Hogan Photography

I wanted to put a 'plug in' for my sister and her husband. They have been taking pictures for a while now, over a year, and have decided they want to start doing more of it, and on a more regular basis. So for the month of October they are doing a special..... $100 for family pictures, they have some great locations up big cottonwood canyon, by railroad tracks, or the location of your choice. This price will also include a CD with 20 - 30 of your pictures edited and ready to print. They use an on line photo processing company, and will process the pictures for you once you have seen them and decide on sizes......however, you have the rights to the photos on the CD, and can print the pictures yourself wherever you would like. This is an awesome deal! They take wonderful pictures, I think, and to have them on CD, edited, and ready for print is a bonus. So take advantage now.....you can contact Kristin at khogan321@yahoo.com or her cell # 801-599-1608 to set up an appointment. She is also in the process of setting up a blog at hoganphotography.blogspot.com. so that you can check out their photos.

18 Months Old

My baby is 18 months. Where did the time go? We went to the doctors for his 18 month check up and he is healthy and lookin good. The doctor said he acts like a normal 18 month old....in my words PSYCHO! He gibber jabbers, makes animal noises, throws HUGE tantrums, sings songs I don't understand, dances, and still pushes around his favorite stick. He is getting so big. This age is so much fun, yet so much work. I feel like there is never a dull moment in my life. He is constantly making us laugh and is eager to learn new things. He loves outside and throws a huge tantrum when we come back in, and his new favorite thing is Kurt's phone. If he sees the phone and doesn't get to play with it, it's a rolling on the ground tantrum, which then gets threatened with time out....and then we start all over again. He is an awesome sleeper at night and has been since three weeks old. He sleeps from about 7 p.m. to 8 a.m.....but nap time is a different story and we are working on staying asleep for longer in the day. He still loves his blanket and binki (need to get rid of that one soon) but calls both of them "mine!" He sounds like the birds on FINDING NEMO when they are all sitting on the dock yelling, "MINE, MINE, MINE!" Being a mom is the best and every day I'm reminded by my jabbering 18 month old. Here are the current stats from the doc....

Height: 32 in. (50%)
Weight 24.4 lb (30%)

Pictures....

Today we went up to the mountains with my sister's family and took some fun pictures. My sister should be a professional assistant for getting Ethan to smile. I've never heard someone yell, "PEEK!" so loud in my life. It was awesome echoing around the canyon and I'm sure some people in cars stopped to hear what the loud screaming was all about! (Love ya Kris). It was lots of fun and only a few tears from my sisters kids....only because they didn't want to touch each other! Gotta love that age! Here are a few that HOGAN PHOTOGRAPHY took for us.

Time Out

I think we've hit the terrible two's RIGHT NOW!! Ethan doesn't want to listen to anything we say. When we tell him NO he looks at us and does it again. The other day he kept turning off the TV so Kurt went up to slap his hand (because that's what we've been doing) and he stuck his out out for it to be slapped. At this point we figured he some what knows what he is doing so we decided we would try timeout. Well....this option just makes Kurt and I laugh and Ethan could care less. We put him against the wall and couch in our living room and then we leave the room. The other day when Kurt put him in time out all he kept doing was saying, "HI!" in the loudest whisper he could. He smiles, waves, and laughs...so how do we keep straight faces? Then he tries to see what we are doing so he sticks his head over the side. He gets in trouble again and is told to sit there. He thinks it's funny and that he's playing Peek A Boo. Honestly...how are you supposed to discipline an 18 month old! He's got us wrapped around his finger and makes us laugh, even when he's getting into trouble. Wish us luck in our endeavor to start getting him to understand time out.

A Day To Remember

I will never forget where I was on September 11, 2001. It was day that will always be ingrained in my mind. I was asleep in my college apartment when one of my roommates came running into my room yelling, "the World Trade Center has been hit by a plane." I got out of bed thinking, "what the heck is she talking about." She had the TV on in the living room and all three of us sat there and stared as the first tower was smoking and on fire. Just as we were watching in horror and disbelief the second plane crashed into the second building. I had so many emotions running through me and couldn't comprehend it all. I remember watching the reporters on the TV who were in a state of shock themselves, and then the building collapsed right behind the reporters and everyone started to run. They still held class that morning at the college and every one walked the halls so quiet and deep in thought. There were many who had family in NY and weren't able to reach them. Class got canceled that afternoon and I think everyone went home in a state of shock. To this day I still can't comprehend the tragedy that happened in NY that day. Through all of the horror of that day I believe it has pulled us together as a nation! I don't think we as a nation have ever been so PATRIOTIC or have been so UNITED as we have been after September 11, 2001.

Angie had President Bush's speech posted on her blog that he made on September 11th. I don't think any other words express it better. This will always be a day that will go down in American History!

"...These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation.
Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.

America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.

Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature, and we responded with the best of America, with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could..."

..."Tonight I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me."

This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time.

None of us will ever forget this day, yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.

Thank you. Good night and God bless America."

State Fair

Of course we had to hit the good old Utah State Fair this past week. My whole family met up and we had some good times. Of course we had to walk and see all the animals, ride the ponies, ride the rides, and then grab a bite to eat. I have to say that that place draws quite the people. I think I could go there and sit on a bench and watch everyone. People are plain old WEIRD. But hey...I enjoy the white trash at times and have to join in.

We put Ethan on a few rides. He loved the merry go round and the pony, however he wasn't too thrilled about these cars. We asked the lady if they were slow...she said, "yeah, pretty slow." So we stuck the little boys on it. Well it's like the scrambler at Lagoon when it rounds the corner...ok maybe not that bad, but when your 18 month doesn't quite get to "hold on," it's a little terrifying. Jack didn't know what to do when Ethan slammed into him and Ethan had the death grip on Jack's shirt. The ride finally ended when Ethan slipped under the seat belt and was hanging on by his head! It was a good laugh for us but I hope we didn't traumatize him!!

Ten and Five....

Ten Years Ago...
I was just starting my sophomore year of high school at good old West Jordan High. I was on Dance Company and dancing my booty off. I was so excited about the new friends I would make and couldn't wait for all the football games. There were no worries in life except what I wore to school, who the new cute boys were, and the new friends I had made.

Five Years Ago...
I had recently got back from BYU Hawaii. I attended a semester there with my cousin Jill and it was the best time ever! Hawaii is the best place to go to college. Who needs to go to class when you have the beach. After getting home I had just got a new job at Whitehouse & Company CPA's, where I was the secretary. I was scared and nervous about my new job and wanted to impress.

Five Months Ago...
We celebrated Ethan's big birthday! Went to Hawaii with my family and on the day coming home my sister-in-law Kellie went in to labor with her baby. Had Ethan's doctor appointment and he was back on the charts in weight! (Woo Hoo!)

My List of Five Things to do Tomorrow...
1. Paint mom and dad's doors.
2. Go to the mall
3. Clean House
4. Clean out Ethan's closet.
5. Do some scrapbooking

Five Bad Habits...
1. Worry WAY too much
2. Stealing the covers
3. Talking too much.
4. Biting my lip
5. If I get something on my mind I have to do it RIGHT THEN!

Five Places I've Lived...
1. West Jordan
2. Orem
3. Hawaii
4. West Jordan
5. West Jordan .... Wow I need to move out of West Jordan.

Five Things People Don't Know About Me...
1. I have an obsession of making stacks of things so it seems like it's clean
2. I like to make "To Do" lists and HAVE to get them checked off, or else I stress.
3. I went to three different colleges, and graduate with my associates in "Software Technology" Kind of makes me sounds like a computer geek!
4. I sing at the top of my lungs when I'm in the car by myself. I crank the music up so that I can't hear myself and pretend that I'm as good as whoever is singing.
5. I'm a lefty....and get irritated that everything is made for right handed people. In school no one ever teaches you how to do it left handed...so I putt and bat right handed. I hate notebooks and three ring binders because I can't write with the paper in them. Most of the time my hand has a big smear across the side of my hand from writing, but other then that I like being a South Paw.

Labor Day BBQ

For Labor Day we headed over to Russ & Lynette's for a family BBQ. We had the whole family there which is always so much fun. Get Kurt and his brothers together and it's trouble! The teasing, wrestling, and craziness doesn't stop. While we were there Kurt took Ethan on a four wheeler ride. I couldn't get him to look at me for pictures because he was so mesmerized by everything on the four wheeler. Kurt said the whole time he rode him down the street he just said "whoa!!" What is it with boys and toys!? It was fun BBQ and fun time to spend with family!