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30 May 2007

Pirate Training Camp

Last week the Harmon Squad headed down to New Bern for Pirate Training! The crew left Greensboro in the distance Tuesday, reaching New Bern later that evening. Training began with a tour of the marina that night. The following day the crew headed for Little Red where Zach (Rob's cousin) captained a journey down the river. Lucky for the crew, it was a perfect day for sailing thus no one suffered from seasickness. Max, the youngest crew member, began the trip asleep, but woke up in time to "take the wheel" and guide our sturdy ship. However, he again fell asleep as the ship was guided back into harbor. That night the crew and captain tested the place's pool and found it satisfactory, including Max- this being his first venture into deep water. The next day found the crew travelling to Oriental to check out the marina, then onto the ferry to reach Beaufort. There the crew ventured into the Maritime Museum to read up on Blackbeard. Once sufficiently educated, on to Morehead to see Noel, another ship however, not a sailing vessel, and then on to the beach. This was another first for Max yet not a favorite. Then a hearty meal of seafood and a good nights sleep. Friday found the crew packing the car, then setting out on one last sail, but alas, the weather was not great for sailing and the crew found themselves baking under a merciless sun with listless sails. Then a quick drive through the historic downtown New Bern and on home. The next day found the crew, minus Max, gathering more information at the theater watching Pirates of the Carribbean 3: At World's End. And so ends Training Camp 1, with more to follow before the Harmon Squad are sufficiently ready to be real pirates.


In the car

Safely asleep
Enjoying the weather

Check out this good-looking pirate!

Manning the tiller
Our Captain

Asleep again

Guiding us safe into harbor

Next to Little Red

On the ferry

Singing sea chanties to his dorito

Not liking the cold sea water

On the beach with dad

Snuggled nice and warm with mom

The Jolly Roger- if only we had the money!

19 May 2007

Fun in the Kitchen

My sisters came over last night, and we decided we were going to make dinner. My youngest sister, Laura, is obsessed with Japan so we decided we would make an Asian-inspired dinner. However, in addition to being obsessed with Japan, she is a vegetarian, so that added an additional challenge. But we pulled off our gourmet meal, complete with Asian dishes (they were wedding gifts or cheap).

We did a three-course meal: first we sauteed asparagus in sesame oil...
Then we made egg-drop soup, but instead of chicken broth we used a vegetable broth...
And then for the main course we made a vegetable curry over rice, and then my sister Paige and I saw a Phoenix Asian Cuisine billboard that had a noodle bowl filled with vegetables and stuff and were determined to replicate it. So next to the curry is a noodle bowl filled with roasted vegetables that are sprinkled with garlic powder.
We made quite a mess and had a blast and it tasted delicious! Sometimes trying new stuff pays off.

18 May 2007

Evidence

As stated in an earlier blog, I am a nerd. So for those of you who may doubt my nerdiness, here is proof: I am a band nerd. Not just a "I took band" band nerd, but a "this is my life!" band nerd. In my high school, you started in 8th grade, not 9th, so I began my high school years in band camp, and faithfully attended band camp every August for the next 5 years. Now, my high school was unique- it was really small, but it was the only high school for the entire city (if you can't guess, it is a small city) so it was really diverse. And, amazingly enough, you could be in band and still be cool! Not that I was cool, but other people were. Unfortunately, as the years went on my school- James Monroe High School, or JM or Jayem as it was affectionately dubbed, began to slowly become more of a mainstream high school, and now is fully transformed, so everyone in band is now not cool in any way. But, in the good old years I was there band was for everyone and fun. Band encompassed concert band, marching band, and parades, and I did all of the above. I was never involved in athletics of any kind- I was all about band. I play the flute, and along with the flute, I also did pitt a couple of years (they're the ones that stand on the sidelines and play the xylephone, suspended cymbal, marimba, etc.), and played the piccolo my senior year, and then for concert band I was the orchestra's flute person, so if they had a song that had a flute part, I would do it. I have so many memories of band- CRAZY memories of competitions and football games and band trips. We were crazy, we could rival the most extreme sports fans. To this day, every time I hear a marching cadence played, or watch the movie Drumline, my heart starts pumping and my spine tingles. Ah, those were the good old days. As for you sports people, you have no idea what you missed out on.

The arrow points to me, in one of the many parades we would march in, and usually won.
Again, the arrow points to me. This was my 9th grade year- we're in Atlanta for a competition, my first year as first chair flute.
My 8th grade year- I can't believe how small I was.
9th grade- I was so upset I forgot to take my glasses off.
At one of our many marching competitions.
Me and my best friend from high school, Nichole, at a football game. She is the #1 band nerd and I am the #1 1/2 band nerd- our friend Anne was the #2 band nerd.
Me playing the bells at a football game one of the years I did pitt- our theme for the marching show was disco or something like that, hence the disco ball earrings.

17 May 2007

Priceless


I am what you would call trigger-happy. Because of this, Rob was soo relieved when I finally got a digital camera so we wouldn't have to pay to develop so many rolls of film anymore. In my quest for the perfect picture, I take many many pictures because, as any photographer knows, it doesn't happen very often. So, in this quest of mine, I have already taken 3500 pictures of Max, and while very few of them are perfect, they are all priceless. These are just a few of my priceless pictures.








And here is one I consider "perfect."

10 May 2007

Another Video

While lounging on the couch I decided to do something productive, so here is the fruit of my labor... it's a little longer than the last one, but I hope it's just as good.

08 May 2007

Being a mom

Today has been one of those days (and perhaps the first for me) where I ask myself "why did I want to become a mom?" Max and I were sick last week, and while we're much better, some congestion is hanging on with claws dug in. This means my normally wonderful, sweet, happy baby is not like that today (and yesterday, but it wasn't too bad). He has had some placid moments, like when the AC guy came toady, but the rest of the time has been a screaming terror. Nothing I do will make him happy- he won't even accept any food from me other than breastmilk- a first! So, with that said, here are the top ten things I hate worst about sick babies:
10. Having to swat people away from him 'cause he's contagious (he LOVES people and they seem to love him)
9. Trying to get things done with him attached to me every second
8. Him waking up constantly to cough or sneeze
7.
Having to make sure he is propped up when he's sleeping so he can breathe
6. Listening to his pathetic little cough
5.
Not being able to make it all magically better
4. Trying to get medicine down his throat
3. Having to wipe his nose CONSTANTLY
2. The aftermath
1. Baby snot all over my boobs

But, motherhood is not all bad, and I do want to leave this on a good note, so in preparation of mothers day I will reflect on a change that has happened that I wasn't anticipating in quite the way that it has happened: the emotional change. I knew before I had Max that there would be a very strong bond between us, but I never realized just how strong that bond would be. It's also different than I thought it would be. The bond wasn't instantaneous for me- perhaps because it never is, or maybe because of the circumstances of his birth. I loved him, but it wasn't until our first night home, when I was reading to him from the Book of Mormon and I read a passage that I now cannot find, and can't really remember what it said- but I do remember it said something about spirits and spirit children and I got so choked up and cried because here I was holding a little spirit that was mine to raise. There have been many more moments like that, but there have also been not so spiritual moments that are still emotional. I remember reading one of those internet stories that get passed around in emails warning about the dangers of ballrooms or something and it freaked me out to think of losing Max. And it makes me so sad to think of ANY mother losing her child. Every time I think of someone losing their child it's like a knife to the heart because now I have a child of my own and can't imagine losing mine. It's so bad that when I was watching Harry Potter I cried in the scene where his mother is killed by Voldemort because she's protecting Harry. And yet I wouldn't go back to not having a child because even though these emotions are not fun, they bring a whole new depth to life that I never even knew existed before. And this depth isn't just between me and Max- it's there between Rob and I and even our parents and siblings. I think I finally, truly understand what a blessing eternal families are and am so grateful Rob and I were sealed in the temple. Now comes the hard part, making sure that our family is not just a temple family, but a celestial family. And that's why I am glad to be a mom.

04 May 2007

Max Addams?

Along the lines of baby look alikes, we have been told that Max resembles Pubert Addams from Addams Family Values. What do you guys think?

03 May 2007

It's not fair.

Life is so not fair sometimes. I'm finally officially done with my project, which means I can now relax and do the things I've been wanting to all semester. But I can't because I'm sick. I'm so stuffed up I can hardly breathe. Unfortunately, I'm just sick enough to not be able to be up and about for very long, but not sick enough to be passed out all day. So I get to lounge on the couch. Which sounds great, I know, but I'm bored. I have to always be doing something so I don't get so restless I feel like I'm gonna go crazy, but there's not much I can do. I have to admit, it wouldn't be that bad if it weren't for the fact that Max is sick too. The two of us are pretty pathetic, all stuffed up and woozy. But, we'll get over it and then dream of the day we can lounge on the couch all day again.

And now to catch up on what's been going on in our lives...
I dyed my hair last week- it's a wash-out dye so it's almost gone as I write this- and I love it. I got my hair cut and then used Color Pulse Chilled Plum. People kept telling me it should be permanant... we'll see...

And Rob's old roommate Nayte and his wife Savannah and son Daylin came to visit yesterday. Nayte is in the Air Force, stationed in Oklahoma, so this was the first time we've seen them since they got married. We're really sad that they're so far away since Max and Daylin are about a month apart. I think Daylin was the first boy baby Max has ever met- all the other babies are girls. So they got to play for a little bit while the adults got to visit. Them playing made me realize that I need to get Max in a playgroup or something. He wasn't sure how to deal with another baby- he spends the vast majority of his time with adults. Daylin is one of about 12 babies in their ward, so has plenty of opportunities to play with a lot of different babies, and so was just fine with Max. But Max was quite whiny and did not warm up to Daylin until it was almost time for them to go. So if anyone has a playgroup or wants to start one, let me know. I don't want to have a socially inept child. Daylin Daylin and Max Daylin sucking on Max's fingers The Click Family

Rob's a VERY big nerd

Oops, sorry, Rob got a 95. He beat me more than I thought.