Nine.............

Nine years ago today, Kyle and I got married in Washington D.C. This year, Father's Day also happens to fall on June 15th. I'm not one much for PDA, but I do want to say that I have been perfectly matched with my husband and the father of my little family. I am fully aware of how blessed I am and I am infinitely grateful that he picked me. Happy Anniversary, Kyle, and Happy Father's Day.

A few days ago I ordered the boys and Kyle a new pair of swim trunks to take on our trip to Utah. I order things for two reasons: 1. It's so easy and Old Navy was having a great sale 2. The boys LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to get packages in the mail. They get so excited. Everytime I get a picture order in the mail, they sprint out to the UPS truck. Mr. "Brown" obliges and lets the boys help him carry the packages up to the door step. So today, when they saw that one of the packages was actually for them, they were elated.

I took these pictures while we were waiting for the UPS truck to come. I'm still just trying to get lots of practice with my 85 mm. I did finally use it in a shoot yesterday evening and I think I'm gonna love it. The hardest part is just getting used to the focal length.

So, we're off to Utah tomorrow to visit with our family out there. The boys are so excited and I am dreading the flight, but excited for the visit. Enjoy these pictures of my sweet boys. Zac was in a silly mood and pulling as many crazy faces as possible. This is my favorite of all of the crazy face pics. And I love the picture of them hugging. They really do adore each other, when they're not punching, kicking, boxing, head butting, or body slamming each other!

Cute, Handsome, Studly, Beautiful, Georgeous.....

They are mine, so I can use all of those adjectives to describe them, but I think others may think they are at least cute! I have been practicing with my new 85mm lens pretty diligently so I can get comfortable enough to use it in a shoot. These are a few of my practice shots from today. Both were taken on the carport. Technically, I know the pic of Will has some pretty distracting background stuff going on, but I'm OK with that! I've been working on new black and white conversions as well, so I thought I'd try those at the same time. For anyone who cares, both of these conversions were done using a grayscale conversion, than a curves adjustment, levels, a slight soft light layer and a bit of color to give them a chocolate finish. Now that I've bored you all to death...

I'm so anxious to see who this new little one will look like. So many people tell me how much Zac and Will are alike, and I never disagree, as to not be offensive, but I don't think they are alike at all! Zac is all Swenson, to me. He looks so much like Ann through his eyes that it's hard for me to see anyone else! I do see lots of Nate in Zac, but Nate looks more like Ann to me than any of the other Dart boys. It's so funny how we all see different things, but I'm just telling you how I see it! No matter who he looks like, I can see that he is beautiful inside and out. He is so tender and kind. He gets embarrassed sooo easily and wants everyone to love and accept him. He tries so hard to be a good boy and is so hurt when he realizes he's messed up! He loves to ask about anything and everything, "Mom, why did Heavenly Father make......" Sometimes I can answer and sometimes I have say that I don't know! One thing he's really concerned with lately is why Heavenly Father allows people to do bad things. We talk daily about free agency and our right to choose and make decisions. He's only four now, so I'm wondering what kind of discussions we'll be having when he's ten?

Then there's my little Willy. Emily hit the nail of the head today. She said that Will looks like mine and Kyle's faces morphed together! At times I see so much Kyle in him, but other times, I really do see myself in his expressions and features. He is definitely a Dart looking boy, but I like to think there's a little Hancock shining through, as well. Will and Zac are such different animals. Zac is overly affectionate. I feel pretty lucky if I get a good hug a day from Will. Now, he'll dish the love out to my mama, but he's a little stingy with his affections. He is much more introverted than Zac, but once you're "in" with him, you're "in." He loves Uncle Tommy and he loves baseball. He loves it more than Zac. It is in his bones. It amazes me that a two year old can watch and completely understand a baseball game, from start to finish. There's no way I can explain to you, unless you've seen it in action, his love for the game.

Will can also throw a tantrum with the best of them, but I think we're finally getting that under wraps. I am so lucky to have good, sweet boys. Kyle and I try so hard to teach them to be kind, so I can only hope it is sinking in. Parenting is hard stuff, but also the greatest stuff on earth. If you want to know the name of boy #3, just ask Will. Eventually you'll figure it out!

Completely Random...

Yesterday was a beautiful day. It was a little cooler than is typical for this time of year, so yesterday evening was so nice and pleasant - except for the gnats! Grandma and Pa had just finished cutting the grass, so it made a perfect outfield for fly ball practice. Zac and Will love for Pa to hit ground balls, throw pop flies, throw batting practice, and any other thing that has to do with baseball. I asked Zac if he was ready to go inside (because of the gnats), and he said, "I could stay out here forever!"

Saturday night was Joel and Lauren's reception. This picture was last minute and thrown together, but it has our whole clan in it, so it works! If you haven't noticed, the wedding colors were purple and gold - ECU colors. As I was looking at this picture, I realized that all of the adults in our family have attended ECU at some point. Of course, ma and pa met there in the library and that's where it all began. Emily and Joella and their husbands are all ECU grads. I went there for my freshman year before transferring to BYU and Kyle finished up his last few courses there to get his bachelors before law school. Leah and Rodney are both ECU alumni. Lauren was a ECU cheerleader and Joel just finished up one degree there and will be starting his next in June. Mike just barely transferred out to BYU, but put in his two years as a Pirate before heading out west. So, I guess it was quite appropriate that we were all donning the purple and gold!

Vote for Alexa!

Even if you don't know Kyle's cousin, Alexa, you can still follow this link and vote for her! She is one of the final three on Utah's Rock Star! Please, vote for Alexa!

http://www.kutv.com/content/morning/default.aspx

Wedding Day

My brother, Joel, got married yesterday to his high school sweetheart. It was such a wonderful day and I took so many pictures, I can't sort through all of them tonight, but here are a few. I thought I'd share a pic of all of my sisters and their spouses as well. I realized as I was posting these that I left poor Mikey out, but I'll dedicate a whole post to him soon. I'll post millions more wedding pics later, but I'm tired and I'm going to bed. Aly

Fun in the Sun

We have a favorite spot to visit in the summer. The boys LOVE to go to Aunt Glenda's house. (She isn't really an aunt by blood, but she might as well be.) She had a perfect little spot on the shore with no shells and perfect sand for the boys to dig and play and swim. This was our first visit of the season, but I'm sure we'll be down there several times a week from here on out.

The boys had a blast and I enjoyed catching a few rays! I certainly need some sun, so it was great. The boys love to be buried in the sand, but will only stay there for about 30 seconds after all of the work is done!

I am so happy it's getting warmer and looking forward to wonderful summer!