I miss my old camera

I really miss my old camera. It was a Canon. I can't remember what kind, but it was the best camera EVER! It took the best pictures with minimal effort on my part, which is what I want. It died in November, and I decided to go with something different. A Sony Cybershot. Yuck. I hate it. It takes awful pictures! They are either washed out from the flash, or grainy because I turn it off. I have done ALL the troubleshooting, basic and advanced, and I just can't get it to take good pictures. I know that the ISO affects the "noisiness" of the pictures, so I set it at 100. But the pictures still end up grainy, blurry, or washed out. It's really frustrating because I used to take really good pictures!

Anyway, I am trying to sell it. Not that any of you will want to buy it after this post, but it is listed on KSL and Craigslist. Hopefully someone will take it off my hands so I can buy another Canon.

Here's one of the pictures from my old Canon. Man, I miss it.

"Grandma Lisa, you gonna stay at our own home?"

My parents and brother and sister left today, after staying with us for the past 5 days. We had a great visit, and we were able to do a lot in such a short amount of time, including skiing (for some of us), the zoo, BYU, Temple Square, lots of walks, and a day full of yard work. My dad loves doing anything home improvement, and so (along with the majority of the yard work) he also hung a swing in a tree in our backyard, fixed the door to our shed, tightened some loose faucets, and (biggest project) hung bi-fold doors in our laundry closet. Yay! Now people don't have to walk past my laundry to get to our only guest bathroom.

But it was sad saying goodbye. I used to have a very hard time when it came time for a visit to end, but I've realized that for living 1200 miles apart, we actually see each other pretty often. And with cell phones and the internet, it's much easier to keep in touch than it was for my mom when she got married and moved 2000 miles away from her family. The hardest part about this afternoon was when Tempe realized that we were saying goodbye to her beloved Grandma Lisa and Grandpa K. She got a sort of worried expression on her face and said "Grandma Lisa, you gonna stay at our own home?" 

Following is a hodge-podge of pictures from our visit.

Jeff, Tempe, Kelsey and Grandma Lisa sitting on the "bench" in our backyard.

Me and my girls enjoying the swing that Grandpa K put up for us!

Tempe thinks the swing is just as much hers as it is Helena's (who actually got it for her birthday)

Helena on the swing's maiden... swing.

Tempe loved standing at this window at the LDS Conference Center and looking through the waterfall when we were there to see the international art competition. 

Dad going crazy with the clippers.

Tempe and a BYU racecar--two of her favorite things!

Spring has sprung...

...And Helena is one! We had her "Springtime" birthday party last night. It was quite a party! We had about 30 people attend, all family, including my parents and brothers Tyler and Jeff and sister Kelsey, who are visiting from Tennessee this week (more about them later). 

For Lena's party, Tempe helped me dye frosting all the colors of the rainbow for Lena's rainbow cupcakes. Margaret has some great pictures of the party on her blog. The problem with having a talented photographer in the family is that I no longer bother taking pictures at family events. So you'll have to check them out on her site instead! 

Today we have been very, very busy getting our neglected yard back in shape. My dad thrives on yard work, so he had a great day doing all kinds of stuff. We got so much done! I can't believe how beautiful it looks from just a few hours of work. We are so grateful that my family was so willing to help us in the yard on their vacation!

This last picture is the results of all our hard work: tree branches, grass clippings, even a dead tree that we took out of our planter area. It's pretty gratifying to see how much we got done!

It's April, so....

The summit just east of Laramie:
And here is a picture of Sinclair, outside of Rawlins. All of the trucks and cars you see lined up here are waiting for the interstate to reopen. It's been closed for 24 hours.

Oh, Wyoming. There's nothing like you (thankfully). It's weekends like this that make me so glad not to live there anymore!

*I don't want my Wyoming readers to be offended... I mean... seriously, the weather in Wyoming is ridiculous! But I do miss a lot of things about Laramie: the small town feel, all of my great friends, the way the wind howled so cozily outside my bedroom window...

Mainstream appeal? No, thank you.

I have always wanted to be part of a cult following. The best definition I could find of this elusive state is not really a good definition at all: "A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific area of pop culture. These dedicated followings are usually relatively small, and often pertain to items that don't have broadmainstream appeal" (from Wikipedia). How can something be part of pop culture if it doesn't have mainstream appeal? 

Anyway, after much contemplation, I have determined that I am part of a cult following. I cult-follow (?) "Arrested Development", Fox's short-lived, underrated comedy about the most horrible people in America, the Bluth family. Jason and I came to the conclusion that I can count "Arrested Development" as something I cult-follow last weekend after a conversation about whether or not it's fan base is small enough. My argument was that too many people like it; it seems like most of my friends and family think it's hilarious. But Jason pointed out that most of my friends and family have the same taste as me, and that they are not an accurate sample of the population. So... yay! I am part of a cult following after all! And I did it before my 30th birthday! (I should add it to my list)

ps I also wish that I was part of a secret society.

Five reasons why I love LOST

1. It's like nothing I've ever seen. Ever. I can guess what's going to happen next all I want, but I'm never right. It's totally unpredictable and doesn't subscribe to the mass media drama formula like most other shows on prime time.

2. There's something for everyone: drama, horror, suspense, comedy, even a little romance (although I wish the writers would drop the stupid love quadrangle).

3. Even with all of the different elements and story lines, in my opinion, the show is about people--their weaknesses and strengths, and the relationships that they form (and in most cases, ruin). What could be better than that?

4. Ben Linus. 'Nuff said.

5. It's a "smart" show. And the best part is that there is an allusion to a great work of literature in nearly every episode--from "The Chronicles of Narnia", to "Animal Farm", to my personal favorite book of all time "Slaughter-House Five". 

So if you already watch LOST, good for you. And if you don't, you should start. Just remember that you have to start at the beginning and watch in order or you won't understand anything that's happening.

Happy birthday, Lena!

Daddy helping Helena stand at the girls' ladybug measuring board.

Today is my baby's birthday. My baby is one year old! How did that happen?? 

Helena is a darling. She loves her big sister and follows her everywhere. She loves to play with things that make noise, like rattles and tambourines. She's a lot like me in that when she is happy, she is very, very happy; and when she's sad, she's very, very sad. She loves attention (hey, also like me) and she screams to let you know when she needs more. She makes everyone love her with her beautiful big smiles, her cute little wave, and her giggles and coos. We are so lucky to have her!

Here is some random trivia about Lena.

Her full name is Helena Louise Anderson. That's Hel-A-Na, not Helen-A. Jason chose her first name (My Chemical Romance, anyone?) and her middle name is after my sister Kelsey and my Grandma Allan. She weighed 6 lb, 8 oz and was 19 inches long when she was born. She was due on April 6th; but was born on March 30th, 2008, after my midwife convinced me to let her break my water. She has three teeth (two on the bottom and one on top) and is finally starting to grow some very fine blond hair. She had a bright red birthmark on the very back of her head when she was born, but it has faded away now, and you can't see it unless I point it out. 

Today we went to the aquarium to celebrate her birthday. She was a little nervous at first, but when I showed her that the fish couldn't swim out and get her, she really enjoyed it. She loved watching the tropical fish swim in their tanks and splashing her hands in the touch pool. (Tempe had fun, too)

Helena's "Springtime" birthday party is next week, so check back for pictures of our real celebration! In the meantime, you can find her official first birthday portraits on my aunt Margaret's blog.

Here are some pictures of us at the aquarium. As usual, Tempe wouldn't look at the camera and Helena is starting to follow in her footsteps. Nooo!!