Getting ready to head home

Well, since arriving in Arizona 7 weeks ago, I've been largely silent on my blog... working 13 hour days will do that. But, things are up and running here - thanks to my amazing team of photographers - and we're looking at heading home next week. I've learned lots of amazing things here, not the least of which is that 85 degrees in the dark with no humidity is actually pretty cool. And by "cool" I mean "chilly," as opposed "neat," although that adjective also applies. This comment is largely for the Midwesterners reading this blog, who have long made fun of people from the south/southwest. The other thing I learned is that it takes a lemon a really long time to ripen on a tree. We have a lemon tree in our back patio area at the house in which we are staying. The kids and I have been watching the same lemon ripen since we got here. It's just about ready!

Yesterday I killed my first (and hopefully last) scorpion. I really have no issues with bugs, I am usually the appointed bug-handler in our house. But, I must admit, that was a bit much for me. Tommy got into a tussle with some fire ants about a week ago. At first, they had the upper hand (and have left the bites to prove it), but then Tommy introduced them to the fountain he was playing in - and they lost. All of that said, I've not seen one mosquito! ; )

Our team here consists of four amazing women, I am so blessed to have them in our world. Heather, Laura, Jacqueline and Michelle make up the photographic talent of First Day Photo Arizona, and are a wonderful team to build on! Laura had us come to a favorite photo spot the other day to do some family photos a la Arizona. Here are just a few. THANK YOU LAURA! Jacob was in his typical "I hate pictures" form (at least he wasn't asking her to erase them... sometimes that's the direction he goes), so we had to get creative! Enjoy - and think of us next week with our little ones - ROADTRIP!

The boys

Here's a rare photo of our boys. They have to have equal time, you see. The last post was a photo of their sister : )

A new photo of Sarah and Mom

I think this is my favorite photo of me and Sarah Joy since she was about 3 weeks old! She's 19 months old now, and, to quote her big brother Jacob, she's "extremely happy!" and so are we : )

I can't believe that we don't have babies in our house anymore. She's clearly a little girl now, and so very much a GIRL! She loves shoes, dresses, dolls (only her favorites will do). But, she also loves to do anything her brothers will include her in. Right now, she's rather fond of throwing herself on the floor and having a tantrum if you tell her "no" to something she wants to do. It doesn't happen often, but it really does happen. Yikes.

Maddie's Eyelashes

Check these out!

It's cold in Arizona

Two weeks ago I had a root canal - OUCH! Hat's off to my endodontist, though. I feel much better. The next day we got in the car and drove 1600 miles with our kids. We've been in Arizona for the last couple weeks starting a new contract with a health system. Last week, the temperature reached 113 degrees, admittedly hot (especially for a girl raised in Minnesota). Yesterday, I think the high was 58. Brad was in Wisconsin shooting a wedding and I think the weather was nicer there than here. Yes, I know that this isn't a weather blog : ) Although it does seem to me that people from colder climes have a bit of an obsession with the topic. What I find really funny is that my kids thought that 60 degree weather was chilly and they didn't want to go outside. Just 2 weeks ago (at home in MN), that would have felt wonderful to them. I will say that I'll take 100 in AZ over 100 in MN any day of the year. It's supposed to be hot again over the weekend.

Erin (the Erin in the wedding photos in a former post) asked me whether there were cactus or palm trees here. The answer: both. And citrus trees (there's a lemon tree in our back yard!), and other really beautiful deciduous trees I've never seen before. I've also never seen cactus in bloom, or pink cactus, for that matter. Obviously, this is really only interesting to those who have not been to Arizona - like me.

I've been getting a wonderful response from the hospital staff in our new sites. They are really excited by what we offer and are such a pleasure to work with. We're really pleased to be here in AZ, but we miss our friends at home : )

Our new logo!

Introducing the new "face" (or would that be flower) of First Day Photo. We've needed a redesign for sometime, and a great collaboration from some talented designers brought us this! Thank you so much Em and Erin... I love it, and so do our clients!

Happy Birthday Maddie!

Today was Maddie's first birthday! We took her photos in the hospital, and I took her 6 month photos, too. Today, I got to meet Maddie and her Mom and Dad and Grandma to take her 1 year photos. Here are a few cute ones: