The Horn's

The Horn Family in 6 Months!

2011-04-04T00:19:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, Don's Grandma Krafft calls me asking why she can't get to anything recent on my blog. It took me a minute to figure out what she meant, and then it dawned on me... I haven't updated my blog since September 10th, 2010! That would be why she couldn't get to anything recent on my blog! Well, I have a few moments to spare, Jackson is in bed and I have tomorrow off, which means I can stay up a little later! Yay!

So what have we been up to for the past year? Hmmmm... Mostly enjoying every minute with our wonderful son, who is the light and joy of our world. I feel so lucky each day to be blessed with him in our home. I love that little man!

October came and went. We went to the Pumpkin Patch. Jackson and I rode a little train...

Jackson got a few pictures with the pumpkins, which he was not a fan of. I was afraid of pineapples when I was a kid, I guess Jackson's Kryptonite is Pumpkins!

Don tried getting him to touch the pumpkins to show him they were ok. He was not having any of that!

Of course it was Jackson's first Halloween. We were quite the mismatched family. I was Cruella DeVille, Don was Waldo and Jackson was a monkey.

Then Thanksgiving rolled around... We went to see my parents in Tucson, AZ. Jackson had his first jam session with Grandma and Grandpa Hardy.

Then after everyone left. My brother Joe discovered a scorpion in the gravy. Needless to say, we lost our appetite on Thanksgiving! To this day, it still gives me shivers!

The next day, we went to the Tucson Mall and went shopping on Black Friday. While we were there, Jackson and my friend Heather's son Jaxon got their picture with Santa. Please excuse the photo, it was taken with my phone and it did some weird color thing on it! Everyone is super red in it! Or maybe I was being artistic and making it red??? Ok, I'm not even buying that!

We did some photos of Jackson

In December, we went to Santa's Village in Poway. Jackson had fun looking at all the fun decorations, lights and even seeing Santa!

During December, I met up with my sister Marza at the outlet center, Viejas in Alpine. We stepped into a toy store and my nephew Craig found this skunk that made farting noises. I thought Jackson was going to die from laughing so hard. Then at the very end of the video, Jackson got scared and started crying. Talk about extreme emotions!

Christmas Eve rolled around... We went to my Father In Law, Don's house. "Santa" even stopped by to see us!

You are never to young to sit on Santa's lap! Or at least my Dad isn't!

And the much anticipated, Christmas morning at our house!

Christmas at the Carbajal's house

Christmas at the Rowland's house

Playing with Grauntie Kris and 2nd Cousin Kelly

Then Don and I had an adventure on New Year's Eve. We came home and our garage door fell apart when we tried to close it. We called a company to take care of it the next day, but we had to leave our garage door over night like this. At the time, I had my friend Tom staying with us and when he came home that night, he thought someone robbed and kidnapped us. Thankfully, that was not the case!

On January 12th, 2011, we went to Fuddruckers and celebrated Jackson's 1st birthday. They had a fun blue grass band playing that night and everyone was dancing and having a great time. I LOVED the music, such talented musicians. Jackson and I both got out there and got our dance on, ok... I mean I held him and we danced. :o) Still fun none the less.

Then on January 15th, 2011, we celebrated Jackson's 1st birthday with the whole family. We managed to fit everyone in our town home. We were a bit worried, but it worked out great. We used our backyard and garage, which helped with extra room for chairs and tables.

Playing a little Dance Central in the garage

Opening presents

Grandpa Horn gave Jackson his own little recliner. He's like a little old man sitting in it. He just needs a remote control to go with it! Ha!

Jackson is very suspicious of anything going in his mouth. Of course he was lovin' it once he got a taste of the frosting.

Jackson's one year pictures. What a little stud!

On January 20th, 2011 our water heater sprung a leak and flooded our downstairs. I had a lot of mixed feelings on this. I first felt devastated. A few years ago, we remodeled our down stairs. With the help of friends and family, we did all the work ourselves. It was hard seeing all that hard work ripped up and torn out. Here are some pictures after they ripped everything out excluding the walls. At this point, the restoration company had ripped out some of the walls and put new sheet rock back in.

It was a long process, probably a few months and during that time we were with out a kitchen and at one point living in a hotel. I realized how important stability and a routine was for little kids. Jackson sure felt the change and was a bit irritable over it. It was a tough few months, but we got through it. Here is the outcome. These were quickly taken on my phone. I'll have to take some better pictures soon.

When we moved everything back in our house, we noticed our laundry room cabinets were warped. Originally, they said the cabinets were fine and they didn't need to be replaced. Well, a few months later, that is not the case. So our insurance adjuster is cutting us a check to get those replaced. Yay!!! Once those are in, I'll post some pictures of our laundry room. In the end, everything looked great, but those two months were not the most fun for us. :o) Coincidentally, my Mother In Law had her bathroom pipe burst today and flooded her downstairs as well. Boy, could we sympathize with her! No more floods please! I think we may be bad luck!

On February 28th, Jackson finally started crawling!!! Boy, did he take his sweet time! I thought he was never going to crawl. Of course his first time crawling was when I was at work. At least Don's Aunt took a video of it for us.

Here is a fun video of Jackson. One morning, Don and I were talking and while Jackson was drinking his bottle, he randomly started waving at us. What a funny kid. He surprises me sometimes.

A few days ago, I was letting him play with some animal flash cards on my iPhone and he figured out how to move from page to page, by swiping it with his finger. That little kid is too smart for his own good. He even figured out how to unlock the phone by swiping it. Gotta keep an eye on that one.

On March, 13th, we met some friends at the local park and I took some pictures of them there. While we were there, we snagged a few pictures of Jackson playing on the swings. Took him a few trips of going to the park before he liked them. Now, he is loving the swings. He is not my dare devil child, that's for sure. Hopefully that means minimal trips to the ER for us through out Jackson's life.

Jackson is crawling all over the house now. Thankfully we have our downstairs back so he can crawl all over the place. Here are a few fun videos of him playing.

On March 19th, we took a few pictures of Jackson in the front of our house. There is no more baby in him! He is definitely a toddler now! Boy did that first year go by fast!!! I am definitely missing those baby stages, but loving the toddler years so far. Well... except for the occasional temper tantrums! :o) I could do with out those, but I guess that's all part of the toddler years and everyone's gotta do their time.

And I think that brings us up to speed. The first part of 2011 was a little too much adventurous for us. Let's hope that the rest of 2011 is quiet for us!

Seven Months Going On Eight Months...

2010-09-10T23:42:00.000-07:00

Today we did Jackson's 7 months pictures, might as well have been 8 months. He will be 8 months on September 12th which is this Sunday!

So Jackson's new things... Labor day weekend he finally got his first tooth and than his second one came in right after it. Now he has two bottom front teeth. He has been very needy and fussy this past month and especially so last weekend. I am happy to say he is much better right now... or at least until the next tooth decides to break skin. :o) Not my most favorite stage, but he is so dang cute it makes up for it! He is just starting to learn to clap. I got him to do it once and since than he kind of claps, he is still trying to get it. That or he just starts shaking his head back and forth. He has that one down. That was not something I wanted to teach him, but oh well it happened. And I am convinced he knows what shaking his head back and forth means now! The little stinker does that to me when I try to wipe his nose or do something he finds irritating. Sheesh...

We also got him to start waving now. That's his newest thing. We are working on that one with him. Not sure if he knows what it means yet. I think he just likes copying us. He is still not crawling or flipping over. He is very content to stay there and chill out. I keep working with him, but he has absolutely no desire to crawl much less be on his stomach. One day he will... That or he will be a permanent fixture on our floor. That was a NOT joke! Anyways here are some of our pictures today. Some of these were taken in front of our house and the rest are inside our living room. I was practicing with my flashes for the inside ones.

He looks like Gollum here... "My precious... Must have the precious. They stole it from us. Sneaky little hobbitses. Wicked, tricksy, false!"

I just started a flash photography course this past week and I was practicing with these pictures in the house. I used two flashes and placed them around Jackson and fired them all off at the same time. I was having fun with it. :o) I can't wait for the rest of the classes this month!!!

These pictures I used a flash behind Jackson for some back lighting.

Jackson's 6 Month Photoshoot

2010-08-09T18:22:00.000-07:00

Jackson is 6 months already and it has gone by so fast. I am so sad he is growing so quickly but I am enjoying each and every stage with him. It's amazing to think in another 6 months he will be a year old! That's just crazy to me... Technically this Thursday he will be 7 months, but hey I was a little late in trying to get his 6 month photoshoot done this month. Better late than never!

Jackson's new things right now is sitting up all by himself. It seemed like one day he was trying to sit up and with in a few days he was a pro at it. He is not crawling yet... he is kind of lazy when it comes to that. He HATES being on his stomach so I don't see him crawling any time soon. We still make him do tummy time, but it always ends with him crying. Sheesh... what a baby! :o) But he is starting to push himself up so he will eventually get it.

He is also fake coughing now... A few weeks ago Don came down with a cold and naturally Don was coughing. Apparently Jackson thought that was funny and started mimicking him. And might I add, Jackson does a horrible impression of it which makes it even funnier! He totally forces it out! I added a video of that to this blog. Turn up the sound to hear it.

His other new thing is when I have him on his back I will get real close to his face and shake my head back and forth so my hair tickles him. He will laugh and laugh over that. One day when I was changing his diaper he started shaking his head back and forth. Than it finally dawned on me that he learned that from me. It never ceases to amaze me how much kids watch you and will copy you. I finally got it on video so I attached it to this post as well.

Fake Cough

Shaking Head

Father's Day Weekend

2010-06-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was definitely busy! My whole family came out to San Diego. We haven't all been together in a few years. Not since my brother Dave's wedding. It was awesome seeing everyone and spending time together.

On Saturday we all drove up to a picnic in LA for my Dad's high school reunion. Than on Sunday we all went up to my Father in law's house to celebrate Father's day and we were able to get some family pictures done. Note to self... maybe in the future I should hire a photographer to do family pictures than try to do it myself. It was a bit of a nightmare trying to put the whole thing together and than trying to take pictures as well as be in them. Thankfully I had some help from Don's Dad and my Aunt for the ones I was in. But I now have sympathy for my clients that try to set up family pictures for a big group. I am definitely humbled by that experience and can sympathize with them. Especially with last minute changes/unexpected things. It really kept me on my toes.

Than Sunday afternoon/evening we went to Seaport Village and walked around/took pictures. That was so much fun. I think that was my most favorite part of the weekend. I could try and describe it all here, but I like pictures to go with my stories so here they are!

My siblings and my parents

I was setting up this shot and caught this one. Apparently my brother's are part monkey

All the Grandkids!!!

The whole family

No kids!!! We ditched them all!!! I mean oh how sad... ;o)

I am not sure who took this shot but this tree branch looked like a dragon. It was kind of cool.

This is at Seaport Village. This guy was balancing these rocks and he didn't use anything to make them stick together. It was amazing.

Dave & Meagan

Addison strangling her Uncle Joe

Got a little Captain in ya?

There were a bunch of parrots at Seaport Village too. They were gorgeous!

Miss Addison with her balloon animal Joe got her

Joe was standing by the parrots and this white one just landed on Joe's arm

Addison found a new best friend with her Uncle Joe

Mom and Dad with Jackson

Mom and Dad

Dave & Meagan

We loved this carriage that goes through Seaport Village. It's so pretty! It was rightly named Cinderella's carriage. Too bad it is a minimum of $40 to ride in it. :o( It seems over rated...

And last but not least, a short video of Jackson. He is growing so fast. He is holding his bottle already. He has been doing this for awhile, but this was the first time I had a video camera to record it. He is so funny when the bottle pops out of his mouth. It cracks me up. I know you guys can be honest. I am probably the only one who finds it adorable. ;o) He is also starting this spitting noise with his mouth. He seems to do it when he is bored. I notice it more when he wakes up in the morning and when he is in the car in his car seat.

Kelly's Graduation & Family Pictures

2010-06-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

Kelly Graduated High School last week and we celebrated with her yesterday. Pretty much the whole family lives in San Diego with the exception of Paula. Paula lives in Florida so we were all excited she made it out and she got to meet Jackson for the first time too! Since she was here, we all decided to do a big family picture. Here are a few pictures of everyone in the family. I am hoping this year that we will get family pictures done of everyone on Don's Dad's side, his Mom's side and my side. In a few weeks my side of the family will be coming out (hopefully all of them) and I am hoping to get pictures taken of all of us. Than on Don's Dad's side hopefully we will get pictures done around October or November since that will be when the newest edition of our family will be born. As of right now that's the last Grand baby to be born so we have to wait until our family is complete. Here are a few of the family pictures on Don's Mom's side for now.

The whole family

The Rowlands

Paul, Kris, Joe, Grandma Krafft, and Gina

Three generations

The Boys

Cousin Kelly and Jackson

Uncle Mike and Jackson

Great Aunt Paula and Jackson

Uncle Jon and Jackson

Great Grandma Krafft and Jackson

Aunt Paula... I liked this picture of her.

Our comedians. Jon must have said something really bad for Joe to react like that!

Amazing how much stuff can happen in one year...

2010-05-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

I think Don and I have experienced more changes in the past year than any one year period in our lives. One year ago tomorrow represents that for me. On May 31st, 2009 was a joyous and a sad day for us. Or what we thought was sad. We closed on our house and Don lost his job on the same day. The place we bought was a short sale so the whole process took 5 months and we didn't even know if we were for sure going to get our place until a few weeks before we closed on our house. It was such a long, stressful, lots of surprises and grueling process. Shorts sales are nightmares!!! But I am so grateful we endured it and ended up getting our home. Having a bigger place that is ours has been such a blessing. Granted anything was bigger than our apartment we were living in previously. Now that it has been one year I look back on the events that took place afterwards and even a few months before closing on our house. Here are they are in order:

Getting pregnant
Having a miscarriage
Getting pregnant with Jackson
Trying to buy a house
Finally buying a house
Don loosing his job
Remodeling our home
Moving
Trying to get my photography business off the ground
Don starting a new job in December
Having our first baby
Buying a car

I went to a lunch and learn seminar at work last year and they talked about dealing with stress. The person talking created a list of the biggest stresses a person can experience in their life and just about everything Don and I experienced last year was on that list. I remember thinking wow I must be in denial or better at dealing with stress than I thought. I think in the moment I knew we were dealing with a lot of things at once, but we just dealt with it and moved on. Now that I look back I honestly feel like 5 years went by in a span of one year. There was just too much stuff that went on that I feel do not fit in a span of one year. I definitely feel like we accomplished a lot in one year.

I found that Don loosing his job didn't turn out to be such a bad thing. In the moment it was hard and we struggled, but it was actually a blessing for us in the end. For one it made me realize what we could and couldn't live with out. I think it made us depend on each other more which made us stronger. When Don finally found a job at the end of the year it was a better paying job, more benefits and a better opportunity to grow in a company. Before he lost his job he was a Quality Assurance tester for programs. When looking for another QA job, his recruiter told him that QA was a dying field so he needed to look at doing something else. I guess it is better we found that out now instead of having Don put more years into that position. He actually wanted to leave that job and look for something else, but given the state of the economy, he was going to suck it up and stay there until the economy was better. The job he has now is still in the computer field, but different from what he was doing. He is doing tech support for programs on medical equipment. He could probably explain it better than I can, but basically he remotely dials in and fixes the programs on medical machines like MRI's, ultrasounds, stuff like that. At first he struggled a little getting the hang of it since he didn't know the programs, but he knew computers so he caught on quick and he is doing really well. His company also offers to help pay for some school so I am hoping Don will take advantage of that in the next year or so and get his degree. They obviously don't pay for it all, but anything is better than nothing.

So with all that said, looking back, Don loosing his job wasn't so bad after all. I stressed about it when he did loose his job, but I think deep down inside I just knew everything would be ok. I said it is in the Lord's hands, we just needed to trust him that he knew what was best for us. So I tried not to think about it too much and I think that was the only way I stayed sane. My faith was tested last year too and in spite of going through that, I still trusted the Lord and I knew it would be ok. It was definitely an exciting and trying year for us, but I don't think I would have changed anything. Well, maybe I would have changed having a miscarriage. I had a hard time with that when it happened, but I am ok now. I take comfort in knowing what we know in the gospel. I don't find sorrow in that anymore. Instead in my mind I know we have had two children so far and I can't wait to meet the other one in Heaven someday. Being a Mom has been such a blessing and I love it. Having Jackson has brought so much joy to our lives and I couldn't imagine it with out him. He was the best thing to happen to us this past year.

For anyone reading this that is going through hard times like we are or going through things even harder, all I can say is just trust in Heavenly Father. He knows whats best for us. It's so hard to trust that he has a plan for us or even cares for us, but he does and we need to have that blind faith and know that we go through these things to grow and to refine ourselves. Many people right now are being affected by this economy and having a hard time. In the midst of everything I knew things could be worse, but they weren't. We are never given more than what we can handle. There were other things we went through/are still going through that are personal and I don't want to share with the whole world, but even though we are still dealing with hard things I still feel positive. Again, things will just work out and I don't worry about it. That or we have been dealing with it for so long I just don't care anymore! ;o) But bottom line, remember things could always be worse, so chin up and put your big girl panties on (or big boy britches on) and deal with it. Hehehe... That's my motto! That reminds me of a cute picture I saw. Here it is:

I also loved this quote - "Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections." So many people base their happiness off of material things or they base it off of how good their life is going. Things like "I will be happy when I win the lotto or I would be so happy in a bigger house. Basically the grass is greener on the other side type stuff. Granted winning a ton of money would be awesome, but the chances of that are very slim. My point is you can choose to be sad or choose to be happy. Happiness is a choice, not a reaction from things that happen to you. If you see the positive and joy in everything, than you will be happy. If you see the negative and sadness in everything, than you will be sad. It's as simple as that. I bet you guys didn't know I would be telling you the secret to being happy huh!?!?! Now aren't you glad you read this. :o) Now go be happy no matter what and spread the happiness around like an infectious disease. Isn't that a pretty mental picture? It could have been worse. I could have gone into detail about the infectious disease so be grateful I didn't. Instead you will be thinking about it and wondering what I would have put... :op

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

So this year was my first Mother's Day! First off, can I say I LOVE being a Mom. It's awesome in every way. Even the not so fun ways because the smiles and the giggling make up for all of it. Back in January (two days before I went into labor,) my Mother in law Gina and my sister went to a tea room in La Mesa. It is called the Aubrey Rose Tea Room and it is an amazing place. Here is their website:

http://www.theaubreyrosetearoom.com/

Gina and I thought it would be fun to come here for Mother's Day. Well the owner told us Mother's Day reservations fill up FAST! So we made our reservations right than and there. I am glad we did because it was such a fun treat. Literally! Not only was the food amazing, but the tea was great as well. I am more of an herbal tea person. I ordered a tisane tea that had mangos and apples in it. I love fruity teas. It was so yummy! Than the fresh baked scone was to die for! They also had bread pudding, some type of chocolate mousse with strawberries and cherry filling underneath in a chocolate cup, and lemon bars. Notice how I concentrate on the desert stuff? :D Ok, they had other foods too. They had an egg salad sandwich, a cucumber sandwich with a peppermint dressing, lots of fruit, soup and some other things I had no idea what they were, but they were delicious too. Bottom line the food was amazing, all of it! Just look at the pictures. How can you say no to that food!?!?!

Here are all the Mom's and Kelly:

Grandma Krafft

Aunt Kristi

Kelly

And Gina

They gave these pretty dried lavender flowers to us.

After that I went over to Don's cousin Shaun's house to celebrate Mother's Day with the rest of the family and I got to see the newest member of the family again. This little sweet baby is Brodie. This is Don's cousin Brandie's baby.

Sam The Cooking Guy!!!

2010-04-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

So last night Jackson and I got to meet Sam the Cooking Guy! He is one of my favorites! He is a local celebrity in San Diego. He has his own cooking show and a few books out. He is very entertaining to watch. Funny and always has some yummy recipes. So his new book just released and he did a signing party at the Barnes and Noble in Mira Mesa. My Mother in Law Gina came with us as well. We got there at 7pm and didn't leave until 11pm!!! Crazy, I know, but so worth it! It actually went quick. We were reading books as we were sitting in line so I didn't feel like it was that long. Sam also made a bunch of mashed potato tacos to share with everyone. It sounds weird, but it was actually quite good. We also got a few drinks at Starbucks which was in the store. I had a yummy white hot chocolate with raspberry. It was super delicious! Here is Jackson waiting in line with us. See he is so excited to meet Sam too. ;o) Hehehe... Ok maybe Grandma was making him laugh.

And here we are!!! We finally made it! Hi Sam, you are fan-freaking-tastic!!! We love your show, Jackson and I watch it all the time.

Arizona Trip 4/13/10 - 4/26/10

2010-04-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

I have been in Tucson, Arizona for the last few weeks visiting family and friends. Jackson and I had so much fun, but we missed Don and we are sure glad to be back home. I haven't been back to Tucson in over 2 years! I was amazed to see how much has changed, what hasn't changed and things I had forgotten. It was like a trip down memory lane. My parents are now going to the Rincon Stake Center for Church. That was the church building I went to as a very small child. Going there to church on Sunday brought back so many fun memories.

My Mom and Dad reminded me about the trouble my best friend Jolene and I would get into. Jolene and I were inseparable. One day after church, a huge monsoon storm dumped onto Tucson. When this happened we were about 7 or 8 years old. After Jolene and I got out of primary we saw that part of the lawn that dipped down into a ditch was completely filled in with water. Her and I thought it would be so much fun to go swimming in it. Mind you we were in our very nice church dresses. With out even thinking of that we went swimming. Unbeknownst to us our parents were looking everywhere for us. When they finally found us we were in so much trouble. I remember being soaking wet and my parents were not too happy about getting their car soaked with water too. I can't remember what my parents did to punish me, but I remember Jolene's parents forbade us to see each other for awhile. Maybe my parents thought that was a good punishment too. While I was out there my Dad asked me if it was worth it. I said OF COURSE!!! I thought it was so much fun and I would do it again in a heart beat.

After I remembered that memory I started thinking of my dear friend Jolene. Her and I were the bestest of friends. Jolene had cystic fibrosis which is a deadly illness. With out a lung transplant people with that condition do not live and they don't live a very long life at that. I think I remember her beating the odds from when they expected her to live. In fact right before she died they had found her a lung donor and they were in the beginning process of doing that. Unfortunately she died before they could perform the surgery.

When we were pre-teens she moved to Washington State to be closer to a hospital that specialized in cystic fibrosis. We lost contact for years until around 2006 when I found her on Myspace. Most people change through out the years with their likes, dislikes and even personality, but she didn't. I thought it was funny to see that she was still in love with Raphael the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (we both had a crush on him and fought over who was going to marry him someday. ;o) She even planned out her whole wedding with him. I remember the costume characters of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came to the pizza joint by my house and we went crazy like they were superstars. It was so silly, but fun.

She was truly an inspiration to me and still is. She was a fighter and an optimistic person. She died July of 2007 and I felt so blessed that I was able to reconnect with her before she died. Jolene's motto for life was "You can be mad that roses have thorns or rejoice that thorns have roses." Life is what you make it. Can you get any more optimistic than that especially with the condition she had? After she died her sister found this beautiful poem Jolene wrote. It is one of my favorite poems. Here it is:

What would you do if we just switched shoes?

How would you feel taking all those pills?

What would you do if it was hard to breathe

Always coughing on your sleeve

But what would you say, I would love to switch shoes with you

I could run and sing and shoot some ball

and not have a hard time at all.

but it would not be that much fun

it would be too weird to feel so young.

I love life and you should too

so can I take back my little shoes?

Jolene's sister wrote this after she died. I thought it was a great tribute to Jolene:

"Like so many of you, I am mourning the great loss of Jolene Renee. I know that Jolene has been gone for 7 months, and so many of us are thinking "when does this get easier?", "when will I stop hurting?" These questions and thoughts have plagued my mind, and I feel that I should give some advice that Jolene might give. So here it is:

Despite all of her trials, which there are too many to be numbered. Jolene suffered for years physically, pains we will never understand. She also endured the loss of her closest friends that shared her disease. Yet, through it all she remained strong and faithful. She always looked for the good and the beauty in the world. She lived her life in such a way that she would relish in every relationship and experience. I have never known someone who invested more in people. Even though her pain was immense, she always looked for an opportunity to help lift others. In doing these unselfish acts of service, she found peace, solace, and comfort.
This poses a poignant question, "was Jolene superhuman?" The answer is no. Jolene was like us all, in that she had trials, weaknesses, and made mistakes. What set her apart and made her so extraordinary is that she believed and had faith in her Savior, Jesus Christ. When she was hurting in any way, she would turn to her Father in Heaven for guidance and comfort. She prayed more intensely and specifically than I have ever heard anyone pray. She prayed for those she worried about by name, and she prayed for herself for strength to endure. Not to only endure, but to endure it well.
We have been given this trial of losing our sweet Jolene. We must press forward the same way that Jolene did. Live our lives to the fullest, and treating each moment and person as a gift. Loving people and serving them. Search for the good and the beautiful, despite all the pain that surrounds us at times. We can overcome our pain by turning to the Savior and plead for his mercy and strength. He knows how we feel, because he has felt it and took it upon himself. But we must turn it over to him. We must truly give the wheel of our lives to the Savior, and trust in Him that he will lead us to a place of peace and understanding.
I know that Jolene is watching over us and loving us. She is rejoicing in our triumphs and comforting us in our sorrows, just as she did through out her life. She is the same person she was on this Earth, only now she doesn't have the limitations to be hindered in any way by failing health.
I imagine her able to laugh without coughing. Run without being faint, and taking in all the beauty of Paradise in which surrounds her. I couldn't think of anyone who is more deserving, and that brings me peace. And I feel that's a start to healing……"

Love,
Karine Laura (Jolene's biggest fan and sister!)

I remember after Jolene died I felt a sense of survivors guilt. I know technically that doesn't fit, but that's the only word I could use to explain it. Part of me felt that she didn't deserve to die. What a difference she would have made in this world. I thought why do I deserve to live and not her. I am not nearly a good enough person as she was. I struggled with this for awhile. But in the end I knew she was not gone. She is still here in our hearts. She still makes a difference in people's lives even though her physical body is gone. I know in my life she still does. I can only hope to be as wonderful of a person as she was. I can't wait for the day when her and I can meet again in Heaven. Anyways, I didn't mean to write all that, but I just started and couldn't stop. :o) I had to pay tribute to Jolene.

So on to the rest of my trip. I experienced some new things while I was there. I tried sonoran hot dogs for the first time and they were fan-freaking-tastic!!! They are hot dogs with bacon wrapped around them, in a bun smothered with tomatoes, onions (mine didn't have any onions,) mayo, mustard and jalapeno hot sauce. Seriously the best food ever!!! They don't have them in San Diego so I am missing them so much right now! I will just have to make my own. Too bad they are not healthy. ;o) I also tried serrano chili chocolate ice cream... It wasn't bad. Very interesting. I can't say I didn't like it, but I wasn't crazy about it either. The little bite too it was kind of fun. Here is a picture of my Uncle making the ice cream with some of the grandkids:

We also took a little trip up to Safford, AZ to go to the open house for the Gila Valley Temple. Here is a few pictures of the new Temple.

It was gorgeous inside!!! On the way back we stopped at a few places and I got some pictures. The pictures below are of Roper Lake. It was a beautiful camp ground. I also got some pictures of Mount Graham. It had snowed on it the night before.

On the drive back we saw the prettiest sunset! I sure miss the Arizona sunsets. It was gorgeous!

The day before it rained and even hailed and snowed in some parts of Arizona. I love it when it rains there because the desert has this distinct smell. It smells like creosote bushes which smells amazing. I sure miss that smell. Here is Jackson in his car seat. The drive to Safford was a few hours and Jackson did really well. He was a good boy!

My Dad's neighbor Suzan had a baby 7 months ago and we went over there so the babies could meet. Here is Jackson and his new friend Gibson.

Of course Jackson was worn out from meeting so many people. ;o) He had to take a little rest. Hehehe... I love the hands behind the head. Relaxin Jackson. Or Chillaxin Jackson.

Here is Jackson and his Nana. My Mom decided to be called Nana instead of Grandma. Jackson has a lot of Grandmas and Grandpas and Great Grandmas! Lucky boy... ;o) He is a loved boy!

Here is Jackson and his Grandpa. I tried having my Dad be Papa, but I don't think he was down with that. Oh well...

And of course Jackson had to sit in the T-Bucket!!! He will have to wait till he is older to actually drive in it.

And I also got to see some of my friends who I dearly miss! I even got to do a maternity photo shoot of one of my best friends. Heather is in her last month of pregnancy. I am so excited for her. Her little boy is named Jackson as well, but his name is spelled Jaxon. We did not plan that, I promise. We both picked those names before we even knew the other person was going to name their son that. Great minds just think alike. ;o) Here are some of those pictures:

That's all for now. It was a fun trip, but it is great to be home.

Family Pictures

2010-04-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

Today Don and I got our first family pictures done with Jackson. I was honored to have one of my photographer friends take the pictures of us. Jen did such a great job. Here are a few of them:

Easter and Mandi's Birthday 4/4/10

2010-04-04T23:48:00.000-07:00

So today was my birthday and Easter all rolled into one. I woke up this morning to my husband making breakfast for me. So sweet! Than we went to Grandma Krafft's house for brunch. While we were there we felt one of the largest earthquakes in our area in over 18 years! It was a 6.9 earthquake in Mexicali and it could be felt in parts of Southern California, Nevada and Arizona. It was by far one of the strongest earthquakes I have been in. We were all in Grandma's kitchen and all of a sudden it felt like a huge gust of wind was blowing outside and than the ground started rolling. Such a weird feeling. It made me a little motion sick from it all. It seemed like the quake lasted for a long time, but it only lasted for 30 seconds. In situations like that it seems like 10 minutes! It just kept going and going. I wasn't sure if it would get worse or not. At one point I said "should we be standing under a door frame or something?" I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I still felt pretty calm through out it. Nothing broke, the house just rocked and rolled a bit. I did hear from other people that they had damage in their home and even part of I-8 was affected by the quake and slowed down traffic around the damaged area. But all in all thankfully everything was ok and we all moved on with our Easter celebrations feeling small after shocks here and there. I mentioned the last time my birthday landed on Easter I was 16 years old and it snowed in Tucson. This time an earthquake hit. I would much rather the snow. ;o)

After we left Grandma's we went to Aunt Shadie's house to have Easter dinner with Don's Dad's side of the family. All the Grandkids got to do an Easter egg hunt and this year just so happened to be Jackson's first Easter egg hunt. Of course with help from his Daddy... :o) Next year he will be able to hold his own basket and walk around to look for eggs, I can't wait! Anyways, here are some pictures from today...

Uncle Jon and Jackson

Uncle Mike and Jackson

Grandma Horn and Jackson

Grrrrrreat Grandma Krafft and Jackson

Daddy and Jackson

Mommy and Jackson

Jackson's first Easter egg hunt

Anthony and his loot

Kingston and Larry

Amy and Jackson

Grandpa Horn, Amy, Caleb and Jackson

Don and Amy's Grandkids - Jackson and Caleb

Caleb trying to play with Jackson. Jackson is not quite at the playing stage yet.

Jackson's Blessing 3/28/10

2010-03-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Jackson was blessed. A lot of our family was able to come out so it was nice spending time with everyone as well. Here are a few pictures from the day. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pictures of my family with Jackson since they all left before we could do that. I was feeding Jackson and by the time I was done they were all taking off. Oh well, I will be going to Arizona in the next week or two and I will be able to get pictures of everyone than.

Mommy & Jackson

Daddy & Jackson

Grandpa Horn & Jackson

Grandma Horn & Jackson

Mommy and Me Pictures

2010-03-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday Jackson, Don and I went to the park by our house to take pictures. Being the photographer in our family I don't usually get to be in the pictures so we decided to remedy that. Here are a few of our favorites:

And we can't forget Dad too!!! :)

Almost 2 Months Old

2010-03-09T18:54:00.000-08:00

My little baby is growing so quickly and I am hoping to capture every moment as much as I can. In two more days my little monkey will be officially 2 months old! And to celebrate that... he is going to get his first immunization shots Friday morning. Awwww... poor little guy. We are not looking forward to that trip. Since I am a crazy Mom I will probably celebrate his 2 months on earth with some cake and ice cream that night. That or I just want an excuse to celebrate and eat junk food. :) Jackson really can't enjoy that food yet, but Mom and Dad can! Hehehe...

I love his little sneezes!!!

7 Weeks Old

2010-03-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

Jackson is now 7 weeks old (almost two months old) and I am wondering where the time went!!! Way too fast is where it went... But I am also enjoying him in his new stages. He is giggling and laughing more. I love it! He is so much fun! But with him getting older means I will be going back to work soon. :( I miss work, but I sure love being at home with my little man. I really envy stay at home Moms. I wish I could be one. Not yet... Hopefully when my photography business starts to take off so please help me out and recommend me to all your friends and family. :) Most of you do anyways and I totally appreciate the word of mouth business. Here are a few new pictures of our Chillaxin Jackson.

I love his little smiles. It just melts my heart!

In Daddy's arms

In Mommy's arms...

The picture below is when Jackson was born. It is one of my favorite pictures of him. Mostly because this is one of the first times I saw him when I was semi aware of what was going on. I was excited to get a similar picture like it today when he is 7 weeks old. That one is right below this one.

On Saturday we got to meet the newest member of the Smith family... Miss Emily Smith. Ben and Jessa did a good job on her. She is so precious!

I love this little lion roar of hers. It is too cute!

Yesterday we went over to their house so Jackson and Don could meet Emily since they were not able to see them at the hospital on Saturday. When we were there we put Jackson and Emily next to each other. My has Jackson grown so much. They are only 6 or 7 weeks apart! Although when Emily was born she was 7 lbs and Jackson was 8 lbs 10 ounces. Now Emily is down to 6 lbs 10 ounces I think? Jackson is HUGE next to her though. Crazy... Jessa and I already betrothed Jackson and Emily, so they were really meeting their future spouses. Hahaha... They will probably consider each other brother and sister since they will grow up together. Than they will say Eeeeewww, you guys want us to marry each other!!! :) Hehehe... None the less, we are excited for the Smith family. Here are some pictures of Jackson and Emily together.

Jackson is trying to hold Emily's hand... Trying being the key word. :)

And one more of this cute little Angel.

A Day At The Zoo

2010-02-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

Jackson and I went to the zoo with our friends Jessa and her daughter Madie yesterday. Madie had a lot of fun, and I think Jackson did... hard to tell when he is this young, but I am sure he did. :) It was his first trip to the zoo and soon to be many more. I hope to get a season pass so we can go when ever we want. I think once Jackson gets a little older he will enjoy it more. I had fun just walking around and spending the day with Madie and Jessa and of course taking pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.

Jackson's First Photo Shoot

2010-01-27T22:21:00.000-08:00

I think we should just rename this blog Jackson's blog. :o) He is just so dang cute, I can't get enough of him. Here are a few pictures from his first photo shoot today. Of course I will always be adding more photos, but so far here are the first of them.

Jackson's Big Entrance Into The World

2010-01-20T15:49:00.000-08:00

Many people have asked me in the last week why Jackson ended up being a C-section baby. So instead of replying to many e-mails with the same story I will just post about it and if you are interested you can read it. :o)

On Monday, January 11th I started going into early labor. That night Don had a soccer game at 9pm. Before he left I mentioned I thought I was having contractions, but I have never experienced them so I wasn't sure if they were true contractions or false labor pains. I told him to go to his soccer game since it was only an hour long and if I absolutely had to go to the hospital I would call his Mom who was just up the street. I ended up calling the hospital and talked to a nurse to see if I should go to the hospital. As we were talking she seemed concerned I was bleeding so she told me to come in. I called Gina and she came over right away and took me to the hospital.

Once we got to the hospital they took me to triage to see if they would admit me. They hooked me up to all these machines and monitored me for about an hour. The on call Dr. came in and said my blood pressure was very high and was not going down. Every Dr. appointment I have had while I was pregnant, I never had high blood pressure. The nurses would always comment how good it was. The Dr. also said the baby's heart rate was really high. She said I was only dilated to one, but I was in the early stages of labor and they wanted to admit me because of my high blood pressure and the baby's heart rate. We called Don and I asked him to take a shower before coming. I know that sounds silly, but I was feeling so nauseous and since he just finished playing a soccer game I knew he wouldn't be smelling the freshest and I wanted him near me. :)

So off I went to labor and delivery to be hooked up to more machines. They decided to let me go into labor naturally and if I didn't make any progress by 4am they would induce me. So by 4am I didn't progress as much as they hoped so they gave me some pitocin. Boy did that kick start those contractions in high gear. By 10 or 11 am I was dilated to a 4 and a half and my effacement was paper thin. The on call Dr. came in and said they were probably going to break my water for me. I had been holding out on any drugs at this point. The contractions were getting pretty bad with the pitocin and I knew once my water broke those contractions would even get worse. If I don't HAVE to feel pain I sure wasn't going to. So they came up and gave me my epidural. Boy did that feel great. Instant relief! It was amazing! I could still feel some of it since I didn't want to be completely numb, but it was just enough to make it all better. After they did that my water broke on it's own. Yay!!!

Around 3pm the Dr. came in and said the baby was showing signs of distress and my blood pressure was still not coming down. They also said my cervix was starting to swell up. Basically I was going backwards is how I understood it! They wanted to monitor me for an hour and if nothing improved they were going to need to do a C-Section. The Dr. than walked off. My nurse was great. She looks at me and said "he doesn't have the best bedside manners, ask me any questions you have." I was a little taken aback because I was not wanting a C-section. My whole pregnancy I was preparing for a natural birth so I wasn't sure what to expect. So I asked her all my questions and we sat tight waiting to see what would happen.

Finally around 3:30 they came back in and said it was not getting any better and they needed to do the C-section. Don had run out to get something to eat so we called him to get back right away. He made it just in time. They got me all prepared and sent me to the OR. The anesthesia they gave me made me shake uncontrollably. It was the weirdest feeling not having that control. Don held my hand the whole time and it seemed to give me some control at least on that side. Everything went so quickly. I kept feeling all this pressure which I think was safe to assume they were cutting me open. Next thing I know they popped Jackson over the curtain and told me it was a boy. It was one of the best moments of my life. I heard him crying in the distance and I knew he was ok. After that I pretty much blacked out. Later I was told I lost a lot of blood and they were trying to get it to stop. In the end everything was ok. I woke up in the recovery ward and I was still shaking uncontrollably. They put lots of warm blankets around me to help the shaking and it felt so nice. Don was sitting next to me with Jackson the whole time. I was so happy to see them. Don and I feel so lucky to be Jackson's parents. He is truly our pride and joy.

On Monday we had his first pediatric appointment and they said he is healthy as can be. His skin color looks great (no jaundice,) his neck muscles are really strong, his heart rate is really good and his breathing sounds great. All in all he is perfect as can be. Yesterday we got him circumcised and I about fell apart. I hate seeing my son in pain. I was a wimp and waited in the waiting room while they did the procedure. Don stayed with him and Jackson's nurse is a family friend so I felt like he was in good hands. In the end I was told Jackson did great. He took it like a champ!

As for his nick names we call him Peanut... When we had his first sonogram I thought he looked like a little peanut and it has stuck. Marza (my sister) and myself like the nickname Jak Jak from The Incredibles and someone in the family started Jacks "on" Jacks "off." Ya, not sure how I feel about that one... :o) Anyways, there you have it. Hopefully this week I will get to Jackson's first photo shoot. Those pictures will be used for the birth announcement. I have some cute ideas to try with him so I can't wait. I just need Don's help. I am not as mobile as I would like to be yet, but I am recovering quickly. I am still trying to take it easy with the bending over and picking things up. So hopefully I will have some new pictures soon. In the mean time, here a few new pictures when we were at the hospital.

Here are some pictures of Jackson's first Chargers football game in his first Chargers outfit.

Jackson with his Daddy watching the game.

Jackson with Uncle Jon

Welcome To The Family

2010-01-14T15:49:00.000-08:00

Our newest member of the family was welcomed into this world at 4:12pm on January 12, 2010. He weighed in at 8lbs 10 ounces measuring 21.5 inches in length. He is our little chunky monkey! Since the battery in my lap top is just about to die I am going to make this post quick. I will go back later and add some more, but for now here are a few pictures.

Baby update II

2010-01-06T15:52:00.000-08:00

Hello friends and family!

Don and I have had several people contact us in the last few days wondering what is going on since the baby is turning out to be fashionably late like it's Mother... :o) So I decided to post something on our blog to let everyone know. I saw my Dr. today and he measured the baby at 6 ½ lbs so the Dr. wants to let it grow a little more. He said the baby is very healthy, so no need to rush things especially since I am not dilated yet and most first time Mom’s are late. He wants to see me next Wednesday to check on how I am progressing and than he will schedule me to be induced some time next weekend. So the baby could be here the 15th, 16th or 17th of January depending on when he schedules it. I am going to try and push for the 17th since the 15th is Daddy Don’s birthday and the 16th is my brother in law Mike’s birthday party, but we will see what the Dr. says. So needless to say that will be a busy weekend for the family. This little kid just had to push it out far enough to make it inconvenient! The Dr. mentioned not wanting to wait longer than next weekend since I will be about 2 weeks over due at that point and the baby will start getting pretty large, not good for Mom, no thank you! I personally think 6 ½ lbs is perfect… no need to let it grow!!! :o) But the Dr. knows best I guess.

Now for those of you hopeful people out there that think I could have the baby before than with out being induced… I first thank you for the well wishes and positive thinking, but the Dr. did not seem hopeful. So I am not holding my breath, but at least there is an end in sight!!!

Oh and I apologize to the family for adding another birthday to the already overly bloated birthday month we have. Believe me, we are not excited about that either, but how long has everyone waited for us to start a family!?!?! Beggars can’t be choosers right!?!?! :o) Anyways we are excited for the baby to come and I thank everyone who has helped us and supported us along the way. We will be sure to let everyone know once the baby is here.

Baby Update

2010-01-03T16:54:00.000-08:00

So today, January 3rd was the expected due date for our baby. Expected being the key operative word. As you can tell I am still pregnant and for all I know I could be pregnant for another week. :( I am very much ready for this baby to be born. We have waited 9 long months for it and not to mention waited to find out if it's a boy or girl. I know we have driven everyone else crazy with making them wait to find that out too. For that I am sorry, but honestly it is kind of fun. You have to admit that. The suspense of finding out what it is can't be beat. In the past few days we have had several people call us asking if the baby was born yet. So in case you were wondering, (but didn't want to ask,) the baby is quite comfy in Mom's womb and doesn't want to leave quite yet. We will be sure to let everyone know once it decides to make it's debut into the world. For family members we have people assigned to call our family members and let them know. Don also said he would post something onto Facebook for all you Facebookers out there. I may too if I find a moment between contractions. :) I think he plans on sending a text out to people who have texting capabilities as well.

But I find myself getting impatient these last few days waiting and wondering when it will happen. I know Don is too. Every morning and through out the day he is asking if I had any contractions yet or if my water broke yet. I think he thinks I won't tell him. Hehehe... and I always tell him he would be the first to know. Than he is giving the baby pep talks trying to get it to come out, so far it is not working, but we keep trying. My Dr. did say most babies are late especially if it is your first baby. So I know it's not abnormal, but I just want to hold our little baby in our arms and finally have it meet it's family.

I must say I am nervous about the prospect of going into labor and birthing this child, but the funny thing is I am also excited for it. I must be crazy for saying that, but I know it will be worth it in the end to bring this beautiful child into this world. And for that reason alone gives me the strength and courage to endure it, (of course with some good drugs too!) I feel as though I know my child already. I feel so connected to it and I know that connection and love will even be stronger once I hold it in my arms. If there is one thing for sure, this baby will be loved by many people. I think Motherhood and Fatherhood is one of the greatest things a person can do in their life time. It requires self sacrificing and the ability to love unconditionally. Don and I are blessed to have parents that taught us well. I know we will draw from their knowledge and incorporate what they taught us in raising this child. I am sure we will make lots of mistakes, but above all, we will love this child.

I look back on our 6 years of marriage and a lot of people find it odd that we waited so long to have kids. I personally don't and wouldn't have changed that decision for anything. Marriage is hard enough, but throw a kid in there and it gets harder. I think for Don and I we needed that time to be together as just Don and Mandi. I remember that first year of marriage was tough. There was a lot of things to get use to. Especially with our personalities. I knew who I married, but things change when you move in with someone. I realized how strong willed we both were and how different we were. When you date you are so blind, you accept each other's flaws more easily I think. Its new and you are in love. We spent those first few years learning to give and take... Learning to agree to disagree and be ok with that. Sometimes we just won't see eye to eye on things and we have to compromise. We spent a few years learning to deal with that and I feel we are much better at it now than we were 5 years ago. I also feel that we had a lot of time to be selfish and do what we wanted to do with out worrying about a child. We had so much fun together and I plan on still having fun, but now we have to actually plan for it. I feel like we got to know each other on another level before we become parents. I think people and relationships change when that happens. It seems like it is inevitable. But I hope to hold onto those first six years to help remember who we are and strive to be that fun young couple still, but with a baby now. It's a bittersweet ending to that chapter in our lives, but I know this new one will be even more exciting I am sure. We are ready for it.

Today I found myself in a frenzy of cleaning. Not sure if that is "nesting" or just wanting to get our Christmas stuff packed away. Both Don and I just wanted to be done with Christmas and on to the new year. Plus we knew we would have many visitors stopping by soon once the baby is here so we wanted our house to be ready for that and for the baby. So we spent most of the day cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. We went through all our Christmas stuff, got rid of stuff and packed everything else away. Than we did a deep clean in most of our house. Don scrubbed our floors and made them sparkly clean. We dusted, cleaned our bathroom, cleaned our kitchen, organized, did many, many loads of laundry. I was washing anything and everything today. I just wanted everything to be clean. There are still some things I want to do, but my back was killing me so I took a break and started updating our blog. Part of me thinks I was trying to put myself into labor with all my cleaning today. :) It didn't work... I still have more stuff to do so I am not giving up hope yet! But rest assured friends and family, we will let you know once the baby is here.

So last but not least, I will leave you with some pictures that were taken by a photographer friend of mine back in October. Deann did a maternity photo shoot of me when I was about 7 months along. Hopefully I won't look like this for much longer!!! But I was glad she was able to capture my little baby growing in my belly.

Christmas12/25/09

2010-01-03T16:42:00.000-08:00

On Christmas we went back to Daddy Don's house in the morning and had breakfast there. He made us biscuits and gravy with sausages and eggs. It was AMAZING!!! He made a pregnant woman very happy! After we had breakfast we opened presents.

The chef himself resting...

I never make it into the pictures so I had to add this in. Yes, I know I look like I am ready to pop!

Jon and Nicole

I love this picture of Don. He is so dramatic with unwrapping his present.

After we left Daddy Don's house we went to my sister's house and spent a few hours there with her family.

We got Kaylie a New Moon bed set from the Twilight series. She is in love with Edward as most girls are.

After that we headed over to Don's Aunt Shadie's house and spent some time with the Horn side there. And of course we watched a little of the Chargers game. Ok so I fell asleep, but everyone else watched it.

Than after that we headed over to Grandma Krafft's house and had Christmas dinner there with Don's Mom's side of the family. As you can see I was too busy eating to take pictures. :) But I did manage to scrounge this one up. I love that Uncle Frank is the only one on que ready to take the picture.

Christmas Eve 12/24/09

2010-01-03T16:36:00.001-08:00

On Christmas Eve we went up to Don's Dad's house and celebrated it with his family there. This year we did something different with all the adults. Instead of buying for all the adults we just bought one present and did a white elephant gift exchange. It was so much fun. I think we all enjoyed doing it and I hope it becomes a tradition every year. Here are a few pictures from that night.

Don and Grandma Horn

Daddy Don singing to Kylie

Daddy Don making his famous Brazilian coffee.

And the family...

Mandi's Baby Shower 12/5/09

2010-01-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

So as the due date approaches we sneaked in a baby shower in between the holidays. It turned out so nice. Jessa, Patty and Debbie did an awesome job. I can't thank them enough for the effort they put into planning my baby shower. Here are a few pictures from it. I started taking some pictures, but than I remembered Don's cousin Kelly is into photography so I handed my camera over to her and she did a great job of taking pictures. Most people are scared of my big camera, but I knew Kelly could handle it. :) My sister Marza also took a few pictures too so I included some of those.

This chocolate fountain was AMAZING!!!

Grandma Horn (or also known as Re "G" Ma) crocheted this blanket. Her name will be Re "G" Ma for the baby because her Mom is called G-ma by all the Grandkids, so we had to make a new one for her. Since her name is Regina we just shortened it and added the G-ma. :)

I thought these shirts were adorable. They have little cameras on them! :)

My sister and my nieces made this for their soon to be cousin. I thought that was so sweet.

Great Grandma Horn quilted this gorgeous blanket. There are so many details in it. She is so talented with quilting.

The bassinet use to be Don's when he was a baby. Now it is going to be our baby's bassinet. I love it!!!

One of my friends had this diaper cake made. I absolutely fell in love with it. I can't bring myself to take it apart yet. The onsies are so cute too. The top one you can't see in this picture, but it says "Photo with baby 50 Cents."

Thanksgiving 11/26/09

2010-01-03T15:12:00.000-08:00

So I am playing a little catch up. My last post was back in September and of course many things have happened since than. Because I am lazy, I will just jump to Thanksgiving and start there. My pregnant brain can't remember farther back than that so that's the best you are gonna get right now. :) Although, one little update that happened right before Thanksgiving was Don finally got a job!!! He officially started the first week in December. That was such a blessing for us. He is working for a company called DR Systems. As far as I know they are a company that provides and supports programming for medical equipment like MRI machines, ultrasounds etc. So right now he is learning all their products. So far he is enjoying it and we are grateful to have a full income from him again. Just in time for all the fun new expenses that come with a baby. ;o)

So Thanksgiving was very nice. I was so lucky to have my parents come to San Diego and spend it with us. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of them while they were out. It seems the only pictures I captured on Thanksgiving was the Horn side of the family so those will be the only pictures I post. On Thanksgiving my parents went to my sister's house and spent time with them and the Grandkids which I know they enjoyed. Don and I decided to celebrate with my side of the family the day after Thanksgiving since we had Don's Dad's side and Mom's side to stop at for Thanksgiving. Even though I am pregnant that is still too much food for us to consume and too many stops for us to make in one day. We did have a Thanksgiving breakfast with my parents though so that was nice.

So the next day we went to my sister's house and my Tia Josefina and her daughter and grandchildren came out to see us from Tijuana, Mexico. That was exciting. I haven't seen them in a few years. You would think we would see them more often since they only live across the border, but we tend to stay away from Mexico these days. Tijuana is not the safest place right now. I was glad to see they were doing well. It's always fun to see them because we all speak broken spanish and english. It's quite a sight to see us communicate but some how we manage. Well... we manage because my poor Mother ends up being the translator when we all get stuck on words and we can't convey what we are trying to say. Than it is just funny seeing her jump from Spanish to English quickly. Quite entertaining... I can't express how truly blessed I feel to know and be related to my Tia Josefina and her family. They are truly some of my favorite people. It's amazing how a language barrier can't stop a relationship from forming. So all in all I really enjoyed my Thanksgiving and of course seeing family. That is always my favorite part of the holidays.

Ok so here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving.

And of course, the yummy feast!!!

Our House

2009-09-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

So the question Don and I hear the most (besides what gender our baby is,) would be when are we going to be invited to see your house or when will you post pictures of your house up so we can see it. Well, today you get your wish! Well... to see pictures of the house that is. Before we delve into the pictures though I want to give a special thank you to everyone who helped us with this HUGE undertaking thus far. We had A LOT of help so if I missed anyone please excuse my error.

Thank you to Ben Smith for all the plumbing services you have provided for us. Everything from installing our bath tub/toilets, helping Don demo the kitchen and bathroom as well as hooking up plumbing and such. That was such a huge help. We could not have done all that ourselves seeing as we don't know the first thing about plumbing. :o) Ben Smith is currently trying to start his own plumbing business. He is a hard worker and a great plumber. I would highly recommend him to anyone. Once you get your website Ben, let us know and we will post a link to it.

Thank you to Ray Basso for helping us with our A/C. From the first time we turned it on and it leaked all over our kitchen and laundry room floor... you really saved our butts. Thanks for coming over and fixing the condensate lines so it wouldn't leak anymore. Also, thank you for coming over and hooking up the unit properly/sealing the hole the previous tenants created when they tried to install the A/C unit themselves. You were a huge help. Ray Basso also owns his own heating and air conditioning company. Of course we would highly recommend his services too. Everyone we have recommended him to has been very pleased with his work as well. His website is http://www.airflowsd.com/

Thank you to Daddy Don! He provided us with much needed tools and of course knowledge and help. My Don was constantly calling his Dad for advice and help on various projects. We are so grateful to have that outlet to turn to. He also helped Don install the cabinets in the kitchen and the floors down stairs among many other projects we had going on. We didn't know the first thing about doing any of that stuff and he came right in with the right tools and helped his son get the job done. Thank you so much!

Thank you to Willie Carbajal too. Willie is Don's Uncle and he was a huge help when we installed the floors down stairs too.

Thank you to Joey Dene' and his crew for installing the carpet upstairs. We love it and couldn't be more happier with the carpet. The carpet that was in there before was nasty! The first day you guys laid it down I full on laid on the carpet and didn't want to get up. Plus I absolutely love the smell of new carpet!

Thank you to Don's Step Mom Amy Horn for coming over many days to paint, paint, and paint some more! You helped paint so many rooms, doors and molding in our house. You were a huge help. And you were the only one brave enough to scale our vaulted ceilings in the stair well. Even though the boys all chickened out, you said no problem and got up there and got the job done! It looks beautiful too! You were also a huge help when we moved. Thank you so much, you rocked!

Thank you to Don's Mom, Gina Horn. You helped with many things too. From painting, to moving to helping us unpack and finding places for all our crap. You helped motivate us to do a lot of stuff when we just wanted to give up. You were a huge strength for my husband when he was ready to say forget it, I am done. Especially with the painting! I know he was so fed up with it by the time we got to the kitchen. He was so over it and I was so busy with my weddings that it seemed like it would never get done. You came in and said "let's get it done, give me a brush and let's finish this." You also gave us great ideas for decorating. I had a lot of fun going shopping with you and finding things to make our house more "homey." You still are in the process of helping us with that... namely our curtains, downstairs bathroom and soon to be our baby room!!! You are awesome!

Thank you to Don's brother Jon Horn. Jon came over on his day off to help me paint rooms too. Namely the baby's room so your soon to be nephew or niece thanks you too! :o) That room was a pain too since it was all blue including the ceiling. He also helped paint other parts of our house. I am also grateful for you helping us move. Jon went out partying the night before and didn't come home till 4 in the morning and than got up early to come help us move. Now part of me doesn't have much sympathy since you knew you had to get up early the next day and you still stayed out late... but I can appreciate the dedication you had of still coming inspite of you feeling like crap and wanting to just sleep. Most people would have said "screw it, they can handle it themselves, I am going back to bed." But you didn't and you hung in there like a trooper. Plus I think you were still a little buzzed and you were just funny to have around as always. Thank you for hanging in there for us. We really needed the extra man hands for the big items. Poor Mike would have been all alone trying to do all that with Don. ;o)

Thank you to Don's other brother Mike Horn. You helped Don a lot too when you could have been doing other things during your summer break. I know Don really appreciated the help. You were also a huge help during the move too. Don has some great brothers!

Thank you to my nephew Craig Hildebrand. He came over to help me paint our living room too. You were great!

Thank you to Don's cousin Dustin Rowland. You came over as well and helped Don do a lot of painting too. Plus you helped during your summer break, so that was way cool of you to take time out of your summer vacation to help us as well

Thank you to Marcia Parkes, our realtor. She was truly a Godsend! One of the best realtors ever. I would highly recommend her. I can not begin to tell you the roller coaster ride Don and I went through when we bought our house. Mostly because it was a short sale and short sales are basically a nightmare. The only reason we got through it was because of Marcia. She was constantly calling me and updating me on everything. Even when she had nothing to update us with, she still checked in on us. She was just great and she was a fighter! Man it was a nightmare trying to deal with PUD's, the title company and HOA issues from the previous owner. It was a bigger nightmare for Marcia since she was at the forefront of it all. But she had our back the whole time and fought for us. She truly went above and beyond the call of duty. I can't thank you enough Marcia. If anyone is in the market to sell or buy a home in San Diego, I would highly recommend her. Her website is http://www.marciaparkes.com/

And last, but not least thank you to all the wives who sacrificed their husband's time to come help my husband! I know it was a burden on you guys as well to not have your husbands at home, so thank you. It did not go unnoticed and we appreciated it very much.

So in closing, Don and I are just so thrilled and grateful for wonderful friends and family who came together to help us make this all happen. You guys are wonderful! Thank you so much. And now... here are the pictures!

This first link goes to the before pictures/remodel pictures of the house:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mandi.horn/OurHouseBeforeAndRemodelPictures?feat=directlink

The second link goes to the after pictures of the house:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mandi.horn/OurHouseAfterPicturesOfTheRemodel?feat=directlink

Pregnancy Update

2009-09-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

So the latest and greatest... Today I am 23 weeks and 1 day pregnant. We have 16 weeks and 6 days left until our little bundle of joy will be here!!! We can't wait! So far everything is going great, no complications and the best part is the morning sickness is GONE!!! Yes finally GONE!!! It really wasn't that bad for me compared to other people seeing as I was mostly just nauseous and only threw up 3 times, but it still was not fun so I am excited it is gone.

We had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and our baby is already taking it's Daddy's side... Don thinks keeping the gender a surprise would be the coolest thing ever. We don't exactly share the same enthusiasm with that. So the plan was I would find out and he would be surprised. Well the baby decided not to let us see... so it still remains a mystery if it will be a he or a she. No worries though, my doctor said he will order another ultrasound towards the end of the pregnancy. Don and I have yet to decide if we will find out than so we shall see. Stay tuned to find out!

So here are some fun facts about our baby's development at this stage in "it's" life:

The baby is about 1.1 lbs, which is about the size of a papaya. The baby is still making remarkable changes at 23 weeks. The skin is still quite red and heavily wrinkled by the end of 23 weeks. The baby can often hear loud noises in the womb from now on, so it may move around a bit when you are in an environment where loud noises are quite common.

The baby is about to chub up a bit. It's saggy skin will start to fit it's frame as fat deposits fill things out. Beginning this week, it'll start to pack on the pounds (which means I will, too!) and by month's end it'll be double the weight it is now (though I won't be — whew!). Right now, the baby's organs and bones are visible through it's skin, which has a red hue due to developing veins and arteries beneath. But once those fat deposits settle in, the baby will become less transparent, too.

As you can tell, I finally took some pictures of my ever growing belly. I have been putting it off since I didn't think I was showing that much until a month ago and I wanted to take pictures when it was obvious that I was pregnant, not just fat. :o) Since than Don has been pushing to take pictures of it and he even went as far as taking candid pictures of me yesterday when I wasn't paying attention. Definitely not fair! I figured I better have him take some pictures that I like instead of taking unflattering candid photos of me at my worse! Those will not be posted due to the "model's" non-consent! I thought he did a great job of taking these pictures though. He is quite the little photographer too!

On a side note, Don and I celebrated our 6th anniversary yesterday! It has gone by so fast and it will go by even faster once the baby comes. We kept it low key... we had breakfast together in the morning and than cleaned our house/organized more of our stuff. Yes I know, lame... Well the cleaning/organizing part is lame. But it was nice spending time in the morning eating yummy food together! Than we went to Grandma Krafft's house later that night to celebrate her birthday. When Don and I picked our wedding day, it just so happened to be on the same day as his Grandma's birthday. Before we had a chance to change the date, she insisted that we keep it that way. She wanted to share the day with us, so we did and it was nice! We had dinner with the whole family and just enjoyed each other's company. Don's Aunt Paula even came out from Florida to join in on the celebrations. That was a fun extra surprise for everyone. We also found out today that Don's step sister had her baby yesterday, so it was an eventful September 6th with many celebrations going on all at once.

I ended up taking the whole week off of work this week because originally before Don lost his job, we had planned on going somewhere for our anniversary. Obviously things changed... so our plans of going somewhere turned into staying home. I think they call that a staycation? :o) Which is actually kind of nice. I have grand plans of updating my photography website, working on our house/unpack more stuff and organize... and finishing all my wedding/photo shoots I have pending. So this will be a much needed time for me to finish my to do list. I am so excited and can't wait till it is all done! I will be starting all that tomorrow since I have lots of updating to do on our blog. Very important stuff you know. :o) My next post will be pictures of our house. Yes, finally before and after pictures of the house! Stay tuned... If I don't get interrupted or distracted I may finish that today. Making dinner right now may be just enough of a distraction to lure me away... ;o)

The River - Yuma, AZ.

2009-08-10T19:21:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Don and I were invited to go to the river with his family. They also invited my parents too which was very nice. It was all in all a fun and very eventful trip. Definitely not a boring one. We sure had our little adventures and not so fun ones for some people.

My cute Mom!

Jon going tubing

Poor Jon was stuck with sleeping on the futon bay window that sat above the A/C unit. He pretty much froze through out the night and when I woke up I saw him curled up in the curtains trying to stay warm. Ok so it was really sad, but kind of funny at the same time... I know I am mean for taking a picture of it and thinking it is kind of funny.

This is everyone who went - minus my parents since they only stayed for one day. We hiked up to this miner's cabin and it had all the original tools and such in it. It was kind of cool, but it was so stinkin' hot. I "B" lined it back to the boat while most of the group went on to find the mine.

Don's 30th Birthday Party

2009-07-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

Don finally turned the big 3-0!!! We had a great time celebrating it with friends and family. We ended up doing a funny t-shirt contest. So everyone that wanted to participate wore a shirt with a funny picture or saying on it. Don's brother Jon won first place and than my niece Kaylie and I won second place. Here are some pictures from his birthday party:

Don and the Smith Family:

Don and his little buddy Maddie:

Don & the Jesperson family - Minus their other children.

Picture of my sister Marza. She is always up for a fun picture!

This is Don's cousin Shaun who let us use his house for the party and he even BBQ'd the food for us. Thanks Shaun!

My nephew Craig playing Rock Band 2.

I thought this was a cute picture of Caleb & Patty. Awwww...

Don's shirt says "Keep talking, I always yawn when I am interested." He thinks he is sooooo funny!

Ummm I think that joke has already been played one too many times! ;o)

Don with his Aunt Paula and Jon

Update!

2009-06-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

So a new post is definitely over due. These past few months have been a little hectic so I will summarize in order...

The begining of June we finally closed on our very own home in San Diego. We put an offer in for that place back in late January, beginning of February. It was a short sale and the name "short sale" is SOOOOOOO deceiving! Don't be fooled by it! It was a nightmare, but worth it in the end. We got such a good deal on our place so I can't complain too much. Definitely a fixer upper so we are putting a great deal of sweat equity into it right now. We just finished painting or at least painting what we need to right now. We have a few touch ups we need to do but we are ready to put in the new flooring this week. After that we will be moving in finally! Right now our kitchen is a disaster zone. We demoed it the first week we owned the place. We later found out our cabinets won't be in for about 4-1/2 weeks. That is ok though, I know if we had left the cabinets in we would have never remodeled the kitchen. We would have lived with it, and that kitchen was UGLY. So we will be working on it while we live there. Once we get some head way on our house (meaning it starts to look nice,) I will post some pictures of it. It is a 3 bedroom town house. It is a little over 1300 square feet, one and a half bathrooms, a laundry room, a two car garage and a little backyard. It is perfect for us. The front yard is a HUGE grassy area with lots and lots of trees and space between all our neighbors. It is so nice and peaceful there. We love it. So we are excited and we can't wait to move in.

Our other big news is Don and I are expecting our first child. Our little guy is expected to be here January 3rd, 2010. I am hoping for a New Year's baby. We shall see. :o) Here is our little Jelly bean's first picture!

I am currently 12 weeks along and the baby and I are doing well. I was able to hear the heart beat for the first time a few weeks ago. It was one of the best sounds ever. Don and I couldn't be happier! We can't wait for everyone to meet the little one. Six more months!!! Anyways, that's all for now. I will update some more once I get some pictures of the house.

Gina's Graduation!!! 4/25/09

2009-04-26T17:08:00.001-07:00

My Mother in law Gina, can now officially say "I am a Phoenix!" On Saturday she officially graduated from the University of Phoenix. She has been working on her Bachelor of Science in Business/Accounting degree for the last four years. She has worked soooooo hard and we are all so proud of her. It was not an easy task. Here is a picture of Gina and her cute red shoes. Those shoes were not comfortable for her to wear by the end of the ceremony so we had to take a picture of them to make it worth it.

The ceremony was held at the San Diego Convention Center in the Sail Room. It was a beautiful room. The ceilings literally looked like sails. But the acoustics were awful! The whole ceremony sounded muffled. Every time someone would talk, the sound would bounce all over the room and muffle the next words out of the person's mouth. You would think the engineers who designed the room would have thought of a solution for that.

Anyways, if you look at the ceiling in this picture you can see the roof that looks like sails. Honestly it was basically like a canvas roof pieced together like a sail. It's a cool idea since the convention center is right next to the bay.

Gina and a few of her classmates:

This is Gina with her siblings and her Mom.

This is Gina and her boys.

Gina, her boys, and me!

We were ALL supposed to be making funny faces... When in reality I was left all by myself. :o(

This is Gina's sister Kristy and her family.

This is the WHOLE family!

And here we all are doing our Phoenix impressions. I AM a Phoenix!

La Jolla Temple 4/21/09

2009-04-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, my sister and I went to the temple to do a session. I was having an awful week that week and I had about a million excuses of why I shouldn't have gone and up until we went into the session, everything was going wrong. I just wanted to go home and start my day over again. It was just one of those days...

Being the good sister Marza is, she kept pushing. So I made it happen one way or another, and I am glad we went. I sure needed it. We try to go once a month, but it has been happening every few months. Hey, at least we are trying. After we got out of our session the sun was literally just setting so I grabbed my camera and got a few shots. These shots were taken just as the sun was almost gone from the sky. I love the brilliant blue the camera captures at this time of day. If you look in the lower left corner of the picture below, you can see just a little pink from where the sun is setting.

Easter 4/12/09

2009-04-12T16:45:00.000-07:00

Today we spent Easter at Grandma Krafft's house and Shawn & Gigi's new house.

This is Grandma Krafft and myself.

This is Don and his brother Mike. Not really sure what they were doing, but I thought it was funny.

These pictures are at Shawn & Gigi's house. This one is Brandie, Don's cousin. I liked the lighting around her, so pretty.

Don was trying to take Anthony's Easter basket. He is such an antagonizer...

Easter Egg Hunt:

Dustin's Birthday 2/13/09

2009-02-15T20:11:00.000-08:00

My cousin in law Dustin turned 15! He is so old! ;o) We went to Don's Aunt's house and ate a yummy dinner, a yummy cake and spent time with the family.

Molly thought she was being so sneaky when no one was looking... But I caught her!!!

Courtney's Birthday Party 1/31/09

2009-02-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

After the baptism we went to Panda Garden and ate some yummy Chinese food! I think I made the waiter mad and he possibly spit in my drink, since that was the item I was questioning. It was highly suspect... You know you have a wonderful husband when he offers to drink something first that is in question. Now that is love! :o) The food was great, the waiters... well they were rude! Anyways... After dinner we went to my sisters house to have cake and open presents.

Yes, those are tea light candles because we are ghetto like that. :o) I love Kaylie's look on her face. Fire! Fire!!!

Courtney's Baptism 1/31/09

2009-02-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

My niece Courtney turned 8 years old and was baptized on January 31st. It was so wonderful being a part of this special day for this little girl. These kids are growing up way too fast and I feel so blessed to live so close to them and be a part of their lives as they go through these milestones in their lives. Their Uncle Don and Aunt Mandi love them so much and we are so proud of them. Here are some pictures before the baptism and after.

Courtney & Uncle Don

Mormon Battalion

2009-01-31T19:37:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the Mormon Battalion Commemoration in Old Town San Diego. That is what my niece wanted to do for the day for her birthday. It was actually a lot of fun. There were so many activities for family and children of all ages.

Here is Kaylie, Courtney and Craig panning for gold. I didn't have the heart to tell them it wasn't real gold.

Craig the wolf man. Just kidding! That is a fur skin over his face. That's kind of gross. Hehehe...

My Charlie's Angel girls!

Look, there I am again! I actually made into the pictures of this event! This house we are in was cool. It was an original house in Old Town and it has been recently restored.

There were people firing off rifles and cannons. That was kind of cool to watch.

Seaport Village 1/30/09

2009-01-31T19:10:00.000-08:00

My parents came out to San Diego the last weekend in January for my niece Courtney's baptism. The day they got in we decided to go to the House of Blues down town for lunch. House of Blues was offering free lunch that day so we thought what a great idea. That was a dumb mistake, duh... The line was wrapped around the block, it was ridiculous! So we decided to go to Seaport Village and spend the afternoon there. The weather was great, the company was great and the atmosphere was stunning! All in all it is one of my most favorite afternoons with my parents. Plus I had fun taking random pictures with my Dad's Nikon camera. I personally like Canon's better. ;o) They are much more user friendly! When we got there I asked my Dad "Can I play with your camera!?!?!" I forgot mine, so I was grateful none the less to be able to use his even if it was a Nikon... Anyways here are some of my favorite pictures I took there.

Two of my most favorite people in the world!!!

Mike's Birthday 1/18/09

2009-01-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

We celebrated my brother in law's 16th birthday party on January 18th. Of course this is a big birthday for him since he can drive now!!! He is actually a pretty good driver. I feel very safe and comfortable when I am in the car with him. Here are some pictures from his birthday party at Grandma Krafft's house.

Grandma Krafft and Mike

And last but not least, here is a picture to prove I was actually there. Being the photographer in the family, I rarely ever get to be in pictures. And look, you can kind of see my new hair cut. My hair is actually shorter than that now!

New Year's Day - 1/1/2009

2009-01-03T14:18:00.000-08:00

It is finally 2009!!! 2008 has flown by so fast. I am excited to see what 2009 will bring us. I will say so far it has started out great since we just got renters in our house!!! We didn't have any for 5 months so it was a blessing to finally get some in there.

On New Year's Day we just kind of hung out... didn't do anything productive. But I was ok with that. I ended up going to Ocean Beach with Scot, Debbie, Jessa, and baby Maddie. It was flippin' cold there! We were not prepared for that since it was nice and sunny in East County. We met up with Stephanie and her boy friend. Stephanie was going back to Virginia the next day so we all wanted to see her one last time. She joined the National Guard a few months ago and she only had so much time for leave until she had to go back. I was glad I got to see her before she left. Here is a picture of Stephanie and her boy friend.

We went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner and we all shared crabs. Hehehe... I haven't had crab legs in awhile and they did not agree with me, but they tasted amazing.

As we were leaving Oceanside we stopped off to see this really cool tree. We just liked how it was decorated. The lights made the tree look like a weeping willow.

After we left Ocean Beach we went back to Santee. Which for some reason we had some nasty fog on the way home. It was the worse fog I have ever seen. We went to our friend's house and started watching the best of 90's music on MTV. It was awesome! I loved seeing all the fashion in the early 90's, it was just awful! Here are some pictures of Don and baby Maddie rocking it out! ;o)

New Year's Eve - 12/31/2008

2009-01-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

For New Year's Eve we kept it low key. We went to our neighbor's house, made dinner and played games. Here are a few pictures from that night.

Don, Scot, & Debbie.

Ben dealing cards. I was excited to get this shot. I just liked the angle.

Here are the first kisses of 2009!!!

And this one is pathetic. I tried taking the picture while kissing Don. Didn't really work out. It's a great shot of my hair! ;o)

Old Town San Diego - 12/27/2008

2008-12-28T13:43:00.000-08:00

While my parents and brother were still in town we went to Old Town San Diego. We decided to ride the Trolley to Old Town just for fun. Well... my parents, me and my sister's family rode the trolley. Everyone else drove up there.

While we were in Old Town we saw the cutest dog! He wore these little sunglasses and it seemed like the glasses didn't even bother him. When the little dog would walk, he walked like a drunken sailor. Not sure if it was because he couldn't see through the glasses or if his oodles and oodles of hair made him top heavy. Either way he was too cute.

This is Craig inside the first public School House in San Diego County. It was called Mason School House and it was built in 1865.

This is the outside of the Mason School House in front of the plaque.

This is some Christmas decorations inside one of the first Catholic Churches here in San Diego. I thought it was very pretty.

And here is my Dad sleeping on the Trolley on our way back home. I have to admit we all kind of fell asleep. It was kind of relaxing with the sun shining on us and listening to the lull of the trolley. I wish I could commute on the trolley to work everyday. Unfortunately the trolley doesn't even go close to my work...

Christmas

2008-12-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas!!!!! My big present for Christmas this year was my Canon 580 EX II External Flash. It made me salivate a bit! This flash just rocks my world! My Dad commented when I opened it up that, "We used to get that same expression from you when you opened up Barbie Dolls for Christmas." My tastes have changed dramatically. Although I still love Barbies, but my passion is photography! So the following pictures were taken with my brand new flash. Mind you I have no idea how to work it. I was having some issues with controlling it. It is one POWERFUL flash. I think I got it under control for now, but I will definitely be buying a book on how to operate this thing. It is kind of complicated. So our first stop on Christmas was my sister's house. Here are some pictures from there.

My nephew Craig.

My niece Kaylie hamming it up for me as usual. I don't even have to prompt her. She just goes into this montage of the grossest/weirdest/face contorting poses.

And this one tops all of her poses this year. Drum roll please........................

I asked my niece Courtney to smile for this picture and this is what I got.

Here are some pictures at Don's Aunt Shadie's house.

Here is why we don't have children yet. Our poor kids wouldn't get to play with their toys because Don would steal them!!!

Christmas at Don's Mom's house.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-26T18:53:00.000-08:00

This year my parents and my brother Joe came to San Diego for Christmas. It seriously made my whole year to have them here. We usually spend Christmas in San Diego and this year since we didn't go to Arizona for Thanksgiving, I was bummed I would not see my family. So to have them come out here was just the best present they could have given me. I know it was a sacrifice for my brother and I was so grateful he came too. My brother Joe and I have about a 9 year difference between us and as I have gotten older, we have become closer. I get so excited to see or hang out with him. He is just a lot of fun. Same with my sister Marza, we have about 10 years between us and since I have gotten older we have become very close. I consider her to be one of my best friends. I feel so lucky to have her here in San Diego close to me.

So for Christmas Eve, my parents and brother went with Don and I to my Father in law's house in Ramona. Of course the drive up Wild Cat Canyon Road made us all sick. Well, my Mom, Joe and I got sick. That road has too many curves for my liking. But we all had a great time with my husband's family. They are wonderful people and I am so glad they offered to have my family come up. Here are a few pictures from that night.

Here are my parents, Joe and Don.

My brother in law Jon.

Some of Don's familia

Me trying to warm up by the fire place. It was frickin' cold!

Grandma Horn

Don's cousin Brandie and her daughter Kylie.

And here is my father in law with his two boys.

Don & Amy - 12/20/2008

2008-12-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

Here is another photo shoot I did for a family member. This one is for Don's Dad and his Step Mom Amy. We went to Ramona in a little rural area near my father in law's house. It was so pretty there. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from that photo shoot.

Christmas Party - December 5th, 2008

2008-12-06T18:26:00.000-08:00

Ever since I have been with my company they have done a huge Christmas party every year. We all look forward to them and just thoroughly enjoy them. I joke that it is kind of like an adult prom for us. I was fortunate this year to already have a dress for it. I used my bridesmaid dress I bought for my brother's wedding. It was red and formal, perfect for what I wanted! This year the party was held at the Down Town Marriott Hotel. It was pretty much right next to the San Diego Convention Center.

So I brought my camera with me of course. I don't let an opportunity to practice my photography go by. Especially when it is a party setting. Since I photograph weddings I thought I could practice with taking pictures while people danced. Here are a few pictures of that.

Here are some pictures of Don and I. This first one was taken by one of my friend's boyfriend. He is a photographer as well and he was showing me a cool trick to make dramatic lighting with my flash. For those of you who know a thing or to about cameras all he did was put the ISO to 100, the aperture to 10 and the shutter to 250. This all has to be done in manual mode, so if you are not comfortable with that, this may be to advance for ya. Just practice, practice, practice. Than with my external flash he pointed it straight at me (fairly close to me) and took the picture. The lower the aperture, the more dramatic the lighting will be. Try it out! In Lightroom I lightened up the background where Don was, to include him in it too. In your editing program you could play around with that too. So here was the end result. The second one is a really dramatic one. That one was with an aperture of 8 and 250 shutter speed.

Here are some other random pictures...

And than Don getting down with it... or something like that. :o)

Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

So Thanksgiving was pretty low key this year. This was our first year staying in San Diego for Thanksgiving since being married. We usually go to Arizona to see my family for Thanksgiving and last year we went to Puerto Penasco in Mexico (which I highly recommend.) So it was a bit strange staying in San Diego this year. All in all it was great. Here are a few pictures from when we went to Don's Aunt's house.

The Horn Brothers - 11/22/2008

2008-11-22T13:29:00.000-08:00

So yes I realize these pictures don't go in chronological order, but I mainly just forgot to post them up in November, and I guess I could use the excuse that Jon was giving these pictures out to family members for Christmas. So basically I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Ya, I will go with that!

Jon (my brother in law) contacted me about doing a photo shoot of him so he could give pictures out to family members for Christmas. I was a little surprised since Jon doesn't like getting his picture taken. So I decided to include pictures of him and his brothers since he is the hardest one to convince to take pictures. We went to Balboa Park since there is a lot of variety there and it is one of my favorite places in San Diego. It is a great location for pictures! Unfortunately we started the photo shoot too late. The sun was already going down so we were racing against the clock. It was one of my more difficult photo shoots since I prefer natural light. I was still happy with what I did get, but I think if we had started earlier it could have been better. But for now I am happy with it.

Here is a picture of all the boys.

Here are a couple individual shots that I liked from each of the boys. The first one is of Don.

The second one is of Jon.

And last but not least, the youngest brother... Mike. Now I couldn't pick only one favorite picture of Mike. I actually loved both of these pictures, so I am posting both of them up.

This very last picture was taken with all natural light. This is how dark it was at the end of the photo shoot. I propped my self up against a pillar because any movement can blur the picture since I took this picture at a very slow shutter speed. Even than I can still notice a very very slight blur. Next time I should use my tri-pod to ensure there is no blur whatsoever. But I still liked the picture so I kept it.

Day at the Zoo 10-25-08

2008-10-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I got to babysit my sister's kids. On Saturday we spent the day at the San Diego Zoo playing. Craig had a camp out trip so he didn’t come with us. It was just me, Kaylie, Courtney and their friend Mackenna. The kids were great. Their friend Mackenna made my day. When we were leaving she said she had so much fun and that her favorite part of the Zoo were all the pictures. I love that kid! Anyone who will let me be a crazy paparazzi (and enjoy it) is ok in my book.

On a side note, I over heard the Zoo keepers on the radio saying the Meerkats were attacking people. At the time I heard that, we had left that area so we didn’t see anything. I don’t know much about Meerkats, but they don’t look that dangerous… Who knows, maybe they had sharp pointy teeth like the bunny in Monty Python. :o) Here are some pictures from our little adventure:

Hollywood Trip

2008-09-22T11:54:00.001-07:00

So for our 5 year anniversary Don and I went to Hollywood for 3 days. We went to Universal Studios for two days and toured Hollywood the rest of the time. It was so much fun. Here is a slide show of a few pictures from our trip. You will have to press play to view it.

Craig Hildebrand's Birthday

2008-09-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

So this year was Craig's 12th birthday This was a special one for him since he received the Aaronic Priesthood in our church. The picture above is the whole family who to took part in this special ordinance. I think the bishop was overwhelmed with the amount of people...

Anyways after we left church we went to my sister's house and celebrated my nephew's birthday. Here are a few pictures from that:

Kaylie was doing her Popular song from Wicked. I love that song... Kaylie memorized all the words and put a dance to it. I have to say I memorized the words too. I know we are obsessed with that play.

Everyone playing in the pool.

Esther and I were messing around with the glow sticks in the pool. We sure know how to entertain ourselves!

And the last picture is everyone again. We are all just a bunch of goons...

The Daw Family

2008-09-03T11:57:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was absolutely wonderful. I got to see lots of friends and family as well as shoot my first paid wedding in Orange County. That drive seemed like forever on the way back home. Needless to say I am exhausted after everyone left. I am still trying to recover! I am not as young as I used to be...

I will post some pictures from the weekend later this week, but for now here are a few pictures of my friends Esther, Jonathan and their baby Thorin. Their little son was born a few months ago and this is the first opportunity I had to take pictures of him. So here are a few favorites:

The Hardy Family - Ensign Article

2008-09-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

So my Dad came across something interesting a couple weeks ago. There is an Ensign article about the Hardy family which is my Dad's side of the family. I remember as a child my Mom & Dad took my brother Dave and I to Louisiana to visit our "roots." That was one of the worse/best trips ever.

I think I was about 8 or 9 and my brother was about 12 or 13. We fought the whole way there. Which was the distance from Arizona to Louisiana. It was a VERY long car trip. I am still in shock that my parents didn't kill us. I vividly remember visiting Hardy Town which is literally a "blink and you will miss it" kind of town. We visited the house where the story in this article talks about Jane Holt Clark (who is my Great, Great, Great Aunt,) standing up to the mob and saying “I brought a good many of you into the world and I can take you out again just as easily if you dare to cross my doorstep.” She rocks! I can only imagine how scary it must have been to stand up to an angry mob like that. I also remember meeting my dear Great Grandfather for the very first time during that trip. He was such a wonderful man. He died last year and he was definitely one of the last of his kind. A true gentleman. I also remember meeting his wife who had to show Dave and I her toenail in a jar. We have that memory scarred into our minds... But she was a good woman too. I am glad to have had the opportunity to see where my Dad's side of the family came from and who they were. I think it is important to know your history. It makes you who you are and grateful for the things they sacrificed, which eventually blesses their future generations lives. A link to the article can be found below.

From Red Rock to Denham Springs
Carol Ann Wagley Burnham, “From Red Rock to Denham Springs,” Ensign, Apr 1983, 70

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=9dfe9c84f5d6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

David & Meagan's Wedding 8/15/08

2008-08-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend was my brother Dave's wedding. Dave & Meagan were married on August 15th and the wedding turned out beautiful! I was a little worried about shooting the wedding since I was in the wedding, and I am so glad Meagan ended up hiring a photographer for at least the ceremony portion. There was no way I could have gotten it all. I am still editing all the pictures I took, but in the mean time here is a slide show of a few favorites.

Car Show

2008-08-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

On Friday our ward hosted a car show. I am a huge fan of classic cars, so for me this was a real treat! Here are some of my favorite shots that evening. I have to say I loved all the cars but the 66' Corvette Stingray was absolutely stunning!

I adore this mustang... Cherry red is the perfect color for it too!

Here is the wonderful Miss Erin Basso who put this all together!

Aunt Kristi's Birthday - 7/27/08

2008-08-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

So for Kristi's birthday we went to the Del Mar Race Tracks. "Where the turf meets the surf, down at old Del Mar... Take a train, take a plane, take a car..." Yeah, I pretty much had that song stuck in my head all week. But the horse races were a lot of fun and the weather was amazing! I think it was about 70 to 75 degrees there, perfect!

So I am not a person who understands horse racing, but I enjoyed watching it and taking pictures. "It is a place to see and be seen," as the quote goes. There is also so much history here. Here is a website about the Del Mar Race Tracks in case you are interested:

http://ezinearticles.com/?History-of-Del-Mar-Race-Track&id=1276278

That song I quoted earlier was written by Bing Crosby himself, who was co-founder to the race track. Here is a painting of the original owners:

The painting of the original owners can be found in this area. On the right side of the corridor there are paintings on the wall of the Del Mar fair and on the left side are paintings of the Del Mar Race Tracks. The people walking in this picture are Jon, Gina, and Mike. I think Don is behind me...

When you first walk into the race tracks there is a long line of palm trees and flags. It is kind of cool.

Below is where the horses are contained until the gates open and they run, and do they run! Very fast and powerful horses.

Here is a picture of the crowd behind us. When the horses got close to the finish line, the crowd went wild! The excitement in the air was electric.

Here is where we watched the race. The horses were not more than 10 feet away from us. Each race we would line up on that fence and watch. Those horses ran by fast! I was glad my camera had a fast shutter speed to catch it all. Six frames per second, go camera go!

I don't even think Frank noticed Don doing that! I guess he will when he looks at this picture.

And here is a picture of the birthday girl. Aunt Kristi is on the left and her daughter Kelly is on the right.

And last but not least, Don... If you click on the picture it will zoom in a little closer on the picture. Look at the reflection in Don's glasses, it is me! That was not on purpose, but I thought it was cool. I never get to be in pictures because I am usually the one taking the pictures. So I finally got to be in one!

Don's Birthday - 7/26/08

2008-08-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

For Don's birthday we went to Fuddruckers. Man do I love their burgers! Thanks to all the friends and family who came to help celebrate Don's birthday. I know Don had a blast!

Here are some funny pictures I was able to catch of various people. The first two are of my niece Kaylie, the 3rd one is my brother in law Mike and the last one is my sister Marza and Grandma Krafft.

Here is my Father in law and brother in law playing with their iPhones. We have become quite the techno geek family.

I think Don is getting in trouble here with his Grandma!!! Just kidding. :o)

Jon's Birthday - 7/20/08

2008-08-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my brother in law's birthday. We went to Seau's Restaurant and ate some great food.

This is Jon and his best friend Nicole. She has been pretty much adopted into the family. We love her!

Here is the whole table:

Here is another funny pictures of Jon. I can always count on him to make a funny picture!

Baby Madeline

2008-07-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

Our friends Jessa and Ben Smith just had their beautiful baby girl on 7/11/08. We were so excited to see her and of course I was excited to take pictures of her too. I instantly fell in love with this little girl.

Jessa's sister Jamie was also in town this weekend. We went to her open house on Saturday night and I was so bummed I forgot my camera. So unfortunately I did not get any pictures of baby Isabelle. She is also a wonderful baby that I adore. It was so fun seeing the two babies who are not more than a couple of weeks old, meet for the first time. Here are some of my favorite pictures that I took of little Maddie last night.

The iPhone 3G Cult

2008-07-12T09:56:00.001-07:00

Yes, we joined the ever rising i-phone cult yesterday. We decided it would be best to put some of our tax stimulus check to a good cause, to boost our economy. Or something like that... Hehehe, what ever helps to justify it right?

We were told that the Apple Store had an 8 hour line just to get into the store. CRAZY!!!! We did not want to mess with that so we went to our AT&T store in Santee and they said they were sold out of i-phones after being open for 3 hours earlier that day. So we just ordered them and they should be here in 7-10 days!!!!! I can't wait. It is so pretty and full of yummy technology! I can't wait to play with it. I bought the black one and Don bought the white one. Yah, we had to be different. I thought about getting the white one so I could match my Macbook computer, but than I thought, 8 Gigs is just enough for me. I don't need 16 Gigs... Here are the specs on the phone. I have resorted to reading about it until it is in my hands!

Warrant for my arrest, or something like that...

2008-07-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

So this morning on my way to work I am driving through Santee minding my own business & a cop starts to trail me. Just as my luck would have it, he pulls me over. I was wondering why he pulled me over since I wasn't speeding & my registration is all up to date. So I roll down my window & the cop asked "do you get pulled over a lot?" I thought that was a weird question. I haven't been pulled over by a cop in over 6 years. He proceeds to tell me that in the State of California you have to have a license plate in the front and back of the car. Which on my car I am missing the license plate in the front.

So he takes all my info and goes back to his car. He took forever and in my head I am thinking he must have pulled me over for something else. Finally he comes back & said he was letting me off with out a ticket, but the real reason he pulled me over was because someone stole a silver Jeep earlier that morning & my Jeep looked kind of silverish. Depending on the light it changes colors. So needless to say I was late to work because some jerk decided to steal a Jeep this morning. If I was a criminal I would have picked a better car to steal. They could have had mine & the outrageous gas bill that goes along with it!

Shoes, Glorious Shoes!

2008-07-09T21:12:00.001-07:00

Here is my latest little project. It also made me realize that I want to buy more shoes to take pictures of. That can be dangerous...

4th of July Fireworks

2008-07-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

For 4th of July Don and I went to his Mom's house in Santee. She lives next to a huge field where they shoot off the fire works. The day before 4th of July I woke up thinking "Sweet I have a high end camera now and I can take some pretty sweet shots of fireworks this year." So I spent Thursday evening researching what I needed to do to obtain the perfect firework shot. Which by the way for those of you who are interested in how to do it visit my photo workshop blog and it will explain every thing. Feel free to visit or subscribe to that blog if you guys are interested in photography. I started a photo group at church and each week I will try to post something up to further everyone's knowledge in photography and in the future I will be including tutorials for Photoshop as well. Here is the link:

http://mhornphoto.blogspot.com/

Anyways, I had a lot of difficulty at first. You have to do this all on manual mode so there is a lot of thought process that is involved with it. After I figured it all out, it was easy... of course! My brother in law Mike was so nice to accompany me while I did this. We had to walk up a steep hill in our sandals (I wouldn't recommend that.) There was brush and weeds everywhere so lucky us, our ankles and feet were eaten alive by bugs! Hey the sacrifices you make for a good shot. My husband punk'd out on me and decided to stay down on the side walk where it was safe. Thanks Don! What happened with for better or worse!?!?! :o) Hey at least Mike toughed it out with me. You rock Mike! Looking at this slide show makes me feel like I am watching the fire work show all over again! Now we just need music to add to it. I wasn't able to figure that out... oh well. You guys can listen to your own music while watching it.