Food for Thought

As someone who is really, really independent, this quote speaks volumes:

Amanda & Brandon {maternity}

I love this couple - they are one of my favorites. We have done so many shoots together and this one has to be my favorite. One of my favorites from any shoot I have done.  Everything about the shoot was awesome....the lighting, they had their iPad with tons of Pinterest ideas. It was so great! I can't wait to meet their baby girl at the newborn shoot in August.

The Braces Adventure - post-op day 31

Not much to add this week, other than the oral surgeon and orthodontist are both really pleased with the progress.  Here is a video link:

 

http://youtu.be/9_A9IaVtruU

 

Erin & Kevin {engagement}

I am shooting this couple's wedding here in a few weeks, so we rushed out to grab some engagement photos for them. Apparently they had some done before and were really unimpressed with the previous photographer. So they decided to get more done. No harm there!

Pool Babe

We hosted two BBQ's this last weekend. The pool was out for both, and Kendall was alllll over that pool on Saturday.

Kody and Stephanie {wedding}

I shot this wedding two weeks ago - just a short and sweet ceremony at Kathryn Albertson Park. This couple was really fun, and their little guy was hilarious!

The Braces Adventure - Post-Op (almost) Four Weeks

So here I am, almost four weeks post-op. I am hating life and wondering WTF I have done to my mouth. The gums between my two front teeth are so, soooo sore. All day long. Ibuprofen doesn't even help, so I gave up on that.

 

I saw the oral surgeon again today and he said he is really pleased with my progress. The molars are moving out to where they need to be to correct the cross-bite on my left side. The gap has created plenty of room to bring down my one tooth, and to correct the midline. So in that respect, I am really happy about this. The physical limitations are killing me - the lisp, the liquid diet (though I have lost 20 lbs total so far), the annoying pain from the brackets being pushed into the insides of my cheeks, etc. The list really goes on. I find my energy level is really low - obviously, I'm not loading on calories and carbs anymore. I am exhausted in the evenings and wake up even more exhausted. It is a fine art of eating throughout the day so that I don't reach the level of HANGRY. But let me tell ya, soups are getting old.

 

I go back in to see the orthodontist tomorrow so he can see what we did to my face. He will let me know if I'm done expanding - the correct answer would be YES, YOU ARE DONE. I am thinking one more month and then the wires go on my teeth and we begin the real movement.

 

Here is a link to the most recent video I did:

 

http://youtu.be/f0YmjXXYKxU

Up In The Fresh Air

I decided to do a separate post about our trip to the mountains on Sunday. I wanted Brittney's post to be entirely about her. When Eric told me he wanted to take Brittney to the mountains to bury her, we decided to just make a day trip of it.  The second I stepped out of the car and smelled that mountain air, my entire day got better. There is not a scent on this earth that compares to fresh mountain air. It is one of the most peaceful things to me. We did quite a bit of fishing after we buried Brittney, further up on the north fork of the Boise River. Surprisingly, it wasn't running very high. There have been times that river has been so swollen and flood-ready that fishing wasn't even a possibility. But Sunday was perfect.  Kendall and I stayed at the river's edge in our chairs, watching the boys fish. It was a very relaxing afternoon.

The Braces Adventure - 18 days post-op

So here we are, 18 days post-op. I went in to see the oral surgeon again yesterday. He was really pleased with the progress; said everything looked perfect and right where he wanted it to be. The top jaw on the right side of my mouth is now into a cross-bite position, which is what they want for corrective purposes. The left side has not moved into that cross-bite position yet, but we are giving it one more week to see what it does.

 

I really have mixed feelings about this entire process right now. Part of me is keeping my eyes on the goal. The other part is wondering what the hell I got into and if it was even remotely the right thing to do. I think the combination of the lack of eating, the being uncomfortable 24 hours a day, and the difficulty speaking is really wearing on me. I know the hardest part is over - I get that. But I feel like I'm hiding my mouth more now than I ever did before this entire thing began. And I literally explain to every person that I just had surgery, just so they don't see my mouth and think "good lord, what is going on with that girl?" So that aspect really has me more self-conscious than I ever was. And I know it's just a short-term thing. The gap, from what I am told, will actually close really fast. I'm happy about that. I really am an impatient person, so every day that goes by is just dragging. I really didn't want to expand for another week - which is what my instructions were yesterday - so I'm rather annoyed by that. I feel like I can't possibly expand any further.

 

There is still zero pain associated with the expanding.  I still have quite a bit of numbness all along my top gums - I don't know how long that will last.  I feel like the swelling is pretty much gone. I still notice it in the mornings and will occassionally pop an Ibuprofen if it gets to be too much, or if my mouth is super uncomfortable.

 

Here is a link to the video I did for this week:

 

http://youtu.be/wIfkUNaHXjk

 

R.I.P. Brittney

Today was a tough day at our house. I took the kids out to play mid-morning and noticed right away that something was wrong. Kya was lying next to Brittney - something that she never does. She's usually up and greeting us the second we walk out the door. I went over to the dogs and noticed that Brittney was laying at a strange angle. I sat down with her and realized she was having a really hard time breathing. I knew I had to get Eric home from work as soon as possible. I called the front desk and had them page Eric. I told him something was wrong with Brittney and I didn't know if he wanted me to take her to the vet, if he wanted to come home, etc. He told me he was coming right home. I sat back down with Brittney and told her that she needed to wait for her dad, and started bawling. I'm not sure why I got so emotional - she wasn't my favorite dog ever, I didn't have her from a puppy, and she never once listened to me. Except when I asked her to wait for Eric. She did. He got home and sat down with her and told her to go to sleep. She fought it for a little while, but eventually passed away. Eric really wanted to take her to the mountains and bury her near where we camp. So we made a day trip of it, packed up some food and the kids, and headed to the mountains. We found a great spot up Rabbit Creek road, near First Creek, and put her in her final resting place. I didn't expect to be hit so hard by this, but she really was a good dog. I will miss her.

 

Date of Birth:  8-17-2002

Date of Death: 6-9-2013

 

 

Brittney had a lover named Hurley. They apparently had a wild night and 10 puppies later, Brittney was a mom!

 10 puppies - can you imagine?

 

Brittney was Eric's loyal companion, friend, and adventure seeker. She was always by his side while he was fishing and camping.

 

 

 

Even though she was a turd camping sometimes - getting into it with a skunk and forcing us to vacate camp in the wee hours of the morning.

 

 

Fishing at Lake Lowell

 

 

At the swimming hole at the cabin.

 

 

 

 

She sure was great to my kids - always so protective.

 

 

Just last weekend.

 

 

Her final resting place in the mountains - with a neat stone marker and some flowers that we transplanted for her.

 

 

Rest in peace, puppy dog. We sure will miss you.