Well, I guess I should update the Idaho O'Barr's Master plans, which have finalized since my last "Master plans," post. So here's the skinny we have decided to attend the University of Idaho's school of Law. Johnny will graduate July 23rd, we'll visit AK for 2.5 weeks, and then we'll fly back to lovely Rexburg and move on up to Moscow, Idaho the weekend of Aug 14th. All first year law students have to attend a mandatory orientation on Aug. 18th. So exciting and stressful, everything is either maddening or incredibly hilarious! But what are you going to do . . . just keep swimming . . . just keep swimming . . . (that one's for you Star!!).
Another FYI I've decided to combine my photography and family blog. As head logistics manager of the O'Barr family and of Heidi Sue Photography I've made the executive decision to streamline all blog posting under Heidi Sue Photography in order to maximize productive posting time. This blog will remain up but please direct yourselves to the Heidi Sue Photography blog for further posting.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Catching up . . .been a long time . . . . Cupcakes anyone?
It's been so long since I've posted. Sometimes I go through these excessively long email and Internet fasts . . . I do the bear minimum and I find that it is very therapeutic, most of the time. It usually coincides with our really busy family schedule. This last time seemed a little excessive . . . it's gotten to the point that I've almost forgotten how to do this and how much I enjoy doing it frankly. Then I feel guilty because I find myself trying to avoid it because it's embarrassing trying to re-remember how to use the computer. I don't have a natural talent for technology and having that thrown in my face because of my own choices is a level of self-awareness I'd rather avoid. AND I hate when I start to evade tasks, people, or otherwise; It's soul-sucking. So here I am trying to drown-out the soul-sucking tendency of my weak self. Doing things that stroke your ego is more fun than facing personal weakness.
Speaking of weakness I've been making a lot of cupcakes lately, another Achilles heel of mine but this one is at least sharable. Enjoy the eye-candy!
I posted this exact same post on my photography blog because heaven forbid I stretch myself twice in one post . . . baby steps . . . baby steps . . . :) I will give myself a mental pat on the back because I have re-visited several blogging techniches that took a huge effort to remember.
Gunner is asking if there is a birthday party because he sees the cupcakes on my blog post. Whenever I make cupcakes we end up talking about birthday parties, totally appropriate subject matter for my 3 yr old son when cupcakesa are in our house. The cutest thing EVER is when we have to return something or it's a hot day and I get out the otter pops and Gunner asks "Is it my Birthday?!" or "Is this a present?" My friend Natalie came over and she left her flip-flops. The next day I asked Gunner if he wanted to go on a walk with me to give Natalie back her shoes and he said "Is this a present?" with his eyes glowing because he LOVES Natalie AND presents. I said "Yes, lets go give Natalie a present!" My son has the right idea. It makes me so happy to think of presents maybe everything should be a present, why not?!
Speaking of weakness I've been making a lot of cupcakes lately, another Achilles heel of mine but this one is at least sharable. Enjoy the eye-candy!
I posted this exact same post on my photography blog because heaven forbid I stretch myself twice in one post . . . baby steps . . . baby steps . . . :) I will give myself a mental pat on the back because I have re-visited several blogging techniches that took a huge effort to remember.
Gunner is asking if there is a birthday party because he sees the cupcakes on my blog post. Whenever I make cupcakes we end up talking about birthday parties, totally appropriate subject matter for my 3 yr old son when cupcakesa are in our house. The cutest thing EVER is when we have to return something or it's a hot day and I get out the otter pops and Gunner asks "Is it my Birthday?!" or "Is this a present?" My friend Natalie came over and she left her flip-flops. The next day I asked Gunner if he wanted to go on a walk with me to give Natalie back her shoes and he said "Is this a present?" with his eyes glowing because he LOVES Natalie AND presents. I said "Yes, lets go give Natalie a present!" My son has the right idea. It makes me so happy to think of presents maybe everything should be a present, why not?!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Our Master Plans . . . Thanks to Johnny :)
Johnny will be graduating with honors this July, YEAHHH!!! We are so proud of all Johnny's hard work and excellence. One thing that never fails to impress me about Johnny is that he always gives 100% to whatever goal he seeks to accomplish, graduating with honors is no exception. Johnny will receive a BS in communications with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Political Science. Johnny completed 58 credits last year - an average college student completes 30 credits a year, so basically Johnny did two years worth of credits in ONE year and was awarded 3 scholarships from the Communication department and 2 merit based scholarships BYU-I, that's 5 scholarships total. He was approached to be the Vice President of Communications Day and also the director for the BYU-I Film Festival Summer 2008, both events were well attended and impressive. He has recently been selected to be THE student mentor for the Communications department, along with the Business dept., the Communications dept. has the largest number of degree seeking students at BYU-I.
Our family has been so blessed this last year, we sacrificed a lot to attend BYU-I and we know that the Lord has a plan for us. I am particularly grateful for the passion and commitment that Johnny has evidenced during his collegiate attendance and I am grateful that he did not take the Lord's blessings or our family's sacrifices lightly. Johnny I am so impressed with you, you are my everything and my life.
We are excited to announce that we are in the process of selecting a Law school to attend this Fall 2009. Johnny graduates July 24th, we'll fly to Ak to visit Family for about 2 weeks, then we will fly back to Idaho, pack up our family and move to where we feel the Lord wants our family to be during Johnny's Law school attendance. We haven't heard back from all the schools yet, we should have a better idea of our choices by the end of April, beginning of May -most likely it will be one of the following;
1. University of Oregon
2. University of Idaho
3. Texas Tech
OR Utah . . . we'll see and we'll try and to keep you updated. A common question Johnny gets is what kind of Law is he interested in; he's narrowed it down to Patent Law and International Business Law. So that's the skinny on the O'Barr Family's MASTER PLANS 2009. . .
Our family has been so blessed this last year, we sacrificed a lot to attend BYU-I and we know that the Lord has a plan for us. I am particularly grateful for the passion and commitment that Johnny has evidenced during his collegiate attendance and I am grateful that he did not take the Lord's blessings or our family's sacrifices lightly. Johnny I am so impressed with you, you are my everything and my life.
We are excited to announce that we are in the process of selecting a Law school to attend this Fall 2009. Johnny graduates July 24th, we'll fly to Ak to visit Family for about 2 weeks, then we will fly back to Idaho, pack up our family and move to where we feel the Lord wants our family to be during Johnny's Law school attendance. We haven't heard back from all the schools yet, we should have a better idea of our choices by the end of April, beginning of May -most likely it will be one of the following;
1. University of Oregon
2. University of Idaho
3. Texas Tech
OR Utah . . . we'll see and we'll try and to keep you updated. A common question Johnny gets is what kind of Law is he interested in; he's narrowed it down to Patent Law and International Business Law. So that's the skinny on the O'Barr Family's MASTER PLANS 2009. . .
Monday, April 6, 2009
been a long time . . . Gunner's Birthday
Well it's been so busy lately with Law school applications, family, work, photography, and taxes that blogging just hasn't been a priority. But I figured I should put up Gunner's B-day party adventure because everyone keeps asking about it so here it is.
For Gunner's Birtday party we scheduled a field trip to our local fire department. Gunner loved it!! 2,3, and 4 year olds can be a little young and shy for a fire dept adventure. But Gunner did great, he wasn't shy at ALL and all his little friends were right along with him. All the kids got to sit in the fire truck, the fireman giving us the tour turned the fire truck lights on and talked to the kids about safety, etc . . . Then the fireman (I can't remember his name right now) put all his gear on and let the kids see what he would looked like when he was coming to help them; he said it was really important that if they saw someone like him that they needed to come to him so he could help.
Jack didn't like the fireman gear . . .
For Gunner's Birtday party we scheduled a field trip to our local fire department. Gunner loved it!! 2,3, and 4 year olds can be a little young and shy for a fire dept adventure. But Gunner did great, he wasn't shy at ALL and all his little friends were right along with him. All the kids got to sit in the fire truck, the fireman giving us the tour turned the fire truck lights on and talked to the kids about safety, etc . . . Then the fireman (I can't remember his name right now) put all his gear on and let the kids see what he would looked like when he was coming to help them; he said it was really important that if they saw someone like him that they needed to come to him so he could help.
Jack didn't like the fireman gear . . .
Friday, January 23, 2009
more . . . . SOON!
One of the strengths of BYU-I collage wards is that most people are all in similar situations: young families, balancing school and home life, new moms and babies, so it's really easy to share ideas that are working for you, your family and get ideas and feed back from others.
I've had a great time discussing personal goals with good friends AND I've gotten some great ideas and inspiration back. So I'd like to share a few:
One of my new years resolutions was to incorporate more healthy meal planning into our busy schedule. More specifically - I was (and am) interested in acquainting my cooking skills with a wider variety of grains and nutrient dense foods that are kid friendly. Gunner's always been a little bit of a picky eater and that can be a struggle. But we taught him early on that he needs to take a bite or two. It's been successful for the most part. And with the new things I've been trying, hopefully we can tease him out of his pancake, yogurt, and corn dog preferences permanently . . . we'll see; I can dream can't I?!
When I was in nursing school one of the classes I had to take was a nutrition course - part of our final project included doing a self evaluation of our eating habits and caloric intake. I REALLY enjoyed it! It was like a strategy game: planning how to spend your calories, getting your veggies and essential vitamins in for the day, etc. . . . My dad was so proud!
Anyways, One of my good friends is an avid calorie counter; well, we got to talking and I was thinking about my nutrition class and I decided that I wanted to count veggies and calories again. It's been really fun! I've found some great recipes and I feel like I'm helping my kids appreciate healthy foods and a wider variety. AND I feel a lot better, more energy, my skin is clearer, I feel full after I eat and I sleep better. So here are a few of my finds from friends and from my own research.
1. I'm in LOVE with Quinoa (I'm pretty sure that you say it keen-wha) - it's a pseudo cereal grown in South America. You cook it just like rice and it is considered a complete protein because of the many amino acids it contains. In an article I read, quinoa was listed as one of the ten perfect foods.
2. I've tried several whole wheat bread recipes and my cousin's (Trachelle) has been the winner so far. If you click on the link to high heels and a sippy cup at the right you'll find it. I think it's a winner!
3. I've perfected a whole wheat, oatmeal, walnut (or pecans), carob-chip cookie that my boys adore and each 2"-2.5" cookie is 110 calories (98 without the walnuts). I use real vanilla and I think I'm in chewy-carob heaven when I eat them! I will dedicate my next post to this recipe!
4. Sweet potatoes - Johnny doesn't seem to develop a reaction to these (he's allergic to potatoes). They were also mentioned as a perfect food due to the high amount of beta carotene they contain.
Anyways, I've really enjoyed myself! I love reading about people's goals and New Years resolutions. I enjoy goal-oriented activities. So I hope that this can be encouraging, like yours have been for me. AND I hope that in spite of discouragement or unkindness (either from others or your own moments of self-doubt) that your New Year's resolutions are going well!
I've had a great time discussing personal goals with good friends AND I've gotten some great ideas and inspiration back. So I'd like to share a few:
One of my new years resolutions was to incorporate more healthy meal planning into our busy schedule. More specifically - I was (and am) interested in acquainting my cooking skills with a wider variety of grains and nutrient dense foods that are kid friendly. Gunner's always been a little bit of a picky eater and that can be a struggle. But we taught him early on that he needs to take a bite or two. It's been successful for the most part. And with the new things I've been trying, hopefully we can tease him out of his pancake, yogurt, and corn dog preferences permanently . . . we'll see; I can dream can't I?!
When I was in nursing school one of the classes I had to take was a nutrition course - part of our final project included doing a self evaluation of our eating habits and caloric intake. I REALLY enjoyed it! It was like a strategy game: planning how to spend your calories, getting your veggies and essential vitamins in for the day, etc. . . . My dad was so proud!
Anyways, One of my good friends is an avid calorie counter; well, we got to talking and I was thinking about my nutrition class and I decided that I wanted to count veggies and calories again. It's been really fun! I've found some great recipes and I feel like I'm helping my kids appreciate healthy foods and a wider variety. AND I feel a lot better, more energy, my skin is clearer, I feel full after I eat and I sleep better. So here are a few of my finds from friends and from my own research.
1. I'm in LOVE with Quinoa (I'm pretty sure that you say it keen-wha) - it's a pseudo cereal grown in South America. You cook it just like rice and it is considered a complete protein because of the many amino acids it contains. In an article I read, quinoa was listed as one of the ten perfect foods.
2. I've tried several whole wheat bread recipes and my cousin's (Trachelle) has been the winner so far. If you click on the link to high heels and a sippy cup at the right you'll find it. I think it's a winner!
3. I've perfected a whole wheat, oatmeal, walnut (or pecans), carob-chip cookie that my boys adore and each 2"-2.5" cookie is 110 calories (98 without the walnuts). I use real vanilla and I think I'm in chewy-carob heaven when I eat them! I will dedicate my next post to this recipe!
4. Sweet potatoes - Johnny doesn't seem to develop a reaction to these (he's allergic to potatoes). They were also mentioned as a perfect food due to the high amount of beta carotene they contain.
Anyways, I've really enjoyed myself! I love reading about people's goals and New Years resolutions. I enjoy goal-oriented activities. So I hope that this can be encouraging, like yours have been for me. AND I hope that in spite of discouragement or unkindness (either from others or your own moments of self-doubt) that your New Year's resolutions are going well!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Share . . . Your Worst Fear
So, Almost every Sunday, our new RS President asks us to stand up, give our name, which apt number we live in and then she asks us to share a piece of personal information; like favorite dessert, something interesting etc . . . Of course this isn't the typical pattern of most RS, but so far @ BYU-I, it's pretty standard - what with all the moving people do - it's a way to get to know each other and fellowship in the short time we have together. SO this last Sunday, she asked us to share our worst fear ie something we're afraid of or dread.
Well, I was sitting next to my friends Star and Nikki and I leaned over to Star and said "Getting FAT!" we laughed. Nikki, gave me wide eyes and mouthed "getting Fat?" I nodded and she whispered "I know!"
Then when it was Star's turn to stand and share - she had to share before me - I whispered up to her "Getting FAT!" Egging her on, willing her with my huge grin to share this WHOLE RELIEF SOCIETY'S real FEAR. That of not being able to handle that unspoken standard we all hold each other up too after each child we bear. If you know not of what I speak, I'm sure you'll figure it out.
Needless to say, none of us shared the "getting FAT," fear. Though I was tempted, just for fun; but my personal vanity won out in the end - appearing shallow is just not an impressive way to make friends or to appear 'friendship worthy.'
Star's my swimming partner; we swap healthy recipes AND we are friends that, occasionally, discuss our pre-pregnancy wt's and our wt when we got married, which is a very catch 22 topic for me I don't think "weight goals," are a very sturdy foundation for budding relationships or ANY relationship, really. It's personal, frankly, like talking about money or budgets - you gotta be blood brothers or something.
Anyways, I've been really excited about the info we've exchanged and other stuff I've found in my research - I plan to share more . . . . SOON!
PS I know you are all wondering . . . or at least it makes me feel good about myself to think that you are ;)
Well, I was sitting next to my friends Star and Nikki and I leaned over to Star and said "Getting FAT!" we laughed. Nikki, gave me wide eyes and mouthed "getting Fat?" I nodded and she whispered "I know!"
Then when it was Star's turn to stand and share - she had to share before me - I whispered up to her "Getting FAT!" Egging her on, willing her with my huge grin to share this WHOLE RELIEF SOCIETY'S real FEAR. That of not being able to handle that unspoken standard we all hold each other up too after each child we bear. If you know not of what I speak, I'm sure you'll figure it out.
Needless to say, none of us shared the "getting FAT," fear. Though I was tempted, just for fun; but my personal vanity won out in the end - appearing shallow is just not an impressive way to make friends or to appear 'friendship worthy.'
Star's my swimming partner; we swap healthy recipes AND we are friends that, occasionally, discuss our pre-pregnancy wt's and our wt when we got married, which is a very catch 22 topic for me I don't think "weight goals," are a very sturdy foundation for budding relationships or ANY relationship, really. It's personal, frankly, like talking about money or budgets - you gotta be blood brothers or something.
Anyways, I've been really excited about the info we've exchanged and other stuff I've found in my research - I plan to share more . . . . SOON!
PS I know you are all wondering . . . or at least it makes me feel good about myself to think that you are ;)
Monday, December 8, 2008
First Day of Snow
Today was our first day of snow - I'm tore between excitement and depression - so I took Gunner out to play with some friends. Gunner made his first snowman, he was so excited!! he made snow angels with Brooklyn, Talon, and Kaden. They were playing so well together. Now Gunner's asleep (and so is Jack), they got all their energy out and now I hope they will recuperate for a long time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
