Bubbles

Little girls, lots of bubbles wands, and a half a gallon of bubbles.

A Perfect Afternoon!

Lily looks like she's directing airplanes for landing with a bubble wand

in each hand. That's my girl.

The Rusty Gloves

I stepped out of my comfort zone a little and signed up to play softball this spring. Me & team sports aren't usually a good mix, but the team is called "The Rusty Gloves" so I thought I'd take a chance. I'm not quite terrible, but I do okay considering my experience level (which is barely on the register...).

I have had so much fun!

A few of my good friends are on the team, and it has been great. Maybe I just like getting out of the house without children. Hmmm.

Last night was a fun game. We did end up losing, but just barley. It was tied, but then they scored a run and technically won (aren't we all winners for giving it our best shot?). On one of my turns up to bat, I nicked the ball and it went flying straight up. The catcher was lining up to catch it, and I had a strong sudden urge to go into a "sneezing fit" right as she was about to catch it, in hopes that she would drop it and I wouldn't be out.

But dignity prevailed and I didn't even push her out of the way.

My mom would have been so proud.

A Few Spring Pictures Of My Own

I took pictures of other people's children, and they turn out great!

I pull out the camera for my own kids, and this is what I get...

This was the best we got, and we had to work for it! That little Megan can be such a stinker! I wonder where she gets that from...

Hit The Ground Running

Since I bought my camera, I think I've been taking pictures nonstop. The tulips were just begging me to take Spring Pictures.... of EVERYONE!!! I found the perfect location for pictures at the temple, and went a little crazy with a couple of my friend's kids.

Then, I cornered my family....

..and Tim's family...

Boy, I think I'm getting my money's worth out of my camera!!!

I am having WAY TOO MUCH FUN!

So I decided to make my own photography blog.

Come check me out at

www.shotbyceleste.blogspot.com

You can give me some constructive criticism. (Yes, I acknowledge that I am Completely Amateur! But after about 1000 pictures, I think I'm getting better!)

Okay, this one was obviously NOT "Shot by Celeste," but I muted the colors.

It was shot by my sister, so now I actually have a photo of me!

Shot By Celeste

I got a new fancy-schmancy camera.

YAY!!!!

This is technically my birthday present (two months early), but it was on a good sale, and I want to take Spring Pictures of my kids!! I cashed in my Sears Mastercard points, and got a GREAT deal. I'm so excited! My sister-in-law, Heidi gave me some pointers, and now I'm on the loose. Thanks Heidi!

I couldn't have my first photo shoot be the Spring Pictures, so I found two willing subjects.

Meet my brother and mother's dogs

Cow & Watson.

Cow. This is my favorite picture. He is such a cute little dog!

He was being so cooperative. It was great!

This is Watson. He was a little more camera shy than Cow,

but still a great model.

He defines the term "Puppy Eyes."

Okay, so I took a ton of pictures!

Here are some cute ones of my favorite little people.

Megan Baby. I just love this little girl!

Lily. My Beautiful Princess!

I love that I caught her natural laugh! I love that!

I am so excited that I am learning how to make the photo subject sharp and clear, and the background blurry. OOOhh!

Alec was having a lot of fun jumping on the trampoline. He is such a funny boy!

My sister-in-law, Heidi, calls her photography "Drake Photography" and has her logo all beautiful and professional. So I thought, hmm. What do I call my completely amateur but fun loving photos?

Try these out...

What do you think? Notice that I'm learning how to make my logos have a clear background?? So Cool! All these new skills I'm getting.

I think I'm leaning towards "Shot By Celeste"

but maybe I'll revamp the look...

Totally WICKED!!!

I have been changed for Wicked!

What a fantastic play!  Tim & I along with my parents went to see Wicked last weekend.  I loved it!  For those who may not know, it's the story behind the Wicked Witch of the East & West, and the Good Witch, Glinda.  It's very interesting.  Elphaba had such an amazing voice!  I have a confession.  I read the book, "Wicked" by Gregory Macguire, last year, because I'd been planning on seeing the play.  The book really is wicked!  It had enough that I was stupid and kept reading it to see how the witches came to be, but it had a lot of bad parts!! (I skim read- really!)  Truthfully, I would not recommend the book to anyone.  I would advise against it.  But the PLAY, Oh Yeah!  It was the nice PG version of the book, with a few embelishments.  Loved it- not quite enough to buy the Logo T-shirt or umbrella, but close.

Alec & Dawson Save The Day

Words that a mother loves to hear:
"Mom, there's water coming in the window and down the wall!"

This was our scene yesterday when our secondary water turned on and a pipe burst on the side of our house. Alec & his friend, Dawson, were the first to notice that water was pouring in the window well and running down the wall to the floor. Great. Tim's at work and I didn't know how to shut off the gushing water. I frantically call him, and finally get the water stopped, but the window well keeps filling up & everything is running to my basement floor. My mom just happens to come over right then, and runs home to get her shop vac. I grab mine, and together we pull out about 80 gallons of water. Fun times.
When I finally get back inside to survey the damage, I see that Alec & Dawson have grabbed all our beach towels and were trying to sop up the water on the floor.

Dawson: My dad's a firefighter. Water is his friend.

Me: Thanks Dawson.

So what do I give such great boys for saving our basement? Flarp Putty. Yep, the putty that makes great farting noises when you push it in the plastic container. They thought it was perfect!

Now, our basement is all in disarray- the couch is pulled out, the eliptical machine is in the middle of the room, the bookcase is emptied and moved out, the carpet is pulled up and fans are drying it. Lily says to me, "Wow, this looks nice!"

Right Ho, Jeeves

My sister, Chantelle, recommended to me the book "Right Ho, Jeeves" by P.G. Wodehouse. Classic British humor. Loved it!! Any main character with a name of Bertram Wooster who signs off his telegraphs with a "Cheerio," "Toodle-oo," or a "Tinkerty-tonk" had my complete adoration! It had many great conversations.

'I've been through hell, Bertie.'

'Through where?'

'Hell.'

'Oh, hell. What took you there?'

I think he's great! It was a fun and unconventional read.

Not Her Number One Fan

I like American Idol. But.

I think it is sheer torture anytime Megan Joy takes the stage.

I really hate her with a vengance!

I think she is absolutely a train wreck.

The only thing worse for me would be an

encore performace by Anoop singing "My Perogative."

Uhh. I couldn't take it.

I just may have to give up AI if it continues. I honestly couldn't even pay attention to the theatre boy, Adam's singing because of his wacked out normal appearance. I had to have Tim rewind and play it again so I could get over my shock of his appearance. I should just stick to books.

It Must Be Spring!

FINALLY!!! Being outside feels so nice!

This was our Family Home Evening on Monday:

This is our favorite spring FHE. Flying kites & playing at the park!

Megan loves the park! I think she loves being with her crazy brother & sister the best, though!

Yep, spring is in the air. Alec is getting sillier & sillier.

Celebrity Photo Shoot

On Wednesday, my ward had a "Mad Hatter Birthtea Party" and everyone was invited to wear their hats. It was so great!! I had a lot of fun! We also had Brooke Walker from Studio 5 on KSL come speak to us. She was very fun and motivating, too. So here's the girls from my ward with Brooke in the middle.

I love these ladies! It has been such fun to get to know them. They continually make me laugh and feel better about myself as a stay at home mom. Thanks for being my friends!

-Oh, and my Aretha Franklin hat got rave reviews. Uh huh.

Toys for Moms...

We've upgraded the laundry room.

We found a great deal, and got a new washer & dryer!

Tim's sister, Tamara came over the other day, and Tim says to me,

"Did you show her your new toys?"

I thought that was funny. But how come my new "toys"

still feel like work to me?

No, Virginia, Santa will not be bringing you a Tattoo Barbie

Speaking of the NBA and their quirky sense of style, here's the newest Barbie released. Butterfly "Tattoo Barbie."

That's right. Barbie is helping to make this more socially acceptable, because it's plain to see that we need more tattoos.

I found this article written by Bill Haltom in 2001.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. But he's not going to be bringing you a Tattoo Barbie for Christmas.

I'm the proud father of a beautiful six-year-old girl, Her Royal Highness, the Princess. The Princess has one of the world's largest collections of Barbie dolls. She is the proud owner of Ballerina Barbie, Prom Queen Barbie, Cheerleader Barbie, Beauty Queen Barbie, Astrophysics Professor Barbie, Neurosurgeon Barbie, Veterinarian Barbie, Attorney General Barbie, and Proctologist Barbie. Each of her Barbies lives in a bookcase in the Princess' bedroom. They are all stacked (so to speak) along the bookcase, side-by-side, and they are absolutely naked. You read that right. Naked as a Jaybird Barbie.

Since I am a daddy, and life-long member of the male gender, I have never been a little girl. A very long time ago, I was once a little boy, but I didn't own any Barbie dolls. I didn't even own a Ken doll. But having observed the Princess and other little girls playing with Barbie dolls over the years, I can tell you that if you give a little girl a Barbie doll, within minutes the little girl will take off all of Barbie's clothes. Each Barbie comes with a very expensive wardrobe. After all, if you are a 10 inch tall plastic woman with the scale equivalent of a 40 inch bust and a 20 inch waist, you need your own special wardrobe. But despite the fact that your typical Barbie has more clothes than Nancy Reagan and Imelda Marcos combined, little girls quickly remove Barbie's clothes and leave Barbie buck nekkid, as we say in the South.

Each and every Barbie on the Princess' bookshelf is wearing nothing but a smile and her birthday suit. It's a regular Barbie nudist camp. No wonder Ken is always smiling.

But recently, newspapers across the country ran stories indicating that even Nekkid Barbie would soon be wearing something other than a smile. The newest Barbie would be wearing (are you ready for this?) … a tattoo! News reports last week indicated that the Mattel Toy Company, the manufacturer of Barbie, had designed the newest Barbie, Tattoo Barbie. This lovely new Barbie featured a tattooed dragon running down her back.

When I first heard the news about Tattoo Barbie, I was absolutely devastated. You see, I'm an old-fashioned daddy, and I just can't get used to a world in which women wear tattoos and men wear earrings. When I first heard the news about Tattoo Barbie, I was very concerned that in a couple of weeks I would take the Princess to the fake North Pole in a suburban shopping mall. There she would climb up on Santa's lap, tell him that she had been such a good little girl this year, and ask him to bring her a Tattoo Barbie for Christmas.

Well, fellow old-fashioned daddies, fear not! I bring you good tidings of great joy! Santa will not be bringing Tattoo Barbie down the chimney this year for my princess, your princess, or any little girl in America. Neither the Mattel Company nor Santa's elves have any plans whatsoever to produce Tattoo Barbie.

In fact, according to my research, there is apparently only one Tattoo Barbie in the entire world. She lives in Hong Kong, where she was invented by a design student at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University who was assigned to come up with a "new look for Barbie." While the design for Tattoo Barbie was submitted to Mattel, the toy manufacturer decided not to manufacture this "new look Barbie." Well, that's a relief. If Christmas 2001 brought us Tattoo Barbie, what could Christmas 2002 bring? Tongue-Ring Barbie? Safety-Pin-Eyelid Barbie? Reduced Mammaries Barbie? Why it's enough to wipe the smile off Ken's plastic face.

Well here's a quick letter from Daddy to Santa:

Dear Santa, My Princess has been a very good girl this year. On Christmas eve, please bring her Dermatologist Barbie, a beautiful new Barbie featuring clean, unmarked skin. And don't bother with the wardrobe. See you Christmas eve!

Your financier, the Princess' Daddy.

Previous columns from Bill Haltom are also available on TBALink. Go there now.

I have to agree with Bill. No, Virginia, Santa will not be bringing you a Tattoo Barbie.

Punky Brewster NBA Fashion

Tim & I went to a Jazz Basketball game last week for his birthday. It was great, they totally smashed Atlanta, it was just a fun time. I couldn't help but wonder at some of the players' sense of fashion, though. I know, I know, they are braces and such, but come on!! I think I figured out who has inspired them to do the things they do.

Yes, Punky Brewster.

You have to love her as a kid, but in the NBA, I'm not so sure.

I guess if you are getting paid millions of dollars to do something you love, you can wear whatever you want...