we are fat, but happy.

GUYS. We went to California! So much has happened in the last couple weeks since i wrote last... and school is out next week. (woot woot!) Well, right before we went to California we looked all over for our charger for our crappy camera and couldn't find it anywhere. So, i brought my camera, and i had been working on a photo assignment before we left, and i accidentally left my memory card in my computer! So, sadly we didn't take any pictures in Cali... so I stole some from Chase's siblings :) Thank goodness for Facebook.

It was so nice to lay on the beach, swim in the ocean, have homework done, laugh with family, go to the Mormon Battalion Center and find my ancestor, try to make funny faces for the pictures on rides, eat LOTS of rolled tacos, share spiritual thoughts together every night, and not do my hair. (Actually, i secretly wanted to do my hair the whole time... but it was nice to be nasty i guess! ;) )

But it is nice to be home, nice to have a tan, nice to have our bed back, and nice to not live out of a suit case. The semester is out in a week, but it doesn't seem too stressful because of our nice break.
I hope you all had a great fourth of July too.
***
I did a photography assignment yesterday. It was suppose to be due next week, but he changed it on me while we were gone. For our assignment we were assigned to a random place in Rexburg. He posted a google map, and each of us were tagged at a random location. I was tagged on Yale Ave... right down the street from my grandma. It is a residential area, and there didn't seem to be much to photograph, but as the assignment was called "Forced Creativity", i dug a little deeper and found some gems i think :) What do ya think?!

guys... just listen.

Want to know what I love? When Chase sings this to me. HAHA he knows all of the words.
I am not going to lie, we have had it stuck in our heads all week. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think Mariah Carey single-handedly rocked the 90's with that song. If you didn't listen to it, go back. At least wait until the chorus ends... but by then i know you won't be able to stop.
Like it, love it, listen to it everyday... we have!
Anyway, can we talk about this week? OK. So, it has been extremely busy because, guess what?! We're going to California fourth of July week. Yes, I said WEEK. We are skipping school for a week to go spend time on the beach and perhaps Disneyland. Am i sad? No. Am i stressed? Yes. But don't worry guys.. I bought a new swim suit! It's all going to be ok.
So, about this California trip, it'll be us, Claire and her tummy, TJ, Perrold, Erin, Jake, and Tom and Jennifer. We are so excited. I almost wet myself just talking about it.
But we are sad the Berglinds won't be joining.
Anyway, so in lieu of school we will be beaching it up. The only problem is, that means i have a whole week of schoolwork to get done in the next week. It's going to be ok. Don't worry. It's just a little stressful.
BUT i do have a picture for you guys....
A SELF PORTRAIT?
Preface: my assignment for photography this week was portraiture. I decided to use a picture of Brandon and Rachel, but didn't know what to do for my second one. Self portrait was an option but i felt weird and conceited thinking about it... but guys... i did it. So, Chase and i went to an alley in Rexburg, I found this old piece of wood, I set the camera to the settings i wanted, and then gave it to Chase to press the button. Yikes. I felt like an idiot. Cars and people were going by and it was somewhat horrifying.
But alas, despite the embarrassment and me trying not to let anyone see my computer screen in the photo lab, I will show you guys
.
It looks a little harsh in some areas, but i had to do it that way so that the print would come out like i wanted it to. Believe you me... it looked pretty good as a print.
Anypoops. Let me know what you guys think. I'm having alot of fun, and i feel like i'm doing well. I think :)
Guys also, just one more thing. This week has been such a spiritually fulfilling one. I have been reading in John about the last day of the Savior's life, and it is just amazing the insights i have had. Perhaps I'll write about that tomorrow, but it is amazing to me that Christ could have stopped Judas, but he told him to go, not only so He could perform sacred ordinances with the worthy disciples, but so He could atone for us. I love the gospel, and I love you all... What are you grateful for?

Hey p.s. check out my father's-in-law blog Standing All Amazed. I promise you'll learn something new. :)

Brandon and Rachel

Okay everyone. I'm pretty excited to show you all
these lovely models. I'll just give you one sneak peek photo because i'm working on a logo to put on all of them so no one can steal my photos without giving me some cred ha... since i'm so famous. So, Brandon and Rachel have been engaged about a month and will be getting married in August in the Los Angeles LDS Temple. Brandon is one of Chase's best friends, and they've known each other since high school. They were even called to the same mission on the same day! They were so fun to take pictures of; especially because of all of the laughs and silly faces. Despite all of the silliness, i don't think we got even one bad picture... that's why it's so hard for me to choose which one to show you guys. BUT... here is the sneak peek...

Go ahead... click on it. It'll make it nice and big!

We are SO excited for them. More to come later... :)

click click!

I love the sound of the shutter... Ok... so sorry about not posting pictures like i said i was going to... so i shall post.... now!

Motion Assignment:

I'll now be taking guesses on what this one is!

Celebrating the
Commonplace Assignment:

Light and Shadow Assignment:

I have been so frustrated so far this semester.. mostly because i just haven't gotten any feedback, so i didn't know how i was doing. BUT last week, after our commonplace assignment was turned in (the one of the laundry basket), I didn't get my mounted print back. I then found out that it had been put on the best of class board. I was the only person to get 100%. Whoa. Now, it was a little more edited than the one i added here, and it's contrast was awesome. I was so happy. Now that i know i'm doing well I am having so much fun with it! I just took those motion ones over the past week and just turned them in today. I'm pretty excited about them.

On the first day of photography we talked about various types of art, and how photography is debated on whether it tells the truth about its subject, or lies about its subject. I think it can be both. Many pictures are taken to show exactly what the eye sees. But as my motion assignments show, many show something much different, and perhaps more interesting. I prefer the lying type. :) But i think in any case photography always lies a little.. it always aims to make something more beautiful than you ever thought it could be. It can make a tap dancer's feet into a painting.. like my motion photo i said you should guess about (thanks Syd!). I'm finding such joy in learning to display such creativity and emotion.

P.S. All my photos have to be in black and white for this class... it's not that i prefer it... although i do love the contrast don't you?!

holy life lesson and a half

I must admit that i am a bit down in the dumps today. Life has felt really hard, even though i know it's not. One of the two photographs i turned in today just didn't turn out the way i wanted it to. Blerg. I just want to go home and sleep all night. I suppose we always feel like our lives are hard when things just don't go the way we imagined them to. I guess that's what this life is about though. Learning to be happy when things don't always go as planned. In New Testament class yesterday we talked about Christ calming the waters. We looked at the story as told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Luke it is said a bit differently, "And they came to him, and woke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith?" Christ, rather than yelling over the storm as in the other gospels, he stops the storm and then turns to them and asks where their faith has gone. Just like a parent to a child, which is more affective? Which pierces the heart more directly? How prevalent this seems to be in all of our lives. We turn to the Lord when things go wrong; we want Him to fix things now, for we feel we are in some kind of danger; whether emotional, spiritual, or physical. The thing we have to realize is that sometimes the Lord calms the sea, but sometimes he calms the sailor. I know that i have had to put this into my life in many ways lately. It's amazing that the Lord can tell you just what you need if you really look for it. I feel so humbled to know that sometimes there are bigger things than my problems, even when it doesn't feel like it. I need to sit back, be comforted by the Lord, and then work through it. And maybe, just maybe... ok most definitely i will learn something, which is far better than letting the trial be taken from me.

poop.

Ok so.... have i really not posted in over a month? Where has my life been? Oh yeah... burried in my 16 credits. No big deal. So, art classes are awesome. Stressful, but awesome. I have sooooo much due every week, but i love creating! I am having so much fun. My photography class is somewhat stressing me out, because let's be honest, i have no idea what my teacher wants. He says that we should create what we want, and not to just try to please him. But seriously, i'm going to try to please him. I want a good grade!
I need to pause here for a second... I am watching a show on TLC about the tiniest girl in the world.. she looks like a doll. Seriously. Here she is... Oh and here's a video. I just thought this was amazing.

Ok sorry for that little sidetrack. Anyway. Not much has been happening. I mean let's be honest. We are three weeks into the semester, working, and doing homework. I just got my hair cut today. This is good news. It was a shaggy mess. But here are some pictures i've been taking lately for my class. Perhaps i'll post some drawings as well. Sorry for the randomness.

coma

This is a real photo folks. Over the past week i have been living in gluttony in the most literal way. Today at work we had what we call a graze. The full time employees bring all of us student employees delicious food and we all indulge all day. Then, Chase had a safety council closing social... at CRAIGO's. Did i have a choice of whether i wanted to attend or not? Absolutely not. My stomach makes my decisions for me. Although i wasn't really hungry in the slightest, i ate. Not only did i eat, but i binged. I felt physically ill. I couldn't move when we got home. Chase kept making me laugh and i was almost in tears. I slowly began to feel the line between mortality and the after life blur. Food coma is real people. I just wish i would have had this man.

Speaking of men.. look at this hunk of burnin love.

Click it... it looks better when you do. Just sayin.
Also.. click again to zoom.. do it.
He has awesome eyes ;)

Oh and also.. here's some cute ones of abby, sage, and carson from this weekend :) cute kids!

Zoom in on these too. Especially on Abby and Sage.
Their eyes are gorgeous.

I'm having so much fun experimenting with my camera. It's just cool to see how lighting really is everything. Look at these photos.. best lighting to worst. It's amazing the life it brings to them. They are all cute, but look at Abby! Fun stuff. I can't wait to start classes.