August 12x12

1. family photo at Zion National Park 2. keeping busy on the drive 3. sister photo minus one 4. Zion National Park 5. kissing Hammy my niece's new pet dwarf hamster 6. hat 7. directions 8. Auntie and Uncle Jake by Ted 9. Fort Zion Virgin Trading Post Village 10. one of the three patriarchs 11. lulu dancing under the twinkle lights 12. self portrait

February 12x12

I'm not a big fan of the 12x12 on Sunday, because it feels like a such a boring day to document. But, one of the things I like about the 12x12 is documenting the mundane things as well as the fun. So- I added our dumb coke point entering and books I'm reading in an effort to accurately document our lives.




1. the next two books i'm planning on reading are Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo and Moneyball by Michael Lewis. both of these authors recently spoke at the Tate Lecture Series. Dambisa Moyo was especially interesting, because she talked about her recommendation of completely removing all foreign aid to Africa. she isn't proposing to do it tomorrow and without warning, but recommends giving governments a timeline and then cutting off the faucet. given that i work in HIV i am especially interested in her thoughts on how her idea would translate to fighting HIV in Africa.

i also loved listening to Michael Lewis- did you know he is married to Tabitha Soren? he actually made finance interesting. one of the things i love most about this lecture series is the diversity of speakers. next up Michael Pollen. yikes i better get cracking. i'd like to reread In Defense of Food before his lecture.

2. i'm rereading the Hunger Games trilogy in anticipation of the movie and i'm finishing the last book. today was the perfect day to get cozy, because it is dreadfully cold here.. low 40's. i'm a big baby, although in my defense it's hard to get climatized in Texas because the weather isn't consistent. today it was very low 40's (although with the humidity, it was much colder) and in 3 days they are anticipating 70's.

3. my cute calendar from ms. amy. it makes me happy.

4. even lulu's bagel is in a loving mood. she was fascinated on how the heart shape formed.

5. ted and adam making pizza crusts to freeze. we made a total of 6.

6. two of my most favorite people in the world. this is sarah my hugely talented friend. i almost exclusively wear her jewelry and i get a compliment on them every.single.day. seriously, do yourself a favorite and buy her jewelry. i promise you won't be disappointed. not only do i think she is awesome, but so do my kids.

7. ted's valentines all ready to be delivered. thank you Design Mom.

8. one of my young women got me hooked on york peppermint patties. i forgot how delicious they are.

9. ted and lulu after church. my mom made them their cute church bags. some sundays i'm amazed we make it through church intact.

10. lulu's cute valentines for her classmates. the boys are getting mad libs and pencils (again, thanks Design Mom) and the girls are getting melted crayola hearts. i even used my japanese washi tape (also from ms. amy) that i've been hoarding.

11. we enter coke points for free stuff. they consume a huge amount of diet coke at adam's work, so we also enter their codes in addition to ours. we probably drink too much, but thanks to coke points it has paid off. we have gotten lots of movie tickets, frequent flyer miles, great backpack, etc..

12. lulu helped ted with his valentines. they really work well together.

Another Year of 12x12- January 2012

1. i planted my paperwhites ridiculously late, so they are just now peaking.

2. i drove art class today. love these girlies. although i don't love the screaming or girl drama!

3. ted insisted i put together all of his helicopters. we have had lego parts spread throughout the house all week.

4. we took adam's brother to one of the best burger joints in our town. love this place.

5. ted's hook at school.

6. ted and i stopped and picked up a little refreshment for ourselves.

7. adam's older brother was in town so we met him for dinner. i love it when family visits. ted was enamored!

8. his brother's hotel was in an area of town we never go to. we noticed these long horn statues as we were driving by and i insisted adam stop so we could get a picture.
9. getting gas. it was so cold i sat in the car and waited. brrr i forgot how cold texas can be in the winter.

10. ted and one of his little buddies from school.

11. my desk is a disaster-- as usual.

12. by ted. he did a pretty good job.

December 12x12

1 shopping for Ted. i loved these bobble heads. ted is obsessed with all things dc comics these days! 2 we stayed in a hotel last night due to plumbing issues at our house. the plumber was able to get it fixed within an hour, but he didn't return our call until much later in the afternoon and by then we were panicking about not having a working bathroom. we made arrangements on priceline for a night at a local hotel and 5 minutes later the plumber called. Unfortunately we couldn't get our money back, so we just went and stayed at the hotel. the kids thought it was awesome. me.. i was just mad it was all so unnecessary, but at the same time worth every penny for how much the kids loved the adventure. the photo of all of us at the hotel. the kids were very impressed with the fancy bathroom. 3 i've saved all the Christmas cards we have received throughout the years. i love getting caught up on our friends lives, especially those that we don't keep in regular contact. a few years ago we met one of adam's medical school classmates and his family for dinner in san diego. the four of us had become good friends and it was fun catching up. while we were there we chatted about how much we all wished we stayed in better contact, but that our lives were busy and we were content with the yearly updates via Christmas cards. we got their card this week and it recounted the last year which has found him as the chief medical officer aboard a naval boat and her home caring for their 4 children the last 300+ days. reading the family Christmas card made me cry. his wife is a rockstar! it reminded me of the previous conversation and how much i adore both of them and how happy i am that i still get a quick glimpse into their lives. 4 picking Lulu up from after school care. we went Christmas shopping for her gift for Ted. she got him a cute batman stuffed animal. 5 buying the items for the Ronald McDonald House tree at Lulu's school. toiletries, movie tickets, copy paper and cascade. quite a versatile list if i do say so myself. 6 i had to serve jury duty today. i actually deferred a few months back and couldn't pass up the opportunity to have my jury duty included in my 12x12, so when i saw it was one of the rescheduling options, i took it! 7 i played angry birds while i waited my turn. thankfully i wasn't selected. 8 some of the residents of our fair city go all out with Christmas decorations. this is just one small representation of one of my favorite houses. 9 because it was so cheap we ended up staying at a 4 star hotel last night. again- not happy about wasting the money, but man was it a nice hotel! 10 our elf on the shelf- Jingle Bells. the kids anxiously get up every morning to see where he has moved to. lulu made him the crown. this baby works wonders at this time of year. 11 lulu has taken to making up crazy dances. i tried to get a snapshot of her busting a groove. 12 a girlfriend asked me to help her make gingerbread houses for her daughters class. even though i've made them a number of times, i always feel like i have a learning curve for a bit when i make these. not sure why.

I always love it when someone comments on my photo taking. We got dinner at Chipotle and someone asked me it I was a photographer. I said no and then realized she asked because of my camera. I went on to explain what I was doing and she (like so many before) commented on what a great idea it was to document a whole day every month. I quite agree.

November 12x12

It just so happened that on the day of my November 12x12 I was flying home from Seattle via Salt Lake. I wish I would have taken more pictures in the airport, but I wasn't interested in an interview with Homeland Security and although I arrived in plenty of time to make my flight out of Seattle it took forever and the kids and I were running to catch our plane. Thankfully I have two well seasoned travelers. We were also running to catch our plane in Salt Lake, but that had more to do with me thinking we were leaving an hour later than we were and one too many diet cokes at Hires Big H. Luckily my brother in law has taken lessons at the speedway so we made it with plenty of time. I loved having a layover and getting a quick peek at the family. Too bad it wasn't for a longer visit.

1 the kids and i were coming home from spending a week in Seattle with my parents/attending a work conference. the clouds flying into SLC were crazy. it was a bumpy ride. 2 we had about a 3 1/2 hour layover and since it was my big sisters ..40th birthday the week before, my brother in law planned a little impromptu family gathering. it was great, because i got to see my other sister and her family and my cousins family. he happens to be married to one of my really good friends. an added bonus: i got to eat at one of my favorite places. maybe it is more of a nostalgia thing for me, but i really do love a good big H. 3 aren't these kids adorable? 4 on our way to the airport in seattle, we passed this truck on the freeway. the owner had his dog wearing a pair of googles. my mom thought it was awfully kind of the man to make sure his dog could see while in the back of the truck. i thought it would have been a bit nicer of the owner to put the dog in the cabin. especially since it was chilly. this gave my kids hours of retelling humor. 5 jenn and jake picked us up at the airport. ted kept asking jenn if she was 40. i thought it was funny. 6 we landed just in time for the snowstorm. lulu and her cousin reise went outside to catch snowflakes on their tongues. 7 saying good bye to my mom and dad and mctavish. they always take such great care of us when we come to town. 8 it was ted's turn to have the window seat. 9 my kids loved having a dog around.. me, not so much! 10 the u of u was playing ucla and hires big h was packed with bundled utah fans headed to the game. i had to show my utah pride. i wish i would have thought ahead and had ted in his utah garb. 11 my cute sister and her family. 12 as we walked off the plane we started stripping off the layers of clothing we had on. i got in the car and noticed it was 71 degrees at 9 pm. talk about going from one extreme to the next. no wonder my sinuses are driving me crazy today!

October 12x12

This was one of those months I was really thankful for this 12x12 project. Honestly, if it wasn't my 12x12 day, I would have had a very different day. We were leaving for Boston early the next morning and I still had a million things to do. Work has been maddening the last couple of weeks, so knowing that I wasn't going to be at work for 4 days required me to complete everything on my to do list and leaving early just wasn't the best idea. BUT, because it was my 12x12 I threw caution to the wind, ran around like a maniac and left (albeit it late) to meet my girlfriend and head to the Texas State Fair.

1 halloween decorations adorn our front porch. i need to pick up pumpkins, but because our doorway is full sun ALL DAY LONG they usually only last a week before turning to mush. 2 fletcher corny dogs are classic state fair food. we tried fried pickles this year. they were okay. 3 the crew with the scariest clown around. 4 some friends of ours make a sizable donate to the science museum at the fairgrounds, so when the state fair rolls around they get a parking pass that could only be described as pure gold. no parking hassles. no parking or entrance fees. parking right on the grounds. seriously, PURE GOLD. 5 lulu and her friend maren made up this funny little song and dance. they decided to perform it for us. 6 my morning jolt. 7 of course we bought tickets to see the two headed creatures. we refused to let the kids go on any rides, because that would have been a nightmare, but i think seeing the smallest turtle in the world AND a two headed snake is pretty awesome. 8 adam was post call so he came home early. he was going to go with us, but instead he was a champ, he stayed home and did a couple of the things we needed to do before leaving for boston. we took a photo, because a few weeks ago we were looking through our photo gallery and realized there are a couple of years in our marriage that we didn't take one single photo of just the two of us during the year. 9 we always venture to the livestock barns. i learned a lot about show cows and whatnot. i am slowly realizing i talk to A LOT of strangers and i am completely my father. 10 the bane of my existence. i have to fax forms throughout the day and unfortunately it isn't right next to my desk, so i spend the bulk of the day walking back and forth between my desk and this albatross. 11 the kids always love the "little hands farm" at the fair. they were in the process of digging a hole to plant their seeds. 12 love the texas state ferris wheel.

although it wasn't the best idea it ended up being just what i needed. thankfully my sweet friend forgave me for being 45 minutes late. yikes! whoever said a working mom can do it all is either lying or is far better organized than i am.

September 12x12

1 ted is on a soccer team and tonight was his first game. he has begged to play for the last year. every time we would drive past a park with a soccer game he would say "there is my soccer game. we need to hurry." we finally took pity on him and enrolled him for the fall season. his most favorite part- the soccer uniform. 2 homework. need i say more. 3 i swear mother nature has some kind of sense of humor. we finally dipped below 100 for a few blissful days, but now we are right back into the thick of it. i'm all for warm temperatures, but this is ridiculous. 4 this is one of the ads for children's medical center. i giggle every time i see it. i can't say why, but if you knew, you would giggle too. 5 i seem to forget to include me in most of my 12x12. i thought i'd get myself in at least one shot. i was dressed quite patriotically too. 6 hands down the best song by U2. my girlfriend can hear 2 notes and immediately identify this song. i usually play it rather loudly in the car. 7 ted started a new school. he likes it. it has been an adjustment for both of us. it's a hassle to get him out the door in the morning, which means i've been getting to work late. must improve! 8 lulu's school did an event this morning with the entire elementary on the front lawn saying the pledge of allegiance. it was a celebration of our freedom and country. it was sweet to see all the kids dressed in red, white, and blue and they had a few boys come in their scouting uniforms. the schools around here have the kids say both the pledge of allegiance and the pledge of allegiance to the texas flag each morning. this morning they finished saying the pledge and then were suppose to say the texas pledge, but they forgot and just repeated the pledge of allegiance again. it made me giggle. i get that texans love their flag, but c'mon! i snapped this photo as lulu was heading back to class. 9 stop at 7-11 for refreshments. ted and i are developing quite a routine in the morning. (are you giggling that i'm late for work in the morning, but i still must stop for a refreshment.. shh don't tell my boss). 10 adam is co-coaching ted's soccer team. i thought this photo was sweet. ted is carrying such a gigantic cooler of water, because it was 103 when we got out of the car to head to his game. 11 texans are crazy about a couple of things: texas and their patriotism! there were flags all over the city this weekend. i am bizarrely patriotic, so i loved seeing every last flag and i was happy to see a few people still had them up. we hung our flag this weekend too. we don't have a flag pole, so i had to be creative. i was able to hang it on some hooks by our front door. our flag was given to us as a wedding gift. it was one of the flags flown over the capitol on the day we were married. i need to hang it more often! 12 i have to go to seattle for work, so i'm taking the kids with me. my mom and dad are excited to spend the week wrestling them and i'm just glad i don't have to arrange childcare.