Eva's Lollipop Photo Shoot

 My kids are almost impossible to photograph.  The turn their heads, run away, growl, swat at the camera... you name it.  When I was at my mom's house in Boulder City, NV, I brought out the big guns.  I brought my two sisters Julie and Natalie along to act as circus clowns and then we promised Eva a big lollipop from the candy store.  Downtown BC has all these cute little antique shops and old buildings.  They even have a guy walking around playing a guitar!  (I have no idea what that guy was doing but the pics crack me up, see below.)  I still have so much to learn about photography but I'm happy with what I got considering Eva is such a moving target!

 

I Hate This

 We have decided that May in Richmond is not a great month.  It is the month when we say good-bye to another wave of our "student" friends.  This year we were dealt a particularly tough blow.  It's hard to say good-bye to so many people that we love so much. 

The "fourth years".  Jackie, Katie, Michelle, Alicia, Vanessa, Bridgette, Lindsay, Kim, Jillayne, Brittany, Maddie and Mandi. 

The entire group at our annual "Farewell Scraps" which is kind of like the final at EFY but not as much crying.   

 Here's Devin with his "fourth year" sports buddies at a BYU- VATech basketball game in January.  He's really going to miss his boys. 

And my very first friend in Richmond, Kim, also left this week.  She has been such an amazing friend to me these past three years and I'm really going to miss her!  Thankfully she is moving to Boise so we'll get to see them lots.  But that still doesn't help this crummy situation!!!

And Milah has been Eva's best friend since she was one.  It has been so fun watching these two grow from little chubby babies into beautiful little girls.  I've seriously had the hardest time lately watching them play together and wondering what Eva will do without her Milah.  She'll probably be fine.  I don't think she really gets it.  I'm just happy they still get to play together in Boise now and then as they grow up. 

 Milah and Eva as chubby little babies!

Sorry if this is a depressing post but memories are memories, right? 

And just to give myself a little laugh here's a pic from our Christmas White Elephant Scraps that I never posted.

Kid-Cation

While we were in Europe the kids stayed in Boulder City with my parents.  The girls had so much fun and didn't even know we were gone.   My mom however was in bed for three straight days when I got back!  I flew out early to take the kids so I had a little time to spend with family.  Here are a few pics from the trip. 

 Cousin Gracie was such a good little helper. 

 Eva loves hopscotch.

 We met Grandma Joanie and Grandpa TomTom in St. George for a fun visit.  Snow Canyon picnic with our JoeJoes!

 

We stayed with Devin's aunt and uncle, Kay and Ken.  They were so fun with my kids.  We were eating dinner and Ken came home from work.  Eva said, "Hey!  What's that guy doing here again???"  

 Sophie loves Uncle Ken!  This came in handy during Conference sessions.  :) 

 Fun times with cousins Angie and Andrea. 

 Taking creepy pictures with Angie's amazing red lipstick.

 Creeping out the kids at the Bean museum at BYU. 

 Taking creepy sister pictures. 

 And not so creepy ones.

 

 Sophie had a major mullet and she got her first haircut. 

 Playing with Lexi Doggie. 

 While we were in Europe, my sister Julie sent me tons of  IPhone pics with little stories. 

"Eva was allowed to dress herself today.   She chose to wear 4 layers of everything aquamarine that she owns: swimsuit, top, tank top, and dress.  (Yes, her underwear match.  Duh!)"

She was a little OCD about her matching!  She would have a pink day, then a aquamarine day, then back to pink.  She somehow would convince my mom and sister to dress accordingly!

 Sophie's first day in nursery.  Looking much better than she does now.  It's two hours of torture for everyone involved nowadays. 

Little pink spongies!



Eva was considered the Primary Diva in my mom's ward.  Here's a little story from Julie. 
"I went to the primary room and found Eva standing defiantly at the front of the room, arms folded angrily, grunting and growling at the rest of the kids in sharing time.  I scooped her up and she spent the rest of her short-lived tantrum on my lap.  Turns out each class was given an Easter egg containing a puzzle but she wanted her OWN.  And she wanted a PINK egg.  She eventually got over it when they started singing time.  She got her chance to find eggs around the classroom.  When they pointed out that her PINK egg matched her dress she scooped up her skirt (flashing her matching undies) and got sooooo excited!  She LOVES to match!
This is her leading the song.  She flipped the sign from boys to girls back and forth so quickly that they gave up and everyone sang in unison.  The leaders sure got a kick out of this little diva!"

Roma, ro-ma-ma...

"Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life."  - Anna Akhmatova

After a prolonged absence (we just didn't have the heart to post our last pics and admit that our trip had come and gone), it's time to restore this blog to its rightful role as a chronicle of Eva and Sophie's exploits.  So without further ado, I (Devin) bring you Roma...

Much like Paris, so much of the beauty of Rome is in the casual, everyday streetscape that must feel very commonplace to the Romans and yet is so lacking in often identity-less American suburbia.

While Paris has its grand boulevards, Rome is a tangle of narrow, meandering streets sprinkled with beautiful historical landmarks like the Pantheon.  They seem to pop up out of nowhere making it a wonderful city to discover on foot.

Oh and the piazzas.  If there is one thing fundamentally missing in most American cities, it is great public spaces.  Rome, meanwhile, has them in spades...

Every building seems to tell a story in Rome, even the seemingly common ones...

And what would a trip to Italy be without a delicious personal pan pizza?  I haven't had one this good since my days of Pizza Hut's Book It! program (ok, maybe my memory exaggerates a little bit).

If our table looks a little slanted, that's because it was. But give me the ambiance of an Italian sidewalk cafe and I'll make due with a crooked table...

They don't call it the Eternal City for nuthin'.  We just happened to be in Rome on Easter Sunday.  We opted to avoid the crowds (and the crazies) at the Vatican that morning, but in the afternoon we still got to see the area decorated in full regalia. 

It really is incredible when you take a minute to appreciate how truly historic and downright old so many of these sites are.  We're talking 2,000 years!!!  American historical sites are all of what, 1/10 of that in age!?!

This is Mussolini's contribution to Roman architecture. Like them or loathe them, you gotta hand it to those militaristic dictators, that absolute power allows them to build beautiful buildings. 

When we landed in Rome on Sunday morning, the first destination we set out to see was Trevi fountain. Only one problem: with Rome's tangled web of streets, Trevi fountain is not easy to find. Literally on the back of a building facing an alleyway, the fountain is another of those landmarks that you kind of just stumble upon while you are looking for something else.

  Apparently we weren't the only ones who found it...

Legend has it that if visitors toss a coin over their shoulder into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome.  Here's to hoping!

Also crowded (did I mention it was Easter weekend?) were the lovely Spanish Steps.

Here's another, more nondescript shot of the masses enjoying a sunny day...or is it?  Waldo's got nothing on Sarah...

If you know anything about us Morrises, we love picnics and nearly any setting is picnic-able. Here you have a classic example: waiting outside the Vatican museum for our tour to begin... 

...and here are your essential elements.  Good food? Check. Good company? Check. Appearance by the Pope?  Che...yeah right.

Many have attempted to photograph the Sistine Chapel and many have failed. Add us to that list.  But here's the thing, no picture can truly capture the beauty of that room. It really is awe inspiring.

Remember what I said about the casual, everyday scenes that typify Rome? Well this is one of them. We stumbled across this little park with a lake and row boats. Nothing too out of the ordinary, right?  Except it's Rome, where everything is beautiful. 

Time to kiss our trip goodbye.