo loved. They are my precious treasure. They are a gift from God. Anyway, i am done for now. Until next time...

What we saw out our window over the weekend...

Here is a deer that we saw on Saturday. We first spotted him right in our front yard. He then ran across the street. Can you see him in the picture? Then when we left later that day one of them ran out in the street. Crazy. We live in the city and it is so strange to me to see deer running along a busy street road! Poor things!
It hailed on Sunday. Our home teachers just left and then the hail came down strong and hard. It was about the size of 2 pea's put together. It was kind of cool watching it.
This is the sky last night. The sun was setting and the storms had just passed by, but we were still getting some rain.
I wanted to go outside to take this picture because it was so beautiful...problem is that it was raining. I can't get my camera wet! So i had to take this from inside and the tree is covering up most of it, but you can see how beautiful it is. I loved how it turned our street a blue-ish color!
Here is the rainfall we got yesterday. Just took a picture of it b/c i thought it was pretty.

CheRiSh...

I look like a weirdo here...i look like i am sticking my teeth out making my usual buck tooth face that i usually make in pictures. :)

I love my Boys. Gavin and i really have fun taking pictures together and i figure i better take advantage of it! We have so much fun setting the timer, running into position, and then "click", and then we go running over to the camera to see the picture. hehe. Anyway, i love taking pics with these boys. I can't wait to scrapbook all of these pics and to look back one day with such fond memories. Take a look at my photography blog for some Freebies. ashspassion.blogspot.com

In other news, I went in yesterday and had Shane clean my teeth, x-ray my teeth, and inspect my mouth a bit. It was so much fun watching him in his element. He is getting happier and happier with his career choice the more he learns and works on people. It is so cool and i can't wait until he actually gets to start practicing in the real world.

And i am ready for the sun to come back out! I want to go swimming and soak in the SUN!!! Goodness gracious, Come on.

LiFe in the JeNkS HouSeHoLD...

Here are some sweet pictures of the boys...

I thought this was a very moody and sweet picture. Tanner was sad at the moment and Gavin felt like a caring daddy telling Tanner what to do. Tanner puts his head down like this when he is sad.
Tanner had fun pushing Gavin on the swingset. Gavin was laughing so hard.

1. My boys eat loads of food when they really like the meal i make. It is crazy to me. But amazingly i can eat more than Shane sometimes when it comes to dinner. Shane tells me, "I don't know how you do it, but sometimes you are able to eat more than i do and it is kind of disgusting." Haha...what can i say. I use the excuse that i work out really hard and so my body needs a lot of energy and allows me to eat a ton of food at dinner. Sometimes i am just STARVING at dinner time and my body tells me to keep eating! :)

2. Gavin is getting curious about body parts. Can anybody tell me about when your kids started. He is like, "Daddy has a *#@!$%??" I say, "Um, yes he does." I try to act casual about it and change the subject. I don't want to make a big deal of it. I answer him though b/c i figure it is something i can tell him. Then he said, "Does Avery(his friend) have a &@$#!^?" I say, "um, no, Avery is a girl. Girls don't have them." He says, "Girls don't have !@*#*#?" I say, "No, girls don't have #@#%&^". He says, "Oh." Someone with experience, please tell me when your kids started this curiosity. I assume it is normal and that my reaction is fine, but i would like to know from others.

3. Shane loves to sneek up on the boys and scare them. He loves to harrass, what can i say. It is fun... sometimes. :) I love you hun. Anyway, he snuck in on the boys yesterday while they were finishing up dinner. He jumped into the kitchen and yelled his screachingly loud and horrorifying yell that gets me everytime. I saw Tanner's face. I have never seen the look of horror on that kids face like i did at that moment. His mouth dropped wide open, he leaned back in his chair and put his hand to his face. I thought he would start crying right away, but as soon as he realized daddy was harrassing them again he just started laughing. I can't do that. I am very jumpy and when he scares me i jump and scream and then i get mad at him! I usually throw in a girly hit after that. :)

4. Shane still thinks that Gavin doesn't know anything. haha. What i mean is that you can't lie to him anymore and have him believe you. For example, the windows were down in the car and we decided to roll them up and turn on the A.C. Gavin got mad b/c he loves having his window down. Now what Shane says here is something Gavin could have been tricked into believing maybe when he was Tanner's age, BUT now? I don't think so. Gavin says, "Open my window daddy." Shane says, "It is open. Look. I didn't close it." haha. I look at him with this dumb- founded look..."r u kidding me? haha. He isn't dumb Shane." It is entertaining sometimes what Shane still thinks he can get away with. :)

5. Okay, Shane is hilarious. He went with me to a spinning(also called cycling) class on Saturday. I love spinning. It is a great workout. Well, i have been working out consistenly for a long time now. Shane doesn't really workout, except for the occasional b-ball game or bike ride we go on. This spinning class is 45 minutes and they push you HARD. Well, ever since the class Shane just can't walk down the stairs. He goes down one step at a time very slowly or if he ends up going down the stairs like normal, forgetting his legs hurt, then all of a sudden i see him flying down the stairs with this abnormal looking run and then this moan of pain. It is hilarious. He lifts his legs high and he has these pointy toes. It is so funny and i love laughing at him b/c of it. I had fun telling him this the day after the class.....Shane said, "Man, do your legs hurt? Mine hurt really bad." I said in this snotty voice, "uh, NO, i am used to it," and gave him this smirky grin. It was so fun. If there is anything that i can beat him at i really have to give him a hard time for it b/c it doesn't happen very often.

6. Okay, i know this is a lot of information. Don't worry mom, i will post some pics later today. :)

Sneek Peek...

Coming soon to Little Wonders Photography....

1. Digital X-mas greeting cards made by me for you to buy. I will make it so you can view these on my photography blogspot. I might end up making these for any occasion, like baby announcements, but we will have to wait and see.
2. If you recommend me to anyone outside of our ward and that person gives me your name then you will receive a gift, which will be announced in the near future.
3. My best friend is jumping on the bandwagon with me. She makes adorable custom made frames for any occasion. She will be making up a book that shows all the frames that she can make for you. When you get your pictures done i will have the book available for you to look through if you so desire. :)
4. I will also make templates for your pictures. They will be simple, but cute. :)

All this will be happening in the next few months. I will let you know when we are good for GO. I am soooo EXCITED!

Happy Father's Day...

Today Shane got the royal treatment. It is tradition in my family that whenever it is someone's B-day or if it is Father's/Mother's Day, that person doesn't have to do anything that day. It is a day of rest and relaxation. So, Shane pretty much was allowed to be a couch potato today without hearing any arguments from me. He also got his favorite meal...lasagna, corn, garlic bread, and a yummy salad. On top of that he got his favorite cake- Better than "anything" cake. He also received a special massage treatment from me, and from the boys as well. The boys had a lot of fun pounding on daddy's back. It was very entertaining to watch. :) I have to mention at least one way that i know our boys LOVE daddy. The boys, especially Gavin, get sick of me during the day, probably b/c they have to see my face all day long. :) When daddy comes home Gavin suddenly is in the BEST mood ever, and therefore making mommy in a better mood. :) He turns into this sweet boy that i didn't know existed that day...HI, HELLO, um... where did you come from?!!? haha. j/k. Anyway, but it is kind of like that. Gavin LOVES LOVES LOVES his daddy and is a better person b/c of him. Shane is his hero. Gavin's excitement for his dad makes me think of the song "i am so glad when daddy comes home, glad as i can be. Clap my hands and shout for joy and climb upon his knee." Gavin and Tanner are always at the door to greet daddy when he gets home from school and anxiously wait for him to wrestle around with them. Anyway, Shane, you are wonderful. You are the best daddy and you make our house a much more spontaneous and happier house for us to live in. The boys and i love you very much. Happy Father's Day! Happy Father's Day to my dad and to my Father-in-law as well! :)

Oh my gosh...

My 2 most recent sessions went so well. When my sessions go well i feel sooooo overjoyed...I love photography and i CANNOT WAIT until i get my own natural light studio one day!! My goodness. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how the pictures turned out. You need to go to my blog and check out these DARLING kids and babies! Go to ashspassion.blogspot.com ... I will post a lot more later in the week.

Silly Things out of Gavin's Mouth...

1) I was getting ready to go to the gym and i was going to bring Gavin with me b/c they have babysitting, but decided to leave Tanner home with Shane. Gavin went up to Tanner and said, "Tanner you absolutely have to stay home with daddy."

2) The Today Show was showing tornadoes and what states they hit and Gavin said, "Mom there are tomatoes on here."

3) I asked Gavin if he would like to say the prayer and he said, "Well, actually, it is your turn. I said it yesterday."

4) He leans his head on my shoulder and says, "Mommy, i like you." But on the other side of that, when he is mad at me he says, "Mommy i won't be your friend anymore."

5) One thing he has said to 2 close family members lately is, "What's down there," while pointing to there shirts. I hope that is normal for his age and that his curiosity isn't setting in earlier than it should.

6) When he see's something cute he says, "oh, mommy, that is so cute! That's so cute," he says while chuckling with the sweetest smile on his face.

ThE HoT HoT SuN...

This is my vintage look.



Today and last week we have been taking advantage of the sun. We have been playing in the pool and today we went to the splash park. The boys love the splash park and it will be sooooo nice this summer. This thing will keep them busy for about 2 hours. I don't have to worry about them in the pool, and i can just sit back and soak up the sun. I am starting to put on sunblock too!!! Smart thing. Anyway, fun times. This summer is going to go by so fast and we are going to get out every day that we can! :)

FINALLY...

Finally i have some pictures of Gavin and I. I thought it was about time i took matters into my own hands. I took Gavin outside and had him take some pictures with mommy. :) So, we did. It was so much fun. We did it in the evening with the warm glow to it. It was perfect. :) I did a photoshoot this morning and the kids were so darling. You will have to look at my photography blog to check them out! :) I will have to post again later. We have had a pretty fun day so far. We went to workout this morning, i had my photoshoot, and then we played in the yard for a few hours in the pool. It has been fun. I can't believe how hot it is outside though! :) wow!

Ugghhhhhh...get me outta here

My boys have been sick. It seems never ending. Oh my goodness. Well, today they are doing a lot better, so maybe we could have gone out today, but i wanted to stay on the safe side. With the sun not shining, AND being stuck in the house with two sick boys i feel like it is still winter!!! yuck. Hopefully i don't sound too heartless, but as bad as i feel for my boys, quite frankly i am getting sick of hearing the coughing ALL day and the whining ALL day long. So as bad as it is being sick, it isn't so fun being the one that has to listen to the sickness either. Anyway, Tanner and i played around on blankies while i let Gavin watch some t.v. Tanner LOVES blankies that are soft. If we want to put him in a good mood it is pretty easy...get his blanky. :)

Ohhh to be a kid again...

Gavin and I were in the backyard and i decided to call my best friend. While talking on the phone with her Gavin decided to go inside and get his chair to sit on in the shade. Next thing i know, i look over and this is what i see. Poor kid... I felt bad for him. He doesn't feel good and is so tired...I brought him inside and laid him on the couch and he fell right back to sleep.

Fever, Cough and Cold...

Our little talker. Gavin came in the other day and said, "i want a cracker"...and to our surprise, here comes Tanner, "I want a cracker"...it was so fun hearing him say that!
Loves to act like he is talking on the phone.
Tanner attempting his trick again. He hasn't done this for awhile and i was minding my own business, i look over and there he is attempting his trick. It was so funny.
Gavin was mad at me in the this picture just about 1 minute before this scene. He was looking at me with a mad face, but suddenly forgot he was mad at me and started playing in his own imaginary world here. He plays A LOT in his imaginary world! It is so fun to watch.

Well, Gavin and Tanner have been hit with the Flu. Kind of weird considering the flu season should be over. Tanner has had a fever for about 4 days. I felt so bad for him. He had to stay home from church today so that he wouldn't get kids sick. But keeping him home to avoid getting kids sick probably didn't do much good because about 2 hours after Gavin and i got home Gavin started feeling pretty bad and i felt him and he has a fever now. Sorry guys!! I really hope none of your kids get sick! I have even started feeling like i am getting a sore throat. I probably won't get anymore than that, knock on wood. :) In the meantime, when the Tylenol kicks in, they act like they aren't sick at all. So, in those moments we go outside and play a little because it is soooo nice out!